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 jumped over the sand dunes and rushed down to the shore. "Lexi!" He called over the crash of the ocean waves.


"It's Mom! Please hurry!" She yelled back.


Jack hit the hard-packed sand at a sprint. His rifle rattled as it jostled against his back. The tactical gear slowed his pace. He pushed harder until he finally reached the edge of the water.


"Dad!" Lexi pulled Alex along until she tripped and fell at his feet. "Something's wrong with her."


Jack swung an arm around Lexi quickly before she fell, too. "It's okay, muffin. She's just cold. We'll get her all fixed up." Jack dipped down and scooped Alex up in his arms. Her light body hung limply against his chest. Lexi unclipped the floatation seat from her front then hauled Alex's bag up over her shoulder.


"Are we going all the way to the base?" Lexi asked as they turned up the beach.


Chapter 161: Shore