Authors: Kristi Helvig
Strange Skies
First published by Egmont USA, 2015
443 Park Avenue South, Suite 806
New York, NY 10016
Copyright © Kristi Helvig, 2015
All rights reserved
www.egmontusa.com
www.kristihelvig.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Helvig, Kristi.
Strange skies / Kristi Helvig.
1 online resource. — (Burn out; book 2)
Summary: “Tora Reynolds has escaped to a new planet, but must fight against the Consulate and a rebel leader to find and destroy her father’s guns”—
Provided by publisher.
Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.
ISBN 978-1-60684-482-3 (ebook) — ISBN 978-1-60684-481-6 (hardcover)
[1. Survival—Fiction. 2. Government, Resistance to—Fiction. 3. Weapons—Fiction.
4. Mercenary troops—Fiction. 5. Orphans—Fiction. 6. Science fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.H37623
[Fic]—dc23
2014023242
ISBN 978-1-60684-481-6
eBook ISBN 978-1-60684-482-3
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher and copyright owner.
v3.1
For Mom
For everything
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
When it is dark enough, you can see the stars
.
Chapter
ONE
Three Months Later
T
HE BOY FACED AWAY FROM ME
,
LOOKING AT SOMETHING IN
the distance. His profile showed off short blond hair cut in a military style, which contrasted with the stubble across his jaw. Something about him was familiar and made my heart race. I looked down to find he was holding my hand, and I felt both terrified and safe. A loud sound echoed nearby and he turned toward me. That’s when I saw the gun in his hand. Fear caused my throat to tighten as his eyes locked with mine.
“Hurry, run. Come with me,” he said. The inflection in his voice made the words sound like a plea.
My eyes flew open and the dream dissipated. Sweat drenched my body and my teeth chattered. I struggled to
pull up the blanket but it, too, was soaked. Pain racked my head as I tried to figure out where the hell I was. Judging by the temperature, I was being held in a giant icebox.
When I attempted to sit up, my arms refused to support my weight. My eyes fell on a small device near my right hand, and I summoned all my energy to press its red button. The pounding in my head competed with widespread chills.
A high-pitched beeping of a nearby monitor permeated my consciousness. Goose bumps broke out on my arms as my skin registered the cold air. An extra thin blanket lay on the cot by my feet, yet I couldn’t find the strength to pull it up. My eyes had trouble focusing, and I could just make out the gigantic form coming toward me. A mix of relief and hostility swirled through my brain. I couldn’t think straight. I didn’t know what it meant.
“Morning, Miss Sunshine,” the large woman grumbled. “Couldn’t even wait another hour for your dose, could you?”
I stared back at the red button under my finger. So
I’d
caused the beeping sound. The woman grabbed my arm as though she expected resistance, but my limb was limp in her hand. Her dark eyes bored into me as she lifted a green med tube and pressed the tip of it to my arm. I swear she smirked as she pressed the injection trigger.
Instant warmth flooded my veins and my body relaxed. Everything felt right with the world again. Something small nagged at the back of my mind—something I was
supposed to do, or remember—but the meds quickly swept the troubled thoughts away. A familiar deep heaviness settled in and my eyelids drooped. Utter bliss and peace filled me, and I yawned as the woman retreated wordlessly from the room. I couldn’t remember my own name if my life depended on it, not that it mattered. I felt great. I could stay here forever.
A deep voice echoed throughout the room as I drifted in and out of consciousness. I didn’t see anyone, so maybe I was hallucinating. The voice said the same things over and over again.
The Consulate serves. The Consulate protects. The Consulate’s weapons help us to protect you. The Consulate is your friend
.
Every once in a while I’d stir awake and swear someone was in the room with me. I caught the scent of wildflowers a few times, yet when I opened my eyes, the room was empty. I drifted back into sleep but couldn’t shake the feeling that I wasn’t really alone.
I tried to clear my thoughts but whatever meds the woman gave me made my brain feel like mush. I remembered being injured and aboard a ship. A Consulate ship. The Consulate must have saved me from something and brought me here. Was this Caelia?
The Consulate is your friend
.
I stared up at the faceless voice. The Consulate must be helping me to get better.
Then why is that woman so unpleasant? And why can’t I remember anything?
A brief scan around the windowless room provided
little in the way of clues. The walls were definitely not those of a ship. The sparse furniture consisted only of the ramshackle cot I occupied and a rickety bedside table that tottered on three legs. I shifted on the bed and felt the tube between my legs. I stared in horror at the urine-filled bag that it led to. The fact that I couldn’t piss on my own meant I must be really sick.