Today, I decided to give everyone a little taste of my second novel, "Unclaimed Darkness." I would have given you a taste of my first novel if only I weren't rewriting it in a completely different setting, while seething at the fact that I feel like all I do is revise, revise, revise! (I have got to stop doing that!)
Anyway, without any further rants or pauses, here is the prologue...
"Light thinks it travels faster than anything, but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it."
-Terry Pratchett
"Unclaimed Darkness"
Prologue: First Encounter
Chicago, 2020
In the middle of the night, a man fell from the evening sky. It was the last thing I expected while patrolling the desolate southern alleyway. The passage was created by two towering buildings that had been in ruins for over a year. Yet, this young man who landed, crouched at my feet, did not jump from a window or open a door. His descent was straight, as though he had appeared above me from thin air.
Fumbling for the gun strapped behind my waist, I took aim. The young man lifted himself from the ground and brushed the dirt from his knees. He then looked up, exposing two stunningly blue eyes that bore into my plain brown ones.
For a moment time slowed. I could feel a slight wind weaving through the strands of my long, dark brown hair and a coolness rush along my slender spine and calloused knuckles. Every muscle in my arms and legs tensed and my eyes narrowed to slits, preparing for a clash.
Time returned to normal as I waited for him to do something, pull his own gun or a knife. Maybe he would even say something, but, instead, he simply stood there and held eye contact. “I will shoot you!” My pulse was racing, but whether it was because I feared for myself or for the young man, I did not know.
I had killed once in my life and vowed I would never take another human life unless under the most extreme circumstances. I hoped this would not come to that. I had faced off against many stragglers in the last couple years. Luckily, most were too afraid to face a woman with a gun pointed at their chest and those who dared usually ended up with a hole through their leg or shoulder. I was a good shot, but killing was always a last resort. I learned that the hard way.
“No, you won’t,” he replied, with a slight smile. His change in expression unnerved me. Was he asking for a death wish?
“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t.”
“Because I wouldn’t care if you did.” Then, he turned to walk away. His answer sent me into a state of perplexity. Even my heart stopped its infernal beating. I managed to find my voice, but it was shaky.
“And if I don’t?” I asked.
He turned to look at me once again and replied, “That’s your choice.” I began contemplating the two fates the young man had laid out before me. I could have allowed this man his life and forever wondered whether or not the strange circumstances of our first encounter would come back to bite me or I could have shot him, forever marking him as my second kill. Deciding that wondering about someone was far better than murdering them, I lowered my gun. The young man flashed another slight smile. “I guess that means I’ll be seeing you around.” With that said he continued on his way to the very depths of the city and faded into darkness.
(End Prologue)
I hope I raised a few eyebrows. If you wish to read a bit more, I have the prologue and the first four chapter up here on the lovely WEbook.com...
http://www.webook.com/project/Unclaimed-Darkness
I also hope to share more of my own work with everyone in the future. Baby steps, my friends. Baby steps!
Strangers in the Dark
