James Decker - Fallout

“I know. How are the others?”

“Dao-Ming is having a rough time of it.”

I tensed. Dao-Ming could rot in hell.

“How’s Shuang?” I asked him.

“She’ll be okay. She… decided to go back to Jangbong.”

“And no one knows we were behind the blackout?”

“Just us.”

“And Dragan,” I said. Sooner or later, he would realize what had happened to him. When he did, what would he do with that information?

He nodded. “So what do you want to do? Do you want to leave?”

“Hangfei?”

“The country. Get out of their range of influence. I don’t know. Defect to America or something.”

“No.”

“Are you scared?” he asked.

I shook my head. “No. Not anymore.”

It surprised me to find that I meant what I’d said. My experiences in Shiliuyuán Station had left me frightened for months, and wound me so tight that I couldn’t walk the streets of Hangfei without being almost paralyzed. I had begun to wonder if the fear would ever go away, and then, just like that, it had.

“After the blackout,” I said. “After I ran, I came home. I locked myself in my room, in the dark, and sat in the corner. I stayed there all night, but when I woke up… I don’t know. Something happened.”

“Something?”

“I’m not scared anymore.”

I put my arm around his neck, and pulled him close. I kissed him, running my fingers, my scaly, black fingers, through his hair, and it felt like it always did. With my left hand I took his, and held his palm against my breast. When we broke the kiss, I could feel the tension coming off of him.

“Sam, I…”

“It’s okay,” I told him. “I want to.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. I want this. I want you.”

He kissed me, soft at first, then harder until the dam broke and the bed became a sweaty tangle. I felt his rough face on my neck, and at my ear, and when he touched me I felt myself begin to lose control. For all his pent-up energy, he took his time, and I let him, until he tipped me over the edge and I forgot, finally, about anything else.

Maybe, when we got around to sharing the uglier parts of our lives, the parts we still kept secret even from each other, maybe then he would decide he couldn’t be with me. Maybe after losing Dragan I’d lose Vamp, too. Maybe, though, he would accept me as I was, like he always had before.

Maybe he would accept, too, that I had changed even since the blackout. That I had decided the blackout would be only the beginning and that the haan would, if not pay, then answer for Dragan, and everything else. We might have been spared from Gohan’s Impact, but the haan’s plans for us, their original plans for us, were still in full effect. We were going to have to try to stop them.

When that happened, things would get worse. They would get far, far worse.

I clutched Vamp’s back, and pulled him close.

But not tonight.

Big thanks to my editor, Jessica Wade, for all of her efforts on this project and also to Jesse Feldman—both have been a huge help. Thanks also to Brad Brownson, Rosanne Romanello, Jodi Rosoff, and everyone else over at Roc who helped bring this book from my head to you. Thanks to Dave Seeley for another fantastic cover, which captures the mood of the book perfectly. Special thanks to my agent, Ginger Clark, who is not only a great agent but who has always been nothing but helpful and encouraging in a business where those things are huge. From a technical standpoint, thanks to Karin Hsieh for helping me with the Mandarin in spite of the fact that, because it was all out of context, I think she began to suspect I might be insane. Lastly, thanks to my parents for supporting my writing since elementary school, and to my wife, Kim, for being patient and supportive of my long hours scribbling.

James K. Deckerwas born in New Hampshire in 1970, and has lived in the New England area since that time. He developed a love of reading and writing early on, participating in young author competitions as early as grade school, but the later discovery of works by Frank Herbert and Isaac Asimov turned that love to an obsession.

He wrote continuously through high school, college, and beyond, eventually breaking into the field under the name James Knapp, with the publication of the Revivors trilogy ( State of Decay , The Silent Army , and Element Zero ). State of Decay was a Philip K. Dick award nominee, and won the 2010 Compton Crook Award. He has since written Ember , The Burn Zone , and Fallout under the name James K. Decker.

He now lives in Massachusetts with his wife, Kim.

“Fast, unrelenting, and uncompromising, The Burn Zone is an adventure you won’t want to miss.”

“Between the bone-crack tension, the fertile cascade of ideas, and the neon-bright setting, The Burn Zone is a hell of a ride.”

“A thought-provoking thrill ride that evokes themes touched upon by the novels of Octavia Butler and films like District 9 and Minority Report and Dark City . The Burn Zone surprised me with its depth and Decker’s ability to tell an intimate story… with a more grand backdrop and potential to take a larger series to many different places. An early contender for one of the top SF novels of 2013.”

“With a tricky plot, a fascinating alien race, and a resourceful heroine whose story deserves many follow-ups, this series debut should please fans of Peter Hamilton, William C. Dietz, and John Scalzi.”

“[A] fast-paced world… grounded and plausible, taking equal parts District 9 and Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End … and it hits a lot of the right buttons. It’s got plenty of action, a cast of smart characters, [and] an intriguing plot.”

“Excellent world building…. James K. Decker is definitely an author with some cool tricks up his sleeve…. I for one will definitely be reading the sequel to see how he further develops the story and the world.”

“A dark science fiction action-packed thrill ride. Fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat excitement paired with mystery and high-tech gadgets made this one hard to put down… a memorable, exhilarating read.”

“It’s amazing… possibly the best science fiction book I’ve come across in practically forever.”

“An adrenaline rush and the twist presented in the last chapter leaves you wanting more.”

The Burn Zone

Ember (A Penguin Special)

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Copyright © James Knapp, 2014

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