LETTER "T" - A-Z CHALLENGE

A to Z Team [2014]

Arlee Bird: Tossing it Out
Alex J. Cavanaugh: Alex J. Cavanaugh
Stephen Tremp: Author Stephen Tremp
Tina Downey: Life is Good
Damyanti Biswas: Amlokiblogs
Jeremy Hawkins: [Being Retro]
Nicole Ayers: The Madlab Post
M. J. Joachim: M. J. Joachim's Writing Tips
Heather M. Gardner: The Waiting is the Hardest Part
AJ Lauer: Naturally Sweet
Pam Margolis: An Unconventional Librarian



 "T" is an easy letter to post for the A-Z Challenge - with lots of " to's", "the's". There are so man "t" words used in our language. 

This excerpt / teaser is once again taken from "Forces of Mist," my yet not finished sci-fi dystopian novel, set in Sydney Australia.

Today, she had been on patrol, checking from a distance, the movement of the invaders and had already made her report to headquarters. The aliens had seemed to be setting up a camp in the tunnels of what used to be the motorways,  submerged under the waters of the harbour. 

She had spent a good part of her day laying low, observing their movements. The sun was now starting to lower in the western sky and she needed to get back to base camp before it set, otherwise she would be locked out for the night. Something she did not wish to experience.

It wasn’t so much the aliens which frightened her at night, but what the ‘Outsiders’, the humans who had somehow survived and had been left to fend for themselves, she feared them the most.

Without food and limited resources, her vehicle would be an easy target for their hunting parties. She had been told horrific stories of how others had been trapped outside the shelters during the night, only to be found stripped to their bones the next day. Yes, the Outsiders as they were now named had become harsh, cannibalistic creatures which hunted in strong packs, awaiting any opportunity which presented itself to feast upon the unfortunate. Food and resources were scarce outside the complexes and the people caught outside fought viciously for anything they could scavenge.

Sarah drove up the steep goat track of a road heading up the range to base. Distracted by her thoughts, she was taken by surprise when the near bald tyres of her rusted truck slipped on the loose gravel. Gasping for air, she screamed with fright as the tyres spun, finding no traction. She frantically tried to bring her vehicle under control, desperately struggling with the steering wheel, the tyres continuing to spin. Dust, rocks and smoke from the burning rubber filled the air, almost choking her. Her heart pounded against her chest, racing with the rush of adrenalin. She broke into a sweat while pressing her foot flat to the floor, trying to will the vehicle forward. The back end started sliding and she braced herself for the inevitable, but was shocked with disbelief when the truck suddenly jerked upwards and hovered above the ground becoming suspended in mid-air in the middle of the ravine.

The tell-tale signs of her enemy began enveloping her truck. The curling tendrils of mist twined around the cabin making their way around the metal frame, cushioning it as she sat inside. There was only one thing possible which could cause this outcome and Sarah took a lung full of air, before trying to locate the Mist Warrior.