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

"Take me with you," Lexi gripped Alex's hands. "Please."


"What exactly are you going to do down there? I can't hide you in my pod for months and I can't give you a job."


"I already have a cover. I'm Maya Monroe. I'll just go and live with Jack."


Alex shook her head. "He has enough on his plate right now. He's even got a girlfriend."


Lexi set her hand on Alex's arm. "I'm sure she's trash."


"She's not. She is very similar to how I used to be. He's just coping with the loneliness."


"No. I need to start setting up Henry. Now, I don't want you to repeat any of this to anyone. Not a single word."


Lexi shrugged. "What if I do? Can I tell him?"


Alex sighed. "No, not even Jack, but I don't want you to come to the Undersea under any circumstances." She grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eye. "I need you safe. I cannot lose you again. Besides, who is going to watch over your brother?"


Chapter 212: Two Months Earlier