Things Change

So, since writing my last post a few things have happened. One, I stressed so much over Home that I gave myself an ulcer. Note to writers, don't do that. It hurts. Two, I have decided to trunk Home and work instead on a much more promising manuscript, Enemies. It's been a painful decision, and probably why I have a stomach ulcer now, but I think it's a wise one. (Thank you my dearest Amber-lynn for your advice. It is, as always, invaluable.)

Enemies is a much stronger manuscript with older characters and a much more mature writing style. Still as morbid as ever. :bigsmile: But I think it's much more interesting than Home has ever been really. It's also a lot closer to being ready to be queried which is a relief in itself. I drafted the query this morning even though I'm still smoothing things out with Enemies. It needs one last edit at least, but as far as I can tell it has no main problems and I'm just working on polishing it up. Hopefully it will be ready soon. I'm trying to work on compiling a list of prospective agents and trying to figure out which genre Enemies fits into.

Gracious, there are so many to choose from and I can't seem to tell what's one genre and what's another. I have a vampire story that's mainstream fiction, a story about werecats that's paranormal and a story about an old dragon slayer that's also mainstream. How am I supposed to tell what goes where?

So anyway, how are your projects coming? How do you decide what genre your MS fits under?

Characer Woes

I'm finding it really difficult to make my characters instantly relateable, instantly identifiable and real and someone the reader wants to care about. I'm not sure how to write in a strong emotional kind of way that connects the reader to the character. I'm thinking maybe it's just this book. Maybe it's time I just finally leave Home alone. Put it aside and work on Enemies instead. It's a much stronger book with more interesting characters. But Home has become a kind of addiction. I don't know if I'm capable of setting it aside.

So for those writers out there, how do you make your characters identifiable? How do you make the readers care about them and what they're going through? Because I'm not sure I'm doing it right. I should probably be doing research on my favorite characters and try to dissect why I care about them so much, but I'm tired right now and frankly, it's easier to whine about the flaws in my writing than it is to fix them.

Some characters for thought, Katniss from the Hunger Games, Dennis Hartraft from Honored Enemy, Faythe Sanders from Stray, Katsa from Graceling and Kahlan and Richard from The Sword of Truth. Why do I care about these characters? What makes them so real? And how can I apply that to me writing?

More food for thought: Writing a HolyCowAwesome Story
http://romanceuniversity.org/2011/07/04/writing-a-holycowawesome-story-part-1-c-j-redwine/
http://romanceuniversity.org/2011/08/01/query-101-with-c-j-redwine/

A Mind of It's Own

I hate it when my plot re-writes itself, but I know it's only becoming stronger. Still, it's frustrating. It makes me wonder if Home will ever really be ready to be queried, of if I should just trunk it and start working on something else. At this point I'm not sure anymore. How do you know when it's time to trunk an MS? Most seem to get pushed aside after the query process, but what about before? How do you know when it's just not working out and it's time to start a new project?

Maybe I just need to give Home a real chance instead of constantly second guessing myself, but that's difficult for me to do. What do you think?

Edit: On this same topic, I'm thinking about cutting 19ish pages out of the manuscript and writing something else. The maturity level of Home has just grown beyond this part and I don't know what to do with it, but if I cut it I'm afraid it's going to have a detrimental effect on my word count. (Which is a silly reason to keep it in.) -bangs head into desk repeatedly-

When He Talks He Won't Shut Up

And I mean that in a good way.

Nothing really all that special today, but a few nights ago I was up until 5am re-working Tas' (a character in Home) room. If you aren't aware yet, I'm tying the entire manuscript for Home into a new document so it won't have those horrid lines through it and in doing so I made a discovering. Tas never told me what his room really looked like. This was a horrifying thought and instantly shut down my progress. I couldn't write if I didn't know what his room looked like. So I broke out my notebook, my four inch thick art book (thank you Dr. Knappe), put on a TV series and got to work. Three hours later, Tas' room has emerged and it's beautiful.

So I wanted to share with you some of my thoughts on the room and what's inside it. First of all, we have this lovely piece: 

I saw this and fell in love with it. It's an old sleigh bed from the 17th century. I imagine the design is just a little more simple than this, but essentially this is what I see Tas' bed looking like.

This bedding is effeminate, I know, but I liked the colors and the feel I got from it so I image Tas's bedding is something similar to this. It's in a Tuscan style and is also antique. ( I feel a theme coming on.)

I think this table is too high, to be accurate for what I want, but I like it anyway, so just...imagine it being shorter as his room has no chairs. Antique.

You may or may not remember, I mentioned an antique grandfather clock that sat in the back corner of Tas's room. Well, this is what it looks like, but I believe the finish is darker, more like the finish on the table. (Yes, everything in the room is an antique. It's like walking into a museum so I'm just going to stop saying it.)

This is a handwoven carpet that sits in the center of the room, filling the space between the windows and the table. I personally think it's quite lovely.

 The pillows that sit around Tas' table in place of chairs. I imagine them being from India or something, but I had a serious problem finding antique floor cushions, so...yeah.

Tas' beautiful curtains. Raw silk, black out lined to keep out the sun and just all around pretty.

