The Dome
Page 26
I can almost imagine regret and sadness flicker through his eyes. Almost. I can barely process this new information.
Gun is William Anderson’s son. The son of Global’s biggest rival.
I sag in the grip of my captor.
His flattery, his friendship—I bought it all, hook, line, and sinker. I didn’t even make him work to gain my trust and friendship.
Something inside me breaks. Gun was never my friend. There is no Gun. There is only William Anderson’s son.
I was his assignment. That’s what he’d said. His employer’s assignment. He’d been lying about that, too. I could almost forgive him if he was an actual employee of Anderson Arms. But he’s not. He’s an owner. A family member.
Claudine gives an inarticulate shriek. Her arm lifts. A giant green snake shoots out of her pink jacket. It flies straight at Gun like a spear.
Almost casually, he raises his hand in response. Cupped in his palm is a small mirror. The head of the snake hits the mirror and shatters into a thousand sparkling bits of code. It ricochets and arrows back toward Claudine. As it does, the code reforms back into a green snake.
It all happens so fast. Claudine doesn’t have time to react. The snake barrels into her, wrapping around her like a vise. She writhes and screams, her wings crumpling in the grip of the serpent.
“You never could let go of a grudge,” Gun—or whatever his name is—says.
My winged cybermerc tosses me aside and rushes toward Claudine. I land in a heap on the edge of the cloud. I get to my knees, staring at the scene unfolding before me.
Claudine twists and shrieks in the grasp of the snake. The creature—obviously some form of Black Tech—twists tighter and tighter, refusing to let her go. Even as the merc tries to help, her body crumples like an aluminum can, bits of code flaking off in swirls of glowing white. Her windpipe is crushed, cutting off her scream. The snake grinds down, pulverizing her avatar, until at last only bits of code remain. The snake burps loudly, then disintegrates.
The cybermerc swears, then disappears from Vex.
And then there is only me, Gun, our cloud, and the stars surrounding us.
I swallow, staring at him. I want to scream. I want to pretend the last ten minutes never happened.
“Short Stuff.” He steps toward me.
“Stop. Don’t come any closer.”
He sighs, extending one hand as if we’re meeting for the first time. “My name is William Gunther Anderson, Junior. My close friends call me Gun.”
I look up at him—at Gun Anderson. At the semi-familiar face covered with smooth, dark skin. Those bright blue eyes, the one part of him that isn’t different, look back at me. I do not shake his hand.
“I may look different,” he says, “but you know me. What we have is real. I wouldn’t have come for you at the League auction if what I felt wasn’t real.”
I ache inside—ache from his betrayal and from the loss of everything I knew as Gun.
“What—what did you do to Claudine?” I ask.
“She’s been devoured by a Constrictor. For most people, a Constrictor will destroy an avatar and wipe out data on all connected hardware, but in Claudine’s case …” He shrugs.
I narrow my eyes. “In Claudine’s case what? What happened to her?”
He raises his eyebrows. “You really don’t know?”
I shake my head.
“Claudine is—was—computer code. After her accident, her consciousness existed in Vex only. The code that was Claudine has been destroyed by the Constrictor. She’s gone.”
My jaw drops. “You—”
“She released the Constrictor,” Gun says. “I merely turned the Black Tech back on her. Listen to me, Sulan. Claudine knew you and your friends were planning to sneak into Vex with homemade tech. The only reason they didn’t put an end to everything sooner is because Claudine wanted to get to me. She and Reginald Winn have probably been monitoring your every move.”
His words click into place. He’s telling the truth about this. Claudine did set me up. She freely admitted it.
And now she’s gone. Killed by her own Black Tech.
Killed by Gun.
Hank was right. I should have stayed out of Vex.
“Mr. Winn might kill me.” I swallow. “Gun, I …”
He takes me by the shoulders, turning me so that I have no choice but to face him. “Listen carefully to me,” he says. “You’re way over your head. I didn’t realize you knew so much about Project Renascentia. You must assume Reginald is aware of the information you have. He likely would have intervened sooner if Claudine hadn’t been hell bent on using you as bait to catch me.”
“Mr. Winn is part of the League, too?” I ask, eyes widening.
“No, Short Stuff.” Gun’s mouth tightens. “Claudine and Reginald aren’t with the League. They are the League. You have to get out of the Dome. Now.”
