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  SHOCK ME

  Book One

  of The Shock Me Series

  By

  Ashley C. Harris

  Praise for Shock Me

  "Everyone can become a hero. That is what I got out of it. Well a lot more but that was a really powerful message. It keeps you on the edge of your seat to see what will happen next. I can’t wait for the next book and look forward to more from this new author!"

  -Kindle and Me

  "Memorable characters and plot momentum will keep the reader fully engaged right up to the pulse-pounding, dramatic conclusion with a stunning ending that I didn’t see coming! Shock Me is a gripping beginning to a new series. I, for one, look forward to the future adventures of these characters."

  -Lusty Penguin

  "The end of this one totally set things up for the next book and left me eager for what comes next.. Those who enjoy YA Sci-Fi Romance with a twisty plot mystery should try this one."

  -Delighted Reader

  "Shock Me by Ashley Harris is a story with new, fresh premise and I believe that fans of paranormal young adult novels will be thrilled to read it. I was completely hooked after reading prologue.. Ashley Harris managed to masterfully confuse you and leave you wanting more."

  -Ja čitam, a ti?

  "I loved this book so much I finished it in one sitting.. Where do I sign up for the second book's blog tour? I'm so excited."

  -Endless Reading

  "I think the summary for this one doesn't begin to really summarized Shock Me. In a way, I found it misleading because there's so much more to it. I couldn't stop reading it once I started. The story hooked me up from the beginning to the end. Most especially the ending. I'm glad that it was written in a third person's point of view. It made it easier for me to understand them. The story itself was written very well and the mysteries surrounding it kept it more interesting and better. It's like when one secret was revealed there's another secret."

  -Musings In Fiction Alley

  "Shock Me is a very nice, light read. It is a fast-paced action book with a little romance, and it is a perfect way to pass some time. It was good enough that if the author wrote a sequel to Shock Me, I would definitely read it... "

  -Books With Pizzazz

  "...I was still shocked (no pun intended) at what all happened at its climax. I won't spoil it because it needs to be read to be fully appreciated! If you enjoy YA lit, suspense, action, a little sci-fi mixed with fantasy, then go pick up a copy of this book. As far as first in series go, it hooked me right away and I can't wait to see just where the author takes it from here. Not to mention the awesome semi-cliffhanger!!!! So Please, oh please, hurry book two!"

  -Mom With A Reading Problem

  Also By

  Ashley C. Harris

  THE SHOCK ME SERIES

  Shock Me

  Sparks

  Collide

  THE ONE NIGHT IN SERIES

  One Night In Heated Snapshots

  One Night In Close Exposure

  SHOCK ME

  The Shock Me Series

  Book One

  Ashley C. Harris

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright 2013 by Ashley C. Harris. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Author.

  www.ashleycharris.com

  Cover design by Amber Harris: https://www.amberhdesigns.com/

  Second Edition September 2014

  The author acknowledges the copyrighted or trademarked status and trademarked owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction: Nerd, Roswell, Hummer, Cruella De

  Vil, Dumpster, Syfy, Syfy Channel, Comic Book, Ford Mustang, Bravo, La-Z-Boy.

  Dedicated to my savior Jesus Christ.

  To my sister Amber Harris,

  and to teenagers everywhere;

  “You have a future … Don’t let anyone hold you back.”

  SHOCK ME

  Chapter One

  Present Day

  Donna

  It was a hot summer day in East Applegate, too hot. Donna ran through the side door of her house. Her father was working out in the back, thank goodness, and wasn’t there to see her change. She ran upstairs as fast as she could and went straight into her bathroom; her hands shaking as she locked the door behind her. She turned on her shower and waited the prolonged minute for the water pipes to start. Then, as if she willed it, the water began to pour out.

  She stepped in, not bothering to take her clothes off, and let the freezing cold water pierce into her as it always did every time this happened. Her body still shaking, she pulled the shower curtain weakly. Then she sank to the floor of the tub and let the water drown out her world.

  Tears rolled down her tired eyes and merged with the rest of the water hitting her so violently. Even with her hot, pre-electric skin merging back to normal, she still couldn’t stop crying.

  “Donna!” her dad called from outside her bathroom door.

  Donna closed her eyes, willing herself to speak, wishing her dad would come back in an hour or so. “I’m in the shower, Dad!” she called out to him with her eyes still clenched shut.

  “Well, I’m about to get going,” he called out through the door.

  “Ok, Dad, stay—” she struggled to say the words, to hold herself together. To do anything but just sit in the pouring water and be anything but what she was turning into. “—safe.”

  “No, you stay safe,” her dad corrected her.

  She could barely hear him now through the door and sound of the water pouring down on her.

  “I love you, darling.”

  That was the last thing she let herself hear, then she again submerged herself into the water, letting herself shake once more. What was she? How could this be possible? This wasn’t some stupid TV show or comic book, this was real life.

