Jenna Black: Resistance

Dorothy laughed, and Nate had to admit that the idea of him and Nadia being able to stop her seemed absurd. They had no resources, no power, no money. They had a fledgling resistance movement that consisted of five teenagers on the run from the law. Not exactly a force to strike fear into Thea’s heart. But the odds had been against them from the very beginning, and they’d kept fighting. They would keep fighting until the bitter end.

Nate straightened his shoulders and glared at Dorothy as she continued to chuckle over his threat and Nadia pushed the bookcase aside to reveal the exit. She might laugh now, but there was no doubt in Nate’s mind that the moment he and Nadia were out of sight, she’d be planning how she could track them down and kill them.

Nadia opened the emergency door. It was time to go.

Nate looked at his father’s crumpled body one more time. His eyes misted over, and his heart ached. Despite everything that had happened between them, Nate realized now that he’d always harbored a secret hope that, someday, they might reconcile their differences. Now, thanks to Dorothy, that hope was gone.

“You could make a Replica.” His voice came out hoarse, and he hated that he was betraying any of his emotions.

Dorothy shook her head. “But I won’t. Even if I started over with an earlier version of him, we would eventually reach an impasse. I loved our father, but like all human beings, he was resistant to change, and he could not share my vision of Paxco’s future.

“Now go,” she commanded. “Your time here is up.”

Vowing to himself that he would be back, that he would not allow Dorothy to win, Nate followed Nadia into the stairwell and shut the door behind them.

First and foremost, I’d like to thank my fans, especially those of you who reach out to me through e-mail, or Facebook, or Twitter. The writing business can be truly grueling and often frustrating, and some days, it is only your enthusiasm and kind words that keep me going.

I’d also like to thank my editor, Melissa Frain, who gives me the perfect blend of constructive criticism and encouragement, and who helped make this a better book without making me any crazier than I already was. Thanks also to the Tor Teen art department, which has done such a wonderful job with the covers, and all the other great people at Tor who’ve worked on this book behind the scenes!

And then there are the “usual suspects,” without whom writing would be a far lonelier and less enjoyable endeavor: my agent, Miriam Kriss; my husband, Dan; and the Deadline Dames, Devon, Jackie, Kaz, Keri, Lili, Rachel, Rinda, and Toni. Thanks for all your support!

JENNA BLACK is your typical writer. Which means she’s an “experience junkie.” She got her B.A. in physical anthropology and French from Duke University. Once upon a time, she dreamed she would be the next Jane Goodall, camping in the bush making fabulous discoveries about primate behavior. Then, during her senior year at Duke, she did some actual research in the field and made this shocking discovery: primates spend something like 80 percent of their time doing such exciting things as sleeping and eating. Concluding that this discovery was her life’s work in the field of primatology, she then moved on to such varied pastimes as grooming dogs and writing technical documentation. She is now a full-time writer and lives in North Carolina with her husband.