by Nadia Hutton
She glanced up at the stars, wondering about those who had heard the message she had destroyed. She wanted to curse them for listening, for agreeing to abandon their home for a chance of life, even though she knew in her heart she would have done the same.
She felt a tear fall down her cheek and Janiya turned to her.
“Hey,” she said softly, “are you alright?”
Janiya and Lena glanced at each other, the infant between them cooing lightly into Lena’s shirt.
Janiya smiled at the sight and Lena felt her face soften.
“I’m fine,” Lena replied. “It’s been … a weird time in my life.”
Janiya laughed and Lena smiled.
Yes, Lena thought to herself, they had another day together. Another sunrise and sunset on this planet where they were all born, where they would all die. Another chance to survive.
Strapping the baby to her chest, she turned and glared into the eyes of an Elchai watching her closely from its ship, its motion capture device close to its eyes. Lena bared her teeth and snarled at them. She would become the animal they wanted her to be if it meant she would survive. For her, it did not matter any longer; she didn’t care what they thought.
As the ship left, its occupants slightly frightened by the wild animal, Lena returned to the others. Janiya offered her hand and she took it, squeezing lightly as they continued walking.
*****
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Author Bio
Nadia Hutton is a social service worker, science fiction writer, and playwright. Her debut play Liar premiered to a sold out run at the Theatre on King in Peterborough, Ontario. She has also been published in Good Mourning Media’s anthology No Place For Us. She currently lives in Waterloo where she juggles her many paid and volunteer social service gigs.
Previous Works:
Liar (2014)
Written by Nadia Hutton
Directed by Kate Story
City Of Small Gods (2015)
Published in No Place For Us
Good Mourning Media
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Details
Stranger King
by Nadia Hutton
Copyright © 2016 by Nadia Hutton
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Published by
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HADES PUBLICATIONS, INC.
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Producer: Brian Hades
Acquisitions Editor: Ella Beaumont
Edited by: Michelle Heumann
Cover Design: Ella Beaumont
Cover Art Elements: mazirama
e-Book Design: Mark Steele
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e-Book ISBN: 978-1-77053-100-0
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