UnStrung

About authors

NEAL SHUATERMAN is the author of many novels for young adults, including Unwind, which was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers and has won more than thirty other awards; the highly acclaimed Skinjacker Trilogy (Everlost, Everwild, and Everfound), and Full Tilt, which has received twenty awards and honors. He also writes screenplays for motion pictures and television shows, including Goosebumps and the Disney Channel original movie Pixel Perfect. Currently he is adapting Unwind as a feature film. The father of four children, Neal lives in Southern California. Visit him at StoryMan.com

MICHELLE KNOWLDEN has published fourteen stories with Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, most featuring hypochondriac detective Micky Cardex. The story “No, Thank You, John” was nominated for a Shamus Award. Many of Ms. Knowlden’s stories have been included in anthologies and translated in multiple languages, including “Where Old Kings Gather” for Tor Books’ More Amazing Stories anthology. This is Michelle Knowlden’s second collaboration with Neal Shusterman. The first was the X-Files young adult novel Dark Matter for HarperCollins in 1999, under the name Easton Royce.

“Connor, stop!” he hears his father yell. Then he hears a gun fire.

He feels the impact, but not in his skin. The bullet embeds in his backpack. He doesn’t look behind him. Then, as he reaches the highway median, he hears another gunshot, and a small blue splotch appears on the center divider. They’re firing tranquilizer bullets. They’re not taking him out, they’re trying to take him down—and they’re much more likely to fire tranq bullets at will, than regular bullets.

Connor climbs over the center divider, and finds himself in the path of a Cadillac that’s not stopping for anything. The car swerves to avoid him, and by sheer luck Connor’s momentum takes him just a few inches out of the Caddy’s path. Its side mirror smacks him painfully in the ribs before the car screeches to a halt, sending the acrid stench of burned rubber up his nostrils. Holding his aching side, Connor sees someone looking at him from an open window of the backseat. It’s another kid, dressed all in white. The kid is terrified.

With the police already reaching the center divider, Connor looks into the eyes of this frightened kid, and knows what he has to do. It’s time for another split-second decision. He reaches through the window, pulls up the lock, and opens the door.