  She took a couple of deep breaths and hugged herself. What did Paul mean? How could he understand in moments what she was when she didn’t even know? His words hissed ever so slightly in her mind, getting louder and louder every time she thought about them.

  Run, tell no one about this! If they catch you, they’ll kill you! She held her head, trying to make sense of it all.

  Tell no one, run, about this, kill you, catch you, if they, kill you. The memory of his words were getting over whelming, all screaming to her at the same time, going in and out of order. They try, run, tell no one, they’ll kill you, run, run, run.

  The water, which was freezing before, was now warm and numbing. Being neither cold nor hot, friend nor foe.

  Shouldn’t she be used to this by now? Everything in her life was always falling apart before it had a chance to even be put back together. Her mom died giving birth to her. Her older brother David ran away from home when she was five. Her dad lost the farm and now did handy work for all the towns in between his searching for her brother. Her two best friends, Spencer and Rebecca, were avoiding her at all costs, and now, there was a more important issue happening. Finally, someone who could accept her, and yet he brings the message of death. Great, what will life ruin for me next, what else is going to break apart from me?

  The answer was as sharp as it was deadly: Everything …

  * * *

  Two and a Half Months Earlier

  It was a bright and sunny morning. Donna tied her running shoes tightly, double knotting them. They were used and too big, like everything else she owned after losing eighteen pounds. Grabbing her water and thyroid medicine, she was out the door, le
aving her dog, Smoky, barking in the yard behind her. The sun had just risen about a half an hour ago, and the air was hotter than normal. She started jogging at a slow pace, waiting till she got to the main trail around the forest to really get herself going. She passed the outside of her neighbor’s large farm, which had a couple of horses and cows. Not anything like when Donna was a child and all the farms were filled with animals as far as the eye could see, but still, it was nice some of the town’s past remained.

  Just as she entered the outside of the forest running trail Donna saw him: Ryan Applegate. He was too far off for her to make out his face, but she knew it was him. They were the only two that jogged this early besides Lulu, one of the elderly women from town who got her exercise in every day.

  Donna slowed down a bit, running and jogging off and on, getting used to her old routine again. She looked off at some of the plants and things. Anything but stare right at Ryan dead on. They weren’t friends or anything after all, and she’d prove to be more of a dork than she already was if she kept on looking right at him.

  He was wearing a new sweat suit, a bright blue one with white stripes down the sides. His hair, which he was letting grow out, shined and framed his face perfectly. His gaze concentrated on everything but her. This was their ritual.

  Donna had hoped after spending a fun summer with Peter, whom she had met in New York, that she wouldn’t like Ryan as much, but no, she was out of luck. When she saw him yesterday morning jogging, and then again at school that day, her heart had pounded just as quickly. Ryan looked just as good, if not better, than he had before she’d left.

  After they jogged around separate paths, the path looped around and they joined each other, running in the same direction. As the ritual went, they’d fall into the same pace, running together side by side, as if they were friends or something. They never talked, Ryan always listened to his music, yet he’d never go ahead and lose her.

  Donna did all she could to look straight at the trees, not at his big muscular arms, or his gorgeous face that should be on every girl’s bedroom poster. After two years of this, she wasn’t super nervous running next to him, but it was hard not to concentrate on Ryan as being another reason besides gymnastics to be in shape.

  They looped around the path, their ritual almost coming to its end, then as the path cut off at the park they both stopped together. The water fountain was right next to the park’s bathroom. Ryan waited patiently, still listening to his music as Donna filled her water bottle up for her jog home. Then she turned around, facing him as he went to fill his water bottle also. He smiled at her, this being the only smile he’d give her usually for the rest of the day.

  “Hey,” he mouthed as she started past him.

  “Hi,” she mouthed back, giving him a smile with equal kindness. For a mere second they were children again, being the best of friends and always so excited to see one another. Then the second left them, and Ryan moved forward to fill his water. Donna took a big drink from her bottle and jogged off. This ended their morning ritual, which took place Mondays through Fridays.

  Donna went off, running now more than jogging, wanting to get home in time to shower before her dad did. Whoever got to the shower first got their desired temperature of water. The second would get either freezing cold or steaming hot.

  She couldn’t help but smile at the memory of Ryan and then hated herself afterwards. Always after their tiny ritual she felt happier, excited even; he did that to her, he always had. Then at school he and the popular clique never paid attention to her, never at all. Unless it was Lynn, insulting her clothes or something. Shouldn’t she only smile at him if they were actually still friends as they had been when they were kids? Yes, Donna, that’s logical. You should treat him how he treats you at school, like you’re not there, not cool, not anything.

  Yet no matter what bad things she told herself about him, no doubt tomorrow she’d smile and say hi, hey, hello. Whatever phrases they went with. Every year since they started running together, he’d leave behind a small card or trinket for her birthday or Christmas. She did the same for him as well. He’d leave it by the bench right next to the fountain and not show up for running so they wouldn’t have to actually talk when she’d find it, and she’d do the same, leaving it at the old fort they’d built in a tree hole, or a birthday card she’d slip in his locker when no one was looking. They were like secret friends, who never actually hung out or talked.

