“‘Kay. Shani was worried about you.” He slid into the back seat, making sputtering noises with his lips. “Prob’ly ‘cause I was acting like a spaz.”
“You were scared.” She nudged the patrol craft into a graceful descent, sliding in over the parking deck in search of a spot.
“Not gonna park on the pool this time?”
“Hush, you.”
He leapt through the gap into the front seat. “I wanna hit the button for the wheels!”
His finger found it before she could tell him it was okay. She set down in an open space, finding it a bit boring not to have to nudge the car between ventilation pumps or ducts. Landing on a flat, clear surface intended for hovercars felt… strange.
Evan followed her out through her door, holding hands as they walked past rows of civilian vehicles toward the building. He checked out a handful of expensive, sporty models and glanced back at the armored black behemoth with clear bar lights.
“Your car’s the coolest in the lot. Bet none of the other ones ran over a ghost-ninja.”
Kirsten giggled all the way to the elevator. Evan hit the button for the thirty-ninth floor. Kirsten squinted, pushing the one for the forty-first with telekinesis. He didn’t notice until the elevator stopped descending.
“Hey, why did we stop on this floor? Nila’s place is two more down.”
His expression went from quizzical to confused as Kirsten tugged his arm and led him out.
“Do we know someone else that lives here?”
“Yeah.”
“Do I know them?” He seemed gripped by a sudden bout of shyness.
“Yep.”
“Oh.” He discarded the bashful affect, following her in silence until they stopped at a door marked 4140. “Who lives here?”
Kirsten swiped at the hand-sized silver panel on the wall. The door opened. “We do.”
His jaw dropped.
She took a step through, leaning on the wall and grinning as a nine-year-old missile zoomed from room to room.
“It’s got two bathrooms,” he yelled during the brief instant he appeared in the hallway. “Do I get my own room?”
“Yes, sweetie.” She shoved away from the wall, walking through the living room area, past the kitchen, and down the hallway to the bedrooms.
“Whoa!” he gasped.
She found him leaning on the far wall of the master bedroom, a wall made three-fourths of window. The amber-hued glass created a balcony effect as the upper part angled into the wall, providing a four-foot deep space with only sky overhead. The bedroom had a stunning view of the city, streams of passing hovercar traffic, as well as a glittering train of advert bots.
He spun into a hug. “This is ours?”
“Yes,” she said as she picked him up, “but this is my room.”
She carried him into the hallway, stopping at the first door on the left and setting him on his feet just outside. Evan smiled and put his hand on the panel. The door slid open, and his jaw dropped for the second time.
The furniture, despite the requisite modern amenities such as a holo-terminal, appeared as if lifted from a Monwyn video. Two medieval tapestries hung on the far wall opposite a reality-enhanced window that replaced the outside with a rolling forest, complete with wizard’s tower and the occasional passing dragon. A novelty holo-projector created false cobwebs, castle-stone texture on the walls, and random creepy-crawlies scuttling in the shadows. He ran in, circled the room once―touching everything―before grabbing a quarterstaff from the wall by the bed and sitting with it across his lap.
“This is awesome!” he cheered, holding his arms over his head.
She pulled her hand out from behind her back. He gawked at the holodisk case bearing Monwyn’s face.
“Is… that… Lure of Shadows?” He almost dropped the staff. “That… just came out.”
“Wanna watch it?”
He raced past her. “I’ll make the popcorn”
irsten studied the images of food gliding along above a silver rail, as if they were train cars on a track. Burgers of several shapes and sizes led the way, followed by a few things claiming to be chicken. Something unidentifiable, labeled fish, brought up the end of the chain after some hand-snacks like nuggets or fried pickle chips. Every time she ducked into a CyberBurger, she never failed to wonder at how OmniSoy could taste like so many different things.
Sam Chang rubbed his chin, oblivious to the impatient stare from a Class 1 doll on the far side of the register. The ersatz teen could not help but smile at him, a corporate-polished face that had no range of emotion other than cloying pleasantry. A potbellied man behind them, white button-down shirt marked with years-old coffee stains, stood up on tiptoe to wave over Sam at the doll. Kirsten glanced at the thick, twitching moustache on his face as he searched for the courage to speak. Her eyes fell to a gold nameplate hanging from his coffee-stained pocket with the logo of the Imperial Hotel on it: Milton Swanson – Senior Network Administrator.
“Umm, excuse me…” he whispered, waving the tips of his fingers at Sam’s back. When no one noticed him, he looked at the floor and muttered under his breath. “I’m on lunch break. I only get forty-five minutes for lunch break. I’m going to be late because this man cannot place his order. Why do they only give us forty-five minutes for lunch? I’m the head of the network operations team. I should get more than forty-five minutes for lunch. I’m going to talk to Courtney in HR. This is not acceptable. I should get more than that since I’ve been there for six years now. It’s shameful how they treat their employees. Shameful.”
Kirsten leaned on Sam’s shoulder. “Just pick something, it’s all the same stuff.”
Sam bit his lip. “I can’t decide what flavor milkshake to get.”
