#8 THE WILD, YA SF

TITLE: THE WILD
GENRE: YA Science Fiction

Lukas escapes South-3 and vows to destroy the Regime, but doesn’t count on falling for runaway Nova, who wants to put it behind them. When they discover alien tech that only Lukas can decipher, they must risk losing each other, their memories and their lives to aid the Resistance.

For my sixteenth birthday my parents staged my death. It took months to plan, with Mom slowly pilfering pharmaceuticals from the infirmary and Dad quietly teaching me survival skills. When the time came, I was ready. I was blasted.

I was terrified.

We’d be killed if it went wrong. And the prospect of living alone in the Wild reeked. But staying wasn’t an option. Not one I could live with, anyway.

I finished my last lap, swallowed the little white pill that would induce vomiting and sank into the soft, green grass to wait.

“That time was unacceptable, Dawson.” Crane, my unit leader, glared down at me. “This isn’t nap time. Get up!” The rest of my unit was already in the training center for the next phase of our morning routine.

“I know. Sorry, sir. I’m not feeling well, sir.” The drug kicked in as if on cue and I sat up and heaved.

Crane kicked my boot. “Now that you’ve got that out of your system, you’ll be fine. Get to the training center.”

I stood, trying to obey, but vomited again. “I think I need the infirmary, sir.”

“I say what you need. Now get to the machine. Your vitamin shake will fix you right up.”

Just the mention of the shake made my body try to heave again. It was rank. “Maybe I’m having a reaction to the new protocols, sir.” A plausible excuse, we hoped.

Crane had a lot of pressure on him to get me to training.