Duality - 2012 ABNA Entry

by Catherine Peace

If Dima could remember her life, she's damn sure she'd want it back.The Humani Project's latest test subject believes she's human, but her sleek black fur, claws, and tail make that seem impossible. Her only clue to an existence before panther DNA was spliced to hers is a name-Janelle. According to the scientists, Dima is the perfect blend of human and animal. Most importantly, she can still speak, making her the lab's most successful Humani to date. But that doesn't guarantee her safety.Imprisoned in a Phoenix, Arizona lab, Dima must complete the grueling, and often deadly, physical assessments administered by resident jackass Dr. Frederick James. Voice or no voice, her failure means immediate termination. To survive, she must tame the wild animal that wants to take over-only she has no idea how.When she fails a combat assessment and is nearly killed by her opponent, she's surprised that the project's founder, Lorenzo, breaks protocol to save her. When he calls her "Janelle," she realizes that the scientists have erased someone they knew. She's determined to understand why. Surrounded by lies and half-truths, Dima doesn't know who to trust or believe. The closer she comes to piecing together her story, the harder she has to fight to stay alive. Worse yet, she's falling for Lorenzo, the man who made her a monster. Why does the one person she should hate the most care for her? Why does she feel the same?Good thing cats have nine lives-she'll need every one of them to uncover the truth.

15 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 20, 2012

About the author

Catherine Peace has been telling stories for as long as she could remember. She often blames two things for her forays into speculative fiction—Syfy (when it was SciFi) channel Sundays with her dad and The Island of Dr. Moreau by HG Wells. She graduated in 2008 from Northern Kentucky University with a degree in English and is still chasing the dream of being super rich and famous, mostly so she can sit around in her PJs all day and write stories.

Catherine currently lives on a farm in South Carolina. E-I-E-I-O.