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    Ebook165 pages1 hour

    Activate

    By Crystal Perkins

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    About this ebook

    Cheerleader. Jock. Good Girl. Class Clown. Charmer.

    Five teenagers are oblivious to their true origins, until the day they are "activated" by the government, and learn they were part of a secret experiment. They're not like anyone else, and now they're being sent into a war even the most seasoned soldier couldn't survive.

    Fighter. Telepath. Super-soldier. Leader. Empath.

    They know they've been given the skills of the great detectives and spies from literature, movies, and TV, but there's more. Is their government "Creator" really trying to get them to fulfill their destiny, or is their mission more personal?

    Hate. Loyalty. Anger. Compassion. Love.

    When the truth is revealed, they'll discover their heritage, and the real reason they were born. Will they continue on the path that's been set for them, or will their emotions cause them to fight for a new future?

    Saving the world is their destiny. Saving themselves is their choice

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCrystal Perkins
    Release dateJul 20, 2016
    ISBN9781370327263
    Activate
    Author

    Crystal Perkins

    Crystal Perkins has always been a big reader, but she never thought she would write her own book, until she sat down and did it. She lives in Las Vegas, where you can find her running author events when she isn’t reading, buying too many Sherlock t-shirts online or watching the Vegas Gokden Knights. A mac and cheese connoisseur, she travels the country looking for the perfect version, while attending book conventions and signings as a cover for her research. She writes Romantic Suspense, New Adult, Romantic Comedy, Young Adult, Paranormal Romance, and even a little Horror!

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      Book preview

      Activate - Crystal Perkins

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      Contents

      Untitled

      Copyright

      About Activate

      Dedication

      The Creator

      The Decision is Made

      The Last 24

      Untitled

      How it Began

      Trigger Happy…or Sad

      Untitled

      All Together Now

      History is Upon Us

      Five on the Island

      Michaela

      Hinton

      Sabrina

      Abigail

      Coalton

      Abigail

      Hinton

      Michaela

      Sabrina

      Hinton

      Coalton

      Michaela

      Sabrina

      Abigail

      Nine and the Cities

      Hinton

      Michaela

      Abigail

      Coalton

      Sabrina

      Abigail

      Hinton

      Sabrina

      Michaela

      Coalton

      Sabrina

      Abigail

      Hinton

      Michaela

      The Muses

      Unexpected Visitors

      The City of Love…and Death

      The Truth is Relative

      Mind Controls It All

      Alien Versus Human

      After

      Hinton

      Michaela

      Coalton

      Sabrina

      Michaela

      Hinton

      Coalton

      Sabrina

      Acknowledgments

      About the Author

      1. www.crystalperkinsauthor.com

      Activate

      By Crystal Perkins

      Copyright © 2016 by Crystal Perkins

      Cover Design by Helen Williams

      www.allbookedout.com

      All trademarks are owned by their respective companies and are denoted by the use of proper capitalization of the company and/or brand. All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. This young adult novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. This ebook is licensed for your personal use only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

      Created with Vellum

      About Activate

      Cheerleader. Jock. Good Girl. Class Clown. Charmer.

      Five teenagers are oblivious to their true origins, until the day they are activated by the government, and learn they were part of a secret experiment. They're not like anyone else, and now they're being sent into a war even the most seasoned soldier couldn't survive. 

      Fighter. Telepath. Super-soldier. Leader. Empath.

      They know they've been given the skills of the great detectives and spies from literature, movies, and TV, but there's more. Is their government Creator really trying to get them to fulfill their destiny, or is their mission more personal?

      Hate. Loyalty. Anger. Compassion. Love.

      When the truth is revealed, they'll discover their heritage, and the real reason they were born. Will they continue on the path that's been set for them, or will their emotions cause them to fight for a new future?

      Saving the world is their destiny. Saving themselves is their choice.

      For my original Adults Who Love YA Book Club. We’ve changed our name, and branched out to different genres, but we still love YA.

      Part I

      The Creator

      The Decision is Made

      We have watched them for sixteen years. Watched and waited, hoping we wouldn’t have to flip their switches, but also hoping that we would. With the world in turmoil, the time has come.

      Are we sure? There’s no other option? the President of the United States asks me.

      I’m sure. The attacks are too wide spread, and encompass too many areas of expertise. Why comb through the resources of law enforcement when we have the perfect experts who can help us immediately?

      You know why. My predecessors and I had all hoped it would be at least a few more years before this had to happen.

      There were never any guarantees of a time frame. This could’ve happened years ago. At least now, it won’t look so suspicious.

      How will it not look suspicious?

      They look like adults.

      They may look like them, but they’re not. These five are still children. We should be protecting them. Instead we are getting ready to send them into battle.

