Shadows of Fire and Death (YA Dystopian Thriller)

By Dawn Brazil

Mandalyn and the other enhanced are in a race to discover why the Collaborators and HAI want them. Not knowing who to trust is a problem but they know they can depend on each other.

Until enemies posing as friends start to expose themselves and implicate some of the enhanced in their treachery. Can Andi trust all of her new family? Can she even trust her feelings for Will?

Beneath all the uncertainty of who to trust lies the fundamental problem: everyone is going to die. How can they stop them? Can they save themselves without becoming the enemy, too?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dawn Brazil
• Release date: Apr 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005482640

Dawn Brazil

Dawn wants to live in a world inhabited by fictional characters. She thinks fictional characters are cooler than real people. Since the world is not comprised of dreamy book boyfriends, she creates them for everyone to fawn over.When she is not writing, she can be found with her nose in a book - swooning over another book boyfriend, drying up tears from a recent heartbreak, or shouldering a wound she received in battle. She also loves to create magic in the kitchen with an array of inspiring dishes she pulls from Pinterest. Dawn lives in South Texas with her sports-obsessed husband, three technology-infatuated teenagers, and her great, big, colossal imagination.And she is passionate about superheroes – especially Wonder Woman!

Book preview

Chapter 1

My new family slips into the aerial pod and are gone in a matter of minutes. My heart palpitates its distaste at the unpleasantness.

Unfortunately, there's no time to be sad, LT says, standing beside me at the front door of Will’s house. The once-bustling space is too quiet. There is no laughter from Stretch, or yelling from Hunter, or sarcastic comments from Toni to cut through the abundance of silence that folds around us. They’ll be here soon to collect us. I straighten and plaster on a disingenuous smile. You don’t have to be fake yet. I understand how you feel, though. I feel it, too.

Having LT here is great, but sending Will, Toni, and Sam with the other enhanced makes a sourness slither up the back of my throat. Not long ago, I wouldn’t have cared about what they did; now I can’t imagine life without them.

The misinformation we’re fed is excruciatingly annoying. We don’t know who to trust, and that means we can’t trust anyone… but each other. To the core of me, I want to trust my maybe-mother, or even my unstable, irritable father, but that is the selfish part of me rising to the surface. I try and try with all my might to fight against the pull to these people I am obligated to call parents.

The struggle is real and arduous, and I’m flailing constantly, but the effort is there.

LT pushes away from the sidelight at the front and wraps me up. For the longest time, we embrace each other tightly. It doesn’t erase the uncertainty or mend the ache for Will, but it helps. I push away first and plop down a few feet away to the oak steps to wait for Viper to take us to our new home.

For the first time, I’m questioning my decision to leave everyone else. For the first time, my legs buckle in fear. For the first time, I grit my teeth and bite my bottom lip, but try to stand tall.

We’re going to do this. Together, we’ll be fine. Right? I ask. He smiles down at me.

It’s not going to be easy. His voice breaks on the end. Sorry. I nod.

I know it’s going to be hard. I kinda figured. With his ability to see the future, I thought my decision to only have the two of us go with Will’s newfound mother, Viper, might raise an alarm with him. It didn’t, so that raised an alarm with me.

But of everyone, we can take it. That’s why everyone else had to go. Because what’s about to happen needs to happen—must happen for us to win. But it’s not going to make me your favorite person.

Yes, I know, I sigh. I sense the danger ahead… like maybe Will gave me part of his enhancement before he left.

I wish we could all run away and hide together. But I know that’s the coward in me still rearing her head. And I thought Hunter had squashed her.

We will never be safe. They will find us no matter where we are. We just need to find out who they are. With so many groups pretending to be our friends, it’s supremely confusing. One minute we’re certain it’s HAI, then it’s the Collaborators. And this whole business about the promised other world. It’s discombobulating.

My skin crawls with anticipation. I spread my fingers across my lap and inhale a deep breath. My patience wears thinner than Toni.

I glance at my lifepod watch again. I thought they would be here fifteen minutes ago. LT shrugs. I guess punctuality is too much to ask for. Should we really trust these people to keep us safe if they can’t at least be on time? He smiles over at me.

His smile is beautiful. I’ve been consumed with staying alive, and with Will. I’ve almost forgotten that LT is still a striking guy—just not who I ended up needing. Life’s funny. I would have done just about anything in the past to have unbridled access to him and now that I have it, I can’t stop thinking about Will’s face as he left the house—the worry in his eyes—the several scans he performed on me before giving LT a pointed look as he closed the door behind him.

