Tested
Authors: Janelle Stalder
TESTED
By Janelle Stalder
TESTED
Copyright 2014 Janelle Stalder
Published 2014
Amazon Edition
Cover Design by Mae I Design and Photography
Ebook Formatting by
White Hot Formatting
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Table of Contents
ALSO BY JANELLE STALDER
EDEN SERIES
EDEN
(BOOK ONE)
EDEN-WEST
(BOOK TWO)
EDEN-SOUTH
(BOOK THREE)
EDEN-EAST
(BOOK FOUR)
NEW WORLD SERIES
SWITCH
(BOOK ONE)
MASKED
(BOOK TWO)
STAND ALONE
BRUSH STROKES
To my readers,
Thank you for all your love and support for this series!
Enjoy!
xo
Janelle
There is no greater hell than to be a prisoner of fear.
Ben Jonson
CHAPTER ONE
New Berlin, 2040
It was the sound of their laughter that would haunt her always. The physical pain could almost be forgotten, but the humiliation of their obvious enjoyment was like a burn inside her brain. A wound that would never fully heal. Missy sipped on the steaming cup of coffee she cradled in her hands, her eyes staring off unseeingly. Flashes of that day still floated through her mind, no longer from the nightmare that woke her in the early hours of the morning, but now true memories from the event that seemed to have shaped who she’d become.
Giving herself a mental shake, she stood and started to prepare breakfast for the others. No one else was up at this time, but she knew they’d start to trickle down into the kitchen shortly. Cooking kept her busy enough that her mind wouldn’t wander and made her feel like she was helping out in some way.
Roman Adamson, the former second in command to Ludwig Tennebris, the New World leader, was now living with them, his loyalties no longer lying with the tyrant. It was hard to believe, but it took only one look at the way he treated Charlotte’s sister Bridgette to see how much she meant to their former enemy. The man was clearly in love. It made Missy want to sigh and hope for the same for herself in the future, but she was no dreamer. Things like that only happened in romance novels. There was no such thing as knights in shining armor, riding in on a white horse to save her from the sad life she lived.
Not that her life was horrible. On the contrary, she had a home and a family that loved her, which was more than most people could say. At least the roof above her head didn’t leak, and they had food to put on the table. In this world, nothing could be taken for granted.
That didn’t mean she wasn’t lonely though. The world might be a harder, rougher place, but she was still like any other girl. When she was alone with her thoughts, she still dreamt of finding someone to love, someone to shine some brightness into the dark. Of course, in order to find that person she’d have to actually open herself up to other people. She snorted as she began chopping the potatoes for a hash.
Not likely,
she thought. Her dream still hovered on the edges of her thoughts, reminding her just why she couldn’t stand the thought of being with a man anymore.
Tyler. The name hit her out of nowhere, just like it always did since the large Scotsman had shown up with the others. Missy instantly pushed it away. Thinking about him only made her anxiety worse. It had been two weeks since she had watched him be knocked out and thrown into the back of an unmarked white van. Everyone had wanted to rush out and look for him, but unfortunately they were forced to lay low due to the overwhelming presence of soldiers in their area now.
The crew had crashed one of Ludwig’s parties to retrieve Bridgette who had been masquerading, literally, as Weapon X, the persona Charlotte had employed when she worked for the New World leader. From what Missy had heard, since she hadn’t been there herself, it hadn’t gone well, and in the process Ludwig had seen them all, making it difficult for anyone to walk the streets right now. The last thing they needed was for someone else to get picked up.
Her sister, Phoenix, was getting restless though. She wasn’t the type who could stay locked up inside a house for long. Missy knew it was only a matter of time before they started venturing out again. A couple of their contacts from the streets had been keeping them informed about anything that was going on, but no one knew anything about the mysterious white van, or Tyler’s whereabouts.
It was a stressful time, even more so since Roman’s revelation on the day he had suddenly appeared at the house to reunite with Bridgette. As far as anyone in New Berlin knew, all of North America had been destroyed during the war. When the wave of bombings had started, communication to the outside world had been instantly lost. Television, internet, telephones – all were a thing of the past. They now knew why.
According to Roman, Ludwig had timed his attack on Europe right as there had been a massive Tsunami in the United States of America, something they were only just beginning to hear about before power was lost. The natural disaster wiped out most of the country and even a good portion of Canada, leaving any survivors with no choice but to move inland as far as they could. Roman said the leaders there had been so preoccupied with their own destruction that they weren’t even aware of what was happening in Europe until Ludwig was already in control of most of it.
