Science Fiction Romance
Date Published: 03-21-2023
Game Wardens rule most of the galaxy by a fierce empire built on enslavement and brokered deals. The only means to earn one’s freedom is by playing in the Alien Games. Two slaves go in the arena, the survivor, if there is one, is given their freedom and crowned a king, earning them a small country to rule and slaves of their own.
To make the battle more fun for spectators, genetically enhanced monsters, sahalias, are given to the combatants, but they must found in a scavenger hunt. Five orbs, each hatching into a lizard that will bond with their keeper, are hidden on a random planet. If the competitor finds all five, they have a great imbalance of power over the other, who will have none. The sahalias are created with one purpose, to battle to the death and destroy the other competitor.
Book One Excerpt
He stood there in the headlights of my
car, not answering me. I wondered if he was going to shift into a more alien
body and go, “You got me!”
“Are you an alien from another planet?” I
repeated the question slowly as if that might help prompt an answer from him.
“Yes.” He offered nothing more. We both
waited, for what I wasn’t sure. Maybe he was considering if he needed to dose
me again.
The standoff ended with him turning to
enter the junkyard. He angled his flashlight around, looking for his next orb, while
I stood there unable to move or speak.
What the hell was a person supposed to do
in this situation? Text their mom and say, “Hey. So, I got pulled into this
alien scavenger hunt, and I’m gonna be gone for a while. Let’s hope I don’t get
probed.” Include a few laughing-face emojis, maybe an alien-face emoji too.
“Caden!” His deep voice, which now sounded
extremely alien to me—as if I could hear extra tones in it that I hadn’t
noticed before—pulled me out of my reverie. Well, the third time he shouted my
name, it did. The first two, I was too busy thinking about how weird his voice
was.
I walked over to where he stood, his
flashlight aimed at the orb on the ground.
“You must now decide,” he said. “Will you
collect the orbs and be my ally?”
“You promise I’ll be safe?” I asked. “I’m
not going to die doing this? I will be completely intact, my arm and
everything. And this—these things will all be removed from my body?”
“If we are the victors of the game, you
can have whatever you wish. I promise you that.”
“And if we lose?” The fact he’d worded his
response the way he did made me wonder if the losers were killed or something.
He kept the flashlight aimed at the orb,
and with his other hand, he cupped my chin.
“If you are my ally and do as I say, we
will win. I assure you of this,” he said.
I waited, expecting that surge of magical
opioids from his hand, but none came. Maybe he was decent enough to want me to
make the decision sober. “And you’ll return me back here, to Earth?”
“Yes, with a settlement of the prize. Cash
if you like,” he said.
Well... I mean, I needed his help getting
this thing off anyway. And he wasn’t being a jerk. He seemed nice enough for an
alien. He could clobber me with brute force and make me help him, except maybe the rules kept him from doing that
or something. Would the rules keep me safe after we left Earth? Good gravy,
what was I saying? I was acting as if this was a normal problem people faced.
“Fine, we’ll be an alliance,” I said.
“Wonderful. Pick up the orb.” His face truly looked
pleased, and this time the tingle that went through my body was a burst of
chemicals of my body’s own making.
About the Author
Nina Schluntz is a native to rural Nebraska. In her youth, she often wrote short stories to entertain her friends. Those ideas evolved into the novels she creates today.
Her husband continues to ensure her stories maintain a touch of realism as she delves into the science fiction and fantasy realm. Their three cats are always willing to stay up late to provide inspiration, whether it is a howl from the stray born in the backyard or an encouraging bite from the so called “calming kitten.”
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