Title: Branded
Author: Abi Ketner & Missy
Kalicicki
Release Date: June 28, 2013
Genre: Mature Young Adult/New Adult, Dystopian
Book Description:
Twenty
years ago the Commander came into power and murdered all who opposed
him. In his warped mind, the seven deadly sins were the downfall of
society. He created the Hole where sinners are branded according to
their sins and might survive a few years. At best.
Now LUST
wraps around my neck like blue fingers strangling me. I’ve been
accused of a crime I didn’t commit and now the Hole is my new
home.
Darkness. Death. Violence. Pain.
Now
every day is a fight for survival. But I won’t die. I won’t let
them win.
The Hole can’t keep me. The Hole can’t break me.
I
am more than my brand. I’m a fighter.
My name is Lexi
Hamilton, and this is my story.
Excerpt:
Chapter
One
I’m
buried six feet under, and no one hears my screams.
The
rope chafes as I loop it around my neck. I pull down, making sure the
knot is secure. It seems sturdy enough. My legs shake. My heart beats
heavy in my throat. Sweat pours down my back.
Death
and I glare at each other through my tears.
I
take one last look at the crystal chandelier, the foyer outlined with
mirrors, and the flawless decorations. No photographs adorn the
walls. No happy memories here.
I’m
ready to go. On the count of three.
I
inhale, preparing myself for the finality of it all. Dropping my
hands, a glimmer catches my eye. It’s my ring, the last precious
gift my father gave me. I twist it around to read the inscription.
Picturing his face forces me to reconsider my choice. He’d be
heartbroken if he could see me now.
A
door slams in the hallway, almost causing me to lose my balance. My
thoughts already muddled, I stand waiting with the rope hanging
around my neck. Voices I don’t recognize creep through the walls.
Curiosity
overshadows my current thoughts. It’s late at night, and this is a
secure building in High Society. No one disturbs the peace here—ever.
I tug on the noose and pull it back over my head.
Peering
through the eyehole in our doorway, I see a large group of armed
guards banging on my neighbors’ door. A heated conversation ensues,
and my neighbors point toward my family’s home.
It
hits me. I’ve been accused and they’re here to arrest me.
My
father would want me to run, and in that split second, I decide to
listen to his voice within me. Flinging myself forward in fear, I
scramble up the marble staircase and into my brother’s old bedroom.
The door is partially covered, but it exists. Pushing his dresser
aside, my fingers claw at the opening. Breathing hard, I lodge myself
against it. Nothing. I step back and kick it with all my strength.
The wood splinters open, and my foot gets caught. I wrench it
backward, scraping my calf, but adrenaline pushes me forward. The
voices at the front door shout my name.
On hands and knees, I squeeze through the jagged opening. My brother
left through this passage, and now it’s my escape too. Cobwebs
entangle my face, hands, and hair. At the end, I feel for the knob,
twisting it clockwise. It swings open, creaking from disuse. I sprint
into the hallway and smash through the large fire escape doors at the
end. A burst of cool air strikes me in the face as I jump down the
ladder.
Reaching
the fifth floor, I knock on a friend’s window. The lights flicker
on, and I see the curtains move, but no one answers. I bang on the
window harder.
“Let
me in! Please!” I say, but the lights darken. They know I’ve been
accused and refuse to help me. Fear and adrenaline rush through my
veins as I keep running, knocking on more windows along the way. No
one has mercy. They all know what happens to sinners.
Another
flight of stairs passes in a blur when I hear the guards’ heavy
footfalls from above. I can’t hide, but I don’t want to go
without trying.
Help
me, Daddy. I need your strength now.
My
previous desolation evolves into a will to survive. I have to
keep running, but I tremble and gasp for air. I steel my nerves and
force my body to keep moving. In a matter of minutes, my legs cramp
and my chest burns. I plunge to the ground, scraping my knee and
elbow. A moan escapes from my chest.
Gotta
keep going.
“Stop!”
Their voices bounce off the buildings. “Lexi Hamilton, surrender
yourself,” they command. They’re gaining on me.
I
resist the urge to glance back, running into what I assume is an
alley. I’m far from our high-rise in High Society as I plunge into
a poorer section of the city where the streets all look the same and
the darkness prevents me from recognizing anything. I’m lost.
My first instinct
is to leap into a dumpster, but I retain enough sense to stay still.
I crouch and peek around it, watching them dash by. The abhorrent
smell leaves me vomiting until nothing remains in my stomach.
Desperation overtakes me, as I know my retching was anything but
silent. My last few seconds tick away before they find me. Everyone
knows about their special means of tracking sinners.
I
push myself to my feet and look left, right, and left again. Their
batons click against their black leather belts, and their boots stomp
the cement on both sides of me. I shrink into myself. Their heavy
steps mock my fear, growing closer and closer until I know I’m
trapped.