      We both know they are more ready than any elite soldier, or top analyst. They were made for this, and the time has come to let them be who we created them to be. Sign the orders, Mr. President. It’s the only way.

      God help us all if this fails.

      "If they fail, there will be nothing left of us, or anyone else, to help."

      Then make sure they don’t. Seventeen years ago, you were entrusted with the creation of these five. Now, I’m entrusting you with keeping them safe.

      You have my word. I’ll be watching over them. Always.

      He looks conflicted for a moment more, but then he signs the papers. I whisk them off his desk before he can change his mind, and walk briskly out the door. It’s done. There’s no going back now.

      Wait, he says, running out of the room after me. One more day. Give them one more day of normal. It’s the least we can do for them.

      I don’t like it, and because I’ve got the signed orders in my hand, I don’t technically have to abide by his request, even if he is President. However, I need his approval for much more than this one directive, and angering him now won’t help me later. That doesn’t mean I won’t try to change his mind.

      We both know that seconds can change the course of history. A full day could allow our enemies—whoever they are—to cause more harm than the five can undo.

      That’s a chance we’ll have to take.

      Sir, I urge you to reconsider.

      I’m going to have a hard enough time living with myself after they’re put into service. Giving them one day seems minor. It’s in my power to give it, and so I am. Have the security agencies be extra vigilant during the next 24 hours. I don’t want more attacks on our computer systems, or national monuments, but I won’t back down about this. Give the children one more day to be normal teenagers.

      You’re the boss.

      Yes I am. I think you forget that sometimes, , he says, walking away and effectively dismissing me.

      He’s wrong. I don’t forget that he’s in charge. How could I possibly forget that? I know he’s the wrong person to be leading our country, but he was elected by the people, so what choice do I have but to obey his every order and wish? For now, I have none. Those kids will get their 24 hours, but after that, they will once again belong to the United States of America—and me.

      The Last 24

      Abigail

      She’s the cheerleader. The peppy one, who has a smile for everyone she meets. It’s not a question of nature versus nurture. Abigail’s personality is a product of genetics. Could she have grown into someone different than we intended? It’s possible, I guess, but highly unlikely.

      The men in charge of the eggs that were harvested knew what they were doing. They’d been working on genetic manipulation for decades. Nothing like what we’d proposed, of course, but playing with DNA was second nature to all of them by the time we got our hands on them. I have no doubt that we’ll get the desired results from this girl tomorrow.

      Today, she is still just a teenager, worrying about clothes, boys, and maybe her classes. In that order.

      Mom, have you seen my flowered dress?

      Which one?

      She sighs dramatically. My new one. The one with the red flowers.

      Oh. No. I haven’t seen it since we bought it. Did you check your trunk?

      Duh? I never brought it in, she says with a laugh, before kissing her mother on the cheek. You’re the best, Mom.

      She runs outside, and my cameras see her open the trunk and pull out a bag from a popular teen shop. She practically dances back inside, and up to her room. I turn off the monitor before she lifts her sleepshirt over her head, because I’m not a pervert. The cameras will still keep rolling in case something happens that we need to see, but none of us will look.

      I pick her up again twenty minutes later as she bounds down the stairs in a white dress with red flowers, her hair in a complicated braid, and red ballet flats on her feet. She kisses her mother again, grabs an apple from the bowl on the counter, and practically runs to her car.

      Exactly eleven minutes later, she pulls into the school parking lot, parks in the spot that the entire school knows is hers even though that’s not really allowed, and flips her hair once more before greeting her adoring public. She’s popular and flighty, but not mean, which goes a long way with her classmates. She scores just high enough on her tests, quizzes, and essays to retain a respectable grade point average, but not so high that she’s intimidating to anyone else. That’s not a coincidence either. She has to be liked by everyone, because in essence, Abigail is the key to everything.

      Coalton

      The jock. Pick a sport, and he will not only play it, but excel at it. I don’t need to tell you how or why, because you’re smart enough to figure that out. Where Abigail is the golden girl of the school, Coalton is the golden boy. If you think they’re a couple, think again.

      The five have absolutely no romantic interest in each other, and never will. In fact, while they aren’t openly hostile to each other, they aren’t friendly either. At least not yet.

      Like Abigail, he has fans who flock to him as he exits his car, but unlike her, he’s not nice. Far from it, in fact. We made him cocky and some might even say, mean. Not quite a bully, but he’s blunt and honest to a fault. If a teammate doesn’t play well, he’ll tell him. If something his father cooks for him tastes bad, he’ll say so. He has no choice, and there’s really no point in dwelling on it, or in me trying to explain why we did what we did. It will be revealed soon enough to those who need to know.

      I watch him through the various cameras as he leads his pack through the halls,

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