And now for some of the more random pieces in his room:

This is a large handmade French copper cauldron from the 1840's. I believe Tas keeps scraps of parchment and paper in this for some odd reason. It sits by this trunk:

Which holds the cape he gives to Aroya and an assortment of other things, among which I believe to be his uniform from the Council which he hates to wear. (All Protectors are issued uniforms which consist of trousers, a woolen shirt in light blue, almost grey and are required to wear (a) shoulder armor (spaulder) and carry a weapon at all times.) I imagine that's all stuffed in here.

These are ginger jars from China, but he has an odd collection and assortment of jars and vases all over his room.

The Waltz, a miniature of it at least in bronze that he keeps on the bed length shelf built out of the wall next to his bed.

Lament For Icarus which hangs on his wall next to his fireplace.

Now, this is the full sculpture of Cupid and Psyche, but Tas has a miniature of it on his table. (Because it's pretty and I like it.)

Globe. Did you know that Tas collects maps? He does. He loves them for some reason. (Boy's stuck in the past, I'm tellin' ya.)

Italian enameled terracotta olive oil jar.

He also has an assortment of scrolls and old books all over the place. Many of which are in Latin and about the Ancients, but he also collects books on math and science, art, history, and literature.

Now for some fun information. Tas was born in 1802, he traveled the world for almost a hundred years and then spent nearly as much time training at the Council. During his travels he collected the above articles himself. 

The interior of his room is based on Romanesque architecture and he has a vaulted ceiling.

He also plays the violin. 8D Hopefully this tasty little tidbit will appear in the third MS for Home. (Alexander plays the piano.) 

And this entry took far too long to write. >.<

Writing Crutches

I know, two posts in one day. But I recently found this article

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2011/07/25/4-writing-crutches-that-insult-the-readers-intelligence/

and discovered that sadly, I am guilty of all four. But, I have also done research on many of my favorite books and discovered that they use some of these same tools, but it tasteful ways, so just because it says you shouldn't use certain things or techniques in your writing doesn't mean you CAN'T you just have to know.

And I suppose that's the hard part isn't it? Knowing when to use certain techniques and when not to use them. Like ellipses for example... Use them sparingly, but I noticed that in my favorite books I feel the ellipses strengthen the writing and add to it. I suppose then the rule of thumb for the ellipse is that if it can be taken out without changing the writing it shouldn't be there. It should be used to strengthen the writing, not make it weaker. As the article suggests, try strengthening the writing first before adding in ellipses. Something I'm still not very good at.

So what are your writing crutches? What do you struggle with as a writer?

(Oddly enough I've been told to assume the reader is an idiot, which is a very helpful bit of advice, but don't insult the reader either. It has to be balanced. You don't want the reader to become confused, but you should allow them to make intuitive leaps with you. Also something I'm not very good at.)

Aside from that how are you all? How's the writing going? Or if you're not a writer how is life in general?

Feeling Classic

I just recently finished re-reading one of my favorite books of all time, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. (Is it bad that I have a crush on Captain Nemo?) It's one of those classic books that never goes out of style in my not so humble opinion. (I'm working on that no so humble part.) And guess what? If you don't own it or haven't read it yet you can find it online to have and to hold for your very own , or you can find it at your local library (hopefully). I'm not sure what the age range for this book would be. I read it when I was a kid and I'm 20 now so...I guess it really all depends on the reader. I personally loved all the little adventures Nemo took the Professor on and I enjoyed imagining myself standing right beside them. It's been one of the most captivating books I've ever read in my life. Truly, it's an oldy but a goodie.

(This is my way of apologizing for being so rude in my last post. That was uncalled for and it was childish and I apologize.)

RANT RANT RANT

I know, I've been MIA lately, but I swear I have a good excuse and that I've been working (mostly). So, one of my friends participated in NaNoWriMo with me last year and wrote The Violated which she is currently gutting and writing anew. We've been bouncing ideas back and forth as I've been going through my project of re-writing Home into a whole new document. She recommended some ideas for new scenes and one of them was that Aroya actually get her memory wiped instead of, you know, not. And I liked the idea. ... so now I'm re-writing it...again. I swear, my parents are ready to kill me. They think it's great the way it is, but I look at the MS and see all the plot holes, clunky writing, spelling and grammatical errors and abrupt transitions and I just can't leave it like that.

I'm not going to be like Amanda Hocking. I know that I actually CAN write and I plan to prove it. Don't talk to me about Amanda Hocking or I'll have to start swearing like a sailor using strong language to voice my disapproval. People like her and Stephanie Meyer, their publishers, editors and fans all need to be shot. And that's a personal opinion. I don't find it encouraging that people like them can get published so that means I can do. I just find it offensive. Why would I bother writing for a socity that reads stuff like that? It just shows me that writing is pointless. No one enjoys real iterature anymore. When was the last time you read a classic book? No one remembers classic literature anymore. I wish I could write like that, but the truth is I can't. So why should I bother?

So what am I going to do with my life? I can't live in my parent's house forever.

RANT RANT RANT.

I'm off to listen to Exile Vilify, because that makes everything better. Rant Rant Rant

Sorry guys, I'm just really unhappy right now. So I'll leave you with this thought before I offend any of you. What happens to a dream deferred?