THE END
About the Author
Camille Picott is a fifth-generation Chinese American. She's been writing novels since she was twelve years old. Among her books you can find Asian-inspired science fiction and fantasy novels, zombies stories, and how-to manuals for speculative fiction authors.
Camille loves cooking and running absurdly long distances. It's not unusual to find her chopping veggies in the kitchen late at night or hitting the trail in her running shoes long before the sun rises. She considers sleep to be optional and largely overrated.
Visit Camille at
www.camillepicott.com
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Other Works by Camille Picott
Available on Amazon, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible
The League
Sulan, Episode 1
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Sixteen-year-old Sulan Hom can’t remember life before the Default, the day the United States government declared bankruptcy. As a math prodigy, she leads a protected life, kept safe from the hunger and crime plaguing the streets of America. She attends the corporate-sponsored Virtual High School, an academy in Vex (Virtual Experience) for gifted children.
Beyond the security of Sulan’s high-tech world, the Anti-American League wages a guerrilla war against the United States. Their leader, Imugi, is dedicated to undermining the nation’s reconstruction attempts. He attacks anything considered a national resource, including corporations, food storage facilities, and schools. When Sulan witnesses the public execution of a teenage student and the bombing of a college dorm, she panics.
Her mother, a retired mercenary, refuses to teach her self-defense. Sulan takes matters into her own hands. With the help of her hacker best friend, Sulan acquires Touch, an illegal Vex technology that allows her to share the physical experience of her avatar. With Touch, Sulan defies her mother and trains herself to fight.
When Imugi unleashes a new attack on the United States, Sulan finds herself caught in his net. Will her Vex training be enough to help her survive and escape?
Risk Alleviator
Sulan, Episode 2
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Riska, a miniature winged tiger, is the first Risk Alleviator prototype. A purposeful collision of biology and weaponry, he is product of the Global Arms research facility. He was crafted to be a bodyguard for the wealthy and privileged. Before his kind can be mass produced and released to the market, an extensive testing and training phase is required.
When a training session goes horribly wrong, Riska is slated for destruction. Dr. Hom intercedes to save Riska’s life, presenting a new proposal to Global Arms. Riska is released into his care. The eccentric doctor is the first human to show him kindness, and a bond is quickly forged between the two.
But even as Dr. Hom alters Riska in the desired direction of Global Arms, it becomes clear he has his ow
n agenda. First and foremost among those is to create a personal bodyguard for his daughter, Sulan.
This novella is the next installment of the Sulan series.
The Dome
Sulan, Episode 3
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After escaping the League, Sulan and her friends are granted entrance into the Dome, a utopian biodome in the wilderness of Alaska. Sulan soon finds herself a pawn in Global Arms’s political maneuvers to secure the national mercenary contract. Forced to put on a public persona that makes her skin crawl, she must charm Vex media moguls to further the cause of Global. Should she fail to embrace her new role as company spokesperson, the consequences will be deadly to everyone she loves.
Meanwhile, the League unleashes a new deadly threat on the United States. When Sulan and her friends stumble on the trail of a League mole within the Dome, they set out to track him down. Will they be safe in their new home, or will they find themselves trapped among enemies?
Undead Ultra
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Undead: a reanimated corpse with a craving for human flesh.
Ultramarathon: any footrace longer than a traditional marathon (26.2 miles).
For ultrarunners Kate and Frederico, a typical Saturday morning is spent pounding out a twenty- to thirty-mile “fun run.” It’s during one of their runs that an insidious illness descends upon northern California, turning humans into flesh-shredding zombies.
When Kate receives a desperate call from her son, Carter, she and Frederico flee their hometown and set out to help him. The only problem? Carter attends college over two hundred miles away and the freeways—clogged with car wrecks, zombies, and government blockades—are impassable. Running back roads and railroad tracks becomes their only means of travel, but neither of them has ever run so far before.
As pain, injuries, hunger, and fatigue plague them, getting to Carter and staying alive seem impossible. It’s either outrun the undead or become one of them, and for Kate, death is not an option.
