The Outcast Ones E-Book

Maya Shepherd

• Herausgeber: Maya Shepherd
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

The Outcast Ones

Leseprobe

Maya Shepherd

RADIOACTIVE

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“The Outcast Ones”

Table of Contents

Title Page

Novel

01. IGNORANCE MAINTAINS THE PEACE

02. WE ARE ALL THE SAME

03. THE KIDNAPPING

04. OUTCASTS

05. ISOLATION

06. CLEO, WHO RISES WITH THE SUN

07. SISTERS

08. ZOE

09. IT ALWAYS COMES BACK TO BITE YOU

10. A BIRTHDAY FOR IRIS

11. NOT FOES...BUT NOT FRIENDS

12. THE BLACK MARKET

13. PROMISES

14. FORGET ME NOT

Novel

E-Book

1. Edition

Copyright ©2013 Maya Shepherd

Cover: Ines Caranaubahx

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted, with the exception of a reviewer who may quote passages in a review, without written prior permission from the publisher.

Facebook: Maya Shepherd

Blog: www.mayashepherd.blogspot.de

Twitter: Maya Shepherd

English Translation by Grace Bridges

Other books by Maya Shepherd:

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Promise “The Scarred Girl”

Black Hellebore

For Robert,

who always believed in me

“I'm waking up to ash and dust

I wipe my brow and I sweat my rust

I'm breathing in the chemicals

I'm breaking in, shaping up, then checking out on the prison bus

This is it, the apocalypse

[...]

Welcome to the new age[...]

I’m radioactive”

(Imagine Dragons – Radioactive)

INTRODUCTION

The first nuclear bombs were used in August 1945. They released so much energy that the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were almost completely destroyed, killing hundreds of thousands of people. Even the earliest atom bombs had an explosive energy equal to more than ten thousand tonnes of ordinary explosives. However, their development continues to this day. The Hiroshima bomb had a detonating force of 13 kilotonnes of TNT. On the other hand, the Soviet “Tsar” bomb already possessed 57,000 kilotonnes when it was set off in an atmospheric test in 1961. The wave of destruction caused by such a bomb is unimaginable. Even so, the technology continues its steady development.

Many countries drive the nuclear arms industry farther and farther along. The United States are ahead of the pack—they own more than 11,000 atom bombs, closely followed by Russia with 10,000 atom bombs. China, France, Great Britain, North Korea, India, Pakistan and Israel are also official owners of nuclear weapons. Iran has not yet confirmed that it has any such bombs, but there are readings that prove otherwise. While Iran’s governed territory is shrinking, the military strength of nuclear power Israel continues to grow. This situation could lead to Iran seeing a nuclear attack as its only chance for defence. Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad begins all of his speeches with the call “Death to Israel!” Even Nobel Peace Prize winner Barack Obama is showing himself more aggressive in response to Iran’s statements: “America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal.” The message is clear.

However, what the United States fail to consider is this: the effects of an atom bomb are not limited to just one country, but would be much more far-reaching. A rocket from Iran would hit their nemesis Israel, but others would also be affected, like Egypt, India, Turkey and Russia. A war between two nuclear powers is the whole world’s business. No one is excluded from the damage—it is a war against humanity.

The effects of an atom bomb can be divided into four zones:

Zone 1—Destruction of all life

Zone 2—50% of people die instantly, only a few buildings remain. In the first few hours, the survivors suffer nausea. A week later come infections and bleeding which can cause death.

Zone 3—25% of people die instantly. After three weeks the torturous bleeding, nausea, hair loss and high fever will kill 50% of the survivors.

Zone 4—35% of people are severely injured. Many buildings are damaged. If people escape infection in the first three months, they will probably survive.

Later consequences: contaminated ground, cancer cases, miscarriages, etc.

The extent of these zones depends on the nuclear explosive force of the weapons, which are getting stronger every year.

The energy of all the atom bombs in existence today around the world would not only be enough to wipe out all humanity and all of Earth—it could also destroy four or five other planets as well.

01. IGNORANCE MAINTAINS THE PEACE

My proper designation is E518. I am a survivor of the fifth generation.

At precisely 0700 hours I open my eyes and look up at the grey light panels on the ceiling. They are still dimmed, but will grow lighter over the course of the day, then automatically darken and go out at 2200 hours. Nine hours are the precisely calculated sleep time for the body of a female teenager.

I sit up and throw back the white bedcover, then swing my legs over the edge of the bed so that my feet hang in the air. I begin to stretch my arms and back. During sleep, my muscles have not been used, so that in the morning they are tight and their circulation is low. Stretching mobilises them again. Especially today it is important for me to be at peak fitness. Especially today, I cannot allow a fault in my statistics. This day is one of the most important in my life, because it will determine my future.

My feet touch the grey tile floor. The cold makes me flinch back for a second, just like it does every morning. The tiles behave in the same way as the ceiling panels: they are cold in the morning, are warmed by electricity during the day so that they are pleasantly warm in the evening, then they cool off after 2200 hours. This is the circle of life.

With a slightly sticky sound, I step barefoot across my room. A morning shower is just as indispensable as stretching my muscles. I strip off the red knee-length nightshirt, pull it over my head and stick it into the laundry chute next to the shower. It disappears with a pop. Air pressure and suction will now carry it to the laundry, where it will be cleaned together with those of the entire personnel, then distributed fresh in the evening.

Sometimes I have asked myself how often I must have worn the same nightshirt without knowing it. Essentially it makes no difference, because all the nightshirts are exactly the same size, colour and material. Still, it would interest me. The thought occupied me even back when I was a Yellow. Shortly before I reached my teenage years, I once unravelled a small piece of a nightshirt hem at the corner. I had hoped in this way to be able to recognise it again. But the laundry supervisor noticed, and reported it to my teacher, who shouted at me and said I had no right to destroy things, that it was important for everything to be the same because only unity is strong. She even informed a Legion commander and forced me to repeat why I had torn the shirt. However, unlike the teacher, the commander did not reprimand me. She reacted in a way I have only rarely seen in the safety zone: she smiled. Her smile made my heart beat hard and twitched the corners of my own mouth upwards.