Here We Go Again

D*amn it if Home isn't going to kill me. I've been studying query letters thanks to the wonderful Query Shark and have decided that if I'm going to bother making the attempt to find an agent for Home, I might as well fix the formatting errors. It's got these horrid lines through it that at one point acted as breaks to show a change in time, but now are just a mess and horribly distracting. Sadly, the only way I know of to get rid of these is to completely re-write the entire thing into a new word document.

During this process I have come to the conclusion that there are a plethora of spelling mistakes, bad transitions, and general awkwardness. My inner writing natzi is demanding that these be fixed, so Home is getting a face lift. Which it badly needs before I try to find and agent, but I'm still not happy about it.

Bunch of Pessimists

That's what they are. All four of my mainish characters in Home are total pessimists. None of them believe in soul mates or true love. How depressing is that? And they all have parental issues of some kind. -rolls eyes- Great, more daddy issues. As if the plot didn't have enough already.

I don't know what I'm going to do with them all. They've all got deep dark secrets that are going to tear them apart if they aren't careful...or maybe I should just let them tear themselves apart. Hmm...that could be interesting. I dunno. It doesn't fit with New Beginnings, but maybe in the third one it will show up. Rei's background does so that'll be fun to play with. Lots of tension going on there.

And I can't decide whether or not to get Aroya addicted to pain pills. That has potential, but is it a little too dramatic? Maybe I'll just hint at it but not have her actually getting addicted to them. Ugh, I need printer ink. I can't do anything for the MS if I don't have a hard copy now, but I have no way of getting one and it's driving me batty. I don't know what to do.

Oh, oh, and I think one of my characters is a XXXXXXXX. Grrr...It's driving me nuts and I demand he change, but he's being stubborn. I'll change his views yet, even if it kills me.

Alternate Scene

This is too rude of Aroya to actually fit into the MS so it's just here for my entertainment. I love it when she gets snide.

~

            Aroya walked into the Council chambers, her gait stiff. She held her chin high and faced Councilman Marcus in the eye before deliberately sitting on the floor in front of them. The Council members were thrown for a moment and could only stare.

            “May I ask what you’re doing?” Marcus snapped. Aroya all but glared up at him.

            “If I’m going to be treated like a child I’m going to act like one.” The corner of Liliana’s mouth quirked up, but Aroya was too busy glaring at Marcus to notice.

            “Before we continue I’d like to request that the Council stop looking down their noses at me, judging me, mocking me.” She briefly ground her teeth, struggling to get her anger under control.

            “Sitting on the floor is not helping your case,” one of the other Council members mumbled. Aroya didn’t catch who it was. Marcus’s face mottled.

            “What right have you to demand we treat you as an adult? You know nothing.”

            “Then teach me!” Aroya rose to her feet in a rush, her own face heating. “Stop mocking me and teach me,” she pleaded, the anger seeping out of her voice and changing to desperation. She had to get them to stop viewing her as a child.

            “I can’t learn if no one will help me.”

~

Trying something new. Does the italics bother anyone or is it easier to tell what's from a manuscript and what's not?

Sneak Peek

of what's inside my new MS, New Beginnings. This scene is new and very raw. I haven't even been able to work it into the MS yet. Right now it's a stand alone, but it NEEDS to be in the MS for plot reasons, but I wanted to share it with you guys for some reason. So here it is:

~

            Aroya crossed her arms across the surface of the table and rested her chin atop them. “Why were you flying over Brazil?”

            Rei gave a start. “What?”

            Aroya tilted her head and stared up at her. “Remember when you first took me back home to collect my things and I asked you how you broke your wing? You said it happened when you-”

            “Were flying over Brazil. Now I remember.”

            “So what were you doing flying over Brazil?” she asked. Rei sighed and leaned back in her chair.

            “That was…eight years ago.” She cast a glance around the table. “We’d received some information that Ataya might have been to Brazil when she disappeared. It was possible she was still there at the time. There was said to be a woman matching her description with a daughter down there.”

            Aroya’s forehead furrowed. “What was my mother doing in Brazil?”

            “That’s what we wanted to know.”

            Rei cast a frustrated look at Tas. “I don’t know how many times I’ve told you. You couldn’t’ go.”

            “Well I don’t see why not.”

            “You don’t speak the language Tas. And besides, my father’s contacts would never have talked to you.”

            “Your father?” Aroya asked. What did he have to do with all this?

            Rei nodded. “Yes. My father was the one who sent us the information. He was  web of connections all over the place. He pulls the strings like a giant spider and people come running, eager to fulfill his every wish,” she muttered. Her voice was bitter and cold and she was slumping further down into her chair as she spoke. Rei made a face and dismissed the conversation.

            “Anyway, I went to check on the information, but it proved to be false.”

            “It wasn’t my mother?”

            Rei shook her head. “No. Just a woman who matched the description, but she was perfectly human and her daughter was too old to have been you.” She smiled. “It appears your mother never set foot in Brazil.” Aroya’s lips formed a silent ‘oh.’

            “So…when flying back home you were attacked by a half blood who knocked you out of the sky?” Tas shot a look at Rei who looked panicked. She swallowed nervously.

            “Uh…yeah. Hit a tree and busted up my wing. Had to walk through the jungle for awhile, but eventually was able to fly again. As you can see I made it back in one piece.” She laughed, but it was tight and strained. Tas looked furious.