She stared into the kitchen, mind lost for a moment, until she remembered something Evan said over a week ago. She winked at him, grinning. “Get strawberry.”
Orders in hand, they each went around Milton on a different side, leaving the mad mumbler free to approach the counter. Sam took a seat, stiff and uncomfortable, at one of the small red plastic tables by the front window. As Kirsten settled down across from him, still smiling, she got into a staring contest with an old man leaning on a broom.
Like an Old West showdown, he dared her to drop one thing on the floor. Bushy eyebrows quivered over narrowing eyes. Just one French fry, I dare you.
“What the hell is his problem?” She looked away, blinking.
Sam barely noticed him. “Sorry, I know this isn’t the kind of place you’re used to going.”
Kirsten suppressed the urge to feel sick at the thought of the ice swan and the man that took her there. She did not feel out of her element in this place. Here, she was just an ordinary young woman out on her first date with an ordinary young man. The elite could go to hell.
She reached across the table to hold his hand. “No, Sam, it’s fine. It’s more than fine. I’m sorry it took me so long to see it.”
He blushed, unable to keep eye contact. “You shouldn’t be sorry; I still can’t believe a girl like you even looked at me twice.”
“You’d be surprised how difficult it’s been finding someone who isn’t a shallow, judgmental prick. You’re a sweet guy, Sam, but I have to do this to you.”
Samuel Chang seemed about to cry.
“I’m psionic.”
He furrowed his brow, eyes shifting left to right. “Umm… yeah. You’re in Division Zero right? Isn’t that like, required?”
Kirsten leaned over the table, pushed his milkshake to the side, and kissed him.
She loved the taste of strawberry.
Many thanks to:
You, for reading Division Zero: Thrall. I hope you enjoyed the ride.
The Curiosity Quills staff for making this book possible.
Erika Galpin, for a wonderful job editing.
Mollie for great proofreading feedback.
Andrew from CQ for putting up with my endless revising.
Alexandria Thompson, for t
he superb covers.
Born in a little town known as South Amboy NJ in 1973, Matthew has been creating science fiction and fantasy worlds for most of his reasoning life. Somewhere between fifteen to eighteen of them spent developing the world in which Division Zero, Virtual Immortality, and The Awakened Series take place. He has several other projects in the works as well as a collaborative science fiction endeavor with author Tony Healey.
Matthew is an avid gamer, a recovered WoW addict, Gamemaster for two custom systems (Chronicles of Eldrinaath [Fantasy] and Divergent Fates [Sci Fi], and a fan of anime, British humour (<- deliberate), and intellectual science fiction that questions the nature of reality, life, and what happens after it.
He is also fond of cats.
Now that you have completed this book, we hope you will leave a review so that other readers may benefit from your perspective. Authors like Matthew Cox live and die by your reviews, after all!
Please visit http://curiosityquills.com/reader-survey/ to share your reading experience with the author of this book!
Prophet of the Badlands, by Matthew Cox
(http://bit.ly/1J6UmFa)
For most twelve year olds, being kidnapped is terrifying. For Althea, it’s just Tuesday. Her power to heal the wounded and cleanse the sick makes her a hunted commodity in the Badlands, a place devoid of technology where the strong write laws in blood. For as long as she can remember, they always come, they always take her, and she lets them.
Wandering after an escape, she is found by a loving family who helps her find the courage to defend herself. Her newfound resolve is tested by an ancient evil, and a dangerous man bent on exploiting her abilities.
Virtual Immortality, by Matthew Cox
(http://bit.ly/1hSXIMP)
Nina Duchenne walked away from a perfect life to pursue a noble idea, but one tragic night shatters her dreams.
Joey Dillon lives on a perpetual adrenaline rush. A self-styled cyber cowboy chasing thrills wherever he can find them, he is unconcerned with what will happen twenty minutes into the future.
Voices from beyond the grave distract Nina from her pursuit of two international terrorists, and send Joey on a mission to find out who is playing games. Joey falls square in her sights with the fate of the entire West City, as well as Nina’s humanity, at risk.
Operation Chimera, by Tony Healey & Matthew Cox
(http://bit.ly/1jEYQ4F)
Generations of war with the savage Draxx have left humanity desperate for a way to gain the upper hand. A chance to turn the tide in their favor is all legendary Captain Nicholas Driscoll needs to hear to lead an expedition behind enemy lines to the Chimera Nebula - a region of space so unstable it remains largely uncharted.
Lieutenant Michael Summers sees an opportunity to matter, a chance to let future generations exist in a universe without constant war. He and other brave young cadets join the Manhattan for its first dangerous mission - to penetrate the Chimera Nebula and discover what it is the Draxx are doing in there. But first the ship and her crew will be tested by enemies both outside and within …
Shadow of a Dead Star, by Michael Shean
(http://j.mp/17VBzuW)
As an agent of the Industrial Security Bureau, it is Thomas Walken’s duty to keep the city of Seattle free of black-market technology. But when a trio of living sex-dolls he has recently intercepted are stolen from custody, Walken finds himself seeking a great deal more than just contraband.
He will be forced to use his skills and preternatural instincts to try and keep his career, his freedom, and his life.
