Elevated by Daniel Solomon Kaplan
(Elevated Saga #1)
Publication date: September 23rd 2014
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Synopsis:
Most kids can’t wait until Elevated Day, when they can finally unlock their hidden superpower. Rose remains a skeptic. While the treatment reveals a power, the outcome is irreversible and abilities can range from amazing to a nuisance. On top of that, she holds a deep rooted grudge against the treatment that turned her father into an Unsound, one with abilities so dangerous as to force them to a life of exile.
Her choice sends her down a path of discovery, as she seeks to learn more of the truth around the treatment and what really happened to her father. Fed up with lies, Rose wants nothing more than to learn the whole truth–even if it means accepting her fate as an Elevated.
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EXCERPT:
The
class finishes and we run out of the room like lightning, dodging students and
desks. Only a few steps out, I smack hard into a large student, knocking her to
the ground. A knot develops in my stomach as the large wings of a familiar
Flier come into focus.
“Watch
where you’re going,” yells Tessla, picking herself off the ground.
Her
two Flier friends come over to help lift her up and I gulp as they face me.
“Hey,
it’s that dumb kid from the restaurant,” says the Flier with sandy brown hair.
“Wha—?”
Tessla says, brushing off her bright pink pants, now covered with dust from the
tile floor. A small trail of blood streams from her lip. “You cause a ton of
accidents. Don’t think it’s safe to have a stupid klutz like you ‘round here.”
“I-I’m
sorry.” My whole body shivers. “I wanted to go home. It’s been a long day.
I shouldn't have been running and—”
“Shut
up! Just shut up,” Tessla says. “I think this school needs a little accident
prevention. Don’t you agree guys?”
She
glances over at the two Fliers next to her and gives a devilish grin, which
they return. Chucking their wingvests, their wings snap out, sending feathers
flying. Tessla’s red and black feathers dwarf her small frame.
The
two male Fliers then pin Aaron back against the lockers and encircle him with
their wings.
“Run!”
he says.
“You
run and your buddy gets it. This is for you, not him. Wonder how many flaps it
will take?”
I’ve
seen videos of gusting before. Groups of Fliers grab Basics or Lessers and take
bets on how many flaps it will take to knock someone flat on their back using
only the force of air.
The
best do it in one.
Aaron
scrambles to break free from the Fliers, but their grasp is too strong. Tessla
barely has enough room to spread her wings out in the hallway. She takes a step
back and I close my eyes.
A
gust of wind blasts down the hallway, whipping my hair into a frenzy. In a
blur, the two Fliers surrounding Aaron are knocked to the ground. I feel a
strong yank lifting me off the ground. Tessla shrinks in sight as I hurtle away
from her and down the hallway. Another Flier is clutching me in their arms. We
tear down the school corridors at top speed.
“You
ok?” Zach asks
“I-I-yeah.”
I catch my breath from the sudden tug.
We
careen through the hallways in a flash. Racing past the school auditorium,
rattling lockers as we speed around the corner, swerving through the doors
towards the—
“Zach!
That’s the pool!” I scream.
“Wha—?”
SPLASH!
Water
shoots up my nose. I fumble around, muscles shocked from the frigid pool water.
Our school desperately needs to invest in a heater. My arms find a rhythm and I
surface to a violent surf. Zach swims next to me, flapping his wings, which
send giant waves over my head.
“Slow
down!” I fight to keep my head over the waves. “You’re splashing it all out!”
He
stops flapping. “Sorry. And sorry to get you wet. Are you positive they haven’t
moved the pool room recently?”
“No,
Zach, they haven’t,” I say through chattering teeth.
I
swim towards the edge and realize the water level is low enough that I need a
ladder in order to climb over the side. We must have splashed a ton of water
out. Halfway to the ladder, Tessla and her cronies show up. They stand at the
edge and glare down at us, laughing.
“Figures,”
she says. “The klutz master would end up with him. Not sure how a moron like
him got to be a Flier. If you’re going to hang around loser Basics, Zach, then
you really are totally washed up.”
They
guffaw at her terrible joke as they leave the pool room. I pull myself up,
swipe my drenched hair out of my face and dread how it will look after it
dries. Glancing back at the pool, I watch Zach. He has spread his large wings
out and floats on his back.
“Fantastic.
This makes swimming much more enjoyable,” he says.
I
chuckle. “Hope I didn’t make you look bad.”
“No
harm done,” Zach says. “They already hated me. They’re a nasty bunch.”
“Thanks
for the help.”
“Anytime.”
Zach
sings in an off-key voice as he drifts in the pool. His face is completely
calm. It’s like, for a moment, he doesn’t care what anyone else thinks.
I’ve
flown.
I’ve
flown with Zach.
And
it felt glorious.
~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
Daniel Solomon Kaplan is a playwright turned author after much arm twisting from his wife. He currently has several novels in the works, including CATALYST, the next book of the Elevated Series, scheduled to debut before the end of the year.
Author Links:
GIVEAWAY
One (1) ebook copy of Elevated
One winner
Open internationally
Closing date April 1st
Q: If you could unlock a hidden superpower, what would you hope it be?
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