Read Binary Cycle - (Part 1: Disruption) for Free Online

Headquarters—”
    Reggie grunted and downed his glass of wine. “Turn it off, Otter,” he hissed. “We don’t need to hear any more of this.”
    “As you wish, Reginald.” 
    The screen winked out, casting Reggie, and the apartment into a gloomy dimness.

• Gravity •

Chapter 6
    I am the invisible
A pale ghost unseen
I rise in tribute to you
    The caregiver called to him anxiously. 
    “Jonnie, come on back inside. You aren’t wearing any Protex, you’ll get burned!”
    Jonathas, fifty paces away, was playfully digging up soil with a shiny white Spindex shovel. He looked up at the blue sky above, criss-crossed with wispy, white clouds tinged golden-yellow by the glow of two suns. The closer star, Beta Kentaurus, shone brilliant red and orange and dominated the eastern sky. The other star, Rigil, was further to the west, lower on the horizon. It appeared smaller, yet this sun was much brighter, giving off milky yellow rays.
    “Jonathas, come back!” The caregiver had already gathered the other children into the shelter.
    He ignored her and threw more of the sandy dirt into the air, mesmerized by the way the quartz crystals sparkled as they caught the light. 
    A warm breeze started across the grassy field as the two suns danced overhead, locked in a binary orbit which would keep the land in continuous daylight for nearly a full cycle—eight months. Looking up, Jonathas could tell that the Day would last a long time yet.
    These were the happy times. The times of the light.
    The wind picked up, and the suns moved higher and higher in the sky, arching toward their blessed apex. Their combined light bathed the land in a complex, beautiful brightness. Jonathas knew he should listen to his caretaker, get back inside the shelter—he could already feel his skin tingling where it was exposed to the combined UV radiation of two suns. But he wanted to be out here, to feel their warmth. He relished the slight pain, cherished the intensity of life. He wanted to take in as much sunlight as he could get away with.
    “Jonathas! Come inside, we’re waitin’ for you.” The caretaker’s tone was harsher now as she waved her arms above her head, but her voice got lost in the gathering wind.
    Jonathas thought he heard the buzzing of insects. Or was it an alarm going off somewhere in the distance? The noise grew louder in his ears like an invisible swarm, the sound of a million beetles scuttling across parched ground.
    The bright light suddenly faded, and a darkness swept over the land.
 
    No
, Jonathas thought,
this wasn't right
. It wasn’t time for Night yet. This is all wrong, they should still have plenty of time.
    “Jonathas, come on back! Please. It’s too dangerous.”
    The suns disappeared, sinking below the horizon, casting the world into a thick blanket of shadow. The Spindroth, and other night creatures would be coming soon. He really should get inside.
    “All right, I’m coming, wait for me!” he shouted back.
    As he started toward the caretaker, the ground shook violently. She pressed a button, and the security shutters began clattering shut.
    “Wait, please don’t leave me out here!”
    “I’m sorry Jonnie, I can’t wait. It’s too dangerous out there in the Night.”
    The door was sliding closed. He could barely see the caretaker or the shelter through the enveloping darkness.
    “I’m sorry. Jonathas, I’m so sorry,” she told him. “You shoulda' come when I called you.”
    He cried out to her as he ran. “Wait, please wait...”
    The door was almost completely shut now.
    He tripped over his feet and the sandy ground below him turned into hard stone.
    “Please... wait.”
    “Jonnie, I’m sorry. You shoulda’ come…”
    ∞
    Jonathas drifted back into consciousness.
    His entire body tingled as his eyes adjusted to the orange security lights which flashed overhead. The alarm no longer sounded, replaced by a flat, heavy silence.
    He peered around, blinking and massaging his throbbing