Ch2: Histories' Legends

Copyright © 2013 by P.A. Lackey

All rights reserved.

No part of this story may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. 

Chapter Two: Histories' Legends  

Arius moved across the wet beach sand as the others pulled out any more luggage that washed ashore. He had on him his private bag which he managed to pull from the ship before it incinerated itself in the water. His other supplies were gone which left him woefully unprepared for their venture. Dread crept up his stomach as he speculated on the future. What was next? How would they proceed?

“Are you alright?” Arius asked, approaching Jayvolni.  

The man sat upon a black rock sticking out of the sand, and wrapped his right arm with a bandage. Arius could see blood running down his rain soaked sleeve. Jayvolni glanced up at him, his two colored eyes glistened in the moonlight.

“I’ll be fine,” he replied coldly. “Caught my arm on the wreckage somehow.”

Arius nodded before he turned back to the others who were now approaching. They were all mercenaries; they killed for a living which left Arius as the odd man. He didn’t know how he got himself into this situation. His allies were cold killers, while he had only known combat for a time shorter than most. Of course, he knew how he got there. His own stupidity was to blame, and he had been tricked into signing up for the expedition. He had no clue what he was getting himself into, but now he realized the treachery that had been done to him.

“It’s time to go!” Thorim ordered, approaching his position. “If anyone picked up the crash, this beach will be swarming with possible hostiles.”

Thorim was their commander, and perhaps the most sensible of them all. The man was often times stern and distant, but at least he didn’t act like a savage like the others did at times. Arius trusted him as a leader, though he distrusted the others. Brockumus, the medic, was his most trusted ally while Jayvolni was just cold.

The group hurried into the surrounding forest which quickly grew dense. Stretches of beach sand fingered its way into the botany, but soon it was choked out by the trees. The rain pounded the tops of the pines and oaks leaving an abundance of water to drizzle off of the branches and onto the ground. The group traveled hard uphill before they reached a worthy shelter.

A rock leaned up against the side of a cliff, surrounded by many other boulders and stones. It sheltered them from the rain, but the claps of thunder roared across the island. The trees trembled under its fury, shaking the water from their burdened leaves. Fire could be seen erupting in the distant clouds whenever lightning struck. It was as if the clouds themselves were fuel for the fire, and whenever lightning sparked the cloud burned hot to heat the falling rain. What kind of world was this, Arius wondered.

Dueson, Arius’ antagonist, cracked the heat sticks over a bed of dry kindling. They gave off a distinct crack before flames consumed the kindling and Dueson fueled it more with some sticks. Everything was wet, but the flames from the heat sticks made easy work of the sticks. The fire was kept small in order to avoid attention and the mercenaries huddled together around its small flames.

Brockumus was beside Arius holding out his palms to the heat. They shivered in their soaked clothing, teeth chattering from the wind which blew through the rock shelter. Arius could no longer think too far ahead as his attention was on keeping warm. He struggled to pay attention to Thorim who spoke to them as a group.

“Remember the call, my brothers,” he said. “Our mission is noble, and hinges upon legend. Do not lose heart, for tomorrow we make history.”

“Our ship was sabotaged,” Rie replied. “How can we proceed?”

“We are not dead,” returned Thorim. “And we do not know the details. Stick together and we will prevail. Any traitor, if there may be one, will be found out soon enough.”

“I say we keep two at watch,” Dueson said. “Just to be safe.”

The men agreed, and they all found rest under the rock. Arius clasped his arms and fought back the chills. His thoughts turned inward, and soon he was drifting to sleep where he explored old memories. Thunder roared overhead. 

Thank you for reading chapter two of my short story. Stop by next Thursday for the third chapter, "Not Mementos," and please leave a comment below to let me know what you think. Also, check out my book.
Buy on Kindle here.

  

Free E-book today!

Ground of Oam is going for free starting today! The promotion runs through Easter Sunday tomorrow, so be sure to download a copy before it's to late. Thanks, and I'll see you next Thursday for chapter two of my short story!

 

Ch1: Stranded

Copyright © 2013 by P.A. Lackey

All rights reserved.

No part of this story may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. 

Chapter One: Stranded

Salt water sucked up into Arius’ nose causing his sinuses and lungs to burn. He opened his mouth to spew out the water, but only managed to take more in as he struggled to breath. He felt weightless as his body sunk; kicking his feet he vainly tried to find ground. His body bobbed back up to the surface where he gasped for air, only to sink back under the icy surface of the ocean.

