Tigereye
by Mara Harrison
Scarlett is being hunted —
by the agency, the man in the blue car, the angry girl inside her own head. She
doesn't know what they want from her…or why she keeps waking up in somebody
else's life, masquerading as a spy. Code name: Tigereye
Scarlett Fitzgerald's normal teenage life is wrenched apart when
she wrecks her car only weeks before graduation. Everyone assures her she's
fine, but they're wrong. They have to be, because ever since the accident
strange things have started to happen. It only takes a few days for Scarlett to
realize she's being followed. The man in the blue car is getting closer and he
won't leave her alone. But she'll take the creepy man in the car any day over
the scary feeling that someone else is trying to control her body, or the memories of a
surgery that everyone insists she never had. And then there are the dreams —
vivid, scary, so real that she wakes up in the morning bruised and sore like
she's been awake the entire time, fighting, falling, running for her life.
Scarlett is plunged into a mystery that keeps growing every time she turns over
a new rock. And when she finally gets to the truth, she realizes that nothing
in her life is how she thought it was. Especially herself.
Hi! Mara Harrison here talking about my new book Tigereye. The
whole thing stemmed from a conversation I had with my mom one day about a girl
who lived one life when she was awake and another when she was dreaming. I
wanted to put some fun unique twists in it and (hopefully) keep people guessing
until the end.
The scene below is the first in the book. I wanted to let the
reader experience Scarlett's confusion and fear while she's in the middle of
it. There's no lead up, no explanation, we're dropped right into the scene. She
has no idea what's going on and I don't want the readers to either.
Chapter One
Awake…Maybe
Consciousness
came in short excruciating bursts. White lights, penetrating noises, voices
filtering in through fuzzy layers of gray matter. And then there was darkness,
quiet. Nothing hurt in the dark. Scarlett fought it, strived toward the pain
once again. Pain was life. And the other…no. She wasn't ready for that yet.
Not
yet.
But it hurts…
Not
yet.
"Relax…"
The voice was deep, soothing, treacherous.
No. I'm not ready to die. Scarlett
struggled to move.
"Scarlett.
You're safe. Sleep."
Her
eyes were closed already. She didn't trust the voice, but she listened. It was
so much easier to let quiet take over.
"Good
girl,” he said. “You'll be fine soon."
She
nodded weakly. At least in her mind she did. The darkness seeped in, soft and
heavy but sleep remained elusive. Vaguely, Scarlett became aware of voices
muttering, feet shuffling.
"She's
down again. We can complete the procedure."
Procedure?
Panicked,
Scarlett tried to tear herself out of the heavy, drugged sleep, but something
sharp sliced into her head at the base of her skull. She would have screamed if
she could. It hurt too badly for her to even be scared. For a long time,
Scarlett knew nothing else but excruciating white hot pain. When she thought
she wouldn't be able to handle anymore, when it seemed like she must be dying
because nothing else could hurt so horribly bad, the pain ebbed, slowly drained
away until finally she could breathe again.
"It's
completely connected now. Move quickly. Retrieve the package and get it to
safety. We don't know yet how long the chip will be active."
Chip? Panic flooded
through her groggy body.
"And
be careful," a second voice added. "Until we figure out who was
behind the crash, we don't leave anything to chance."
Another
shot of pain stabbed her in the arm, and then it was gone and the darkness
pulled at her once again. Scarlett opened her eyes. She had to fight it.
She
was in a room, the lights overhead were nearly blinding. A blond man leaned
over her, hand on her arm, face partially obscured by the lights behind his
head. Another man with dark hair hovered at the corner of her bed. Scarlett
could barely see him with the lights shining bright in her eyes. Only a vague
shape looming, impressions of colors. Scarlett tried to pull away from the
blond man. She had to find out where she was. She had to escape.
"What
are you doing to me?" she forced out. Her voice felt sore and scratchy,
sounded even worse. She had to sit up, even if the room was spinning. Scarlett
squeezed her eyes closed for another moment and gathered the strength to move.
I have to get up. They're
going to kill me…
She
couldn't let that happen.
The
blond guy reached up and brushed her forehead, his touch oddly gentle.
"York, she's still awake. We need another tranquilizer."
The
dark haired one, York, loomed over her with a needle, long and menacing,
clutched in his hand.
"N—"
Scarlett tried to speak. But he stuck the second needle in her arm, and with a
quick bite of pain, she was out.
Where
you can get Tigereye:
Here's
a link to the book's page on my website:) I'll list the main bookseller links
on that page.
http://maraharrison.com/books/tigereye/
About Me
Mara
Harrison has always been a writer. Since she was a kid she's been scribbling
stories in notebooks. Romance, fantasy, sci-fi — she's tried them all. Other
than a passion for great books, she loves music of all sorts, travel, art,
dancing, cooking and of course collecting shoes!
You
can find Mara at her blog/website:
http://maraharrison.com/
And
on twitter:
https://twitter.com/Mara_Harrison
Email:
Maraharrisonwrites@gmail.com
Steven Manchester is the author of the #1 bestseller Twelve Months, Goodnight, Brian, and several other books. His work has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, CBS’s The Early
