Siren

By Joycelin Arnold

By 2348, the world has been put in a crisis. With humans and Sirens, an evolved species, on the brink of civil war, much is shrouded in secrecy. With death as the reward, many don’t dare speak or seek out the truth and others prefer the bliss of ignorance. People who share their opinion and come against the government’s tryranical rule are thrust into exile.
Nadia Delmasta is one of those people.

Being a falsely exiled solider, Nadia sees this as chance to have the freedom she never could and to set aside the life she was forced into. Everyone else has other plans though. As Nadia begins to understand more about the world, herself, and the ways of the corrupt government, she has to make a life changing decision. Will she join in the fight for justice or seek out her own freedom?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joycelin Arnold
• Release date: Dec 18, 2011
• ISBN: 9781466136687

Joycelin Arnold

For a little background, I'm originally from Mobile, AL. I was raised by a very off-beat and diversely interested single parent. My mother is to thank for majority of the inspiration in my work. Despite my loving home and due to my Pocahontas nature however, I ended up in Las Vegas, which might I add is a playground for the imagination. As far as writing goes, I've been writing since I was twelve. I took an English assignment too seriously and it's all late nights with a pen in hand from that point on. I first started out writing a lot of fan-fiction to satisfy the need to create something. Over time, I branched off and started writing original work. Aside from fiction, I write for a small video game website. With all the female gaming stereotypes in mind, I do come with pre-made sandwiches and cooking skills. I go back to N64 days as far as gaming. Zelda: Ocarina of Time is what got me into hardcore gaming and the rest are just years blistered thumbs and late nights with a controller in hand. It's safe to say my childhood was full of books and video games versus cable television and playing outside.

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Joycelin Arnold

SIREN

SIREN

Copyright 2011 Joycelin Arnold

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the publisher(s), except by a reviewer to be printed in a newspaper, magazine or journal.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locals or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Image Copyright © Mayer George Vladimirovich, 2011

Used under license from Shutterstock.com

A person often meets their destiny on the road they took to avoid it. 

-Jean de La Fontaine

Chapter 1

Another Day

How did I get here? The one place I’ve been trying so hard to avoid…

I looked over the group as I explained our situation. I wanted to call them friends but, after all that had happened, comrades seemed like a better choice of words. Many of us had fallen from our previous relationships and took on different ones. In the moment though, friends would be nice. It had been so long since I felt like I truly had one…

In all honesty, the moment Dimitri left was the moment I lost a lot.

My life.

My family.

My dreams.

My sanity, just to name a few.

So Nadia… one of the younger ones around started, pulling me out of my thoughts. It’s not like the story says? He stared straight through me with those innocent turquoise eyes of his. He was more interested in the story and truth than he was with how it affected me.

He took his eyes off me only for a moment as he rubbed his hands in front of the fire to keep himself warm.

He grunted a bit as he moved his right leg. It had been bandaged horribly in our rush and we needed better supplies to do it properly. We weren’t going to get any tonight so; I would personally have to deal with the guilt of his pain.

The cool breeze of the desert came over us yet again and causing us to move a bit closer to the fire. It was the only thing keeping us from freezing to death at this point.

"No…people think I did it alone. Truth was I didn’t really do anything. It was all Dimitri." I confirmed as I drew even closer to the flames and pulled my bomb-tattered leather jacket closer to my small frame.

But how can so many people think that? How did no one know the truth? He asked as he stared hard at the fire.

I could see the pain in his eyes as he did. It had been a long journey and we hadn’t walked away without some hurt feelings and battle scars. His were actually more my fault than our enemy's though.

Because it was what Ezra wanted. He couldn’t let the public know how things actually happened. It would make people question his motives and rise against him. Apparently, he didn't want that just yet.

At the time, Another person, Jonny, spoke up. They knew you feared them killing you…so much that you would never say anything about what had actually happened. I glazed over him sitting to my right. It was my job to make sure of that. He eyed me only for a moment before looking back at the fire.

Keep going, what else happened before? Another man sitting close to my left nudged me to continue.

He gave me a sympathetic smile; he knew it was hard for me to talk about this as well as remember it.

It’s a lot to process.

We’re all in this together now whether we like it or not, one of the men, Kaleb, pointed out as he inched forward toward the fire.

