Awakening: Dystopian Romance (Absence of Song Book 1) Read online

  Jacob looks back at me casting me a sharp glare. He has always hated the Elite—I do, too, if I’m being honest—and he’s not afraid to say it either. Contradicting something his dad said in favor of something the Elite say... well, if it wasn’t necessarily very nice of me, it was important to do. I lift my chin, my stubborn streak stirring to life as I glare back at him. He forgets sometimes we live in a world with specific rules and breaking them comes with dire consequences.

  Besides, the world we’re standing in right now is ruined. That’s kinda the point. If they hadn’t been awful, cruel people, why is their world obliterated, nothing more than X’s on the doors to mark where their people died?

  “Let’s keep going,” Jacob’s tone is gruff, revealing just a hint of anger, so I keep quiet as I follow him.

  When we decide the place is safe enough, we split up after finding a map on a wall. Jacob goes to the left toward the library (of course) and I go to the right, heading down the hall toward the nurses office.

  I don’t know if there will be anything there worth scavenging, but I figure it will still be my best bet. I pass at least ten doors with X’s on them, and knowing each one of them holds a room full of bodies elicits an involuntary shiver as I walk. I can’t help it, it just feels creepy. I know they’re nothing but bones, mostly, but sometimes, if the room was sealed up tight... that’s why we never check the rooms anymore. We go where we think there will be the best stuff, look around, and leave as quickly as we can.

  The nurse’s office is toward the back, near the big gymnasium that students used for physical activities.

  Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like to go to a school like this... and then I decide it must have been terrifying. All those other kids, none of whom you could trust, and a teacher at the front telling you what to think.

  I imagine it is a lot like Assembly. We have it every other day in the After World, usually, although less often as we get older. All of us, kids eighteen and under, gather in the courtyard in the middle of town and watch the large glass screen light up. Most of us can’t read, so when the scrolling words travel across the glass there’s a voice that accompanies it. It’s always a bland, toneless man’s voice. He lists off the three main rules that govern the After World.

  Don’t repeat mistakes of the Old World.

  Don’t seek love, don’t engage in war.

  And above all else, don’t Believe.

  There are other things after that, usually. An update on Rehabilitation camps, success stories and sometimes failed escape attempts. Occasionally we get news of political things, but politics are only for the Elite, so no one cares too much about those.

  Most of us are more worried about surviving.

  I reach the nurse’s office to find it’s mostly intact, only a few things obviously searched through. Some places look ransacked already when we get there, making me wonder if there are others who search the ruins like we do, or if people of the Old World were scavengers, too.

  Pulling my bag off my shoulder, I start throwing things that look promising into it. Most of them, I don’t know what they are or what they do, especially since most of the labels look deteriorated, but it doesn’t really matter. People will trade for it anyway.

  I stuff all of it in my bag, as much as I can fit, and I’m about to leave the room when I glance to my right and see something sitting on a desk. It’s covered in a thick layer of dust, but it still catches my eye. I can only make out the words healing and prayer, but that’s enough. My lips tighten, feeling a rush of gladness Jacob isn’t with me.

  I leave as quickly as I can and pretend I never saw the book at all. I meet up with Jacob further down the hall. He’s found some books too—picture books in fact, which are great, because people will be more inclined to buy them since they don’t need a lot of skill as far as reading goes.

  “What did you find?” Jacob asks as we head out.

  “Nothing,” I answer automatically, mind recalling an image of the book I left behind again and again. I remember the words written on it.

  Healing and prayer.

  Eyes grim, I repeat again as we step out of the building to head home, “Nothing.” Thankfully Jacob leaves it at that.

  Continue reading Rehabilitation (Unbelief Book I).

  Author Secrets

  HA... and there you are thinking I’m going to reveal big, dark, secrets. Sorry dear readers, not I, not this day. But I will share a few fun facts.

  Ahem. ::Donning 3rd person hat::

  C.B. Stone is sometimes called author, writer, or purveyor of stories. One might even dub her a yarn spinner, if you will. It’s very possible she might be considered just a little left of normal by most, but she’s cool with that. Really, she’s too busy avoiding normal to care.

  On any given day, you might find Stone pounding away at a keyboard in sunny Miami, contemplating waves, contemplating life, and dreaming up more exciting stories to share with readers. Except Sunday’s of course. Sunday’s are God’s day, so you’ll often find her making her best “joyful noise” with her local church praise team.

  When not pounding poor fingers to bloody nuggets and reinventing the definition of eye strain, C.B. Stone enjoys living it up, doing the family thing, the kid thing, and the friend thing. And in her downtime, reading the minds of fans.

  Also being invisible. Being invisible is fun.

  Connect with C.B. Stone

  IF you liked Awakening, Book 1 in the Absence of Song trilogy, make sure you like C.B. Stone on Facebook, and sign up via email for updates on upcoming books and release dates.

  And if you’re interested in opportunities for advance review copies of future books and/or being a beta reader, please feel free to send her a PM via Facebook expressing your interest, or if you sign up for updates via email, you can hit reply to any message and reach her directly.

  Connect with C.B. Stone online:

  http://www.Facebook.com/AuthorCBStone

  http://www.CBStoneBooks.com

  http://www.CBStoneBooks.com/Subscribe-for-Updates/

  Note from the Author:

  If you enjoyed reading Awakening, I would love for you to help me share this book with others who might enjoy it as well. You can do this in several ways.

  Recommend it.

  You can do this by recommending to friends and family, sharing it on social media, in readers groups, and on discussion boards.

  Review it.

  I'd love for you to tell others what you liked about this book by leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads or both. I appreciate readers who take the time to leave thoughtful reviews of my books, so if you leave one, please be sure to email me at [email protected] so I can send you a personal thank-you. You can also contact me via my website at http://www.CBStonebooks.com.

  Lend it.

  I've enabled lending of this book if you downloaded the Kindle version from Amazon, so please do share with your friends. Thanks so much!

  More by C.B. Stone

  ~Absence of Song Trilogy~

  Awakening

  You are reading book 1 in the Absence of Song trilogy.

  Book 2 release- February 2015

  Book 3 release- March 2015

  Other Books by Stone:

  ~Unbelief Trilogy~

  Rehabilitation

  Book 1 in the Unbelief Series- http://www.cbstonebooks.com/rehabilitation/

  Ruin

  Book 2 in the Unbelief Series- http://www.cbstonebooks.com/ruin

  Revelation

  Book 3 in the Unbelief Series- http://www.cbstonebooks.com/revelation/

  Please visit http://www.CBStoneBooks.com for the most up-to-date information on books by C.B. Stone, including new releases and current up-coming release dates.

  Or subscribe by email and get them right to your inbox. http://www.CBStoneBooks.com/Subscribe-for-Updates/

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