Selected: The Zaratan Triology, #1

By Evelyn Lederman

Destruction.... A show of force... And a warning...

Three isolated towns across the world have been destroyed in a show of force by alien invaders. It is a clear warning of what will occur if their demands are not fulfilled. The fulfillment: Human children between the ages of twelve through fifteen years.

Kara Howard is an unremarkable fourteen-year-old girl who is selected by the aliens. She will be physically and socially orientated during the six months it will take to arrive at the planet Zaratan. The girl who liked the safety of being invisible, cannot help but stand out.

Matt Sparks, the boy next door, is also selected. Kara has had a crush on him for as long as she can remember. He vows to safeguard her. The closer they get to their destination, the more difficult it becomes to live up to his promise.

Kara is unsure if she has the strength to withstand the trials and physical changes she is forced to go through. In a new life, Kara will be torn. Will she be drawn in by an alien boy who has shown interest in her or by the powerful patriarch who sees her as the future of his race?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Evelyn Lederman
• Release date: May 31, 2016
• ISBN: 9780996629867

Book preview

Acknowledgements

Thanks to my content/line editor Tina for getting me through the start of a brand new series. Her guidance over the last two years has been invaluable.

A special thanks to Lori Garside for being my grammar policewoman and providing me additional feedback.

As always, Fiona Jayde has given me a killer cover. She is always able to realize the vision I have in my head. This one was especially difficult, since nothing started in my head from a visual standpoint.

Thanks to Tamara for doing the formatting I just do not have the patience to do. She does an awesome job!

To Sue T., who complained I needed to write something her granddaughter could read.

To all the Science Fiction fans out there whose lives were shaped by Star Trek and Star Wars. There cannot be enough Science Fiction, period!

Contents

Acknowledgements

THE INVASION

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

LEVEL ONE INITIATE

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

LEVEL TWO INITIATE

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

LEVEL THREE INITIATE

CHAPTER 8

LEVEL FOUR INITIATE

Chapter 9

LEVEL FIVE INITIATE

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

LEVEL SIX INITIATE

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

About the Author

THE INVASION

Chapter 1

Barrow, Alaska was gone in a blink of an eye. The small town north of the Arctic Circle had disappeared. Although there was no rubble or nuclear fallout, the United States pointed their finger at the Russians. When the same thing happened to an isolated settlement in Siberia, both governments looked to the heavens.

With the world in turmoil, everything in Kara Howard’s life turned upside down. She had thought her parents invincible. For the first time in her life, she saw fear in their eyes. They became engrossed in their respective jobs as a means to replace abject fear with a more familiar anxiety. When home together, the family was glued to the television, expecting all their questions to be answered. Cable and network news filled their programming by reporting the same stories, but with slightly different slants to keep their viewership.

She and her brother, Kyle, attended school as usual, but their classrooms were half full. Parents were removing their children to spend what little time they had left together. Classes were combined since many of the teachers did not report to work. Everyone tried to create a sense of normalcy in a world on the brink of unknown destruction. They failed miserably.

When a third city was destroyed in China, a satellite captured a beam of light coming from deep space. Its origin was unknown, but it was proof Earth was being invaded by aliens. People around Kara were so wrapped up in their own uncertain fates, they did not mourn the Chinese citizens who no longer existed.

A week had come and gone since the attack on Barrow. As far as she knew, the aliens had not contacted any government. Kara joined her father on the couch, his gaze never leaving the television screen. Father and daughter would spend another night sitting together, while he surfed every news channel in search of some explanation for the alien’s actions.

He wrapped his arm around Kara. How are you holding up, baby? She was the youngest and fourteen, but her father still used the endearment. There was comfort in the name and the way he said it.

I’m scared, Daddy. Why haven’t they told us what they want? Kara thought it was silly to keep a brave front at this point. The world was panicking, so why shouldn’t she?

I wish I knew.

It must have cost her father a lot to admit not being able to answer her question. She had always gone to him for explanations when she could not find answers on her own. Her father had always been the one she ran to and confided in. There was nothing her father did not know until this point. Regardless, he was still her hero.

They sat in silence as, channel after channel, none of the news anchors could answer her simple question. Heads of state addressed their nations with no concrete explanation given. Radio signals were broadcast into space so the aggressors would know we were aware of their presence and what they had done.

