Time for a new weekly writer’s roundup of my works-in-progress and those ready to read!
As I mentioned last week, I was working on an entry for the latest writer’s challenge on the Reddit fantasy writer’s group I enjoy. The prompt this month is to write a story featuring vampires and a romantic element, putting a new spin on premise that some might consider a little worn-out lately.
By coincidence, I had been doing some research on vampire lore for an unrelated project just before the contest was announced, so I combined some new ideas sired by that with older ones I’ve had for years to create a short story I have titled Angel. It ended up being a little under five thousand words long. I got it submitted on the opening day of the contest after a marathon session of writing Sunday that included working in feedback and edits until the wee-hours of Monday morning. Another round of revision followed before I submitted it Monday night.
I’m pretty happy with it. Both of my alpha readers really liked it, and I’ve received some very positive feedback from two writer friends I trust on Angel too. The story centers on a trio of high-school teens, and I’m most proud of how I captured a teenaged feel without talking down.
I’m planning to post Angel: A Short Story of the Un-Dead up on Aethereal Engines this Saturday in full. But as a preview, here are the first two pages! :-D
Emily lifted the sparkling pink case of her iPhone and checked the time under the streetlight. Within seconds, she finished tapping out a text message to her boyfriend, telling him of the delay with Melissa but that they were still coming tonight. The sound of bicycle tires approaching on the paved road pulled her attention away from the phone, and she watched the looping pattern of the bike’s wheel reflectors glide closer as she stood on the lonely suburban curbside.
With a sigh and roll of the eyes she recognized it was Sam Sherman coming out of the darkness. She looked back down at her phone as his chubby legs in cargo pants stopped peddling and brought the bike to a stop beside her with his Chuck Taylor high-tops.
Sam stood straddling the bike; asthmatically catching his breath in the cool autumn air as Emily quietly checked her Facebook feed.
“Are you alright, Sam?” she asked without looking up.
“Yeah! I’m good!” he panted after another gulp of air. “Are you? I mean… they still haven’t found that freshman girl and—”
“—I’ve only been here a few minutes. I’ve got my phone and a ride coming,” Emily’s face and eyes remained transfixed on the smartphone screen in her hand while she confirmed she still had Sam’s Facebook account blocked.
The double-chinned teen nodded, pulling an errant strap of this backpack into alignment over his t-shirt. Sam knew Emily was lying; he had been watching her stand there for thirty minutes with the binoculars now tucked inside his pack.
“Oh, okay… Um, I can hang with you until your ride gets here… if you want?”
She looked up at Sam. The thin blonde was just as pretty now in her red skirt and cardigan as she was in the blue and gold of her cheerleader’s uniform. Running a finger through her hair, Emily opened her mouth to speak but said nothing before the headlights of a car turning the corner illuminated the pair on the sidewalk.
An old 1995 Dodge Neon came to a rattling stop in front of Sam, and Emily immediately walked away from him. “I’m good! That’s my ride!”
The mauve car idled beside the curve, its headlights causing Sam to squint. Shielding his eyes from the light with an open palm, he looked at the driver who stared back at him behind her thick framed glasses, bangs and long straight hair.
“Hey, isn’t that the new girl?” he asked as Emily opened the front passenger door.
“Yeah. Melissa,” she said slipping into the car. “See you Monday, Sam!”
“Oh. Um… Okay!” Sam pulled his bike up onto the sidewalk and got out of the way as the rattling old beater shifted into gear. The dark-haired driver gave him a last look as she drove off, and not knowing what to do in her gaze, he gave a timid wave that made her smile.”
As soon as the vehicle was a streetlight away, Sam opened the exterior pockets of his black cargo pants with the tear of Velcro. His thick hands quickly removed the sticky patches of black electrical tape he had prepared earlier and slapped them over the headlight and reflectors of his bicycle. Before the car was out of sight, he pulled around and began to follow.
Sam was pretty good at shadowing people and staying out of sight at this point, but he hadn’t planned on having to keep up with a car. Already breathing heavy and cursing the failure at parallel parking that kept him bike-bound, his thick thighs did their best to peddle fast enough to keep the Dodge in sight. Huffing and puffing, the only motivation that kept him going was the thought of the blood. The tactile memory of it on his hands. On Angie Brewer’s clothes, and splattered on the stairs of the abandoned basement he had dragged her into.
He knew the hunger wouldn’t rest until it was sated, and the teen’s eyes were locked on the red taillights of the car escaping his sight with a hunter’s determination.
Alright, time for me to stop blogging and get back to writing some more fiction! Take care!
Aethereal Engineer 
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