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Back Dustborn
Chapters (61)
  1. Copyright
  2. Dedication
  3. Epigraph
  4. Map of The Wastes
  5. I
  6. Chapter One
  7. Chapter Two
  8. Chapter Three
  9. Chapter Four
  10. Chapter Five
  11. Chapter Six
  12. Chapter Seven
  13. Chapter Eight
  14. II
  15. Chapter Nine
  16. Chapter Ten
  17. Chapter Eleven
  18. Chapter Twelve
  19. Chapter Thirteen
  20. Chapter Fourteen
  21. Chapter Fifteen
  22. Chapter Sixteen
  23. Chapter Seventeen
  24. Chapter Eighteen
  25. Chapter Nineteen
  26. Chapter Twenty
  27. III
  28. Chapter Twenty-One
  29. Chapter Twenty-Two
  30. Chapter Twenty-Three
  31. Chapter Twenty-Four
  32. Chapter Twenty-Five
  33. Chapter Twenty-Six
  34. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  35. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  36. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  37. Chapter Thirty
  38. Chapter Thirty-One
  39. IV
  40. Chapter Thirty-Two
  41. Chapter Thirty-Three
  42. Chapter Thirty-Four
  43. Chapter Thirty-Five
  44. Chapter Thirty-Six
  45. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  46. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  47. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  48. Chapter Forty
  49. V
  50. Chapter Forty-One
  51. Chapter Forty-Two
  52. Chapter Forty-Three
  53. Chapter Forty-Four
  54. Chapter Forty-Five
  55. Acknowledgments
  56. Sample Chapter from ALL THESE MONSTERS
  57. 1
  58. Buy the Book
  59. Must-Read Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books
  60. About the Author
  61. Connect with HMH on Social Media

“Most of the senior personnel were lucky—in a meeting up on the orbiting ship. All but me. I’d decided to oversee some stuff on the ground that morning. Only reason I’m not dead now is because I made a deal with the workers who attacked me—promised I’d code them into Eden if they let me live. Whoever ends up reviewing this will probably think I’m a coward, teaming up with the side that was killing mine, but my people . . .” He exhales heavily. “Those Federation bastards are lucky they were already in orbit when the uprising happened. The ship’s shields protected them from the worst of the storm, and once they realized they’d been slaughtered on the ground—that the op was a dud and the planet too dangerous to return to—they cut their losses and tried to bury it all. It’s a miracle I got to Eden in time. The sound of the bombs was awful.”

The man pauses here, glancing toward the hall that leads to the bedrooms.

“There’s over two thousand of us here now. The workers have been celebrating their victory since we sealed the doors a few hours ago—drinking and hollering and singing “The Federation of the Free.” They mostly ignore me, but I’m waiting for that to change. I’m still a Fed, and they’re still incarcerated criminals, and even though the Federation uses only criminals with minor infractions for these types of harvesting gigs, I don’t think I’ll sleep much tonight. There’s no way they fully trust me. I got them in here safely, but once I stop serving a purpose, they’ll turn on me.

“I hailed the Federation just before recording this log. The bunker’s defenses protected the tech here, so I’m praying my message got out. I can’t imagine that Eden’s solar array survived the bombing, though, which means we’re running only on whatever energy is stored up. I’ll report back when I know more.”

The image cuts out. When the man reappears, he looks even more tired than before.

“It’s been forty hours since the bombing, and I’ve yet to hear from the Federation. I’m choosing to believe my message never reached them, not that they’ve decided to abandon me.