The Apollo Academy (2 page)

Heat flushed her entire body, and this time it had nothing to do with the crowd of dancing bodies. She soaked in his tousled black hair, storm-gray eyes, and chiseled cheekbones. Aurora quickly took in the rest of him: tight gray T-shirt, low hanging dark jeans that were snug in all the right places, and combat boots.

Aurora could no longer remember why losing her glasses was such a big deal in the first place. The guy was practically sex on a stick.

ZANE

T
he abandoned storage unit Zane Paxton called home had never looked worse. And it had to be because he was leaving and didn’t ever intend on returning. The roof sagged and orange-colored rust assaulted the building. He didn’t remember it looking like this. It was like the veil over his eyes had finally lifted.

Yet it was exactly like the hundred other units he’d walked past every day.

Home, sweet dilapidated home
, he thought.

Sighing, he swiped his permanently stained finger across the security device he’d installed years ago. The lock opened with a click, and he stepped inside.

It smelled like shit in here.

Old worn-out books lying haphazardly across the floor greeted him, but he pushed them aside. Zane hastily grabbed the few clothes he owned and his latest tech projects and stuffed them into his book bag.

Throwing the bag over his shoulder, he ran from the cramped storage unit as if his life depended on it. He had no desire to look back. The only thing he would miss were the books, but no one would take them anyway. They were worthless.

Zane hitched his shoulders up, but it wasn’t the book bag that felt heavy. The weight of his future bared down on him tonight. As the clock slowly counted down until tomorrow morning—the day of The Apollo Academy’s initiation test—the weight on his back got progressively worse. He would have thought that the possibility of an entirely new life with a solid future, and a consistent place to eat and sleep would have lessened the burden, not added to it. But
no
, it just kept getting heavier every damn step he took.

He shuddered to think of what he’d do if tomorrow was as big of a disappointment as his previous nineteen years of life had been. With his luck, he’d be physically crushed under the weight of it.

Zane kicked the abandoned Coke can in front of him; causing the flashing advertisement to flicker out, and fumed at the shitty hand he’d been dealt. Who would leave a toddler to fend for themselves in a random back alleyway?

The familiar smell of ozone and burnt electrical wire didn’t register the tech junkyard beside him until an old man came stumbling out of it. “Zane, got any tech candy on ya?” The man’s voice slurred as if he’d had one too many drinks, and his eyes held the desperate edge of the truly addicted.

Zane guessed he shouldn’t be surprised that his name had spread over the years, but usually his transactions were more low key. It was the only way for him to live off the Grid, but he hated how it made him feel like a drug dealer.

“No, man.” Zane shrugged his shoulders. “Listen, I don’t know who gave you my name, but I’m getting out of the business. I won’t be around Orlando anymore—”

The man flung himself down onto Zane’s black combat boots and looked up in desperation. “I know you’ve got something on you. They say you’re the best and cheap!”

The man pawed on his pant legs, and Zane tried to brush him off. He would never understand it. “Look, man, you’ve had too much to drink. Go lie down somewhere or something—”

“I ain’t got no place to lie down. The only thing that takes my mind off this God-forsaken dump is escape. I need an alternate reality. Don’t you get it?” The old man looked around. “I don’t want to look at it.
Ever
.”

How could Zane help this man when he could barely take care of himself? He didn’t know what he’d be doing if he hadn’t stumbled across that Apollo Academy advertisement.

“Maybe you should try to get into one of the city ships. Plenty of room and food. Maybe you’ll meet someone there.”

Damn, that was a stupid suggestion. The city ships should really be called shitty ships. And how could he suggest the poor, old guy might meet someone? No one else in his life had ever taken care of him.

Zane stopped trying to get the whimpering old man off of his leg and instead looked at the trash around him.
This is where I grew up?
He looked at the abandoned piles of old tech where computers, broken reality screens, data chips, AI cleaners, techiwatches, and all sorts of equipment were thrown away. Every few months there would be a new release of the exact same product; only the new product was just a little bit quicker or a little bit smarter and people couldn’t resist. All the waste made him sick, but it was no wonder people wanted to live an alternate reality. There wasn’t anything green in sight.

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out one of the unused holographic screens. He’d planned on getting rid of them tonight anyway. As soon as the old man saw what Zane held, he shoved a pair of glasses into Zane’s free hand.

Zane removed the broken alternate-reality screen and slid the new one in. Before Zane had a chance to say anything, the man grabbed the glasses, placing them over his eyes. “Thank you. See, I can live here.” The old man slumped down, finally escaping whatever misery held him.

Zane began walking again, trying to outrun his own past.

The warm Florida wind blew Zane’s dark hair into his eyes. He left it there and kept moving. The usual feeling of hunger gnawed on his stomach. He only needed to make it a few more hours. The last thing he wanted to do was hack into a computer program again to scam the system for food.

Tomorrow everything would change.

Zane increased his pace and made it just in time. He jumped onto the overloaded public transportation hoverbus. Most of the passengers were dressed in business suits, wearing wrap around glasses with neon green alternate-reality screens covering their eyes. They paid him no attention. Just the way he liked it.

For a moment, Zane enjoyed swaying back and forth with the flow of the bus as it stopped every few minutes letting people on and off.

