Post 25 out of 30.

Iris By T. Edward Redd

1. Fade into Black

I usually took the time to comb my hair in the mornings I hated it when it looked like I just woke up. But there was too much on my mind to care about preening. All I wanted to do was go back to bed, burry myself in the sheets and let sleep take away my pain. That wasn’t an option anymore. I had to face school eventually. I had already missed too many days. It was senior year and I wasn’t going to throw away three years of hardwork.

I put on the first thing I could find; a brown sweater, blue jeans and black shoes. My hair was still a mess. I couldn’t find the motivation to actually care though. I just wanted the day that had barely started to end. After a lot of reluctant effort I forced myself out of my quiet home. It was hard to ignore the harsh winds of the fall weather.

I gazed the sky as I shut the house door behind me. The sun was shining bright and the skies were painted with different soft shades of blue. There were a few clouds here and there. It kind of made me smile. A sign of a good day? Suddenly a few clouds blocked off the sunlight. Then I was reminded of everything that made me stay home for so long.

Pain.

I got into my silver convertible and the drive to school began. Why couldn’t I just stay home just a little longer? One more week. How could I face her? I didn’t want to. Things would be so weird and painful now. So badly, I wished that I could rewind to last summer. Maybe I could have said something to change her mind. The more I thought of it, the more I wanted to hold her warm and soft hand. I still couldn’t understand what happened.

After a long and quiet drive, I was at my high school. It was nothing out of the ordinary. It had space for a couple thousand students. Pleasantly painted royal blue walls, white tiles, long and quiet hallways filled with lockers. When I passed the lounge areas I got a strong whiff of coffee. Just a typical high school. The only thing out of the ordinary about it was Caroline Green. The more I thought about it the more depressed and pitiful I felt. I pushed her to the furthest part of my mind and walked to my third period class.

As I walked in I felt this sudden blankness as eyes stared at the boy who had vanished for months.

They all knew Caroline and I broke up. Nothing had changed even though it took me a month to come back. Professor Grays crinkled his grey mustache and fixed his glasses saying, “Thomas Rouges, you’re back.” He handed me as I walked past him. I avoided the dozens of faces watching me as I went to the middle of the room.

When I walked inside everyone stopped what they were doing. The guy who vanished for months had returned. Professor Grays was writing on a board in front of the class. When he stopped to ask a question, he saw me. He stared and cleaned his glasses and crinkled his bushy mustache. It was like he couldn’t believe I came.

“Thomas,” he said with an overly surprised tone. “You’ve shown up for class? It ends in about fifteen minutes but I’m still glad to see you. The teachers were worried. Are you ok?” He handed me the packet. I didn’t give a verbal response. Just a shrug and a grunt.

I ignored the dozens of eyes watching me. I walked to the middle of the classroom and took my seat. I could feel them all staring at me. Trying to invade my mind. No words were spoken but I could hear their thoughts.

“What happened?”

“Why did you two break up?”

“Will you get back together?”

I hid away in the world of history, letting hundreds of the book’s pages hide my face.

“Thomas!” I heard someone whisper.

I looked back. It was my friend Ace. His actual name is Albert. He’s a sort of round kid with short hair, brown skin and glasses. He usually wore sweatpants with some sort of anime t-shirt.

I watched as he sketched Japanese cartoons in his pad as he usually always did. His thick brown fingers held the pencil delicately as the led paced back and forth, then in circles on the canvas. I never understood how people could be so talented with a simple sheet of paper and pencil. He looked and realized I was watching him.

He whispered, “Oh. I didn’t think you heard me. Where’ve you been? School started in August and it’s almost October.

“I know that,” I said, trying not to be heard.

He said, “Is this about the breakup? It’s been almost three months. Dude you…”

“Don’t even,” I interrupted.

He took in a deep breath, nodded and started drawing again. Being so harsh felt bad but so was my mood. He was going to say, move on. As if it were the easiest thing to do. Caroline was, perfect and my best friend. I turned away from him.

It upset me he would even think to that. Everyone knew how much she meant to me. Yet they just kept telling me to forget and let go, move on. It’s not like I can turn the feelings on and off like some faucet. I hated how they all thought it was that easy when it wasn’t.

Then I heard laughter. That really got to me. I quickly turned back, trying to find out who it was. But they weren’t laughing at me. It was a girl I had never seen before. I nearly forgot why I was upset. She made me so…speechless.

She had hints of blush on her face and her skin was radiant. Her hair was what stuck out the most. It was red and wavy, reaching her shoulders. She wore this black dress that looked to be from medieval Europe. It was beautifully decorated with floral designs over the black. A classic novel was resting on her desk as she read it gracefully, not a care in the world. As she flipped a page and I saw her smile ever so slightly. I started to smile with her. But the moment was ruined. A tiny paper wad hit her in the face and her smile slowly turned into this blank stare.

Her eyes shut. I knew she was going to either cry or confront them. Or so I thought. She opened her eyes and kept reading, never flinching or anything. The boys kept snickering and tossing things at her. But it was like she couldn’t see or hear them. She was so calm.

The kids at my school were always like that. They could be really annoying and cruel. Especially to the new kid. I didn’t understand. All she was doing was reading a novel. And I’m sure she hated the school. Who would blame her?

Without any warning she moved her eyes in my direction. She never moved her head, neck or body. Just her eyes. Had the teacher called on her? I looked back but he was writing on the board as he spoke to the class. I looked back at her. Her eyes were still locked on me. I couldn’t look away as I tried to figure out what she was saying with her eyes. She never smiled, frowned or even blinked. Why was her stare so familiar yet unknown?

Day 19 of 30 Blog Challenge. Iris

On The Hill.

I couldn’t figure out what happened with Caroline. What did Samantha do that made her freak out so badly? All she did was grab Caroline’s wrist. To be fai, Caroline was the one who through her hand first. She would have slapped Samantha across the face. So why did it scare her so badly when Samantha defended herself?

I hadn’t seen Samantha since Caroline and her friends confronted her. A week had gone by and still I never saw her. I started to think she transferred out. Why wouldn’t she? Everyone besides me singled her out to be made fun of. She was the school outcast. I couldn’t understand why. When I spoke to her she came off as polite and pleasant. There was nothing weird about her.

When I thought about her I would sometimes touch my cheek. She came so close that day. Her lips almost touched my face. I had to go and ruin the moment by embarrassing her.

During the time I tried to figure out this mysterious redhead, I would occasionally touch my cheek. Her lips came so close that day. It was as if she was still there, gazing me with those deep seas of brown. You smell pleasing, repeated in my mind, over and over in a heavy and exotic Ukrainian accent.

Why couldn’t I get her out of my mind? Samantha Black had penetrated a spot inside of me only Caroline had managed to get to. It was only two months ago when she ended things. Just the other week I’d give anything to be with her again. But now there was this new girl who had so discreetly became the person I thought about the most. All it took was a simple stare and a few words.

Even my friends noticed my occasional spacing out, as I would more and more stare off into space. There I was on a Tuesday, at Tylor’s house. I still had the piece of paper from Isabella. How did she even get it? And why was she so sure Samantha would reject me?

