“You guys…” Sima hugged all three of them at once. “The ship didn’t blow up!”
“Uhh, yeah.” Austin fake-rolled his eyes. “Kinda obvious now. I’m more shocked that the EGSF didn’t lie.”
Sima snickered. “Yeah, seriously.”
“It’s nice here,” said Juan.
“We’re gonna be okay… even if we have to go to school.” Sima winked.
Austin shrugged. “School’s okay. I’m so sick of those fruits.”
“No kidding.” Sima cringed. I don’t think I’ll ever want to eat one again.
Lissa peered around Sima at the adults in the doorway, then whispered, “I’m not wearing pants.”
The eruption of laughter at the bed caused the parents and Danielle to stop talking and stare.
Sima squeezed her newly official siblings. “I don’t really know how to be a big sister.”
“You didn’t know how to ‘mom’ either, but you did okay.” Austin smiled.
“I love all of you,” said Juan.
“Yeah.” Lissa’s hug lacked strength, but she tried. “I love you all too. Almost as much as Orange.”
Austin grinned. “Okay. Okay. I love you guys.”
“I wanna go home,” said Lissa. “It’s boring here.”
“The doctors need to make sure you’re okay.” Sima patted her head. “They want you to stay a few more days, but I’ll sit with you ’til you can go.”
Lissa rested her head on Sima’s shoulder. “Thanks for saving me.”
“Yeah.” Austin grinned. “You’re pretty cool.”
Juan pointed at Lissa. “What she said.”
Sima scooted back and leaned against the wall, one arm around Lissa, the other around Juan. “So… since we’re stuck here for a while. TV or Wondercube?”
“I don’t think they have TV here yet,” said Austin.
“Wondercube it is.” Sima grabbed the controllers from the little stand next to the bed and handed one to Lissa, the other to Austin.
“What’s this?” asked Lissa.
“You’ve never seen a Wondercube before?” Austin gawked.
“No.” She shook her head.
Juan blinked. “Me neither.”
Austin handed the controller to Juan, then cracked his knuckles. “Let school begin.”
Sima laughed.
Playing video games and getting to know their new parents blurred one hour into the next. The weeks they spent barely surviving in the jungle already felt like a strange dream that happened a long time ago.
Best of all, not once over those hours did Sima have the slightest thought about Earth.
fin
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank everyone who helped me make this book a reality, including my beta readers: Dianne Webb, Leslie Whitaker, Brandy Yassa, Louise Feagans, and Daniel Cox (no relation).
Additional thanks to Brandy Yassa for proofreading.
Also, thanks go to Tristan Vick for putting me in touch with the cover artist, Jackson Tjota.
About the Author
Originally from South Amboy NJ, Matthew has been creating science fiction and fantasy worlds for most of his reasoning life. Since 1996, he has developed the “Divergent Fates” world, in which Division Zero, Virtual Immortality, The Awakened Series, The Harmony Paradox, and the Daughter of Mars series take place. Along with being an editor at Curiosity Quills press, he has worked in IT and technical support.
Matthew is an avid gamer, a recovered WoW addict, Gamemaster for two custom RPG systems, and a fan of anime, British humour, and intellectual science fiction that questions the nature of reality, life, and what happens after it.
He is also fond of cats.
Visit me online at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MatthewSCoxAuthor
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/mscox
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/matthewcox10420/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7712730.Matthew_S_Cox
Email: mcox2112@gmail.com
Other Books by Matthew S. Cox
Other books by Matthew S. Cox
(Divergent Fates universe – Science fiction / Cyberpunk / Paranormal)
Division Zero series
Division Zero
Lex De Mortuis
Thrall
Guardian
The Awakened series
Prophet of the Badlands
Archon’s Queen
Grey Ronin
Daughter of Ash
Zero Rogue
Angel Descended
Daughter of Mars series
The Hand of Raziel
Araphel
Virtual Immortality series
Virtual Immortality
The Harmony Paradox
Divergent Fates Anthology
(Non-DF novels)
The Roadhouse Chronicles Series
One More Run
The Redeemed
Dead Man’s Number
Faded Skies series
Heir Ascendant
Ascendant Unrest
Ascendant Revolution
Chiaroscuro: The Mouse and the Candle
Temporal Armistice Series
Nascent Shadow
The Shadow Collector
Wayfarer: AV494
Axillon99
Vampire Innocent series
A Nighttime of Forever
A Beginner’s Guide to Fangs
The Artist of Ruin
Operation: Chimera (with Tony Healey)
The Dysfunctional Conspiracy (with Christopher Veltmann)
Winter Solstice series (with J.R. Rain)
Convergence
Containment
Alexis Silver series (with J.R. Rain)
Silver Light
Deep Silver
New Moon Rising
Moon Mourning
Maddy Wimsey series (with J.R. Rain)
The Devil’s Eye
The Drifting Gloom
Samantha Moon Case Files series ( with J.R. Rain)
Blood Moon
Dead Moon
The Far Side of Promise (anthology)
Young Adult
Caller 107 (contemporary paranormal – Note: strong language)
The Summer the World Ended (nuclear apocalyptic/family drama/contemporary)
Nine Candles of Deepest Black (witchcraft horror)
The Eldritch Heart (fantasy / LGBT)
The Forest Beyond the Earth (post apocalyptic)
Out of Sight (science fiction)
Middle Grade
Tales of Widowswood series
Emma and the Banderwigh
Emma and the Silk Thieves
Emma and the Silverbell Faeries
Emma and the Elixir of Madness
Emma and the Weeping Spirit
Citadel: The Concordant Sequence (post-apocalyptic)
The Cursed Codex (LitRPG – Fantasy/contemporary)
The Menagerie of Jenkins Bailey (contemporary fantasy)
Sophie’s Light (Dark fantasy novella)