My feet tap out a rhythmless beat on the tile floor. Since we seem to have time, tell me something no one else knows about you. Something you haven’t even shared with Will, LT says.

I smile. That’s hard. I’m pretty basic. I don’t have any deep, dark secrets.

Everyone has secrets. Trust me, he says with a lift of his brow.

Yes, I trust you. I can’t think of anything to tell, though. Maybe you should go first. He sits forward in his chair. I sit forward, also.

Right now, there are multiple outcomes for how this plays out. I’ve seen the moves we make for us to live. And I’ve seen the moves that cause us to die. Right now, we are on a track to living, but one split-second decision, one unintentional slip-up could cause us all to die. And I can’t see those all the time. For some reason, I cannot see someone’s spontaneous decision to do something. Someone’s spur-of-the-moment change can wipe us all out forever. That’s one of the reasons I never tell my visions until I’m ready.

I stretch my legs across the two bottom steps and sigh loudly. That’s a profound weight you’re carrying for us. And I realize how much pressure that’s got to be. I, for one, would never want to be you. I smile over at him, and he returns my smirk.

Actually, I think it would be worst to be you. My smile fades. I can tell all my predictions and visions of the future, but if anything happened, it’s you who’s tasked with making sure we all make it. No one else has your gift of healing. No one else in the world. Think about that. How badly do you think they want you? And how bad do you think you’ll feel if you can’t save one of us?

I sigh. I’m firmly opposed to taking lives, so I think my gift is fitting. I do understand the need to protect myself, so I might have to fight, but if I can help it, I’ll only be restoring order. I’m proud of this gift. I’m determined to save every one of us. Letting someone die in our group isn’t even within the realm of possibility for me.

I know. Family means so much more to you. I know we’re in good hands.

LT looks up at me, then at the front door. They’re here, he says with a grave expression.

Wow. Don’t be so excited about this.

I push up from the steps, grab my bag from the floor, and head toward the door. My bones creak with uncertainty and my head is consumed with questions that will most likely be eaten alive by my self-doubt. LT grabs my hand before I slip by him. No matter what happens, I want you to fight. Never give up, or give in to what they want.

What who wants?

Yeah, I’m pretty vague here because this is one of those times I can’t fully explain. I just want you to know that you are capable of more than you think. I nod but don’t fully understand his words.

Oh, and my secret that no one knows—I have it. I smile over at him and feel a bit foolish.

What is it?

I had a crush on you for years. I scoot past him quickly so I don’t have to see his expression. Instead, I hear his laughter.

I knew that already.

I turn to face him. What? No, you didn’t.

Of course, I did. He laughs again. And I was extremely flattered, but I’m really happy about what I see with you and Will.

Yeah, that totally surprised me.

Believe me, me too. You probably don’t know, but he came to talk with me about you, after all this first started. I can’t tell you what he said, or I’ll be violating our bro code, but it was all good. He laughs.

I don’t comment. I smile, because I’m sure whatever Will said would make me care for him even more. For a guy so military-bred, he has these tender moments that steal my breath away.

We make it to the front door and turn at the same moment to look at our home for the past few weeks. A bittersweet sensation washes over me at saying goodbye. I know we won’t be coming back here, and this is the last time I’ll ever see this place. This is where everything came to fruition for us—where we discovered our enhancements and our new family.

Chapter 2

The waiting aerial pod is all black, and two guys dressed in dark blue cargo pants and black t-shirts that fit too snugly stand on either side of the opened doors.

They don’t speak as we approach them. The wind blows a light breeze as we traipse toward what feels very much like danger. A wisp of earth and disinfectant floats to my nostrils as we stand at the entrance to the pod. We step inside and take a seat in the back row of the four-passenger pod. Our safety restraints are fastened, and the two guys are back inside and seated with no words exchanged between any of us. There is no display on the pod windows for us to view.

I glance over at LT. He’s looking out the window and paying no mind to me or the guys in front of us. Something churns in my belly. My lifepod beeps with a notification from Learning Station. We haven’t been for over two weeks. We didn’t see the point anymore.

LT turns and stares at me for a long moment. Give it.

I hand him the pod and he does something I’ve never done before. He turns it off.

I inhale a sharp breath, then I relax. Honestly, the lifepods are a method for the government to track us. The government knows full well how we are, and a lifepod won’t help in our situation.

I sit back and stare at the back of the two guys' heads in front of us. One guy's hair has two shades of burnt orange that looks like two suns competing for dominance. The other guy has dark brown shoulder-length hair—like a woman. Neither look at us or converse with one another.

