Lying Beneath
Lying Beneath
The AURA Operation Book 1
by Kevin Moran
Genre: Science Fiction
Underneath the city lies an advanced society, and its dark secrets could bury her alive.
Ayla worries she'll be stuck waitressing for pennies until she dies. She longs for adventure, for something to save her from the paycheck-to-paycheck life she lives with her long-time boyfriend, Derek, who plays it safe and only half-tolerates her thirst for exploration.
With her trusty camera in tow, she explores abandoned buildings, searching for something—anything—interesting. One night, she finds a mysterious trapdoor in an old warehouse which leads to a futuristic society right beneath her feet.
This is the adventure she's been looking for, but the people underground don't appreciate her intrusion and she quickly finds herself locked up and questioned. They think she's a spy, their questions are getting more intrusive, and Derek has no idea where she is.
Ayla must find a way out of this underground world that's not at all the adventure she thought she wanted, or she may never see Derek again...
She kicked the bottom of the door a few times, each time increasing in strength and each time reconfirming her hollow space theory. She plucked the mini crowbar out of her backpack. Her fingers traced the edge of the metal sheet again, trying to find a gap. She plunged the crowbar into as many promising spaces as she could but found nothing more than wiggle room. She tried the top of the door, too, with about as much success.
After admitting defeat, she turned her back to the steel obstacle and lowered herself to the ground. She sat on the floor, dropped her crowbar to her side, and held her head in her hands. It killed her that this mystery haunted her, and all she could do was sit here and come up short, unable to figure out its secrets.
She curled her knees up to her chest. Derek wouldn’t be happy, and she had felt a little crazy. Now that it was all for nothing, she felt even more worthless.
A large, heavy sigh escaped her lungs.
Her adventures would be few and far between, and this wasn’t one of them. She slammed her fist into the door, sending a shock wave up her arm. It hurt, but she had grown numb to being stuck in the hamster wheel of life. She wanted nothing more than to start a new adventure with the man she loved, who was currently curled up in bed, blissfully unaware of the ongoing turmoil inside of her. She loved him and wanted to tell him again, as she now sat alone at the end of a dark, dingy, dead-end hallway, feeling as small as she ever had.
She was enticed but trapped.
She was intrigued but exhausted.
She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth.
She yelled at the empty space in front of her, picked up the crowbar by her side, and jammed it into the space between the door and the ground.
Something threw off her balance, like someone had kicked her back support out from behind her, and she clawed at the dirt walls to keep from falling. She turned around and stood. The door, her nemesis, had vanished, and in its place was a wall made of a substance with the consistency and color of strawberry jam. It was shiny and gooey and, by far, the strangest-looking wall she had ever seen. She staggered backward and nearly fell, too, but caught herself in time. The intimidating, eerie wall stood there, silently staring at her.
It mocked her.
It dared her.
Is this real?
She inched forward with her flashlight, getting closer to the gel-like wall. An inch away, she paused and held her breath as she pushed the flashlight forward, sinking it into the wall. The light around her subsided, leaving the faint red glow of the wall. She pulled her flashlight back out and inspected it. It seemed fine. She turned it on and off, and it still worked like a normal flashlight.
Am I hallucinating?
She shook her head and took a couple of deep breaths to regain her composure. After begging for adventure and experiences, she finally faced the unknown and had second thoughts. She dropped her gloves and forced herself to take a step forward, her hand held out, shaking on its way to the wall. She pushed it through the gel-like substance and gasped for air.
After admitting defeat, she turned her back to the steel obstacle and lowered herself to the ground. She sat on the floor, dropped her crowbar to her side, and held her head in her hands. It killed her that this mystery haunted her, and all she could do was sit here and come up short, unable to figure out its secrets.
She curled her knees up to her chest. Derek wouldn’t be happy, and she had felt a little crazy. Now that it was all for nothing, she felt even more worthless.
A large, heavy sigh escaped her lungs.
Her adventures would be few and far between, and this wasn’t one of them. She slammed her fist into the door, sending a shock wave up her arm. It hurt, but she had grown numb to being stuck in the hamster wheel of life. She wanted nothing more than to start a new adventure with the man she loved, who was currently curled up in bed, blissfully unaware of the ongoing turmoil inside of her. She loved him and wanted to tell him again, as she now sat alone at the end of a dark, dingy, dead-end hallway, feeling as small as she ever had.
She was enticed but trapped.
She was intrigued but exhausted.
She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth.
She yelled at the empty space in front of her, picked up the crowbar by her side, and jammed it into the space between the door and the ground.
Something threw off her balance, like someone had kicked her back support out from behind her, and she clawed at the dirt walls to keep from falling. She turned around and stood. The door, her nemesis, had vanished, and in its place was a wall made of a substance with the consistency and color of strawberry jam. It was shiny and gooey and, by far, the strangest-looking wall she had ever seen. She staggered backward and nearly fell, too, but caught herself in time. The intimidating, eerie wall stood there, silently staring at her.
It mocked her.
It dared her.
Is this real?
She inched forward with her flashlight, getting closer to the gel-like wall. An inch away, she paused and held her breath as she pushed the flashlight forward, sinking it into the wall. The light around her subsided, leaving the faint red glow of the wall. She pulled her flashlight back out and inspected it. It seemed fine. She turned it on and off, and it still worked like a normal flashlight.
Am I hallucinating?
She shook her head and took a couple of deep breaths to regain her composure. After begging for adventure and experiences, she finally faced the unknown and had second thoughts. She dropped her gloves and forced herself to take a step forward, her hand held out, shaking on its way to the wall. She pushed it through the gel-like substance and gasped for air.
Kevin Moran has been writing books since he first learned what a book was. His early drafts were held together with pins, staples, glue and string. His process has since improved and he now publishes with An Ink Mover, LLC. He currently has three works available for purchase.
"Lying Beneath" is his latest work and book 1 of the AURA Operation series. It will be available May 5th.
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I think the cover is really interesting and cool.
ReplyDeleteI love science fiction and this cover did a great job showing that it's sci-fiction.
ReplyDeleteFlyergal82 (at /yahoo !dot ?com