In the After
Page 28
“Thank Rice for me,” I say. I suddenly realize that I may never see him again. After everything that happened, after sharing a kiss that, at least to me, promised more, this could be the end. I shake my head to clear the thought and force myself to swallow the sting of finality.
“He said to tell you that this is one of the first prototypes. He wanted you to know the original idea was one of Vivian’s.” Vivian. Vivian is now going to keep me alive.
I give Gareth a big hug. “I’ll miss you,” I say as I start to cry softly. I turn to Kay and hug her as well. I can tell she’s tense, but then I feel her body relax, hugging me back. When I look into her face, her eyes are wet and shining.
“Be careful out there. Fort Black is not New Hope,” she warns.
“That’s what I’m counting on,” I tell her, wiping my eyes. “Thirty miles is nothing. I can be there by tomorrow morning.”
“She’s tough and smart,” Gareth tells Kay, giving me a wink. “She’ll be fine.”
“We’ve got to get back,” Kay says. “We would take you closer, but we’re working under tight time restraints. They’ll check to see how many miles we traveled.” Gareth waves good-bye and heads back into the hover-copter. Kay stands on the same spot, watching me.
“Amy, one more thing. The director visited me when you were first sent to the Ward. She told me what floor you were on. Your mother knows the problem I have with authority. She knows I’m fond of you.”
“You think she planned on you helping me?” I ask.
Kay nods. “I do.”
The tears come again as I remember my mother’s face when she first discovered I was alive. Then I shake the thought from my head. I don’t have time for contemplation. Right now, I have to focus on staying alive. I switch on the sonic emitter.
I watch the hover-copter take to the air and disappear in the distance. Quickly I change into my synth-suit and strap on my pack. It’s a little heavy, but I’m fit and I know I’ll need the extra supplies.
I stretch my legs and listen. No Floraes yet. I set out at a walk, hoping that the emitter will shield me until I reach Fort Black. If not, I have my gun and my knives, though I am loath to kill Them, knowing They are people. Were people. But if it’s my life or theirs, I won’t hesitate.
I start to run, slowly at first and then faster and faster. I quietly disappear into the After.
About the Author
Photo by HEATHER STONE
Chicago native DEMITRIA LUNETTA holds a BA in Human Ecology and has spent countless hours studying the many ways in which people are capable of bringing about their own destruction. In case the end is near, she always carries a good book and a chocolate bar—the two items essential for postapocalyptic survival. IN THE AFTER is her debut novel. Visit her online at www.demitrialunetta.blogspot.com.
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Credits
Cover art © 2013 by Sammy Yuen
Cover design by Sammy Yuen
Copyright
HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
IN THE AFTER. Copyright © 2013 by Demitria Lunetta. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
In the After / Demitria Lunetta. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Summary: In a post-apocalyptic world where nothing is as it seems, seventeen-year-old Amy and Baby, a child she found while scavenging, struggle to survive while vicious, predatory creatures from another planet roam the Earth.
ISBN 978-0-06-210545-5
EPub Edition April 2013 ISBN 9780062105479
[1. Survival—Fiction. 2. Monsters—Fiction. 3. Science fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.L9791155In 2013 2012038127
[Fic]—dc23 CIP
AC
13 14 15 16 17 CG/RRDH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
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