Catalyst
By- Casey L. Bond
Genre- YA Dystopian
Publication Date- June 18th, 2015
The city of Confidence is surrounded by a thick, concrete wall. These walls are built to protect those within and to keep dangers outside. What happens when the only danger to the citizens within is its leadership?
When a young man on a suicide mission meets a young woman with a terminal illness, both of them use one another as a means to their own ends. They never expect to become friends. They never expect to become so much more to each other. Their backgrounds and the secrets they uncover are more dangerous than any plans they could make together or separately.
Revolution begins with a spark.
Excerpt-
Enoch slowed the car, scanning the surroundings meticulously. My eyes caught movement. A dark figure crouched behind some nearby bushes that were too thin to hide him. Enoch had taken notice, too. He stopped the car and jumped out of the vehicle, raising his stunner.
I'd never seen one used on a person before. Sitting up straighter to get a better look, I watched as the dark figure jumped up and tried to run. Despite his exertions wasted on me, soldier Enoch was fast, too. Hot on the figure's heels, the soldier launched the stunner's probes. When they connected, every muscle in the assailant's body seized and locked up tight. The man stopped short, and Enoch tackled him, removing the probes from the back of the man he'd just tackled.
My fingers and face were pressed against the hot glass of the window.
My goodness. That was intense.
I watched as Soldier Enoch winced and gritted his teeth as he hefted the other man's weight and dragged the limp form toward the car. He didn't put the assailant in the front seat and I almost fell out onto my face when the door beside me was wrenched open. He was going to put him in the back seat! With me! I scooted far to left, plastering myself against the opposite door.
"Can I get in the front?" My voice was shrill, but I couldn't help it.
Enoch shoved the man down into the seat beside me and then began to maneuver his feet into the floorboard. "So you can run again? I don't think so," he grunted, still fighting with the man, whose muscles were beginning to work now. The man was trying to fighting back.
His clothes were weird. They were torn and dirty. His neck wouldn't hold the weight of his head, so it dangled between his knees, obscuring his face. The door beside him slammed closed, locking us inside. There was a bullet-proof glass barrier between the front and back seats.
If I thought running had given my heart a workout, I was wrong. This was crazy! I tugged on the door handle, pulling hard when it wouldn't open. "Don't break it."
The voice beside me was deep, rich and fluid. It stopped me. I released the handle and looked over. His head was eased back against the headrest, and he looked at me intently. "You'll really piss him off if you break his ride."
Blue eyes. The color of what I imagined the ocean looked like: Blue-green and crystal clear as water. Dark, shaggy hair framed his face. His jaw was square and peppered with dark stubble. He had holes in his ears, held open by round pieces of metal. Colorful tattoos covered one of his arms. I gasped, which made him chuckle.
Enoch started the engine and eased the car forward.
The guy sitting, literally stunned into submission beside me, was a scrub. And since they'd caught him in the city, he was as good as dead.
"What's going on back there?" Soldier Enoch piped up, glancing from the rearview mirror to the road and back, as he drove forward down the same street on which the scrub had been apprehended.
"Calm down. Nothing's going on." The scrub's voice was hypnotic. I couldn't quit staring, but I kept my hand on the door handle. It wouldn't do any good. It was locked, but it made me feel better somehow, like I was holding a metal rod that would ground any electricity he sent my way.
Soldier Enoch smiled at my seatmate smugly. "I'll enjoy watching you hang, scrub." He muttered some belittling remarks and I watched the scrub's face distort into something frightening. The scrub flexed his fingers, one at a time, then all together. He was regaining feeling, regaining strength. It looked like he was ready to try something.
Enoch's page began making static sounds and frantic voices came over the air at him. Taking advantage of the distraction, I scooted closer. When the scrub's arm raised in Enoch's direction, my fingers grazed his forearm. "They'll kill you," I whispered to him.
"I know." He didn't move away, just stared at my fingers on his skin. I pulled my hand back. "Why did you risk it? Why come into the city?"