A feminine voice carried throughout the bus.
“Titon Technologies and Frontier Solutions continue to argue over the best course of action to achieving more resources…”

Zane tuned out the news report like everyone else. He pulled the month-old advertisement out of his back pocket, surprised to find the crumpled piece of paper still functioning on its continuous flashing loop. Zane straightened the paper and read the Apollo Academy ad for the millionth time.

Zane squeezed the advertisement, feeling the paper crumple in his hand. He’d do anything to get in.

Zane jumped off at the next stop. He could already hear the music coming from Beat. As he got closer, the vibrations pounding off the building were forceful enough to knock his teeth together. The loud music didn’t bother him in the slightest because over the past few years he’d become accustomed to its noise. Beat was a reliable place to safely rest his feet and now the mind-numbing sounds were a comforting distraction, keeping him from even hearing his own thoughts.

Zane strode confidently around the young crowd waiting to get inside. There was an unusually long line tonight, but he kept walking until he was at the front. He put on his don’t-look-at me-I’m-a-bad-ass-face when he approached the door, which usually kept people from asking too many questions. He ignored everyone around him.

Stan worked the front door. He wore a ridiculous flashing neon-green shirt and a no-nonsense face, but the only reaction he gave was the quick quirk of his lips that hinted at the smile he was trying to hide. Zane kept Stan stocked with the latest tech candy. In fact, now that Zane was closer, he could see the alternate-reality tech candy he had restored attached over Stan’s eyes.

“Zane, my man.” Stan clasped his hand between his. “It’s good to see you.” Stan wiggled the wand in his other hand. “Sorry, protocol.”

Before Stan could scan his eyes, Zane pulled another alternate-reality screen from his back pocket. “Take this.” Zane thrust the screen out, avoiding the retinal scanner. Instead he focused on the two bold T’s adorning the side of Stan’s alternate-reality tech. “I want to stay off the Grid,” he whispered.

Stan pocketed the screen. “You got it. Close your eyes.”

Zane closed his eyes, and Stan pretended to wave the wand over his left eye. “Go on in. You’re good.”

Zane discreetly nodded as he opened the door to the club. No one would know he was here; his status would remain a secret.

While Zane’s eyes adjusted to the darkness inside, he noted that the club seemed just as packed and loud as usual. Zane made his way down the stairwell, trying to figure out why they kept the hallway so dark. He was surprised no one had fallen and sued the club. If he were a lesser person, he probably would have tried it already.

When he reached the dance floor he stopped for a moment to look around. One couple was so tightly woven together that Zane wasn’t sure where one began and the other ended. He was sure they were up to more than just dancing, but it was hard to tell for sure with the pulsing lights blinding him every few seconds. Everywhere he looked there were girls with flashing lights, sparkling in a riot of colors.

Zane recognized a few people and gave them a quick nod.

A swirl of gold and red caught his eye, but he was never able to determine the source of the brilliant color. Unable to satisfy his curiosity, Zane began to make his way across the dance floor. People cleared a path for him as he went by; though a few girls tried unsuccessfully to approach him. He wasn’t in that kind of mood tonight.

As he approached the center of the dance floor, a girl slammed into him. He didn’t plan to stop walking, but that all changed when she dropped to the floor frantically looking for something.

His breath caught in his throat. Zane was looking at the sexiest damn girl he’d ever seen, the source of brilliant color he caught a glimpse of earlier. She was a petite little thing, with thick red hair that ran in long waves all the way down her back and flashed hues of gold when the lights hit it right.

Zane stifled the urge to run his fingers through it.

He knelt down, intending to help her find whatever was so important.

“Where are my glasses?” Her hands roamed across the floor, barely escaping dancing feet.

The thought of the addicted homeless man stopped him cold. He had planned to sell the remaining screens in his back pocket, but now he felt like crushing them. After tonight, he didn’t think he could sell them anymore.

“You don’t need those.” Zane placed a finger under her chin, forcing her to look at him. Panicked green eyes framed with long lashes locked on his as they stood up together.

She seemed to be waiting for some kind of reaction, but he stood frozen, unable to say anything. How could someone have such unusual coloring and such a perfect face? He memorized her glitter covered cheekbones and pouty lips. She wore a thin silk top that hinted at the curves lying beneath, a deliciously short skirt, and black over-the-knee-boots.

Zane realized he was towering over her, not saying a word.

“So?” She looked at him with a shy hope, causing something to crack inside of him.

“You don’t need an alternate reality. Stay here with me.” He pulled her closer. Maybe tonight wouldn’t be so bad after all.

They began a hesitant dance much like her demeanor. She slowly moved more into his embrace, as they continued to dance together. Zane didn’t hear the beat of the music over his pounding heart.

Swaying and circling his hips with the music, he tugged her closer into his arms, until her head was near his chest. Even with her high heels on, she was almost a foot shorter than him. He distantly heard songs change, but he still didn’t let her go.

Zane looked down just as she tilted her head back.

Hooded green eyes locked onto his. His breath caught.

Closer. He needed to be closer.

He bent down, his gaze shifting from her eyes to her lips.

She instinctively tilted her head back to meet his. All the music and people that surrounded them seemed to disappear. The whole world went quiet as his lips descended toward hers.

Just as he was about to press his mouth against her lush lips, she pulled away.

He watched her whirl around, answering the call of a tall, blonde girl. Without her warm body pressed against his, he could finally think.