Barbara J Hancock

Ghost in the Machine Barbara J Hancock

"Rule number one: Run from the Shadows. Unless one knows the secret that will save you."

I live in a world of waifs and shadows. "Live" might be an overstatement. I scrounge and scramble and survive in an atmosphere made thick and gray by the ashes of the Fallen. And sometimes I dream of sunlight. My parents were taken, even though they followed all the rules. Never scavenge at night. Never talk to Shadows. Don't fight the Sweepers. Run. Run. Run.

Now that they've taken my little brother, Douglas, I've realized I've only been surviving for him. I have two choices: Follow him or lie down and die. I can't just quit after years of struggle. I wouldn't know how if I tried. Determination is all I have left.

And then I meet "him".

He claims to be a rogue who can help me find my brother. It's got to be a lie. But I don t run. I stop. I listen. And I make a deal with a Shadow even though I know it will mean the death of me.

"Never talk to Shadows."

But no one ever told me what would happen if I kissed one.