He’s right. The man to my left defended his request.

If we’re going to go through with this…bring them down. We have to know each other’s faults, their slip ups, their past, and mistakes. Ezra manipulates us based on those and the biggest ones threatening all of us right now are from you. Kaleb’s green eyes were so accusing when he spoke to me. I knew he was right though. As much as I wanted to blame everyone else, this was my fault. So, he started again, Tell us, from the beginning… he trailed off.

Well, I took a breath trying to think back as far as I needed to, We can start with the day that this particular mess started.

* * * * *

Stop!

In an instant I snapped into reality as a voice rang through my ears. I could hear my comrade's heavy footsteps through the alley next to the abandoned street I stood on. I took in everything in that second and zeroed in on the Siren we were pursuing. He was a good ways ahead of me, somewhere amidst the debris and gridlock of abandoned cars. I grabbed my pistol from its usual resting place –a holster on my side- and quickly followed the chase.

Nadia!

My head stung as if a needle were piercing its way through as I heard a voice speak to me. My feet suddenly didn’t respond and I wasn’t moving.

Do not engage the Siren; we need him alive! I repeat, do not engage! The raspy female voice scolded me from where ever she had been hiding.

Nina... I took a deep annoyed breath before continuing, Can you please give me a heads up next time you're gonna do that? I don’t like my body completely disregarding what I want it to do. I nearly yelled out loud. I could hear her laugh as if she were right next to me.

Just trying to keep on Vincent's good side while we're here,

That's no fun.

I checked the ammo on my pistol and began running again. I hopped through and over the disastrous formation of cars and debris. I had to end this little chase now before it got too far toward the next city. If it did, I'd have worse than Vincent to deal with.

I hopped onto one of the many cars in front of me and stood on the roof to find exactly where my prey was. I spotted him a couple of feet ahead and brought my pistol to eye level. As I did, a small number above the sight constantly ran until it came to an abrupt halt at a vibrant blue 26 ft.

Nadia! Don't kill him! I heard Nina yell at me again. I pushed away the pain it caused and continued before she could stop me again.

As soon as I had a clear shot, I fired.

All was quiet and the only thing that made me feel as if time itself hadn't stopped was a body hitting the ground. My second comrade emerged from the mass of debris and gave me a scolding look with his always accusing green eyes.

What? I looked over his glare. I didn't kill him.

I forced my pistol back in its place near my hip and jumped down from the car's roof. My comrade ran a hand over his short black military cut hair and dusted out the sand that had found its way there, as well as on his tanned peach colored face.

With a sigh, he approached the Siren who squirmed in bleeding pain on the ground and searched his clothes. He grabbed the man's arm and pushed away his jacket sleeve to reveal a bar code on his wrist. He reached deep into one of the cargo pockets of his desert fatigues, pulled out scanner, and scrolled it over the code. It made various noises and beeped as he did. The noises ceased and, after a moment, he forced it back into his pocket.

Wrong guy, He annoyingly dropped the man's limb and looked up at me. I shrugged it off and rolled my eyes at their worries.

Well he had something to do with the explosion downtown. Otherwise, he wouldn't have run when we saw him, now would he, Kaleb?

"Are you forgetting that you would run if soldiers started following you?" Kaleb commented before standing up to face me.

We’re not talking about me, okay? I didn’t need him to point out the obvious error in my statement or my obvious rash behavior; this honestly wasn’t about me.

While we spoke, we all heard a sudden shift. The Siren had hopped up and stood defensively in front of all of us. I glanced down at his leg to see the bullet being forced out. The skin quickly grew back as if nothing had happened.

I thought you shot him… Kaleb growled at my obvious lack of aim.

Yeah. In the leg. I clarified. I could hear the roll of his eyes in his sigh.

Always aim for vitals and joints with Sirens, Nadia. Nina chimed in to correct me on my choice of targets.

That was the one thing she always reminded me off. After injuries, Sirens regenerate over time. Aiming for vital organs however exponentially shortens the amount of time they have to do so. It was the only real way to kill a Siren. Well, that or a bullet to the head.

This coming from the person who told me not to shoot him… I mumbled, pulling my gun up to eye level.

You disgrace us, he nodded at Nina as he spoke.

Excuse me? Nina stepped forward.

