Surprise Agent Invasion #16

Title: STEEL HORIZON 

Genre: YA Science Fiction 

Word Count: 89,000

Query:

Ten months ago, seventeen-year-old Morgan left home to escape her abusive step-father. 

Six months ago, Earth was attacked by a cyborg species which humans refer to as Scrappers.

Two months ago, the Scrappers stopped killing and started taking. 

           

None of the captured have been seen again. 

            

Now, within dead cities and abandoned highways, Morgan fights to stay hidden from the Scrappers’ search for humans. She travels alone and trusts no one but herself. The unseen scars left by her step-father haunt her every day and nightmares consume her during the night, unveiling fears of her dark past and the creatures who still hunt her. 

            

But when Morgan meets a boy named Jude with a metal arm, something only the Scrappers could have given him, she chooses to trust him despite her fears telling her otherwise. Not only was Jude taken by the Scrappers, but he was also the first one to survive them.

            

And now they want him back. 

            

First 250:

I never knew the world could hold so much silence. It echoed through the hollow malls and empty stores, through highways filled with nothing but the charred shells of abandoned cars.

It whistled through the bones of the dead.  

All eyes looked up when the first raindrops fell from the sky. Scrappers feared the rain. It was the only thing that kept us safe. Kept us hidden. But even with the rain pattering down on the steel roof, nobody talked or moved. We were too tired to be thankful from our short moment of safety. We all knew it wouldn’t last.

A shiver ran down my spine as I watched the people around me with their backs hunched and shoulders sagged. Even though their numbers were small, I wasn’t used to being around people. I tried to isolate myself from them, hugging my legs to my chest and keeping myself folded into my corner. 

A man and his young son were nearby and I couldn’t help but stare; he was the youngest person I’d seen in months. 

Brown hair clung to his face, streaked with dirt and tears, but his father still let him press his head against his chest, holding him close. He comforted him and told him everything would be all right. His words were lies, but I could never contradict him. Because deep down, I wanted to hear those things too. I wanted someone to tell me that we were all going to live and actually mean it.