We're going to be starting 2023 with a bang!
Wowsers, 2022 has sure been one heck of a ride! As we come to the end of a rollercoaster year (anyone else kinda tired...?), we wanted to thank you for your touching support of our books - readers are where the love in writing lives. You rock our world!
To show our gratitude, we're sharing chapter 1 of Harvest Day, our epic new dystopian series releasing January 3, 2023. Early reviews are blowing us away! Readers are loving the fascinating concept that something as small as a bee can save humanity...or become its doom. It's a world where Immunity is everything. Yet nothing is as it seems...
We're excited to share the moment you meet Echo, our spunky heroine, and the world of the Dead Zone. Hit reply and let us know what you think!
Wishing you the gift of joy and moments of peace, gratitude and grit when life throws those curve balls at your, and a whole lot more reading time,
Tamar and Heidi
Harvest Day, Chapter 1
Echo
“Get off me!” Echo swats at her face, only to find more tiny creatures swarming toward her. “Get away!”
She searches for Chase in the mass of onlookers behind the net but can’t find him. Not that it would make any difference.
Chase can’t help her.
Running is futile.
Death is inevitable.
The bees come at her in a shimmering cloud of black and gold and she collapses to the ground, burying her face in her hands. This isn’t how she wanted to spend her last moments. She has to be brave.
Pulling herself to her knees, her hands fall away and she looks up at the sky, seeing a glimpse of blue before the swarm envelops her.
She tries to hold still. To accept her fate silently with whatever dignity she has left. But her skin burns as lethal venom is injected into her veins one tiny barb at a time and she lets out a scream.
With her heart pounding, Echo’s eyes fly open and she finds herself lying on her mat in the small home she shares with her father.
Two words pound at her temples.
It’s today.
Her nightmares have become more and more vivid as her Confirmation has drawn closer. Maybe now it’s finally here, she’ll be left in peace.
Or maybe she won’t be alive to dream.
She plants her feet on the dirt floor and stands. Pushing down the anxiety bubbling in her gut, she wipes the sweat from her forehead.
Her father is snoring softly and she tiptoes past his bed. The scurge is strong in him now, which means he needs his rest more than she needs to fulfill her promise of waking him. She can say goodbye later.
If everything goes to plan, maybe there’ll be no need to say goodbye at all.
Picking up her backpack, Echo slips out the door, careful not to let it creak on its rusted hinges, and breathes in the early morning air. Soon, people will emerge onto the street, kicking up clouds of dust in their haste to get away from the desperation of their falling-down homes, and the air will taste like chalk.
A bird squawks in the distance and she looks up at the enormous net that domes their colony. If the bird is trapped, hopefully it hasn’t caused too much damage. Maybe she could just—
No.
She doesn’t have time to worry about either hunting a bird or fixing a net right now. Nola is counting on her. She can’t possibly let her down. Especially not today.
The bird lets out a strangled cry and falls abruptly silent. Somebody will eat well today. Hopefully it was Chase. He could use a good feed. Actually, there’s not a single Vulnerable in the Dead Zone who couldn’t. They’re all as hungry as they are sick.
She winds her way down the street, looking at the homes as if seeing them for the first time, which is ironic given it may be the last. Cobbled together from scraps of metal and timber, the Vulnerables make the best of whatever they can find. At least underneath the net, their colony is safe. Maybe not from starvation or the scurge, but from a far greater threat.
Turning the corner at the end of the street, Echo makes her first stop, bending to knock on a small door, about half the size of a regular one.
“Nola!” she calls. “It’s Echo.”
“Quickly!” the old woman calls back. “Check behind you before you come in.”
Echo tucks her long dark plait over her shoulder and has a look around.
“Be quick!” Nola calls. “Hurry. Don’t let them in.”
Echo pushes hard on the door to dislodge the rags that have been jammed in to fill the gaps. It swings open and she crawls through and closes it, putting the rags back just the way Nola likes them.
“You didn’t let any in, did you?” Nola’s voice is laced with fear. “You weren’t followed?”
Echo stands and separates the thick curtain that acts as a second door, entering the dimly lit room.
“It’s okay.” She spins around so Nola can inspect her from her battered armchair. “I’m alone.”
Nola’s eyes narrow through the netting she wears wrapped around her head, scanning Echo’s compact body until she’s satisfied she hasn’t brought in any intruders.
“Did you sleep in your chair again?” Echo shakes her head as she moves forward. “You know it’s not good for your back.”
“Nothing’s good for my back,” Nola snaps. “Hurts lying down. Hurts sitting up. Hurts when I try to stand. The scurge is growing in me. I can feel it.”