            “If you’ll excuse me.” He rose to his feet, his body language defensive and tense. “I have things to do.” As he vanished atop the landing Rei’s forehead struck her palm.

            “Great. Just great. This is bloody wonderful.” Alexander sighed lightly. Aroya glanced back and forth between the two as Rei continued mumbling to herself.

            “What just happened?” she asked.

            “Nnnghffff.”

            Aroya stared at Rei. “Excuse me?”

            “What she means is that Tas finds the term “half blood” offensive.”

            “But I didn’t mean-” Rei cut in. Alexander lifted his hand, cutting her off.

            “I know.”

            Rei sighed and put her head in her hands again.

            Aroya looked panicked. “But I-” Rei reached over and touched her hand.

            “I wasn’t your fault sweetie. I never should have called him that. The man who attacked me didn’t deserve to be referred to like that.” Aroya looked from Rei to Alexander.

            “I still don’t understand.”

            “Tas’s mother is human. According to some, that makes his blood mixed and he is therefore inferior because of it.”

            “But isn’t he stronger than you?” Aroya asked. Alexander laughed and she flushed. She hadn’t meant it to sound like Alexander was weak.

            “Yes, he is which is why it’s such a ridiculous claim.” Laughter lilted in Alexander’s voice and Aroya was glad he wasn’t offended.

            “He shouldn’t be upset by that though. He knows my mother was human too,” Rei insisted.

            “Yes, but the difference is that you were never chastised by your peers for it.” Rei snorted. “He’s had problems with his place in the world, with his blood, with who he is since he was three. And it’s never stopped,” he said quietly.

             Aroya was horrified. “I-I didn’t know…” Neither had Rei. She knew he hated the term half-blood, but she’d never quite known why.

            Alexander nodded. “He’d like to keep it that way.”

            Aroya’s heart ached for Tas. She didn’t know what kind of pain that must have inflicted on his heart. To be as old as he is and spend so much of his life having people judge him because of who his parents were. She didn’t know how he handled it. 

~

So there you have it. :) It'll get cleaned up when I finally work it in, until then this is probably as good as it's going to get.

Romance

I feel like this post is not going to be at all relevant, but it's something that's on my mind. Romance. I guess. : /

I hate being in love with someone who doesn't even know what I look like and he never will. I'll never see him face to face and he'll never see me, but I can't help feeling that I love him. But how should I know. I've never been in love. Can you believe that? Twenty years old and never been in love.

So what's with this ridiculous belief that we have to fall in love as teenagers anyway? It seems to permiate media and books and...well everything. It's like a disease. Young love. It's like if you're not in love at sixteen there's something wrong with you. Well you know what? I do want to be in love, but if it's because the media says I should be I will die all alone. I don't want to fall in love because the world says I should so why does the media tell us that so many romances have to happen at sixteen? Go look at your YA fantasy. How old are your characters? Is there a romance in said novel? My question is WHY. Why do we feel romance is so necessary in today's fiction? I'm really getting sick of it. Maybe I'm just not well enough read and there are some really good novels out there that don't have sappy teen romance, but at this moment I feel I haven't found any.

I like a touch of romance, but not where the romance is the main plot point in the novel. I think that's boring and I don't want it in my YA. And so many of it's just so badly written. There's no depth, no character development and no deeper meaning.

Please forgive the rant, I'm just tired.

I should be working

Snippet from the future third MS for ADV3, the working title being Loose Ends, but we'll see how that goes. : /

Anway, here's your teaser:

"I'm saying he's still here. And I think I can bring him back."

I know it's not going to make any sense because no one's read the second one yet, but there it is. Maybe once New Beginnings is finished and published you'll remember this snippet and you might just be very happy with me. :)

So, let's see. What have I been up to? I've been watching a lot of Jimmy Stewart movies. I started a marathon last night, but because of the storm I briefly lost power and now my TV says it has no connection when I try to play a VHS, but it has no issues with a DVD. I just watched Thumbelina this morning while working on my Treasure Planet painting. (Which is almost done by the way.) http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/18600000/Treasure-Planet-Poster-disney-18639525-1013-1500.jpg There it is in case you're interested.

Oh, and I've been editing a photo set I took of my sister yesterday. (She has 20 bug bites from this shoot by the way. My bad.) http://shadow-hostage.deviantart.com/art/This-Is-A-War-215079527 (If you follow the link you'll find a link to the song and the photo series.)There's the picture I've posted. I want to finish editing the whole set before I post anything else. Inspired by Kerli's Army of Love song. This was a continuation from a self portrait series I'd taken also inspired by the same song. The skirt she's wearing is my new hooping skirt and it's super special awesome. 8D I can't wait to take video of me hooping in it.

Now, why am I babbling about all of these things that are not writing related you may be asking? Well, I self banned myself from facebook so...I have to do something to stay entertained. Why did I ban myself from facebook? Because I remember a time when I could live without logging into fb every day and I'd really like to get back to that place in my life. I did it once before and I'd like to do it again. I've spent more time with my art which is nice. I've been avoiding reading a little bit because I finally finished The Sword of Truth series and my brain needs a break and I'm still stuck in the rising action of ADV 2/ New Beginnings. (Does it matter which one I refer to it as? Does it confuse you guys when I switch back and forth?)