Her mother returned home from work each evening, then locked herself in her bedroom and cried. Kara could not understand how she functioned at work only to return to her family an emotional wreck. Shouldn’t she make more of an effort to support her family, rather than the strangers at work? Her father often tried to lure her out of their room, but all he ended up doing was starting an argument. As far as Kara was concerned, her mother should have stayed at work.

Kyle, unable to handle the friction at home, stayed out with his friends most of the time. She had no idea what they did when they were together and Kara figured she didn’t want to know. What good were rules and regulations at this point?

On the tenth day, a message was broadcast to the citizens of Earth. Kara was home watching television when the message came through. She had stopped attending school. It seemed senseless to show up for class when only a handful of students and teachers were present. Her parents didn’t seem to care either way.

The aliens had hijacked the world’s communication networks to share their message with Earth’s population. A man with a slight violet tint to his skin appeared. In the background were symbols Kara did not recognize. The set looked odd, like they may be three dimensional, but her flat television did not adequately display the alien cyphers.

One of the images resembled a bolt of lightning on a purple background. The other contained various stripes crossing what appeared to be a planet or a moon. Earth’s technology did not seem to adequately handle the telecast. The being stared into the camera and Kara leaned forward in her chair to get closer to the screen.

He appeared to be human, except for his light purple skin. The alien had light brown hair and the camera was too far away to make out the color of his eyes. Even his ears appeared normal.

When he first spoke, all she heard was gibberish; and Kara felt stupid that she had expected him to speak English. A translation finally came through in a tinny monotone, a computer obviously translating his words to the innumerable languages of the Earth’s diverse population.

Kara was alone when she learned her possible fate. The visitors wanted human children between the ages of twelve and fifteen. Sixteen-year-old Kyle was safe.

In two days, every child who met the age requirement was required to report to their schools. Children who were home schooled were to attend their local public school. For every child not in attendance, the city they lived in would be destroyed. The aliens had chosen isolated towns to demonstrate their power. This time, they would destroy a city regardless of its population.

She lived in a suburb of Chicago. Just one absent child would dictate the fate of the whole city and the aliens had already proven what they were capable of doing.

Kara’s stomach roiled with the news. She ran to the bathroom and threw up the lunch she had eaten an hour earlier. Her hands shook as she turned on the water to brush her teeth. The child that stared back at her from the mirror was white as a ghost.

She fell to the bathroom rug. Curled up like a baby, she cried until she had no tears left. It was hours later when her father finally found her.

Kara awoke the next morning to a deserted house. It was possibly her last day on Earth and she had been abandoned. Tired of feeling sorry for herself, Kara decided to spend the day at her favorite place.

She pulled her bicycle from the garage and peddled to the beach. Rather than taking the steep driveway down to the water, Kara parked her bike in the south parking lot and walked down to the beach. It was a cold and windy day, so she was surprised she was not the only person to seek refuge on the shores of Lake Michigan. The sand was crowded with families spending what little time they had left with their young teenagers.

A feeling of isolation engulfed Kara. She took off her shoes and walked along the shoreline. The water was frigid, but that did not hinder the feeling of peace spreading through her soul. It was why she came here. The beach always made her feel better. Kara wondered, ‘If I am one of the selected, will the distant planet have a similar place?’

She looked up, gazing at the bright sun. There was not a cloud in the sky. No large spaceship was hovering over Chicago like in Independence Day. Although she searched the heavens, there was no evidence of the alien presence everyone knew was lurking overhead.

The waves roared to shore. Even Lake Michigan echoed the turmoil of the world’s population. Kara sat just past where the water broke onto the flat sandy beach. She closed her eyes and let the sound embrace her. Kara was making a memory. Wherever fate led her, she could always return here in her mind.

Kara? A familiar voice broke her concentration.

She turned to see Matt Sparks standing beside her. Normally, she would have been thrilled to see the boy she had a crush on for as long as she could remember. Today, he was just a reminder of all she had to lose.

Matt lived two doors down. He was the blond haired, blue eyed boy of every girl’s dream. He was tall and lean, and not too skinny like a lot of boys his age. Kara went to the JV football games to support her neighbor, who was the team’s quarterback.

Hi, Matt, Kara said.

He sat beside her. Together they watched the waves rhythmically pound the sand before their feet. She wondered what was going through Matt’s mind. He was fifteen and shared her uncertain fate.

