Aurora: A Novella

By Dallas Tanner

Kaela Liston is a nineteen year-old thrift store worker whose only ambition is to get into the local dance club dressed like the member of a dystopian society. Appearance alone determines whether you get in or not. When she happens across a strange box filled with a suit straight out of a steampunk fantasy, she embarks on a wild adventure as her costume takes on a life of its own. Before the night is over, she will discover its hidden power and the final wish of its designer, a brilliant man forgotten by history. She embarks on a journey that may not only changer her life forever, but possibly the future of mankind as well. All she has to do is to remain one step ahead of her pursuers, and learn to control a suit that could just as easily destroy a building as ruin her life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogus Media Group, LLC
• Release date: Jun 6, 2017

Dallas Tanner

Dallas Tanner was born in 1956, at the stroke of midnight during the worst storm of the century to that date, in the seacoast township of North Kingston, Rhode Island. The eldest child of a career naval officer, he attended 9 schools in 12 years, as they moved about the country. His interest in local myths, legends and all things paranormal grew out of the ever-changing diversity of his upbringing.His first novel, “Shadow of the Thunderbird”, was required reading at a large technical college in South Carolina. He has frequently lectured, appeared on radio and television shows, and presented at conferences on his books and interest in cryptozoology. He is often cited in the media as an expert on unknown or unexpected animals. He was instrumental in salvaging Dan Taylor’s Nessie chaser mini-subs, the Viperfish and the Nessa II, and is currently pursuing an interest in fossil diving.When he isn’t exploring remote locations such as the Altamaha River, Mt. St. Helens or Loch Ness, Tanner is content to write novels under the watchful eye of Samwise, the longhaired Maine Coon that sleeps atop his monitor. Dallas now lives in Greenville, SC, with his wife Carla and their five children, where he is at work on his latest project. You can visit him online at www.dallastanner.com, and his publisher at www.trilogus.com.

Book preview

A U R O R A

By

Dallas Tanner

© 2017 BY Dallas Tanner

Part 1

In the small upstate New York town of Little Falls, a young woman leaned back against the alley wall of a thrift shop. She was lean and lanky, with one leg drawn up as she took her smoke break. Kaela Liston was not overly fond of vaping, but it bought her time twice a day to get away from her job. She preferred fruit-flavored liquids in her e-cigarette, mostly because it didn’t taste like smoking a tobacco product.

In truth, she could have done just as easily without it, and was always a little nervous about the health risks. She had heard vaping described as the lesser of the two evils, and then there was the possibility that the electronic device could blow up in her face. Either way, she was free from her apron and the cash register for a half hour daily. So, the risk by comparison was minimal.

She was nineteen years old and by all accounts bright college material. In high school, she never had to crack a book, but never put forth much effort to prove her intelligence. That is, until she decided to quit school and take her GED. She finished in the 99th percentile, but knew almost nothing about the world. She hoped to change that, by getting out of the only home and life she had ever known.

Her parents divorced when she was nine, and she had run away several times to find her father. Kaela’s mother refused to let her see him, and hid letters that told his daughter how much she meant to him. Also, that he had started another family. She found them when she was eighteen, and after that wanted nothing to do with either of her parents. They both had said they still loved her, even if they no longer loved each other.

In her mind, it was a complete lie. As often as not, she was used as a weapon for them to hurt each other. After she ran away the third time, it was no longer to try and find him. She just wanted to get away. By the time she was seventeen and considered an adult, she realized there was nowhere to run. Her few friends were getting married or going off to college, and she was left alone. Those that remained learned to keep their distance.

Desperate to find an identity and somewhere to belong, she started to dress and act Goth. She liked the dark colors because it simplified her wardrobe and the music because she was a terrible dancer. Freestyle suited her best, and nobody was looking for the latest moves at the only local club that catered to them. Kaela only managed to get to the front of the line on an adult night, but it wasn’t because they discovered she was a minor.

She was certain that the bouncers saw her as a poser trying to fit in, between the way she looked and how she acted. She passed by the club every night, as she rode home from work. All she wanted to do was to be allowed inside just once, and prove that she was as cool as any of them. She was the sole breadwinner and had to care for her alcoholic mother, but she was considered a flight risk and for that reason alone was denied the use of the car. If not for the Colliers, she and her mother would likely have no income and no place to live.

