diverse energies excerpt

7/30/2019 Diverse Energies Excerpt

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In a world gone wrong, heroes and villains are not always easy todistinguish and every individual has the ability to contribute something powerful. In

this stunning collection of original and rediscovered stories of tragedy and hope, the

stars are a diverse group of students, street kids, good girls, kidnappers, and child

laborers pitted against their environments, their governments, differing cultures, and

sometimes one another as they seek answers in their dystopian worlds.

Take a journey through time from a nuclear nightmare of the past to societys farfuture beyond Earth with these eleven stories by masters of speculative fiction.

Includes stories

and more.

Released October 2012 from Tu Books,an imprint of LEE & LOW BOOKS

$19.95 978-1-60060-887-2 Ages 12 and up 368 pagesAlso available as an e-book


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I watched the two you girls rom the corner o my eye as the

crowds surged around me. Eleven oclock on a balmy summer

evening and the Shi Lin night market in aipei was spilling over

withyao shoppers looking or a way to cool themselves. Stores

lined both sides o the narrow street, and music blared in Man-

darin, aiwanese and English. Te road was closed to trafc,

overtaken by vendors with carts selling noodles and oyster om-elets, cold juices and shakes. Others spread their merchandise

on the ground over a blanket, hawking cheap toys and knick

knacks.

I slouched lower on the plastic table, aded black boots planted

on a stool beneath, taking in the stench o cigarette smoke, stale

beer and sweat. I ipped my silver buttery knie rhythmically

between my ngers without thought, enjoying the eel o cold

Blue skie

b y C i n d y P o n

yao. to want; pronounced yow. you. to have; pronounced yo.


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steel and the sound o blade and handles snapping in my hand.

Men glanced at me warily, touching the places where they hid

their own weapons. Girls clustered closer as they edged past,

chattering. Oneyao girl, barely een, raised her kohl-smudged

eyes rom her heap o chua bing smothered in red beans and

smiled at me, neon purple bangs brushing against her lashes.

Her riend elbowed her and loudly uttered something about

delinquent yao boys, casting a pointed glare in my direction.

Tey sashayed past, legs bare beneath short rued skirts, theriend with her nose in the air. Smiling girls pink mouth was

now pursed in a pout.

Hey, I called.

She hal-turned, careul not to spill her iced dessert. Her black

brows were raised, widening her dark eyes. I winked at her, spin-

ning my knie, then tossed it in the air beore catching it in one

swi motion. She blushed, and her giggle carried to me even as

her riend tugged her away, disappearing into the throngs.

Despite the distraction, I never lost sight o the twoyou girls

bent over a round tub, trying to toss plastic balls into oating

dishes. Te prize was a koi, genetically engineered to never grow

beyond two inches, in iridescent oranges, reds and greens. Hell,

they probably glowed in the dark. Te girls were anked by threebodyguards, beeyyao boys with muscular arms crossed against

their bulging chests.

Ayou boy strutted toward the girls, his eatures obscured by

his glass helmet rom this distance. We called them Bowl Heads

in derision, as their helmets looked like sh bowls. His sleek suit

was black, with an indigo dragon breathing orange ames wo-

ven down one long sleeve. Te suit ensured that he got the best


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oxygen available, that his temperature was regulated, that he was

always plugged in to theyou communication system. Te taller

girl in the white and silver suit ignored him, intent on winning a

koi in a jar, but her petite riend nodded to the bodyguards and

theyou boy swaggered through.

I snorted under my breath.

Tey chatted, probably pulling up ino on their com sys, as-

sessing weight, height, and genetic make up even as they ex-

changed rst names. Tis was what it meant to beyou, to have.o be genetically cultivated as a perect human specimen be-

ore birth vaccinated and ortied, calibrated and optimized.

o have an endless database o inormation instantly retrievable

within a second o thinking the query and displayed in helmet.

o have the best air, ood, and water, ensuring the longest pos-

sible lie spans as the world went to rot around them.

Me, Im like the other ninety percent o theyaos in this world.

We wantand are le wanting. Id be lucky i I lived to thirty. Im

more than halway there.

Te you boy ddled with his collar, then lied his helmet

o, handing it to one o the bodyguards with studied noncha-

lance. He coughed or a long time into his sleeve, attempting to

adjust to the lth we breathed every day. What a rebel. He wasreally trying to impress. Without his helmet, I got a better look at

him. His blond hair was chin length, streaked in red, his eatures

Aro-Asian. He looked about seventeen.

