Contender, p.1
Contender, page 1
part #3 of Drop of Death Series
Contender
Drop of Death Series Book 3
BC Morgan
Copyright © 2020
BC Morgan
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stores or transmitted in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website or distribute it by any other means without permission.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters, and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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First edition
To my amazing teams who have helped me make this series what it is, DoD wouldn’t be what it is without you and I’ll never stop appreciating every last one of you.
Thank you.
Contents
Author Note
Contender
1. Zara
2. Cooper
3. Zara
4. Jarrod
5. Caleb
6. Zara
7. Matthew
8. Cooper
9. Zara
10. Zara
11. Cooper
12. Zara
13. Jarrod
14. Nathanial
Untitled
15. Caleb
16. Zara
17. Zara
18. Zara
19. Zara
20. Caleb
21. Zara
Epilogue
Thank you
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by BC Morgan
Author Note
I am a brit born author and use a lot of British sayings and phrases within this book (series) so there may be parts that read strange but that’s just the way I talk and it often comes out in my writing. It is the same way for the spelling and the book has been edited this way. There is also a Gauss rifle mentioned in this book and one of my Alphas brought to my attention that this may not be a well-known weapon. This is an electromagnetic rifle that uses high currents and large magnets to shoot its ammo at a high velocity. I hope you enjoy book three of DoD.
Thank you for reading.
Contender
Everything has changed, and it’s only going to get harder. I should be used to pretending, and it’s getting easier especially as I have more reasons to be happier now, only everything is about to change and I could lose Matthew and Riese if everything fails. I never should have signed up as a contender, I had already proven myself worthy of my tattoo, whether I want it or not. Surviving out in the B.O.O.B.S was an automatic tick against my name, but the same offer wasn’t extended to Matthew. He has to prove he is more than just a statistic and strong scorer when it comes to tests; he has to face two of the fifteen and I refuse to let him go it alone. We have six months to get ready and figure out a way to ensure we do not fail, if we do then Matthew could die and I will lose Riese. No one knows that his touch carries the Drop of Death and in the wrong hands he could cause a pandemic, be exterminated or be used as a weapon by the Five. I can’t let any of that happen, I wonder if things will ever get easier. Is a happy life ever going to be in the cards for me?
I think it would be easier to deal with, if that was the only thing I had to face, but even that doesn’t seem to be in the cards for me. My engagement to Jarrod is still looming over me and I wonder if this is what people felt like back in the archaic days of hangings. Facing that noose, knowing their life would soon be over. The little control I have managed to sustain over my own life is already being taken away from me and I can’t let it happen. Caleb once told me that I wouldn’t have to marry Jarrod, that it was simply a means to an end to ensure my safety, but nothing has come to fruition and I’m starting to think it was either wishful thinking on his part or a downright lie. It’s not as though I can fully trust him, not while he’s a Leader and allowing these atrocities to continue.
How can I juggle everything? Although, while the engagement is in place, it does put me in the prime position to find out the fate of Nathanial’s parents. Which side of the gruesome fate did they fall upon when they were deemed a liability to our way of life. I’m hoping they haven’t been selected yet and are still alive somewhere, but I can’t see how. I will figure it out though, no matter what happens when the competition begins, I will have the answers that Nate deserves to know. And who knows, maybe I’ll finally be able to tell Cooper what really went down between me and Nathanial, because I can’t bear to keep deceiving him; but, for now, it will have to stay between the three of us. Me, Nate and Riese.
1
Zara
Waking up on a dust covered floor in a derelict tower shouldn’t be enjoyable, but with Nate, it makes everything else feel inconsequential. It’s still strange to think that this is even happening, that I’ve found something with a guy who was supposed to kill me. I’m not sure if this is something that can last or if my heart can truly let him in, but I can feel myself falling a little more each time we get to be together. Part of me still feels as though I’m doing something wrong, being with more than one guy, but I can’t choose. They’re all so different and they all seem to bring something different out in me. The one thing they seem to share, though, is that the qualities that landed me as a Red are the things they seem to like the most about me.
“Stop thinking so loud,” Nate grumbles as he leans up on his elbows to look at me.
“Sorry, my mind is refusing to shut off. Made even worse by the fact I fell asleep and didn’t go home last night,” I mutter, squeezing my eyes closed.
That was the thing. We weren’t supposed to be seen, and I was not supposed to be anywhere else last night but at home. I don’t know how I’m going to get out of this one.