Hello, I say leaning forward. No one responds. Hello, I say with more force in my voice.

The one with the dueling suns hair turns and looks at me like I just interrupted his eight-hour sleep allotment. What? he says.

I smile. His face is a stone wall. Are you in distress? he asks.

No. I was just saying hi. It’s a thing called common courtesy. When you meet someone new, you greet them. Suns-head looks over at the girly man and then back to me. Irritation shows in his clenched jaw.

Sit back and be quiet. We’re not here to make friends, he says.

Whatever, I say. I’m not trying to be your friend, either, asshole.

LT laughs beside me. I glance over and wink at him. He turns back to the window.

A voice crackles through a lifepod attached to Girly-man’s waist. Have you collected them?

Yes, Girly-man says into his lifepod with the push of a button on the side.

The voice on the other end sounds gruff and is definitely not Viper.

I sit forward. Who is that on the radio?

Sit back, Suns-head says.

No. Who was that? That’s not Viper. I demand to know who that is. I ask, trying to make my voice as forceful as possible.

Do I have to restrain you, Miss? Suns-head says, turning more in his seat.

I’d like you to try it, LT says, sitting forward. We’re not prisoners. So, we have a right to know who’s on the other end of that receiver barking out orders.

Suns-head looks over at Girly-man and shrugs. It’s your daddy, little boy. Suns-head throws his head back, laughing. Girly-man joins in on the joke, slapping his beefy hand to his knees.

LT pushes me back in the seat. Don’t waste your breath on them. They’re just the help anyway, he says with a smirk.

I nod and glance out the window. For a few minutes, no one talks or moves. The quiet is unnerving.

Okay, we only need the female, the voice starts again. The male is expendable. The voice from before says. LT and I glance at each other with pinched brows.

Before I can contemplate the meaning, Suns-head thrusts a gun into LT’s face. You want to throw some insults now, little boy?

I swallow hard, but not a lick of fear touches me. Not for me, at least. LT is not an immortal. LT is not capable of healing himself. He is not military breed like Will and Hunter, and he cannot anticipate their moves as quick as Toni.

I’m terrified for him.

Suns-head says, So, seems I’ve got to get rid of your dude here.

LT smiles. I frown at him. Sun-head laughs and sits forward.

I don’t really care about killing you, but I’m not going to do it in my aerial pod. Too much mess to clean for my HM2000. I’ll do you when we get to base.

Where is he taking us? What is base? He must not be with Viper? If he’s not with Viper, who’s he working with? Maybe he is with Viper and this was her plan all along.

Girly-man turns and brandishes two sets of metal handcuffs. Here, he gives one to me and the other to LT. Suns-head points the gun back at our heads. Cuff yourselves.

We do as we’re told. The cuffs instantly bite into my skin with their stiffness. The more I squirm, the tighter they fit around my wrists.

I try for stillness. It’s impossible. My eyes wander over to LT and he’s staring out the window. Did he know this was going to happen? Was this someone’s spontaneous decision? Is this something he missed? How could he not prepare us for this? Why did he think it such a good idea for Will not to be here? Or Hunter?

At that moment, LT glances over at me and smiles. I swallow hard, as his smile is laced with a tremendous amount of conflicting emotions, and I can’t even begin to decipher how he feels. I frown at him. His eyes move from me to Suns-head in front of me. Then he turns and stares out the window again.

I blink at his back for several seconds. Before I can even allow the thought to form in my head, I do what I need to, what I must do to possibly save us. My thoughts are shielded by the total eclipse I create in my mind.

I release my safety restraint with a swift click. Ping!

My hands are up and around Suns-heads neck in a matter of seconds. I’m not sure what I’m doing, but I’m doing it. Or trying to do it.

The gun in his hand flails wildly. I force the cuffs deeper into his neck. The metal of the cuff stings my wrists and digs tighter into his soft flesh. He releases a bullet, but it zigs around my head and slams against the rear window.

The glass is impenetrable.

He squirms to break free, but my grip is pulling him too tightly for him to maneuver much. Girly-man has drawn his weapon and he points it at my head.

LT swiftly punches him in the jaw. His head falls to his chin and his eyes close. Get his gun, I yell. Instead, LT squares his shoulders and goes out of my line of sight. I can’t watch what LT is doing anymore because Suns-head is giving me too much of a fight.

I fall back against the seat and wait for the guy to stop squirming. I just need to restrict his air flow enough for him to pass out so we can get away.

