On the way to school, she is run over by a runaway lorry. During English, she is caught in a crossfire and hit by a stray bullet straight through the chest. At recess, she accidentally ingests some sort of dire poison. As the Chinese and Malays wage war, Mel and her mother find themselves separated by a city in flames. The first three chapters are pasted below, as per your submission guidelines.
Twelve-year-old Caiden was born a slave with a singular, expendable purpose, on a world serving only one function. When that function runs its course, his masters commit genocide, packing Caiden into a transport with the masses and dumping him on a desert where massacre awaits. The only survivor, he takes refuge with a compassionate crew who teach him of freedom, stars, and a bubble multiverse teeming with strange species and technology.
Intent on revenge and yearning to belong, Caiden accepts an offer to accelerate his aging, gaining four years of instant growth and knowledge. In exchange, he relives his horrific memories so their recording can bring the slavers to justice.
An unforeseen side effect leaves Caiden plagued by vivid nightmares, forced to relive the slaughter over and over each night. The only way to beat his enemy is to join them and destroy them from the inside.
He could save countless species and planets from exploitation, and utilize their improved acceleration tech to cure the nightmares for good. But he would become everything he hates, forfeit more years off his life, and lose his new family. I am a swordswoman and falconer living in the San Francisco Bay Area.
