by J. J. Green
He looked up, hopeful. “What is there to say, Jas? You know how I feel.”
“I do.” Her pulse was thumping in her ears. “And...I feel the same.” She carefully put the Paths down.
Carl moved closer. “You said once, until we get rid of the Shadows, it wasn’t a good idea to move ahead with a relationship.”
“I did say that.”
“But,” Carl went on, “isn’t that a good reason not to delay being with someone? Because we don’t know how much time we have left.”
He was right. Jas couldn’t argue with him, and she didn’t want to. But that old dread she felt was rising up in her again. She knew where it came from, and it was something that a trip to Mars couldn’t fix. She looked down.
“Jas,” Carl said softly. He brought his face close to hers, so that his lips were millimeters from her mouth. But he stopped. He didn’t kiss her. He was waiting for her to make the move. She had to decide.
She was frozen. Her feelings for Carl were equally matched by her terror of repeating the emotional devastation she’d experienced once before.
The moment was over. With a barely audible sigh, Carl moved away from her.
Jas couldn’t bear it. She couldn’t bear to let him go. Before Carl could move out of her reach, she grabbed him and kissed him. He held her close, his hands pressed into the small of her back. She was in his arms, his lips were on hers, and she didn’t want the feeling to ever end.
“Guys,” someone exclaimed.
With a terrible wrench, Jas and Carl moved apart.
“Sorry, guys.” Phelan was standing in the cabin. He’d entered unnoticed by either of them. “We need to jump, now. Mars Patrol ships are only ten minutes away.”
“Krat,” Carl exclaimed and ran out. “Get to your jumpseats, both of you,” he shouted behind him as he left.
“Where are we going?” Jas asked Phelan as they ran to the flight deck.
“Ganymede.”
“Ganymede? Why?”
“That’s where the Council told me to go.”
“You heard from the Council?”
“A message packet came through while you were on Mars. They traced me through my parents’ records. They’re going to meet us there. Prosper’s plotted the jump, but we need to get out of here fast.”
They burst onto the flight deck. Carl was already in the pilot’s seat. Everyone was strapped in and waiting for them.
“Get in your seats,” Carl barked, his hand hovering over the controls. The screen at the front of the deck displayed the surface of Mars. Four patrol ships were in view and growing rapidly larger.
Below them was Valles Marineris, Jas’ birthplace, a place she had feared returning to for so long, only to find that the ghosts of her past existed mostly in her head.
They jumped.
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The story continues...
The sequel to Mars Born, Shadows of the Void Book 9, appears May 2017.
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About the Author
It isn’t easy to look back over a lifetime and pick out the bits that others might find interesting. I was born in a humble home in London’s East End—a caul birth—more than half a century ago, but I’m now both British and Australian. I picked up Aussie citizenship after living in Melbourne for many years and working as an Australian Volunteer Abroad. My AVA stint led to some time in Laos before returning to the UK and spending fifteen years or so teaching English to immigrants. Most important to me in all my experiences are my three gorgeous, amazing sons, who graced me with their appearances along the way.
I now live in Taiwan, where the weather suits my clothes, and I spend my days writing about the voices in my head.
Copyright © 2017 J.J. Green
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any written, electronic, recording, or photocopying without written permission of the publisher or author. The exception would be in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
First Edition.