The Plan: Part 1
Page 34
Yes, they were a tormented, conflicted species. They seemed hell-bent on their own destruction, mired with their insatiable greed and ego. The planet was suffering. But the possibility of redemption was real. Halva proved it.
“Isn’t the work still worth doing?” his words were quiet, searching.
“I never meant to put you in harm’s way.” Her eyes betrayed her guilt. “But I found it necessary to make our survival... the priority.”
So the question remained unanswered.
He looked at her dead in the eye, a staunch resoluteness rising in him. He wanted to be angry at her, but she had been caught in the middle in many ways, and he saw that now. Right now, the only thing he felt was...regret. He needed time to process everything.
“There are still humans out there who are willing to do the work with us,” he said. “I choose to believe it. Look at Halva. I know there are others and I’ll be doing it on my own terms. Down here.” He stood up.
“Wait!” Ana called out. “If you leave us for Gaia – when will you return?”
He paused a moment to look back at her. His face was a mask. He blocked her from reading him telepathically during their entire conversation. It hurt him; but he’d learned the hard way to let people go.
Ithes wasn’t the only one who had betrayed the Institute. He felt it even more personally, with her. He knew eventually, he would forgive her. But not now. Not yet.
“When I’m ready.”
He wasn’t ready to go back. Definitely not now; maybe never.
Earth. Gaia. It was time to make this place home.
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for reading this novel. If you liked it, would you be so kind as to share a review online?
This is the first book I’ve written. As a dedicated Star Trek fan since childhood, the book naturally took on a sci-fi direction and took me seven years to complete. I started writing this novel at a time when several things that were very important in my life came to an unexpected end.
I began thinking about choices, coincidence, and the paths we end up choosing in life. How much of our lives are impacted and shaped by others? This novel was also a way of finding meaning through grief. There is a gift in finally being able to release the past – to history which no longer serves us.
As a thank you for reading this book, I'd love to offer you a free gift exclusive to my readers.
Subscribe with your email address and you'll get a sneak peek into the release of The Plan: Part II, before it’s published.
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If you can take the time to leave a review, I’ll be glad to read it. Bringing this novel to life has been an amazing journey.
I look forward to connecting with you.
Stay well and keep reading,
J.A. James
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J.A. James is a strong believer in the magic of storytelling and the ability of words to create, challenge and entertain readers. Hopefully this book will have done a little bit of all of the above.
She lives in Vancouver, B.C. and loves the great outdoors. You can find her talking to herself at www.theinkywriter.com.
She is working on her second novel.