He stared back at me. "My brother is sick. He needs medicine or he won't make it."
There was a raw quality to his voice indicating that he was being honest. Now his brother would die, and so would he.
Enoch was still fussing with someone over the page. I looked back at the man sitting beside me. The scrub was pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Are you able to run?" I whispered.
He snorted. "Like it matters."
"Are you? Have your muscles recovered?"
Soldier Enoch glanced up into the mirror again. When he was preoccupied with his page, the scrub leaned forward propping his elbows on his knees. He flexed his feet and arms, making the muscles ripple beneath the fabric. "Yeah. I'm good." He looked sideways at me, giving me a smile. "Why?"
"Did you get the medicine you needed?" I whispered.
He nodded. He'd gotten it.
"When he unlocks the doors, run and don't look back." The scrub's brows furrowed, almost meeting in the middle.
"What are you talking ab-"
"Soldier!" I shrieked. "Pull over. I'm going to be sick!"
"You're kidding me!" Enoch jerked the wheel to the right and the car followed suit.
"I need help, please! The door won't come open!" I frantically jerked on the door's handle and panted dramatically, pounding my palm against the closed window. "Please!"
"I'm unlocking it!" Soldier Enoch yelled, throwing his door open and then clicking the button on his door to unlock mine.
He opened my door, and I dry heaved a few times, making it look real. Most times it would have been real, but I had vomited everything I'd eaten already-just outside the doctor's office at the Medical Pavilion.
Soldier Enoch crouched down and awkwardly tried to pat my back. His city-issued, black leather boots shone in the bright sunshine that was still blazing over the land. The temperature outside had gotten cooler, but the landscape was now painted a vibrant gold.
Enoch wasn't all bad, maybe. I regained my composure, accepting the handkerchief he offered. I wiped my eyes and then the corners of my mouth before blowing my nose and offering it back to him. He declined with a cringe that he tried to disguise with a smile, so I smiled sweetly at him.
When I looked over to where the scrub had been seated, his seat was empty and his door stood wide open. He'd gotten away. He was free, and his brother had a chance at life.
"Where'd he go?" Soldier Enoch screamed. Stomping around the back of the car, he proceeded to search the area meticulously. Twenty minutes later, he gave up. I should have left and walked home, but I was tired. I couldn't do it, and Enoch would have gotten in trouble if he showed up without me, or if I showed up at home without an "escort."
So I took pity on us both and stayed put, imagining and hoping that the scrub had made it over the wall and that his brother would make it, too.
I'd never seen one used on a person before. Sitting up straighter to get a better look, I watched as the dark figure jumped up and tried to run. Despite his exertions wasted on me, soldier Enoch was fast, too. Hot on the figure's heels, the soldier launched the stunner's probes. When they connected, every muscle in the assailant's body seized and locked up tight. The man stopped short, and Enoch tackled him, removing the probes from the back of the man he'd just tackled.
My fingers and face were pressed against the hot glass of the window.
My goodness. That was intense.
I watched as Soldier Enoch winced and gritted his teeth as he hefted the other man's weight and dragged the limp form toward the car. He didn't put the assailant in the front seat and I almost fell out onto my face when the door beside me was wrenched open. He was going to put him in the back seat! With me! I scooted far to left, plastering myself against the opposite door.
"Can I get in the front?" My voice was shrill, but I couldn't help it.
Enoch shoved the man down into the seat beside me and then began to maneuver his feet into the floorboard. "So you can run again? I don't think so," he grunted, still fighting with the man, whose muscles were beginning to work now. The man was trying to fighting back.
His clothes were weird. They were torn and dirty. His neck wouldn't hold the weight of his head, so it dangled between his knees, obscuring his face. The door beside him slammed closed, locking us inside. There was a bullet-proof glass barrier between the front and back seats.
If I thought running had given my heart a workout, I was wrong. This was crazy! I tugged on the door handle, pulling hard when it wouldn't open. "Don't break it."
