Harvest ended early, as it had the last few years. They applied for their portion of the rations, and those arrived weekly in a small sack.
• • •
Po sat in the shade of young birch tree, in her chair on the outcropping at the edge of the farm, and watched as the trickle of laborers exited on foot through the gate to King Valley, headed back into the city.
A black sedan rolled through the gate and ran upstream into the valley. Po rolled her chair back and bumped over the soft fields with the thick wheels back to the house.
“Hello, Kai,” Po said when Ming finally arrived.
“It’s good to see you, Po.”
Ming bent down and gave Po a half hug, the metal arm of the wheelchair between them.
Ari shook Ming’s hand and then pulled him in for a hug. He smiled and said nothing. Ming laughed awkwardly.
“Shall we take a walk?” Ming asked.
“I’d like that,” Po said.
Ari pushed Po’s chair down the packed dirt back into the woods. Kai strolled next to them.
“I’m glad to see you. The house is coming along great.”
“It’s a work in progress. At least we have our own room now.”
“Mmmm,” Ming nodded. “I’m glad to see you two so happy.”
Ari put a hand on Po’s shoulder. She gently squeezed his fingers, and looked up into his face. Since he’d been able to use the medicine regular, the silicone had nearly been replaced with newly grown, pink skin. The bone structure of his face would never be the same, but he was beginning to heal.
“How are things in the city?” Po asked.
“The military is still sticking their fingers in where they don’t belong, and the nationalist faction is still just as difficult as when Khan was in charge. In fact, his death has been nothing but a boon to them. If Felix knew it, he’d be rolling in his grave.”
Po sighed. “Some things never change.”
They stopped in front of the door to her father’s lab, which still had a hole in the glass of the dome. Po hadn’t the funds or resources to repair it right now, so she had left it. Ari, however, had installed a ramp leading up to the door for her wheelchair to come and go more easily.
“I just came to tell you that I’m leaving for Norway tomorrow,” Ming said. “I wanted to check in and make sure you were both okay, and say goodbye.”
Ari’s lopsided smile faded. He had been happy to see Kai again.
“What’s in Norway?” she asked.
“The Svalbard seed vault. Japan has agreed to release some of their rice seeds—kept in cold storage there—to us. Perhaps their seeds will reinvigorate the agriculture, to some extent. I’m still holding out for your father’s seeds to work, but it takes time and we need to make sure we have a backup plan.”
She nodded. “It’s a good idea. We need all the chances we can get. Be safe, Kai.”
“Thanks.”
He bent down and hugged Po again, then roughly embraced Ari. They exchanged a few whispered good lucks and god speeds, and then Ming walked back to his car, got in it, and drove away.
Ari went back to the house to fix lunch and check on Nando and Jia. It was late afternoon and they were probably hungry.
Po said she’d be there in a bit. She rolled her chair up the ramp to her father’s lab, and went inside.
The floor of the lab had been swept and mopped, the broken equipment discarded. They had waded in and pulled the dead seeds, then planted the modified rice seeds created by her father. They’d have to have the dome repaired soon if Po wanted to keep experiments running in the lab, but the weather wasn’t too cold yet.
Po had another project on a smooth countertop to one side of the room. She rolled up to it and picked one of the two contraptions up, the one that was closer to complete. The metal was cold to the touch. It was built of a light steel alloy, and connected by wire to a battery pack that clipped to her waistband. She snapped the metal pieces together around her left leg, then flipped the battery on and used the support provided by the device to kick her foot out.
She checked the instructions she had drawn, made an adjustment, moved her leg again.
Po set her foot on the ground and slowly leaned her weight on it. She tried to stand up, got halfway there, then fell back into her wheelchair seat.
It wasn’t quite working yet, but a smile ghosted across her lips anyway.
It was a good start.
THE END
Thanks to Shelly, my wonderful partner, for putting up with me through it all. It was by your grace and thanks to your encouragement that I always managed to keep going on this book when I wanted most to give up.
Thanks to my parents and my sister for being always supportive—my first fans. And thanks to the editors who guided me along the way, and answered my many questions, and helped me learn to shoot straight when I didn’t know how.
Thanks, most of all, to everyone throughout the past ten years who has taken a chance on me and read something I wrote. This book will always mark the beginning of a new chapter for me as a writer. I hope to keep taking you on adventures for many years to come.
-Matt
Austin, TX
May 7, 2017
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born in 1988, my full name is Matthew Gilbert Herron. I write science fiction and fantasy under the pen name M.G. Herron. My first novel, The Auriga Project, was published in 2015.
Books and reading have always been close to my heart. I love epic fantasies and fast-paced action adventure novels. My passion for literature, the dusty vanilla smell of old paperbacks, and turns of phrase that prickle your skin eventually led me into writing, and I now earn my living as freelance writer and storyteller.
I live in Austin, TX with my girlfriend, Shelly, and our dog, Elsa.
You can find a full list of my books, sign up for my newsletter, and read my blog at mgherron.com.
ALSO BY M.G. HERRON
NOVELS
The Auriga Project
Translocator 2 (Coming 2017)
Translocator 3 (Coming 2018)
SHORT STORIES
The End of the World Is Better with Friends
Magick Mirror
Wendigo
The Door Below the Comic Store
NONFICTION FOR WRITERS
Scrivener Superpowers: How to Use Cutting-Edge Software to Energize Your Creative Writing Practice
M.G. HERRON’S STARTER LIBRARY
Looking for more fantastic fiction? Click here to get a bunch of free stories from M.G. Herron!
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Starter Library
Contents
Stolen Choices
No More Lies
Citizen
King Valley
Lost Memories
Meditech
Refugees and Rebels
Convalescent
Fighting Fit
Resistance
Perilous Journey
Dumpster Diving
Run and Hide
Noura
City Guide
Leverage
Bandits and Barricades
Telerethon Square
Cage of Bodies
Pandemonium
Rose Petal
High Crimes
Khan on Camera
Congress
Talking Treason
Under Consideration
Planting Seeds
High Alert
Filibuster
Confession
Lost Forever
Messenger
Reluctant Rebel
New Memories
Like a Mountain of Sand
On His Own
Subterranean Hideout
Bits and Pieces
The Junction
The Docks
The Riverside Storehouse
Jackpot
Surgery
Conscience
Early Warning
Interrogation
Go
In Search
The Running Girl
Done Running
The One Constant
The People’s Chef
The Earth Trembled
Killer Cause
Attack of Conscience
Ground Zero
The Bridge to King Valley
Suspect
Martial Law
Survivors
A Risk Worth Taking
Inexorable
Negotiation
Epilogue: New Life
Author's Note
About the Author
Also by M. G. Herron
Starter Library