This is Partially Your Fault

Not long ago, I had the pleasure of reading the first chapter of a friend's book. He has been chewing on the story for the last few years and finally buckled down to get it on paper.

It was worth the wait.

It is a fantasy tale stretching across at least three books and is very unique. I haven't been a hard-core fantasy reader since high school, but I haven't stumbled across anything really like it before.

He has quite a task ahead of him, though. I'm not going to go into much detail because it is his story to tell, but for his first book he has chosen to world-build, have characters jump worlds, and created a mythos that is nearly as large as our universe is wide.

Oh, and there's time manipulation. Did I mention that?

He has bitten off more than I'm capable of chewing as an author and I wish him luck.

Now, to the purpose of this.

Not only did he let me read the first chapter, he encouraged me to edit it. Poor guy didn't know what he was getting himself into.

I haven't done much editing of other people's work since high school (I had a friend refuse to let me work on her papers anymore because I essentially tore them apart... nicely, I'm not a mean person), so I enjoyed the challenge.

It took me nearly 2 1/2 hours to get through the chapter.

Now, it's not because it was terrible. Quite the contrary. He can set-build (don't know if there is an actual term for it in writing, but basically where the author builds the setting in which the action is happening) exquisitely. I wish I was half as good as he is at that. The action flowed fairly well and it did a good job setting up the rest of the book.

But he had a lot of mistakes that I made when I started writing: $5 words tossed in haphazardly, wooden dialogue, words tripping all over each other, and unnecessary commas all over the place.

From Authors Pay it Forward
Still better off than Yorick

When I think there are too many commas, that means there is probably three times as many commas as necessary... I do love my commas... and ellipses.

He and I are both guilty of writing how it's "supposed" to be written instead of using our own voices.

Most of those things will be fixed with time and practice. Some will take some research (hello, Google, my old friend), and a lot of it will smooth into his own personal style.

I love watching authors develop their stories, characters, and voices (especially when I'm not the one writing) and I hope he lets me stick around to help when I can.

The first thing I wrote on my comments sheet was "Everything I write is suggestion and my opinion. You can use or ignore anything you want. You won't hurt my feelings. You're the author and you hold the power!"

This is something I tell everybody. I don't want to make them feel like I hated their writing or that everything they're doing is wrong. Writing is so subjective that it is difficult to distinguish right from wrong (except spelling and some grammar rules, and even those are somewhat gray).

The very last thing I want to do is crush a budding writer, especially one who has an amazing story locked inside his head.

A story that I am desperate to read so hurry the hell up, man and get it done!!

Writing Prompt I: "I saw him. The boy I had to kill" (pt. 5)

Two nice humans, but I was ready to go home.

I needed to find the Bringer quickly so I could.

I felt my energy drop suddenly and staggered to a dark doorway. I crouched in the shadows as I pulled the cord from my chargecell and plugged it into my disguise’s bellybutton. I watched the humans walking by as my power was restored. Tonight, I learned that there were really bad humans but there were also nice ones.

This gave me an idea. Would they be able to help me find the Bringer? I had his picture. I simply had to ask. Somebody might know where I would be able to find him. I just had to locate some of the nice ones.

Not an easy task on this planet.

I unplugged the cord and stood. I pulled out my communication device and found the picture of the Bringer as I stepped into the crowd of humans. I walked a few feet, then stopped next to a male selling those large papers with tiny writing on them and thin, shiny books with faces on the covers. “Excuse me, might know you this person?”

The male frowned at me. “What?”

“You know him?” I held up the picture.

“What? No! Get out of here, foreigner.” The male lashed out with one of the rolled up papers with writing on it, hitting me hard on the forehead.

I walked away, confused by the male’s reaction. He was hostile when I asked about the Bringer. It made me wonder if he knew him and hated him. Surely, if I told him that I was planning on destroying the Bringer, he would be willing to help. I turned around.

“My apologize sir,” I held up the picture again. “But would you hate him for I must end him.”

“What? Jesus, man! Don’t go around confessing you’re going to kill people! Now I have to call the cops on you, don’t move!” The man ordered and turned his attention to his own communication device.

I knew from my research disks that ‘cop’ was the police and I needed to stay away from them. I waited for the male to look away from me so I could escape. When he did, I ran down the block and around the corner. I leaned against a brick wall until my breathing returned to normal. Sharing my plan with an unknown was a beginner’s mistake and I hoped that nobody in my unit ever found out. I straightened my back and stepped away from the wall. I needed to finish this mission without delay and with no more mistakes.

I walked a few meters down the street and stopped a female pushing a cart full of strange items. “Ma’am, might know you him?” I asked, showing her the picture.

“My baby! It’s my baby!” She screamed as she threw her arms around me.

