The Gene Rift (Destiny by Design Book 2) Read online

  THE GENE RIFT BY J. ANDERSEN

  Published by Brimstone Fiction

  1440 W. Taylor St., Ste #449

  Chicago, IL 60607

  ISBN: 978-1-946758-18-7

  Copyright © 2017 by J. Andersen

  Cover design by Elaina Lee, www.forthemusedesign.com

  Interior design by Atritex, www.atritex.com

  Available in print from your local bookstore, online, or from the publisher at:

  www.brimstonefiction.com

  For more information on this book and the author, visit: www.jandersenbooks.com

  All rights reserved. Non-commercial interests may reproduce portions of this book without the express written permission of Brimstone Fiction, provided the text does not exceed 500 words. When reproducing text from this book, include the following credit line: “The Gene Rift by J. Andersen published by Brimstone Fiction. Used by permission.”

  Commercial interests: No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by the United States of America copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents are all products of the author’s imagination or are used for fictional purposes. Any mentioned brand names, places, and trademarks remain the property of their respective owners, bear no association with the author or the publisher, and are used for fictional purposes only. Brimstone Fiction may include ghosts, werewolves, witches, the undead, soothsayers, pirates, mythological creatures, theoretical science, fictional technology, and material which, though mentioned in Scripture, may be of a controversial nature within some religious circles.

  Brought to you by the creative team at Brimstone Fiction:

  C.N. Dudek, Rowena Kuo, Meaghan Burnett, and Brian Cross.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Andersen, J.

  The Gene Rift / J. Andersen 1st ed.

  Printed in the United States of America

  To Todd

  For loving me in good times and bad.

  I love you.

  Praise for The Gene Rift

  The Gene Rift is like riding a roller coaster in the dark with unexpected, break-neck twists and turns. Thrilling, gut wrenching, and deeply romantic, it will steal your breath away with every page turn.

  ~Michele Barrow-Belisle

  Best-selling Author of Fire and Ice

  A brilliant follow up to The Breeding Tree. The Gene Rift will tug at your emotions until the very last page.

  ~Rebekah L. Purdy

  Author of The Winter People

  An action-packed tale of suspense, a true page-turner, where the heroine risks everything to save the people she loves.

  ~Brenda Baker

  Author of Surviving Haley

  J. Andersen proves again that she has her fingers on the pulse of YA fiction. The Gene Rift is an enthralling journey of discovery and set-back, of victories and failures. With compelling characters and a fast-paced story, readers will not be left wanting. This book is a must-read for fans of dystopian fiction.

  ~Aaron Gansky

  Author of the Hand of Adonai Series

  J. Andersen does it again with this gripping sequel! Amazing writing coupled with unforeseen plot twists make the continuation of Kate’s story hard to put down. I became emotionally involved with the characters and couldn’t stop reading. I can’t wait for the next book to find out Kate’s fate!

  ~Lisa Orchard

  Bestselling author of

  The Super Spies Series and The Starlight Chronicles Series.

  Kate lives in a world that could one day be ours. Her story gives us pause, makes us think. Thoughtfully and well told, The Gene Rift is a treasure to read.

  ~Dottie Rexford

  Author of Cora Pooler

  and winner of the WD self-published awards Inspirational Fiction

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  To Todd, for paying for all my café writing visits while I pursue this crazy writing life. I love you.

  To the team at Brimstone Fiction: Rowena Kuo, Meaghan Burnett, Court Dudek, Brian Cross, and all the others, it’s been a pleasure working with you again. Thanks for taking another chance on my stories.

  To Steve Hutson, my agent and my friend, thanks for always taking my side. And to Ruth for your insight and editing, thank you!

  To my readers and fans, your notes and posts filled with anticipation for this book are a constant encouragement. Don’t ever stop. *wink* I do this for you.

  To Dad, thanks for all those Greek and Hebrew and Latin lessons.

  Here are your editorial credits.