The voice beside me was deep, rich and fluid. It stopped me. I released the handle and looked over. His head was eased back against the headrest, and he looked at me intently. "You'll really piss him off if you break his ride."
Blue eyes. The color of what I imagined the ocean looked like: Blue-green and crystal clear as water. Dark, shaggy hair framed his face. His jaw was square and peppered with dark stubble. He had holes in his ears, held open by round pieces of metal. Colorful tattoos covered one of his arms. I gasped, which made him chuckle.
Enoch started the engine and eased the car forward.
The guy sitting, literally stunned into submission beside me, was a scrub. And since they'd caught him in the city, he was as good as dead.
"What's going on back there?" Soldier Enoch piped up, glancing from the rearview mirror to the road and back, as he drove forward down the same street on which the scrub had been apprehended.
"Calm down. Nothing's going on." The scrub's voice was hypnotic. I couldn't quit staring, but I kept my hand on the door handle. It wouldn't do any good. It was locked, but it made me feel better somehow, like I was holding a metal rod that would ground any electricity he sent my way.
Soldier Enoch smiled at my seatmate smugly. "I'll enjoy watching you hang, scrub." He muttered some belittling remarks and I watched the scrub's face distort into something frightening. The scrub flexed his fingers, one at a time, then all together. He was regaining feeling, regaining strength. It looked like he was ready to try something.
Enoch's page began making static sounds and frantic voices came over the air at him. Taking advantage of the distraction, I scooted closer. When the scrub's arm raised in Enoch's direction, my fingers grazed his forearm. "They'll kill you," I whispered to him.
"I know." He didn't move away, just stared at my fingers on his skin. I pulled my hand back. "Why did you risk it? Why come into the city?"
He stared back at me. "My brother is sick. He needs medicine or he won't make it."
There was a raw quality to his voice indicating that he was being honest. Now his brother would die, and so would he.
Enoch was still fussing with someone over the page. I looked back at the man sitting beside me. The scrub was pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Are you able to run?" I whispered.
He snorted. "Like it matters."
"Are you? Have your muscles recovered?"
Soldier Enoch glanced up into the mirror again. When he was preoccupied with his page, the scrub leaned forward propping his elbows on his knees. He flexed his feet and arms, making the muscles ripple beneath the fabric. "Yeah. I'm good." He looked sideways at me, giving me a smile. "Why?"
"Did you get the medicine you needed?" I whispered.
He nodded. He'd gotten it.
"When he unlocks the doors, run and don't look back." The scrub's brows furrowed, almost meeting in the middle.
"What are you talking ab-"
"Soldier!" I shrieked. "Pull over. I'm going to be sick!"
"You're kidding me!" Enoch jerked the wheel to the right and the car followed suit.
"I need help, please! The door won't come open!" I frantically jerked on the door's handle and panted dramatically, pounding my palm against the closed window. "Please!"
"I'm unlocking it!" Soldier Enoch yelled, throwing his door open and then clicking the button on his door to unlock mine.
He opened my door, and I dry heaved a few times, making it look real. Most times it would have been real, but I had vomited everything I'd eaten already-just outside the doctor's office at the Medical Pavilion.
Soldier Enoch crouched down and awkwardly tried to pat my back. His city-issued, black leather boots shone in the bright sunshine that was still blazing over the land. The temperature outside had gotten cooler, but the landscape was now painted a vibrant gold.
Enoch wasn't all bad, maybe. I regained my composure, accepting the handkerchief he offered. I wiped my eyes and then the corners of my mouth before blowing my nose and offering it back to him. He declined with a cringe that he tried to disguise with a smile, so I smiled sweetly at him.
When I looked over to where the scrub had been seated, his seat was empty and his door stood wide open. He'd gotten away. He was free, and his brother had a chance at life.
"Where'd he go?" Soldier Enoch screamed. Stomping around the back of the car, he proceeded to search the area meticulously. Twenty minutes later, he gave up. I should have left and walked home, but I was tired. I couldn't do it, and Enoch would have gotten in trouble if he showed up without me, or if I showed up at home without an "escort."
