Dear Readers,
I'm thrilled to share with you an exciting update on the progress of Unbreakable Bonds, the first book in The Squeeze Saga. Our team has been working diligently on the editing process, and I'm pleased to announce that we're now halfway through refining the manuscript!
Crafting this story has been an incredible journey, and I'm so grateful for your support and enthusiasm along the way. As we continue to polish each chapter, we're getting closer to bringing this riveting post-apocalyptic tale to your hands.
I know you're eager to dive into the world of The Squeeze Saga, so I wanted to give you a special treat. At the end of this post, you'll find an exclusive excerpt from the Prologue of Unbreakable Bonds. Get ready to be pulled into a world where the end is just the beginning!
Stay tuned for more updates as we progress through the editing process and move closer to the publication date. I can't wait for you to experience the epic story of love, resilience, and the fight for survival in a world forever changed.
Thank you for being a part of The Squeeze Saga community. Your support means the world to me.
All the best,
Marc Wisdom
Excerpt from the Prologue of Unbreakable Bonds:
MAY 15, 2041
0923
CELESTIAL DYNAMICS RESEARCH FACILITY
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
The sterile lab was bathed in the harsh, flickering glow of fluorescent lights overhead. Dr. Eva Chou hunched over the high-powered microscope attached to the isolation box, brow furrowed in intense concentration. Her eyes ringed with dark circles from lack of sleep strained to examine the tray of viral cultures through the eyepieces as she muttered a stream of observations under her breath.
Eva's slender fingers flew across the tablet screen on the shelf just in front of her with practiced dexterity, rapidly logging data points from the samples. Gnawing on her bottom lip, frustration etched into the fine lines of her face as each new confounding result continued denying her the breakthrough answers she so desperately sought.
With an exasperated sigh, Eva shoved herself back from the workstation. An errant pencil and scrunchie clattered free from the messy bun of her raven black hair as she raked her hands through the tousled strands. "Damn it!"
She slid across the floor of the lab on her wheeled chair and tapped a command into the keyboard of her computer. The notes she had just taken appeared on its screen in lines of glowing letters against a dark screen. She poured over her notes, frustration clearly written on her pale-skinned features. A few more keystrokes and the computer projected a 3D representation of the virus she had been examining with the microscope.
The pneumatic seals of the main lab door hissed as it slid open. Dr. Kyle Emerson, the departmental director of virology at Celestial Dynamics, strode in with a professional demeanor. His well-fitted suit was pressed neatly as he appraised Eva's disheveled appearance with a hint of concern.
"Working hard as always, Dr. Chou?" Emerson inquired in an even tone. "Please do try to make it to the quarterly review meeting this afternoon. Your unique perspectives were missed at the last one."
Eva ignored the comment, keeping her focus locked on the holographic display before her. Her hands blurred over the controls, calling up a haunting 3D DNA model rendered in ethereal multi-colored hues. The ghostly rendering cast stark shadows across Eva's intense features as she scrutinized the structure from every possible angle.
Rising abruptly from her stool, Eva crossed the cluttered lab space to her desk. She snatched up a well-worn hardcover from the teetering stacks of reference books and journals consuming its surface. Pages dog-eared and scribbled with years of handwritten notations in the margins, she rapidly flipped through the tome until finding a particular diagram that made her eyes widen.
"Of course..." Eva muttered under her breath, the pieces finally falling into place. "It all fits together!"
Her hands flew over the holographic display once more, rapidly mapping a strand of the model's genetic code against a sequence in the book's appendix. The computations raced across the screen until, finally, she could deny the truth no longer.
Eva froze, her breath catching in her throat as the final simulation rendered. She reeled back from the workstation, nearly colliding with a precarious stack of printed reports and theorist papers.
"By the ancestors..." The whispered words dripped from Eva's lips in a horrified hush as she struggled to process the revelation.
Dr. Emerson walked over to get a better look at the projection. He turned to Eva, hands clenched, eyes widened in concern. "Is that what I think it is?" he asked carefully. "Extraterrestrial genetic markers spliced into a terrestrial virus?"
Eva nodded. “This sample is from one of the crewmembers’ blood,” she answered. The virus's RNA strands contained sequences of non-terrestrial origin, rewriting much of what Eva understood about the boundaries of biology.
She had to get this intelligence to someone, anyone capable of grasping the significance of her discovery - and it’s devastating implications if left unchecked. Eva shot to her feet, turning toward the lab's private phone room.
Emerson shook his head, realizing what Eva intended. "Hold on," he said to her in a firm but understanding voice. "Are you sure that's wise?"
Eva stopped and faced him, her eyes full of disbelief. "I have to report this... We have to report this. If it gets out, it could be catastrophic!"
"Let's take a step back and think this through rationally," Emerson said, trying to reason with her. "Jumping straight to the top with an incomplete picture could do more harm than good."
