The Banished (Chapters 1-10)

By Drew Avera

In a future where people must live underground to survive, some must pay the ultimate sacrifice in order the human race to continue to exist. The banished are sent above ground so the rest of the community can thrive. Resources become the biggest hardship the colonist face and eventually it will all run out. How will humanity survive when life above ground is next to impossible?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Drew Avera
• Release date: Jun 29, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311578082

Drew Avera

I am an active duty navy veteran. I'm married with two kids and I live in Virginia. My first book, Dead Planet, was released in March 2013.

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The Banished

A dystopian story

By Drew Avera

All rights reserved 2014

Chapter 1

David Langstrom

The taste of sand entered my mouth despite my closed lips. The fine granules filtered through everything and burrowed themselves into the most obscure places on my body, some of those places more sensitive than others. But still I stood watch outside of the hangar, waiting for my relief which was hours away. The desert beckoned for me to abandon it, to seek shelter from the torrential downpour of wind and grit. 

I wasn't going to fall for it, though. Like many things, that beckoning was a yearning of my human nature and it threatened my safety, and the safety of my family inside.

The colonies thrived after years of nomadic wandering, but it's hard to stifle a people used to moving. This was the most hospitable place in at least a hundred years for my tribe and settling down was probably for the best, but still I wondered what else was out there. What awaited us in the fields of sand, covering the past and burying her secrets?

A stiff wind built up again and I closed my eyes against the onslaught of debris showering the air around me.

It might help if you had a pair of these, Javier said, shouting over the howling wind. I felt