Ray of Light (The Incandescent Series Book 1) Read online

  Contents

  Copyright

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  works

  continue...

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  AUTHOR

  SNEAK PEEK

  Copyright © 2017 Danielle Burrows

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher—exception: for use of brief quotations in book review.

  First edition, 2017

  ISBN: 0-9954426-1-4

  ISBN-13: 978-0-9954426-1-0

  www.ellescottbooks.com

  For my fellow wallflowers,

  may you grow into wildflowers.

  This book is written by an Australian author and uses Australian spelling.

  PROLOGUE

  Kate

  Three years from now

  I’m only fifteen, and yet here I am putting my life on the line to save my brother.

  I run through the woodland, dodging columns of trees and their fallen branches. The sun’s speckled light streams over me and my pasty skin, my hair flies behind me in thick curls through the wind. I lost my parents because of those people, there is no way in hell I will lose Xander too. I will find him, I will. I just need to survive long enough, and this is the only way to make sure I will.

  ‘Kate!’ Miles calls out behind me.

  ‘1503, 1503...’ I whisper to myself.

  I feel like my cheeks will forever be stained from tears of anguish. My knuckles burn from holding Miles’ tablet so tight, both my hands clasped around it as if the whole world will crumble if I happen to let it go. Maybe it will anyway.

  I’m lucky Miles only realised I broke into his office and stole the tablet a minute too late. I’m sure he knows I am reckless and can't be trusted, but if he had the chance to sit me down and tell me the truth, I know he wouldn’t. What will he do with me if he catches up to me? His orders are clear I’m sure of it, my fate will be identical to my parents’.

  I reach the restricted area and type in the access code, 1503. I slam the translucent entrance door shut and pause to look out. He isn't far away.

  ‘Kate!’ Miles yells, ‘STOP!’

  I have no time. I spin around in haste, walk up to the vault’s floor to ceiling door and enter the numbers into the keypad. I hear his hands slam into the glass door and the access code beeps for him to enter behind me. With all my remaining energy, I haul the heavy door open.

  ‘Wait. Please. You don't know what you're doing!’ he pleads.

  I take one step into the vault knowing he would be too afraid to come any closer, ‘I know exactly what I'm doing. I'm going to find my brother and we are going to bring you all down!’

  He stands powerless as the vault door closes in front of him, and all the information I need to destroy his father's company is with me inside.

  ONE

  Nora

  Present day

  I need relief.

  Towering man-ferns give me shade and promise to cool me from the harsh sun, a few small rays make their way through the canopy-like branches, but leaves don't do much on a hot day. Water and mud encircles the tree trunks—it is warm and sticky as it swirls almost knee-high. I knew the Amazon was formidable, but I didn’t expect it to be so difficult to endure.

  ‘VIV?’ I shout as I wade through the dense foliage and murky sludge. With my neck aching from the weight of my camera, I take a moment to catch my breath. It wouldn’t be quite so bad if I wasn’t alone. The boys are well ahead of us, they ran off as soon as the beacon lit up. Such a typical male reaction, to run towards the shiny light. I thought it may be different with him though… considering.

  ‘VIVIAN?’ I bellow again. It is not lady-like; but I'm already covered in filth, sweat is pouring out of my body, and my hair resembles a bird's refuge. I tug at the waist of my black and silver full-body uniform. It is made out of neoprene, which is supposed to be comfortable and flexible for any condition. I hope mine comes with a warranty.

  A rustling noise resonates behind me and Vivian emerges. I don’t know how she still looks so beautiful even in the gruelling conditions. Her Indian decent showcases flawlessly tanned skin and warm wide eyes. Her hair is jet black and slicked up in a high pony tail. She grimaces as she wrestles with a fern branch, her mouth curving almost all the way to her nose.

  ‘Oh, God Nora! I hope there aren't any snakes in this forest!’ She stops beside me and rests her head on my shoulder, ‘How much further do you think? I'm over all of this.’

  We've only known each other for ten months, along with our four other team mates, but we all act like we've known each other forever. Our bonding process was sped up by the constant missions and debriefs, spending so much time with the same people on a daily basis.

  I lean my head onto hers and her thick brown hair acts like a magnet to my mouth, I try to blow it off but it’s already stuck.

  I peel the strands of sweat-dampened hair off my mouth. We laugh meekly for two seconds before I notice Viv's face change.

  ‘What's wrong? Are you OK?’ I ask concerned.

  She sighs and gives me a brief smile, then with a single shake of her head she breathes out; ‘No… I've just, it's something… I'm tired, but it's not this.’ She motions around us and pauses to look down, almost defeated.

  ‘What? You're scaring me!’ I grab her shoulders and look at her face, forcing her to make eye contact.