So I took pity on us both and stayed put, imagining and hoping that the scrub had made it over the wall and that his brother would make it, too.
Book Soundtrack-
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My Review-
I received a free copy of the book from the author for my honest opinion.
Seven's younger sister Sonnet is so mean to her. She is always putting her down and saying mean things to her. She even says mean things about her to other people and right in front of Seven at that. I don't know where to hate (no not hate that is such a strong word, dislike is a better word) Sonnet or feel bad for her because she hates her sister so much. But I am not sure that she actually hates her or if it is the only way she can deal with the pain and hurt that is probably going on in her heart for her dying sister. By hating her or pretending that she is may be the only way she can stop the hurt and deal with the unfairness that the world or who or whatever is taking away the life that her big sister has ahead of her that she is never going to experience.
Yes, Seven is dying and no one really knows how long she has to live. She could die today, tomorrow, next week or next month. The medical personnel do what they can for her but that is not much. They just try to make her life a little easier for her until her time is up. The place where Seven lives has a wall all the way around it and she has never been on the other side of the wall. She has no idea what is out there. All she knows is what she has been told. She knows that there are people who live on the other side of the wall and that they are called scrubs. Seven has been taught that you can't trust a scrub and that they are the scum of the earth. And that is what she believed until she met one on one of the times that she snuck out of the house. On this one particular time when she was caught and was being escorted back home by soldier Enoch. On their way back to her home they saw a man that was trying to hide from them. Soldier Enoch saw that the person he was chasing was a scrub he arrested him and put him in the back seat with Seven. At first she was afraid of him because of how she was raised. But after seeing that he was no different than her she decides to help him escape.
Seven's family was part of the rich class of people in her world and could afford anything nearly that they wanted. In Seven's world they had what they called companions and anyone could own one if they had enough money to buy one. So with Seven being sick her father told her that he was going to buy her a companion and she could pick out her companion herself. Seven wasn't too keen on the idea of having a companion. She figured that this companion was to be like a watch dog and would run to her father and tell him everything she did. Seven knew that her father expected her to pick a young girl to be her companion. But Seven was feeling rebellious when they arrived at the action. They were like ten people for her to choose from. She got to choose first because of her father's wealth and position in society. Just imagine the surprise when she saw the scrub Mitis that she helped to escape standing there waiting to be picked as a companion. So guess who rebellious Seven chose as her companion. Yep, you got it, Mitis. Her father was fit to be tied as they say. His temperature probably went up quite a few degrees. But he did tell her that it was her choices and he couldn't go back on his word in front of all the people there.
Seven never expected to like Mitis because he was a scrub but the more time she spent with him and they both got to know each other better they decide that maybe not all of their enemies were their enemy after all. Seven had a list of things that she wanted to do before she died and her plan was for Mitis to help her do everything on her list and Mitis was just as determined as she was after he found out how nice she was. I was very surprised by a lot of the things that happened in Mitis and Seven's lives and how they lived and were treated. I was so very happy for them when they became friends. They realized that they were not different they were the same and that it didn't matter what level of the ladder you were on in society or what you believed everyone was still the same. The only way to tell one class from another are the clothes on their backs or maybe the vehicle someone drives or the home they live in but that still doesn't make us any different from the next person. They came to the realization that the only thing that is important was what was in someone's heart and how they felt about everybody. They also realized that the only thing that made people different was the love or hate they felt for others and how they treated each other.
I really loved and enjoyed reading Seven and Mitis' story. There were times that I was thrown for a loop. I would be expecting one thing and would get another. I would be reading and be like ok I got this I know what is going to happen next but nope I was wrong. Catalyst kept me guessing and on my toes all the way through it. I have found another author to go on my list for favorite authors. This is one book that everyone needs to read. In my opinion Catalyst needs no age limit put on it. I have been told on more than one occasion that I need to non-fiction books that I can't learn anything from a fiction book but undoubtedly they have never read a fiction book because I learn something from just about every book I read and Catalyst is no exception. I learned a lot from Catalyst and hope to learn and read more of Seven and Mitis' story. I also plan on checking out other books by Casey.
