Sanctuary
Release Date: 09/10/13
Summary from
Goodreads:
Sanctuary
Sanctuary
In a heart-racing thriller described as Falling Skies meets The Walking
Dead, Jennie struggles to find a safe place for what’s left of her family. But
it seems as though there is no place sacred, no place secure. First the aliens
attacked the sun, making it dimmer, weaker, and half what it used to be.
Then they attacked the water supply, killing one-third of Earth’s
population with a bitter contaminate. And when they unleash a new terror on
humankind, the victims will wish for death, but will not find it…When the world
shatters to pieces around her, will Jennie find the strength she needs to keep
going?
Excerpt
“What?” Jennie
followed the line of Liza’s gaze. They passed out of the treed area, and it
came into view. Silver, round, and glossy, just as the news said it would be.
It shifted in and out like a mirage. She blinked hard at it, while Liza pulled
the car over to the shoulder.
“I can’t believe
it.” The tremor in Liza’s voice betrayed her nerves.
Jennie nodded but
didn’t say a thing. The moment reminded her of her first glimpse of the Statue
of Liberty, as they drove by it, headed for upstate New York
She tore her gaze
away from the strange, floating metal disk and saw that Liza’s was the last in
a long line of cars that had pulled over on the shoulder. Some people had even
stepped out of their cars to take pictures with their camera phones. Liza
hopped out, and Jennie gave a grumbled response to the closing door. Even
though fear gripped her insides, she unbuckled and jumped out after her friend.
Liza clicked away
with her camera phone, standing in awe with the others. The look of the disk
rotating in the sky, blocking out the half-lit sun, was enough to make Jennie
want to scream and hide under her bed covers. She could understand, now, why so
many were running for the hills. Shivers ran up her spine and gooseflesh popped
up her arms.
“Liza, what are
you doing here?” a man asked. The sun glinted off the golden highlights in his
brown hair. He looked vaguely familiar.
“Mr. Harris.” A blush rose to Liza's cheeks.
Jennie blinked and
studied the man. Yep. Hot Mr. Harris,
the Bio teacher and every senior girl’s crush. Her friend, Terra, had taken the
class with him last year. Jennie shoved her hands into her pockets and averted
her gaze from the thrumming metal disk less than a half mile away.
“You girls
shouldn’t be here, you know. It’s not safe, and I’m sure your parents wouldn’t
approve,” Mr. Harris admonished but gave them a half smile.
Was that a dimple?
Had she ever seen him smile before? Ridiculous. Of course not. Her eyes
returned to the disk, and its vibration continued in her chest. Panic rose up
in her throat again.
“Do you think you
could take a picture of us? Then we’ll leave. Promise.” Liza handed Mr. Harris
her phone and yanked Jennie toward the metal fence line.
She dragged her
feet and shook her head. The last thing Jennie wanted to do was get closer.
Mr. Harris eyed
her, his brows furrowed. “Did I teach you last year? No, wait—Terra’s friend,
right?”
Jennie half
nodded.
Liza adjusted
Jennie’s shoulders and wrapped her arm around them, turning her so that her
back was to the ship. Jennie stiffened. The thrumming of the machine sent
vibrations through her core. She could hardly stand still. Prickling fear ran
across her back, as if she were being watched...or as if she was vulnerable to
an attack. She longed for the safety of the car.
Mr. Harris
frowned, his worried, sympathetic eyes fixed on Jennie’s.
“The picture, Mr.
Harris?” Liza reminded him.
“Oh, yeah.” He
lifted the camera phone and snapped it.
The minute the
flash ended, Jennie darted for the car, fumbling with the handle, and dizzy
from hyperventilating.
“Are you okay?”
Mr. Harris called after her.
“She’s fine, and
thanks for the pict—”
With a door slam,
Jennie cut off the last word and the dreadful hum of the alien ship’s constant
rotation. She slumped into the seat. The pit of her stomach still quivered, and
she felt faint. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see or hear any more.
A moment later,
the car door opened, and Liza spoke. “Wasn’t that the coolest thing you’ve ever
seen?”
Jennie broke into
a cold sweat. “Whatever. Let’s just go home, okay?”
“Chicken.” Liza
made a few bock-bocks and flapped her elbows like wings.
Jennie smacked
Liza's elbow when it threatened to pop her in the chin. “Okay, whatever. Let’s
just go.”
With a shrug, Liza
pulled the Volkswagen Beetle back onto the highway. She made her way to the
next exit, where she turned around. “Well, at least I’ve got a picture of the
two of us for a keepsake.”
Jennie groaned.
“And we got to see
‘Hot Mr. Harris.’” She giggled.
Jennie rolled her
eyes. What did her friends see in him?
He was so much older than they were—at least in his mid-twenties.
As they passed the ship again, on Liza’s side, Jennie
turned her head away and looked out her window at the abandoned houses in those
neighborhoods. If she didn’t see the ship, it was easier to deny it hovered
there. As far as she was concerned, she’d
never seen it.
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About the Author
In simple language, Pauline
Creeden creates worlds that are both familiar and strange, often pulling the
veil between dimensions. She becomes the main character in each of her stories,
and because she has ADD, she will get bored if she pretends to be one person
for too long.
Pauline is a horse trainer from Virginia, but writing is her therapy.
Armored Hearts, her joint effort with author Melissa Turner Lee, has been a #1
Bestseller in Christian Fantasy and been awarded the Crowned Heart for
Excellence by InDtale Magazine. Her debut novel, Sanctuary is scheduled for
release September 30, 2013, and has already been nominated for two awards in YA
Science Fiction.
One of Pauline's short stories has won the CCW Short Story contest. Other short
stories have been published in Fear & Trembling Magazine, Obsidian River
and Avenir Eclectia. An urban fantasy short will appear in The Book of Sylvari:
An Anthology of Elves from Port Yonder Press, and a vampire short will appear
in Monsters! from Diminished Media Group.
Author Links:
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