Valiant Read online

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  17

  18

  19

  20

  21

  22

  23

  24

  25

  26

  27

  28

  29

  30

  31

  32

  33

  34

  35

  36

  37

  38

  39

  40

  41

  42

  43

  44

  45

  46

  47

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Grab the Entangled Teen releases readers are talking about! Paper Girl

  Keeper of the Bees

  Seventh Born

  Keep reading for an excerpt of LOST GIRLS

  Also by Merrie Destefano

  LOST GIRLS

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2018 by Merrie Destefano. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.

  Entangled Publishing, LLC

  2614 South Timberline Road

  Suite 105, PMB 159

  Fort Collins, CO 80525

  [email protected]

  Entangled Teen is an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC.

  Visit our website at www.entangledpublishing.com.

  Edited by Heather Howland

  Cover design by LJ Anderson, Mayhem Cover Creations

  Cover images by

  Kesu01/depositphotos

  everlite/iStock

  Interior design by Toni Kerr and Heather Howland

  ISBN 978-1-64063-426-8

  Ebook ISBN 978-1-64063-425-1

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  First Edition December 2018

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  For Jesse.

  I would save the world for you.

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for supporting a small publisher! Entangled prides itself on bringing you the highest quality romance you’ve come to expect, and we couldn’t do it without your continued support. We love romance, and we hope this book leaves you with a smile on your face and joy in your heart.

  xoxo

  Liz Pelletier, Publisher

  “Whosoever saves a single life, saves an entire universe.”

  Mishnah, Sanhedrin 4:5

  Part 1:

  Jumpers

  2037 A.D.

  Prologue

  The invasion started as soon as the sun went down.

  It was the best day of our lives. For the first time in years, we finally had hope. We weren’t worried about the drought or the Depression or the fact that space solar power hadn’t solved our energy crisis. Our parties stretched as far as the eye could see. From one end of the United States to the other, there were fireworks and dancing and politicians giving speeches.

  People lucky enough to have jobs took the day off work.

  All my friends and I met after school.

  A group of us hung out down in the street where we could see the shadows and smog of Los Angeles in the distance. Natalie sneaked some beer from her mom’s fridge; I had a handful of joints from my parents’ stash. My little brother, Gabe, was goofing off with Justin and Billy. We were all daring Justin to lift cars and, being the abnormally strong, easygoing Genetic that he was, he laughed and raised the front end of a Caddy off the ground. Genetics like Justin were bred for war in a government program that had been abandoned long ago. Nobody believed we’d ever go to war again.

  They were wrong.

  My little brother’s eyes glistened with excitement when the Valiant launched.

  Even though the launch was actually all the way in the San Gabriel Mountains, we saw it up close and personal when our skin sites flashed images inside our minds.

  All around us, people oohed and aahed, glad to have their addiction to skin site programs temporarily soothed.

  It felt like we were all standing at the base of the rocket as it ascended, up and up into the heavens, heading toward Titan. This was the one event that was going to change everything. We were sending a mining expedition to another planet, and since we were all investors in this publically funded program, we were going to get rich and climb out of the horrible Second Depression.

  We’d be able to buy food and clothes and new tech.

  We had hope. So much hope.

  I think Justin may have given me a hug; I may have leaned into it longer than I ever had before. I may have wondered why we were only friends when he was drop-dead gorgeous—

  But that was as far as I got. It’s as far as I ever get.

  Because that’s when the invasion started.

  As soon as the Valiant disappeared, flying out of our sight and out of Earth’s orbit, everything changed.

  There was a bright flash of light, almost like a thousand mirrors were swiveling and turning all around us. The ground tilted, and I almost fell, one hand grabbing onto the same car that Justin had lifted a minute ago. And then, so many things happened at once that I can never remember which one was first.

  An army of silver aliens appeared, walking out of the mirror doors, their skin sparkling like stardust in the dim light.

  Gabe stumbled back. “What the—”

  I didn’t stop to think. I grabbed his hand and jerked him toward me. “Stay with me,” I told him. I had no idea what was going to happen next, but I knew that my fourteen-year-old brother rarely made the right decisions.

  None of us knew what was going to happen, but Justin’s Genetic training kicked in. He braced his legs and took a defensive stance in front of all of us. “Sara, go!”

  I didn’t go. I couldn’t make myself move. Natalie grabbed my other hand. Billy just stood and stared.

  The silvery aliens surveyed our street, still filled with people who’d been laughing and dancing only moments ago, but now ran and screamed or stood frozen in place like us, their mouths hanging open in shock.

  That was the worst decision they could have made.

  Justin looked at me again, his blue eyes pleading and resolute all at once. “Get them out of here now!”

