J. Tomas

Sixteen year old Aine lives in the Colony, and his whole life was decided before he was born. In two years he will marry the girl next door, Brin, who was assigned as his Other at birth. Then he will be given a position in the Colony's workforce that best suits his talents. Each night he takes four pills, like everyone else in the Colony, and he knows the pills keep them safe and their world in order. Everything is fine. Perfect, in fact. Until Aine accidentally drops one of his pills. Terrified, he tries to hide the mistake, but when he dreams for the first time in his life, he discovers all he's been missing. What scares him more than not taking the pill, though, is how alive his dreams make him feel. Because it isn't Brin he dreams of but his best friend Kyer. Another boy. Suddenly Aine's world turns upside down, and he doesn't know what to think or who to trust. All he knows for sure is he's falling in love with Kyer, which is forbidden by the Colony's Code, and he will do anything to protect their budding relationship. Even if it means defying the Overseer and leaving the Colony behind.

The Colony Book 1: Rebellion

He knew. I felt it in the weight of his gaze.


Brin’s hand covered mine, startling me. I pulled back, breaking the hold the Overseer had on me, and when I looked back at him, I saw the first hint of a smile toy around the edges of his thin mouth. A moment longer, and he turned to nod at the Officers. Without a word, he headed for the door, his security detail trailing behind.


I found Brin watching me closely. “What?” I asked, my voice unnaturally loud in the stunned silence that filled the Rec Room at the Overseer’s retreat.


Softly, she whispered, “It’s you. It has to be.”


“What? No,” I scoffed, shaking my head. I looked at Lyra and Kyer, hoping one of them might laugh at the suggestion. “He just looked up here, that’s all. He could’ve been looking at any one of us.”


“He was looking at you,” Kyer said.


Chapter 23