With her criminal record, sixteen-year-old Char is never going to get a place on an Ark, one of the five massive bioships designed to protect Earth’s survivors. The Arks are reserved for the real goody-goodies, like Char’s mom, dad, and brother, all of whom have long since turned their backs on her.
Publication date: March 26th, 2015
There’s a meteor headed for Earth, and there is only one way to survive.
With her criminal record, sixteen-year-old Char is never going to get a place on an Ark, one of the five massive bioships designed to protect Earth’s survivors. The Arks are reserved for the real goody-goodies, like Char’s mom, dad, and brother, all of whom have long since turned their backs on her.
With Earth on the brink of destruction, Char must use all her tricks of the trade to swindle her way into outer space, where she hopes to reunite with her family, regardless of whether they want to see her or not.
Once she arrives on the North American Ark, Char discovers that the remnants of humanity haven’t achieved the egalitarian utopia they’d planned for. For starters, the “Officers of the Peace” are anything but peaceful, especially since stealing a spot on an Ark is a crime punishable by death…
EXCERPT
On
the last day of Earth, I couldn’t find my hairbrush. That probably seems like a
silly thing to worry about, what with the imminent destruction of, well, everything,
but my mom was always after me about my usual ratty ponytail. Normally, I’d
ignore her. Or, if I were having a really bad day, I’d tell her what she could
do with her hairbrush. But like I said, it was the last day of Earth. And I
figured, since it was the last time she’d ever see me, I wanted it to go
smoothly. I wanted her to remember me, if not fondly, then at least without
anger.
A girl can dream.
I slipped out of my cell as soon as the door swung open. I’d done
the same every day for the past month, and my family had yet to show up. Their
OPT—Off-Planet Transport—took off in eighteen hours, so they still had time.
Barely. I couldn’t blame them if they didn’t come. It wasn’t hard to imagine
that they’d rather escape to the stars without so much as a backward glance at
me, their big disappointment. Even my father’s influence couldn’t persuade the
government to give me a spot on an OPT.
Turns out, when humankind is deciding which of its children to save,
the last place it looks is in prison.
But I was pretty sure they’d come. West had said as much in his last
transmission. The thought of my younger brother actually halted me mid-step,
like one of those punches in the gut where you can’t breathe for a few seconds.
“Looking for something?” The lazy drawl floated out of the nearest
cell.
Against my better instincts, I turned to see Cassa lying on her
bunk, her arm draped across Kip. My Kip. Or at least, my ex-Kip.
Whatever. In twenty-two hours, I wouldn’t have to think about him anymore.
See? Silver lining. And they called me a perpetual pessimist at my
last psych workup.
They barely fit next to each other on the flimsy mattress, but that
wasn’t the weird part. The guys’ ward was separated by a substantial metal
wall. We were kept apart during evening hours, for obvious reasons. Not that
anyone cared anymore. The med staff had been the first to go, followed by the
cleaning crew, followed by the kitchen crew. To show you where girls like me
fell on the government’s list of priorities, there was still a skeleton crew of
guards lurking around, despite the fact that I hadn’t had a real meal for going
on a week. The guards would be gone soon, too, and then there’d be no one in
here but us chickens.
I figured either Kip had a key, or the guards had left already. A
key could be useful. My curiosity got the best of me. “How’d he get in here
before the first bell?”
He cocked an eyebrow. “I got some tricks you ain’t seen, babe. Why
don’t you join us? End of the world and all.”
The guards were gone, then. I felt a small trill of anxiety deep in
my chest. If the guards were gone, my family was even less likely to show. But
it was never smart to show fear. “The Pinball could be headed straight for
this building, and I still wouldn’t be desperate enough to touch you. Oh, wait.
Guess you don’t have to take my word for it.”
I turned to leave, but he continued. “Now is that any way to treat
your dear ole partners? Be nice or I won’t give you back your stuff.”
“Ugh, you were in my room?” I flexed my shoulder blades,
making sure my gun was still tightly secured between them.
“Don’t worry, Char. I didn’t handle the merchandise. Didn’t want to
wake you up. Just lifted me a few keepsakes.” He pronounced my name the way I
like: Char, as in charred. Something that got burned.
I wasn’t sure what Kip and Cassa were planning, but I knew I
wouldn’t like it. They were thieves and liars. I would know. I used to be one
of them. That was before the last job, when Cassa had attacked an elderly man
in the home we were robbing. She’d kicked him until he stopped fighting back.
Kip had called her off after a few licks, but I just stood there, staring. The
old man looked at me, like right at me, while we made our getaway, and my
stomach twisted into a knot so tight that I tasted bile. That was the moment I
knew I wanted out.
But by then, no one believed me. Or, if they did, no one cared.
Except for Kip and Cassa, of course. They’d taken the news pretty hard, to put
it lightly.
If I lunged for the box, I could probably grab my hairbrush and get
out of there. I wouldn’t have time for more than that. Then again, I’d be doing
exactly what they expected, and I didn’t have time for delays. My family could
be in the commissary any second now.
“Ahem. Seeing as it’s your last day of life, I might let you have
one thing back,” said Kip.
“In exchange for what?”
“I’m hurt. All our time together, and you still don’t believe in my
inherent generosity. But now that you mention it, I’ve got a hankering for some
peanut butter crackers.”
“Sorry, Kip. I’m fresh out of food. Kinda like everyone else.”
“Nice try, Charrr.” He drew my name out, as though tasting
it. “I saw them yesterday. Figured you were hiding them under your pillow when
I couldn’t find them last night.”
“You figured wrong.”
All I could think about was my brother’s face. And how I had this
one last chance to apologize to my parents, for everything. I shrugged and
turned to leave.
That was probably a mistake
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About the author:
Laura grew up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where she spent an excellent childhood playing make-believe with her two younger brothers. The Ark is the direct result of those stories and a lifelong devotion to space-themed television. It received a Work in Progress Grant from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Laura has a degree in French and a license to practice law, but both are frozen in carbonite at present. She lives in Texas with her family.
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