Tainted (The ARC Book 1)

Elle lives underground in a huge bunker. A huge meteor hit earth. It devastated the surface. Only a select few made it into the bunker for safety. Elle has lived the majority of her life underground. Apparently some of the inhabitants of this underground world get sick, and when they fail their test, they are taken.


Elle and her best friend have both lost close ones who became tainted. Elle struggles with getting too close to her best friend, lest she get attached and he gets taken. Of course he does get taken. Elle had promised that she would follow him even he did get taken. Now she needs to figure that out even though nobody seems to know what happens to you when you do get taken.


There are some cool futuristic things going on down in the bunker. You get a wrist band that serves as a communicator. They have underground gardens that feed the masses. There is also a separation of the commoners and the rich. The rich are usually the ones who are connected to the governing body of the bunker. They are known as The Council, and of course it seems like they are corrupt.


Things complicate Elle's life. There is an older man that shows up every so often who Elle fancies. And Elle has a roommate and another best girlfriend that she is constantly dealing with. We never do find out exactly what happens to you when you get taken. For that you need to tune into Book 2 - The Talented.