The Actuator 1: Fractured Earth, by James Wymore & Aiden James
(http://j.mp/1eyuK4P)
On a secret military base tucked in a remote desert mountain, a dangerous machine lies hidden from the American public. Known as“The Actuator”, this machine is capable of transforming entire communities into alternate realities.
Meanwhile, an unknown saboteur dismantles the dampeners. The affect is catastrophic. The entire world is plunged into chaos, and familiar landscapes become a deadly patchwork of genre horrors. It’s up to Red McLaren and his band to set things right again. They must survive their journey through the various realms that separate them from the Actuator, where ever-present orcs, aliens, pirates, and vampires seek to destroy them.
The Department of Magic, by Rod Kierkegaard, Jr.
(http://bit.ly/1sW4AA6)
Magic is nothing like it seems in children’s books. It’s dark and bloody and sexual—and requires its own semi-mythical branch of the US Federal Government to safeguard citizens against ever present supernatural threats.
Join Jasmine Farah and Rocco di Angelo—a pair of wet-behind-the-ears recruits of The Department of Magic—on a nightmare gallop through a world of ghosts, spooks, vampires, and demons, and the minions of South American and Voodoo god shell-bent on destroying all humanity in the year 2012.
Appetizer:
Book Cover
Title Page
Main Course:
Chapter One: Stalked
Chapter Two: Portend
Chapter Three: Monwyn the Small
Chapter Four: Vanished
Chapter Five: Withered
Chapter Six: Duty
Chapter Seven: Out of the Closet
Chapter Eight: Among the Devouring
Chapter Nine: Easy Pray
Chapter Ten: Killer Offer
Chapter Eleven: Decadenz
Chapter Twelve: Laser Tag
Chapter Thirteen: Going Tactical
Chapter Fourteen: Material Possessions
Chapter Fifteen: Mandatory Coping
Chapter Sixteen: A Suggestion of Impropriety
Chapter Seventeen: Week Argument
Chapter Eighteen: Jurisdiction
Chapter Nineteen: Green-Eyed Monster
Chapter Twenty: Checking Out
Chapter Twenty-One: Bad Memories
Chapter Twenty-Two: Cold Truth
Chapter Twenty-Three: Confession
Chapter Twenty-Four: Connections
Chapter Twenty-Five: Invasion
Chapter Twenty-Six: Mental Notes
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Helping Hand
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Misplaced
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Grey Area
Chapter Thirty: Dragons
Chapter Thirty-One: Want
Chapter Thirty-Two: Said the Spider
Chapter Thirty-Three: Premonition
Chapter Thirty-Four: Princess Alsbeth
Chapter Thirty-Five: Sorceress
Chapter Thirty-Six: Worst Fears
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Cat and Mouse
Chapter Thirty-Eight: Sanctuary
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Charter to Miami
Chapter Forty: Historical Influence
Chapter Forty-One: Decommissioned
Chapter Forty-Two: Paramount
Chapter Forty-Three: The Ritual
Chapter Forty-Four: Ancient Evil
Chapter Forty-Five: Family
Chapter Forty-Six: High Society
Dessert:
Acknowledgements
Closing
About the Author
Copyright & Publisher
More from Curiosity Quills Press
Table of Contents
Copyright & Publisher
Title Page
Chapter One: Stalked
Chapter Two: Portend
Chapter Three: Monwyn the Small
Chapter Four: Vanished
Chapter Five: Withered
Chapter Six: Duty
Chapter Seven: Out of the Closet
Chapter Eight: Among the Devouring
Chapter Nine: Easy Pray
Chapter Ten: Killer Offer
Chapter Eleven: Decadenz
Chapter Twelve: Laser Tag
Chapter Thirteen: Going Tactical
Chapter Fourteen: Material Possessions
Chapter Fifteen: Mandatory Coping
Chapter Sixteen:
A Suggestion of Impropriety
Chapter Seventeen: Week Argument
Chapter Eighteen: Jurisdiction
Chapter Nineteen: Green-Eyed Monster
Chapter Twenty: Checking Out
Chapter Twenty-One: Bad Memories
Chapter Twenty-Two: Cold Truth
Chapter Twenty-Three: Confession
Chapter Twenty-Four: Connections
Chapter Twenty-Five: Invasion
Chapter Twenty-Six: Mental Notes
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Helping Hand
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Misplaced
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Grey Area
Chapter Thirty: Dragons
Chapter Thirty-One: Want
Chapter Thirty-Two: Said the Spider
Chapter Thirty-Three: Premonition
Chapter Thirty-Four: Princess Alsbeth
Chapter Thirty-Five: Sorceress
Chapter Thirty-Six: Worst Fears
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Cat and Mouse
Chapter Thirty-Eight: Sanctuary
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Charter to Miami
Chapter Forty: Historical Influence
Chapter Forty-One: Decommissioned
Chapter Forty-Two: Paramount
Chapter Forty-Three: The Ritual
Chapter Forty-Four: Ancient Evil
Chapter Forty-Five: Family
Division Zero: Thrall Page 46