The Warrior & The Flower
3 Kingdoms, Book 1
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Yi, a retired soldier, has lost everything he loves: his wife, his daughter, and his home. He seeks refuge from his heartache by plunging into a secret mission for the World Emperor. The assignment takes him to the doorstep of a brothel, where he witnesses the madam beating a young girl. Drawn by the child’s striking resemblance to his lost daughter, Yi rushes to her defense and negotiates for her purchase. After all, how hard can it be to care for one little girl? But between the child’s inquisitive nature and the dangerous secret she carries, he gets more than he bargained for.
Raggedy Chan
A Chinese Heritage Tale, Book 1
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Emma Chan-McDougal receives a special gift from her Auntie Gracie: a rag doll named Raggedy Chan. But Raggedy Chan is no ordinary doll. She is a beautiful Chinese princess who lives in a jasper palace on the enchanted isle of Kunlun. The peace of her island home is threatened when Drought Fury steals Winged Dragon, bringer of rain. Without Winged Dragon, Kunlun will wither and die.
To save her stricken homeland, Raggedy Chan sets forth alone. Her quest leads her to America, where she meets people who distrust her because she’s different. Can Raggedy Chan adapt to the strange ways of this new land and rescue her beloved dragon?
In this modern fairy tale, Chinese-American author Camille Picott draws on her heritage to weave a story of magic, adventure, and sacrifice.
Raggedy Chan – the Illustrated Edition
Contains over forty full-color illustrations
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Nine-Tail Fox
A Chinese Heritage Tale, Book 2
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When fifth-grade Emma Chan-McDougal is ridiculed by her classmates for being part Chinese, she's devastated. To ease Emma's wounded self-esteem, her aunt, a Chinese immigrant, spins the mythical tale of a brave little Nine-Tail Fox named Ainu who lives in San Francisco.
In a parallel animal world that comes to life when humans slumber, Ainu Nine-Tail and her mother face off against Chih Yu, an ancient demon who feeds on hatred. As the last of their clan, the Nine-Tails are honor-bound by a family oath to defend the Chinese animals from the demon. When Chih Yu kills her mother and leads an angry mob against Chinatown, Ainu is left to complete the task alone. Raw with grief and only partially trained for battle, Ainu must reach deep inside herself to find the wisdom and courage to save her people.
Will the journey of Ainu Nine-Tail help Emma find the strength to confront the school bullies and win back her confidence?
In this modern Chinese fable, Chinese-American author Camille Picott draws on her heritage to weave a story of courage, truth, and adventure.
Writer’s Toolbox – Creating Tension
Make Your Speculative Fiction Novel A Page-Turner
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What makes readers stay up into the wee hours of the night, eyes glued to the pages of a novel? The answer can be summed up in one word: tension. Tension is vital to any successful story. So just how do you infuse your novel with tension?
This article contains specific techniques to help maximize the tension in your science fiction or fantasy story. Each technique is illustrated with examples. Learn how to keep readers glued to the pages of your novel!
Writer’s Toolbox is a how-to series dedicated to helping speculative fiction writers improve their craft.
Writer’s Toolbox – World Integration
How to Weave Worldbuilding Into Your Speculative Fiction Novel
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World Integration tackles the tricky task of incorporating worldbuilding details into a science fiction or fantasy novel. This can present an interesting dilemma for genre writers. How can information on a fictional world be delivered to readers in a way that is natural to the story line? How can important details be shared without bogging down readers in pages and pages of boring exposition?
This is where World Integration will help. Writers will learn valuable techniques for weaving worldbuilding into a genre story, as well as the pros and cons of each technique. All methods are accompanied with examples from published works. This book is for all science-fiction and fantasy writers looking to improve and enhance worldbuilding in their novels.
Writer’s Toolbox is a how-to series dedicated to helping speculative fiction writers improve their craft.
Writer’s Toolbox – Indie Publishing Essentials
9 Tools Every Speculative Fiction Author Needs for Indie Success
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Award-winning and Amazon-bestselling speculative fiction author Camille Picott has been self-publishing since 2008. Over the years, she has garnered much knowledge on the world of indie publishing. This article sheds insight on important aspects of indie publishing—aspects that might not be readily apparent to those just starting. Also included are cost-saving tips that will help authors publish professional products on a budget. If you’re looking for a leg up in the indie publishing world, Indie Publishing Essentials is for you!
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About the Author
Other Works by Camille Picott