I was with my friends at Tylor’s house. We were all sitting in his large and wooden living room, watching tv. His house was pretty big. Enough for ten eight I suppose. Everyday after school we went to Tylor’s to watch horror movies or play first-person shooters on his big screen.

Tylor came out of the kitchen. He said, “I’m all out of bread. So we can’t make sandwiches. Sorry, guys.”

They all moaned and groaned. Except me. I was too busy looking at Samantha’s address in my hand. I kept thinking about going to see her. Then I would tell myself no. It would be weird and creepy. I hated how Isabella always followed me and basically stalked me. I wouldn’t want Samantha to look at me the way I looked at Isabella. I shouldn’t take advice from a girl who knows nothing about boundaries.

As my friends complained about the food shortage, Tylor suggested we go out for pizza. Everyone was with the idea. Especially, Ace.

On cue he jumped up. He said, “Yeah! As long as we get sausage and pepperoni.” Second to gaming and drawing, food was his first love.

I hadn’t said a word. Martinez said, “Yo! Thomas. Do you want pizza for dinner?”

I balled the paper up into my hand quickly. “Oh. Yeah, sure,” I said.

Tylor noticed and got close. He said, “Hey what’s that you were looking at?”

“Yeah you’ve been staring at it forever,” Martinez said.

I put it away in my pocket. “Nothing. Let’s go get the pizza.” They clearly didn’t like Samantha and I didn’t want to answer any questions. I didn’t even know if I was actually going to see her again.

“Guys,” Ace said. “Isn’t it obvious? He’s clearly still hurting from the breakup.”

I actually hadn’t thought about that since the previous Wednesday. I should have been worried about Caroline but I was more worried about Samantha. I didn’t even talk to Caroline that week.

Tylor said, “Oh. Yeah you must be worried about her. That new girl almost killed her. I’ve never seen anyone scream like that before.”

Martinez said, “Yeah. I bet the freak got expelled. Good riddance.” He sounded really disgusted.

That was one thing that never crossed my mind. Samantha expelled? Was that even possible? No! The idea was crazy. Samantha only defended herself. Caroline would have slapped her dead across the face. I couldn’t understand why everyone was out to get her but me.

Tylor said, “Hey. What do you think Thomas?”

I spoke without thinking. “I think everyone should get off Samantha Black’s case.”

Martinez said, “Whoa, easy. Wait how do you know her name?”

Tylor joined in. He got excited and said, “That’s right! Those two kissed last week. Everyone saw it. So do you like her now? You’ve been with her all of this time huh?”

“Tell me you didn’t,” Martinez said. “I know the breakup was bad. But the new girl isn’t exactly a good substitute. She’s so…weird.”

I turned to them and said, “Stop calling her stuff like that. Her name is Samantha Black. She isn’t weird and we didn’t kiss. I just think it sucks that everyone thinks she’s some freak. She isn’t.”

They all just laughed as if I was telling a joke. I said nothing and just felt more and more sorry for her. Did the students openly laugh at her like this at school? Did she deal with it all by herself or did she have friends? Suddenly I pictured her walking home and alone in the rain, crying. What if she got depressed or something? Before I knew it, I was reaching for the paper again.

I stopped when Martinez said, “Dude, what about Caroline? She’s been with you since freshmen year. This Samantha girl is just some girl who showed up two weeks ago.”

Tylor agreed, “Exactly. So just leave the weird introvert alone. I’m sure there’s something wrong with her.”

I wanted to shout at him but part of me agreed. Caroline meant a lot to me and maybe we needed to talk about things. She clearly didn’t like the idea of me being with Samantha.

I stood up and said, “Let’s go get the pizza. No more Samantha or Caroline talk. My head needs a break.”

They shook their heads and got up. We left the house while it was still light out. I was the only person who had a car but over the summers we walked a lot, as we told stories and goofed around. It had become another way for us to just hangout. So we were used to walking. Plus the pizzeria was only a few blocks away.

We lived in the nicer part of town. So we didn’t have to worry about muggers or beggars. All of us were comfortable enough to eat at the pizza place even thought the sun was nearly gone. Ace was the first to walk into the small building. It had white tiled flooring towards the counter and nice carpet flooring in the dining area. It was a pretty cozy spot to spend time with your friends. Most kids from our school went there after school.

It wasn’t too busy so Ace was lucky enough to order fast. We all laughed to each other when he struggled to pick toppings. Then I stopped as my heart stopped.

“Thomas! Oh my gosh you’ve made my night!” Isabella Butler was waving from behind the counter. Unfortunately she worked at the pizzeria. Most of the time we dodged her. Sometimes we didn’t.

Day 18 of 30. Tomorrow!

All week I’ve been talking about sharing the concept art for Florescent Dream. Just to give a little recap. Florescent Dream is a graphic novel I have decided to write and illustrate for this year and hopefully have it finished before next year. Why? So I can have a display during Indy ComicCon AND publish my very own graphic novel.

Now that I have my story’s general idea I’ve started the pre-production stage. This is where I gather concept art, settings and write my story’s script so I can sketch, ink and color things out. This is one of the feats I want to achieve and even though this is a tough and time consuming challenge I’m confident I can do this. I published my own book! Surely I can make a graphic novel. I simply refuse NOT to achieve this. Anyway moving on to my news.

Today I will NOT be sharing my artwork. Here’s why. I got a little in over my head with this whole blogging thing. I want my post to be nice, clean and well constructed when it comes to sharing this dream of mine and its progress. Right now I don’t have enough time to make that kind of post. If I do it now it will be VERY sloppy and not very elaborate. Since I’m doing this blog challenge I make it a point to post before 12a.m every day. I would rather postpone a post and have it look GREAT the next day versus posting some sloppy writing.

So sometime this week MOST LIKELY tomorrow I will be posting my work. I already have the some concept art ready to show. When I make this post I will be explaining the whole story and the idea I have. It’s going to be awesome and I look forward to sharing this journey with the people who read this blog. It shall be a BLAST!

Even though I’m becoming a art nerd these days I am still the fiction fanatic. I’ll make it a point to keep writing and sharing my stories. Here’s more of Beyond a Lifetime!

She grabbed her face and began crying. “I’m crazy. I’m completely insane.” When she opened her eyes she let out a scream. Her body jerked away from the windshield. Someone was lying on their back on her car’s hood. Quickly she got out of the car and ran to the body.

“Oh no. Hey! HEY! Are you ok?” He was covered in blood and scratches. His body was nearly caved into the car’s hood. She tried pulling him out. “No. I’ve hit someone. Oh no. Hey!”

“Relax. He’s still alive.” Violet jumped and screamed when she saw Liel beside her. His tail waved in the air slowly as he scurried towards her.

“How are you talking? What’s going on? Is he really?”

Liel nodded. “A fall like that couldn’t kill him. Does he look familiar?” He jumped onto the hood of the car close to the body. Violet observed the toned body, his soft brown skin and curly black hair. She covered her mouth and gasped.

“Impossible. No. I really have lost my mind. Is that…”

“Yes. It’s the boy you dream about. Thome Lily. They weren’t dreams Violet. They have deeper meaning. You and Thome are connected and you both have a special purpose in this realm.”

