Restitution (The Alpha Drive Book 3) by Kristen Martin

Author:Kristen Martin [Martin, Kristen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Restitution
Publisher: Black Falcon Press, LLC
Published: 2017-04-03T18:30:00+00:00

30

Byron knelt by the edge of Alexis’s bed with his head in his hands. Over the past week, his youngest daughter’s sleep patterns had become more and more irregular, and he’d noticed her waking less frequently. It’d gotten to the point where he wasn’t sure whether he should try to keep her awake, or just let her sleep. Sleep was supposed to be restorative and rejuvenating, but he’d recognized a familiar doubt creeping into the corners of his mind. What if she fell asleep and didn’t wake back up? Would he be to blame for her death knowing that he should have tried to keep her awake?

Any breath could be her last.

Falling asleep could turn fatal.

With that alarming thought, he leaned in and hovered over his daughter, waiting patiently for her chest to rise and fall. Her breaths were shallow, but she was still breathing.

She’s still alive.

He jumped as his phone buzzed in his pocket. As he tiptoed across the room and out the door, a hologram of Emery’s face appeared above his phone. “Hey, Em.”

“Hey, dad. I have some good news.” Her voice sounded uneven, almost as if she were out of breath—half panicked, half . . . excited?

“I wish I could say the same,” he mumbled as he glanced back into Alexis’s room. “I could use some good news right about now.”

“No luck with the formulation at 7S?”

He shook his head. “Unfortunately, no. Naia and the team of scientists have been working round the clock, but nothing has come to fruition. It’s a shame, really. All that hard work to get minimal results, at best.”

“Well then, you’ll probably like what I have to say.”

“Go on.”

“Torin and I dabbled a little with the current ingredients, the ones we know of, at least, and we’ve had some luck.” She took a steadying breath. “For the time being, it’s more or less a short-term solution. The three ingredients we’ve found provide the same results as sanaré, just for a shorter time period.”

He could feel his heart rising in his chest. “How short-term? And how do you know this?”

“The effects only last for two hours, then they wear off and the grey comes back again. We know because . . .” She hesitated, biting her lower lip, but he already sensed where this was headed.

“Because why, Emery?”

She sighed, throwing her hands into the air. “Because I was the test subject.” She winced, clearly waiting for an angry reaction.

But he didn’t react. Was he outraged? Of course! How could she be so careless to test an unknown substance on her own body? But was he surprised? Not in the slightest.

“You’re not yelling at me,” she pointed out with one eye open. “Why aren’t you yelling at me?”

“Indeed, it was careless and you probably should have given it a second thought,” he scolded, “but I can understand why you did it. You must have a lot of confidence in your mother and those journals.”

A small smile crossed her face. “I do.”

“Well, it’s a great start, but it only lasts for two hours? That’s hardly any time at all.

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