Transcendent (9781311909442) Read Online Free PDF Page B

transporters. What he hadn’t counted on was running into
the end of the mango fields and stepping into fields filled with
orange trees.
    Krys gulped and looked around. The orange
trees were shorter. He could see under most of them, but not all.
Smaller trees also meant they were put closer together, which made
seeing anything almost impossible beyond a couple dozen meters. He
frowned and considered swearing before he realized the oranges were
just turning ripe and were within arm’s reach.
    He put the woman out of his mind as he
plucked the first orange and stuck his thumb into the skin to peel
it away. Juice ran down his hand and, a few seconds later, his
chin. He grinned at the sweet citrus taste and slurped the pulp
between his teeth. The taste of a fresh orange was even more
liberating than drinking from the stream had been.
    He swatted lazily at a honeybee that buzzed
too close to him and turned, reaching for a second orange. He
stopped when he saw the woman standing there and staring at him.
She looked impeccable in her blue and white shirt and blue pants.
Black boots completed the outfit on the bottom and almost matched
her dark brown hair that she wore just above her collar.
    He stared at her, not knowing what to say.
Her eyes narrowed and she craned her head to look around. No doubt
for reinforcements. She opened her mouth and started to draw in a
large breath.
    “Wait!” Krys hissed at her. “Please! I
don’t—”
    Krys heard a sharp crack, like a tree branch
snapping in the forest, and then saw the woman stumble forward. She
fell face first on the ground and didn’t move. Krys took a step
towards her, confused by the sudden fall. What had happened to her?
And what was that noise? Did she break something?
    He stopped when he saw the light glisten off
the back of her head. It wasn’t all dark and shiny hair back there;
there was blood, too.
    Krys looked around and saw more figures
moving through the orange grove. Three of them, and they were
hurrying. He turned and stared behind him, wondering if he’d walked
into a trap. He turned back, realizing they weren’t wearing either
the soldier’s camouflage or the blue and white of the workers.
    “Krys? Stars above, boy, is that really
you?”
    “Mr. Strain?” Krys breathed when he
recognized the voice of Lily’s father.
    Mig Strain crashed into him and swept him up
in a hug that threatened to crush his chest and back. He felt
something wet on his cheek and neck before the ground was under his
feet again. He stared up and saw the tears on Mr. Strain’s cheeks
before he noticed the gun slung across his back.
    “You’ve got a gun,” Krys noticed.
    Mig ignored him. “Krys, are you alone? Is
there anyone else out there?”
    “Anyone else? What? No. Um, sir, about Lily,
she—”
    Mr. Strain reached out and put his hand on
Krys’s shoulder, stopping him. “I know, son; she’s been taken.”
    “Taken?” Krys asked. “But I saw her in the
forest—”
    “They rounded up what children they could,”
Mig said. “Sent them off for reeducation. Shot those of us who
hadn’t got away already. You were in the forest? Good for you!”
    “What? Sir? Reeducation? I don’t understand.
What about my parents? Are they—did they—”
    Mr. Strain guided Krys to walk beside him as
he turned. “Come on, son. We’ve got a long walk and a longer talk
ahead of us.”
    “Sir?”
    Mig sighed. “Krys, I hate to tell you this,
but your folks are gone.”
    Krys stumbled and, with Mr. Strain’s help,
managed to catch himself. They were gone? He looked up and saw the
fresh tears in the man’s eyes. Gone didn’t mean they’d left him
behind. Gone meant they were dead. He swallowed and turned his head
to stare at the ground. Mr. Strain guided him as they walked,
telling him about the invasion as though Krys stood a chance of
remembering a single thing the man said.
     
     

Chapter 8
     
    “Lily, wait up!”
    Lily stopped in the hallway outside of the
classroom and