“We do?” she said.

“Yes. I will explain things later. But we have to get him somewhere safe so he can rest.” Violet tugged and tugged on the boy’s body. He was barely budging.

She grunted as she pulled him harder. “He weighs a ton! Agh!” Her hand slipped and she fell onto her rear.

“What are you doing? There’s no time to fool around,” Liel said.

“Fool around? I wasn’t!” She stood and grabbed Thome by both arms and pulled hard. “He’s…so…heavy!” Sweat began pouring from her skin. She pulled harder and harder. Slowly his body started lifting from the car’s hood. She sat him up and held him, trying to catch her breath.

“Great! Now put him in so we can take him away from here. Hurry!”

Violet said, “You mean carry him? He’s so heavy! And you aren’t being very polite about it either.”

“Violet…” Thome was muttering. She looked to him. His golden eyes were watching her. He breathed heavily and said, “Are you alright?”

She could feel her face getting warm. “Yes? Why wouldn’t I be?” Thome looked away then his eyes aimed at the sky. Violet followed his gaze. Without any warning he limped off of the car.

“She. She’s still alive. I didn’t win. I have to stop them or, AGH!” He nearly fell as he grabbed his chest. Violet caught him and nearly fell with him. Her legs shook as she held him up. She felt the warmness of his blood seeping onto her dress.

“Oh no. He’s bleeding really bad. Hey can you walk?”

He stared at her. “Violet.” His hand rubbed her face as he smiled weakly. “At least I was able to protect you.” His head dropped and he nearly fell. Violet held him up and helped him to her car. The door opened on its own and she put him in the backseat. Immediately he fell over.

Violet covered her mouth as she gasped. “Oh no! Hey!” She sat him up and shook him. Liel jumped into the front seat as the car doors shut. The car quickly sped off on its own. Violet looked around saying, “How is this car moving on its own?”

“I’m controlling it with my mind. No time to explain. You have to heal his wounds.”

“What? I don’t know about premed. You’re thinking about my parents. We should take him to a doctor.”

Liel jumped onto Thome’s chest. He scratched the shirt open and ripped it away with his mouth. Violet blushed and looked away nervously. But an odd wound drew her attention. Thome had a deep gash across his chest. It was glowing red around the edges.

“A demon did this to him,” Liel said. “No human doctor can heal this. You have to do it. You’re the only one that can.”

“Me? But how?”

“Place your hands out towards his wound.”

And she did. His body was as tough as steel. She couldn’t figure out why his body was so abnormally rugged. And cold. Her fingers nearly lost their sense of touch. She pulled away fast.

“Why is he so cold?” She asked.

“Dying,” Liel said. “He’s lost his immortality. This is worse than I thought. Hurry! Heal his wound.”

She placed her hands towards his wound. She looked at the cat and said, “What am I supposed to do?” Liel pounced on her hands. They pressed firmly against Thome’s freezing body. He began to scream in agony.

Violet tried pulling away, “Stop! You’re making me hurt him!”

Liel said, “No. It’s working. See for yourself.”

Her hands were glowing yellow. Steam began spilling from Thome’s wound as it healed fast. It was closing rapidly. Suddenly it was gone. Thome stopped screaming and struggling and went limp.

Day 16 out of 30. Beyond a Lifetime. Continued.

I’ve decided to post more of Beyond a Lifetime today. I got some feedback for it and it pretty much made my day. I’ve got two days until I start posting concept art on my websites so at the moment I’m drawing my butt off. Today I was at the zoo and I talked to one of those people who do the little toon portraits. She made a suggestion that I should do fan art to attract fans to my websites. So now for the first time I’m doing fan art. I’ve always been against it because I’m a firm believer in being original. But I’ll be adding my own originality so it should be fun. Can’t wait to share!

Here’s more, Beyond a Lifetime.

She said, “Mr. Simons. I do socialize. Bible study remember? I go every Tuesday. Which reminds me…” An alarm clock on her phone began beeping. She took it out to see it was thirty minutes until 5pm. She smiled as she stood up. “I forgot that today was Tuesday.” She picked up a purple bag beside her and stood.

“I don’t think bible study is helping. It may be influencing these things you see.”

She said, “Bible study is one of the few things that relaxes me. Thank you, Mr. Simons. Same time tomorrow?”

He nodded as he shut his notebook. They walked out of the office and down a hall clothed in white walls and brown wooden flooring. After waving the secretary goodbye, Violet went through a set of double doors that led outside. Doctor Simons was behind her.

“Be safe,” he said. “Try and get out. Invite some friends over. Or go out and make some friends. Any sort of social interactions will be good. Not with ghost or animals. Just people.”

“Maybe tomorrow,” she said. “I have to get to bible study. Then I have to study for my placement exams for college. If I score high I won’t have to take prep classes. Have a good night, Mr. Simons!” She waved with an optimistic smile and quickly raced to her car.

No one understood why she liked bible study so much. Violet found everything about the Bible to be fascinating. She stood up for hours each night reading stories from it. She spent lunch periods reading it, despite what her classmates thought. She couldn’t wait to get to the church by her home.

It was a small and white cathedral. Violet always parked in the front row of the parking lot. Closest to the church. She loved the way it looked from a certain distance. It was surrounded by grass and looked very archaic. As usual she was one of the few dozens of people who arrived. Not too many came if it wasn’t a Sunday.

She stepped out of the car and took in the air. Something about being close to the church made her feel light and safe. She couldn’t explain it. But churches gave off a certain energy when she was near them. Almost as if they had some invisible safeguard around them. Even the air smelled cleaner.

She held her bible close to her chest as she walked to the cathedral. On her way she stopped. A teenaged girl with a gash on her face walked to her. She was rubbing her eyes as she yawned.

Violet said, “Amanda. Hey. Wow, you look really tired. Are you ok?”

“Violet those mean boys keep playing around my grave. I can hardly get any rest. Do you mind shooing them away so I can rest in peace?”

Violet nodded and led her back. The church had a small grave site beside it. There were only a few tombs there. Occasionally, dead spirits would come to Violet. Typically if they were being troubled or disturbed. They were mostly harmless unless provoked. When Violet and Amanda made it to the graveyard they saw three boys racing around the graveyard.

One of the boys tripped over Amanda’s tomb. Flowers near her grave were crushed beneath his body. She let out a heavy breath. “How’s a dead girl supposed to rest with those brats running around? Mother brought those yesterday and now their ruined.”

“Hey! Boys knock it off. Have respect for the dead!” They looked to see Violet. Her tone was anything but mean. It was full of concern and compassion. They didn’t bother to argue with her. They simply ran off. She turned to Amanda and apologized.

“Don’t worry about it. At least now I can sleep. Thanks, Violet. Hey is that your cat?” Violet looked back to see a small bobtail sitting in the grass. Its fur had an odd pattern of white stripes.

“You again?” Violet said. “How did you follow me? The school is miles from here.”

“Violet Orchid. Have you seen Thome Lily?”

