Romy (2250 Saga, Book 1) by Nirina Stone

Release date: August 14, 2015

Subgenre: Dystopian

About Romy:

 

In the year 2250, life in Apex is built on classification systems. The rich Prospo live a lavish life in skyscrapers. Poor Citizens live underground and Soren terrorists are a threat that no one wants to contend with, least of all young, healthy women that are used solely for breeding.

Twenty year old Romy believes she's done everything right to avoid being put on the Soren auction block. She's studied hard and attained her robotic certification to secure an enviable job in Prospo City, but when her time comes, instead of the coveted 'B' classification, Romy's status leaves her vulnerable to the Soren terrorists.

Follow Romy as she strives to live the life she's worked so hard to attain and learns the truth about her name, her past, and her world.

 

Excerpt:

 

I prepare to run towards my right, where the hallway will lead towards my exit and the waiting team.

But I stop in my tracks when I hear a familiar hissing, bumping sound that could only be an Incinerator. I freeze, tilt my ear to the left and listen. It's definitely here, behind another set of sliding doors. These doors would not be locked, because Incinerators don't need to be secured.

Knowing that this is not a part of my assignment, knowing that I'm losing precious time, I can't help myself. I turn left, away from the hall to the exit. I have to see. I need to see.

Walking through the sliding doors, I stop where the machine huffs and burns in front of me. It sits towards the back and right of the room, its massive exhaust pipe reaching up through the tall ceilings.

Its ugly light gray body makes the floors and walls in the room rumble, and I can see that it's well on its way to destroying piles of physical books that are already falling, in twos and threes, down its chute.

I hear the half second hiss as each book burns, and walk towards the electric counter for the Incinerator to shut it down. For good.

This will take a while, and they will find a way to fix it. But if I tell my team exactly how many books are lined up in this room, we will find a way to come back in here and rescue them.

There are well over two thousand books along the far wall, waiting to be destroyed. Who knows how many of those are the only copy left in this world, with its exact words, its exact ideas?

Sorry mother, I think. It's worth it. One less Incinerator in the world is a good thing. So I get to work. It is a slightly different model than the one we had in the Azure library, so it takes me a moment to figure out how to wreck it. I have to be quick though.

There is no ‘Off’ switch on an Incinerator. It is turned on and off remotely, so I have no option but to break it from here. Every time I hear another flash and hiss, another book or four are gone, forever. I flinch, but continue to work.

And that's when Sheppard grabs me.

I didn't hear him over the rumbling loud sounds of the Incinerator. But I'm certain it's him because he's choking me. I see the muscles of his forearm ripple and clench while he pulls me away, his wall of a body flush on my back.

I scratch and punch and pull at his arm, but he's too big. He's too strong, and I'm having a hard time breathing. My legs kick the air uselessly when he picks me up with the other arm wrapped around my ribs. He starts towards the other end of the Incinerator. The burning end.

 

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About Nirina Stone:

Nirina is a Canadian author living in Australia with her husband and two kids. She loves to read, write, watch dark shows, eat chocolate, and write some more. ROMY is her second novel.

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