Arius’ heart raced as he struggled against the motion of the waves. He knew how to swim, but his skill seemed to have left him for the cruel will of the ocean. His head was under again; he knew not where he faced. Bubbles swirled around his face within the dark depth of the ocean. A blue light radiated deep within the water growing brighter as it sunk. Arius knew what it was and tried to propel himself away from it, but it was too late. The light flashed before him, illuminating the dark depths for only an instance. He felt the water surge toward him, and he found himself propelled away from the blast. He surfaced for only a moment as the wave carried him skyward before he crashed back into the ocean.

More salt water breached his lungs, but now he felt a sandy surface beneath him. Kicking his feet he managed to stand up right where the cold wind now stung his skin. A small wave pushed him forward, and he stumbled farther toward the beach coughing along the way.

Shouting could be heard all around him as more figures slopped their way to the beach. Arius glanced around the perimeter to find miles of ocean behind them, and a small island ahead of them. The moon in that place was full but small compared to his home moon. Dark clouds hazed the sky, and lightning flashed miles across the ocean.

Arius stumbled back into the water which was now only a foot high. His fingers sunk into the sand which felt soft. He coughed water from his lungs before someone grabbed him from behind. Arius had little time to react as he was drug farther inland. His assailant threw him onto the dry sand before turning him around to face him.

“Are you all right Arius?” Brockumus asked, slapping him on the back two times.

It caused him to cough up more water before he waved the man off.

“It’s freezing,” he chocked out.  

“Keep moving,” Brockumus said. “We have to find shelter.”

With that the man moved on to assist the others whom were pulling out adrift luggage. They would have to take what they could and destroy the rest lest anyone discover it. The explosion would have incinerated most of their things, but there was sure to be equipment floating around the area.

Arius pushed himself to his feet and fought the weakening in his legs. The place was foreign to him, and now the only way off of the planet was destroyed. He felt a tremor in the sky as lighting streaked across it. Soon the atmosphere came crashing back together to cause a loud bang over the island. Arius’s arm hairs stood on end as he felt it vibrate through the air and sink into the ground. He could feel the entire beach beneath him. The wind through the trees, the waves against the beach. He could feel it all as his senses picked up on the slightest movement.

Turning to face the vast ocean Arius stared into the moon which was slowly disappearing behind the clouds. Its white light caressed the surface of the ocean while lightning flashed around it. A downpour opened up across the ocean, silhouetted by the moonlight. The cold rain roared toward them before the entire beach was assailed by its fury. Arius put his hand over his eyes in order shield them from the rain; his commander barked orders to them. It was time to retreat deeper inland where they could find shelter. They were on a foreign world, and they had no way off of it.

Thanks for reading my pilot chapter, and more will be presented next Thursday. Please leave a comment if you will, and let me know what you think. Also, check out my book.
Buy on Kindle here.

New Series Starting this Thursday

So it's a cool spring morning where I am at, which is good compared to the snow laden days we have been having up here in Montana. Lately it has been snowing throughout the night only to melt off in the day, but I sense warmer weather coming (for now). The only problem with warmer weather is more wind, something Montana has a problem with. If I were to be living in the mountains it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but then again I would have more snow to deal with.
Don't forget about my free book promotion coming up this weekend; I will be sure to post again when it begins. However, what I really wanted to make this current post for was to remind you that I will be starting my new series this Thursday; so be sure to stop by. From now on, every Thursday will feature a seven hundred word chapter from my new short story which precedes my first book. It has been a fun challenge writing it, as I am having to keep each chapter concise but exciting. I still have yet to finish it, but there is a good enough head start that I should be able to keep up with it. Of course by this time I have no choice but to keep up with it.
A short description of the story follows:
Arius is soon to be married to his fiancee, though controversy stirs within the family. Months before the marriage he is shipped out on a voluntary mission which is said to be a simple honor mission for his country. He is convinced to volunteer by his future father in law whom Arius hopes to gain the favor of before the wedding. However, things turn bad when the true nature of the mission is revealed. Arius must not only achieve the unimaginable,  but he must survive among a team of mercenaries who make a practice of killing. Not only that, but one of them is a traitor whom Arius believes has been hired to dispose of him.
This story is science fiction and takes place upon a foreign world which will have its identity revealed in the story. I hope you'll stop by Thursday to check it out, and feel free to leave some comments.        

