by Ramona Finn
The GEOs
The Acceptance
The Labs
The Elites
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.
RELAY PUBLISHING EDITION, AUGUST 2020
Copyright © 2020 Relay Publishing Ltd.
All rights reserved. Published in the United Kingdom by Relay Publishing. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Ramona Finn is a pen name created by Relay Publishing for co-authored Young Adult Science Fiction projects. Relay Publishing works with incredible teams of writers and editors to collaboratively create the very best stories for our readers.
www.relaypub.com
Blurb
The truth can no longer hide behind lies.
Tylia Coder is headed up to the Labs—floating sky cities of bright light and lush greenery the likes of which the vids could never do justice. As one of only two known survivors of the Acceptance trials, she has antibodies in her blood which may prove to be the key to the cure for the Virus that nearly wiped out humanity decades ago.
But the perfect life she envisioned in the Labs is nothing but fiction.
Access to information is restricted. Questions she asks are left unanswered. Communication with her family in the GEOs is cut off. And someone’s spreading lies about the Reis, who now claim her as one of their own, stirring virulent hatred of the rebellion.
Worst of all, members of the Farrow family are tormenting those who threaten their way of life. And when Tylia is overheard defending the Rejs, their vicious sights are set on her. To protect herself from yet another “accidental death” in the Labs, Tylia accepts a partnership proposal with the only Farrow willing to befriend her.
Yet Tylia soon realizes she can no longer sit safely on the sidelines. She must act, not only to protect her loved ones in the Rejs and the GEOs, but to save what remains of the human race.
Contents
Chapter 1
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
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
End of The Labs
About Ramona
Thank you!
Sneak Peek: The Labs
Also By Ramona
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Chapter One
The transport doors slid shut with a loud thud, and the engines roared like a hibernating monster waking up after a long winter. My stomach lurched, and then the entire ship lifted off the ground.
I sucked in my breath and held it. As the transport’s large body vibrated through to my bones, I clutched the straps that held me to my seat. In the seat next to me, Kev was white as a sheet. When his gaze locked onto mine, he grinned—it was a forced grin made out of fear, but a thrilling type of fear.
“This is amazing!” he called over the roar of the engines. “Did you ever think you’d actually get to fly?”
I opened my mouth, but no words came out, so I just shook my head. Of course, winning the Acceptance meant having to move up to the Sky Labs. And hadn’t I dreamed of this my whole life? Wasn’t this the reason my old mentor, Wallace, had prepared me to survive—so I could win, and be the first person from the Geos to move up to the Labs in a very long time?
Flying was going to be inevitable, especially for our first entry into the Labs. The Sky Tubes that slid up and down in long columns stretching between the Labs and the Geos would be an alternative way to get up there, but not as grand. Those were used for supplies and maintenance crew, and they’d become grimy and old over the years of use. Traveling in the Tubes wouldn’t have been as comfortable, or as glamorous, as flying in these impressive transports.
We were the winners of the Acceptance, so this first trip had to be special. We were moving up in our world. The people in the Geos, and our friends and colleagues down in Union Hall, were probably glued to that giant TV screen watching our ascent. With it, we carried their dreams—not to mention my dreams and my parents’ dreams. Even Wallace, who had been hiding away all those years, belonging to no particular group—not Geos, not Rejs, and definitely not Elites. He was grumpy and reluctant, but in our short stint of training, I could tell he wanted a win too. So, this was for him as well, even if he might no longer be alive.
I couldn’t help but think of Skylar Two, and all the Rejs who’d accepted me as one of their own. I was headed up to the sky for them, too. A knot formed in my stomach, reminding me of my new goal, my larger goal for winning the Acceptance. I’d started with wanting to save my mother by hacking my way into the survival trials. But she was on her way to recovering from the Cough, and soon she and my father would join me in the Labs to live a life of ease and luxury.
There was more to accomplish now.
Since I’d met Skylar Two and the Rejs who lived on the surface in the mountains, everything had changed. It was as if my world had grown larger, so that my eyes were suddenly open to see what was really happening. Even though I’d been taught from childhood that the Rejs were bad and dangerous, Skylar Two and his people had shown me how much we had in common. Being accepted into their group had made me see my world differently. I was now fired up to save my people in the underground and to unite all of us together with those who lived in the Above. Only together could we overcome the power of the ruling Farrow family and gain a real chance for all of us to live a better life.
Be clear, I reminded myself, about what your mission really is. Don’t get distracted by the temptations of a luxurious life.
