The Ark
by Laura Liddell Nolen
Published by: HarperVoyager
Publication date: March 26th 2015
YA, sci-fi
Published by: HarperVoyager
Publication date: March 26th 2015
YA, sci-fi
There’s a meteor headed for Earth, and there is only one way to survive.
With her criminal record, sixteen-year-old Char is never going to get a place on an Ark, one of the five massive bioships designed to protect Earth’s survivors. The Arks are reserved for the real goody-goodies, like Char’s mom, dad, and brother, all of whom have long since turned their backs on her.
With Earth on the brink of destruction, Char must use all her tricks of the trade to swindle her way into outer space, where she hopes to reunite with her family, regardless of whether they want to see her or not.
Once she arrives on the North American Ark, Char discovers that the remnants of humanity haven’t achieved the egalitarian utopia they’d planned for. For starters, the “Officers of the Peace” are anything but peaceful, especially since stealing a spot on an Ark is a crime punishable by death…
Laura grew up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where she spent an excellent childhood playing make-believe with her two younger brothers. The Ark is the direct result of those stories and a lifelong devotion to space-themed television. It received a Work in Progress Grant from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Laura has a degree in French and a license to practice law, but both are frozen in carbonite at present. She lives in Texas with her family.
With her criminal record, sixteen-year-old Char is never going to get a place on an Ark, one of the five massive bioships designed to protect Earth’s survivors. The Arks are reserved for the real goody-goodies, like Char’s mom, dad, and brother, all of whom have long since turned their backs on her.
With Earth on the brink of destruction, Char must use all her tricks of the trade to swindle her way into outer space, where she hopes to reunite with her family, regardless of whether they want to see her or not.
Once she arrives on the North American Ark, Char discovers that the remnants of humanity haven’t achieved the egalitarian utopia they’d planned for. For starters, the “Officers of the Peace” are anything but peaceful, especially since stealing a spot on an Ark is a crime punishable by death…
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Author bio
Laura grew up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where she spent an excellent childhood playing make-believe with her two younger brothers. The Ark is the direct result of those stories and a lifelong devotion to space-themed television. It received a Work in Progress Grant from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Laura has a degree in French and a license to practice law, but both are frozen in carbonite at present. She lives in Texas with her family.
Excerpt
On the last day of Earth, I
couldn’t find my hairbrush. That probably seems like a silly thing to worry
about, what with the imminent destruction of, well, everything, but my
mom was always after me about my usual ratty ponytail. Normally, I’d ignore her.
Or, if I were having a really bad day, I’d tell her what she could do with her
hairbrush. But like I said, it was the last day of Earth. And I figured, since
it was the last time she’d ever see me, I wanted it to go smoothly. I wanted
her to remember me, if not fondly, then at least without anger.
A girl can dream.
I slipped out of
my cell as soon as the door swung open. I’d done the same every day for the
past month, and my family had yet to show up. Their OPT—Off-Planet Transport—took
off in eighteen hours, so they still had time. Barely. I couldn’t blame them if
they didn’t come. It wasn’t hard to imagine that they’d rather escape to the
stars without so much as a backward glance at me, their big disappointment.
Even my father’s influence couldn’t persuade the government to give me a spot
on an OPT.
Turns out, when
humankind is deciding which of its children to save, the last place it looks is
in prison.
But I was pretty
sure they’d come. West had said as much in his last transmission. The thought
of my younger brother actually halted me mid-step, like one of those punches in
the gut where you can’t breathe for a few seconds.
“Looking for
something?” The lazy drawl floated out of the nearest cell.
Against my better
instincts, I turned to see Cassa lying on her bunk, her arm draped across Kip. My
Kip. Or at least, my ex-Kip. Whatever. In twenty-two hours, I wouldn’t have to
think about him anymore.
See? Silver
lining. And they called me a perpetual pessimist at my last psych workup.
They barely fit
next to each other on the flimsy mattress, but that wasn’t the weird part. The
guys’ ward was separated by a substantial metal wall. We were kept apart during
evening hours, for obvious reasons. Not that anyone cared anymore. The med
staff had been the first to go, followed by the cleaning crew, followed by the
kitchen crew. To show you where girls like me fell on the government’s list of
priorities, there was still a skeleton crew of guards lurking around, despite
the fact that I hadn’t had a real meal for going on a week. The guards would be
gone soon, too, and then there’d be no one in here but us chickens.
I figured either
Kip had a key, or the guards had left already. A key could be useful. My
curiosity got the best of me. “How’d he get in here before the first bell?”
He cocked an
eyebrow. “I got some tricks you ain’t seen, babe. Why don’t you join us? End of
the world and all.”
The guards were
gone, then. I felt a small trill of anxiety deep in my chest. If the guards
were gone, my family was even less likely to show. But it was never smart to
show fear. “The Pinball could be headed straight for this building, and
I still wouldn’t be desperate enough to touch you. Oh, wait. Guess you don’t
have to take my word for it.”
I turned to
leave, but he continued. “Now is that any way to treat your dear ole partners?
Be nice or I won’t give you back your stuff.”
“Ugh, you were in
my room?” I flexed my shoulder blades, making sure my gun was still
tightly secured between them.
“Don’t worry,
Char. I didn’t handle the merchandise. Didn’t want to wake you up. Just lifted
me a few keepsakes.” He pronounced my name the way I like: Char, as in charred.
Something that got burned.
I wasn’t sure
what Kip and Cassa were planning, but I knew I wouldn’t like it. They were
thieves and liars. I would know. I used to be one of them. That was before the
last job, when Cassa had attacked an elderly man in the home we were robbing.
She’d kicked him until he stopped fighting back. Kip had called her off after a
few licks, but I just stood there, staring. The old man looked at me, like
right at me, while we made our getaway, and my stomach twisted into a knot so
tight that I tasted bile. That was the moment I knew I wanted out.
But by then, no
one believed me. Or, if they did, no one cared. Except for Kip and Cassa, of
course. They’d taken the news pretty hard, to put it lightly.
If I lunged for
the box, I could probably grab my hairbrush and get out of there. I wouldn’t
have time for more than that. Then again, I’d be doing exactly what they
expected, and I didn’t have time for delays. My family could be in the
commissary any second now.
“Ahem. Seeing as
it’s your last day of life, I might let you have one thing back,” said Kip.
“In exchange for
what?”
“I’m hurt. All
our time together, and you still don’t believe in my inherent generosity. But
now that you mention it, I’ve got a hankering for some peanut butter crackers.”
“Sorry, Kip. I’m
fresh out of food. Kinda like everyone else.”
“Nice try, Charrr.”
He drew my name out, as though tasting it. “I saw them yesterday. Figured you
were hiding them under your pillow when I couldn’t find them last night.”
“You figured
wrong.”
All I could think
about was my brother’s face. And how I had this one last chance to apologize to
my parents, for everything. I shrugged and turned to leave.
That was probably
a mistake.
