Reclaimed

1



More than anything else Senna remembered the bitter silence. At some point during the night, everyone around her on the ship stopped breathing. The soft, human sounds of sleep had mixed with the reverberation of space outside the passenger craft, a lullaby of organic white noise that helped her drift to sleep, but once it was gone, the absence was far louder. Unmistakable.



It was like how she imagined the dead of winter, still and adrift, though Senna had never experienced a true winter herself. Her entire life had been lived in outer space and, more than that, in almost total confinement.



She had taken a pill and gone to sleep surrounded by life, then woke among the dead. Senna had rolled over, tossing restlessly, and felt her hand brush something cold and almost rubbery on the sleeping mat next to hers. Startled by the sensation, she jerked awake, and under the reddish glow of the emergency lights above, she found herself staring down into the open, glazed eyes of her best friend, Mina. The blood trickling from between Mina's full lips was as crimson as the emergency lights blinking overhead.



Senna gasped, and it was the only sound in the entire ship.



Oh my God. They're all dead.



"You can't leave me," she whispered to Mina. The fear made her tremble; the shock made her grab Mina by the shoulders and shake. Her bones were thin and birdlike, and her head swiveled back and forth as Senna tried to rouse her. Nothing.



A door opened across the room, and Senna whirled to face it, torn between the sudden knowledge that she was alone and now the worse fear that she wasn't, that whoever was responsible for all this death was still alive and with her. That she was next.



"Senna," she heard him say. "I didn't know you were awake."



Why was she the only one left alive? And why wasn't he surprised by it? She

Madeleine Roux is the New York Times bestselling author of the Asylum series, which has sold in eleven countries worldwide and whose first book was named a Kids' Indie Next List pick. She is also the author of the House of Furies series and has made contributions to Star Wars, World of Warcraft, Scary Out There and Don't Turn Out the Lights. A graduate of the Beloit College writing program, Madeleine now lives with her beloved dog in Seattle, Washington.

Wickedly smart, devious as hell, and lightning fast. Highly recommended. -Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of Relentless and V-Wars

A suspenseful and disturbing sci-fi thriller about the interweaving nature of trauma, memory, and identity. This is what speculative fiction is all about! Reclaimed is one of those fantastic stories that makes you ask what if ? I devoured every chapter. Peter Clines, New York Times bestselling author of Terminus and The Fold
  
Absolutely stunning. Madeleine Roux is the best SF writer working today. Adam Christopher, author of Stranger Things: Darkness on the Edge of Town

"A swift, entertaining read. . . . Roux s easy-going prose, fairly rigorous speculations, and engaging cast conspire to deliver some spooky SF that proves some tropes are eternal." Locus

"Reclaimed is a brilliantly plotted science fiction story with an exhilarating take on classic sci-fi tropes and majorly creepy psychological horror elements. It features a strong cast of diverse characters you ll be praying will survive and a nail-biting suspenseful atmosphere that keeps the reader frantically turning the page." The Nerd Daily

In Reclaimed Roux s angular prose and vivid protagonists lure you down the echoing hallways of station Ganymede . . . to turn the next page and the next and the next . Jordan Shiveley, Hot Singles in Your Area

Praise for Salvaged
"A breathless, claustrophobic twist on the SF thriller. . . . This is the Alien we need right now."--Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Ararat and The Pandora Room

"Salvaged is riveting and brutal, a study in scars. The masterful writing and bittersweet beauty of these characters will haunt you long after you finish reading."--Ann Aguirre, New York Times bestselling author of the Razorland trilogy

"Elegant and inevitable, this is the prose equivalent of playing a survival horror game. Each piece feeds perfectly into