She was fair-skinned, with a light spray of freckles across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, almost ghostly in her own estimation. Kaela? She cut her pale green eyes beneath wispy flaxen bangs. They came to rest on the owner’s son, a fourteen-year-old boy she was certain had a crush on her. Mom says you need to get back inside. They’re unloading the truck from the storage unit, and you need to get it all checked in before you leave today. He only worked after school on Tuesdays and Fridays, but Martin Collier still pulled rank.

She looked down at him as she took one last long draw on her e-cig, before blowing out the billowing scented smoke. She then checked the battery on the device, and pressed the button on it several times to turn it off. Once she was sure it was deactivated, she let out a heavy sigh and placed it in her pocket. The metallic tube clinked against the bottle of liquid flavor she used to fill it.

"Tell Moira I still have five minutes left on my break. Kaela always emphasized the Second Chance thrift shop owner’s name. Better yet, don’t tell her anything. She’s in an especially bad mood today, and neither of us deserves to get yelled at for it." Martin stood there, not knowing what to think or do. He did have adolescent feelings for the tall girl before him, and they both knew he tattled if she treated him like a child.

This time, he almost felt as though she was also trying to spare him his mother’s wrath. After all, she seemed to hate her own store as much as the two forced to work there with her at minimum wage. Moira was pretentious, and put on airs that she was better than the wealthier customers who would occasionally come in to help the poor, including her. She had a daughter headed for college, and threw it in Kaela’s face whenever possible. Emily Collier had been Kaela’s best friend since middle school, and likely the only one she had left.

Satisfied that he had delivered the message and would not be killed for it, Martin turned on his heel with a smile and went back inside. Kaela shrugged and let her head and shoulders droop in resignation. It was a habit she picked up when she outgrew most of the kids in seventh grade. She tried to hide her height, but it was no use. She appeared to them to be timid and vulnerable, almost shy and that made her a target for their cruelty.

It was Emily who came to her defense, and she was the only one who stayed with her to this day. When she decided to drop out of school, no one ever spoke to her again. She wasn’t sure whether the teachers or the students cared less. Kaela couldn’t wait until six o’clock, when Emily would meet her and they would try again to sneak into the Clockworks club. Both of their mothers would be furious if they knew, but at least Emily’s father was still home and cared enough to ground his youngest daughter, if they happened to get caught.

Rather than go through the front door and alert the vigilant owner with the telltale bell over the threshold, Kaela went back through the alley to the loading dock. Sure enough, there was a rented moving van there waiting for her. The driver had two men helping him unload the last of a shipment from a storage unit auction Moira had won. From the looks of it, most of the boxes, containers and items were old, and in poor condition. However they got there or why they were abandoned, someone could no longer pay for them.

The shop was housed in an old hardware store, which made it easy for donations to be dropped off and larger sale items to be picked up in trucks. The rental van had its ramp extended, and the steel-toed boots of the workers rang as they crossed it. From the hollow sounds coming from within it, the van was already nearly empty. Kaela climbed up on the lip of the dock and eyed the stacked goods waiting for her to inventory.

Anything I can do to help? Kaela asked, as she sidled up to the driver. She looked down at the manifest he was doing his best to mark off, as the stock was unloaded. Looking back at the pile she would be expected to clear out before the shop closed, she felt even more overwhelmed and dejected. Even though what she made wasn’t enough to earn her independence, it bought her time away from her mother eight hours a day.

Nah, I think we’re good here. Thanks, the older man said, as he handed her the clipboard and had her sign for the shipment. She had no idea whether everything he claimed had been delivered was actually now in the stockroom, and she didn’t really care. The sooner she got started on checking it all in, the better. She wasn’t about to let her plans with Emily that night fall by the wayside. She had no intention of accounting for every bit of junk her miserly boss bought at auction. As long as it was in the stockroom with the doors closed, it was safe.

As far as she was concerned, someone wanted to get the dusty and rusted old antiques out of their sight. Forgetting, not wanting or being unable to pay for the unit they were stored in was nothing more than their way of saying that someone else could dump the trash for them. One man’s junk is another man’s treasure, she muttered under her breath, as she signed her name at the bottom of the slip to accept the shipment.

Ain’t it the truth, the driver chuckled, as he tore off the pink copy of the form and handed it to her. You have yourself a good day, young lady, he said, as his workers pushed the ramp back under the rear bumper of the rental van and pulled down the sliding door. He latched the hook on the tailgate without locking it, clapped his men on the back and they circled the truck to either side. The cab doors opened and slammed shut. The truck fired up with a belch of blue smoke, and Kaela coughed as it pulled away from the dock.

She walked to the side of the stockroom door, and pressed the button to close the bay door with the back of her fist. This was to be their last big delivery