His endless flailing doesn’t stop, though. I lower my shoulders and push in deeper.

Please guy, don’t make me do this. Just stop moving. My eyes water and my breaths come quick. If I only make him pass out, he’ll be up and after us again in no time.

Shit. What am I saying? Tears fall down my cheeks as Suns-head goes motionless finally. But I don’t release him.

My hands are clammy with sweat and fear.

I still don’t stop the restriction of his air flow. The realization of what I’m doing smacks me in the head.

I’m trying to suck in air, trying to find any semblance of me I can cling to. I’m failing. Tears obstruct my line of vision. I vowed to save lives. What the hell am I doing?

But I have to kill him. He’ll only attack and kill LT later. I can’t be a coward forever.

A loud snap has my eyes cutting to LT and Girly-man.

Where is LT? I can’t see him in my line of sight still. I feel the bulge in my eyes as I try to hold on to Suns-head and look over my shoulder for my friend.

Girly-man has lifted his head and he points his weapon at me again. I produce one final quick thrust to the seat with Suns-head in it with the back of my legs. The crack isn’t as loud as I thought it would be.

Still, it happened.

I killed a man. My hands fall away and I turn my head to the side as vomit spews from my mouth. I gag several times before I can sit up straight.

Girly-man slams his fist into the side of my face just as I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. For all of three seconds, stars shoot across my vision and my face feels like someone hit it with a metal bat.

Then nothing.

I shove my arms from Suns-head’s broken neck and he slumps to the side in the cream leather seat.

Girly-man glowers at me from beneath his lashes.

I glance back to find LT. My heart sprints out of my chest. LT is unmoving, and a bullet is stuck in the middle of his forehead. His eyes are open, and his tongue hangs from his mouth.

I scream. And scream again.

I throw my hands in his direction, but Girly-man snatches me before I can touch him.

No! I push his hands away, trying to get to LT. Girly-man’s hands are solid around mine. They allow no give, and I’m exhausting myself trying to squirm out of his hold. Tears pool and spill from my eyes and my breaths burst into the air like they want to run away from the pod.

Please. I whimper. I only want to hold him once before he dies. Please. The girly man rolls his eyes and pulls me forward in the seat.

He’s dead. He was dead as soon as he stepped into this aerial pod. Get over it.

He pulls me out of my seat like he wants me to sit on the floor in front of him. Why hasn’t the aerial pod registered the scene? Why haven’t the authorities been summoned? Why, at the least, hasn’t an alarm been raised that we have our safety restraints released in the flow of traffic?

His shove sends me plummeting to the carpet, away from LT.

I’m on my back. LT is dead. I have no idea where I’m going or what I can do to get out of this situation.

I can’t lay here and let things happen. I must make them happen. Aerial pod emergency stop code 7894! I shout.

The fuck— Girly-man shouts.

The aerial pod comes to a screeching halt. The impact of the sudden jolt throws Girly-man from his unrestrained seat and his large body is thrust into the air. I draw my legs back and issue a swift kick to his face.

My boot makes contact with his nose and forehead. Blood gushes from the blow to his nose and splatters across my face. His body falls like a ragdoll to the seat he once occupied.

He doesn’t move.

I inhale my scream, scramble to my feet, and throw myself at LT. My hands are planted on either side of his head and then I wait.

His body convulses within seconds of my touch.

The aerial pod still hovers over the city. Aerial pod, land at the next safe strip. The aerial pod glides us out of dead space and onto a tree-lined street.

LT no longer twitches, but still shows no signs of life. My stomach freefalls and I might vomit again. I take a deep breath and try to blink away the nausea that rocks me to the core.

LT can’t be dead. Is there a time limit on how quickly I need to touch them? Is it too late to bring him back? I place both my hands on his forehead and close my eyes.

Please. Please. Please. Come back. For a long moment, I sit with my hands plastered across his forehead and nothing happens. I fall back against the cushions of the seat.

Coherent thoughts are a struggle. I’m lost.

What am I going to do? I glance at LT again. Oh god. This isn’t happening. I shatter the silence with my unrestrained wails of grief.

How could he not know that this was going to happen? How could he not prepare us better for this? I grit my teeth against the swell of anger that bubbles through me. I’m seething. Trying to contain this is fruitless. Staying in this aerial pod with three dead guys isn’t helping me, either.

I pull myself to my feet, pushing Girly-man from my walking space. I hit the button on the side to release the pod doors. A rush of wind slams into me as the door slides open. I glance back at LT for a quick last-minute check. He’s not moved a muscle. My eyes water and realization crashes into me.