Are you nervous about tomorrow? Matt asked. His voice had an unusual tremor to it.

Perhaps he was seeking comfort. Kara knew his parents were going through a bitter divorce. The Sparks’ public verbal sparring matches were legendary on the block. Matt was a pawn in his parents’ legal battle. He was alone today, like she was.

The odds were she would never see him again. Why not be honest? I am scared to death I will be chosen. I’ve been ordinary my whole life. Knowing my luck, tomorrow I will be extra-ordinary.

Matt laughed, a glorious sound. She made another memory. He had the perfect smile and her heart skipped a beat. Matt was not hers to lose, but she felt the loss just the same.

Special K, Matt said, wherever you are or whatever you do, it will be special. She loved the name he dubbed her when she was five. Our parents really suck!

It was her turn to laugh and she did so until tears ran down her face. The Fates had gifted her with a perfect day after all. She leaned back on her elbows and tilted her head back, her long brown hair pooling onto the sandy beach. The sun’s warmth beat on her face, further enhancing her uplifted mood.

"A part of me wants to be selected, Matt admitted. The Earth is so limiting now we know space travel is possible. We will always live in fear of them returning. There has been no discussion about sharing technology. They are here to take, not give."

Kara turned her head to look at Matt. She had not thought of the benefits of being taken, only the disadvantages. Would life on Earth for those left behind go back to normal when the aliens departed?

I haven’t looked at it that way, Kara said. My thoughts were limited to being forced to leave my friends and family. They destroyed three towns and murdered thousands of people.

Whose side do you want to be on, Kara? Matt asked. How many millions have died in our wars, were victims of genocide, or died from starvation? The way I look at it, they could have shown their strength choosing to destroy Mexico City, Tokyo, or Mumbai.

Kara sighed and fell back on the sand. The sun heated the pulverized shells, their warmth felt great against her back. This discussion was getting too serious. She wanted to laugh with Matt, not dwell on their bleak reality.

He lay next to her. How she wished he would take her hand. Their fates would be sealed tomorrow. Would she ever lie on the shores of Lake Michigan again?

Chapter 2

Kara walked between her father and brother on the sidewalk they had been down thousands, if not millions, of times in the past. The maple lined street was beautiful as autumn’s colder weather caused the leaves to dramatically change color and ultimately fall from the trees. She always hated raking the dead leaves. If she was around to do the chore, she would never complain again about spending a Saturday morning helping her father.

Her mother was in her bedroom crying about losing her baby. As usual, it was all about her. Her mother showed no consideration to Kara, who was in danger of being taken by the aliens. It hurt that her mother had not even bothered to say goodbye. Kara’s father tightened his grip on her hand, instinctively knowing what she was thinking.

When they got to the high school, family members were forced to wait behind ropes while each child was checked in. Kara spotted her best friends in line and joined them. She had known Martha Coolidge and Rachel Roth her whole life. The three girls quickly embraced and moved together as the line shifted forward. The fear in both her friends’ eyes was not hard to miss. She imagined her own brown eyes had the same trepidation.

Too afraid to speak, they continued inching forward, ever closer to the violet tinted men and women who took inventory of the children present. Their faces were covered by transparent masks that Kara imagined filtered some toxin in Earth’s air. Her eyes scanned the crowd, hoping everyone had heeded the aliens’ warning about what non-compliance would cost the city. Kara had noticed several of her neighbors going door to door as they walked to the school.

When she made it to the front of the line Kara gave her name. She was provided an identification badge that had her full name, address, and something similar to a bar code printed on it. Kara was instructed to enter the gymnasium and occupy any available chair.

Had the aliens learned English or just enough to communicate orders? No one was brave enough to ask questions. Kara simply complied with her instructions, like the other children.

Hundreds of chairs were situated in the gym, each with a small machine in front of each chair. She found an empty spot and sat. Kara noted Matt was three chairs in front of her on the left. He sat without conversing with the boys next to him.

Considering how many children were in the gym, she was surprised at how quiet it was. She heard sniffles and kids throughout the large room blowing their noses. Crying had not helped the night before. Kara sat in the chair, numb. She just wanted to get whatever this was over and done with and hopefully be released to her father.

