Touching Humanity (The Rogue’s Galaxy, #2)
By: Erin Hayes
Publication date: December 2nd 2017
Genres: Adult, Cyberpunk, Science Fiction
Looking for the first book in The Rogue’s Galaxy? Check out Touching Infinity, part of the Dominion Rising Boxed set!
My name is Clementine Jones. I’m more machine than human, with a sketchy past and an even dimmer future.
I’m the new captain of the Pícara II. I brought down the spaceport of one of the largest companies in the galaxy. I’m secretly infected with a ticking time-bomb of a virus. I’m in love with an android who’d rather erase the memory of our kiss than deal with the aftermath.
I’m scared shitless of what to do next. And I’m definitely not hero material.
But the ruling corporations of the galaxy have just made their last markdown on the price of human life. That is, if I have anything to say about it. And I aim to bring them down.
—
Suddenly, the lights on the space station go out, throwing me into complete darkness. The pitter patter of the leaking coolant stops as well, leaving me in sensory deprivation as I don’t feel the wall anymore.
“Clementine.” He sounds so close. Like he’s right in front of me.
“Louis!” I reach out.
Suddenly an overhead light pops on, like a beacon in the darkness. It blinds me at first and I stagger backwards, shielding my one eyes from the brightness.
And in front of me is a table. Not just any table, though.
The table.
The table where Louis had been sitting at while he tried removing my infected hand. Where he became infected himself, and…and…
And became a part of the table. He melted into it, becoming something that was no longer man and no longer table. Something that was no longer biological and no longer inanimate.
Something other.
It’s in front of me right now, illuminated in this space in front of me.
“Clementine,” Louis says, and I know that it’s indeed coming from the thing in front of me. I find that I’m shaking my head, feeling like the lost little girl from so long ago.
“No,” I whisper. “No.”
“Help me, Clementine. Help me.”
I don’t know how. I have the vaccines hidden away in my quarters back on the Picara II. But that’s in another plane of existence, thousands of light years away. There’s no way I can get to them in time. No way I can save the man who saved me from the horrors of Dark Horse-1.
“I can’t!” I cry out. “I don’t know how.”
“Please…” Louis says. From what mouth, I have no idea. It’s like he’s speaking directly into my mind. “Please help me, Clementine. Like I helped you.”
“I…I don’t know how…” I whisper brokenly. My fingers flutter above the table, and I’m not sure if I should touch it. If I do, I could get infected.
Yet, right now, that’s all I want to do.
“You did this.” I hiss a deep a breath as the harsh words cut through me. Louis’s tone has changed now, into something harsher, more sinister. “You did this to me.”
Sci-fi junkie, video game nerd, and wannabe manga artist Erin Hayes writes a lot of things. Sometimes she writes books.She works as an advertising copywriter by day, and she's an award-winning New York Times Bestselling Author by night. She has lived in New Zealand, Hawaii, Texas, Alabama, and now San Francisco with her husband, cat, and a growing collection of geek paraphernalia.
You can reach her at erinhayesbooks@gmail.com and she’ll be happy to chat. Especially if you want to debate Star Wars. You can also sign up to her newsletter and get her free starter library.
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