She turned away blushing. “Only in my dreams. I’ve told you that. This is crazy. Cats can’t talk. Maybe something really is wrong with me.”

“I’m not cat. I’m an angel lion and my name is, Liel. I’m looking for Thome. He’s in danger. You have to help me find him.”

“Danger?” Violet asked. “What kind of danger?” Before he could say anything, Martha, one of the regular bible study students, came into the graveyard. She was happy to see Violet.

“Hey! I thought I’d find you here. Did you see another ghost?”

Violet nodded. “Some boys were disturbing Amanda’s grave. They’re gone now.”

“Of course they are. Violet come into the church. We’re about to begin. Pastor Gresha wants you to lead prayer. The cat will have to stay outside.” She took Violet’s hand and lead her out of the graveyard.

Day 13 of 30 Blog Challenge. Red Hair and Stoplights.

For my 30 day blog challenge I will post parts of a story whenever I don’t have much to tell as far as publishing or writing goes. Eventually I’ll start writing inspirational posts, share experiences and give my thoughts on certain topics. Right now I don’t have an update for my graphic novel. So here’s another story.

Red Hair and Stoplights is a story I started writing one winter ago. I got writer’s block and left it for some other project that I ended up finishing. But like with all my stories I plan to finish this one as well. Enjoy!

“Stupid,” he thinks. “Just stupid.” He drove down the street anxiously. He couldn’t keep his hands from shaking on the wheel. He was antsy and jumpy. As the rain poured on the windshield he turned on the wipers. His mind was clouded with so many thoughts.

“Did I make a mistake?” He wonders as he stares at the road.

“It wouldn’t have worked out. We’re too different. I’m a writer. I like my solitude and artsy stuff. She’s a ballet dancer who loves to meet people, party and do fancy things. It was fun while it lasted but in the end we weren’t meant to be. I shouldn’t be thinking about her. So why am I?”

He stops at a stoplight. As the traffic of the city flows back and forth his minds continue to orbit.

He thinks, “I shouldn’t have talked to that girl. None of this would be happening. Why did I start this? Why do I want it to continue? Rosalyn Zink is just…a girl. But that’s a lie. Rosalyn isn’t just a girl. Maybe that’s the problem. She’s a lot more than that.”

Things started the day classes began. The first time I saw Rosalyn was at a stoplight right by the campus. The weather that day was pretty moderate. The sun was bright but not too bright. For a Monday morning traffic was surprisingly light. It was good for me because I woke up pretty late.

I’m pretty bad at waking up on time. I don’t get out of bed until I’ve hit the snooze button at least fifty times. You would think that I’d learn to get up on time with all the detentions I got in high school for late arrivals. As a freshman I should be more responsible.

I got out of bed at 6:50 a.m with class starting at 8. I left at 7:10 and sped my way towards campus. It doesn’t take long for me to get ready. I guess all of those times of waking up late had made me the Olympic champion of getting ready in twenty minutes.

As I past a few neighborhoods street and got onto the highway I checked the time to make sure I didn’t leave early. Not that I cared. It’s just traffic isn’t normally light in the mornings. But not that morning. Things were good and little did I know they were going to get better.

How could things be so good for a Monday? I drove happily knowing that I was going to arrive at least ten minutes early. I had so much time that I was able to stop and grab a croissant. I ate that bad boy and blasted Lorde all the way to campus. I love her music. I always sing along.

I sang Royals blissfully and confidently as I approached a stoplight. It was as if no one was there. But of course there were other drivers present. I noticed a guy to my right watching me and I quickly became self-conscious. I bobbed my head awkwardly as I slowly turned away and turned the radio down. Who else saw me I wondered. I looked to the left and that’s when it happened.

I saw a beautiful redhead with a yellow t-shirt on. She was in a light-blue convertible. Her roof was up so you couldn’t hear anything. But sound wasn’t needed. Seeing her was a time stopping moment in itself. She sat just waiting for the light to change. I was amazed as I watched her lips move smoothly.

I wondered why she was talking. No one was in the car so she might’ve been crazy. Then she turned the radio up and I realized, she was singing. She flipped her long and curly red hair behind her shoulders and drove off. I stared at the back of the car as it sped away. She hadn’t even glanced my way but man, who was that I thought.

Suddenly I jumped when a car rudely honked at me. It scared the life out of me. So my drive to class continued as I replayed the marvel redhead singing over and over in my head. What was her name? It’s not like it mattered though. I could never picture a girl like her attending a community college.

I parked my car in the student parking area and quickly made my way to the building. It’s a pretty big building for a community college. I don’t mean to talk about community college in such a condescending tone. It’s just I had always imagined attending a university after high school. All of my friends did. That redhead probably did too was what I told myself.

I wasn’t lucky enough to have wealthy parents or scholarships. University was too expensive. So I decided to attend a community college and save up for transferring. My good grades should hopefully land me a scholarship.

I only had one class that day. My French class. Three years of Spanish and still no gain of fluency turned me to a different language. Plus French was supposedly a romantic language. I’m a sucker for that stuff and girls love it.

Nothing interesting happened there. We just got a course overview. We introduced ourselves and went over the syllabus. The typical first day routine. After an hour of French and it was over. I left for the library. I update my blog there every school day.

As I walked inside I bent down to tie my shoe. The darn things kept coming untied for some reason. I like to people watch sometimes. So as I let my fingers tangle knots, I peered around. My mouth dropped slightly as my eyes quickly caught glance of a familiar face. I couldn’t believe it. It was the redhead from the stoplight.

She was checking out at least twenty books at the desk. That was insane. But what was more insane was her appearance. The car windows did her no justice at all. Wow was all I could think of. Just wow.

Her red hair reached down to her waist and it was curly. Her skin complexion was really captivating. It was soft and white like cream. It made me think of warm biscuits for some reason. Sure it sounds corny but I love biscuits. She picked her books up and walked away.

She’s like a beautiful creature in the wild I thought. You get about ten seconds to see the phenomena then it quickly leaps away into the wild. But this phenomenon was walking right towards me. I was so confused and nervous until I realized the exit was behind me!

She walked my way with a stack of books as high as her upper torso. I wondered how she managed to keep them all balanced. Then I wondered how she managed not to bump into anyone. Could she see? Then she got closer.

I looked away at first, not wanting to be caught staring. Then I realized I was just standing in the middle of the hall like an idiot. How long had I been there I thought. She got closer. Shoot, should I say something I wondered? She glanced my way and my impulses got the best of me. That’s where it started.

 

Day 9 of 30 Blog Challenge: More of Cloud Head

It never ceases to amaze me when a friend mentions they’ve looked at my blog. I’m really proud of myself for finally getting back to blogging daily. I want to take a moment to thank everyone who takes a peek and leaves a like or a comment.Thank you. I do notice. Once I’m finished with school I will be sure to follow back and check out your pages.

I haven’t had much time to work on artwork because today I’ve been studying nonstop for my math final. It’s tomorrow. I’m very excited. Once I ace that test I will be finished with college leveled math for as long as I live. The moment I answer my last problem tomorrow I will be working hard on character and setting concept art for my graphic novel. I’m heading towards the preproduction stage. I want to have something to show on here and my deviantart accound by next week so I’ll be pushing it.

