<br /><br />I Did It! - Talien's Tower<br />

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Sunday, November 26

I Did It!

YES! I've finished the first 50,000 words of my new novel, Dun. Unfortunately, that's not nearly enough for a publishable novel. Fortunately, I plotted the novel out quite a bit beyond what I wrote. Now I just need to reach 80,000 words to make it publishable. My goal is the end of the year, but we'll see. Here's the remainder of the sneak preview from the first chapter:

The stewardess hustled forward to deal with the issue. George's gaze followed her until the kicking started again.

BUMP.

At least the baby's not crying, thought George.

BUMP.

George craned his neck. "Where's your mother?"

He knew damn well her mother was right next to her.

BUMP.

There was a strange gurgling sound. George turned around.

The pretty little blonde girl, not more than six years of age, was staring upwards at the screen. But it was completely incongruous with what her hands were doing. They were firmly wrapped around her baby brother’s throat. She slammed the infant's head into the back of George’s seat. Over and over and over, as if it were a reflex, as if it were a nervous tick. George couldn't believe his eyes. He looked searchingly at the mother, but she was nearly catatonic, staring in the same open-mouthed at the screen.

"Jesus Christ!" shouted George. Then all hell broke loose.

* * *

Henry stepped out of the restroom, ready to deal with whatever stupidity drunk kids had concocted that day. But in all of his years of training, he had never expected this.

One man was grappling with his wife, squeezing his fingers into her eye sockets. She shrieked, but the noise was drowned out by the other sounds of calamity throughout the cabin.

A woman was stabbing an older man, over and over, with a pen. It was hard to tell; it could have been a knife, but it was dripping blood. Great ribbons of red pirouetted as she lifted the pen again and again, punching holes in her companion with frantic urgency.

A man, who must have been sleeping, squealed like a pig as a younger child climbed up on his head and nearly tore his nose off with its teeth.

Henry drew his pistol. He didn't know who to shoot first.

Then the plane dipped hard, and for a brief moment the insanity stopped as people were hurled up against the bulkhead and smacked into each other. Breathing masks popped from the overhead compartments.

Henry stumbled backwards, back towards the bathroom stall; the only safe place left.

One man came screaming down the cabin when the plane dipped hard again, this time almost straight down.

"THE KING IS COMING!" he shouted. "THE KING IS COMING!"

Henry recognized him. It was the pilot.