Ghost of Mind Episode One (29 page)

He zoomed in, fixed her in a holding beam,
and then shot away with Alice in his electronic grasp.

Chapter 42

John Doe

Something seemed to happen to him as his
leaned down to stare at her.
He just knew she was staring back. She had moved so
slightly, her shoulder shifting, her head flopping on an
angle.

Though John had no way of knowing, his gut
told him that her eyes had opened and locked onto his own behind
that hood.

Maybe time had slowed down, maybe it had sped
up, or maybe John had lost all track of it entirely.

Then that impossible shield that she had
created failed.

In a flash.

But it did not simply disappear. As it melted
away in crackles of electricity, the docking ring gave a
shudder.

John lost purchase, not expecting the
movement, and he was aware that everyone around him gave a
gasp.

The whole floating city did not proceed to
fall from the air though.

It shook and shuddered several times, and as
it did John watched as the hacker ball fixed the woman in a beam of
light that pulled her off the hull, and flew away with her.

As John pressed his hands into the bucking
hull, he stared up at her retreat.

He watched her, her body limp. He watched her
until she dwindled into the darkness.

The docking ring eventually stabilized.

But she was out of sight.

He had lost track of her again.

In fact, he had just plain lost.

But John Doe was a betting man. He was also a
determined one. And he somehow knew that this game was not over
yet.

End of Episode One, Episode Two is currently
available.

For free fiction and details on current and upcoming
titles, please visit www.odettecbell.com

Do you want to
read more sci-fi by Odette C. Bell?

If you liked
this sci-fi space adventure, you may like the Odette C. Bell Sci-Fi
Bundle. Consisting of the complete A Plain Jane series, the
complete The Betwixt series, and the two stand-alone books Lucky
Star and Zero, it is over 500,000 words of space opera in one
bundle.

A Plain Jane

What if you had lived your whole life
thinking you were normal? No, worse than normal – plain? What would
happen if one of the most highly-trained and vicious assassins in
the galaxy attacked you one warm summer's night? What would happen
if you were thrust into an adventure with the galaxy's greatest
heroic heart-throb? What would happen if a mysterious and ancient
race appeared with one desire – to kill you? What would you
do?
Jane grew up knowing one thing: she's nothing but normal. But then
one little run-in with an assassin robot threatens to destroy
everything she thought she knew about herself. Soon she finds
herself with none other than Lucas Stone, the galaxy's number one
pin up and hero. And together the two of them have to find out
exactly who Jane is and what's after her before the galaxy is
plunged into war.

Lucky Star

A sci-fi soap opera with a romantic twist,
Lucky Star tracks the adventures of Ariel De Winter as she wakes up
in the future, 400 years from her own time, to the sight of one
incredibly handsome space marine and a massive war that is about
the engulf the entire galaxy.
...
Ariel doesn't belong in this time. She belongs in a world of
call
centers, cats, and
lonely nights spent in front of the TV watching dull
documentaries.
Then the world ends. Hundreds of years later, she wakes up to a
view of shiny boots, one very handsome man, and a future that
doesn't want her. That's fine by Ariel; she doesn't want the future
either. But then the future finds a use for her – one that involves
far more running, dodging, saving, and hanging out with hot space
marines than her old life involved. Oh, and malevolent plots to use
her new-found abilities to end a 100-year galactic war.
Soon it is up to Ariel to save the future she never wanted, and
it's up to her hot space marine to show her that the future can't
be all that bad, as long as you have someone to spend it
with.

Ouroboros

Have you ever thought
‘just my luck!’ after dropping your
communication device for the third time in a week?
Cadet Nida Harper, a recruit to the United Galactic Coalition
Academy, has – and worse. So imagine her surprise when she is
detailed for a mission to the dark and mysterious planet Remus 12.
Strange things are afoot on Remus 12, a dust-bowl which according
to legend bursts to life once every five thousand years – with
deadly consequences for the galaxy.
So join Nida as she deals, using all her accustomed style and
flair, with the presence of a strange and uninvited guest in her
own head, a commander who is convinced she’s the Coalition’s worst
recruit in one thousand years, and an uncomfortably handsome
Lieutenant Carson Blake.

The Betwixt

The Betwixt is a sci-fi soap opera with a
dash of philosophy. It follows a space diner waitress as she sets
out to discover her true origin, an adventure that sees her set
against the most legendary of foes, takes her to the edges of the
galaxy, and finally into the arms of one very handsome but stern
Commander Cole.
...
Mini is a diner waitress in a space bar. She has a flouncy skirt, a
holopin, and a pretty little apron. She also, apparently, has a
mysterious alien past; a past that comes knocking on her door in
the form of a tiny red creature called Od. According to Od, Mini is
all that stands between the galaxy and an invasion by terrible,
soul-sucking creatures from the in-between dimensions. As Mini's
galactic experience to-date revolves around serving drinks and
picking up after customers, she finds that very unlikely.
The only problem is that Od is right. So Mini reaches for the
closest thing at hand – which just so happens to be a frying pan –
and gives saving the galaxy a go. She isn't alone, however; she's
caught the eye of a rather handsome Galactic Military Commander,
and he isn't going to take his eyes off her until he knows exactly
what's going on.