He pulled a cigarette rom a sleeve pocket and lit it, inhaling

deeply, tilting his head to blow the smoke out. He leaned toward

the petite you girl, his expression irtatious. I watched as the

taller girl threw them a glance, then turned back toward the tub.


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She was broad shouldered yet slender, her suit decorated in pink

neon lines with a jeweled Hello Kitty stitched above her heart.

Real gem stones, no doubt. Te way she tensed her shoulders

told me she wasnt pleased by theyou boys intrusion.

I tucked the knie away and retrieved two small items rom a

leather pouch strapped to my side. I wore a sleeveless black tee

and black jeans to match. Not only did I blend in, but it allowed

me to move with ease. I jumped o the table and stretched my

arms overhead, exing my shoulders.Now or never.

I cut a quick path through the crowds, moving diagonally,

thumping into others as they scurried out o my way. Steam

rose rom the chou do fu vendor stirring her spicy broth, and

my eyes watered rom the scent. I was behind the bodyguards

within a minute. Teir massive backs blocked me rom my tar-

get. I tapped the middle one on his shoulder. He twisted, sts

clenched.

Move, I said.

What?

I cocked my elbow and punched him hard in the nose, break-

ing it. Te oa roared, covering his ace as blood spurted. I bar-

reled past him and slammed into the you boy who was gaping,bug-eyed. Te other two bodyguards swiped at me with clumsy

hands but I leaped out o the way, smashing the vial I held to the

ground. Noxious smoke billowed around us. Te bodyguards

and boy dropped to the ground like sacks o rice within ten

seconds. Bet that you boy would regret taking o his helmet

tomorrow morning. Te petite girl screamed shrilly beside me

as passerby shouted in alarm, but no help came as everyone


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steered clear o the umes.

I lunged or the tall girl, pulling her tight to my chest, and

plunged the sleep spell into her hand, the only exposed part o

her body. Te needle hissed as it dispensed the drug. She sank

against me and I heed her into my arms, dashing into the dark

alley behind us, nally allowing mysel to take a breath when I

cleared the smoke. She wasnt heavy, but all cumbersome limbs.

Hey, you! A man shouted, his running ootsteps echoing

behind me.I cursed and spun around the corner into a black alley, press-

ing against the wall. My pursuer ollowed immediately. I stuck

my oot out, and he tripped over it, thumping hard onto the un-

even pavement.

I ran without looking back, weaving between the streets, the

layout etched in my mind. Te distant din o the night market

reached me, accompanied by the shriek o police sirens as they

inched their way through the crowds. No one ollowed. I burst

onto the main street, at the ar end o the market, hailing a taxi.

It screeched to a stop, spewing oul exhaust. I yanked the door

open. ake me to the end o the bus line, I said.

Te driver nodded, raising an eyebrow as I gently lay my hos-

tage on the backseat. She drank too much, I muttered. I triedto warn her.

He icked a cigarette butt out the window beore merging

back into trafc. Tose you girls have everything, but they al-

ways want more.

I stared out the open window as the driver zipped through the

streets with expertise, honking at pedestrians, hoverpeds, and

motorcycles alike. You her bodyguard? he asked, catching my


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eye in the rearview mirror.

I shook my head.

Ah, her boy toy then. He grinned. Whatever pays the bills,

right?

Right. But I wanted more than to just pay the bills, to survive.

I wanted to change the world.

Neon signs ickered in a kaleidoscope o colors, washing my

vision in reds and blues, oranges and greens. I kept a hand on

the you girls arm, so she wouldnt tumble over with the taxidrivers sudden brakes. Her glass helmet reected the lights

around us, and I couldnt make out her eatures. I swallowed,

suddenly araid. Teres no going back now. I jerked my ace

rom her, loosening my grip when I realized I was squeezing

her arm.

She was unresponsive, her chest barely rising with each breath.

Shed be out until tomorrow morning at least.

Te taxi slammed to a stop and I threw my arms around the

girl to keep her rom alling onto the oor. Here we are, end o

the line, the driver said.

I handed him my cashcard, tied to a ake identity and bank

account. Tanks, I said. Add ten or tip.

He smiled, the corners o his eyes creasing with deep lines andsaluted me. He couldnt have been more than twenty-ve.

I got out and lied the girl rom the seat, kicking the door

shut with my oot. Te driver blared his horn twice beore tear-

ing o. It was almost midnight, and I needed to be within Yang

Ming Shan as soon as possible. Te end o the bus line was near

the mountains base. I shied the girl so her head rested against


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my shoulder, her helmet smooth and cold against my cheek, and

started my long climb home.

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