Echo leans forward. “Let’s get you moving. I don’t want you getting any sores.”
“Already got plenty of them.” Nola unwinds her netting and pulls back her lips to reveal her bleeding gums. “Lost another tooth last night.”
“I’m so sorry.” Echo puts a gentle hand on Nola’s arm and helps her to stand. “I wish there was more I could do.”
“You do more than anyone else.” Nola leans heavily on Echo as she leads her to her wash bowl. “It’s like they think they’ll catch the scurge if they come near me. Bunch of scared bears.”
Echo nods, knowing it’s not the disease that’s keeping everyone away, but rather Nola’s sharp tongue. Lack of nutrition might be prolific in the Dead Zone but it’s not contagious.
“Maybe if you didn’t lock yourself up in here all day, people might think to help,” Echo points out. “Stay outside when you collect your rations, instead of grabbing them straight off the doorstep.”
“Not safe out there,” Nola grumbles, pulling her dress over her head without a hint of shame. “They’ll kill you. Gotta be quick. Can’t let any in.”
Trying not to stare at the bruises on her bony shins, Echo reaches into her bag to remove the flask of water she’d collected yesterday. Nola drinks half, then pours the rest into her washbowl while Echo picks up her bedpan and concentrates on not breathing through her nose. She opens a large hatch on the back wall and tips the contents into the gutter, being careful not to displace the cloth that’s shielding the opening. She can feel Nola’s keen eyes keeping guard, just in case she slips up.
This is a routine they’ve performed dozens of times.
“Nola,” Echo says cautiously as she secures the hatch and places the pan back in its spot. “You know what today is, don’t you?”
The old woman ignores her question, concentrating on rubbing herself with her washcloth instead.
“I might not be able to visit you again,” says Echo, needing her to understand, just in case things don’t go to plan. “It’s my birthday. Seventeen. I just made it in. Are you listening to me?”
Nola flings her wash rag into the bowl and pulls on her dress, regardless of the dampness of her skin.
“It’s today,” Echo says gently. “I have to go to the B—”
“Betadome,” snaps Nola, replacing her netting as she avoids Echo’s gaze. “I know, I know. It’s your Confirmation. I have the scurge, not dementia. I went there myself when I was your age.”
“So, you realize there’s a chance I might not be able to come back?” Echo blinks, unable to imagine Nola as anyone other than the old recluse she is now. “This could be my last visit.”
Nola holds up three shaking fingers. “There are three possible outcomes for you today. One, you’re proven to be a Vulnerable and returned here for a life destined for the scurge.” She folds down one finger. “Two, you’re an Immune and get to eat oranges for breakfast and roast pumpkin for dinner for the rest of your days.” She folds down another finger until only her middle one remains upright. Slowly, she turns her hand so it becomes a rude gesture. “Three, the bastards kill you and you don’t live at all.”
Echo isn’t sure if this bluntness makes her want to laugh or cry. At least she can be sure Nola understands.
“I want you to promise me something.” Echo reaches for the old woman’s hands. “If I don’t come back, I want you to get out of that chair every day, okay? Chase has promised to check on you, but I want you to go outside. You can’t spend all your time in here.”
Nola squeezes her hands with surprising strength, an unusual softness seeping into her eyes. “Echo. If you don’t come back, I die. You know that. I know that. Let’s not pretend. You’re the only one here who has any heart.”
“Chase has heart.” Echo blinks back a tear.
“Not if you don’t return, he won’t.” Nola lets go of her and limps to her chair. “Anyway, what are you worried about? Almost everyone is a Vulnerable these days. What makes you think you’re so special that you’re an Immune?”
Echo shrugs, hoping this is true. “I suppose you’re right. Besides, I have a plan.”
Nola’s eyes widen. “You know how to pass the test?”
Echo shakes her head slowly. “I know how not to pass.”
“No, Echo!” Nola’s voice is far louder and firmer than Echo’s ever heard it. “No! If you have a chance to get out of this hellhole, you have to take it. Do you understand me? Don’t you go staying here for me, or your dad, or some boy who’s stolen your heart. This is your one chance. Don’t mess it up.”
Echo’s pulse thuds. “My life is here.”
“And my life used to be there,” Nola spits out. “Trust me. Nobody would choose to be here when they could be there.”
This revelation is a slap of shame across Echo’s face. She should’ve known this about Nola. It’s hard enough to imagine her as a young girl, let alone one who’d grown up in a life of protected privilege in the Green Zone.
“You didn’t tell me,” Echo whispers.
Nola waves a hand dismissively. “You never asked.”
This is just another reason she can’t leave. There’s so much more she has to do. So much more she needs to find out.
