Sneak Peak at Sci-Fi WIP Novel
You guys remember way back when, I shared with you the prologue of the sci-fi novel I'm working on? I said something along the lines of "this is a first draft, I'm not even sure if this is going to stay in this novel."
Welp, I was right. After applying edits and creating the second draft of this thing, I ended up completely rewriting that prologue. Here's version 2.0!
And before you ask, no, I still haven't come up with a title for this stupid thing.
TW: swearing, violence, character deaths
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Of course, the first time Elias stepped foot in the forest, everything went to shit.
It started out well enough. Men went in and out of the forest all the time. The iron miners made several trips to the iron bog in the spring and summer. Granted, that was less than a day’s walk away from the town. Where it was safe. And no demons had been spotted in generations.
Elias was going much, much deeper. And rather than trying to avoid demons, they were trying to hunt them.
“I regret every decision I’ve ever made in life,” he muttered, trudging through the darkness behind his commanding officer and other soldiers. He tossed another bloody chunk of meat over his shoulder.
“Why?” asked Mike. “We get to be heroes. Go into the deep, dark wood, hunt a demon, bring it back home. It’s a great story to tell to the ladies.”
“My lady’s already been in the woods. She’s not going to be impressed.”
“Oh, yeah, I always forget you’re dating the weird one.”
Elias punched him in the arm. Mike chuckled, rubbing the spot. The two weren’t related, but they’d practically grown up together, asking each other for dating advice and competing over grades. They even looked alike: spiky dark hair, tan skin, tall builds.
“Seriously, though. It’s fine,” Mike said. “Most of these hunts don’t pan out, anyway. They’re tricky, cowardly bastards.”
He really hoped Mike was right. If they wanted to beat the high tide, they needed to start heading back tomorrow. All they had to do was go twelve hours without seeing a demon, and they were home free.
They continued to march, him and Mike frequently digging into their buckets to scatter chunks of meat behind them. There were a dozen soldiers, including the commanding officers, Lieutenant Ward and Ensign Copper, along with Sergeant Benson. The sergeant whistled sharply, glaring at Elias and Mike. “Hurry up, ladies. This isn’t the time to lag around.”
The two hurried to the tail of the group. Elias’s foot hit a branch, and he would’ve hit the ground nose-first if Mike hadn’t caught him. He cursed, tapping his foot to make sure he didn’t break any toes. “Why the fuck are we doing this at night?”
“Because that’s when demons are awake?” Mike replied. “Come on, buddy. Just a few hours until sunrise. You can make it.”
He grumbled, but followed his friend. At least both of the moons were full, blanketing the ground in silver and black shadow.
About another hour passed in silence. Every time a branch cracked or something fluttered in the leaves over their heads, the soldiers would tense, hands gripping bows and arrows. But just like the last three nights, it was just the wind or a black-scaled bird.
At one point, Ward called a halt, and they started setting up. The leftover meat from Elias and Mike went into a pile on the ground. Climbers immediately set to work getting to the lowest branches of the closest trees, some seven meters above their heads. The sound of their metal hooks and cleats digging into the dark blue trunks felt deafening in the near-silence of the woods. Once the climbers were all set—nets at the ready—everyone else got into position. Elias and Mike ended up together, taking position behind a large tree with bows and arrows ready.
It was a simple trap, really. One that had worked time and time again: lure the demons into an area with fresh meat, drop a couple of nets on them, and shoot them until they were dead.
They waited.
“So,” Elias whispered, unable to take the tense silence any longer, “your two years are almost up. What are you gonna do?”
Honestly, he was amazed he was even asking that. He couldn’t believe their mandatory years of military service were almost up. It seemed like they’d been going through the hell of basic yesterday.
“I have no idea,” Mike admitted. “Can’t get a job that pays nearly as well as this. What about you? You’ve got another, what six months? Seven?”
“Yeah. I might ask to get transferred to the police force, or maybe the wall guard. I’m definitely not coming back in these damn woods again.”
“Think you’ll put a ring on your girlfriend?”
He gave that a bit of thought. A two-tailed lizard scurried up the side of their tree.
“We haven’t really talked about it,” he said. “You know who her dad is. It’s not like I can bring a whole lot to the table. If they ask for a dowry I’m fucked.”
“You could elope.”
“Then I’m really fucked.” Although Elias couldn’t deny it wasn’t the worst idea in the world. Olivia probably wouldn’t object to it. She loved doing crazy, impulsive shit.
Two sharp whistles from a scout made them freeze. Elias immediately notched an arrow on his bow. His palm was so sweaty it felt like it would slip from his fingers.