A voice boomed over the comms, pulling me out of my thoughts. “The Sky Labs float at about ten kilometres above the earth. Once we reach an altitude of three kilometres, or ten thousand feet, you’ll be able to get up and walk around.” It was Ben Farrow’s voice. He was piloting the transport.
A small balloon of pride swelled up inside of my chest. My Ben, the son of our world’s leader, the star of “The Cure” that so many people watched faithfully every night, was escorting me to the Labs. Viv would have been so jealous if she’d known that he took such a personal interest in me.
The knot in my stomach tightened. The Farrows were the ones we in the Geos had looked to for a future—a cure from the Virus. They were feared, yes, but they’d always given us hope. After my time with the Rejs, I wasn’t sure what to think anymore. To the Rejs, the Farrows were the enemy. The Rejs believed that R.L. Farrow in particular deliberately kept the people apart, keeping the Geos going only to serve the Elites, and for no other reason, The Rejs certainly hated the Farrows, but they had no proof of his misdeeds. I was prepared to hate them, as well, though—so much so that I’d agreed to help the Rejs by digging up information about the Farrows. Especially R.L.
But then there was Ben. He’d been unexpectedly kind to me and had helped to save me from the trials. He d
idn’t have to be good to me. He wanted to. I wasn’t as experienced with boys as Viv and the others were, but if she’d been with me, I felt sure she would’ve said he liked me. Why? I couldn’t think of a reason. The knot in my stomach loosened and a warmth rose into my face.
Ben’s deep voice sounded over the comms. “Watch for the red light above you to turn green, and then you’ll be free to walk about.”
The transport was a giant metal box that vibrated with every meter of altitude it covered. It wasn’t as luxurious as I’d imagined, but its size certainly made a statement. The walls were a dull metallic grey with straps and handles spaced out evenly throughout. There were small round windows lined up against the walls from the cockpit to the tail, just above the row of seats. I craned my neck to peek out the window, appreciating the rays of sunshine that pierced this space. After living with the Rejs, even for that short time, I’d gotten used to needing sunlight, and this boxy transport was making me feel a bit claustrophobic.
I refocused on the row of seats beneath each window across from me. They were empty except for a couple of Emergency Force officers, or EFs, at the front of the transport. With their helmets still on, it was hard to see their expressions. They must have been used to flying all the time. It had to be a part of their training. A loud thump and rumble made the transport shake as if it were a plaything being shaken by a child. My teeth chattered; my body shivered in my seat.
“Just a little turbulence,” came Ben’s voice through the intercom as if he’d read my mind. He sounded so sure, so confident. “Nothing to worry about.”
I inhaled, trying to draw each breath in slowly and failing miserably. Short, shallow breaths were all I could manage for now.
Then, without warning, the turbulence ended. The engines settled into a gentle hum that vibrated just beneath my feet. There was a whirring that sounded like giant fans outside, but other than that, everything had smoothed out.
I let out a loud sigh.
“Phew!” Kev said. “At least that’s over for now.”
I frowned. What did he mean? Kev had about as much experience with flying machines as I did.
Kev grinned again—and this time it lit up his eyes. “Ben told me that the take-offs and landings are the roughest parts of a journey.”
Great.
As soon as the red blinking light over our heads turned to a soothing green, Kev unbuckled himself and leapt to the nearest window.
“Oh wow!” he exclaimed. He was practically shaking with excitement. “It’s even more magnificent from this angle.”
I fumbled with my buckle and finally scrambled free from my seat. My legs were a little wobbly, but I found my balance and walked over to the window next to Kev’s. The sky was a gentle blue and there were actual clouds floating lazily by. The sunlight glinted off something and I turned to look in that direction. There they were—the Sky Labs. I’d waited all my life to see them up close.
Floating in the sky outside our windows was a myriad of different shaped cities, made mostly out of some transparent material. They were bigger than enormous—all so clean and bright—nothing like the underground world that I’d grown up in. They took my breath away, literally. I was so in awe that I forgot to breathe until my lungs ached inside my chest.
“Wow!” I inhaled, feeling a little dizzy. “There are more cities than I ever knew existed up here.” All the vids we’d been shown as kids had told us that the Labs were a set of interconnected cities which floated high above Earth’s surface. We’d been shown one cluster made up of maybe seven or eight Labs, and I’d thought that was all there were. But no. There were more clusters—tens of them. I’d known they’d be amazing to see in real life, but I’d never imagined anything like this.
Our transport flew slowly past the first cluster of Sky Labs, the ones at the outermost perimeter. Even though we were at least twenty transport lengths away from the closest one, I could tell that Ben was piloting carefully past them as if he didn’t want to cause any disturbance to their peaceful floating existence.
