Heightened: The Federation Series (31 page)
Read Heightened: The Federation Series Online
Authors: Miria Masdan
Quinn
She is sitting across from me. I have fulfilled my obligation. I have delivered the information intact.
“Officer Calder we must shut down your program,” one of the men say to her. She looks at me.
“No,” she says. “I want to be awake.”
“The shutdown will take a few moments,” he tells her. “You will be reset and briefed when you arrive at headquarters.”
“Quinn,” she looks at me again. I look away. Her eyes are angry, and I am not comfortable looking at her.
“Look at me,” she shouts. “Damn it. Why do you always leave me? You’re a coward. Look at me.”
I don’t.
“The shutdown has begun,” the man says. “You must recline. We have been programmed to return you undamaged.”
“I am not a thing,” she says. “I am alive.”
She looks at me. Her eyes are closing. I can see her chest rise and fall: slow and steady. Her vital signs are optimal. Her hair cascades down the bench, across her shoulder, and almost reaching the floor. My eyes gaze upon the lines of her face, following the slight arch of her forehead, along the supple curve of her cheek, and resting on the soft angles of her lips.
“Emma,” I say.
I shake my head. I look around the shuttle. I feel the low vibration of my receptor.
“It’s your turn Officer Calder,” the man looks at me. I recline and offer him my arm.
I turn my head and look at Emma. She looks peaceful. I keep my eyes open for as long as I can. When they finally shut, I think about her. I go over every memory. I smile. We’re safe. She’s safe. We are going home.
Nestled in the Fingerlakes region of New York was a little nook that I called home. The quiet, picturesque village with all its charm and simplicity was the perfect place to grow up. But for a shy girl with an active imagination it was an amazing place to day dream and write.
I spent my childhood watching, waiting, and dreaming, but I grew up. I went to college and began a life with a wonderful, hardworking man. We had two children, three dogs, two lizards, two fish, and a cat. I somehow became lost in the day-to-day and forgot that deep inside me there was a creative soul festering and begging to be released.
On the night before my fortieth birthday I told my husband that I needed a change. I had spent the first forty years of my life devoted to everyone, but me. So I set out on my quest to publish my first book. I had been writing for over twenty years for my own pleasure, so I had a lot of books all ready to go, but I decided to start fresh with Heightened.
Join me, as I embark on my mid-life adventure and explore what is possible now that I have given up the fear of the what-ifs and the no-ways.
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DULLED, The Federation Series: summer 2015
ENLIGHTENED, The Federation Series: fall 2015
BLUE COLLAR SERIES: 2015-2016
E.P.I.C. SERIES 2016