Here’s more of Cloud Head. Enjoy 😀

Sometimes I feel like I’m in a separate but parallel world from the people round’ me. Here I sit yet again with my friends. They’re all talkin’ about what color heels look best with what dress and all. I ain’t’ spoken a word though. I’m just drawin’ stories of my dream man and what not.

I’m just imaginin’ some handsome devil, carryin’ me over some rain puddle. Drawin’ a smooth city boy, openin’ the door to some fancy ol’ restaurant for me. Boy I tell ya. That kind a thing beats any pair of heels any day. Heck I’ll take ol’ fashioned romance over any dress or heels. My friends are probably wonderin’ why I haven’t said what color I like. I’m always so quiet an’ all. But shoot, they don’t get this side of me. No one does, I tell you what. They all say I live in a fairytale world.

The other night, during dinner, my family was all laughin’ and talkin’ bout the trip to Paris we took last summer. A very eventful trip, I tell you what. But I didn’t speak. I was taken by my own imagination just daydreamin’. Picturin’ some gentleman sweet talkin’ me like in the books, treatin’ me like a lady and what not. My family’s friends always ask, “Why she so quiet?” “What’s the matter with, Amy? She’s so quiet.”

Most friends don’t bother anymore. I’m here yet I’m not. I’m like this ghost. I’m sleepin’ yet awake. Waitin’. I’m just so bored.

Why can’t I meet someone like the people in the books or my drawin’s? Why can’t anyone compare to em? I tell my older cousin Julie about my dream of meetin’ some sweet man. She always sayin’ I live in a fairytale world like I’m some lil’ ol’ kid. So I just keep to myself a lot

But you know. Sometimes I feel like one day, somethin’ or someone will come and wake me. Excite me ya know? But when that happens, when I do get woken’ up, I wonder if anyone in my present life will recognize me. They barely know me to begin with. Oh well, I know someone who gets me will show.

I know it. One day, some lucky fella is gonna catch me from fallin’ or hold some umberella over me in the middle of a storm. He’s gonna see what no one else does and understand it. I tell you what, someday, some sweet gentleman is gonna see me and understand what’s inside.

That’s why I draw so much in this ol’ sketchpad of mine. It keeps me hopeful. You see it has all sorts of pictures of me and my dream man. Some pictures show him carryin’ me over some ran puddle. In other drawin’s he’s makin’ me laugh, blush or smile peacefully like I’ve seen some beautiful sunset.

“Amy. Amy.” My friend Sarah Waltz was buggin’ me. She was usually the first to notice my quietness. I felt her pretty and brown hair hang over my shoulder as she leaned over me.

“Wow,” she said. “That’s pretty good. Who is he?”

“Nobody. Just a silly ol’ drawin’ is all.” I hardly ever looked up when I was sketchin’ somethin’.

“Girls. Look. She’s drawing a handsome boy again. Look.” Molly Timber and Sarah Waltz hopped up from Julie’s bed and came over.

Molly Timber and Sarah Waltz were close friends. City girls. Both of em. I met them all through my overly popular cousin, Julie Lockhart. All four of em were really, really pretty. I mean gorgeous. Molly and Sarah were all curvy with long and lovely brown hair. Julie had a nice body too and I envied her hair the most. Long, blonde (dyed) and wavy and it reached her lower back.

I was the weird redhead with a face full of freckles and a weird county dialect. I’m about five foot five, slim I suppose but nowhere near as gorgeous as those ol’ city girls. It frustrated me sometimes, I tell you what.

They all gathered round’ me and started envadin’ my personal space and all. Molly said, “Oh my goodness. He’s so handsome. Who is he?”

“Nobody, I told ya. Now let me be,” I said. I was sittin’ in a chair a lil’ ways away from the bed. Close to Julie’s desk in case I decided to stop drawin’ in my lap. It gets tirin’ on my thighs and shoulders sometimes. I tried to give the ol’ hint and turned from em onto the desk.

Sarah reached over my shoulders and started getting’ all touchy. She grabbed my cheeks and pinched em. “Amy has a secret crush. Amy has a secret crush.” Boy let me tell ya. I hated it when she did that. Always grabbin’ on me.

I swatted her way. “I ain’t got no crush. Now leave me be. Ya made me smudge the shadin’ all wrong.” I started erasin’ my mistake delicately.

“Amy Conrad do you have a secret boyfriend?” It was Julie talkin’ in her overly sweet voice. She always wantin’ to know what boy I was datin’ or who I was likin’. She liked to see how handsome or not so handsome they were and compare em to the entourage of men she had beggin’ to date and even marry her.

I can’t stand it. Marry! I could barely find a decent guy and she had boys from left to right tossin’ her rings and what not. She never said yes though. Julie always ends up breakin’ some poor man’s heart.

“I ain’t got no boyfriend and I ain’t got no crush” I said softly. I turned to the picture feelin’ sad for myself an’ all. Julie had a better chance with a man like that on her worst day than I did on my best day. I started tuggin’ at my curly locks. Nervous habit and such.

Julie said, “Well what about Richardson? The boy with a boat. He was really cute. What happened, didn’t you enjoy your date with him? He says you haven’t called him back.”

I huffed. “The boat was nice and all. But.” I hesitated to speak. Julie said, “But what? What, Amy?”

I said, “All he did was talk about his cars and how his dad was some fancy ol’ CEO of a company. He didn’t let me talk or anything. When we went out to eat he didn’t pull out my chair or even open the door for me. When I told him about my college career he just kept going on about sports cars. He just ain’t my type is all.”

Julie did her signature heavy sigh and tilted her head back. She walked over to me and said, “Amy what’s not to like about him? He’s rich, his father is well connected and the boy is gorgeous. Wow. This is really good.”

She took my drawin’ when I stopped to clean my eraser. That’s the type of gal she was. Assumin’ it’s ok to just take somethin’ of mine. I didn’t yell at her though. I had a lot of love and respect for Julie. She let me move in with her so I could attend university.

She said, “Who is this boy? I haven’t seen him before.”

“Cause he don’t exist,” I took the sketchpad and closed it. “Just a fantasy that I’m waitin’ to come true.” I couldn’t help but watch her brush her hair in her beautiful black dress. She was gettin’ ready for a date.

“You can’t keep living in this fairytale world of yours Amy. I mean come on. It’s the 21^st century for crying out loud. You won’t call Richardson because he didn’t open a door for you? Come on.”

I said, “It ain’t no fairytale. Some boy values chivalry and he’s lookin’ for a lady like me who respects that. I ain’t gonna compromise my dream for nobody. Richards is rude and selfish, I tell you what.”

Molly and Sarah were laughin’ softly to themselves behind me. Julie came to me and said, “I’m not going to compromise my dream for anyone. Stop talking like that Amy. You’re not out in the country anymore. No man wants a woman who sounds uneducated.”

Day 8 out 30 Blog Challenge: Cloud Head

This is four or so pages from a book I’m writing called “Cloud Head”. While I was taking creative writing last semester I played around with character voices. The product was one of my newest characters, Amy Conrad. She’s a girl who was born and raised on a farm in Tennessee. Naturally she has an accent and after she moves into the city with her cousin, Julie, it shows heavily.