Also, I've started doing sit ups again and my body is complaining, but it makes me feel better about myself. :)

On a random note, my whole room smells like paint thinner again, I had fried rice for lunch and you should be jealous because it was delicious, and I want to live in the abandoned bar across the street, but I don't think the dude who owns it would let me. He's stingy like that.

And your "Shout It Out" for the day is: I want to hoop dance naked in the rain.

Prequils

Wanna read the prequel to my next project? It's called Enemies. It's a novel I wrote last November and have been working on since. This is still largely in the editing stage so I apologize for any and all errors, inconsistencies, or just bad writing in it. (It is kind of long...sorry.)

I was going to make this entry about toast, but I figured this was more exciting. :)

Prequel

            Coffee. Chris growled angrily, firing off another round of bullets into the stone as the Swiftrunner dodged out of the way. All I wanted was a cup of coffee. Was that really too much to ask for? She shouted an obscenity and fired another round into the stone pillar.

            “Damn it Tal! All I wanted today was to sleep in and drink a bitter black cup of Joe!” Her partner’s gun fired next to her head and she flinched back, a ringing filling her ears as she jerked her head around to glare up at him from behind a pile of rubble. Tal ducked down and pressed his back into one of the huge stone columns that circled the entire cavern, holding what was left of the crumbling ceiling upright.

            The gaping cavern was badly illuminated with archaic lanterns that hung on the walls, the light reflecting in the black pools of water on the ground scattered all throughout the fallen rubble.

            Chris turned back to the dimly lit room peeking over the large mound of stone she was hiding behind as her mood quickly worsened. The puddle she was kneeling in was soaking through her clothes, pooling in her knees. Wet leather was not fun.

            The light flickered horribly, distorting everything and making it even more difficult than usual to track the Runners that flicked in and out of her line of vision between the mounds of stone and mud.

            Tal offered her a halfhearted shrug before turning back to the problem at hand. He and Tyler kept the pack of Runners at bay as Chris changed to a new clip. Bullet casings littered the ground around them. Chris knew they were wasting ammunition, but what else could they do? It was a miracle the Swirftrunners hadn’t managed to circle around them yet, but it was only a matter of time.

            Her team had been alerted to a sighting of the creatures in the area a little over an hour ago. They’d found the cave by accident after thirty minutes of blundering around in the dark with no signs of the Runners, as usual. Someone had spotted the entrance to the cavern they were now in. Chris had made the decision as the senior member of the team to check out the cave before deciding the information they’d been given was a bust.             They’d blindly stumbled into the cavern and right into the four Runners before they even knew they were there. Danny had been struck before they knew what had happened and Tal had put a round of lead in his skull to make sure he wouldn’t change before he’d hit the ground. They’d been pinned down ever since, losing time and wasting both energy and valuable ammunition. The entrance was behind them but it was hard to tell if there was another way out at the opposite end of the room as it was swathed in shadows. If they ran they’d be cut down. The Swiftrunners were faster than they were.

            Chris fumed and shot angrily into the dark at nothing but a flickering shadow, making her want to scream. They’d already lost one member of her unit and she wasn’t going to lose another if she could help it. They had to get out.

            “What do I get instead?” she continued ranting. “A blaring alarm at four in the morning that a pack of Runners have been seen skulking around the forest. What do we find?” she shouted. “Nothing! Absolutely nothing! Bad intel.” She ground her teeth in anger, firing another bullet at a moving shadow. Her gun clicked. Empty. She emptied the clip and rammed another one into the gun.

            “Then we blunder straight in on top of four of them!” Her voice raised as the subway rumbled overhead sending down bits of dust and rock, splattering rancid water all around the room. She glared at the ceiling.

            “This subway isn’t even supposed to be running through here anymore. It was supposed to have been shut down last week!” she fumed.

            She punctuated her words with a round of bullets, the sound echoing around the room, the stone reflecting the noise right back at them.

            The noise of battle ricocheted around the room, filling what would have normally been a very quiet area with a constant roar of noise.

            “Was a cup of coffee really too much to ask for?” she shouted, her gloved hands fisting around the grip of her gun.

            “Jeez, now I know why you told me not to talk to her in the mornings.” Tyler ducked behind a large chunk of stone, rolling through a puddle as a Swiftrunner swung for him, the animal’s claws splitting the air. Tal put a bullet in the Runner’s shoulder before it could attack their latest recruit and it retreated with a vicious snarl. Tal nodded in satisfaction. Chris had heard the air scream around the claws of the creature when it had swung at Tyler and her heart pounded at the near miss, but Tyler just grinned. They’d already lost one new member of their team tonight; she did not want to lose another and neither did Tal. They both shared a brief look before ducking for cover as one of the Runners hurled a block of stone twice Chris’s size at them as if it were no more than a pebble.

            He and Chris hadn’t had Danny and Tyler on their full unit for more than a few days, barely giving them time to get acquainted. They’d both just been promoted to Hunters a number of weeks ago and had been selected as Partners based on their chemistry, strengths, weaknesses and a number of other factors. They’d proven to be an excellent match after their trial period and Chris and Tal had been selected to be their other half of a full strike unit, but they hadn’t had enough time to get to know each other very well which was something the Academy frowned upon; but there wasn’t much they could do about it.

