He closed his eyes and held on to the image for a while, replaying the spectacular blood-orange brushstrokes that had painted the sky moments earlier. Ordinarily, he didn’t notice the transition from day into night, but this sunset was special. It might be his last.The others felt it, too. He could tell from the holes in their conversations. No one had vocalized their fading hope, not once during the entire day, but it had shadowed each of their failed experiments and punctured theories. The truth was they’d run out of ideas. Aelyx would fight to the end—that hadn’t changed—but at this rate, his metaphor of flinging pebbles from the street was bound to turn prophetic. Eileen called out from the kitchen and drew him from his thoughts. “Anyone who expects to eat this dinner had better come help put it on the table.”The scent of braised meat and buttered potatoes lifted Aelyx’s spirit as he filed behind the group into the kitchen. She’d made his favorite—pot roast. k'12Flanked by an assortment of covered dishes on the counter, Eileen pointed at Cara, Syrine, and Elle and delegated, “You girls fix a plate for the soldiers outside.”
What do You think about United: An Alienated Novel?