Never
did I imagine they’d come for me. Never did I imagine all those
nights I heard them dragging someone else away that I’d join them.
“You’re a
sinner,” they say. “Time to leave our society.”
I
stand defiant. I refuse to bend or break before them, even as I
shiver with fear.
“There’s
no reason to make this difficult. The more you cooperate, the
smoother this will be for everyone,” a guard says.
I
cringe into the blackness along the wall. I’m innocent, but they
won’t believe me or care.
The
next instant, my face slams into the pavement as one guard plants a
knee in my back and another handcuffs me. A warm liquid trails into
my mouth. Blood. Their fingers grip my arms like steel traps as they
peel me off the cement. The tops of my shoes scrape along the ground
as I’m dragged behind them until they discard me into the back of a
black vehicle. The doors slam in unison with one guard stationed on
each side of me, my shoulders digging into their arms.
Swallowing
hard, I stare ahead to avoid their eyes. My dignity is all I have
left. The handcuffs dig into my wrists, so I clasp them together hard
behind me and press my back into the seat, unwilling to admit how
much it hurts.
Did they need so many guards to capture me?
I’m not carrying any weapons, nor do I own any. I don’t even know
self-defense. High Society frowns on activities like that.
The
driver jerks the vehicle around and I try to keep my bearings, but
it’s dark and the scenery changes too fast. Hours pass, and the air
grows warmer, more humid the farther we drive. The landscape mutates
from city to rolling hills. They don’t bother blindfolding me
because they escort all the sinners to the same place—the Hole.
Twenty-foot cement walls encase the chaos within. There’s no way
out and no way in unless they transport you. They say the Hole is a
prison with no rules. We learned about it last year in twelfth grade.
To
the outside, I’m filth now. I’ll never be allowed to return to
the life I knew. No one ever does.
“All
sinners go through a transformation,” one of the guards says to me.
His smirk infuriates me. “I’m sure you’ve heard all kinds of
stories.” I don’t respond. I don’t want to think about the
things I’ve been told.
“You
won’t last too long, though. Young girls like you get eaten alive.”
He pulls a strand of my hair up to his face.
Get your hands off me, you pig. I want to lash out, but
resist. The punishment for disobeying authority is severe, and I’m
not positioned to defy him.
They’re the
Guards of the Commander. They’re chosen from a young age and
trained in combat. They keep the order of society by using violent
methods of intimidation. No one befriends a guard. Relationships with
them are forbidden inside the Hole.
Few
have seen the commander. His identity stays under lock and key. His
own paranoia and desire to stay pure drove him to live this way. He
controls our depraved society and believes sinners make the human
race unforgivable. His power is a crushing fist, rendering all
beneath him helpless. So much so, even family members turn on each
other when an accusation surfaces. Just an accusation. No trial, no
evidence, nothing but an accusation.
I
lose myself in thoughts of my father.
“Never
show fear, Lexi,” my father said to me before he was taken.
“They’ll use it against you.” His compassionate eyes filled
with warning as he commanded me to be strong. That was many years
ago, but I remember it clearly. My father. My rock. The one person in
my life who provided unconditional love.
“Get
out,” the guard says while pulling me to my feet. The vehicle
stops, and I’m jerked back to reality. The doors slide open and the
two guards lift me up and out into the night. A windowless cement
building looms in front of us, looking barren in the darkness.
The coolness of the air sends a shiver up my spine. This is really
happening. I’ve been labeled a sinner. My lip starts to quiver, but
I bite it before anyone sees. They shove me in line, and I realize
I’m not alone. Women and men stand with faces frozen white with
fear. A guard grabs my finger, pricks it, and dabs my blood on a tiny
microchip.
I follow the man in front of me into the next room where we’re
lined up facing the wall. Glancing right, I see one of the men
crying.
“Spread
your legs,” one of the guards says.
They
remove my outer layers and their hands roam up and down my body.
What
do they think I can possibly be hiding? I press my head into the
wall, trying to block out what they’re doing to me.
“MOVE!”
a guard commands. So I shuffle across the room, trying to cover up.
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
of us sit in the holding room. One by one, they pull people into the
next room, forcing the rest of us to wonder what torture we’ll
endure. An agonizing amount of time passes. I lean my head back and
try to imagine a place far away. The door opens.
“Lexi
Hamilton.”
A guard escorts me
out of the room, and I don’t have time to look back. As soon as the
door closes, they pick me up and place me on a table. It’s cold and
my skin sticks to it slightly, like wet fingers on an ice cube. Then
they exit in procession, and I lie on the table with a doctor
standing over me. His hands are busy as he speaks.
“Don’t move. This will only take a few minutes. It’s time for
you to be branded.”
A wet cloth that smells like rubbing alcohol is used to clean my
skin. Then he places a metal collar around my neck.
Click. Click. Click.
The collar locks into place, and I struggle to breathe. The doctor
loosens it some as I focus on the painted black words above me.