            The number of attacks by the Swiftrunners over the past few weeks had been getting steadily worse, and they were always happening at night. There wasn’t much time for anything other than prepping for an attack, training and maintenance for weapons and cleaning up after the last attack. They hadn’t had the necessary amount of time to coalesce as a full team, but they had gotten along well. Tyler had been a bit of a thrill seaker and Danny the level headed planner. He had a plan for everything. Tal especially had taken a liking to Danny and they’d spent as much time as they could talking about the places they’d been and the things they’d like to do, but despite that Tal hadn’t hesitated when Danny had been struck across the chest by a Runner. It was protocol. He had, had to kill the kid, no matter how much he’d cared for him and he would do it again in a heartbeat.

            Tal’s stomach churned at the thought, but he steeled himself with the mental reminder that it was necessary and that he had saved Danny from the change. The twisted fever that came over a human who’d been infected by the disease of the Swiftrunners suffered a burning heat in every part of the body, like there was sandpaper in each of their joints and wracking shivers that could contort the body with their force. He had seen some of the earlier humans who had been Infected when the Academy had once again tried unsuccessfully to find a cure for the Infection. The subjects had shaken so badly they broke their own backs.

            Those few who did manage to survive the effects of the fever and the change weren’t right. Their bodies were twisted into the monstrous form of the Runners, tall and broad in the shoulders, narrow in the hips and more wolf like than man, towering more than seven feet tall when upright. Their faces were broad with a long snout and eyes as dark as spilled ink.

            The eyes were what unnerved Tal the most; they seemed to burn with a dark malevolence. Something in the fever made the Infected irrational and angry. The Academy had learned quickly that anyone infected by the Runners was better off dead. Now anyone who’d been scratched or bitten by the Runners was to be shot on sight. They couldn’t take the chance of the person infecting another member of the Academy or worse, a civilian.

            “Shut up Tyler!” Chris warned, taking her anger out on the Unnaturals hiding within the flickering shadows of the room. Her voice pulled Tal out of his thoughts and back into the fight for their lives.

            Chris bit back a rebuke and a warning for the little stunt Tyler had pulled earlier. She turned away from him and clenched her teeth. The Runners could be no more than five feet away from her and she wouldn’t even know it. If only there was some way to illuminate the cavern.  

            Suddenly the largest of the Runners skidded to a stop in a patch of light and she grumbled. “Stupid Unnaturals. Always causing problems.” She aimed and fired at the large creature, but it darted out of the way faster than Chris could see and the bullets struck stone. Her grip was so tight on the gun her knuckles hurt.

            “Why is it the Swiftrunners are the only ones causing problems? None of the other Unnaturals are this much of a hassle,” she snapped. Tal opened his mouth to answer her when Chris saw a small dark shadow dart around behind one of the Runners.

            “Get the Scout!” she shouted, turning all of her attention to the deformed little hairless grey creature darting around the legs of the larger animals. “He’ll tell the colony their party has been ambushed; we can’t let him get away!” Panic clawed at her throat. That was the last thing they needed. If reinforcements came they could be trapped. The Runners may have been animals but they were smart. A second group would come at them from behind. It would be over in seconds.

            “I know!” Tal shouted. “Don’t quote the rules to me!”

            The sound of bullets firing exploded around the room echoing horribly and making Chris’s ears ring, the flashes of light from the guns blinding.

            Tyler and Tal zeroed in on the small, mostly hairless creature and fired, finally managing to catch it with a round of bullets. As the creature fell Chris shouted to Tal.

            “Cover me!” She didn’t leave him time to respond before darting out from behind her cover towards the closest lamp. The needed light to fight back and there was only one way she could think of to get it. The old lamps burned on oil and if there was enough she could dump it into the puddles or splash it across the floor to illuminate the chamber. If they just sat there they were going to run out of bullets and then they’d be dead. She supposed if she was going to die she wanted to at least give them a fighting chance.

            Bullets sent up a spray of water as Tal shot at a Runner charging towards her. He missed, but the creature stumbled back out of the way and vanished into the shadows. Cold sweat broke out across her back, slicking the leather as she reached the first lamp. Her pulse pounded in her ears as she tore it from the wall she spilled lamp oil across her arm. The fire lapped at it as she tossed the rest of the oil across the floor. A Runner charged her and she tripped over a chunk of stone, the water putting out the fire on her arm. The Runner leapt over her at the last second as she fell and vanished into the shadows again.

            The flames from the lamp licked at the fuel lighting the area around her. There was a wild scream from behind her and Chris whirled around, her skin cold with fear. A Swiftrunner towered over her, its eyes wide, a river of blood running down its muzzle from between its eyes. Tal had shot it just as it was about to strike. Chris scrambled back out of the way as the beast fell. A howling cry emanated from somewhere in the darkness from the other three creatures at the death of their companion.

            Chris shot a grateful, if not panicked look at her partner before darting for the next lamp. One down.

