Here is a very small preview of Chapter 1. I'm super excited for this story, and I hope you are too!
~Lola
---
We walk in the desert. The sun beats down on our shoulders, our eyes weary and bleached. Bots roll along, their rubber tracks left in the burning sand, razors up for anyone who dares to stop or slow down. The sand is too bright, the sky is too blue. Still, we walk in a line 1,000 people strong. A Bot for every 10. 100 Bots, gleaming yellow eyes searching for stragglers.
I adjust the rubber pack on my back. The chafing leather strips have been peeling for weeks, leaving marks on my sunburned shoulders. Sweat has long since dampened my hair, leaving it stuck to my back in rivulets. Despite my light clothing, I swear I'm on fire. But I've walked for longer, so I tamp the fire down and concentrate on the sky. The sky is constant, lending strength to my trembling legs. I can make it, I know this, but the boy in front of me cannot. With a soft cry, he crumpled to the ground. He will not get up, but I will not accept this. I will not.
I lean over, and wrench his arm up. His eyes are red-rimmed, snot running down his face. His mouth lolls open slightly.
"Get up." I hiss, the Bot has noticed the line is slowing. It's head slowly rotates around, a small mercy, designed to give people a moment to gather themselves, to stand. The Boy's head creaks slightly as he makes a small sound that sounds like, 'muh.' The Bot is getting closer. Sweat pouring down my face, I pick the Boy up. There is a gasp behind me. It's not illegal, but unheard of for someone to carry someone else. Our loads are already too heavy. With a heaving breath, I step forward once more.
VOCÊ ESTÁ LENDO
Barren
FantasiaLinnea is a slave of Lush. Sure, they use other words to describe the citizens of Barren, laborer, Harvester, so on, so forth. But when one watches a Bot kill a boy for sitting down in the endless desert, one begins to doubt the benevolence of Lush...