I personally welcome feedback and comments on this post because I want to know if her accent is written too heavily or anything. Aside from that I’m still working on concept art for my graphic novel. I’m very excited about this. Once I take my math final Saturday I’ll have more time to work on it. For now here’s some of Cloud Head. Enjoy!

Julie laughed away, “Oh my gosh, Brock! You’re so freakin’ funny, holy cow! Isn’t he funny, Amy?” I could’ve barfed at her integrity. That girl had liar written all over her pretty face. Made me wonder if she was like that with all them other boys. Fake and such. Adaptin’ to the boys she met like some lizard just to get a man. To tell you the truth, it made me feel like a phony just sittin’ there.

Thankfully I didn’t have to lie cause the waiter brought us food. I ordered these spicy chicken tenders with French fries. It was the closest thing to Cajun food that I could think of. Didn’t want to upset Julie by askin’ if they had any country dishes. Heaven forbid I ask for somethin’ I actually enjoyed. They weren’t half bad though.

As I was eatin’ Mark said, “Whoa, Texas. You sure do have an appetite on you. Do you want the rest of my fries?” I shook my head no and smiled. Julie was watchin’ me an all. Tryin’ to keep me in check. I just ignored her as usual.

“Well can I get you desert, Texas? They have this Oreo cheesecake that’s out of this world. You would love it.”

It took a lot not to blow up on him. Did the boy even know my name? The more he talked the more frustrated I got with Julie but more of myself. I was sittin’ there with a skimpy dress on, eatin’ food I didn’t want and being some lil’ ol church mouse. Not speakin’ an all. I would a brought my sketchpad if I knew it was gonna be that way.

He said, “Are you alright, Texas? Is your food cold?”

I lost my cool, I’ll tell ya what. I put my fork down and said, “Boy my name is Amy and I ain’t from Texas. Who taught you how to speak to a lady anyhow? You ain’t ask me how my day was or what I like or nothin’.”

Julie said, “Amy!” I looked at her as she shot me the ol’ look. You know that look your mother gives ya when you’re about to do somethin’ you got no business doin’? Yeah, that look. I could have choked ol’ Julie. I have my limits and boy let me tell ya, Julie was pushin’ me to em.

“Sorry, Mark,” I said. “You a fine boy an all. But I just ain’t the girl for you. Sorry I embarrassed you, Julie. I’ll just get a cab home. You all enjoy your evenin’. I’m really sorry, Julie.”

She shook her head and waved. “It’s fine, Amy. Just go home and get some sleep or something. I’ll see you when I get home. Do you have money for the cab?”

“Yeah. Thanks though. I’ll be fine getting’ home. It ain’t too far away.” I walked away after I put my jacket on. I felt like a complete idiot or somethin’. Just like I thought. I had no business comin’ out that stupid house in that stupid ol’ dress. I felt like cryin’ to be honest. Why was it a crime to just be myself? Boy when I got home, I was bout to draw up about ten books.

But before that I had to go to the lil’ girls room. I had been holdin’ it in since I got to the place. Julie would have called me rude or somethin’ for leavin’ the table. As soon as I walked out I bumped into some guy’s tough chest. I nearly fell on my rear. When I stumbled back he took my hand and caught me. It was a firm but delicate hold. He pulled me up gently and held me.

“Sorry about that. I should pay attention to where I’m going. Are you ok, Miss?” Boy. His eyes were the most heart-warming spectrums I had ever laid mine on. Deep brown. When the light hit em you could see the color. Brown. Just like rich honey.

“Miss, are you ok? I didn’t hurt you did I?”

I couldn’t even speak. His voice wasn’t really deep, but it was very manly. Like he could’ve been some leader of an army or some superhero. I felt his soft yet firm touch on my hand and back, not too low but in the middle to support me. Boy if I was ice, this man would have melted me away.

I began to stutter and what not. “I…I’m fine. You, I, are you alright? I ain’t hurt you did I?”

“Yes actually. It did.”

I gasped and started panickin’ like a lil’ girl. “I did? Shoot. I’m sorry mister. My night ain’t goin’ too well and my mind is all worn out. I stormed out of that restroom not lookin’ nowhere. I’m sorry. Really. I am.”

He smiled a lil’. Man, he had the whitest teeth I had ever seen. All shiny and what not. The more I stared the warmer I got all over. He had this soft and brown skin. Remindin’ me of warm chocolate mama used to make me when I was lil’.

He laughed a lil’ and said, “I was joking, miss. No harm done.” He stood me up straight and boy I tell ya, I nearly latched right back onto em. I never said I was ok to stand. Quickly I grabbed my ankle sayin’, “Ouch. Oh my foot.” Then I lost my balance and actually did fall. Makin’ a fool out of myself.

Then he caught me. He caught me. Right in his strong arms. Oh my goodness I nearly lit the whole room on fire. My heart started racin’ all fast and I might’ve been shakin’ a bit. That boy was given me the ol’ goosebumps. But these goosebumps and excuse my language, but they felt damn good.

He said, “Whoa. Watch your step. Are you alright? You would have hit your head pretty hard. Here.” He stood me up. “Is your foot sprained?” I couldn’t speak. That handsome devil had me tongue-tied. I just stared, couldn’t look away worth a lick. Say something Amy. Say something. Anything gosh darn it!

“My, I um…I’m Amy Conrad.” It’s all my love struck brain could fire out. He smiled at me. When he smiled his eyes narrowed as light twinkled in them. All I could look at was his lips. So soft and full. Shoot. No boy had ever moved me like that before, I’ll tell you what. I didn’t even know that boy’s name and I wanted to kiss em! All I could think about was not letting him let me go. Don’t let that boy let you go, Amy. But I could barely focus my mind!

“It’s nice to catch you from falling, Amy Conrad. I’m…” Before he could speak someone called him. He looked away towards a group of guys. They looked more like the guys Julie was with. But he was different. Not just the way he looked. Skin color and all. But the way he spoke and the way he carried himself. So proper yet humble. So polite yet manly. Calm like a river and firm like an oak tree. This boy was special.

He looked at me. “Amy are you ok to stand?”

I stopped pretendin’ to be hurt. I stood. “Yes. I’m fine. Thanks. You a real sweet boy for catchin’ me an all.”

“Hey come on Shakespeare! Let’s get going. We have to celebrate.” One of his friends was calling for em.

“Those are my friends,” he said. “They went through the trouble of setting up this big night for me. It’s pretty special. If this were any other time I’d spend some time trying to learn more about a lady like you. You’re gorgeous you know.”

I nearly choked. “Me?” I even pointed to myself.

He shook his head. “That’s right. You, Amy Conrad. You look amazing. Have a good evening all right? Try not to fall again. We don’t want you ruining that sweet face.” He waved, winked and turned away. Damn, and sorry for my language but I think he stole my breath. Swept me right off my feet. By the time he joined his friends it hit me that I didn’t know his name.

