The Other Side of Life (Book #1, Cyberpunk Elven Trilogy)
Read The Other Side of Life (Book #1, Cyberpunk Elven Trilogy) Online
Authors: Jess C Scott
Tags: #urban fantasy, #young adult, #teens, #steampunk, #elves, #series, #cyberpunk, #young adult fiction, #ya books, #borderlands, #ya series, #terri windling, #cyberpunk elves, #cyberpunk books
Praise for
The Other Side of Life
(Book 1 in the Cyberpunk Elven
Trilogy)
“Dear Jess: You are a very good
writer — I like your plotting, your concept, the characters…pretty
much everything. I would love to see future writing projects by
you. You are very gifted.”
—
Dr. Uwe Stender, 2010
***
“The notion here is
intriguing…”
—
Garrett Hicks, Will Entertainment,
2010
***
“[The Other Side of Life]
features a writing style that is professional and thought
provoking, with good dialogue.”
—
Roger S. Williams,
Central NJ, 2010
# # # # #
THE OTHER SIDE OF LIFE
(Book #1 / Cyberpunk Elven Trilogy)
Published by Jess C Scott / jessINK at Smashwords
www.elventrilogy.wordpress.com
Copyright © 2011 by Jess C
Scott.
Cover Art © 2011 by Jess C
Scott.
All rights reserved.
First Print Edition: February 2011
ISBN: 1456529048
1. Fiction/Action & Adventure
2. Fiction/Fantasy/Contemporary
3. Fiction/Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
4. Juvenile Fiction/Fairy Tales & Folklore
5. Juvenile Fiction/Love & Romance
Summary:
A thieving duo’s world
turns upside down when an Elven rogue uncovers the heinous dealings
of a megacorporation.
Note:
Jess’s cyberpunk elves are
Tolkien-esque elves, in terms of stature
[they’re not the Santa type
elves ;)].
All characters depicted in
this work of fiction are 18 years of age or older.
# # # # #
For everyone who likes blending &
mixing.
And thank you to friends, customers,
reviewers, bloggers, etc, for checking out my
non-conformist
works + non-conformist ways.
# # # # #
CONTENTS
# # # # #
Chapter 1:
Nin looked up and around the abandoned stone
church, in quiet solace and admiration.
There was something distinctly unique about
the building—it felt safe.
He waved a hand in front of
the hidden camera situated in a crack in the stone wall, watching
the small screen on his N-Gage wrist device. The screen showed the
scene at the church—empty—with no sign of him, or his moving
hand.
Debug: successful,
he noted.
An old battered wooden cross hung on the
wall, and there were a few pews strewn about the interior. The air
was cold. The silence, overpowering.
He took out a small piece of paper, which
had three letters written on it:
[o], [i], [l].
Two words were scribbled at
the bottom:
orn . lir .
Elven words for ‘tree’ and ‘life.’ The letter ‘i’
was most perplexing. There were too many urban legends swirling
about; Nin could never determine what that letter really stood
for.
He focused on the slow, steady rhythm of his
breathing, allowing himself to immerse in the meditative calm that
would naturally come. With a clear mind, maybe he’d notice a clue
in one of the letters, staring right back at him…
Nin turned instinctively, to hide behind the
nearest pillar, when he heard the sound of fast approaching
footsteps.
He kept his eye on one of the cracked, black
acrylic posters at the back of the church. Its reflection offered
him a glimpse of the scene behind him. Nin watched as two girls
entered the building, via the open doorway. All three individuals
kept still for a few tense moments, before one of the girls
muttered, “C’mon.”
The girls moved lightly and quickly, like
thieves in the night. They made their way to the front, stopping
just before the old cross.
“
Let me see, let me see,”
the other girl said, tucking some of her long hair behind her ears.
She was barely audible—she sounded quite out of breath.
Nin stepped out for a moment, angling his
wrist device at the first girl’s hand. He got a screenshot of her
hand, and zoomed in on her thumbprint. He ran a quick search for
her basic information.
Name: Anya London
Sex: Female / Age: 18
Employment: Undergraduate
Address: 2XT St. 5th Floor. ZC.03
(10010).
Tel: 501 093 849 1416
D.O.B. 18th April 2017 (Aries)
“
Patience, Leticia…” the
one named “Anya” said, playfully and slightly condescendingly. Anya
had a faded pink streak in her hair.
