“We have to wait for James!”
Cody looked on as James tried to start a fire on the far side of the dam. But instead of standing on the dam so he could backtrack toward the boulder ahead of the flames, James was kneeling on the shore. He was going to be on the wrong side of the burning dam.
“James—” she began to shout so she could correct him, but then she saw why he was positioned that way. He got the fire started, and immediately the wind propelled the flames straight across the butane-soaked dam toward the boulder. The whole structure was on fire now, and anyone who had been standing on it would have been burned immediately.
“Cody, come on, jump!” Kai yelled. He shook her as hard as he could, but she didn’t move.
Cody stood motionless, staring at James. He stood on the side of the river staring back at her. The dam burned in between them, crumbling into the water. “Go,” she saw him say as he held his hands up to his heart.
Then Kai grabbed her arm, started running, and pulled her with him into the air over the river. They landed with a vicious thud and a splash but managed to scramble out of the rapids. Cody tried to turn around, but Kai pulled her up into the tree line. With enough cover to avoid getting shot, Cody finally looked back for James.
The Equality agents were almost on top of him, and James had knelt down and raised his arms in surrender. The agents surrounded him, guns pointed at his head. Cody covered her mouth in horror when she recognized one of the civilians who had pursued them alongside the Equality Team.
It was Michael.
She saw James’s face when he looked up and found his brother pointing a gun at him. It was a picture of total devastation, and her heart broke for him.
Then James turned to search for Cody across the river. Amid the chaos of the roaring fire, the swirling smoke, the falling ash, the raging rapids, and the shouting agents, their eyes met for one final moment. They were far away, and only had a second to communicate before someone pulled a bag over his head, but Cody stared deep into his eyes and knew that James understood.
No matter where they take you, I will find you. No matter what it costs, I will save you. No matter how they change you, you will always be my one.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I can’t thank some people enough for the ways in which they contributed to this book. So I will start here and try to put a dent in my enormous debt of gratitude.
Lifelong thanks to:
Jonathan Berry, for being the first person who had the crazy idea that this could be a book. Pretty essential! And Richard Abate, half man, half wizard, half agent, for taking a leap of faith and sticking his neck out for me.
Erin Stein, my patient and savvy editor, for making this book much better, often in spite of my cluelessness. And to everyone else at Imprint and Macmillan, for busting their humps to make this book real.
Caitlin Gamble and Danny Nussbaum, for explaining a lot of science that I tried my best not to mangle.
My sister, Little E, for setting the standard with your work ethic and moral compass, which I aimed for every day while writing.
DK, the yang to my yang, for granting me the joy of finding a One.
And lastly, to several decades’ worth of teachers and professors whose gifts of inspiration, wisdom, and support I lean on every day of my life: Nancy Schustek, Mark Greenwald, Jeremy Rosenholtz, Barbara Ellis, Bob Montera, Joe Algrant, Elizabeth Bobrick, Richard Slotkin, Kit & Joe Reed, Mark Dickerman, Charlie Rubin, and George Malko.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Daniel Sweren-Becker is an author, a television writer, and a playwright. Born and raised in Manhattan, he now resides in Los Angeles. This is his first young adult novel. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter 1: Four weeks earlier
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright
Copyright © 2016 by Daniel Sweren-Becker
Imprint
A part of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010
fiercereads.com
All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Sweren-Becker, Daniel, author.
Title: The Ones / Daniel Sweren-Becker.
Description: First edition. | New York: Imprint, 2016. | Summary: “Genetically engineered teenagers called ‘The Ones’ go to extremes fighting for their rights as society turns against them”— Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015042697 (print) | LCCN 2016021397 (ebook) | ISBN 9781250083142 (hardback) | ISBN 9781250083159 (ebook)
Subjects: | CYAC: Science fiction. | Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. | Genetic engineering—Fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Action & Adventure / General. | JUVENILE FICTION / Science Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.S946 One 2016 (print) | LCC PZ7.1.S946 (ebook) | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2015042697
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Imprint logo designed by Amanda Spielman
First hardcover edition 2016
eBook edition September 2016
eISBN 9781250083159
If this book shall be took by hook or by crook, then a thousand-year curse shall never be shook.
The Ones Page 21