Free Ground of Oam and New Chapters Every Week

I will be having a two day free promotion for my book, "Ground of Oam," on 03/30/13 through 03/30/31. So it's not this weekend, but the weekend after. Also, the book is now available in paperback here.
In other news, I am also excited about some new projects I have started on. For one my brother and I are creating a logo for our Oam's Cry series, and hopefully it will be up soon. We're looking for something fancy and eye catching, and I think we've figured something out.
Secondly, I am planning on doing something new with my blog which will hopefully bring in some more traffic. Every Thursday I am going to post a chapter out of my new short story that I am working on. Each chapter is approximately seven hundred words long, which is about one page in Word, so it will be short and easy to read. The story will be preceding my first novel, "Ground of Oam," and will cover some of the events leading up to Book 1. It's been a challenge writing it since I have to cram so much into seven hundred words, but I have found it to be an enjoyable challenge. So if you're in need of some weekly entertainment, check back next Thursday for my pilot chapter, "Stranded." I suppose I should come up with a name for the story now, "funny how I didn't think of that until now," but in the meantime I will be looking forward to sharing it. See you next week!

     

New Book, "Ground of Oam". An Epic Adventure Unfolds.

After seven months of silence, a new book dawns upon the world to change the very nature of science fiction and fantasy. (Warning, this is a sales pitch.) Ground of Oam is now available here on Amazon kindle; buy it now, or borrow it for free on amazon prime. A free sample also awaits on amazon if you wish to test it before purchase. Just click the picture as you would any other book to read the sample.

Ground of Oam is the first installment out of a new, but long anticipated, series called "Oam's Cry". Created by two brothers, my brother and myself, Oam's Cry spans several hundred years. This first installment takes place in the year 2060 upon a series of islands that formed in the pacific around the year 2015. A foul creature known as the Rebirtha now rule the islands, while mankind has been pushed into hiding. The condition of the outside world is unknown.
Meet the three characters of the novel, Levi who has forgotten his past and must search for the one thing that might reveal to him his forgotten memories. Matthew, whose father went missing at the age of fifteen, now must decide whether he should pursue his dreams of adventure like his father, or defend his hometown from a new threat. Isaac Kierken, a bio-engineered super-soldier who previously worked for the now fallen international powers, seeks to join the ranks of the Rebirtha. In order to prove his new found loyalty to them he must steal something from the humans whom he once swore to protect. However, what begins as a simple retrieval mission brings him to the brink of a new war, and it is he that must decide its declaration.
I am excited to finally see this book published, and I hope readers will enjoy it as much as I did writing it. As mentioned before, Ground of Oam, is only the first installment out of a three book series. However, what my brother and I have created is much bigger than that. While I will be covering the early era of Oam's Cry, my brother will be covering the future era taking place over a hundred years later. He still has yet to finish it, but I am excited to see our project unfolding at last. Check out the book on amazon and please leave a review. Now that it is out there I must begin the process of promoting it, and any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to post more on this topic soon.  

Why I Can't Blog

So it has been nearly three months since I last blogged. However it wouldn't be the first time that I allowed this to happen. Writing is definitively a discipline even for someone who finds it enjoyable, and blogging can be even more so. I don't know about you but when I don't write I feel blah, but rather than this being a motivator to write I find myself procrastinating.
Now with that said I will point out that I have not been totally abandoned to writing these past few months, and on the contrary I feel that I have got quite a bit accomplished on my WIP. Time to write is short with school, work, and everything else that bombards you in life, so most of my writing time has been spent on my stories. This is not an excuse to abandon blogging however. I realize I need to put more effort into this thing or else it stagnates. This leads me to the point of this blog which is dealing with my personal struggles with blogging. 
The first thing that I have trouble with when it comes to blogging is ideas. I don't know what to blog about. There are a lot of writing prompts out there to help people out with this kind of thing, but the only problem is that I don't like to spend time writing stuff I feel has no importance. In other words if I don't feel like anyone is going to care about a topic then I wont write it. Perhaps this is my downfall. Maybe I need to write more random topics whether people will care or not. 
The second thing that gets me a lot was already mentioned earlier. Time! Time seems so short these days and any time I do get free I like to spend on my WIP. Finding the balance between that and blogging can be tough, and honestly for the past few months I have gone with the idea that writing my story is the more pressing issue. I would still hold to this view for the most part, but then I realize the importance of blogging. It's good to have connections in the writing world, people to hold you accountable, and people that can encourage you. After all how can you learn to be a better writer if you don't learn from others? 
So that's really all I have to say although each of those points could be expanded into a blog of its own, but as always, Time is short!