Humans and Sirens don't mix and you willingly work with them. He looked her over before casting me and Kaleb a look of disdain.

Oh and I'm sure your anti-human life is going so much better than mine, She didn't even move as she spoke to him.

I knew this game of hers too well.

Let us help you. She began so sincerely. You're obviously in a bad place and need some guidance. She smiled as she stepped forward again, holding a hand out to him.

She didn't have his best interest in mind.

He looked over her hand and her sincere face for a moment.

Come on. We're both Sirens and I can help you. She smiled.

I eyed Kaleb for a moment; we both knew exactly what was happening here.

The Siren eyed her hand, then us again. He actually seemed like he considered it. That would be a big mistake.

He forced a step back and went to raise his arm but before he did, Nina raised hers higher. His body suddenly stopped moving and he was raised from the ground. His limbs were pulled closer to his body and he seemed to be gasping for air.

Ugh… Nina groaned as she gave him a disgusted look. I hate your kind: the rebels, Nina put a lot of emphasizes on the word whilst pulling her clenched fist closer to her body, causing his body to move closer to her. You always act like you’re all high and mighty.

It's better than being an attack dog for the Council. He tried to laugh out but still fought to breathe.

Nina squint her eyes at the comment and squeezed her hand tighter. His fight for air seemed to intensify as he choked on what he could manage. His face began to go from a pale red to a much brighter color.

Nina, this isn't necessary. Kaleb tried to approach her but she shot him a look.

He isn't worth it; he's not even fighting back. I tried to give her some logic. It wasn’t as if he could fight back but, I had to give Nina something.

She seemed to slowly loosen her grip at the comment.

Fine, if you two th-

Before she could finish her statement, something thrust her into the side of one of the surrounding cars. The Siren then turned back to Kaleb and me.

I really don’t wanna kill any of you. He got up to regain some of his composure. As he did, his hands slowly formed what appeared to be a small ball of air. So, he started again, It would be nice if you could just let me go.

Kaleb and I exchanged a weary look. We had a way of talking without opening our mouths. Given our line of work, and the fact that we were awful soldiers that rarely did things the way they should be done, it came in handy.

Okay… Kaleb nodded running his hands over his fatigue pants as if he were wiping his hands off. His stretched out his fingers and let them linger at his sides. Nadia… he nodded for me to help Nina.

I did as we had planned and, as I turned, I reached for my pistol.

As we expected, the Siren immediately went for me instead of Kaleb. Before anything could hit me, I threw my pistol to Kaleb. Before I was forced down joined Nina on the ground, Kaleb fired twice.

Once again, there was silence. I groaned a bit as the numbness found its way out of my body. At my side, Nina pulled herself up and stretched. As she finished cracking sore bones in her body, she looked over at me.

Last time I listen to you two, she chuckled as she stretched out her pale hand with her usual smile and pulled me up. You okay, kid? She dusted off the shoulder of my shirt and did the same to her pants.

Yeah, thanks. I did the same.

Kaleb stood in front of us, calm as always, holding my pistol out to me.

You should really fix the recoil on this thing. He almost scolded me.

Vincent's not gonna like this. Nina moaned as she stretched again. She flipped her auburn blonde ponytail over her bare porcelain shoulder and looked over the sand storm of a city with her gold pupils.

Just say he fought back. Kaleb shrugged. Unless you don’t want to tell him you got knocked out with one hit. Nina gestured a finger toward him before looking to me.

We still have a job to do. She informed me.

Well we do have that address from the Council. We could try looking for the guy there? Kaleb questioned as he looked over the scene with this look of concern.

Where is it? I asked finally getting all the feeling in my body back after the attack.

In response, Nina pulled out a small transparent pad and looked over the illuminated writing. It’s in the outskirts on the northwestern end of Flurine, the old headquarters.

Alright, let’s get out of here before Banshees come then. Nina and I both eyed the abandoned city before walking away. In the distant, you could hear gun fire and faint screams coming from the city. It would only be a matter of time before they found us if we stuck around.

Today was simple.

It was another day with another job that the infamous Vincent didn’t think I was capable of doing plainly because of a lack of age. I had to admit I wasn’t the oldest or wisest of soldiers but I was known well for getting the job done and that was all that was needed….that was all I was needed for. After all, I was recruited on grounds that weren’t exactly voluntary or known. Not that anyone has that privilege these days but, my situation was a bit more complicated.