  A hand touches my back and I spin around in fright. I should have known from his touch who it was. Xander. I give a sigh of relief.

  ‘Are you girls alright? We didn't realise how far behind you were!’

  ‘Got a drink?’ Viv chirps all of a sudden, ‘I’m so, so thirsty here,’ she adds.

  She stands there with this blithesome look on her face, she's full of life again and full of sass. Back to her usual self.

  Xander swings his backpack around and searches for a drink. I glance at Viv, as if to say “What's going on
?” I'm searching for an answer, waiting for a reason, anything. She was only thirsty? Really? Viv smiles at me, snatches the drink from Xander and walks on ahead spilling liquid down her chin as she gulps down the water.

  I watch Viv with confusion for a while, contemplating what could have made her so anxious one moment and normal the next. She was acting like she had something huge to tell me, not like she wanted a drink. My gaze is interrupted as I sense eyes bearing deeply into the back of my matted light-brown hair.

  I turn to face him; his blue eyes burn right through me and my heart skips a beat. They are like two bright blue illuminated LED lights. Oh my God, I bet I look like such a mess!

  ‘How do you like the Amazon?’ He grins holding out a bottle for me.

  ‘I’ll put it this way,’ I say as I take the drink and wipe hair off my face, ‘I can’t believe I thought Nunavut was harsh.’

  As I sip and let the fresh water hug my throat, I feel a gentle stroke down my arm. His touch sends shivers through my spine, in the best possible way.

  ‘It's up this way about thirty metres,’ he points in the direction Viv disappeared into.

  We walk side by side for only twenty metres but it feels like we've been in silence for eternity. As we push through the inhumane forest and absorb the unmerciful heat; all I can think about is grabbing him and telling him how infinitely amazing he is.

  ‘I should warn you, it's um, a bit different than normal,’ he simultaneously breaks the quiet and my thought process.

  Xander holds a branch aside for me and I step out onto the rocks of a river bed and join the rest of our team. So, this is why there is so much water and mud around. Concrete debris of a man-made dam laps in the sludge around the bottom of a…

  ‘It’s massive huh?’ Xander interrupts my thoughts again.

  I open my mouth to reply but the taste of burning bark stings my throat.

  Directly above us blackened branches hang and simmer as though they are recovering from a forest fire. The gap in the tree-scape streams sunlight onto an object the size of a caravan. It’s spherical, dark grey with shimmers of red. Beautiful.

  I lift my camera and look through the viewfinder, I need to zoom out as far as my lens goes to fit the whole scene in. I take a step to the side to get a better angle, a rock shifts under me and my foot sinks half a metre into the sludge. I curse under my breath as I look around to see if anyone saw me. Most of them are preoccupied but Ross is smiling and looking directly at me.

  ‘Are you alright?’ He manages to say without bursting into full blown laughter. Ross is one of those kids who went to University while others their age were just starting High School. I hardly ever know what he is talking about, but his intentions are always honourable.

  I smile back with a screwed-up nose, ‘Fine!’

  He fixes his glasses and kneels down in front of his energy-monitoring equipment, cords and radars and laptops. I capture the moment on my camera; from his short messed up hair, to the band-aids on almost all of his fingers.

  I move my camera to Eli who stands beside Ross. His eyes are alight with anticipation. At twenty-one he’s the oldest of us all, but he’s really just a big kid. I have no idea how he managed to get a degree in environmental science. He senses my lens and pouts as he flicks invisible hair over his shoulder.

  ‘I'll contact Base, maybe they have some suggestions on how to get this lump out of here,’ Miles pulls his phone out. He stands in muddy water that circles his hips, which means he must be in a really deep section because he is six foot four. This morning Eli pranked us all by putting our boots on top of our lockers, and we could only get them back by answering a riddle. I didn’t even get to hear what the riddle was before Miles reached his lanky arms up and retrieved my boots for me. He’s always looking out for me. I lift my camera up, Miles smiles and winks just as I take a photo.

  ‘We should see what it does!’ Eli blurts.

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous, you know the rules of extraction,’ Viv says, her eyes a cross between frustration and concern.

  ‘Just let me get my E.A ready,’ Ross clambers with his Electrostatic Analyser to get a read on the object.

  ‘Let’s just wait for Ross to do his thing, we need to be cautious with everything we do,’ Xander commands and we all slow down. He possesses the kind of leadership that puts everyone in line; everyone except Eli that is, who chews on his bottom lip and breathes through his flared nostrils, like he's having an inner conversation with himself whether to obey Xander or not.

  Eli starts walking around the over-sized marble like he's studying it. He takes a step closer. The splattering of red throughout it starts to shine a little brighter and instead of backing away, Eli's head tilts in child-like wonderment. I can tell from the look in his eyes he won't be able to help himself.

