Dear Secret Agent
Normal does not describe Ellyssa. She is superior, a picture of perfection. Genetically engineered to be faster, stronger, more intelligent, and emotionless. Not to mention, she’s a telepath. One of the few lethal soldiers of tomorrow.
But when she crosses paths with a dark-haired prisoner, the only world she's ever known--a world built around the concept of Aryan purity--crumbles. He speaks to her, not vocally, but in her mind. An inconceivable possibility according to her indoctrination.
Unable to resist the allure of his unspoken words, Ellyssa finds herself in turmoil, feeling emotions and running away from her life. What’s worse is she doesn’t even understand why.
PERFECTION is a young-adult, dystopian fantasy complete at 100,000 words.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
***
Ellyssa, a.k.a. Subject 62, sprinted through the dark alley after escaping from her long-term captors who she’d thought of as family for eighteen years. Not a family in the traditional sense, but family nevertheless.
The sirens piercing the night an hour earlier had finally faded, but she still didn’t stop. Pumping her legs harder, she carried onward with the messenger bag thumping against her right thigh. Her mind raced as it flipped through the map that she’d memorized. Turn right here, left there. She had to reach the train that would take her away from Chicago. There she might find safety…or her death.
She slipped behind a metal dumpster and blended within the shadows. Heart slamming inside her chest, she waited for it to quiet. Against her expectations, it didn’t.
She knew, and knew well, the physiological responses from physical exertion--she and the others were in top physical condition and trained to fight--but the ongoing racing of her heart was caused from something different. Another new sensation she hadn’t felt before.
Anxiety?
Her body was capable of feeling such useless emotions, but unlike ordinary citizens, she was taught to control and suppress them. Emotions served as a hindrance to their goal as soldiers. But since her encounter with the dark-haired prisoner at the Center, all that had changed.
Interesting, but she didn’t like it. It made her feel…unsure and…paranoid. She edged to the corner and peered into the alley. Dark shadows wavered slightly, but nothing solid moved. Regardless, she let her mind wander across the open space.