He’s not coming back. I’ll never see my friend again… my brother.

An ache rises up the back of my throat and takes up permanent residence. Tears roll down my face but I force myself out of the pod and away from the carnage. As soon as my feet hit the pavement, a gun is forced at my temple.

What the hell did you do in here, little girl? a masculine voice says. He glances at me like I could not possibly have caused the calamity inside the pod. His eyes wander back inside the pod as I stand inches from him. Move your ass up against the fence. He points the gun toward the ragged gray fence in front of me with the shove of his hand. I take a giant step forward.

Careful there, Killer, not too quick, another guy dressed in black says. I measure my steps as I wrack my brain for how to get out of this. Once I’m at the fence, I turn to face them. My mouth falls open.

The entire tree-lined street is full of black aerial pods. A dozen sets of eyes stare at me through the barrels of weapons. My eyes scan from right to left. A few dozen red dots fall on me at random points.

Chapter 3

A guy with blond shoulder-length hair and no gun walks over to me. He punches me in the face with his balled fist. I stumble to my knees, scraping my knuckles on the concrete. I take a deep breath and scramble back to a standing position.

Anger gurgles inside me like a pot of stew. I’m not at simmer. Something is bubbling up inside of me and I don’t know if I’ll be able to contain it much longer.

The blond guy is still staring down at me with beady eyes, pinched brows, and breath that smells like something might have died in his mouth. I smile up at him. He balls his fist again, but the first guy grabs his hand and pushes him back.

You killed his brothers, the first guy says in the way of an explanation. He thrusts the barrel of his gun toward the aerial pod. My smile grows broader. Wow. You’re a twisted little girl.

I’m not a little girl, I say. If you put the gun down and fight me, I can show you. My insides hurt with the need to laugh. I can’t believe I just said that. Well, I can’t very well fight them while they have the guns. Since I have zero fighting skills, I can’t fight them at all.

But I can’t be killed, so, I could run. Just turn around in the opposite direction and run.

Except, LT. Even though he’s dead, it feels wrong to leave his body. Especially with these morons.

I’mma need you to move your ass over to the right. That first black aerial pod over there. Get in, blond guy says.

No, I say with a steady voice. I shake my head. I let my arms fall to my side and work my shoulders back and forth. I guess I’m going to have to run. I’m sure LT will understand. My throat tightens at the thought.

My eyes dart to the aerial pod once more before I have to break into my dash.

LT sits up. I suck in a breath and glance back at my captor.

Yes, I did it!

Oh no. He’s going to be caught and killed again. Think fast, Andi.

NO! I shout. NO. I will not go with you. The man who spoke takes a step back and glares at me from beneath his lashes. My eyes flash quickly to LT and I subtly shake my head. No. I say once more to account for my defiant behavior—and send LT a message.

LT falls flat back against the seat. I turn back to the guys with the guns.

Carcass-breath steps back to me. His putrid smell waters my eyes. Get that kid out of the aerial pod, he says. She must’ve touched him. She can heal people, remember. Shit.

Another guy in black rushes into the aerial pod and pulls LT out. His t-shirt is covered in crimson droplets; his forehead is covered in a thick layer of dried blood. My stomach sours as a gun is pushed into his temple.

Now both of you move your asses into the aerial pod, the head douchebag-in-charge says. Wait, not the same aerial pod. The girl in with me and the dude in with Bentley.

I can’t let this happen. If they separate us, they can kill LT again and I won’t be there to bring him back. What to do, though? Carcass-breath knocks his gun harder into my head. I wish I didn’t feel any pain—that would be awesome, too. Except I do and this gun smashing into my skull every few seconds is terrible. It’s only terrible for a few seconds, but they don’t know that. Do they?

I fall to the ground in a fit of tears.

I slam my head against the concrete. A collection of stars and maybe the moon passes across my vision. I blink back a shadow of darkness like I might pass out.

I glance up as they push LT in front and lead him to one of the waiting aerial pods.

I release an ear-shattering scream.

Everyone, including the guy with his gun pointed at LT, stops to look at me. Great, now that I’ve got your attention.

I draw my leg up and kick Carcass-breath in the mouth. His head whips around and a spraying of blood floats into the air. He falls straight to the ground.

I jump to my feet.

A loud ricochet echoes through the air. I’m spun around in the opposite direction by a sharp stab to my left shoulder. Man-in-charge shot me. That hurt like hell.

I run head-first at him. He