Continuing a scene from my current WIP, The Ashes of Home, Shayla has tracked a mysterious madman, Randall, to a makeshift bar in a forestry work camp. The patrons have been plying him with drink, and he rewards them with an insane rant about fire falling from the sky. He’s so far described scenes of terrifying destruction. This snippet opens with Randall speaking.
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“It is Judgment Day. We harbored snakes in our midst and the punishment is swift and terrible.”
The rant sounded insane yet curiously convincing. It had the sounds of religious zeal yet Shayla puzzled. In her undercover assignments she’d studied the Book of Unity and many other holy works. She knew the Pillars of Duty inside out and could quote sermons wholesale from a dozen mainstream religions. This was nothing she recognized. Besides, the details were too precise. This man had seen something. And it had driven him mad.
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16 comments:
Oh, what? What did he see? Great snippet!
Jessica, great question. Shayla will get there in a little while but she hasn't yet made the connection...
Sounds like the guy might know what he's talking about. Uh oh.
I'd wondered if it was something from a religious text, but the fact that it's not makes it even creepier. Interesting!
I'm thoroughly intrigued by the way the story is proceeding. Can't wait to learn more! Excellent excerpt.
Cara, he does indeed, as we'll see.
Christina, everyone around assumes it's religious. They're wrong.
Veronica, glad to hear it :)
Seeing stuff that drives you mad is... well, not fun, but sometimes useful.
What was seen to drive him mad? Interesting!
This is much more mysterious than if he's merely quoting scriptures.
Sweet! It was so terrifying it drove him mad! I want to see! Teaser, teaser!
Caitlin, not fun indeed.
Ed, the worst kind of madman is one who's telling the truth.
Stephen, Elizabeth, everything he's described up to now (in earlier snippets) is the literal truth.
Cool! I like it. This fires up my imagination. What did he see????
Hi human, Ian,
That is a most pawesome snippet, my esteemed human friend. The worst kind of mad dog is one who's telling the truth...arf!:)
Nice one, human, Ian. Consider your pawst shared.
Pawsitive wishes,
Penny!
Teresa, nothing good, that's for sure!
Penny, thanks so much, and say 'hi' to human Gary for me.
Ooh! I can just feel the layers of depth in this. So much world building.
Crystal, LOL - glad you think so :)
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