  I don’t know how he knew that the aliens wanted to kill us, but he did. It was like he had a sixth sense that none of us knew about.

  In an instant, the alien creatures morphed from flesh into smoke and hurtled toward the people still in the street.

  It happened so fast.

  Justin was faster. He didn’t run. He yanked the bumper off the Caddy he’d just lifted and swung it at the few aliens who were still flesh and blood. It was a slaughter. Their bright, shining blood sprayed through the night air until he was covered with it, until he was as bright and shining as they were.

  It all happened in a fraction of a second. A blink of an eye.

  The plumes of alien smoke dove into the open mouths of everyone who’d been gaping or screaming
. Billy was one of them. He twisted and fell to the ground, choking as an alien pushed its way down his throat. I dropped to my knees, shaking him, trying to save him but not sure what to do.

  Justin pulled me to my feet, his face blotched and glowing, sorrow in his eyes. “You can’t save him. Go. Keep your mouth closed and run.”

  I didn’t want to leave him behind, but instinct and self-preservation kicked in. Less than a heartbeat or two had passed, and now half the people in my neighborhood were flopping around on the ground, just like Billy.

  Natalie and Gabe and I ran, not knowing where to go. We ran as fast and as long as we could, around parked cars and past abandoned buildings, down an alley, and through some backyards, doing our best to keep to the shadows. Every street was crowded, full of panicked, choking people.

  I recognized some of the people we ran past. They were my neighbors, they were the local gang members, they were kids I knew from school. Twisting, flinching, choking, and then—climbing back to their feet, eyes glazed, jaws hanging loose, muscles tense. That was the part I didn’t want to remember because it was so horrible. But I had to remember it. I had to believe it.

  Life on planet Earth depended on me remembering and believing.

  My neighbors started to attack one another. Those who had been choking were different now, like they were possessed. They started to kill people who were still normal.

  People like me. And Gabe. And Natalie.

  “Holy crap, girl, run! Come on, Gabe!” Natalie shouted. She was a take-charge girl and she was doing just that. She’d broken away from me and was leading the way, charging ahead of us down the street, through another alley, and then running across Bristol Street. I think she may have been heading toward her house or maybe the high school. There was some point of reference in her head—that’s how she was—and she was heading toward it.

  But she forgot the simplest of things.

  She didn’t look when she ran across the street.

  She didn’t know that Mrs. Thornton, the old lady who dug through my trash on a regular basis and lived on her dead husband’s pension, was possessed. She didn’t know that Mrs. Thornton was racing her SUV down Bristol Street, looking for people to run over.

  Or that she’d already gotten two dogs and a little boy.

  “Natalie!” I screamed.

  “Stop!” Gabe shouted.

  Natalie glanced back at us but not in time.

  The grill of Mrs. Thornton’s SUV hit Natalie square in the chest. She bounced backward, then her head hit the pavement with a dull crack, then the SUV ran over her and finished the job.

  So fast. I didn’t know someone could die that fast.

  I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t run. I couldn’t think.

  Until Mrs. Thornton backed up her car and aimed it at Gabe.

  …

  We ran.

  We hid.

  We waited.

  Maybe everything would have been different if I’d come up with a better plan. Maybe. But I still hadn’t figured out what that better plan was.

  Gabe retched and shivered. I wept.

  But we didn’t say anything. We huddled together in silence, beneath a flattened cardboard box that a homeless guy used to live in. We weren’t too far from our apartment, which was probably one of my biggest mistakes. I just never expected that anyone would be looking for us.

  At least, not anyone who wanted to kill us.

  I thought maybe I’d see Mom or Dad from this vantage point. Maybe one of them would have a plan. Or maybe Justin would still be out there, and he’d come to help us.

  All of Santa Ana was in chaos, houses burning, cars crashing, people screaming. A jet that was heading toward John Wayne Airport took a sudden nosedive and crashed beside the 405 Freeway. We saw it go down, felt the ground shake when it hit, saw the spray of metal, the explosion, the fire that wouldn’t go out. The whole freeway was as bright as day for miles. Then it was like someone realized what a great idea that had been. About twenty minutes passed, then every plane heading for the airport fell from the sky, causing huge explosions that started to take out chunks of Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, and Irvine.

  Gabe hid his face, and I held him in my arms.

  This was an alien invasion. But we were the ones killing one another.

  People ran up and down the street, sometimes crying out in fear, sometimes in joy when they found a loved one. From my vantage point, I couldn’t see their faces, only their feet. A pair of white Converse high-tops raced back and forth, and a tiny alarm went off in my head. Somebody I knew wore shoes like that, but my brain wasn’t working right. I couldn’t remember who. Mud on the soles, splatters of blood on the canvas, dots of something that glowed in the dark.

