some sense of al this.
There has to be a logical explanation for al of it, right?
People don’t just… disappear.
Only, I can’t think of an explanation that works. Unless I’m wil ing to believe that my parents and brother have al chosen to cal in on one of the neighbors together right at the moment when a freak fault has developed in my phone, and what are the chances of that?
This is real y starting to weird me out. So much so that I can barely breathe with it, while my stomach is tight with the apprehension running through it. Nothing good is happening. I’m certain of that now. I just wish I were as certain about what to do next. I need to calm down. To think.
Grayson. I latch onto thoughts of him like a life preserver. He’s always been my rock; always been there for me. Whenever I panic about not getting good enough grades to make the track scholarship to Georgetown, he’s the one who talks me through it and helps me study. When I’m down about my track times or just annoyed with my little brother, he’s the one who picks me up.
Even though this feels so much more
serious than that, I snatch up my phone and speed dial his number. For once, I don’t get that stupid message, either. Now al I need is for Grayson to pick up.
Come on, Grayson, pick up.
He answers on the fifth ring, though given how fast my pulse is currently racing, it feels far longer.
“Hel o?” he asks. “Celestra?”
I’m so happy to hear his voice in that
moment that I can’t think of anything to say. There’s too much of it, and it al sounds so crazy. There’s the house, and the emptiness, and the stuff with my phone. For a couple of seconds, al I can do is stand there, listening to him on the other end of the phone like some kind of weird stalker.
“Celes, is that you? Are you al right?”
His use of that pet version of my name
snaps me out of it. This is Grayson. I can tel him anything, even the strange stuff. He’l find a way to make al this make sense, or at least a way to make me feel better about it. I open my mouth to explain. To simply say his name.
Before I can get the words out, my cel phone dies. Just dies, without an explanation.
There’s no power, even though I’m sure I charged it up this morning. It won’t turn on, it won’t light up, and it certainly won’t let me say anything to the one person who might be able to help me. I stand there, just staring at it dumbly, for a second after a second.
The main house phone starts to ring in
the kitchen. It’s an old thing my dad liked the look of and had rewired, even though we al have individual cel phones. The ring is harsh, cutting through the silence of the house in a way that only emphasizes it.
Has Grayson cal ed me back on the
house number, guessing what has happened to my phone? That must be it. I rush through to the kitchen, knowing that I have to talk to someone about this, or I’m going to burst. I snatch up the handset, cutting off that sharp ringing.
“Hel o?”
“Celestra Caine?”
A man’s voice. It’s not Grayson. It’s not anyone I know. And yet, whoever he is, he obviously knows me. Coming here and now, I know the cal has to have something to do with whatever is going on.
“Who is this?” I ask.
“Celestra Caine, you are about to fade.”
******
FADE (Book 1: FADE Series)
August 2011
From Bestselling Author Kailin Gow comes DESIRE
A Dystopian world where everyone’s future is planned out for them at age 18…whether it is what a person desires or not. Kama is about to turn 18 and she thinks her Life’s Plan wil turn out like her boyfriend’s and friend’s – as they desired. But when she glimpse a young man who can communicate with her with his thoughts and knows her name…a young man with burning blue eyes and raven hair, who is dressed like no other in her world, she is left to question her Life’s Plan and her destiny.
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Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Book 5 of Wicked Woods