The Gifted (22 page)

Once Han and his family left, I felt kind of
lonely. That may seem funny, because I had my family, but I also
missed Han, Guido, and Tracy. I even missed Brock.

About a week later I was outside our house
trying to climb a big oak tree, when my mom called my name. My
brother, who was a better climber, was already at the top of the
tree, so I waited until he was down safely before we went
inside.

“There’s a call for you,” my mom said.

I picked up the phone. “Hey Andy!” said the
voice of a girl I recognized. It was Tracy. “I’m so excited! You’re
going to get a surprise soon. I can’t wait to see you!”

“Huh?” I said.

“See you later,” she said and hung up.

“What was that about?” asked my mom. “She
certainly is an excitable girl.”

“Yes,” I said. “That would be Tracy. Only
watch your back if you’re ever around her.”

A little later, our family sat down to eat
dinner. We pray before our meals, so right after we were done
praying, and before I had eaten any spaghetti, I heard something
really loud and rumbling outside. It was deafening!

I dropped my fork and ran outside with my
brother right behind me. There, right outside my door, parked next
to the family van, was an MQ-27 Hummingbird Rescue helicopter. The
rotors were loud and swept over the roof of our van and almost hit
the side of our house.

My brother stayed behind, but I advanced
forward as the door opened. The smiling face of Tracy greeted me,
and next to her was Brock! “We have a job for you,” he said. “And
we need your help.”

“Hi, Andy,” I heard Han say. I looked in the
back seats and saw Han and a faint glimmer of Guido.

“You ready for an adventure?” said Guido.

“What do you have in mind?” I said.

“How about saving the world,” said Brock. “Or
something like that. We already talked to your parents, so now you
get to decide.”

I turned back to Mom and Dad, who nodded
their heads and waved goodbye. “So where do we go from here?” I
said.

“It’s a surprise,” said Brock with a
smile.

If you have enjoyed reading
The
Gifted
, please consider leaving a review. As an independently
published author, the best way for my books to succeed is through
reviews from readers like you.

If you want to keep up with my current
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. Also,
feel free to email me at
[email protected]
to say
hi.

I would like to thank my beta readers,
Michelle, Emilie, and Susan for going beyond my wildest
expectations. Your advice and remarks were immensely helpful.

Thanks to Doc, who encouraged me to publish;
New Hope Church where I serve; Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Howard
Taylor, and Mary Robinette Kowal for the insights and encouragement
in their podcast
Writing Excuses
, as well as Hugh Howey who
wrote many helpful blogs about the triumphs and hard work of
self-publishing.

Han, Tracy, Andy, and Guido have been called
upon again because of their special gifts. This time the threat
comes from a space station that has control of a weapon that can
destroy any city at the press of a button, and the city up next is
Han's home. They race the clock as they hurl through space to try
to stop this weapon and those who control it.

Her name is X213 and she lives in a society
where technological advancement is the highest form of achievement
of man, and the highest purpose of man is to further the
development of technology, making us more than human. But the
technology she has worked so hard to improve is killing her.

His name is Samuel and he has rejected the
world of the Technophiles, even at the cost of losing his own
family. But Samuel is not one to sit idly by. His mission is to
help rescue those trapped in their world where man meets machine.
And then he meets X213.

Aaron K. Redshaw grew up in Scottsburg, Oregon but decided one day
to take a hint from the geese. He now lives in Scotts Valley,
California where he can work on his tan and admire other people’s
surfboards. He enjoys the company of his beautiful wife, his two
gifted children, and one dusty beast of a car.