Each Sky Lab city filled my entire window-view as we crossed past them. Each had a distinct shape. Some were tall and rectangular, with several levels to them. Others were short and cubical as if they were used for one purpose only. In between, the cities were connected by glass bridges that were multi-floored. Hand-sized people—that’s what they looked like from this distance—in light-colored clothing, the Elites, walked leisurely back and forth, up and down flights of stairs, looking as if they hadn’t a care in the world. Others walked with great purpose, as if they knew how important they were. After all, their job was to find the Cure to the Virus that made it impossible to survive on the Earth’s surface. Gazing in envy at each of these perfectly created Labs, I couldn’t help wonder if some day, my people would be able to live up here with the Elites—once we were cleared of any infectious diseases like the Cough. R.L. Farrow had mentioned it in passing once, a very long time ago. Nothing had ever come of his comment, but now, standing here, I wondered if perhaps I could help to bring that promise about.
Kev gasped pulling me out of my thoughts, and I followed his gaze. Our transport was now crossing a large gap between two larger Labs, and towards the next cluster. There, farther out in the distance, loomed the largest city of all—the one we were headed to—the main city they called the Greens.
“Look at the dome!” I cried. “It’s so green.”
Kev snorted, and I laughed in response, realizing how silly that must have sounded. Of course, the Greens were green.
As we flew closer, the Greens grew larger. This city was the central city of all the Sky Labs. It was where Ben lived with his father, the leader of our world, R.L. Farrow. It was where they filmed The Cure so that we in the Geos could watch as the scientists worked together to find a cure for the Virus. It was the only city in the Labs topped by a giant dome that gleamed green in the bright sunlight. There were so many plants inside the dome—plants I’d never even imagined from the confines of our dark underground world. It was beyond beautiful.
“Paradise!” Kev sighed with an air of reverence.
Yes. It was paradise.
I lingered at the window, my chin resting on the cool glass sill. This should’ve been the moment all my dreams came true. This was where I’d always wanted my family to live out the rest of our lives together—without strife, without hunger, without disease. This was the reason I’d hacked my way into the trials. This was why I’d fought so hard to survive.
How things had changed.
What felt like a heavy mineral rock crystallized inside my chest, taking up so much room that I could barely breathe. This dream was going to be short-lived, and well it should be. This paradise, as Kev had called it, thrived on the backs of the poor, downtrodden inhabitants of the Geos, most of whom would never even be able to glimpse this place with their own eyes. I thought of all the people I’d known who had lived and died in the Geos, hoping for a better future for the next generations. And all those people who had tried to survive the Acceptance in order to get a chance to live up here. It was all a pipe dream, a giant life-sucking lie.
Because I’d seen what the EFs had done to the potential survivors—the rest of the contestants who I’d seen alive at the end of the trial. We’d all grown up believing that no one could survive, which we’d thought of as the reason we’d had no victors for years. Yet, several of us had survived. And now, with Kev, there were two survivors who’d been presented to our people. That’s because we’d been hidden when we’d seen the truth—that, under R.L.’s command, the EFs were ordered to kill every last one of those who made it through the trials. If Kev and I hadn’t hidden and discovered this terrible secret, we wouldn’t be in this transport at all. We would’ve been lying somewhere down below, on the surface, becoming fodder for the wild animals that lived in the forests. I’d seen the faces of the others who had begun the trial with us, and now I pushed away the image of them being torn apart and eaten.
; The rock inside me turned, and I was nauseated.
I slid back down into the seat below me and shut my eyes for a few moments. I saw Skylar and his beautiful smile. I heard his voice explaining his fierce belief that our factions could come together to defeat this all-powerful despot.
A sniffle distracted me from my thoughts. I looked over to see Kev, elbows on his knees, head in his hands.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
Kev said nothing for several seconds. Then, with a deep sigh, he leaned back against his seat. His gaze stayed on the ceiling as he spoke. “What am I doing here? How am I going to fit in? I’ve been a farmer my whole life. My parents are farmers. Even in the Geos, people look down on us… they treat us like scum. How am I supposed to rise above that and live here like I belong?”
I sighed. “That’s a lot…”
He looked at me. “I mean, you, I can understand. You’re smart. You’ll make your way here. People will respect you.”
“What are you talking about?” I wanted to tell him that I’d cheated to be there. I didn’t deserve it. He did. “You’re smart. You made it to the trials, and you survived.” I lowered my voice and continued, “You even survived the EFs killing our friends.”
I reached over and touched his arm. “If anyone truly deserves to be here in the Labs, it’s you, Kev. You’ve always been a great friend to me. I’m the one who doesn’t deserve this place or your friendship.”