Sneak (2 page)

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Sneak

A Note from

the Author

Dear Reader,

By the time you read this, the book you are holding in your

hands will most likely be banned. Inside you will find the second volume in the chronicles of Logan and Lily Langly, Erin Arbitor, Daniel Peck, and the Dust. Their story is dangerous; the knowledge within it is forbidden.

You must not be seen reading this. You must not be noticed

holding it. Breathe not a whisper of it, even to your closest friends.

For the walls have ears—and DOME is always listening.

But
if
you are committed to freedom . . .
if
you are determined to place yourself on the right side of history, no matter the cost, then here is what you must know:

For the last five years, Logan Paul Langly was watched. By a

group of outlaws. By a secret society of Markless teenagers just waiting for the right moment to kidnap him. He spent every day terrified that it was his last. Five years ago, his sister, Lily, disappeared. Logan was sure that he would be next.

And then about a month ago, Logan found out that these teen-

agers—Peck and the Dust, the “Markless threat of Spokie”—were

in fact the only thing protecting him from a far bigger danger: his own government.

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A Note From The Author

You see, Logan was born into the worst years of our States

War, terrible in its own right, and yet merely one small part of the Total War that threatened every nation on earth. All of us were determined to end the years of slaughter, the decades in which environmental devastation forced more and more people to fight over less and less land, water, food. . . . By the time Logan was born, our global civilization faced a choice: unify, or perish.

As you know, our world chose unity. The desperate few of

us remaining banded together into two great countries, East and West, hoping that it might bring peace.

To this day, it has worked. None would question that our new

European Union now thrives under the charismatic leadership of Chancellor Cylis, or that our American Union, where Logan lives, has done the same under our general in chief, Lamson.

It has been over a decade since General Lamson and Chancellor

Cylis worked together to institute DOME’s Mark Program, by

which all who wish to gain the rights of citizenship may receive the Mark in exchange for their binding Pledge of allegiance to Lamson, Cylis, and country.

And it was around this same time that the chancellor and the

general cooperated to bring about the worldwide Inclusion—the

doctrine that systematically rid our world of all religions and con-flicting worldviews, replacing them with a single, unified belief that the Mark is the only answer, the only security, the only peace anyone will ever need.

Every schoolchild knows that through these two initiatives—

the Mark Program and the worldwide Inclusion—General Lamson

and Chancellor Cylis are working toward a Global Union, promising a future of peace and prosperity for the entire world.

But what if I told you, dear reader, that Lamson and Cylis’s

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A Note From The Author

intentions are not what they seem? What if I told you their Mark Program is just one part of a more sinister plan than we ever could have imagined?

A month ago, Peck and the Dust opened Logan’s eyes to this

truth—that when Logan’s sister, Lily, disappeared five years ago on the day she was supposed to be Marked, it wasn’t by accident.

And it wasn’t the Markless, or Peck, or anyone else who took her.

It was DOME.

And just as all this was sinking in, just as his whole world was turning upside down before his very eyes, Logan’s new best friend, Erin Arbitor, betrayed him, bringing DOME right to the doorstep of the Dust’s hideout—Logan’s last remaining sanctuary—and

burning it to the ground. Now Logan is on his own, running from the law, determined to find his sister . . . whatever the price.

My name is Evan Angler. I was there for many of the events

transcribed on the following pages. What I missed, I’ve learned through firsthand account.

I am part of Logan’s world. I am Dust.

As are you, should you choose to turn this page . . .

Are you ready to learn the truth?

Evan Angler

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