undertow | bellamy blake (book one)

prologue

The heat radiated off of the vents as Jovie crawled through them. It was starting to get harder the older she got, but the thrill never went away. She knew she wasn't supposed to steal, obviously, but she also wasn't even supposed to be alive. This was her livelihood and what gave her the excitement that she craved. This was also the way she was going to keep her brother alive.

It was like clockwork moving through the vent systems. She knew the ins and outs like the back of her hand. It was pretty much the only way she could actually get through the Ark. After all, if someone tried to stop her and ask for her chip and found out she didn't have one because she was illegitimate, she would be screwed. She had been bold enough to walk through the hallways once in a while, but that was when she was feeling rather daring.

After the third right, she popped open the vent and rolled out into the room. Literally, she rolled. She loved making dramatic entrances.

"J, look what I managed to snag while I was out," she said, standing to her feet to show her brother the bottle of whiskey.

"Jovie," her dad said with a strong tone. Her eyes whipped up. She knew that tone. When she saw the guards surrounding her father in the living room, she bit her lip to stop herself from gasping. This was it. This was the moment she thought she would never have to face.

"Who are you?" the main guard asked. He started his way over to her. There were so many things that was wrong with the situation. Her dad was caught for stealing medication for John, her presence was finally known, and she was standing there like a deer in headlights as she held a bottle of whiskey and a bag full of fruits and vegetables hanging across her shoulder after rolling out of the vent.

Her eyes shifted over to the open vent behind her. As if the guard knew what she was thinking, he grabbed her arm to stop her from running.

"Let go of me!" Jovie screamed. She knew it was no use fighting because he already had her, but that wasn't her style. She would never go down without putting up a fight.

"Give me your chip," he ordered. "Your chip. Now!" Jovie glared at him. "Or I shoot him." He pointed his gun at John who was slumped across the couch. His face was pale and his breathing shallow. He was barely hanging on to life, but Jovie refused to let her brother die. She and their father had been stealing medication to make sure he had a chance against the sickness. She guessed it was just a matter of time before they caught on.

"No!" She screamed, directing the guard's attention away from her brother so it was back on her. "No, I don't have one."

"What do you mean you don't have one?" He asked.

"I'm a second child," Jovie said. His eyebrows raised. She purposefully avoided the term "twin" because she didn't want to give him any reason to try to take John, especially because she was technically older. 10 minutes older to be exact. Though, that didn't stop her parents from deciding to let John go into the world while she hid. The ultrasound had been wrong when it said their mother was only having one child because the next thing they knew, two little suckers popped out.

"A second child?" He repeated. He looked over to her dad and scowled. "Are you her father?" Her father nodded his head. At this point he was already going to be floated for stealing medication. Admitting to being Jovie's father was not going to change anything. "And her mother?"

"Not alive," Jovie said, trying to sound as truthful as she can. "She died at child birth." Her mom was at work, so maybe they could protect her. They couldn't just leave John alone without a family.

The guard didn't seem to buy it, but since he already had both Jovie and her father, that was probably good enough for him.

"Take her to the Skybox," the guard ordered one of the other guards. "This man is being floated for stealing and hiding a criminal." A criminal. Jovie was a criminal for being alive.

As the guard started dragging her out, she looked over at her brother.

"John!" She screamed. He was barely able to open his eyes as he watched his sister being dragged out. A tear slowly dripped down his face as his family was pulled out from under him, and there was nothing he could do to help them.

"Don't fight them, Jo," her dad said as he is pulled the opposite direction from her. There were so many things she wanted to say. She wanted to say she loved him. Her parents didn't always show how much they loved her and frankly, she felt like she was on her own half the time, but she knew they cared. She wanted to say she forgave them for choosing John over her. She wanted to say that she would never stop fighting, simply because fighting is all she's ever known. But she didn't say any of that. Instead she just looked away as her father was being brought to his death.

She didn't listen to her father either. She thrashed against the guard as he dragged her to the Skybox. When they turned the corner, she made eye contact with a young guard. His hair was pushed back, showing his tanned face that was covered with freckles. He was a guard, but even she could see the sympathy in his eyes as he watched her world be torn apart.