  Alien blood.

  My heart slowed, and my eyes narrowed.

  Justin fighting those aliens, swinging that Caddy bumper.

  But these weren’t Justin’s shoes.

  It was as if my thoughts gave off an audible signal, something that said, Here, they’re over here, hurry before they get away—

  The shoes stopped running, turned toward me, started walking in my direction.

  I inched backward, pulling my brother with me.

  “Gabe?” a voice called. “Hey, buddy, are you in there?”

  It was Billy. But he was possessed, wasn’t he? Or had he found a way to break free?

  I didn’t need to say anything; Gabe could tell something wasn’t right. I nodded at him, giving him the signal to run. I gestured which way to go. My little brother was going to veer to the left, while I was going to run straight at Billy. I was planning to knock him down, giving Gabe and me time to escape.

  But two things happened at once.

  At exactly the same instant.

  Gabe and I jumped out of the box, but before either one of us could run, Billy raised a gun and shot my brother. Right in the chest. Game over.

  My brother crumpled to the ground, his eyes staring forward, his final breath coming out in a gurgle of blood.

  No! No! The shock of his death ran through me like ice. My whole body went numb, and I didn’t even have time to feel the pain or the sorrow or the anger.

  Because the second thing happened. Right then.

  Mirror doors opened; fire and light poured into the street, as bright as one of those plane crashes. The ground slipped beneath my feet. Billy’s head spun around, and we both stared as another glowing alien stepped out from the mirror doors.

  “Shit!” Billy said and suddenly, he went into a panic, like he didn’t have enough time to do what he had to do. He swung back toward me, lifting his gun, aiming it at me.

  But before he could fire, a blast of scorching white light shot toward him from the street. It hit him in the back, knocked him a step forward, and his body caught on fire. He opened his mouth and screamed while his body dissolved in a pile of smoldering ash and flame. That alien inside him tried to escape but failed.

  “Sara, come with me,” the alien from the mirror door said, its timbre hollow, its accent foreign. It walked toward me, one hand outstretched. “I want to help.”

  I didn’t stop to think. I was still in survival mode and, because of it, I almost destroyed every chance the human race had. I knelt, grabbed Billy’s gun from the pile of ash, stood, and held the weapon with both hands.

  I had no idea how to shoot it, but still I aimed it at the alien.

  “Stay away from me!” I said, my hands shaking.

  “Do you want to save your brother? Your friend Natalie?” the creature asked as it continued to approach me. “What about your parents?” It paused. “Justin?”

  “It’s too late to save Gabe or Natalie. And how do you know us?”

  “I know you because I’ve been trying to save your world for a very long time.”

  I shook my h
ead, not believing him.

  “Help me save Gabe. He always dies today, but if you help me, we can change that.” The alien tilted its head, studying me. “I’ve met you before. I hope you say yes this time.”

  “This time?”

  “I’m a time traveler, Sara. You can be one, too.”

  My hands tightened on the gun. My heartbeat thundered in my ears. None of what it was saying made sense. “What does Gabe have to do with any of this? Why my brother?”

  In the distance, a crowd of people screamed as yet another jet plummeted from the skies. The alien glanced over its shoulder at the growing carnage. “We don’t have long. Maybe a minute or two before my brothers learn where you are. You’re the target now. The next plane crash will be right here. Just nod your head.”

  I don’t know why I did it. I had so many questions. But some part of me knew I was out of options. I was all alone. I wasn’t going to live long—I could feel it, like some part of me was already gone.

  I nodded.

  That alien was Aerithin, part of an alien resistance, a rebel who didn’t want to slaughter every race his kind—the Xua—targeted. He was different. Later, he explained his plan to save us, although he would never give me very many details. But he did tell me that he’d been trying to save Gabe for a long time and, as a result, Aerithin was getting weaker. Time travel breaks down alien DNA.

  Gabe was the key to human survival. If I could get him through the night and through the initial invasion, Earth would be saved.

  Save my brother, save the world.

  That was all I knew.

  Aerithin grabbed my hand and pulled me toward an alien beast that waited for us in the street. Tall as an elephant and made of long liquid strands of fire, it watched me as I approached. I took a cautious step nearer, wondering if I’d get burned. The fire-beast leaned its head down so I could touch it. I ran my fingers through its fur—it felt smooth and slippery, like threads of warm light, and I felt a deep vibration, like it was purring.

  It looked terrifying, but it acted like it already knew me, bending down for me to climb up onto its back, waiting until both Aerithin and I were aboard before letting out a mighty roar. The mirror doors opened, and I saw reflections of myself, a thousand different Saras, a hundred different lives, countless endings to my story.