LOGINThe water in the pool was not cold. It felt like oil, thick and heavy against Junes skin. She tried to stand up. Her legs felt like they were made of heavy lead. She splashed back into the glowing liquid her chest moving fast as she breathed. The air here was strange. It did not burn like the purple clouds above but it smelled sweet like rotting flowers and honey. A voice said, "Do not rush, Doctor." The voice was a musical hum. It seemed to vibrate in the water around June. A man stepped closer. The light from the blue trees reflected off the green scales on his cheeks. He moved with a grace. His knees bent backward like a birds legs. The man said, "The change is still moving through your blood." He pointed to Junes arm. June looked down. The purple vein in her arm was pulsing. Every time it beat a wave of heat traveled to her heart. She felt as if her body was being rewritten like a book. June asked, "Where is my mother?" She grabbed a handful of moss on the bank and pulled her
The floor of the large medical room tilted suddenly. The massive black net hit the top of the planet’s air with a loud bang. Red warning lights flashed against the metal walls. They made a rhythmic, bloody glow over June’s face."The gravity lock is failing!" Dante yelled. He was holding onto a silver computer desk. His knuckles were white. His teeth were held tight in pain. "The net is like a giant parachute. But the planet is pulling us down too fast!"June did not look at the computer screens. She was focused on her mother’s hand. The skin felt very thin, like paper. It shook with every jump of the ship. With her left hand—the one still humming with a faint green light—June reached out to keep the floating table steady."Hope, can you stop us from crashing?" June’s voice was steady. But her heart was thumping like a trapped bird inside her chest."I am trying, Mommy!" Hope’s silver fingers were buried deep into the glass floor. Wires of blue light moved up her arms. "But the air...
The floor of the large medical room tilted suddenly. The massive black net hit the top of the planet’s air with a loud bang. Red warning lights flashed against the metal walls. They made a rhythmic, bloody glow over June’s face."The gravity lock is failing!" Dante yelled. He was holding onto a silver computer desk. His knuckles were white. His teeth were held tight in pain. "The net is like a giant parachute. But the planet is pulling us down too fast!"June did not look at the computer screens. She was focused on her mother’s hand. The skin felt very thin, like paper. It shook with every jump of the ship. With her left hand—the one still humming with a faint green light—June reached out to keep the floating table steady."Hope, can you stop us from crashing?" June’s voice was steady. But her heart was thumping like a trapped bird inside her chest."I am trying, Mommy!" Hope’s silver fingers were buried deep into the glass floor. Wires of blue light moved up her arms. "But the air...
The metal roof of the hospital building. Groaned as it started to tear away. The wind there was not just blowing it was roaring like a hungry animal. It was trying to suck June and her family into the sky."June do not move!" Dante yelled out.He jumped forward his fingers digging into the gaps between the roof tiles. He grabbed Junes belt as a strong gust of wind nearly lifted her off her feet. Junes left arm was still cold and dead from the Surgeons touch. It hung uselessly at her side. She leaned into Dantes chest. The smell of smoke and salt on his skin was the thing that made her feel safe.Behind them the staircase of light hummed quietly. The woman who looked like Junes mother stood perfectly still. Her eyes were not human. They looked like clouds of gold and white."The ships are closing in " the woman said. Her voice did not travel through the air. It vibrated inside Junes teeth. "If you do not climb now the Scavengers will take your bones and the Surgeon will take your soul.
The hospital floor did not just shake; it groaned like a dying animal.June scrambled to her feet. Her left arm hung uselessly at her side. The "white silence" was over. It was replaced by a low, vibrating hum that made her teeth ache. Through the giant glass windows, the sky was no longer black. It was a bruised purple color. It was filled with the flickering lights of ships. These ships were so large they blocked out the moon."They are here," the woman in the lab coat whispered. She leaned against a computer desk. Her face was as white as her coat. "The Registry was not just a farm, June. It was a hiding net. We kept the lights off so the predators would not see the nest. Now, the lights are on.""Then turn them back off!" June shouted.She lunged for the main power switch, but a sudden blast of wind threw her backward. The glass windows did not shatter into pieces. Instead, they melted. The thick glass turned into a clear liquid. It flowed onto the floor like hot honey.A cold, me
The air in the room smelled like something was burning, like wires and old metal. June felt the fingers of the man in the suit the Dean as he held the glowing blue heart. Outside the glass walls long black boxes moved across the floor. They were the Great Surgeons payment. These boxes were not made of wood they were made of a metal that seemed to suck in the red emergency lights.June felt a chill when she heard Dante scream "June do not listen to him!"He tried to stand up grabbing the edge of a desk but his legs were too weak. He crashed into a pile of metal trays and the loud noise echoed through the room. "He is a liar he has been lying since the day if you go into that box you will never come back!"The Dean did not even look at Dante he kept his eyes on June his smile was thin and cold. "I am a man of science Dante everything must have a balance, a soul for a soul, a life for a life June understands this because she is a doctor she knows that sometimes you must cut off a finger
The big black ship let out a noise that tore through everything—a sound like metal shattering, but also pure fear, raw and echoing. The three Architects—the Circle, the Square, and the Triangle—stood frozen, more like statues than people, as if someone had carved them from ice. Out in the garden, t
Rain hammered New York like it wanted to drown the city. June tore down a dark alley, barely dodging puddles and piles of trash. Her lungs burned. Boots pounded behind her—loud, angry voices echoing off the brick.“She ran this way!” someone barked.She didn’t dare look back. She shoved past overfl
The rain went from bad to worse—a full-on storm now. Water washed the blood from June’s hands, but the cold wind sank into her bones. She stood outside the hospital, clutching the Black Ledger so tight her knuckles hurt. On her left, the hospital where Dante was dying. On her right, a man in a whit
The warehouse doors exploded open with a bang, slamming against the wall. Night wasn’t dark anymore—flashing blue and red lights painted the wet ground, flickering like wild dancers. June just stood there, frozen. Her hands shook, but she didn’t drop the heavy black gun. Her white dress was a mess,







