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    Sacrifice: The State
    Sacrifice: The State
    Sacrifice: The State
    Ebook90 pages1 hour

    Sacrifice: The State

    By Tom Wright

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    About this ebook

    Now on the run, Kara continues her attempts to bring Matt around to the truth while trying to reconnect with the resistance. Matt's injuries and the presence of Adam, a fellow resistance soldier, only make her efforts more difficult.

    Orem returns to the resistance headquarters to see the devastation of an Academic attack. He must make a decision that can end the conflict permanently, but at great cost.

    Kara and Orem face insurmountable odds as they each attempt to defeat the state in separate missions. Will the state triumph over a broken resistance, or can Kara and Orem keep their resistance movement from crumbling against a superior military might?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTom Wright
    Release dateJan 15, 2015
    ISBN9781507048030
    Sacrifice: The State
    Author

    Tom Wright

    I’m Tom Wright. Web guy by day, author… also by day. My wife, Molly, co-founded the Austin Science Fiction/Fantasy Book Club, so I read SF/F pretty regularly. After several books, I can firmly say I enjoy fantasy with lots of action. I write what I enjoy, hence the popcorn fantasy. I live in Austin, TX with Molly and our two daughters.

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      Book preview

      Sacrifice - Tom Wright

      Chapter 1

      30.265906

      -97.756720

      Kara stared at the river flowing beneath the bridge, the water running a murky green. Drinking it was out of the question; the river had been polluted for years. There was something tempting about the water, though. That much water, all in one place, and no Lapaz to contaminate it, she thought. We’ll have to find water soon.

      She looked at Matt, trudging along beside her in the dim light. The sun would be up in an hour, but there was enough light to see by. Matt held his wounded arm close to his body as he walked, careful to keep it from jarring painfully. And we have to find medical help. Hospitals were also out of the question. Any hospital would have its share of Academic guards, and the soldiers would shoot Matt on sight.

      Adam broke the silence from behind her. Should we stop for water? We can fill our canteens, then find a place to boil it. We’ll have to stop eventually, when the roads get busy with drones.

      Kara looked at Matt. Is there any place we can get unguarded water? Without Lapaz?

      Adam scoffed. I wouldn’t trust any water he led me to.

      Matt sighed, stopping to lean against the bridge railing. What do I have to do to make you believe I won’t turn on you? I haven’t given you trouble so far.

      You’re an Academic. Anyone who believes what the Academy has to teach can’t be trusted at all. Simple as that. Adam hefted his rifle to his shoulder. It had been a while before he stopped pointing it at Matt.

      They had just come from the ruined remains of the resistance headquarters. The hotel had been bombed, the central target of several dragons’ missiles. They briefly looked through the smoking ruins, but dropped the search for survivors when a dragon flew overhead. Kara had hoped to get there in time to warn Orem. She didn’t find his body, but that only filled her with dread instead of relief. What if they captured him? She didn’t want to think about it, but couldn’t get the thought out of her mind.

      Kara said, Adam, you’re trained as much as I am to detect Lapaz by taste. If he tries anything, we’ll be ready for it. So until he tries something, I’m going to trust him. Besides, you don’t want to drink out of the river, even if you boil the water. That stuff is filthy.

      All I’m saying is he has no problem making drones and killing the good guys, and I’m supposed to believe he’s suddenly changed? Adam frowned at both her and Matt. How am I the only person that sees this as a problem?

      Matt shrugged, and they started walking along the bridge again. I haven’t changed. Not even a little. I believe in the State. But if I go back, the other Academics will kill me. They have their orders. You guys are my best hope right now.

      Adam chuckled humorlessly. You still believe in a system that, given the chance, will kill you? Their brainwashing is amazing. You sure they didn’t put you on Lapaz?

      Kara thought about interrupting their bickering, but wanted to know the same things. How will we undo the conditioning he’s suffered under for years? Especially now, with all of the attacks?

      Matt shook his head. No Lapaz for Academics. You can’t make super-soldiers out of drones that will take orders from an enemy.

      Kara pursed her lips. Super-soldiers? You’re good, but you’re not that good.

      Matt shrugged again. You’ve never seen me in action.

      True, but I’ve fought plenty of Academics, and I’m still here.

      Matt scowled. Fighting from the guise of a civilian population hardly shows who the better soldier is. We don’t shoot civilian targets, so when you bomb our facilities or ambush us, we have to be certain that we’re dealing with resistance members. If we were on equal ground, I’d bet on an Academic any day.

      Adam, still trailing slightly behind them, cut in. After the casualties at the police station, you can stop saying you don’t attack civilians now.

      It’s Congress. As soon as Andrew knows, he’ll put a stop to it. Matt massaged his arm, gingerly applying pressure to ease the pain.

      How can Andrew not know about it? asked Kara. He’s with Congress all the time.

      I don’t know, said Matt, the confusion evident in his tone. But it doesn’t make sense. One of the tenets we’ve followed has always been to keep civilian casualties to the absolute minimum. Which is why the resistance has continued. You’ve always been able to hide in the civilian population, and we’ve just had to let you go.

      Adam muttered, but Matt spoke over him. How do you know Andrew is with the Congress all the time?

      Kara looked at him pointedly. How did you know where our HQ was? We each have secrets, and we each have spies. Does it matter? Let’s just keep moving. As soon as we can hook up with another resistance cell, we can try to find Orem and see if we can contain this somehow.

      They’d only been walking for a couple of hours, making their way to a secondary resistance safe-house in an elementary school down Lamar. The safe-house on Enfield was technically closer, but they would have to walk through the center of State-held territory to get there. The Academics’ barracks there were too close for comfort, so Kara decided on the Lamar location.

      The bridge was about a tenth of a mile, just spanning the length of the river. As they neared the middle, Kara noticed a dark shape against the bridge’s retaining wall. Guys? What’s that?

      Adam peered over her shoulder, then swung his rifle down to train it on the shape ahead. Kara’s rifle was already up, her training kicking into gear the second she felt threatened. Matt squinted and said, I think… it’s a person.

      Adam stepped around Matt, clearing his line of sight. They approached carefully, keeping their rifles at the ready, until the amorphous blob resolved into a man, sitting against the bridge’s retaining wall, looking down. He wore the drab brown uniform of a drone, but he held a pistol in his hands. The blue glow from the side showed it was a neo-engine weapon. He has a gun. No drone ever carries.

      The first and only time the State armed their drones, the resistance taught them a hard lesson. The Lapaz made them take orders from anyone,

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