She smelled terribly and I did not appreciate being accosted a second time that day. I carefully untangled myself from her grasp and walked quickly away. If she thought I was her offspring, I did not want any information she might have on the Bringer. It would probably be incorrect.

Suddenly, I recalled the old female the Bringer had bowed to. Surely she would know where I could find him. I spun in a circle-only getting hit by humans twice-to get my bearings, then set off in the direction I thought the small shop the female had occupied was in. After wandering the area for nearly an hour, I realized I did not remember exactly where the shop was located and that most of the businesses around me were closing.

I sped up my search. I did not know how long the female would be in the shop, but I did not want to be on this planet one moment longer than necessary.

I was just beginning to worry that I was lost yet again when a wave of smells hit me and I sneezed. I looked up through leaking eyes to find myself in front of the exact shop I was looking for.

The old female was at the front window turning a placard to ‘Closed.’ In my desperation, I pushed on the door. When it did not budge, I knocked, trying to get her attention.

The old female waved her hands at me so I waved again. She marched to the door, turned a knob and pulled it open a few inches. “I’m closed. What do you want?”

I was temporarily distracted by her garments. They were brightly colored and covered with small, shiny disks. She also had a piece thrown over her shoulder almost like what the humans with special abilities wore in the research disks, but hers was much smaller.

“What do you want?!” She nearly shouted at me.

“My apologize.” I held up my communicator so she could see the picture of the Bringer. “Might know you where I find him?”

“Why are you looking for Akhilesh?”

“I need him to find.”

The female frowned, her brown, wrinkled skin somehow became wrinklier. “You need him to find what?”

I stared at her, not completely understanding her question. “I must him find.”

“You need to find him?” The female glared at me.

I nodded. “Yes. I must him find. You know location of him?”

Her eyes narrowed. “What do you need to find Akhilesh for?”

I shook my head at the frustrating female. Why would she not tell me what I needed to know? “I must him find,” I repeated.

“Akhilesh is a good boy! I will not have him getting into whatever you are doing! Criminals coming around trying to get Akhilesh to carry their drugs or to steal things for them!” She waved her hands in front of my face before shoving me away from her door and slamming it shut.

I stumbled down the step and fell into the street. I heard a tearing sound and knew that I had ripped my newly cleaned garments. I turned to look back at the female. She was pointing a finger at me and looked very angry.

“He’s going to college! He is doing great things with his life! Go away!” She yelled through the glass hand waved her hands at me again before turning and disappearing into the dark store.

I carefully got to my feet, worried I had hurt myself in my fall, but thankfully nothing hurt too badly. I felt better than when the two men had accosted me earlier in the night.

This planet is not a safe one. It was a wonder that any humans survived more than a few days. I turned, not paying attention to where I was walking, I just knew I had to stay close to the shop. The angry old female seemed to know the Bringer and was trying to protect him from somebody called ‘Criminals.’ I would have to find him before ‘Criminals’ did to complete my mission so I could leave.

I was lost in thought when a loud sound coming from one of the human’s large transportation vehicles startled me. I realized that I had just stepped in front of it and it had nearly run me over. It will be a good day for the universe when the humans discover hover technology and stop relying on gravity and wheels for general transportation.

I backed onto the curb to wait for the traffic to subside when a male wearing a blue garment on his head across the street from me caught my eye.

It was him. The Bringer. I finally found him.

I closed my eyes and bowed my head, giving thanks to the Supreme Being for letting me find him and bring an end to this trip.

I looked up, half expecting the Bringer to have slipped away from me once again, but no, he was still there but he was moving away from me. I would not let him escape again. I felt an uncustomary rage build up inside of me at everything I had endured on this trip. All thoughts of a quiet kill burned away in my anger. I pulled my weapon from my pocket with my right hand and took ahold of the transcarrier around my neck with my left.

I ran into the street, dodging transporters and ignoring the loud beeps they were making. I plowed through the crowd, not caring how many humans I hit or angered. Finally, he was close enough that I could touch him. I raised my weapon instead.

“Bringer!” My yell was loud and full of hate. The humans around me stopped and stared at me, including the Bringer. “Bringer! You will not end my people!”

“What?” The Bringer looked around, as if I was talking to someone else.

“You will not end my people!” I shouted and pressed a button on my weapon. A blast of energy hit the Bringer in the chest and he vaporized. I activated my transcarrier and was back on my ship before the other humans could react. I stumbled to the navigation panel and slammed my hand onto the blue panel that would take me home. I collapsed to the floor as my ship broke through the roof of the police’s shelter and into the stars.

My people were safe and I was going home.

Home.

The End.

Writing Prompt I: "I saw him. The boy I had to kill" (pt. 4)

For the first time since I landed on this planet, I felt visible to every human I passed. Females were covering their noses and hurrying away, males were frowning at me, all avoided coming in contact with my filthy garments.

“Oy!”