  Which really isn’t friends is it? Especially when your friends used to call me fat girl and you just would stand by, not even looking upset about it. She tried to stop herself from thinking about him any further.

  This year is different, she told herself. This year I’ve been kissed; I’ve been on dates. I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in, and this year I’m going to join the Virginia State Gymnastic Team for my age group. This year I’ll travel and barely set foot at East Applegate High. This year is the beginning of my escape!

  * * *

  Donna brushed a couple strokes through her tangled hair that was still mostly wet from her shower. She threw her ill-fitting, oversized overalls on and also her “fat jacket” as she called it. It was way too big with very thin material, but it was the only jacket from Goodwill that fit her when she bought it at the time. Now she wore it with glee, loving how big it was on her. It still didn’t keep her warm at all, but summer’s heat had stayed around longer this year. It was September and a record breaking 90 degrees, so she didn’t need to keep warm anyway.

  She watched her tall, naturally thin father scarf down a couple of donuts and drink his stone black coffee. The donuts were left over from last night, his “dinner.” The way he ate disgusted her, yet all her lecturing wasn’t going to stop him. She grabbed her protein shake from the fridge; it was barely cold.

  “Dad, we really, really need a new fridge.”

  “Yeah, I know, darling,” he told her as he stood up and grabbed his things to head out on one of his jobs. “Mrs. Robertson said she’d pay me today for fixing the hole in her ceiling last month. So,” he smiled, “you pick one out and have it put on hold, and I’ll pick it up.”

  She smiled at her dad’s feeling of satisfaction. They’d been so low on money lately, this time last year they’d gone without power for two weeks until he finally got enough cash to have it turned back on. Luckily, it was much cooler then. Being able to buy a new fridge when they actually needed it, not a couple months after it was broken, was a big deal.

  Donna checked to make sure Smoky had enough food then headed out. School started in an hour, and it was about an hour and a half’s walk. She started out the door but then turned and went back for her thyroid medicine. It was a medication everyone in the town had to carry at all times because they were located so close to the Applegate Power Plant. The precaution began after a massive explosion that took place seventeen years back.

  People still talked about the incident to this day. Half the power plant was destroyed in the catastrophe. As owner of the plant, Ryan’s father, Mr. Applegate, was blamed, so he donated millions of dollars to the town and soon was loved again as everyone’s big hero. Donna was still in utero at the time so none of it mattered to her. The only passing thought she’d ever had about the whole thing was about what her grandmother always whispered: that several people in the town went crazy after everything had blown apart. She wondered in the back of her head if that’s why her brother, David, had run away as a kid. Maybe he’d gone crazy …She walked into her geometry class twenty-five minutes after the bell had rung. Mr. Harris was in the middle of reviewing homework. Right as she opened the door, he called out behind her, “Hello, Miss. Young,” without even needing to turn to see if it was she who’d come in. The class giggled, and Donna gave a shy smile and went to her seat right next to Spencer.

  After a moment Spencer turned around as he always did and whispered, “If you would ride the bus, you know, that big yellowish thing that comes to the end of everyone’s road every day, t
hen you could get to school on time, grab a pop, and come to class only five minutes late like normal people.” He smiled flirtatiously as he did with everybody causing Donna to roll her eyes.

  “Yeah, but then I wouldn’t have a chance to burn off an extra three hundred calories every morning, and would inhale one hundred and fifty pointless ones in return due to your bad soda habits,” she whispered back.

  “Be very, very, careful,” he exaggerated in a harsh whisper. “Very careful … ” His face squeezed together like a cartoon character. “You’re starting to speak the whiny oxymoron language of CRUELLA over there.” He nodded his head toward Lynn Eris, Ryan’s girlfriend, who was putting on bright pink lipstick while staring at herself in her compact mirror. “You know,” he continued raising his voice, “the evil queen who can’t stop looking at herself, counts calories, and skins small animals! Your typical crazy … ”

  Donna blushed and bit her lip to stop herself from giggling too loudly. Lynn was wearing a designer animal print jacket and matching purse; hence Spencer’s typical Cruella De Vil joke. He started making faces, mimicking her behavior, causing not only Donna but Susie to giggle too. Spencer, suddenly excited to get Susie’s attention, nodded his head and winked at her. Her giggling stopped abruptly and she turned back to the teacher without giving him another glance. Susie wasn’t one of the popular people, but she was higher on the totem pole than both Spencer and Donna combined and wasn’t going to risk being seen flirting with him.

  “Epic fail,” the guys behind Spencer laughed.

  Spencer, now embarrassed, turned his head back around and faced the teacher.

  “Aw, too bad,” Lynn whispered loudly enough for their entire row and the row in front of them to hear, in her usual mocking voice. “It would be much more entertaining to see him go out and then get dumped by someone who wasn’t imaginary.”