I was caught in the midst of what was now known as the hugest massacre in Flurine’s history; I was interrogated, tortured, and after six months of realizing I knew nothing, I was given a choice. Either I could join the ranks of ExoCore’s military or I could simply be exiled from any government ruled community…like Dimitri was.

One would think I would rather be free than to be forced into the military; but, the life of looking over my shoulder for the president’s personal death squad wasn’t what I had hoped for at the tender age of twenty-two.

I had seen too much and they obviously weren’t going to let me go with no strings attached. They just don’t like to tell you that they have no real intention of really letting you go; exile just makes death sound nicer. It was like my mother always told me though, with great knowledge comes an unwanted obligation. And believe me, the obligation was beyond unwanted.

So how many pointless assignments does this make, Nina’s voice brought me out of yet another daze.

The three of us hopped into the sand colored armored truck and dusted the dirt off of our fatigues. Kaleb thought for a moment and mumbled things as if he were solving a difficult problem.

Four. He smiled as he took his seat up front, pulled out his two revolvers, and started polishing them with his black under shirt.

Kaleb loved his revolvers, sometimes more than he loved anything else. It was appreciated though, considering they were gifts from Dimitri and me after he graduated from Academy. That was all he wanted and, since he had no parents, we got them for him.

At the time, I was curious as to why that was what he wanted. Most people would ask for for a kind of prayer that they would live to see their homes again after shipping off to the military like most did after graduation. Others would just run away once they had graduated; anything just to keep from joining the military was enough.

Kaleb, however, didn't mind; Dimitri didn't either. They had no family, other than each other in their brotherly way. I’d always had my mother and never felt as alone as they did. They felt that they may as well put some good use to the rest of their lives opposed to joining a band of mercenaries somewhere -which they joked was a close option of theirs- and living in the uninhabited areas of Aridenia.

As far as his love for his guns; he was just like that. He found joy in tangible things, things he could touch more than those he could not. He never put a lot of value in the world as a whole, only certain people in it. For those people though, he would do nearly anything for.

Otherwise, Kaleb Matthews was a friend of mine, someone I had known for years. Over the years, his personality hadn’t changed once. His peach skin had tanned a bit from his time deployed in Eaglehart City but everything else was the same. His green eyes were just as small and tired as always. His face stayed happy and bright despite his obvious wornness. His dark hair had grown and been cut many times over. Now it rest at its military styled cut.

I always told him that it made him look a lot more handsome but, he didn’t believe me. He knew that his playful demeanor would still outshine his other attributes.

In my last briefing, I started as I got comfortable in the backseat of the truck. Vincent informed me that we’re on standby for what we were actually called back for. It gave him time to…review our last few assignments.

Review wasn’t the best word; decree them as a pile of utter failure was more like it.

I take it that’s not a good thing? Kaleb pondered on the thought of it for a while.

I assume his response could be compared to those electric collars that mothers put on Siren children, Nina sarcastically grinned as she started the truck.

The collars were a so-called safety precautions that electrocuted the wearer when they used their powers. People with unstable Siren children found them helpful despite how cruel they were.

Ever since we got here, we’ve been getting reassigned with these pointless jobs…you must have really pissed Vincent off. Kaleb innocently smiled.

As if you two had nothing to do with that, I gave him my usual sarcastic smile from the backseat.

He smiled back and turned forward.

I sighed as I removed my pistol and stared out of the small windows at the city in the distance, my home. The cold yet devastatingly beautiful city known as Flurine was a place that I had grown so hateful toward in the last three years; it was a place that was dying. It was already a very densely populated area of hopeless people but now, it was worse.

The city was layered by thin sheets of metal that let through parts of the sky. The scarce holes were a luxury though. On the top layer of the city were the middle and high class people, mostly humans and a couple of well-off Sirens who had connections. They all dressed nicely-lavish dresses and suits with expensive shoes and jewelry- and had a neighborhood full of lush trees, perfectly paved roads, and bright lights. The ExoCore building stood there, in the nicer part of town that touched the forest on the northern end.