  ‘Eli be careful!’ I plead, knowing all too well I could never stop him from doing what he wants to do. He ignores me and takes another impulsive step closer. He's about six metres away from it now.

  A red glow shines even brighter again, it actually seems like there are sparks coming out of it. A low buzz vibrates. He takes another step closer.

  ‘ELIJAH!’ Viv screams.

  The buzzing becomes a loud hum, and like a solar flare, particles of fire start to emit from the surface. All the tiny shimmers of red gather their energy and dart out as one fierce lightning bolt in Eli's direction.

  ‘MOVE!’ Miles yells, dropping his phone into the muddy abyss. He lunges himself forward, wrapping his arms around Eli's legs forcing him to buckle at the knees.

  The red bolt strikes out and emphatically hits a tree behind them. Miles and Eli clamber away together and we all stand in silence, watching and waiting. Frozen.

  The struck tree makes a loud cracking sound that jump-starts everyone's natural instincts.

  ‘TEN METRE RULE!’ Xander yells, ‘NOW!’

  The whole team rushes to where he is and we stand together in shock.

  ‘Ten metres guys,’ he says calming himself down. ‘We must always keep ten metres away from an unknown object!’

  The tree crashes to the ground, smoke rising from its buckled and burned limbs. Ten metres away, red returns to grey as it was before, as if it didn't just try to kill our friend.

  ‘Static?’ Ross suggests.

  ‘Times one hundred!’ Eli says breathlessly patting Miles on the back.

  ~~~

  We return to the Base at six, with enough time to get ready for dinner. I want to eat but cleanliness gets the better of me. I peel my sticky uniform off and turn the shower on. I let the water wash over the leaves and dirt and sludge, and things I don’t really want to know were even on me. I still can’t get myself to call this place home, even though technically it is. Where we sleep, where we eat, where we train. From the outside, it looks like a regular country airport in Regional State Victoria. It has a control tower, a hanger, and a small terminal—all surrounded by a prison grade four metre barbed-wire fence you wouldn't dare risk climbing. If it wasn't for the three or four helicopters on the tarmac, you could swear it was desolate and out of service.

  When I first arrived here ten months ago, I assumed we were catching a flight to somewhere remote and secluded. That was until I stepped into the control tower and was led into an elevator that went—down! The elevator doors opened inside an expansive underground edifice called the Square; a foyer on steroids. Circling up and around are two floors, each with encompassing walkways that surround and look down to the Square. Each floor has its purpose. The ground floor is our living floor - to the left are the bathrooms and bedrooms for the Explorers, like me and my team; the back wall leads to the food hall; and the right-side hallways lead to the bedrooms and bathrooms of the Scientists. The first floor is the working floor, filled with labs and offices. The second floor is what we call the “life-saving” floor. It has anything we could potentially need to survive whilst living in this underground hole. A large Recreation Hall takes up the whole east wing, lounge
suites, televisions, eight ball tables, you name it. On the west side is the gymnasium, swimming pool and tennis court. The middle section at the back, called the Containment Room, boasts all the objects we have found on our missions. We call them orbs. Spherical and other-worldly. These are what our missions are for. We find them all over the Earth; armed with a radar which lets us know when and where one will appear. The first orb we ever found as a unit was a metal grey static orb, the size of a basketball, as the name suggests it was full of static electricity. The other orbs are slightly smaller in size and are both equally a mind-blowing phenomenon to everyone. The egg orb can create a protective force field and the portal orb can transport the person holding it anywhere they have been before. They all look like they could almost host a whole galaxy of their own inside. If I stand far enough back in the Square and look up, I can see them all shimmering down, igniting a storm of wonder and possibility. The sight is to an adult what glow in the dark stars are to a child.

  Even though the Containment Room was empty the first time I set foot in the Base, I was still in awe standing alongside one hundred or so other people gathered in the Square. A leaflet in the North Beach Gazette simply said: “Adventurous spirits needed. Photographers and Researchers apply. No time wasters.” Underneath the writing was a stamp of a Greek goddess and the words “Palladium Enterprises.” Below the stamp was the quote: May you ALWAYS do what you're afraid to do—Ralph Waldo Emerson.

  It doesn't make much sense, even now, but at the time it screamed like a bright neon sign for me. That exact quote has hung in our living room for as long as I can remember.

  Back then, I felt restless often and despised the monotony my life had been for those last few years of High School. I needed something more. I was always a firm believer in going to University and finishing a degree, my goal was to become a travelling documentary photographer, to stare at our glorious earth and document the beautiful things she has created. I kept telling myself that I would be at that stage of my life before I knew it. Yet still, a deep wanting beckoned. I'm still unsure whether it was the thirst for something new, or if it was to simply get away from the stench my mother left behind - the soul sucking foulness of her memory that lingered in every inch of our home.