“Go now. I’m tired. Leave me.” Nola closes her eyes. “If you do whatever it is you’re planning, you’re a fool. I hope never to see you again.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Echo replies, her voice as empty as her name.
She crawls through the small door, doing her best to replace the rags as she closes it, unable to fight the feeling she’s sealing her old friend in a tomb.
As she stands, a hand clamps over her eyes and her heart thumps as she tries to pry the fingers away. Then a familiar laugh tickles her ear and her panic turns to a feeling she can’t define, but relentlessly teases her whenever Chase is near.
“It’s only me,” he says, releasing his hold on her. “Sorry if I scared you.”
“You didn’t,” she lies, wanting to step away from him so she can see his face but also wanting to stay this close.
He’s the one who takes a step back. He always is.
“Did you bring it for me?” she asks, dropping her voice to a whisper. “You know I need it today.”
“First things first.” He plucks a daisy from behind his ear and holds it out. She hadn’t even noticed it underneath his blond curls. “Happy birthday.”
“Where did you get this?” Echo takes the daisy and glances at the net above them, glad it’s protecting her from any curious bees. She twirls the stem in her fingertips as she admires the delicate petals. She’s never held a real flower before. And yet, her heart thuds, programmed to fear it. Flowers mean bees. Bees mean death. “You didn’t go back there, did you?”
He looks to the ground. “I was fast.”
“It’s too dangerous, Chase. Don’t go there,” she pleads. “You know you’re not an Immune.”
“But you might be,” he says, his voice laced with unwelcome hope.
She shakes her head, concerned he changed his mind about what he’d promised to bring her for her birthday. “You have it, don’t you? Tell me you brought it.”
“I did.” He pats his shirt pocket. “But listen, Echo, I’m not sure this whole idea of yours is a good plan. I want you to pass. Even if it means…”
She shakes her head, knowing exactly what passing her Confirmation will mean. That the kiss she’s yearned for all her life will never happen. She can’t be with Chase if her future is in the Green Zone. She may as well have a future on Planet Mars.
“You’d have a better life over there,” he continues, sounding far more like Nola than she’d like. “I want that for you, even if I can’t have it for myself.”
Chase failed his Confirmation only a year before in spectacular form. He’s lucky to be standing here. In the Dead Zone. But most definitely alive.
“Almost everyone is a Vulnerable,” she says, repeating Nola’s earlier words. “There’s nothing special about me. But I need to be sure. That’s why I need the pollen.”
Chase groans as if she’d punched him. “Echo, there’s plenty special about you. Who else do you see helping those with the scurge?” He spreads out his arms, indicating the empty streets.
“I see you,” she says. “And if something goes wrong and I don’t make it back, you have to keep your promise. Nola doesn’t have long. It’s not right for her to die alone.”
“I’ll help Nola,” he says, taking the backpack she uses when taking supplies to anyone in need. “But nobody else.”
“And my dad,” she adds. “You have to help my dad.”
He wraps an arm around her and that indescribable feeling punches her in the gut again. “Of course, I’ll help your dad.”
She leans in to rest her cheek on his chest. “I won’t pass, Chase. I’m not an Immune. I can’t be.”
“But you might be.” He closes her in a hug. “Why don’t you just give it a shot? You don’t need to cheat.”
She sighs, feeling like every moment of her life has led up to exactly this one. How can she possibly choose a better life for herself over being able to improve the lives of everyone else? Living here is hard for Nola because she’s a Green Born. She’s seen what it’s like on the other side. It’s not like that for Echo. She can’t possibly miss what she’s never had.
“I have to be certain I don’t pass, Chase,” she says firmly. “And when they throw me out that black door, I want you to scoop me up in your arms and kiss me. I belong here. With you.”
He shakes his head, disappointment etched into his dark eyes, and reaches into his pocket. She doesn’t mind that she’s letting him down. She has the rest of her life to make it up to him. When he sees how happy she’s going to make him, he’ll forgive her.
“Of course, I’ll kiss you,” he says, handing her a small package wrapped in cloth, and forcing a smile to his beautiful face.
“Promise?” She doesn’t need him to smile. She needs him to mean it.
“Echo.” He smooths back her hair, then trails his thumb down her cheek. “I promise.”
For one crazy moment, she thinks he’s going to kiss her then and there, but, of course, he doesn’t. And he won’t. Not until their Immunity is a match. It’s both incredibly frustrating and ridiculously noble all at once. If it were up to her, she’d have kissed him when she was five.
“I have to go,” she says reluctantly. “Dad wants to see me before I leave.”
Chase nods. “I still wish you weren’t coming back.”
“I’m coming back.” She pats her pocket in the same way he had earlier. “We know that for certain now.”
