Writing, writing, writing

The last few months I have been writing.

But not on here apparently :)

Between school and books, I have kept myself busy and really have not had much to tell.
I am almost finished with school (a Masters degree) and in this last seven weeks I have never felt like quitting more. It's like senioritis times twenty.

And reading...oh the reading...my husband has been buying me books off of my amazon wish list and I have been blissfully tucking myself away at night with them instead of turning on my computer.


( this one here was great, Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi...looking forward to her second one in the series next year!)

And then there is the writing, one of my favorite and most annoying things ever.
How can something you love drive you so crazy???
Between the five books I have been playing with, I am finding I am my own worst enemy. But, this last week or two I have really thrown myself into SANCTUARY the second installment of the Tainted Trilogy.

I blame it on the fact that I have been walking for an hour every morning listening to my writing music and my imagination has gone wild.
And I am really excited because Sanctuary is really coming together!
I had wanted to already have it finished and published by now because I am really excited about the third book and wanted to get to it....but then I was just rushing through it and it wasn't getting to where I wanted it to.
Annoying.
But then I remembered how much I really love Jemma and Gage and remembered that to have book three be great, then book two needs to build that foundation that is very important in the new world.

Sooooo...in short, I am sorry it is taking so long and as part of my apology, I am going to post a short scene written from Gage's point-of-view. This is the extra that I published at the end of Tainted if you had bought the paperback. But for those of you you only bought the ebook, then this is new.

Basically, I was playing around with the last chapter of Tainted and since the whole thing is from Jemma's perspective, I felt like trying to see from Gage's perspective.....spoiler alert if you have not read the book yet...this is the last chapter after all.....

GAGE

            The rain was finally letting up and I could not help but feel a little relieved, even if it was doing what Preston thought and keeping our scent away from the sick. I was worried about how slick the ground was becoming and had slowly been losing the confidence that I could protect Jemma if I needed to.

            Glancing over my shoulder I saw her struggle a little up the last hill under the weight of Trevor. Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to focus on our surroundings, staying aware and in tune to every sound and movement, slowly making our way towards the light and our only hope at the moment. I would take Trevor and carry him for her, but I already knew her well enough to realize that it would be a pointless attempt.

            When we reached the point of the path where we could finally see below us, I felt my muscles tense, ready to fight. The rest of the group seemed to respond the same way. Only Megan let out a small whimper of lost hope.

            Below us rose the walls that would give us safety. And surrounding those walls were the hundreds of sick bodies that would keep us from that. My mind began to work in over drive, calculating any chance we could have of making it inside without being hurt. The odds were not in our favor. Reaching up I rubbed at my chin, feeling the small stubble that was growing from the days we had spent on the road. Jemma stood beside me now, her green eyes calculating as she thought. Watching her from the corner of my eye, I knew that if anyone was going to survive, I would make sure it was her. I would not let her life be wasted.

            Adjusting the gun in my free hand, I prepared to walk down into the mess below and create a distraction. Maybe it would be enough for the people inside to come to her rescue. Maybe it would be all that was needed for Jemma and everyone else to make it inside.

            Before I could move, I saw Jemma square her shoulders.

            “Gage, leave the pack here. We won’t need it anymore.” Jemma adjusted Trevor, cradling him closer to her.

 I looked at her unsure, but took the pack off and slid it under a bush.

“See the tree line over there? We need to make our way through there and then I think we can sprint across the dirt. It looks like there is a gate on that side that is clear of any infected.” She handed Megan her gun. The look in her eyes was pure determination. She was beautiful.

“Do you want me to take him?” I asked her, trying to calm my racing heart by checking each gun to make sure they were loaded. I didn’t know if my pulse was furious because I was worried about losing the only girl I had ever loved or because we were about to make our way into a horde.

“Not yet.”

Jemma started towards the tree line, followed by Megan and Preston. I took up the rear, making sure to keep my eyes on the bodies to the left. My shoes slid in the mud, but I was able to avoid any roots from the stumps of trees that had recently been cleared. Within minutes we were lined up with a gate that was embedded on the far side of the wall.

“When we get to the side, we will all start shouting for help. Meg, turn on the flashlight and signal up towards the top of the wall. Preston and Gage, fire only when we need to.” Jemma sounded breathless. She was nervous.

I watched as a few of the sick seemed to sense a change. Like they knew we were there and were just trying to figure out where exactly.

“Now!” Jemma half shouted.

We ran as a group, reaching the wall just as a few of the sick turned towards us, stumbling to find us in the dark. We only had minutes left before they were upon us. I was tempted to start firing at them while Jemma and the rest tried to get the attention of the people inside the walls, but I wasn’t sure if I would actually hit anyone. Most likely they would be wasted bullets. Instead, I started shouting with everyone else, firing one bullet into the air.

I was too busy screaming and watching the approaching group to realize what was happening. I didn’t see Jemma hand off Trevor or turn towards Preston. Before I could even comprehend what was happening, Jemma grabbed me and kissed me. I felt stunned as I felt our lips mold together softly before hers hardened and she pulled away, tears brimming her eyes and threatening to run down her cheeks.

Then my heart stopped as she turned and ran towards the crowd of zombies.