A boy in his mid-to-late-teens came forward to address the children. He looked like any other boy in the room, except for the color of his skin and the mask that covered most of his face. His skin’s violet pigment made his brown eyes more pronounced. It was a ridiculous thought to think the boy was cute.

My Earth name is Jim, the alien said. I was once in the position you find yourselves in now. Today you will be assessed to determine if you will have the honor of embarking on an amazing adventure. Before you are small projectors that will display questions. To respond, simply touch the air in front of your answer. Once the machine logs your reply, the next question will be displayed.

The boy turned and walked to the side, not asking if there were any questions. Kara thought it was strange he spoke English without an accent. Had he learned it after they identified Earth as their destination?

Her eyes were still focused on the good looking alien when the projector turned on and displayed the first question.

What would you rather do on a Sunday morning?

A. Go to church

B. Sleep in

C. Have brunch with your family

D. Take a walk in the woods

Kara stared at the question. Was there a right answer? Her mother was Jewish and her father was Lutheran, and she did not attend church or temple. She was a morning person and rarely slept in. Restaurants were her parent’s public fighting arenas. Out of a process of elimination, Kara selected D. She touched the air near her selected answer. The machine temporarily stopped displaying the question as it recorded Kara’s response.

While the machine prepared the next question, Kara surveyed the area around her. Her neighbors were placing their fingers in the air, although Kara could not see what was being projected. Was everyone getting the same questions? Lights flashed in her eyes, as the machine projected the next question.

What is your favorite subject?

A. History

B. Math

C. Art

D. Biology

She knew what her favorite subject was, but should she answer based on what she felt or what she believed would get her rejected by the aliens? That was of course, assuming she knew what the violet beings were after. If she chose history, would the aliens believe she was too tied to Earth to be considered? She presumed math and science would most interest beings from outer space. Kara could barely draw a straight line, so art was definitely out. She raised her finger and selected her favorite subject: history.

Like before, the little machine recorded her answer and another question followed. She glanced forward and noticed Matt was ra cing through the test. Kara wondered what his strategy was. Another question appeared for Kara to consider.

What was your first reaction to the news you could be selected?

A. Cried alone

B. Ran to your parents

C. Attended church

D. Looked at it as an adventure

Kara immediately selected that she had cried alone. Had her father been home, she would have run into his arms, but he had not been. She had been left alone to deal with the most frightening news of her young life. What if she had to face similar bad news alone in the future?

More situational questions were presented to her. She figured the aliens would cross reference her answers and develop a personality profile to determine if she was a viable subject. What would they do with the children they took? The aliens had been very specific in the age range they were interested in.

As children finished their tests, Kara noticed that when a white light was emitted the child was dismissed. Occasionally the light was purple and that subject was held over for further testing. Matt finished and a violet light immediately bathed his face. If worse came to worst and her result was the same, at least Kara wouldn’t be alone.

Kara continued to take the assessment as the gym began to thin out. She was a slow reader, so she was not surprised to be one of the last to finish the first exam. To her surprise, a violet light projected from the machine situated in front of her. Kara would participate in the next stage of testing. She estimated only twenty percent of the original group remained.

Unlike the first part of the test, this portion included photos of natural wonders, places, buildings, and other images taken throughout the world. Below each photo were four possible answers. She easily identified the Grand Canyon, the Mona Lisa, and a portrait of Abraham Lincoln. However, she had to guess the identity of the vast majority of the pictures. She had difficulty even eliminating wrong answers from the choices provided.

To her utter amazement, another purple light glowed in front of her after Kara finished that section of the test. Only ten children remained in the now nearly deserted gym. They were instructed to stand and remain stationary to have their bodies scanned.

Kara stood still while a yellow light surveyed her body. She was too petrified to move. The ray from the projector expanded as it continued to evaluate what type of condition she was in and if she was disease free. She jumped back, startled when the light changed to a deep purple.

An alien dressed all in black turned off the machine and approached her. I will need just a drop of your blood. Please give me your finger, you will not feel a thing.

Kara had blood drawn from her finger before and knew she would feel a little discomfort. To her surprise, she didn’t even feel the expected pinch. The technician placed a salve over the small prick and she watched in amazement as the small incision healed before her eyes.

All the remaining children were told to take a seat and would soon be given instructions. The examinations were over and now they were just compiling each child’s psychological and