1st Rd Sm Press Contest #17 - Uncovered

Uncovered
YA Sci-Fi Romance
62,000 words

Query:

When Hallie Hartman’s life turns into nothing short of a freak-show, she knows she took her ordinary life for granted. Running into tall, dark, and swoon-worthy Colton Reed changed everything. He’s teeming with secrets and his cryptic answers about who he is and where he’s from have Hallie yearning to punch him—whenever she’s not thinking about kissing him. When she finally uncovers the truth, she finds he’s not just from out of town.

He’s an alien.

Unfortunately, there are other secrets far more terrifying. The Megaera, a deranged alien mafia group, is hunting Hallie. They claim she’s a Hamartia, a half human race who isn’t allowed to exist. The Megaera think she could be an asset but they didn’t anticipate finding a Hamartia without any abilities. Hallie’s not sure if Colton can be trusted but she knows she’ll be their prisoner until she decides which is worse, being a pawn or being dead.

First 150:

My entire life has consisted of a level of normalcy that makes me want to stab myself in the eye with a pen.

That was the only sentence of my English essay I had written after thirty minutes of mindless pen tapping. All my brilliant ideas had vanished—if I’d really had any to begin with. Spinning my chair around, I resigned myself to the fact that staring at the paper would not magically make words appear.

I decided to distract myself with a run. After I’d changed, pulled on my shoes, and grabbed my iPod, I left the house and started pounding pavement. Clearly, I couldn’t write an essay to save my life. In fact, the only thing exceptional about me is how fast I can run but what is that going to do for me? Now, if I could find a way to run straight out of my dull life and into one that’s electrifying, maybe I’d have a use for it.