To my horror, the horde switched directions. Instead of hunting us, they were now hunting Jemma.

My body and my mind were suddenly at war with each other. As I twisted to follow her and shoot at the things chasing her, I knew that if I did not get her brother and best friend inside, she would hate me forever. Fighting my instinct, I dug my feet into the mud and fired at a few of the backs of the heads of the sick, screaming at the top of my lungs. Several bodies dropped and fell still in the mud. It wasn’t until I stopped screaming that I realized there was gun fire coming from the top of the wall.

Tearing my eyes away from where Jemma was running, I saw the gate start to crack. For me, that was enough. I turned and sprinted for the tree line, running up the side of the mass of sick and hoping to get to where Jemma was before it was too late. Cutting through the bushes, I felt something twist around my ankle, yanking me to the floor.

My eyes were blinded by the darkness but I could feel thin strong fingers wrapping into the hem of my jeans. Kicking with my free leg, I made contact with something soft. The fingers around my leg loosened and I took advantage of it, scooting back quickly and jumping back up.

“Crap!” I couldn’t see Jemma. But the crowd was beginning to beat on one of the abandoned busses. She had to be there. And if they were still trying to get to her, it meant she was still alive.

I felt a rush of renewed strength and quickly made my way through the last half of the trees. The back side of the bus was not yet swarming with bodies and I saw a few of the windows were half way down. Using my belt, I tied my gun to my back and hunched down, getting up under the window without being seen.

Jumping as high as I could, I reached for the open window. My muscles spasmed but I could hear Jemma scream inside. Using my feet, I pushed against the bus and pulled my body up through the window, tumbling head first inside and banging my ear against the side of the metal seat frame.

 “Gage?” Jemma had fallen back into a seat across from me, fear etched into her face. Hastily looking over the bus and realizing the sick were still outside, I bent over, placing my hands on my knees and trying to catch my breath. The window had been a lot higher than I had expected and my ear that I had hit was buzzing. I watched as confusion and happiness crossed through her eyes before she settled on being angry.

“What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be safe behind that wall right now, taking care of Preston and Meg and Trevor!” Jemma reached up and smacked my arm. I lightly grabbed her wrist as it came in the second time. Even with the dead shaking the bus, all I could think about was how she had kissed me before she ran and how badly I wanted to pull her close to me right now and kiss her back.

Mud streaked her clothes and rain and tears had dried to her face. With her blonde hair knotted at the nape of her neck and her eyes wild and alive, I couldn’t think of any other place I would rather be. Definitely not without her behind the safe walls.

“What? You get to be the only hero? I can’t have you showing me up like that. I’ll never be able to live it down.”

“Gage, I’m not planning on making it out of here.”

“Yeah well, I didn’t get to kiss you back.” If only she knew how much I loved her. A smile played at her lips and then she said the three words I had been waiting to hear. The ones that made everything worth it.

 “I love you.”

I smiled at her, ignoring the hands that were reaching in through the windows. My legs felt weak. Reaching for her hand, I pulled her into one of the benches, tucking her back away from any open window. Reaching back, I undid my gun and laid it across my lap. I wasn’t sure how much time we had left, but I would make sure that she was safe as long as I could.

Jemma was the one to break the silence.

“Did they make it?” She whispered.

I waited a moment, not wanting to lie to her, but wanting her to have some sense of hope. “When you took off, it took me a moment to realize what you were doing. I was torn, knowing you would want me to stay. But as soon as the gate started to open, I took off.”

She seemed satisfied. Leaning her head against my shoulder, I bent down, brushing my lips against her forehead. A few more minutes would have been ideal, but then again, it would have been ideal to not be in this situation at all. The bus suddenly rocked as the bodies outside became too many. The bus tipped sideways and our backs slammed against the windows as they shattered, sending glass shards over us.

The sick were now inside.

Letting go of Jemma, I grabbed for my gun and leaned around the seat, firing as the horde made its way inside towards us.

At my feet Jemma called my name, but her voice sounded weak and distant.

“I’m right here Jemma,” I called back. But she didn’t answer. Panicking I looked down. She was still breathing, but blood was coming from her head.

“Jemma!” I called her name again, trying to get her to look at me. I heard a snarl and looked up as body lunged at me, its nails scraping down my cheek. I swung my fist back, nailing him square in the jaw and throwing him back far enough that I was able to get my gun back up and release several shots, killing the guy in front of me.

The others were not far behind him. Bending down I reached to check Jemma’s pulse. It was faint, but she was still alive.

Suddenly the air around me grew hot and the area around me lit up so brightly that I was forced to cover my eyes with my free hand. The heat was so strong that my ears began to hum and I almost missed the sounds of humans yelling above the screeching of the sick.

“Jemma,” I said again as I reached down to scoop her limp body into my arms. I leaned back, forcing her head to rest against my chest. Looking down, I could see where the blood was coming from, but if I pulled out the chunk of glass, it may bleed more.

“Help!” I screamed. “We’re in here!” There had to be someone out there. They had to be coming for us. Within seconds the last of the sick dropped dead, a gunshot to the back of the head.

And behind them, was a wall of men dressed in all black.

............................