The Seven Deadly Sins:
Lust Blue
Gluttony Orange
Greed Yellow
Sloth Black
Wrath Red
Envy Green
Pride Purple
“Memorize it. Might keep you alive longer if you know who to stay
away from.” He opens my mouth, placing a bit inside. “Bite this.”
Within
seconds, the collar heats from hot to scorching. The smell of flesh
sizzling makes my head spin. I bite down so hard a tooth cracks.
“GRRRRRRRRR,”
escapes from deep within my chest. Just when I’m about to pass out,
the temperature drops, and the doctor loosens the collar.
He
removes it and sits me up. Excruciating pain rips through me, and I’m
on the verge of a mental and physical breakdown. Focus. Don’t
pass out.
Stainless
steel counters and boring white walls press in on me. A guard laughs
at me from an observation room above and yells, “Blue. It’s a
great color for a pretty young thing like yourself.” His eyes dance
with suggestion. The others meander around like it’s business as
usual.
I
finally find my voice and turn to the doctor.
“Are
you going to give me clothes?” A burning pain spreads like fire up
from my neck to my jaw, making me wince.
He
points to a set of folded grey scrubs on a chair. I cover
myself as much as I can and scurry sideways. Grabbing my clothes and
pulling the shirt over my head, I try to avoid the raw meat around my
throat. I quickly knot the cord of my pants around my waist and slide
my feet into the hospital-issue slippers as the doctor observes. He
hands me a bag labeled with my name.
“Nothing
is allowed through the door but what we’ve given you,” he says.
I
hide my right hand behind me, hoping no one notices. A guard scans my
body and opens his hand.
“Give
it to me,” he says. “Don’t make me rip off your finger.” He
crouches down and I turn to stone. I don’t know what to do, so I
beg.
“My father gave this to me. Please, let me keep it.” I smash my
eyes shut and think of the moment my father handed the golden ring to
me.
“It
was my mother’s ring,” he’d said. “She’s the strongest
woman I ever knew.” With tears in his eyes, he reached for my hand
and said, “Lexi, you’re exactly like her. She’d want you to
wear this. No matter how this world changes, you can survive.” I
turned the gold band over in my palm and read the engraving.
You can overcome anything… short of death.
“You’re going to take the one thing that matters the most to me?”
I say, glaring into the guard’s emotionless eyes. “Isn’t it
enough taking my life, dignity, and respect?”
A
hard blow falls upon my back. As I fall, my hands shoot out to stop
me from smashing into the wall in front of me. The guard bends down
and grabs my chin with his meaty fist.
“Look
at me,” he commands. I look up
and he smiles with arrogance.
“What
the hell?” He staggers a step backward. “What’s wrong with you?
What’s wrong with your eyes?”
“Nothing,”
I respond, confused.
“What
color are they?”
“Turquoise.”
I glower at him.
“Interesting,”
he says, regaining his composure. “Now those’ll get you in
trouble.”
Reality
slaps me across the face. I have my father’s eyes. They can't take
them from me. I twist the ring off my finger and drop it in his hand.
“Take
the damn ring,” I say. I walk to the door. He swipes a card and the
massive door slides open to the outside.
“You
have to wear your hair back at all times, so everyone knows what you
are.” He hands me a tie, so I pull my frizzy hair away from my face
and secure it into a ponytail. My neck burns and itches as my hand
traces the scabs that have already begun to form. Squinting ahead in
the darkness, I almost run into a guard standing on the sidewalk.
“Watch where you’re going,” he says, shoving me backward. His
stiff figure stands tall and I cringe at the sharpness of his voice.
“Cole,
this is your new assignment, Lexi Hamilton. See to it she feels
welcome in her new home.” The guard departs with a salute.
“Let’s
move,” Cole says.
I
take two steps and collapse, my knees giving out. The unforgiving
pavement reopens the scrapes from earlier and I struggle to stand. A
powerful arm snatches me up, and I see his face for the first time.
Buy it here!!!
Author Bios:
Abi Ketner Is
a registered nurse with a passion for novels, the beaches of St.
John, and her Philadelphia Phillies. A talented singer, Abi
loves to go running and spend lots of time with her family. She
currently resides in Lancaster, Pennsylvania with her husband,
triplet daughters and two very spoiled dogs.
Melissa Kalicicki
received her bachelor’s degree from Millersville University in
2003. She married, had two boys and currently lives in Lancaster,
Pennsylvania. Aside from reading and writing, her interests include
running and mixed martial arts. She also remains an avid Cleveland
sports fan.
Abi and Missy met in the summer of 1999 at
college orientation and have been best friends ever since. After
college, they added jobs, husbands and kids to their lives, but they
still found time for their friendship. Instead of hanging out on
weekends, they went to dinner once a month and reviewed books. What
started out as an enjoyable hobby has now become an incredible
adventure.
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