Eva spun to face Emerson, eyes narrowed with suspicion at his attempt to dissuade her from reporting her Earth-shattering discovery.
"Incomplete picture?" she echoed, nostrils flaring. "Don't you see the gravity of what we're dealing with here?"
She pointed an accusing finger at the display. "This virus... its genetic code contains unmistakable extraterrestrial markers. We're facing a contagion of potentially cosmic origins, something unprecedented!"
Emerson's expression remained composed as he calmly adjusted his tie. "Your findings are certainly provocative, Dr. Chou. But we need to be measured in how we escalate this sensitive matter."
Eva gaped at her supervisor in disbelief. "Protocol dictates that any high-risk pathogen, especially one with non-terrestrial hallmarks, requires immediate containment and analysis!"
"I'm well aware of our procedures, Doctor." Emerson's voice took on a pacifying tone that only aggravated Eva further. "But we also have a duty to handle this responsibly, both for our organization's credibility and to prevent undue panic."
Stepping closer, Emerson spoke in a hushed, serious manner. "If word of your findings were to get out prematurely, without proper verification and context, it could destabilize things quite rapidly. We need to be absolutely certain before sounding the alarm."
Eva clenched her fists, stunned that Emerson seemed more concerned about managing perceptions than confronting the existential threat she'd uncovered. "Countless lives could be at risk and you're worried about PR?!"
"I'm trying to balance multiple critical priorities," Emerson said evenly, moving to Eva's computer and inserting a thumb drive from his jacket pocket. He typed a few commands, waited a moment, then removed the drive, slipping it back into his pocket.
"What are you doing?" Eva asked, a growing sense of unease at Emerson's actions. Her apprehension spiked as he approached the containment unit and entered a code on its control pad.
Inside the box, a robotic arm retrieved the slide Eva had been analyzing, secured it in a small container, then moved the container to an airlock after the unit filled with disinfectant mist.
Realizing his intentions too late, Eva rushed toward the containment unit to intervene. But Emerson intercepted her, causing Eva to stumble and fall across the lab floor. He reached into the airlock, extracted the container, and slipped it into his jacket pocket. Then he pressed the containment breach alarm button.
A piercing klaxon blared as the lab doors sealed and air pressure equalized. "What have you done?" Eva whispered, fearing Emerson aimed to pin the theft of the virus sample on her, painting her as a paranoid radical trying to remove it from the lab's secure confines. A scenario she now suspected Emerson of orchestrating himself.
"I'm sorry it's come to this," Emerson said somberly, his calm demeanor still in place. "But some contingencies have been in motion for a while now."
"Contingencies?" Eva asked, still sprawled on the floor in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
Emerson simply nodded, his expression unreadable. "Suffice to say, the world will never be the same."
The lab door opened with a hiss, revealing a team of armed security personnel in black tactical gear, their weapons trained on Eva and Emerson.
"On the ground, now! Hands where we can see them!" The lead guard ordered, voice distorted through his mask. The team spread out, maintaining their aim.
Eva slowly raised her hands, mind racing to find a way to salvage the rapidly escalating situation. "Please, there's been a misunderstand-"
"Quiet!" The guard snapped. "Stay down, Doctor. Don't make any sudden moves."
"Dr. Chou was attempting to remove a sensitive sample from the facility," Emerson reported to the guard in a collected tone. "She needs to be detained while I secure the specimen."
Jaw clenched, Eva quickly weighed her limited options. Telling the full truth could be a powerful play... or it might further jeopardize the situation if these guards couldn't be made to listen.
Taking a breath, Eva looked the lead guard in the eye, keeping her hands visible. "You need to hear me out. The virus we've discovered... its genome is extraterrestrial. An organism unlike any known to science!"
She searched the guards' opaque visors for any hint of reaction, any shred of openness to reason. But their weapons remained firmly fixed on her.
"I won't warn you again!" The guards tensed, prepared to make their move.
A strong arm suddenly grabbed Eva from behind, locking her in a restraining hold that choked off her words in a startled gasp. Another guard had circled around, twisting her arms behind her back painfully.
Eva struggled against the iron-clad grip as the other guards closed in. Emerson stood off to the side, his expression neutral and unreadable.
"Let me explain!" Eva grunted, tasting blood. "You don't know what you're dealing wi-"
A guard drove his fist into her stomach, turning Eva's desperate plea into a breathless wheeze. As consciousness began to slip away, she glimpsed her white coat fluttering behind her like a broken wing.
The last thing Eva saw before blacking out was her workstation screen, the alien DNA still rotating ominously amid projections of the microscopic invader poised to blindside an unprepared world.
She could only hope her warning wouldn't go unheeded like the doomed prophecies of legend. The fate of humanity itself hung in the balance.
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