“Go see your dad.” He takes the daisy from her hand and tucks it behind her ear.
“You’ll wait for me at the black door?” she asks, needing to be sure. It’s the only thing that’s going to give her the courage to enter that dome of death. Especially now. “I dreamed you weren’t there. I couldn’t find you in the crowd.”
“You know I’ll be there.” He lopes off down the street with her bag on his back, leaving her shoulders light and heart heavy.
She’s never wanted to fail a test more in her life. It’s just a shame it’s coming at such a difficult price.
The walk home feels longer than the one here, the contents of her pocket seeming to weigh more than the contents of her bag. She wishes she didn’t have to cheat. She’s always prided herself on her honesty. It’s one of the things Chase says he likes about her most. But surely, he wouldn’t have helped her if he didn’t understand why this is so important?
She finds her father waiting for her on their doorstep looking paler than he did when she’d left him. She was too young to remember when her mom died but imagines it happened just like this, with the symptoms slowly creeping in before ending up like Nola. The fatigue. The bruises. The bleeding gums. The sores. The slow erosion of life. It’s been difficult to watch her father following Nola down that painful road.
This only reaffirms her decision. No matter how desperate things are here, it’s her life. This is her colony. These are her people.
Her father smiles, reaching out to stroke the flower behind her ear. He doesn’t need to ask who gave it to her.
“You didn’t wake me,” he says.
“I’m here now.” She takes his hand like she used to as a girl, noticing the bruises have crept down his arm to poke out the bottom of his sleeve.
“I have something for you.” He opens his other hand to reveal a thin gold chain with a locket. “It’s not worth much, but it was your mom’s. I’ve been waiting until today to give it to you.”
“But, Dad.” She lets go of his hand. “You could have sold this. You should still sell this. It’s too much.”
He shakes his head. “Happy birthday, sweetheart.”
Echo turns around as he fastens the chain around her neck, and she reaches for the locket. “Is there a photo in it?”
“Don’t open it,” he says. “What’s inside is useless here. Wait until you get to the Green Zone. Open it there.”
Guilt slams her in the chest as she wishes she could save him this pain and just tell him the truth. “I’m not going to the Green Zone, Dad.”
He points to the sky and she turns, knowing what he’s looking at.
The Sting—a giant tower with a glittering silver spike that soars toward the clouds. It’s the centerpiece of the Green Zone. A symbol of pride to all the people who live there and a source of envy to all who don’t.
“I want you to live there, Echo,” her father says. “What’s inside that locket will bring you luck. I want you to have a better life than this.”
“What is it with everyone today?” Tears threaten at the back of her eyes, but she pushes them down with a smile. “First Nola, then Chase, and now you. You’re all wishing me away.”
“We love you,” he says. “We just want what’s best for you.”
“This is best for me.” She points at their home. “I’m happy, Dad. I don’t need anything more than what I already have.”
“That’s not true.” The tears that she refuses to shed spill down his cheeks instead. “I want you to have good food. Healthy children. Hope…”
“I have hope,” she insists. “I hope not to be an Immune.”
She tucks the locket into her shirt, glad she’s taking matters into her own hands to ensure she fails her Confirmation. This conversation with her father would be so much more difficult if she thought it were the last one they might have.
“Come and watch,” she says. “You’ll see. I’ll be exiting by the black door. I know it.”
Her father shakes his head. “Chase will tell me what happened.”
“Hey!” She plants her hands on her hips. “I’ll come right back here and tell you myself.”
He points once more to the giant Sting. “That’s your future, Echo. I can feel it.”
She throws her arms around his frail frame, giving him a fierce hug as the low sound of a siren wafts through the air, causing them both to flinch.
The Betadome is ready.
Echo’s Confirmation has arrived.
It’s time to get this over so she can move on with the rest of her life.
Harvest Day
Humans saved bees from extinction…
and created the deadliest threat we’ve seen yet
The loss of bees was heralded as the sixth wave of extinction. Economies crashed. Ecosystems collapsed. Wars were waged as countless starved. Luckily, humans were able to alter bees’ genetic code to deal with the hazards of pesticides and disease.
Inadvertently making their venom fatal to humans.
River grew up in the Green Zone, a haven for those who are Immune. Bees are free to fly, pollinating their prolific crops. Echo was raised in the Dead Zone where bees are exterminated so vulnerable humans like her can live. Stealing from the heavily guarded Green Zone is a necessary part of survival.
River and Echo are both in their seventeenth year. They’re both about to have their immunity tested. And they’re both about to have their futures forever altered.
Ultimately, they’re about to become part of the final fight for human survival. Are bees really the enemy they need to defeat? Or is mankind a far greater threat…
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