  To Mom, you get one too just because you’re my biggest cheerleader. To my brother, Matt Bailey, my inspiration for Jaxon, thanks for all the snarky remarks, the endless sarcasm you’ve given out for our entire lives, and for the shooting lesson and gun expertise.

  To Bri Katilus and Jeanine Bailey, for being as excited about this book and the yet unpublished ones as you were for the first one and for all the brainstorming that gives me ideas!

  To Deb Bailey, for your photos that always make me feel like a “real” author.

  To Alex Bailey, your eye for grammar has officially made you one of my top betas. Congratulations. Now you’ll be required to edit every book I ever write. I’m glad we’re related; therefore, you can’t say no! But don’t worry, I’ll pay you in dill pickles.

  To Brandi Meacham, for your keen eye for grammar, especially those stinking hyphens.

  To Brenda Baker and Kelly Martin, I’m glad I have you for encouragement and laughs.

  To my betas, Jeanine, Bri, Elizabeth, Marissa, Tracy, Wendy, Danielle, Beth, James, Celeste, Michele, and all the others, I couldn’t have done this without you.

  To God, for filling my head with stories.

  Contents

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  FOUR

  FIVE

  SIX

  SEVEN

  EIGHT

  NINE

  TEN

  ELEVEN

  TWELVE

  THIRTEEN

  FOURTEEN

  FIFTEEN

  SIXTEEN

  SEVENTEEN

  EIGHTEEN

  NINETEEN

  TWENTY

  TWENTY ONE

  TWENTY TWO

  TWENTY THREE

  TWENTY FOUR

  TWENTY FIVE

  TWENTY SIX

  TWENTY SEVEN

  TWENTY EIGHT

  TWENTY NINE

  THIRTY

  THIRTY ONE

  THIRTY TWO

  THIRTY THREE

  THIRTY FOUR

  THIRTY FIVE

  THIRTY SIX

  THIRTY SEVEN

  THIRTY EIGHT

  THIRTY NINE

  FORTY

  FORTY ONE

  FORTY TWO

  1-Clean Slate

  ONE

  WATCHING

  (SAUL)

  I’ve been following her for days, watching every mistake, seeing every struggle from my hiding spot in the shadows beyond her sight. And she’s led me right to them.

  Just like I knew she would.

  It’s hard to believe she’s made it this easy for me. Her so-called escape from The Institute was pitiful. I’m sure she thought she was lucky when everything fell into place, and obstacles miraculously faded as she reached them. Little did she know that “luck” was me, arranging every step without her knowing, calling the soldiers off her trail, sending the g
uards at the fence to another emergency at just the right time, allowing her to escape easily. Almost makes me want to tell her, make sure she knows I am the one controlling her future.

  She’d never suspect me. Not in a million years. After all, we only spent time together that once. Her choice to ignore me after that date was the worst decision she ever made. And I’ll make sure she under-stands that rejecting me brought on her destruction. No one gets away with defying me.

  Now, off in the distance, three people lift her from her almost-grave, baby clutched to her chest, and they pass through the gate into the Hidden City.

  The secret gate that’s not so secret anymore.

  I’ll give her time to get settled, to regain her health, and to bond with her son. Then I’ll find her again and pluck each well-laid brick from the foundation of her life and watch it all come crumbling down around her.

  TWO

  ABOVE

  (KATE)

  Most of my wounds have healed, except for the broken ankle, which is covered with a walking cast. It’s still sore, but the doctor says it’s mending well. As long as I stay off it and make myself rest, I’ll be back to normal in no time. Unfortunately, there’s no cure for heartache.

  Over the past few weeks, I’ve replayed our last moments together in my mind a million times. I can still see the look in Micah’s eyes as he told me to run; the pain, the hope. The plan had been to birth Brody and run, and Micah was supposed to escape with me to lead us through the Outerlands to the Hidden City. It didn’t happen that way. If I’d known it was the last time I’d see Micah, I’d never have gone along with it. I’d have found a way to make him come with me.