Below however, was where everyone else was. The second layer was for those who just lacked large sums of money, the third for those mostly in hiding and on the verge of poverty –where I lived- and the last was full of Sirens and orphaned human children. They were mostly left for dead or too difficult to handle for whoever may have been their guardian. That was where Kaleb and Dimitri grew up.

The rest of Flurine wasn’t too bad but, compared to the city above the desert hell, it was poorly maintained at the least. We all were forced to wear rags and layers of old clothes to protect from the cold nights in the desert. We lacked many of the luxuries the rich had, like sufficient heat in the winter and paved roads. Because of that, we also had to wear boots to prevent from hurting ourselves and to maneuver the slums effectively.

In the day, the wear of the people, the riots, and the criminals were apparent. The buildings were falling apart, the streets were full of the homeless, and the people just drug themselves about, attempting to be somewhat happy about the life that they had. After all, it was better than being dead...at least that's what everyone convinced themselves of.

At night though, the city below lit up to rival the rest of Flurine. The color that was missing would come out and the left over lights would make it even more apparently beautiful. The metropolis looked like a tree during the winter solstice: majestic, bright, and hopeful. It was the time of day that most people came out. It was the beauty of it…that and the fact that soldiers weren’t as common at night.

Only at night was Flurine a beautiful place everywhere.

When I thought about Flurine, I knew partly of what Dimtri felt toward it. The loving regret he had was something I knew too well. Then again, the reason I even knew it was because of him. Dimitri West was the reason I was in the situation I was in.

Of course, as far as he went, I was advised to forget about him every day since the incident. The Council tried to convince me that he was a lost cause. Needless to say, despite what had happened, it wasn’t possible.

Besides, why should I stop? ExoCore and the Council were to blame for majority of this. On the surface, they were the world's savior and the first president of this New World Order was like their knight in shining armor. After all, he did cure all of the life threatening diseases that riddled the world.

In his moment of glory, everything was given to him on a silver platter. His company, ExoCore, ended up becoming somewhat of a government and, since he developed most of their weapons, the military was now in his possession to use as he wished. Despite the drastic changes to society, things were fine at first; it was the greatest time to be alive.

Not until the entire planet had this cure of his running through their veins did they realize it worked too well.

The ones deeply affected were called Sirens. The spawn of a curse is what others called them. They were all beautiful, hence the name Siren. Nearly flawless skin due to their abilities to heal faster, vividly colored eyes with no human aliments in sight; but, they were as dangerous and unstable as they could get. They possessed abilities that typically ranged from specific heightened senses and forms of telepathy and telekinesis; a few had other more specific abilities. The Specials is what other Sirens called them...they tended to be on the cocky side.

There was another downside to the vaccine though, aside from the superior threat they posed to humans of course.

As time went on, the cure was still being administered and, because of the already present dominant Siren gene in people, it had another effect. It birthed what we call Banshees. They were Sirens but, as their powers evolved, so did they. So much, that evolution merely relapsed.

Over time they became animalistic and lost all human inhibitions causing them to be uncivilized killing

Reviews for Siren

[halo776 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I've read several other books by this author and have found them to be enjoyable. Be forewarned, however, that this book is far different than Ms. Jacobs' usual pattern. It begins with a captain at sea (John Wall) who watches his last boat full of crewmen drifting away. He realizes he is destined to "go down with the ship" when he hears a song he's heard before. It's the siren's song, calling to him...calling him by name and begging him to come to her. He is tossed from the wreckage and floating on the stormy waves when she appears, and he succumbs to her beauty. Siren pulls him under the water, where they have sex and he begins breathing water and becomes a sea creature like her. They have more sex, and he begins to miss life on land. When he disobeys her, he realizes she has made him a slave. Although his life has been spared, he hates that a woman is telling him what to do and decides he'd rahter die than live a blissful, sex-filled life in the sea. He finds himself marooned on an island in Hawaii. The natives have stories about the sea goddess, and they tell him to stay away from the sea, or he will be killed. He later realizes he doesn't want to live as a human and he wants his Siren back. He goes to the sea and calls for her.... (You'll have to read to find out what happens next.)So, basically, this is a ridiculous story about a man who becomes almost like a merman and has a superficial relationship with an imaginary creature. There is no love story here. She's a mystery to him; he doesn't get to know her, and what we read isn't enough to form a substantial basis for romance. The best thing about this book is that it's short.