 

 

 

Day 6 of 30 Blog Challenge

Hello Bloggers and writers. This blog challenge is working pretty well for me. I’ve posted 6 days in a row now. I’ve been working on things to post and show as far as current projects go. Two nights ago I finished another draft of a book. With that out of the way I can finally focus on my graphic novel more.

Today I worked on concept art for characters and ideas of what story I want to illustrate. I currently have nothing to show. But I will soon. I’m thinking hard about getting a deviantart account for artwork purposes. A lot of my friends have suggested I get one and I think it would be a good way to get my work out there. I will post more on that later.

With nothing more to post about I will share small excerpts from one of the books I’ve been working on. This is from Sky Gazer. It’s a story about a boy who discovers her has angelic powers. He uses those powers to protect the world from the greater evils that threaten it. I started writing this because I wanted to make a story about a super hero.

It happened again today. The pain. It hadn’t left nor did it lessen. The pain was much more excruciating now. Telling mother was the furthest thing from my mind though. She doesn’t need any more bills to pay. We can’t afford a trip to the hospital.

Removing my backpack from my left to right shoulder seemed to lessen the pain. Or maybe I was just playing myself into thinking that. Using both shoulders and putting all of its weight on my back was out of the question. Eventually I just held the bag to my chest with both arms. It wasn’t a heavy bag anyway.

If we had a car like most people then I wouldn’t have to carry a bag filled with books. The walks lasted for half an hour then it was another half hour bus drive to my high school. From there it only took me ten minutes to walk to school.

That day was a rainy one. I liked the rain for some reason. My eyes admired the spiraling shades of grey, black and white in the skies. I loved the way the wind blew water through my curly brown hair. I could stare at the sky for hours.

When I had finally made it to the bus stop, I placed my bag down and stared. Birds danced in the stormy sky. The rain hit my face and the wind added to its cold touch. I loved it. Some people dread thunder storms. But I loved them.

Whenever a storm came, I stood in it. I let the rain hit me and the winds always hugged me. In a way I felt like the storm was washing me. It would rinse my mind from all of my troubles. I watched as the birds danced in the skies. I longed for that. Sometimes, I wish I could fly.

“Move it kid!” A hefty man dressed in trucker’s clothing shoved me out of the way. One after another each person pushed me out of the way. The bus had arrived and they were all in a hurry.

“Sorry,” I said as I looked down. I didn’t like looking people in the eyes. Especially not strangers. It might give them the wrong idea.

“It’s ok, Liel (Lie-ale). Go ahead.” Her voice was soft and comforting. It made you feel warm and at peace, as if things would be alright. Of all the people I’ve ever met, her voice was my favorite. She was my favorite. Elena Orchid. She was one of the regular riders and my classmate at Belle High School.

“Oh. No, ladies first.” I quickly stood out of her way. She was so poetic in appearance. She had on a brown leather coat. Beneath it was a white-cotton dress that reached her knees. As usual she wore these brown ankle boots.

She had long and wavy brown hair that reached past her shoulders. Her face was soft toned and patterned with lovely freckles. I loved her freckles the most. They even covered her arms.

She said, “After all of those rude people pushed you away? No way. You first. It’s fine.”

“A man is defined by his nobility and honor. I honor chivalry and high respect for women. I don’t care how rude those people were to me. Please, Elena. Ladies first.” I still hadn’t looked at her. Not directly.

She said my name. When I met her gaze, I saw that she was smiling softly. Her green eyes seemed to glimmer. “Thank, you.” She spoke kindly. After she got on the bus, I followed. It wasn’t too crowded. When I sat down my back thanked me. The stress had gone away.

Elena laughed when she heard me sigh with relief. I had sat a few seats away because I didn’t want to evade her personal space. We hardly ever spoke but we always shared smiles, laughs and glances. But that day she spoke to me for the first time.

Day 4 of 30. Blog Challenge!

That day I was reminded of the horrifying truth. Humanity was not safe. Our smiles were fake. Our laughs were forced. Our sad truth was we were all terrified and hopeless. For the first time in our existence we were on the edge of extinction. We hid behind gigantic walls made from unworldly metal hoping that the monsters couldn’t get inside. We were fools to think we were safe.

I watched as they broke through the city wall. One by one the giant insects flew inside our city and ate one person after another. All we could do was run and hope the person beside us was the one to get eaten. I deserved to die that day. But she sacrificed herself for me. She was brave when I was a coward. My best friend allowed herself to be eaten so I could live. Shameless.

With her blood on my hands I swore this one single thing. I will erase every single one of those monsters from the face of the Earth…

“No. I’m not letting you.” I began dragging her home. She begged for me to let her go but I refused. “I’m not letting you get yourself killed. I can’t lose you. Nothing can happen while we’re in these walls. We’re safe…”

Then it happened. The entire area went black. Jill and I stared at the ground, trying to figure out why the light had gone out. Then we both looked at the ceiling. It was so frightening. Thousands of gigantic pink eyes were staring at us. Its entire body covered the ceiling.

“It’s…it’s one of them,” I muttered. “It’s a benevolence.” I held her hand trying not to shake. “It can’t get in. The ceiling is too strong. None of them have broken through in over one hundred years.”

It opened its mouth and screamed. It sounded like a woman screaming for her life. It was so loud we had to cover our ears. I was so scared that I got on my knees, shaking. I couldn’t stop staring at it. It had mountains of razor sharp teeth. Its long and purple tongue slithered on the ceiling’s surface as steam came from it. I couldn’t even speak or move.

But Jill stood tall as she pulled out her swords. The blades formed as she stared the monster down.

“If it does come in, I’ll cut the bastard down. I’m not afraid of it. I’m going to be humanity’s savior. I’m going to take back our land, Wyatt. Just you watch.”

The creature screamed again. As soon as it did there was a loud crashing noise followed by fierce shaking from the ground. A wave of dust and debris rushed from the south gate as we heard boulders crash into the buildings. I looked back with fear. The south gate had been destroyed. It was still so quiet but I knew.

“They’re going to get in,” I muttered. “The benevolence are going to come inside and eat us all alive.” I held my head as my body started shaking fiercely. My tears fell one after another.

Jill turned towards the gate. “I’ll kill every last one.” She sprinted off fiercely. My body quickly lurched for her. I raised my hand for her but something stopped me. I was still shaking. With my other hand I placed the one reaching for Jill down. I watched as she ran towards the gate.

In seconds there was screaming and commotion. Everyone began running out of their homes and away from the south gate, trying to escape. I could hear the giants screaming as they attacked people and flew the skies. Soldiers began fighting them off.

Everyone kept racing past me. I was still on the ground staring in Jill’s direction. She had disappeared. More and more screams blasted throughout the city.

I covered my ears. “Make it stop! Make it stop!” I was crying at the top of my lungs. Suddenly my body jumped a few feet up as the ground shook. A gigantic shadow was over me. I looked and for the first time, I saw a benevolence up close.

It had golden hairs all over its massive body. Its head was tiny compared to the rest of its body. It was round and filled with what seemed to be thousands of pink eyes. On its back were four colossal sized wings, flapping rapidly against the air. I could see why they had their name. The creature was, it was beautiful.