  The thing I can’t figure out is if he did it on purpose—sacrificed himself for Brody and me. Not sure which would be better: that he planned on getting himself caught or that they discovered his betrayal on their own.

  The Institute doesn’t deal lightly with traitors.

  The whole point of leaving was to be with Micah, to save Brody together and start a new life, but now I’m far beneath the earth in the Hidden City, and he’s back there in jail ... if they were kind enough to imprison him. I keep hoping he’s okay, but at the same time, I’d bet my life he’s not. If he’s even still alive, they have him for sure. There’s no way he could’ve escaped when the army of men came for him in the laboratory. I watched helplessly as they bound him and dragged him away.

  I clench my eyes shut to force out the image in my mind. He’d want me to be strong, so I can’t let anyone see how much I miss him.

  Thank goodness I have Brody.

  Flipping over, I reach out and pull the bassinet closer to the edge of the bed. My fingers find his head to rub his hair, and he stirs. In seconds, he’s fussing, so I mix a bottle of formula from the supplies kept on my bed stand. Once it’s prepared, I lift him into my arms to feed him. Suddenly, all my troubles melt away as I rub my lips over the soft skin on his forehead, leavin g light kisses along the way. There’s nothing like holding my own child, knowing that I alone am responsible for his care. I’m the one who’ll teach him, who’ll raise him to learn my ideals, who’ll show him how to be a man, strong and full of integrity. Like Micah. But without Micah, how will I ever teach him to be the kind of man he needs to be? How will he understand that true masculinity means love and sacrifice?

  I brush the tear from my eye and kiss Brody’s head again just as Micah’s sister, Ally, bounces in with an armful of medical supplies and a smile on her face. It’s times like these I realize how young she really is— only sixteen. Despite her age, she’s married and has a baby. It’s the way of life in this community. At seventeen with a baby myself, I fit right in.

  “How’re you feeling today?” she asks.

  “Crappy.” It slips out before I can catch myself.

  She sets the stuff on a small table in the corner of the dimly lit room. “Still hurtin’?”

  “Yeah, a bit.”

  She’s referring to my leg. I’m talking about my heart.

  I brush my fingers through my matted bed-head, trying to smooth it down. The clock reads seven-thirty, and I wonder how long Ally’s been up. Maybe her son, Benjamin, woke up early. I work on changing Brody’s diaper and swaddling him back into a blanket. All wrapped up, he settles back into a pseudo-sleep.

  Ally is dressed in a pair of jeans with holes torn into each knee, and her tunic is cinched at the waist by a belt with a decorative buckle. She smooths a stray blonde hair back into her ponytail and sits on the edge of my bed.

  “Worried about Micah?”

  The sound of his name breaks my heart, and I struggle not to cry. A glance at Brody renews my strength again. “No, he’s fine. I’m sure he’s fine. He’ll figure out a way to get back to us.” But even as I say the words, I can’t bring myself to believe them.

  A grimace flashes across her face before she hides it with a bright smile. “You’re right. He’s gonna be okay, Kate. He’s resourceful. Besides, we have sympathizers and contacts everywhere in The Institute. They’ll help Micah get out. I’m sure we’ll hear something soon.”

  I try to trust her, but even if he breaks out of prison, he’ll be a wanted man, on the run for the rest of his life. Always hiding and looking over his shoulder at every turn.

  All because of me.

  “I’ll tell you what,” she says. “Let’s get you up and moving. You’ll feel better if you get some fresh air.”

  I state the obvious. “Ally, we live underground.”

  “True, Arcanus, or the Hidden City as you call it, is underground, but today, we’re breaking away to the surface to scavenge.”

  She moves, and I pull the cover back and swing my bum leg over the edge. “That should be interesting.” I pat my cast. I can walk, but it’s difficult.

  “You can use crutches. We won’t go far. Besides, the doctor says it’s only a hairline fracture. As long as you take it easy, you’ll be fine. You have another two weeks in the cast at most.”