“Don’t worry, just say you were training and lost track of the time. I’m sure they’ll believe you, people will believe anything if they want it to be true.” Times like this, I really want to slap him. I hate his cavalier attitude, he doesn’t seem to understand what I’m risking right now.
“So I should tell them even more lies, that’s just super.”
“Look drop the attitude with me Red, this was your idea in the first place. I was more than content for your other guys to know about me, you were the one who had to lay down the law and make it so everyone thinks I’m a piece of shit and you now hate my guts,” his voice is rising and he’s wasting no time in picking himself up off the floor and retrieving his clothes.
“Nate, please don’t put this all on me. We cooked this up together and you know it, we both agreed, the fewer people who knew, the better.” If he’s getting ready to leave, then there’s no point in me putting it off any longer.
“What about Cooper? Why are we keeping it from him when Riese knows? Unless this has an expiration date, are we inevitable Zara or are we nothing more than a convenience that will soon fade with the seasons? You know as well as I do that everything is fake in this godforsaken place, should I count us within that?”
“Nate…” why does my comms have to go off now, it is not a good time.
“Answer it, I think we’re done here,” he says as he picks up his own device.
“Will I see you next week?” I don’t like where our conversations always go, it’s been like this for the last few weeks. Maybe we are going to come to an end, but I hope not.
“Of course you will, because I’m a glutton for punishment and I’m not ready to say bye to you,” he captures my mouth with his and let’s me go.
I watch him leave as I do the ‘right thing’ and answer the call, but I’m surprised to see that it’s my father.
“Dad, is everything okay?” I ask, almost hesitantly.
“Can you come over to my work room, there’s a matter I need to discuss with you.” I don’t know why he’s being vague, but it doesn’t take a genius to work out he doesn’t want the monitoring team to know what we’ll be talking about.
“Of course sir, I’ll head straight over,” I reply before disconnecting and slipping on my jacket. Guess I better get this show on the road.
I stand in front of my father’s workshop, wondering why he would call me here. I haven’t spoken to him a lot since I found the letter from Mirabelle describing how she killed my mother. I know he’s trying to find a way to make her pay for what she did to me and Katia, but I can’t see what he could hope to do. She’s the highest doctor in Isolone and she answers to Marcus himself. She’s even trying to get rid of Doctor Davidson because he actually wants to help his patients instead of drug them up or mark them down as ineffective members to society.
I really need to stop distracting myself and just get this over with, I push the door open and I don’t really know what to make o
“Hi,” I say hesitantly and I know something is off as their heads snap up and a look of guilt spreads across Cooper’s face. My father - in turn - moves some papers off the desk and into his drawer.
“Zara, I didn’t hear you come in, please close the door and take a seat,” he says as his eyes dart across the desk and I’m wondering where he expects me to sit when Cooper stands up from his seat.
“Take mine, I’d best get back to my work station anyway. I’ll see you both later,” he’s looking at me, but it isn’t as though we can say anything meaningful with my father around.
“See you around Coop,” I reply easily before setting my gaze on my father and refusing to release him from it.
He shuffles out of the room and my father sits on the edge of his desk, folding his arms across his chest as he stares back at me. He called me here. What is he waiting for exactly?
“Give me one moment,” he puts his hand into one of his pockets before a high pitched noise fills the air for a few moments, before settling back down.
“Does everyone have one of those secrecy things? And you know someone will come in and check things out in a few minutes right,” I state, as more and more questions build within my mind.
“Zara, I made these. Do you think I wouldn’t have adapted it to make it more efficient after the issues the Doctor had when he was speaking to you about the Elixir,” he raises one of his eyebrows and I can’t stop my mouth from falling open.
“I have so many questions, I don’t even know where to begin,” I can’t help but mutter as I pull my hair down just to put it back up once more. I need something to do with my hands.
“I know and I plan on answering them, but there may be a few that I am not permitted to yet. I won’t keep anything from you if it could be dangerous, I am going to do a better job to keep you safe this time around.”
I can see the guilt in his eyes and I don’t miss the extra lines surrounding his eyes and now rest upon his forehead.
“Why did you want me to come here dad and how much time do we have before someone comes in to monitor the disturbance?”