Nin glanced down at the bottom edge of the
broad, digital device on his left wrist:
July
16
th
,
2035 | 16:20:35
He puzzled over the numbers, wondering if
the double numbers had any significant meaning. He believed in
signs. He had never come across a human in this locale. But that
changed today.
ASK and it will be given.
SEEK and you will find.
Nin read the hot
pink and white text, which graced the black poster.
He squinted against the bright light that
shone in from the outside, to make sure there was no one else
following. He stepped out from his hiding place, without a sound.
He looked at the two girls—no distinctly Elven ears—definitely
human.
He brought a hand up to his own ears, in
reflex. He made sure his razored, medium-length tresses covered the
upper portions of his ears, which were slightly pointed—a
distinguishing feature that would be a giveaway of his identity.
This was a part of him that would stand out, if a human was
observant enough. Otherwise, he enjoyed being able to blend in with
crowds quite, quite easily.
He brought the collar of his coat up too, to
cover the right side of his neck. He had a faint tattoo mark on the
lower part of his neck, and part of his collarbone. It peeked out a
little bit, if he was wearing just a shirt. All elves had a similar
mark (not all on the neck), from the day they were born.
“
Beautiful,” Anya breathed,
flicking aside the faded pink streak in her dark chestnut hair. She
gave a low whistle, as she held up what seemed to be an orb filled
with glittering bits of diamond pieces. She gave a proud, sideward
glance to Leticia.
Just beautiful,
Nin’s thoughts echoed. A raw kind of energy seemed
to radiate from the dainty-bodied girl with the diamonds. There
didn’t seem to be a trace of fear or nervousness in her slight
frame. He continued to eavesdrop on their conversation, remaining
undetected. The girls went on speaking in hushed tones.
“
That’s two in a row this
week.”
“
You brought the other one
in?”
Leticia opened a
vinyl laptop
bag
she had with her. Nin couldn’t see what
was in it, but both girls were nodding impressively at its
contents.
Nin considered letting his guard down—who
else would bother with this place? The church was part of a small
ghost town situated within a two-mile radius of Zouk City, capital
state of Zone One. Brainwashed citizens were too busy toiling away
at work, keeping the economy running, to even think about heading
out for a stroll. Working and splurging (to offset the drudgery of
working at a job one would rather not do—if it weren’t for the
money) were the chief aims in life. Nin thought with vague distaste
that this was what had become of the glorious Confederation of
States.
He moved closer, feeling
somewhat anxious.
Why are the two girls
here? Who are they? Will they run away? Say something?
Nin was looking out for
himself too.
Humans are dangerous. Anyone
who observes the species knows that.
Leticia tilted her head down towards the
floor, and smoothed the surface of her small bag.
“
How much are we getting
for the diamond orb?” she asked her friend coyly, as she twirled
one of the strands of her luxurious black hair.
She turned to face the doorway when a raven
flew in, its broad wingspan a silhouette against the column of
stained glass. She gasped when she saw Nin’s majestically tall,
lean figure, the physique of a Tolkien-esque elf. His pristine
white hair added to his ethereal look.
“
Anya!” Leticia
gasped.
Anya jumped back when she saw Nin. The orb
slipped from her hands as she did so. Her heart was in her throat.
This was highly unusual, someone else sneaking around. It was what
she and Leticia did, for a living.
Nin dashed a couple of steps forward and put
a leg out, balancing the orb on his foot, just before it hit the
ground. He deftly kicked the orb up to his hand. It required
minimal effort for him to do so.
“
Yours, I believe?” Nin
said to Anya, with a slight bow. He held the dazzling diamond
sphere out to the girls. Nin was a punk by Elven standards, but
good manners were something he had never quite shaken
off.
Anya was staring straight at him, blankly
yet intensely. Nin noticed the warm shade of brown in her eyes,
which was quite different from his own dusky-violet ones. Nin
noticed the slightly wan glow of the girls’ skin, like their health
had been sucked away from spending too many hours in front of a
computer screen, a common characteristic of the human species.
Anya’s fingers lightly grazed across his
palm when she took the orb back. The other girl was staring at his
shiny, black leather boot, and the gloves he had on. They were
black gloves, open at the fingertips.
Elves don’t make a sound
with their footsteps, if they don’t want to,
Nin said to himself, stifling a chuckle. The girls didn’t know
he was wearing shock and impact absorbing military boots, which
were lightweight, functional, and stylish, all at the same time.
His gloves weren’t ordinary gloves either.