Read Online United: An Alienated Novel by Melissa Landers - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Melissa Landers
Tags: k12
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Manhattan well ahead of the SUV caravan, and Aelyx began circling the penthouse building while searching the adjacent streets for the most secluded place to dock the craft. He eventually settled on an alleyway between two restaurants, then landed the shuttle in front of a Dumpster overflowing with black garbage bags.
As soon as Aelyx climbed out, the stench of rotting food assaulted his nostrils. Cara and Troy jogged away from the Dumpster while he stayed behind to finish the docking process. Holding his breath, he pushed a button on his key fob, and in response, the shuttle rose fifteen feet into the air and stopped, invisible and safely out of reach.
Two soldiers were already waiting at the sidewalk. They led the way to the penthouse building, and Aelyx took Cara’s hand and followed with Troy bringing up the rear. Aelyx kept his head down and his eyes trained on the pavement. He could almost pass for a human with his light brown skin and hair, but his silver irises gave him away every time. He wished he’d worn sunglasses for concealment. His fans meant well, but they didn’t always respect personal boundaries, and he was in no mood to dodge undergarments thrown at his face.
He’d nearly reached the building’s entrance when Cara stopped suddenly and dragged him to a halt. He glanced behind and found her gazing at a stack of magazines on a nearby newsstand. Arranged in rows, each copy was an identical edition of Squee Teen , featuring both of their faces on the cover and promising readers a look “Inside the Star Couple’s Perfect Life on the Colony!”
Cara let go of his hand and picked up a magazine. As she thumbed through the glossy pages, Aelyx recognized the pictures they’d posed for months ago, when she’d agreed to the exclusive interview to entice more immigrants to the colony. There was a wide-angle photo of their living room and another that showed them cuddled on the futon, gazing into each other’s eyes from above their mugs of spiced h’ali . She’d refused to allow the shoot in their bedroom, but the magazine’s centerfold oozed romance in a montage of couple shots—the two of them strolling hand-in-hand on the beach; wading in the ocean with their bodies silhouetted against the sunset; pausing beneath a canopy of trees to share a kiss in the rain.
Aelyx’s heart turned heavy. It truly had been a perfect life.
He caught himself using past tense. Is , he corrected. It is a perfect life .
The newsstand owner, an ebony-skinned man with spectacles perched on the end of his nose, glanced up from his cell phone, and his eyebrows twitched. He looked from Cara to the magazine and back again, then nearly dropped his phone in his haste to stand up from his stool and fish a pen from his pocket.
“Will you sign it to my daughter?” he asked, waving a black marker back and forth between them. “Her name is Talya. She’s your biggest fan. She’s going to die when she finds out I met you!”
When Cara couldn’t tear her gaze away from the magazine, Aelyx picked up another copy and took the man’s pen. He scrawled: For Talya. Much l’ove, Aelyx and Cara and then handed it back as the man snapped a picture with his phone.
From behind, Troy muttered, “We can’t stay here.”
Aelyx noticed they’d drawn the attention of several passersby, and he cupped Cara’s elbow to move her along. She patted herself down with one hand as if looking for money to buy the magazine. The man told her, “Take it—I insist.”
She thanked him, and they made their way to the penthouse building. No one spoke during the elevator ride to the top floor, but Aelyx knew Cara well enough to understand what she was thinking. Of all the obstacles they’d overcome to be together—prejudice, distance, violence, hate—this hurdle seemed nearly too high to jump. It chilled him to the marrow to imagine losing her now.
He squeezed her hand, as much to ground himself as to comfort her. When she raised her freckled face
As soon as Aelyx climbed out, the stench of rotting food assaulted his nostrils. Cara and Troy jogged away from the Dumpster while he stayed behind to finish the docking process. Holding his breath, he pushed a button on his key fob, and in response, the shuttle rose fifteen feet into the air and stopped, invisible and safely out of reach.
Two soldiers were already waiting at the sidewalk. They led the way to the penthouse building, and Aelyx took Cara’s hand and followed with Troy bringing up the rear. Aelyx kept his head down and his eyes trained on the pavement. He could almost pass for a human with his light brown skin and hair, but his silver irises gave him away every time. He wished he’d worn sunglasses for concealment. His fans meant well, but they didn’t always respect personal boundaries, and he was in no mood to dodge undergarments thrown at his face.
He’d nearly reached the building’s entrance when Cara stopped suddenly and dragged him to a halt. He glanced behind and found her gazing at a stack of magazines on a nearby newsstand. Arranged in rows, each copy was an identical edition of Squee Teen , featuring both of their faces on the cover and promising readers a look “Inside the Star Couple’s Perfect Life on the Colony!”
Cara let go of his hand and picked up a magazine. As she thumbed through the glossy pages, Aelyx recognized the pictures they’d posed for months ago, when she’d agreed to the exclusive interview to entice more immigrants to the colony. There was a wide-angle photo of their living room and another that showed them cuddled on the futon, gazing into each other’s eyes from above their mugs of spiced h’ali . She’d refused to allow the shoot in their bedroom, but the magazine’s centerfold oozed romance in a montage of couple shots—the two of them strolling hand-in-hand on the beach; wading in the ocean with their bodies silhouetted against the sunset; pausing beneath a canopy of trees to share a kiss in the rain.
Aelyx’s heart turned heavy. It truly had been a perfect life.
He caught himself using past tense. Is , he corrected. It is a perfect life .
The newsstand owner, an ebony-skinned man with spectacles perched on the end of his nose, glanced up from his cell phone, and his eyebrows twitched. He looked from Cara to the magazine and back again, then nearly dropped his phone in his haste to stand up from his stool and fish a pen from his pocket.
“Will you sign it to my daughter?” he asked, waving a black marker back and forth between them. “Her name is Talya. She’s your biggest fan. She’s going to die when she finds out I met you!”
When Cara couldn’t tear her gaze away from the magazine, Aelyx picked up another copy and took the man’s pen. He scrawled: For Talya. Much l’ove, Aelyx and Cara and then handed it back as the man snapped a picture with his phone.
From behind, Troy muttered, “We can’t stay here.”
Aelyx noticed they’d drawn the attention of several passersby, and he cupped Cara’s elbow to move her along. She patted herself down with one hand as if looking for money to buy the magazine. The man told her, “Take it—I insist.”
She thanked him, and they made their way to the penthouse building. No one spoke during the elevator ride to the top floor, but Aelyx knew Cara well enough to understand what she was thinking. Of all the obstacles they’d overcome to be together—prejudice, distance, violence, hate—this hurdle seemed nearly too high to jump. It chilled him to the marrow to imagine losing her now.
He squeezed her hand, as much to ground himself as to comfort her. When she raised her freckled face
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