Ava Altair grew up reading fantasy and science fiction novels. She graduated from Florida Tech with a BS in Science Education – Physics and a minor in Computational Mathematics. She taught as an AP Physics teacher for five years in Florida. She now lives in Oregon, teaching horseback riding lessons and managing the stables with her mom. She enjoys hanging out and talking about science concepts and story ideas with her dad.

What it is to be human doesn't apply anymore. The surface of the Earth has been poisoned by years of abuse and now most life lives beneath the waves of the ocean. Over the last 500 years, humans have become fragmented and specialized by genetic manipulation, but two main factions exist in the Undersea. The hybrids, a race that continues to genetically modify themselves to climb the social ladder, and the humans, the unmodified organic race that makes up the lowest tier of society. 

Alex, a Delta Six hybrid, finds an unlikely companion in a human man, Jack, while on a mission to steal the Athena file. Alex withholds the file to elicit help from Jack and they set out on an adventure across the Surface. Their relationship is tenuous until a device mysteriously links them together. Now, running from Alphas, an elite group of hybrid assassins, Alex and Jack must weather the hostile surface of the planet to reach their common goal. They soon find they can't both have the thing they want most, but also can't seem to let each other go.

FLUX

Jack dashed around a few corners and popped open the door to his room. He grabbed two emergency bags from underneath the bed and handed one to Lexi. "Pack what you can fit in here and carry. Put on and pack clothes that will cover your whole body. We may have to go to the Surface."


Lexi unzipped the top of the pack. "What is all this stuff?"


"Emergency supplies. Just pack clothes and stuff. No books. Got it?"


Lexi shot him an upset look but nodded quietly. She pulled open her drawer from the dresser and started stuffing clothes into the pack.


Jack opened the closet and pulled some outdoor clothes out and crammed what would fit in his bag. The floor shuttered again and footsteps clambered by their door. Lexi shot him a worried look but said nothing. She changed into a pair of jeans, a shirt, and tied on a pair of boots. She zipped up her pack and threw it over her shoulder, pulling the tabs tightly so it would fit well.


Jack finished packing and reached out for her hand. "Ready?"


Chapter 85: Leaving, Part 1