Son of a Pitch Entry: The Time Slave

Title: THE TIME SLAVE

Age and Genre: YA light Sci-Fi

Word Count: 79,000

Query:

Seventeen-year-old Liam is a Time Slave. Indentured to a society hidden beneath modern-day Manhattan, he's bred to serve. He obeys his leader's every command until his sister Octavia disappears. Liam's focus shifts from fulfilling his duties to finding her. Convinced of foul play, he plots to get her back through a hostage trade: Sahar— his leader's daughter—for Octavia.

Holding his leader's daughter captive, Liam discovers an unsettling truth about Sahar—she is kind and clueless to her father's wrong-doings. What's even more unsettling is her ability to quell the anger inside of him. With Octavia's rescue on the line, Liam fights against his growing feelings for Sahar and sticking to his plan. If Liam chooses incorrectly, he’ll lose more than his sister—he’ll lose his heart too.

First 250 Words:

Status: Green-6

Repayment Time Owed: INACTIVE, 15 years, 98 days.

Repayment Time Paid: 16 years, 364 days.

There’s no easy way to admit you’ve failed the ones you love. I mean, besides convincing yourself you haven’t.

I study the sole picture I have of Octavia, my sister. She’s perched precariously on the limbs of a cherry blossom tree—her fearless face painted with happiness. It was her first experience of seeing the world above-ground. The first of many times to come, so I had promised her. One of hundreds of promises I failed to keep.

“It’s not your fault she’s missing,” Will says from my bed. He’s sitting cross-legged, arms folded across his chest, back against the wall. “There could be a million explanations—”

“You weren’t there,” I shoot my oldest friend a sidelong glance. His grey eyes—nearly clear from experimentation—watch me carefully as I pace the length of my room. “She called me a monster. It’s my fault she went above-ground.”

“You did what you had to Liam. Hell… If it was me,” Will tugs at a nonexistent piece of lint on my black comforter. “I—”

“Let’s go over the plan.” I slap Octavia’s picture face-down on my desk, pretending like it makes what I have to do less horrific. “Tell me how to get to Hesham’s daughter.” Hesham Ihsan—Generational and CEO of Generation Co.—is on the forefront of genetic research and specialized combat training. Above-ground, he’s a business god. Below-ground, he’s our creator.