Abducted
(The Beast’s Burden Chronicles, #1)
By: J.S. Ash
Publication Date: February 22, 2026
Genres: New Adult, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/247138611-abducted
Synopsis:
Trapped aboard a living spacecraft hidden above her hometown, a teenage outcast must wage a one-girl war against ruthless alien mercenaries to save her best friend before the ship jumps into deep space.
A SHIP FULL OF ALIENS TOOK HER BEST FRIEND. THEY SHOULD’VE LEFT HER ON EARTH.
Abigail Ashby was raised to be a weapon by a dad convinced the world was on the brink of collapse. Then, inexplicably, he forced her into early retirement—aka high school.
These days, Abigail’s only battle is defending Harris, her outcast best friend who swears his parents were abducted by aliens. She’s secretly sure he’s delusional—right up until his bedroom explodes in amethyst light.
They wake up aboard the Beast’s Burden, an interstellar warship lurking above their town. Its leader, a sadistic warlord, seizes Harris as his prize, while Abigail slips away in the chaos—overlooked, underestimated.
Until she kills an alien to survive.
Now, hunted through the ship’s living corridors, Abigail must decide: retreat into the shadows, or unleash the lethal training she buried to wage a one-girl war and save everything she’s ever known… Because Harris isn’t just a hostage. He’s the trigger for humanity’s extinction.
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She faced the doorway and braced herself for the unknown, but before she could reach for the blinking access panel, the door slid open by itself. Abigail froze. As she stared out into the shadowy corridor, it was impossible to ignore the tiny hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. She instinctively knew she was being watched. Then she heard it: a barely perceptible rhythm slipping through the silence. The sound of something breathing. “I—I know you’re there,” she stammered.
The murky air in front of her swirled and folded in on itself, contorting until it finally revealed the female half of the warriors that lived in the very room Abigail was standing in. Amethyst energy dissipated from a biomechanical device wrapped around the lurking alien’s wrist as she lifted a finger and smiled, bile dripping down her chin.
Abigail slowly backed away. “Wow… You are… hideous… I don’t like shaming other girls’ looks, but I mean… you’re just so fugly,” she said, voice quivering as terror stole through her. “Sorry, I say stupid things when I’m nervous.”
The monstrous alien stepped into the room and brushed her hand against the access panel. The door slid shut, sealing them inside.
Abigail tightened her grip on the katana. She frantically scanned for an escape route, but found none. She was trapped, and the further the grinning alien backed her into its den, the more trapped she would become.
“Um… I really liked your bleeding dress…” she offered desperately, her voice faltering again. The alien’s throat was covered in thick scar tissue and Abigail wondered if she was even capable of responding. “I’m into fashion too, as you can tell from my outfit. I call it Slumber Couture.”
The alien stopped and grinned wider still. A two-pronged metallic dagger surrounded by glowing golden energy sprung violently from the device on her wrist.
Abigail gulped. “Teagan didn’t like my style either and you remind me of her—”
Without warning, the alien pounced, furiously swinging the crackling weapon at Abigail. Abigail ducked, the blade passing inches above her head, and in one fluid, instinctive motion, she countered with a back-handed sword slash across the creature’s midsection.
Amethyst blood spattered the walls and the hulking warrior doubled over, a putrid odor filling the room.
Abigail’s heart jackhammered against her ribs. She nervously tried to adopt the attack stance her father taught her long ago, but her damaged ankle made it impossible. “I’m sorry. That was an accident. Really,” she said, trembling as she watched her adversary straighten, a trail of glowing amethyst oozing from the alien’s abdomen, the same grin on her pale face. “It’s been a really long time since I’ve been in a fight,” Abigail said quietly. “Can we not do this?”
The warrior attacked again, roaring with unbridled ferocity. Abigail swung her sword to parry, but the energy-wrapped dagger sliced clean through her blade and burrowed deep into her shoulder. Searing spots of agony danced across Abigail’s vision, but a clawed grip around her throat cut short her shriek of pain. The creature lifted Abigail and tossed her like a rag doll, the dagger tearing out of her body as she hurtled through the air.
Landing on the massive bed at the far side of the room, Abigail gasped for oxygen, but her lungs refused to fill. Through a fit of coughs, she looked up just in time to see the alien charging in for the kill, and her eyes widened.
Abigail frantically jerked her knees to her chest, catching her assailant in the bleeding torso with both feet at the last second. The alien gasped in pain and the dagger halted inches from Abigail’s throat. Abigail desperately searched for something to use as a weapon as her attacker forced the blade towards her flesh. The pressure on her mangled ankle coupled with the flaming torment in her shoulder made it impossible to think straight. Then she spotted it: the swirling sculpture that had nearly taken her eye out earlier.
The alien let loose another roar, the tip of the dagger puncturing the surface of Abigail’s skin. Abigail was left with no choice. Ignoring the agony, she gathered all her remaining strength, screamed, and thrust her legs forward with all her might.
The impact was perfect, the force sending the alien staggering across the room, stumbling out of control towards the sculpture… SNIKT!
The sound of the substance’s suddenly solidifying spikes tearing through armor and tissue was so horrible it made Abigail wince. She collapsed on the bed and caught her breath, pain throbbing across her body. Overwhelming guilt rose through her. Did I really just kill someone? She shut her watery eyes and tried to absorb the silence around her, but it was tragically short-lived. A ghastly gurgling sound prompted Abigail to sit up and face the consequences of her actions.
The hulking warrior was arched over backwards, gruesomely impaled on the sculpture, a bubbling trail of amethyst blood trickling from her mouth, and yet that grin, that horrible grin, was still plastered on her face.
“I’m sorry,” Abigail said as the events of their chaotic battle replayed in her mind. She had no choice. The alien would have killed her. “I’m really sorry.”
With her last ounce of strength, the alien raised a hand, almost in salute, before letting it fall onto her biomechanical wrist device. A web of glowing amethyst veins shot up the slick walls, and a deafening cry echoed from deep within the ship.
“What did you just do?!” Abigail shouted, but her voice was barely audible over the growing commotion.
The dying warrior took her last breath and her arm dropped to her side, the biomechanical device disengaging and clattering to the floor.
A panicked realization washed over Abigail: This was an alarm—and that meant reinforcements.
About J.S. Ash
J.S. Ash has spent over a decade working in media at one of the largest tech companies in the world, though his true love remains storytelling. His creative DNA was forged in the 90s—a blend of blockbuster action cinema, console gaming, and the high-stakes melodrama of the era’s teen soaps. He lives with his wife and daughter, who serve as the primary inspiration for the resilient, protective heroines at the heart of his stories.
Blitz-Wide Giveaway (INT) Ends March 19th
Prize: $50 Amazon gift card
Link to Enter Giveaway: https://gleam.io/uzjWS/abducted-blitz
My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)
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