Author: A.M. Rose
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication Date: June 3rd 2019
Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction
~
Six days.
That’s the amount of time until Lezah’s execution.
She’ll die never knowing what got her locked up in that godforsaken prison in the first place. Her only chance of survival is to escape. Except the monitoring bracelet that digs into her wrist, the roaming AI, and the implant in her neck make freedom close to impossible.
Her best chance is to team up with the four other inmates who are determined to break out, even if one of them is beyond gorgeous, annoying—oh, and in for murder. But he has a secret of his own. One that could break Lezah if she finds out, but could also set him free.
Figuring out how to work with him and the rest of this mismatched group of criminals is the only way Lezah will survive to see the outside world again.
But nothing in this prison is as it seems. And no one.
After an eternity, the bell sounds, and the other girls and I push back from the table. Same as we did last night. Except this time as I line up, Clara scratches her left ear. The motion’s quick, and if her bracelet was working it’d earn her a jolt.
The signal. Sh*t. This is it.
My gaze shifts to the front of the line, and that’s when I notice. Two WALTERs marching toward us from the hall, and they’re coming for me. Thank God they aren’t the same AIRS as last night, but these two don’t look any friendlier. They stomp in unison, with long, determined strides, their strong metal chests polished to perfection like they mean business.
Sweat trickles from my hairline and slides down my cheek, but I’m not a default skin newb and know not to make any sudden movements, even if it’s to reach up and brush it away. Not when the heat of their stares are scrutinizing my every action.
I tighten my grip on my tray, and my eyes stay glued to Clara as time slows to a trickle. I focus on each step she takes. The way her legs move inside her baggy jumpsuit. Her right foot falters; once than twice. Is that part of her plan?
Her left leg stretches forward, taking a larger step than usual even for her long legs, and then her right quickly catches up and passes, hooking onto the leg of the girl in front of her.
I watch in horror as the tray slides from the girl’s hands and she collapses into the girl in front of her, forcing that girl to stumble and fall. Then one by one they each go down. Unfinished mush splatters everything around. The line of girls behind Clara don’t know what to do. Or what’s going on. Torturous screams fill the room and echo off the walls. The buzz from bracelets doing their job makes me scream, too, even though I’m not being shocked. The WALTERs are getting closer, but now they have to maneuver through a tangled mess of more than a dozen bodies before they get to us.
Holy sh*t. What have I done?
---
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
A.M. Rose is the author of Road to Eugenica, and Breakout (formerly titled Not Innocent) is the writer of young adult novels, drinker of too much coffee (with way too much coconut creamer), and lover of all carbohydrates.
Currently, she lives in Houston, TX with her three boys (yes, her husband is in that count) and three cats. When she isn’t writing, she is an avid reader, critiquer, (is that even a word?) and trampoline enthusiast.
She is a graduate from San Diego State University with a BA in Communication and a minor in underwater basket weaving. (Okay, maybe not the basket weaving part.)
No comments:
Post a Comment