I watched as it grinned at me, slowly creeping its way to me on its six legs. Without any warning it let out a horrifying scream. This one sounded like an old man in pain. All I could do was scream. I couldn’t even move. I screamed for Jill to come save me.

The benevolence grinned as its tongue shot at me. I watched as it came feet away. Out of nowhere one of the resistance came and slashed through the tongue. It fell to the ground, burning everything around it as the monster screamed in pain.

The soldier landed in front of me,. “Get out of here kid! Hurry!” But I couldn’t move. All I could do was watch as the monster lunched its head out. The soldier jumped away but another tongue grew from the creature’s mouth. The soldier screamed madly as the tongue burned him alive.

Suddenly I was on my feet running for the north gate. I cried for Jill. She was all I had left and the only one I knew to go to.

I pushed through the people fleeing from the gate. Some tried to pull me with them. “It’s not safe!” They said. But I had to find Jill. When I made it to the gate, I was horrified.

“JILL!!” The right side of her body had been crushed by a bolder. I raced to her. “Jill! Oh no, Jill!”

She smiled and quickly coughed up blood. “Wyatt.” I tried with all of my might to push the bolder off. She was trapped.

She said, “I never got to see it. I never got to see the outside. You were right. Stupid.”

“NO!” I pushed harder and harder. “It’s not stupid! It’s a great dream, Jill. I’m going to help you out of here. Then we’ll go see the outside world together!” I pushed harder and harder.

“Wyatt. I can feel it. I’m going to die. I feel really, really cold and tired. I’m going to die beneath this stupid rock, never to see the outside world.” She was crying.

“No! We’re going to see the outside world together! Now help me push this off of you. Jill I need you! I need you damn it!”

She coughed up more blood. As I tried pushing the rock off, a benevolence caught glimpse of us. Slowly it began crawling towards us.

Jill watched it. “Wyatt. If you stay, the both of us are going to die. You have to run.”

I pushed with all of my might. “No,” I cried. “I’ll run as soon as I get you out of here. I’m not leaving you!”

She said, “I’m not going to be humanity’s savior. Am I, Wyatt?”

“Of course you will be! Stop talking negative and help me!”

As I tried to push, my hands slipped and I ran into the boulder face first. I held my bleeding nose as I fell down, crying pitifully as I bled. The benevolence was a few yards away.

“Wyatt run,” she begged. “I’m done for. But you can live. Wyatt you have to live. Live and someday see the outside world for me. Kill these monsters and become humanity’s savior.” She took off her bkf gear and handed it to me.

I took it slowly. She kept telling me to run as the monster came closer and closer. I had two choices. Run or fight. I knew how to use the gear. My hands shook as I held the bag.

“I can fight. I can fight. I can fight,” I said in tears. I screamed madly as I gave the bolder one last push. But it was useless. The benevolence stood over Jill and I. As I stood, the monster let out the scream of a woman.

The wind behind its scream shot me back several yards. My body slammed against a wooden building. As I fell to the ground I lost my breath. All I could do was watch as the monster dug Jill out. She never screamed. It crushed her with its legs before grabbing her with its tongue. With one gulp, it swallowed her whole. She was gone. Jill Canson, my best friend, my everything had been robbed from me. Eaten alive by one of humanity’s thieves.

Samantha Black: Character Origin and Creation. (Blog Challenge Day 1x)

So far I’m pretty terrible with this challenge. My last post was Saturday and it’s Wednesday. Last night a friend of mine told me I was doing horrible with the challenge. My response was, “You read my blog??”  I was aware that bloggers checked it out but when I found out that a friend looks at it REGULARLY I got pretty touched and inspired. In short I promised her to tackle this challenge hard.

For this post I’ve decided to do a character breakdown for one of my main characters from Love Bleeds Red, Samantha Black. Love Bleeds Red is the second book I’ve decided to try and publish. I’ve decided to write about her character origin and creation to share how I come up with characters. Originally I was going to write about Aliyah Conrad from my debut novel, Hero’s Romance. But I’ve really been into LBR lately so I chose Samantha.

Her character is heavily inspired by a high school crush I had with a girl named, Samantha Goodford who went by Sammi. She was singled out at her school and didn’t have too many friends. Yet she was extremely blissful and happy. Not to mention very attractive. She dressed like a scene kid and had glossy red hair. I thought she was the coolest girl ever and just drew to her. Eventually we got together.

Samantha Black’s character stems from Sammi in a lot ways. Especially the night’s curse. The curse makes virtually everyone including family fear or detest Samantha Black. Complete strangers will avoid or become disgusted with her presence alone due to the bad vibes her energy throws off. To add to that the curse makes her nearly immortal. For two hundred years she had to face solitude and torment until she eventually learned how to blend with humans.

During her second century of being cursed she meets Thomas who for some reason is immune to the effects of her curse. She’s instantly surprised when he sits with her during lunch and quickly gets cautious. She thinks he’s going to be cruel but is again surprised when Thomas is kind and seems genuine in nature. Not only that, he has love for her. His kindness and genuine nature eventually captivates her heart.

What I like the most about this story is that it has a strong mix of realities I’ve lived. Sammi didn’t really have friends until I met her. She wasn’t an immortal vampire or anything supernatural. But as far as solitude and ridicule went Sammi and Samantha are relatable. The only time someone spoke to Sammi was to make fun of her. She had it pretty bad with bullying because she was so different as far as dressing and personality went.

For this book I took a life experience and added fantasy and fiction to it. The outcome was this amazing and mind blowing story filled with unique characters. Samantha Black is my most favored character because I feel that she’s the most original and interesting TO ME. As I put more and more books out I’m sure readers will disagree.

I originally wrote Love Bleeds Red to help Sammi with depression back in high school. She used to hurt herself and it really tore me up. You have this beautiful and amazing person. She’s kind, funny and wouldn’t harm a fly. Yet it seemed like no one could see what I did. No one could understand the beauty I saw. So through a story I showed Sammi what it was I saw. Simplistic beauty.

When I tell people the story behind Samantha Black’s origin they all ask where Sammi is and why I’m not with her. Sammi moved out of the country when we were in high school. For a while we stayed in contact. But over time life just sort of pulled us apart. I do miss her at times though. That’s why I’m glad Samantha Black was created. I will never forget Sammi because part of her became my story. When I finally share the story with the world I’m dedicating it to her. Full name and everything. Maybe one day she’ll read it and remember the story she inspired and all the times I sent her chapter after chapter. Who knows what could happen.

I thought it would be fun to do a post about character creation and give some insight on my process. I feel like that’s one of the questions I get asked the most whenever someone finds out I’m an author. The blunt answer is dreams and life experiences. I have yet to create a meaningful character purely from nothing. Most of my characters are made from some sort of dream I hold or memory I made with someone. Even supporting characters.

That’s pretty much all I have to give about Samantha Black’s creation. I can’t say too much without giving major spoilers. I haven’t given much mention about this story. So I can imagine how confused or intrigued some people will get with her description alone.  I like Samantha Black’s character so much that I’m deeply considering making a graphic novel based on LBR. But that’s another post for another day.