Here is an excerpt from my WIP - a Young Adult Superhero Romance with Aliens and Superanimals
Estelle woke. Surreal streamers of color
swirled behind her eyelids. Her head throbbed with pain and her stiff body
ached. Questions crawled into her mind. What had happened? Where was she? Who
was she?
She cracked her eyes open. A white blur
filled her field of vision. She tried to rub her eyes, but found her hand was
fastened at the wrist. Wriggling each part of her body, she discovered cold
metal bands pinned her forehead, her arms and legs. Fear shivered through her
restrained body and her mind whirled in confusion.
Fighting off panic, she forced herself into
a wary calm. Gradually, her vision cleared and memories crept back. She was
Estelle Wright. Seventeen years old, on her way to college.
What had happened to her? More memories
crowded into her foggy mind. Images flashed, a black cat pouncing at her, a
white horse rearing into explosions of green and white light. Spotty, the
dappled mare, had ridden into a deafening blast on the Army Firing Range.
Was she in a hospital? Estelle stared
up. Curved glass enclosed her body. Above the transparent cylinder, glossy
lines decorated the white ceiling. Her gaze traveled along the interleaved spiral
paths. Blinking, she wrenched her focus away from the hypnotic patterns.
What was this creepy place? It was not a
regular hospital. Estelle blinked and scrunched her eyelids closed. What
hospital would have the weird, labyrinthine spirals on the ceiling?
Voices drifted to her ears from an
adjacent room. They seemed to be discussing her.
“She is very young for the
transformation.” A woman’s voice, judging by the high pitch.
The gruff voice of a man said, “Can we
trust a native like her? Our need is urgent. The enemy grows more intrusive.”
Estelle held her breath, intent on
listening to the conversation outside her room.
A second man said, “She is not the
first, nor the youngest. She is nearly eighteen.” The nasal twang hit a
familiar chord. The image of his sullen face and black ponytail flew into her
mind. Toby, the surly young man with the motorbike. What was he doing in this
strange place? Curiosity dampened her fears and sharpened her hearing.
The first man asked, “What do you know
of this girl, Tobarian?”
“She
is paired with a mare as her Farleon companion.” Toby’s twang again. Was his
name really Tobarian?
“Excellent! Set her free and watch for
her powers to emerge. We need every recruit.” The authoritative man sounded
enthusiastic.
The woman said, “Sol Farleon, the girl
may wake soon. We expected her to be unconscious for at least twenty four hours.
But, she keeps rousing and must be dosed back to sleep. Her body requires time to
adapt to the transformation. The next cycle will finish in two minutes.”
“We don’t want her to eavesdrop on our
conversation. Activate the block and we’ll leave her to your ministrations, Mir
Celesta,” the older man ordered.
“I’ll start the wake cycle,” the woman
said. Their voices faded. Estelle assumed they had muted the sound in some
manner.
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