“Did you see anything?” Mike whispered.
“I don’t know. We were too busy talking about relationships!” he hissed.
He kept his attention on the trail of meat they’d left, leading to the pile. Breathe in, breathe out, he thought, drawing back his arrow until the feathers brushed against his chin.
Nothing moved.
“False alarm?” Mike asked.
“Maybe.”
Someone shouted. Elias looked up in time to see one of the climbers get yanked off the branch, as if an invisible hand had pulled them. The man screamed all the way down, until he hit the ground with a loud thud and was forever silent.
“Hold your fire!” Copper ordered. It was a mistake. Elias heard him scream as something—something with claws and teeth—grabbed him, then threw his bloody body next to the scraps of meat in the center.
He saw a shadow fly by. He and Mike both fired at the same time. One of the arrows managed to graze a wing, sending the beast almost into a tree before it righted itself and disappeared in the darkness.
The other climber joined the first, taking the nets with him. Elias cringed when he hit the ground. He notched another arrow.
“If they don’t sound the retreat in the next minute, I’m running,” Mike said.
Desertion was a crime punishable by death, but Elias was also thinking about rolling those dice. Another shadow flew by and he shot at it, but the arrow went wide.
“Retreat!” Ward ordered. “Everyone out now—ahh!”
The lieutenant had been stationed on the northern end of the trap. Elias and Mike were sure to give that area a wide berth as they ran.
Screams and moans behind them, shouts and orders ahead of them, Elias sprinted as fast as he could. The emergency rendezvous point was half a mile away. They had ten minutes to get there before they would be left behind.
So this is why Peterson pushed so much cardio on us, Elias thought. Mike’s heavy breathing was right behind him. Neither of them dared to stop or slow down, until Elias tripped on a branch and went flying.
“Son of a—” The rest of his curse was swallowed by dirt. He tumbled, rolled, and landed hard on his back, wheezing.
“You really need to work on your night vision, buddy,” Mike said, catching up to him. “You hurt?”
Elias poked at his ankle. It stung, but there was no swelling, and it didn’t feel like he’d broken any bones. “No. I think I’m good.”
Mike grinned, offering his hand. “Lucky break.”
Their palms grazed, and then Mike was yanked back.
“Mike!” Elias screamed, scrambling to his feet.
He could hear his friend screaming as he was pulled, and then silence.
Elias swallowed. He wanted to go into that darkness, to find his friend, patch up any injuries he might have, and then get him out of this hellish place. But the first lesson taught in basic was that demons always immediately went for the kill. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. If your comrade is taken, they’re dead. Doesn’t matter if they’re still screaming, begging, or praying, they are dead, and you need to run.
He should have left me behind, Elias thought as he resumed running. He should have left me behind.
***
Elias realized he’d gotten turned around when he came across a stream. Which he had never seen before.
Lacking even the energy to curse, he decided he might as well get a drink before getting his bearings. He splashed water on his face and hands, washing away the dirt from his fall. His stupid fall that had cost Mike his life. God’s faces, why hadn’t that idiot kept running like he was supposed to?
Worry about that later, said a voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like his drill sergeant. Get your ass back to Citadel. Then you can wallow and cry all you want.
Right. Get back to Citadel. Should be easy.
Except he had no idea where he was.
He reached up to touch the scarf around his neck, and buried his face in its warmth. It was an ugly thing, lopsided and loose in some areas. But it was soft, and warm, and did an excellent job of absorbing his frustrated tears.
Get it together, you idiot, he scolded himself. You went south, and at one point turned east. So start going northwest.
He looked at the sky. Not being a hunter, iron-digger, or experienced soldier, he’d never had to navigate by the stars before. But everyone knew the basics: the Dragon’s Tail pointed you south, Heaven’s Gate pointed you north. So northwest would be…
Something moved out of the corner of his eye.
Elias stiffened. He’d set his bow on the ground next to his leg when he drank from the stream. He slowly moved his hand toward it.
The demon smashed into him before he even got close. They rolled into the water. Elias shrieked as claws ripped through his uniform and skin. He managed to kick the thing off of him and get on a knee, pulling out his knife. The creature before him was all black, except for one white patch over his left eye. It bared its yellow teeth at him.
Shit.
Shit.
Elias was going to lose.
He was going to die.
Well…fuck.
He chuckled, even as something in him broke.
The demon prowled closer. Elias flipped his knife and braced himself. “All right, bitch. Let’s do it.”
The demon lunged.