Project Emergence
Page 24
Chuck shivered. Winslow could see the sorrow in his son’s gaze, the remorse. A strange prickle wormed around inside Winslow’s head, percentages and data filling his brain. It were as though, tiny computers fed his mind. If he hugged his child there was an eighty-nine percent chance he’d be embraced back. The odds were favorable, so he wrapped his arms around Chuck and squeezed.
***
“Joey. Wake up.”
Images flashed pulling Joey deeper into a haze. A voice echoed in her head. It sounded familiar, though she couldn’t place it. Everyone was here, in her house, watching her paint the walls yet again. The indigo coat shined beneath her brushstroke. She peered across the misty room, smiling at Jesse. Her mother stood just beyond the doorway, motioning for dinner to begin.
“Wake up! I’m gonna slap you, Joey.”
She groaned as a fog clouded her family from sight. Was that Kami? What was Kami doing in her bedroom? She was sketching birds on the wall. In fact, she could hear their song. Except that wasn’t right. Kami. The ship.
Jesse.
In a dizzying whirl, the mist that surrounded her turned to swirls of smoke, then blinding light. Her eyes fluttered, fighting to remain closed. When her arm flopped against a cold floor, Kami’s giggle filled her ears.
“Yes! Please be okay.”
“I’m okay,” Joey said, though her words came out in a mumble. She rolled her head to the side and a throb invaded her temples. “I thought I was back home for a second; it must’ve been a dream.”
“A dream.” Kami rushed to grab Joey, who teetered to a sitting position. “Girl, you’ve been out for two hours. Do you smell that?”
Kami moved aside, and a glare blinded Joey. She shielded her eyes, peeking through her fingers. A muddled rainbow of shapes and colors blurred, fading behind shimmers of glistening light.
“We’re on Mars,” Kami said in a long soft breath.
“What!” Joey tried to jump up, but her legs crumbled beneath her. She landed on her hands and knees, a grunt bellowing from her chest. Kami rambled, her brain pounded, but she had to see. Her gaze lifted to the brightness that radiated through the pod’s open door. Shades of greens and blues dominated over the rays of shining sun, bringing with them a warmth like none she’d ever experienced.
The sensation drew her to her feet in a wobble. She staggered and Kami grabbed her arm. Kami’s fussy tone buzzed in her ear, but she focused on the rustle of leaves in the wind. The haze that veiled her sight cleared, legs strengthening. She pushed Kami’s hands away and crept toward bushy trees.
From the corner of her eye, she glimpsed Mr. Reyes on the floor. The man looked lost while trying to stitch Sabrina’s grizzly wounds, but she limped on by. Rich, sweet fragrances lured her steps. People stumbled, nursing deep gashes, yet she hobbled onward.
Her fingers grasped the metal doorframe, a cool breeze tickling her skin. A teeny chuckle seeped from her throat, and she took a deep breath. That smell. She couldn’t place it, a gritty type of richness, though it carried with it a sense of harmony.
Slowly her hand traveled into a beam of sunlight. She jerked back, expecting her flesh to boil. However, instead of scorching pain, a warm fuzz shot through her body.
After a quick glance back to a stunned Kami, she jumped from the pod. Twigs crunched with her every step, each crackle spreading a wave of chills. Her hands left her control, becoming a slave to the beauty around them. Waxy leaves glided under her fingertips, rough bark crumbling. The tail end of a giggle seeped from her lungs. Silky flower petals caressed her skin and a million sounds vibrated her mind into bliss.
“It’s …” Kami walked beside Joey, face gripped in a state of awe. “It’s so …”
“Unreal,” Joey gasped, staring at a flock of purple birds that took to flight upon the warm winds. She tore her gaze from a lush forest of neon-colored plants, grabbing Kami’s arm. “Where’s the other pods?”
“Nobody’s seen any other pods yet,” Kami said, poking a blue caterpillar with a stick. “We must’ve been closer than I thought ‘cause we got here super quick.”
Joey plopped down on the soft ground. She leaned against a large rock, her gaze rising to the deep violet sky.
“What are you doing?” Kami asked, following Joey’s stare.
“I’m waiting for Jesse.”
“People are freaking out over there.” Kami gestured to the quiet pod. A few people straggled along the gravelly slope, tiptoeing and gawking, but no freak-outs loomed.
Joey settled back against her lumpy rock, returning to her pod-watching duties.
In an overdramatic huff, Kami knelt down. She rubbed her forehead. Her lips, eyes, even her nose bunched up. “Mr. Reyes is, like, killing Sabrina with his shoddy sutures. Shouldn’t you check on that?”
All on its own, Joey’s head shook. Her shoulders must’ve agreed with the not-my-problem notion because they shrugged.
“Whatevs.” Kami wandered back to the pod, leaving Joey alone with the gusts of gentle air and chirp of distant birds.
Her fingers dug into moist soil, tiny pebbles gathering beneath her nails. The colors that encompassed her couldn’t hold a candle to the ones in her paint kit. Each new shade inspired a depth that waited for the connection of a memory.
It all sat beyond her rocky perch. Fields of teal grass spanned the horizon, ready to be rolled in. Water crashed onto a shore somewhere beyond the trees, hints of salt in the air. A sea to be found, but not without Jesse. She would wait right here, keep her eyes on the billows of pink-hued clouds, and wait for that little round pod to break through.
The End
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book was my first manuscript to be accepted for publication, and it never would’ve happened without the guidance of so many others. So, a rounds of thanks are in order.
First, I really need to thank the people stuck living in the same house as me. They are subjected to hours of dubstep, which blasts nonstop from my corner of the living room. My edit rants often interrupt their attempts at watching TV, to which I reply, “Writing is stressful!” And the querying stage, we shouldn’t get into the craziness of that but they had to deal with it. So, for having to endure with all that and then some, I send a big hug to the fam.
An amazing author, Elizabeth Briggs, chose this manuscript to mentor for The Writers Voice contest in 2015. Thanks to her incredible advice, I discovered this story was starting in the wrong place. She helped me hone my voice, and worked with me until I had the perfect opening. I truly believe it was her guidance that ultimately led me to publication, and for that I am forever grateful.
I never, in a million years, thought Month9Books would accept my manuscript for publication. They were my number one choice, and they said yes! For having faith in my writing, for being so supportive, for accepting me as not only an author but a member of a family, I’d like to thank Georgia McBride and all the wonderful people at Month9Books.
The very first person to read this manuscript in its entirety was my CP, Robert. As always, he reprimanded me on my use of dialogue tags (which was highly necessary), but he also encouraged me, supported me, and gave me hope that I’d be published one day. For being my sounding board, grounding rod, and shining light, I’d like to thank you, Rob.
I was lucky enough to participate in Nightmare on Query Street 2015. The talented author, Michelle Hauck, picked me for her team. I didn’t officially win the contest (didn’t even get beyond the second round), but I felt like a winner for all the invaluable comments I received from the slew of other writers, editors, and authors who volunteered to be judges. To Michelle and every awesome person who hosts, mentors, and judges writing contests, thank you for dedicating your time.
Most importantly, I’d like to thank everyone who made it this far into the acknowledgements. You are the true readers, seekers of knowledge, lovers of words, and you are my peeps–XOXO
JAMIE ZAKIAN
Jamie Zakian is a
fulltime writer who consumes the written word as equally as oxygen. Living in South Jersey with her husband and rowdy family, she enjoys farming, archery, and blazing new trails on her 4wd quad, when not writing of course. She aspires to one day write at least one novel in every genre of fiction.
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Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Acknowledgements
About the Author
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