            Her stomach churned as she past the ring of light the flames provided. She managed to grab two more lamps off the wall before she was charged again, this time by two of the remaining Runners. They knew what she was up to and they weren’t about to let her get any further. She saw small explosions of blood from their backs as a volley of bullets tore through their hide, but that didn’t stop them. One was bleeding from a hollow socket where its eye should have been, but the other had sustained little damage from the fight. As they drew closer the one-eyed creature stumbled, it’s right leg buckling beneath it’s weight. The second Runner jumped over its fallen companion, soaring through the air towards her. Chris threw one of the lamps at it, but missed. Her heart pounding in her chest she hurled the last lamp. It struck the creature in the middle of its broad chest, fire licking at the hair and flesh as the creature screamed in agony. Chris ran working her way around the room managing to snag two more lamps before being chased by the last Runner back to where Tal and Tyler were hiding. She screamed as the Runner caught her leg, tripping her up and sending her sprawling through the water and mud. Gunfire exploded from behind her and she creature howled, stumbling backwards as blood blossomed on its chest. Chris scrambled the last few feet to the safety of the rubble. Tal snatched her by the arm, whirling her around and slamming her back into the stone. She could feel the hot barrel of his gun pressing into her forehead. His eyes were as cold as steel.

            “Have you been injured?” His voice was a quiet hum in the roar of the room, but Chris new that right now he was the most deadly thing there. Her heart was pounding so hard her body twitched and her breath came in heaving gasps. “Did you get hurt?” he shouted, his grip on her arm tightening painfully. Chris swallowed thickly and shook her head.

            “No,” she gasped.

            “Are you sure?” he snapped. Chris nodded. “Are you sure!?”

            “Yes, yes I’m sure.” Tal’s lips narrowed into a thin line, but he pulled the gun away from her head and Chris could breathe again.

            “Good.” He turned and fired into the cavern, ignoring her for the moment. Chris managed to still her shaking hands and pick up her fallen gun, staring out into the darkness, looking for the last Runner.

            “That was the dummest thing you’ve ever done.” Chris cast a look at Tal from the corner of her eye. He was furious with her. She knew he was only angry because he cared, but she hated it when he was mad at her.

            “I did what I thought was necessary.”

            “You did-” Tal cut off his shout mid-way and clenched his teeth together. He whirled on her. “Don’t ever do that to me again.”

            Chris glared at him. “I’ll do whatever I-”

            “Look out!” Tyler’s cry of warning cut her off as the Runner she’d thrown the oil on launched itself at her out of the darkness. She’d thought he was dead. The three scattered as the huge wolf-like creature plowed through the pile of rubble she had been hiding behind throwing it out for thirty feet all around her. The creature swung wildly as she and Tal threw themselves out of the way.

            Tyler wasn’t able to backpedal fast enough and the Runners claws caught him across the torso, ripping open his stomach and throwing him to the ground, spilling his insides across the stone. Another creature came at them from the side and Tal rammed it in the chest with his shoulder and they both fell backwards into one of the pillars supporting the high ceiling. It shattered beneath them.

            The creature that had attacked Tyler got to him before Chris could stop him and its massive jaws locked onto Tyler’s shoulder. Chris watched him scream as the Runner’s teeth clamped down, blood splattering the ground as the Runner released him.

            Chris forced herself not to think about Tyler, but the other Runner trying to circle around behind them; the one she’d burned. She fired at it, catching it in the side of the head and it toppled backwards, but didn’t die. She felt the pillar closest to her crumble and the walls crack as the fallen column weakened the support of the entire room. The ground rumbled as the subway drew nearer overhead just as the ceiling split open and stone plummeted to the ground around them. The subway train careened down through the ceiling towards them, its light splitting the darkness as everything slowed.

            Chris turned and stared up into the yellow light of the subway train as it fell straight towards her. A gust of air tickled her face as rubble fell all around and the sharp whistle of splitting air filled her ears along with the shriek of tearing metal. Sparks flew and glass shattered. Rock was sent tumbling down through the air. It felt like an earthquake was going on beneath her feet.

            Tal plowed into her, knocking her out of the way as the train rammed into the ground and everything slammed back into motion. Tal rolled off of her and instantly began firing, again trying to keep the last two Runners at bay as Chris struggled to get enough oxygen back into her lungs.

            “Take care of Tyler!” Tal shouted, a strange look in his eyes as he dodged out of the way of a falling chunk of rock. He hit the ground rolling. Chris gritted her teeth and nodded, struggling back to her feet. She took off across the ground, leaping over piles of stone and puddles of water, her vision blacking over. More and more of the ceiling caved in, leaving a gaping hole above them that led up to the black subway tunnel far above their heads. Light flickered from inside the broken subway cars.

            As she reached Tyler she saw a large grey Runner standing over him, blood covering its muzzle and long arms. It snarled at her, Tyler struggling to breathe at the feat of the Unnatural. Chris fought down the urge to be sick. His body had been torn apart by the Runner and for the first time Chris was grateful for the darkness. She could already recognize the smell of loosed bowls and she knew blood must have been everywhere. There was a wet gurgling sound and Chris felt sick. He was still alive.