It had taken them years to recover, giving Ludwig more than enough time to take over Europe and make it impossible for them to send any help once their army was back up and running. Roman said Ludwig kept the sky and borders so heavily armed there would be no way for anyone to send in help.
The barrage of questions that had bombarded Roman after he explained all this was insane. Missy remembered only half listening as everyone questioned him about just how many other countries were still alive. There was more of the world’s population alive than they had thought, something no one could ever have seen coming. Although why, Missy didn’t know, considering how deceitful the New World leader was. It really shouldn’t have been a surprise that he had lied to them about the rest of the world.
While everyone shouted overtop of one another, Missy had sat there in a daze, her mind stuck on the image of Tyler slumping helplessly in those men’s arms. Pete, Trent and Seamus had run out of the house as soon as Missy had come barging into the kitchen with the news, but they hadn’t found a thing. At that point no one knew what to do, and two weeks later they were no closer to a solution with either situation. They still weren’t certain how to get into contact with anyone across the ocean, or how they were going to track down this elusive van.
“Something smells heavenly,” Phoenix said, sauntering into the room. Missy didn’t know anyone else who was as chipper and energetic in the morning as her sister. Phoenix stopped just behind Missy, her chin resting on her shoulder as she breathed in loudly. Missy chuckled, swatting her sister’s hand away as she reached for a potato.
“You’re going to burn yourself,” Missy warned.
“It would be worth it,” Phoenix said with a grin.
“I’m sure you can wait another ten minutes until they’re done.”
Sighing dramatically, Phoenix poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the large table that took up most of the kitchen. They relaxed into a comfortable silence as Missy tossed in some vegetables.
“I think I’m going to go out today,” Phoenix announced, breaking the silence. Missy only nodded. “Aren’t you going to tell me no?” she asked with a snicker.
Missy looked over her shoulder, one eyebrow raised skeptically. “Would you listen if I did?”
Her older sister’s grin widened. “Nope.”
“Then no, I’m not going to tell you no.” Missy turned back to the food, stirring it. “To be honest,” she said, “I’m surprised you’ve lasted this long.”
“Me too,” Phoenix admitted. “I’m more surprised that I haven’t killed someone yet. It’s one thing to be stuck inside, but to be stuck inside with all these people?” She shuddered. Missy smiled, knowing exactly who Phoenix probably felt like killing the most, although she was starting to wonder if her sister really did hate the tall, blond, stubborn, Trent McKay as much as she said she did. “We need to get a lead on Tyler,” she was saying, breaking into Missy’s thoughts.
Missy felt herself stiffen at the mention of his name. Two weeks. That was a hell of a long time for someone to be kidnapped. What if whoever took him had killed him already? Or worse…Missy’s gut wrenched at the thought of someone torturing the burly Scotsman.
“And just how do you plan on doing that?” Trent asked, walking into the kitchen. Missy forced herself to remain relaxed around the men. It was hard, but she was finding the longer they were here, the easier it was starting to become. She still didn’t like to be left alone with one of them, but she wasn’t quite as nervous as she had been when they’d first arrived.
“I’m going to go out and ask some of my contacts,” Phoenix snapped back.
Missy turned to see Trent sitting across the table from her sister, his mouth pressed into a hard line.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he said. “It’s too dangerous.”
Her sister balked at his demand. “I can do whatever I want, hot shot,” she replied.
“Not with that hair you can’t,” he argued. “You’d be picked up in minutes as soon as one of the New World soldiers spotted you.”
Phoenix touched the ends of her bright red bob, her eyes narrowed at the man across from her. Missy was tempted to laugh at the look of outrage on her sister’s face. No man, in their entire life, had stood up to Phoenix the way Trent constantly did. It was almost entertaining to watch. Even their father gave in to her sister’s every whim.
“I’ll wear a hat then,” she said in a defiant tone.
“Smells good in here!” Seamus shouted, shooting Missy a grin. She timidly smiled back at him before turning around. “Why do you two already look like you want to kill each other?” he asked, flopping down on the bench.
“Because we’re awake and breathing,” Phoenix replied sweetly. Seamus snorted, but Trent remained rigid in his seat, his face set in an irritated look.
“She wants to go out today,” Trent said, looking to Seamus. “Tell her it’s a bad idea.”