“We have all the time we need, my device creates a time loop. We can move freely while it's running, but we must return to our original positions before I turn it off. Any changes and someone could pick up on it, not that those morons watching the cameras pick up on a lot. I think they're only there for show,” he says with an eye roll, which is a strange thing to see from him. It's considered disrespectful and so very few even dare to do such a motion.
“So you made Dr. Davidson’s and Jacob’s niece’s one then?”
“Dr. Davidson yes, but not the niece. I mean I would have made it but I do not know who every recipient was,” he goes back around his desk and picks up a sheet of paper before coming over to me and dropping it in my lap.
“This is the suit you made for me and Cooper, is this why you have called me here today?” I ask and I don’t miss the pride in his eyes that I can understand his blueprints and scribbles.
I would have been an engineer had I been given the choice, I wanted to be just like my father, but the Leaders stole that choice from me.
“Indeed, I need you to tell the Leaders that it was a hindrance and impractical to move around in. You can say whatever you need to make it convincing but I need you to change their minds on ordering me to make it to replace the older style,” his words sound almost desperate but it's a ridiculous request. Why would I do it?
“That suit was amazing, it withstood more than most could and it was like a second skin. It was easy to move in and I never felt held back. The storage for tools and weapons was immense, I could barely even tell I had anything attached. Why would I make anyone believe it was a failure?” I stand up and pace for a few moments as I consider my next words carefully. “If this is something you feel needs to happen, then I will do as you ask, why not try my hand at being the dutiful daughter,” I can’t stop my smirk but he’s yet to see the funny side. “However, I will only do it if you tell me why. No half answers and truths, I want to know the full reason, otherwise you’ll have to find another way to convince them to scrap the idea.” I guess it's his turn to sit here, with his mouth hanging open.
“Zara I… can’t,” he hangs his head but I know it's a load of rubbish, guess he needs a little more convincing.
“Okay, that's your choice, see you around father, have fun explaining to the guards how I just vanished from the cameras,” there isn’t a trace of a smile on my face right now and I’m far from joking. I will do this if I have to.
I feel bad for putting my father at risk, but I have my reasons for doing this and I will do whatever it takes. It isn’t for me, but for Riese and my guys. Just another piece of the never ending puzzle, I can’t keep playing by everyone else’s rules. Sometimes I will have to create my own, even if it makes me feel sick.
“Katia would have loved you, I’m not a fan of the blackmail but I do understand it. Please Zara, don’t become like the Five just to beat them. It isn’t worth it,” he sighs deeply before grabbing the only other chair in the room and dragging it in front of me. “I was able to make fifty of those suits and I believe the leaders may be aware of those numbers. They will assure they go to the people they class as a high priority. Themselves, their heirs, probably the top scientists and the fifteen. The rest of us will be collateral damage, and in my opinion they don’t deserve it. I even managed to improve the design and make them puncture and slash proof after the danger you faced with the animals beyond the wall. They can also adapt to different temperature pressures so you will not become too cold or hot,” I am so proud of him for being able to create these things. My dad is a damn genius. “I have a better selection in mind for those I feel deserve it more. I will still make a suit for the leaders and their top choices, but why should they get the benefit when they are only going to throw those under them in front of danger to protect themselves,” his face is growing redder as he speaks and I can relate to it.
“Who will be getting these suits and why do you feel that you should be in charge of choosing the people, why do you deserve the power over such a difficult choice?”
“I can’t go into that right now, but there is a person I believe you know and I think you will agree that he is more than worthy of this suit,” I raise my brows and wait for him to tell me the name. “Tommy,” the kid again, what is going on with this boy?
“I also have a suit that I’ve designed for you, but this one is only yours and you mustn’t tell anyone about the extra features I have designed within it,” he says before handing me another large piece of paper and my eyes almost pop out of my head.
“Why would you design this? Is there something wrong with Isolone? Other than the messed up rules,” I have to add that last part on.
“There are a lot of problems with Isolone Zara and you need to be ready, this suit will also help you in the much closer future, just ensure it is well hidden when you wear it.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask, my confusion growing.
“Matthew has been chosen to become a Contender, it’s what they do when a fifteen is due to be selected but they have yet to prove themselves worthy of the position. It has been known to end in fatal casualties. It hasn’t been announced yet, but I’ve been assigned to work on the arena and I felt that you should be aware of this,” he looks morose, as though Matthew’s fate has already been sealed. Has it?
“Then why am I being given this?” That has to be the question of the day so far.