             There was a loud crack and Chris looked up just in time to see part of the ceiling and half of the wall caving down towards her. She dove out of the way, the stone separating her from the Runner and Tyler. She stared through the dust and the darkness trying to see if he and the Runner were dead, crushed by the falling stone, but she couldn’t see and the mass amount of falling rock would crush her if she stayed. She thought she saw movement to the left and fired into the darkness. She saw Tal running out of the cavern as the entire room began to fall in on itself, separating them from the last Runners. She hadn’t known she’d gotten so turned around.

            Tal shouted after her and she ran from the room, tearing her eyes away from the wall of rock separating her from Tyler and the beast. She took off after Tal, a wall of dust and falling rock cascading behind them, the bottom of her stomach dropping out. The impact of the subway train falling through the ceiling weakened the structure of even the long hallway they were running down. They sprinted side by side down the long shadowed passage, erratically lit by more ancient lanterns spaced along the wall casting dim blue and yellow light into the darkness. Chris hurtled the body of Danny that rested off to the side. Chris tried to ignore the wide eyed look of fear on his dead face. The ground felt like it would shake free from under her feet as she ran, struggling to keep her balance. She stumbled twice, Tal hauling her to her feet both times.

            As they ran their feet slammed down through puddles of water and muck as they made their way out of the underground passages and back into the crisp air of the night, dust and rubble following them out in a heavy cloud.

            Chris gasped and stumbled to a stop, resting her hands on her shaking knees, trying to ignore the painful stitch in her side. She could taste blood in the back of her throat and her tongue felt thick. She took in air with shuddering gasps, her throat burning. Sweat cooled on her forehead and beneath her suit, the leather sticking to her body. She knew that in a matter of minutes she’d start shivering and the adrenaline would wear off. When that did the fear and shock of what had just happened would cripple her.

            Tal stood next to her, his back arched and his head tilted back to the stars as he gulped air. Chris kept her head down, wiping at the water and sweat on her face. The sound of their breathing was the only thing she could hear above the pounding in her ears as she rolled the sleeves of her coat down to her wrists. As Chris’s breathing slowed she thought she heard the last of crumbling stone stop somewhere back in the hallway. Tal slowly straightened up and looked down at her. She kept her head down.

            “Did you take care of Tyler?” His voice was wary and a little dark. Chris could feel him staring at her. Her breath came out in pants and she swallowed thickly. She tilted her head to the side and caught his eye. Cold fear washed over Tal’s face and in a flash he had grabbed her for the second time that night and slammed her against the rock that formed the opening of the cavern. She gasped and made a little mew of surprise, her eyes wide in the dark, her hands grasping at his wrists. Tal’s face was a fearsome glare and the pressure of his fingertips on her arms was bruising.

            “Tell me you killed him,” he hissed. “Please tell me you put a bullet in the kids head.” His voice was filled with quiet desperation and barely suppressed rage. She opened her mouth to answer, but couldn’t figure out what to say, so she shut it again.  

            “Chris!” He shook her once and her gaze flew back to his eyes and for the first time she noticed the fear in them.

            She worked her jaw. “No,” she whispered, turning her head away. Tal’s arms went slack and his hands fell away from her arms. The rock jabbing her in the back suddenly didn’t seem so important.

            “Chris,” he whispered.

            “I couldn’t get to him,” she insisted, feeling the need to defend her ineptitude. “There was rubble everywhere. The whole cavern was collapsing about my shoulders. What was I supposed to do?” She tried to catch his eye, but this time it was Tal who was avoiding her gaze, not the other way around.

             “I saw Tyler lying on the ground with his stomach split open and his guts falling out, a Runner standing over him drenched in his blood,” she snapped, her voice rising in anger. “Before I could kill him the ceiling and part of the wall gave way crushing them both.” Her fists clenched at her sides. “Yes, I hesitated.” She stared up into Tal’s dark eyes as he finally looked at her. “I guess I deserve whatever happens next,” she whispered. Tal’s jaw clenched, his body winding tight. He slammed his hands into the stone on either side of her head and she jumped, her heart hammering in her chest again. She felt her skin flush, warming the cold leather again.

            Tal’s head dropped and he struggled to breathe and get a grip on his anger. He screwed up his eyes, his hands fisting against the cold stone. Chris could see his entire body trembling. She held herself perfectly still, her own anger burning deep in her gut. Tal’s breath was hot on her face and she stared into the dark trying to push back the memories Danny and Tyler’s Infection were bringing to the surface.

            Tal slowly straightened up, one hand sliding down to rest briefly on her shoulder. “Come on. They’re waiting for us.” Chris’s eyes darted to the collection of light up the hill to her right where she knew the two heavy silver Humvees would be waiting. How was she going to explain this?

            “Just don’t say anything.” Tal voiced the thought she had been dreading all night. The second team that had come with them had split off from them to cover more ground. They’d radioed once they’d found the cave, but in the ensuing fight Chris had broken their radio. She’d held on to the slim hope that the second team would find them, but it was unlikely. With the maze of passages they’d probably only wind up lost or dead. A cold fist tightened around her stomach.  

            Once the other team knew she had failed to complete a necessary execution she would be arrested. It was protocol. Always protocol. Her face clouded over.

            “We’ll figure a way out of this.” Tal gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Chris didn’t believe him, but she clung to the slim hope anyway as they climbed the hill to the street, the white lights of the vehicles blinding them. 

~

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