Yes, Seven is dying and no one really knows how long she has to live. She could die today, tomorrow, next week or next month. The medical personnel do what they can for her but that is not much. They just try to make her life a little easier for her until her time is up. The place where Seven lives has a wall all the way around it and she has never been on the other side of the wall. She has no idea what is out there. All she knows is what she has been told. She knows that there are people who live on the other side of the wall and that they are called scrubs. Seven has been taught that you can't trust a scrub and that they are the scum of the earth. And that is what she believed until she met one on one of the times that she snuck out of the house. On this one particular time when she was caught and was being escorted back home by soldier Enoch. On their way back to her home they saw a man that was trying to hide from them. Soldier Enoch saw that the person he was chasing was a scrub he arrested him and put him in the back seat with Seven. At first she was afraid of him because of how she was raised. But after seeing that he was no different than her she decides to help him escape.
Seven's family was part of the rich class of people in her world and could afford anything nearly that they wanted. In Seven's world they had what they called companions and anyone could own one if they had enough money to buy one. So with Seven being sick her father told her that he was going to buy her a companion and she could pick out her companion herself. Seven wasn't too keen on the idea of having a companion. She figured that this companion was to be like a watch dog and would run to her father and tell him everything she did. Seven knew that her father expected her to pick a young girl to be her companion. But Seven was feeling rebellious when they arrived at the action. They were like ten people for her to choose from. She got to choose first because of her father's wealth and position in society. Just imagine the surprise when she saw the scrub Mitis that she helped to escape standing there waiting to be picked as a companion. So guess who rebellious Seven chose as her companion. Yep, you got it, Mitis. Her father was fit to be tied as they say. His temperature probably went up quite a few degrees. But he did tell her that it was her choices and he couldn't go back on his word in front of all the people there.
Seven never expected to like Mitis because he was a scrub but the more time she spent with him and they both got to know each other better they decide that maybe not all of their enemies were their enemy after all. Seven had a list of things that she wanted to do before she died and her plan was for Mitis to help her do everything on her list and Mitis was just as determined as she was after he found out how nice she was. I was very surprised by a lot of the things that happened in Mitis and Seven's lives and how they lived and were treated. I was so very happy for them when they became friends. They realized that they were not different they were the same and that it didn't matter what level of the ladder you were on in society or what you believed everyone was still the same. The only way to tell one class from another are the clothes on their backs or maybe the vehicle someone drives or the home they live in but that still doesn't make us any different from the next person. They came to the realization that the only thing that is important was what was in someone's heart and how they felt about everybody. They also realized that the only thing that made people different was the love or hate they felt for others and how they treated each other.
I really loved and enjoyed reading Seven and Mitis' story. There were times that I was thrown for a loop. I would be expecting one thing and would get another. I would be reading and be like ok I got this I know what is going to happen next but nope I was wrong. Catalyst kept me guessing and on my toes all the way through it. I have found another author to go on my list for favorite authors. This is one book that everyone needs to read. In my opinion Catalyst needs no age limit put on it. I have been told on more than one occasion that I need to non-fiction books that I can't learn anything from a fiction book but undoubtedly they have never read a fiction book because I learn something from just about every book I read and Catalyst is no exception. I learned a lot from Catalyst and hope to learn and read more of Seven and Mitis' story. I also plan on checking out other books by Casey.
About the Author-Casey L. Bond resides in Milton, West Virginia with her husband and their two beautiful daughters. When she's not busy being a domestic goddess and chasing her baby girls, she loves to write young adult and new adult fiction.
Bond graduated from Hurricane High School in 1999. In 2003, she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Marshall University in the field of Criminal Justice.
You can find more information about Bond's books via the following links:
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