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Andromeda Chapter Eleven
The entire day was as much a haze as it was a nightmare. Anna sat in the passenger seat of James’ truck and stared quietly out the window the entire ride home. The sun was beginning to make its final descent upon the horizon as she watched with eyes that burned with the residue of tears. The wind that whipped by bothered her eyes but she barely blinked, almost as though it was the only thing she could still feel.James and Lynn had taken her out of school immediately after their meeting with the police and the principal was over, per her suspension that was issued by Mrs. Hoffman. Tamara’s mother had gone on a loud tirade all the way out of the office, never so much as looking at Anna but spewing the worst names and accusations she had ever heard. Lynn had some less than godly things of her own to shout back. James was the most composed of anyone and had convinced the police not to cart Anna out of the building in cuffs. The rest of the day was long, quiet, and stressful to everyone a
Andromeda Chapter Twelve
Anna hardly slept a wink that night. For one brief moment her life seemed to be going her way, and in the span of a few hours it had all been torn apart. She sat on the edge of her bed and watched the dark canvas of the predawn sky outside her room, which felt more like a prison now than a home.Abigail had not said a word to her the previous evening. It was quite unusual for her to not try teasing her in any way she could, and Anna guessed that she already knew what had happened and was told by Lynn not to speak about it. Despite her compliance, Anna still felt a twinge of anger as she wondered how Abigail would feel if she was taken away from them by the court. It made her want to punch a hole through the wall. Abigail had treated her like an intruder in her home for over a year, and the more Anna dwelled on it, the more she wanted to take her frustrations out on someone.The hours ticked by ever so slowly. Anna did not go down for breakfast, so Lynn brought her a dish which she lef
Andromeda Chapter Thirteen
Anna tried to ease her tension as she drove James’ truck into town, keeping no less than five miles under the speed limit so as not to become reckless and draw attention to herself. So far this venture was going smoothly, but she knew she was not out of the woods yet. The biggest hurdle she had to cross was the fact that the only way to get to the school was to go down Adams Street, directly through the town center where she knew her parents to be.The town center was always bustling with people swarming around the markets on Saturdays, as this was one of the last chances to acquire goods before the onset of autumn and winter to follow. She navigated the traffic slowly, holding her breath every time she stopped at a red light. Much of her refused to look around at the crowds of people coming and going, half afraid that she might inadvertently draw the attention of her parents. Her mind was racing as she sat at another red light that seemed to last for an eternity. There was so much ri
Andromeda Prologue
Somewhere deep in the Rocky MountainsThe light fixtures along the ceiling flickered sporadically. A lone man sat at a desk in a confined office space, hunched over and focused intently on what he was writing. He appeared to be around forty, with thinning dark hair combed over his bald spot. He wore a lab coat that was worn and covered in black smudges. Behind his glasses, his eyes were unblinking and weary with exhaustion.The lights flickered again over his head, followed by a rumbling that lightly shook the desk. The man glanced up at the lights with a look of hard suspicion. The rumbling ceased as quickly as it had begun, and the only sound to be heard was a faint buzzing coming from the fixtures. The man looked over at a landline phone that was sitting on the desk. Next to it sat a digital clock which read 3:17 am. The man winced as the exhaustion crept over him at the sight of the time. Everything was silent for a moment, but as if on cue, the telephone rang with a loud and pers
Andromeda Chapter One
One year laterAnna’s eyes flew open as she woke up with a start. Her bed was drenched in a pool of sweat. She groaned as she sat up and rubbed her head, which was throbbing lightly. Stranger than that was the numbing sensation in her right arm. She cast her eyes slowly around the dark room. What was once a dusty attic had been made up into a teenage girl’s bedroom. It had only been hers for a year, but it was the only bedroom she could remember having. It was the only place she truly felt safe and at home.Anna stood up and lumbered quietly over to the window at the end of the room. Normally, she would wake up to the sunlight rising over the flat Nebraska plains, but now it was barely the break of dawn. The sky was tinted a deep blue that indicated morning was not far away. Anna stepped over to a dresser that sat next to the window. She turned on a small lamp that sat atop the dresser and looked into the vanity mirror standing against the wall.The first thing she saw when she looked
Andromeda Chapter Two
The town of Meadowvale, Nebraska was the image of a small, country village. It was situated on the edge of Arthur County in the middle of a vast farmland. It was a tight knit community in which everybody knew one another, perfect as the only home Anna could remember calling her own. Despite that, as she sat in the passenger seat of her family’s Ford 150, driven by Lynn, on her way to her first day of school, it was still like stepping into a whole new world.Downtown Meadowvale was small, yet bustling. It only consisted of a handful of streets, but chief among them was Adams Street, which ran the full length of the populated town center and had a variety of markets, restaurants, and small town ma and pa businesses. Anna always liked coming down here. It was certainly a different environment than the countryside.There were only two school buildings in Meadowvale, both of which stood just beyond the far side of the town center. The first building they came to was the elementary school,
Andromeda Chapter Three
The morning sun cast its light upon the surface of the Potomac River, creating a picturesque yet imposing canvas of the capital city of Washington, DC. The helicopter flew over the vast river and touched down on the helipad on the northern side of the massive structure that was the Pentagon. As the propellers slowed to a stop, the rear ramp descended. From the interior of the helicopter, Dr. Park emerged. As he made his way down the ramp in an electric wheelchair, he was greeted by a group of armed soldiers. At the head of the party, a tall, burly man stood in contrast with the rest of the group. He wore an open leather jacket that billowed in the wind caused by the propellers and a pair of black sunglasses over his cold and solid expression. He seemed to be staring off into space until the wheels of Park’s chair touched the helipad, and then he turned his attention to him.“Dr. Park?” the man’s low voice called out over the roar of the helicopter.“Yes,” Park replied as he wheeled o
Andromeda Chapter Four
Several weeks had gone by since the first day of the new school year in Meadowvale, and Anna believed she was settling in well. Much of the stress and anxiety she brought with her that first day had been all but relieved, and her parents were proud to see her excelling so well in her classes. She struggled a little in her humanities classes, but she proved impeccable in courses such as biology and especially Algebra; in fact, she was performing so exceptionally in Algebra that she was promptly moved up to Calculus, but not even that was able to slow her down. She was learning almost as fast as her instructors could teach, and it was not long before she became something of a hero among her classmates who suffered a bit more at the subject and were constantly asking her for help. She had to admit that it was getting annoying to have the other kids approaching her the minute they did not understand something, but if there was one upside to it all, it had to be that she was in the same Ca