"As far back as I can remember, I've been surrounded by water. The salt in the air even now makes it hard to breath, forcing me to squint. Sand clings to every inch of me, caking my pants and shoes. The wind from the ocean picks my hair up, sending it blowing back towards the multi-colored houses lining the shore line.
***
'Quinn, don't panic,' Lexi says through gritted teeth. She holds fistfuls of my shirt now, and I hear the rubber soles of her shoes squeaking.
'Too late,' I whine, grabbing the barbed wire in a last desperate effort to regain some balance. The razor sharp blades cut into my palms, making me jump again. Lexi sucks in air and loses her grip on me.
I hold my breath and close my eyes, feeling the wind cradle me from all sides as I fall at about twenty-four miles per hour, considering the height of the wall and my weight. Now, I wish I was surrounded by water."
South of Compound 4, another compound exists. Within the wall of Compound 5, children are trained and tested for perfection through the Intelligence Exam, a test that every student takes during their sixteenth year. Pass, and you stay within the compound. Fail, and you are sent to another compound. It's common knowledge that they are building a perfect population to remain when the rest of the world falls to the Virus.
Yet, what happens when Quinn faces the threat of Compound 5, a short blonde girl whose name he can't pronounce, and begins to question everything he's ever been taught, pushing the limits of the system and his own comfort zone? When a student receives the compound's first ever perfect IE score, a storm makes its way in from the ocean. Can Q unravel the secrets held within the walls, or will he lead his family and friends to a war they can't win against a woman who seems to be triumphing against all odds?
Selected is the sequel to Immune, found on my profile.
Record Ranking: #25 in Science FictionAll Rights Reserved