Title: Rising Tide (SIRENS Book 1)
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy - Dystopian - Paranormal
Page Count: e-reader 5052; paperback 278
Synopsis:
Forget whatever you think you know. History has been rewritten.
In a future world where rising ocean levels swallow coastal cities and people scramble for resources on an overpopulated earth, the survival of the human race depends on biogenetic research to develop aquatic capabilities. The year is 2098, and it has never been more dangerous for the elusive Sirens to be discovered.
Until now, the Sirens have remained eclipsed from the eyes of the human world, inhabiting an obscure, undiscovered island in the Indian Ocean. In a growing discontent among the burgeoning youth, the Sirens, led by a headstrong Mello Seaford, decide to test the waters of open society by striking a deal with the U.S. megacorp, DiviniGen Inc. And they risk everything to do it. Will the risk prove worth it, or will the Sirens be forced to face the darkness of eternal isolation?
Excerpt
Mello
He could see and feel nothing but blackness, as though he was floating in the universe. Dim lights twinkled like dying stars, but he could not tell if it was in his mind of if he was physically a part of the darkness that surrounded him.
“Pass … scaaaalpellll … no, the laaaarger one.”
“Excissssion of the … glaaaand …”
“—ectomy is compleeeete.”
“Yes … doctorrrrr.”
The words sounded garbled and elongated, like they were coming from underwater. No faces to match with the distorted voices. He could tell one was female, almost sultry. The other was male. A tinny clanking sound, like rusty chimes, was barely distinguishable in the background, and low beeps echoed in a syncopated rhythm.
He could not feel pain, but something told him it was there, penetrating him on some deeper level beneath the numbness. His body jiggled here and there in its limp state, and he could feel the pressure of hands prodding and pressing down on him, down inside him. His body was open, exposed. Dread was the only tangible element in his universe. He could see it in the blackness, contracting and expanding like a fourth dimension.
Who was he? What body was he floating away from right now? His identity had detached from himself when he entered the ether, escaped from his mind like a helium balloon. But he could feel it hovering close by. He knew who he was, if he could just … just … think.
Images of a girl undulated hazily in his mind. Someone close, but unknown. Someone lost and then found. Someone with silvery blond hair. Someone … dead. He had come for her. To this strange and cruel universe. He struggled to comprehend, but the confusion was unrelenting.
Garbled words again. Elevated voices. Loud beeps.
“Look at his … levels—”
“Shit, he’s … reinsert the … liver!”
“Doctor … losing him—”
“Cut the—!”
“Too much blood loss!”
“Close him up … Now, dammit!”
His body jerked and twitched as multiple hands shoved him, poked him, threaded him like a piece of cloth. He wanted to open his mouth and scream but nothing could come out. His body was too far away. Then he felt a relaxed sensation, the feeling of falling down, down, down … back to Earth?
The beeping inside the room became louder, blaring. His ears felt as though they’d burst. Then he felt the pain.
“He’s back!”
The voices were clear now.
“Great,” Said a man. His voice sounded far away, like he wasn’t present. “I want the subject ready for the testing phase by nightfall. Prepare the tank.”
The tank. The words sent a fresh wave of dread through his body. Then he remembered who he was.
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