  “Thank goodness.”

  “Come on. Get up and get dressed. Hunter is watching Benjamin for the morning so we can go out. He knows I get antsy if I don’t have my surface time. If you’re really nice, he might watch Brody, too.” She locates an empty pack in the back of the closet and slings it over her shoulder then places another on the chair by the door. “If you hurry, you can grab something to eat before we leave.”

  “Gee thanks.” I scrunch up my nose at her, and she laughs in return.

  She’s right, though. I’ll die of cabin fever if I don’t do something soon.

  ****

  Despite living in Arcanus for a month, I haven’t learned all the passageways yet. So I’m curious when Ally leads me to a garage around the corner from Silas’s bookshop. She pulls a key from her back pocket, unlocks the side door, and holds it open as I hobble through, trying not to hit the frame with my crutches.

  Inside is a makeshift office. A long table and a few chairs sit along one wall. The rest of the space looks like a mechanic’s garage. The benches are covered with bottles of oil, old rags, and various tools. There’s a car on a lift a foot in the air, and a pair of feet stick out from underneath it.

  “Hello?” Ally says.

  The body slides out from under the car, revealing a handsome young man with dark hair and a broad chest. As soon as he sees Ally, he smiles, wipes his hands on a rag, and sits up. “Hey, Ally.”

  “Hey, Jaxon. We’re headed up for scavenging.” She points her thumb over her shoulder to where I’m leaning against the wall, and Jaxon’s eyes follow.

  He nods. “Kate, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “How’s the leg?”

  “Better.”

  I remember Jaxon from the first time Micah brought me here. It was Jax who first led me to the hospital where I found Micah waiting for Ally to have her baby. But I barely know him. Haven’t spent much time with anyone other than Ally, her husband, Hunter, and Silas, the book-shop owner. I need to get out more, stop wa
llowing in my own pity. As I pull my leg up to rest on a chair, I make a mental note to be more social.

  Jaxon looks back to Ally and whispers, “Any word from Micah yet?” Ally shakes her head and glances at me. I quickly look away so it seems like I’m not paying attention, but the mere mention of Micah’s name sends my nerves into a tizzy. “I’m taking Kate to the surface to get her mind off things for a while. She’s trying not to let anyone see she’s worried, but I can tell it’s ripping her apart.” They talk about me like I’m not even here.

  So much for keeping my pain a secret. And here I thought I was doing a decent job covering it up. Fail.

  The worried look on Jaxon’s face melts when he turns his attention to me again. It changes into something closer to pity. Not sure which is worse.

  “Well then, let’s get you signed in and up to the surface, shall we?” he says.

  He steps behind the table and pulls open the top drawer of a filing cabinet. Handing Ally a clipboard with a pen attached to it, he says, “You know the deal.”

  Ally scribbles across the page and then hands it to me to do the same.

  It’s a chart. ID number. Reason for surface visit. I didn’t realize they kept such specific details.

  “Okay, ladies. In you go.” He opens the door to the car on the lift, gives Ally a key, and places a folded paper in her hand. “Leave it up there.”

  She nods, knowingly.

  Must be a message for a sympathizer. This shouldn’t surprise me since the whole bad timing of the secret-paper-animal-message-sharing is what nearly got me abducted. But the idea of spreading messages this way is still strange to me. Seems like it wouldn’t work, but some-how it does. The sympathizers know what the animals mean and can interpret the messages based on their circumstances.

  I haven’t been to the surface since I arrived, so I’m not sure how this works. But I follow Ally’s lead and climb in the passenger side of the car, pulling my crutches in after me.

  Instead of moving forward, the car lurches upward. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t this … some sort of a rising lift contraption.

  Ally notices the look on my face and says, “It’s okay. You’ll see in a second.” But when we continue to rise to the ceiling of the garage, I clench the sides of the seat under me. At the last moment, the ceiling separates, revealing a large elevator shaft. It’s black except for a few dim red lights about a hundred feet up.