I heard a man yell the unfamiliar word and assumed he was ordering me away from him, but he stepped in front of me and would not let me pass. “Excuse me, sir.” I attempted a second time to step around him but he moved with me, refusing to let me go.

“Boy, you reek to high hell.”

“Apologies.” I exhaled. I had never felt lower than I did and this human telling me I smelled bad was not helping. “I was accosted and my garments were ruined, but I have not money and males hit me.”

The man put a hand on my shoulder. “Robbed eh? Well, here, get to a laundromat- there’s one down the block- and get cleaned up.” The man put some scraps of paper in my hand and turned me to face the direction I had just come from.

I recognized the paper as Earth currency but I was not familiar with ‘laundromat.’ I turned to ask for clarification but the man was gone. I shrugged, much liking the human gesture and started walking. He was one of the first nice humans I had encountered and at that point, I was willing to trust somebody. I walked, trying to ignore the human’s reactions to my condition and stopped when I found glowing letters spelling ‘laundromat.’ I pulled open the door and was greeted by loud machinery and a clean, perfume smell.

I looked around and saw two females around my disguise’s age putting garments into a large white cube. An older male was pulling wet garments from a similar cube and putting them into a larger cube with a clear door on the front. I was far from the mood to attempt to figure out the machines myself to keep up my disguise.

“Might, please someone assist me cleaning garments.” The old male ignored me but the two females glanced my way. One laughed and shook her head, the other shrugged and walked over to me.

“Where is your laundry?” She stared at me for a moment. “You’re wearing it, aren’t you?” She exhaled and led me to a white cube in the corner. “It’s kind of private back here, strip down. Do you have quarters and soap?”

I frowned at her, confused. “Quarters of what?”

She pulled a handful of silver disks out of her pocket that I vaguely recognized as a form of Earth currency.

“Oh, I have not quarters.” I held up the paper the man had given me. “Will work this?”

“Sure, I’ll get you quarters… and some soap.” She pulled the paper out of my hand and walked to a machine near the door.

I carefully started removing my garments, hoping my disguise would still work without them. I was glad that I remembered a short research recording featuring someone named Mark who would go out with undergarments showing or I would not have known that humans wore clothing under their clothing. I had gotten a pair of undergarments like the ones Mark had warn. They were like close-fitting pants but stopped at the tops of the legs. Not the most comfortable things, but it was what humans wore.

I was embarrassed at being unclothed. It was my understanding that humans did not go out in public in just undergarments and my removing my outer garments did not follow their social rules. But I did not think I would fit into the white cube to wash my garments without taking them off.

A human had ordered it and I had no other choice so I did as directed.

I removed my shirt and pants and placed them into the large cube. Thankfully, my undergarment seemed to have remained cleaner than my outer garments during the incident and did not need to be cleaned. I pressed a few of the buttons on the cube, but nothing happened.

“Soap helps when you’re doing laundry or your clothes will just be wet and not clean.” The female laughed as she returned with an orange packet and silver disks. “Plus, you have to pay.” She ripped open the orange packet and dumped white powder on my garments inside the white cube, then closed the lid. She put four of the silver disks into a drawer on the top of the cube and pushed the drawer into the machine. It clicked and I could hear a rushing sound. She pushed two buttons on the control panel. “Wash your clothes in cold unless you’re doing underwear. It’ll keep your regular clothes from shrinking too much.” She leaned against the cube and crossed her arms. “This’ll take about an hour and then just put it in the dryer.” She bit her lip as she studied me. “Just call me over and I’ll help you.” She held out her hand. “I’m Daisy.”

“My appreciative, Daisy.” I looked at her hand, not sure what she was doing.

“Not from around here, are you?” Daisy laughed as she grabbed my hand and moved it up and down a few times before releasing it.

“No. I am from France!” I may have spoken too loudly in my panic because her eyes widened slightly.

“Cool. I spent last summer in Paris. It was pretty awesome.” She stared at me and I stared back at her, not sure what she wanted. “Alright, well, just call my back when this beeps.” She walked across the room back to her companion.

I stared at the white cube, unsure what to do next. The old man had finished moving his garments into what I assumed was what Daisy called a dryer and had sat down on a bench with a large paper covered in tiny writing. I had no large paper, but there was a bench nearby. I sat and made sure nobody was watching when I pulled my communication device out of my leg. I tapped the screen a few times and read about what was happening on Ooden. I was caught up in the news from my home planet that I nearly yelled when the large cube holding my clothes beeped loudly. I pressed my communication device back into my leg, stood, and walked over to the cube. I looked up to call Daisy but she was already walking toward me.

She opened the cube and pulled my shirt and pants from it. They looked cleaner and smelled better than before, so I approved of the cube.

“Now, for the dryer, it can be a little testy. As long as you don’t put your clothes in here for too long, you’ll be fine.” She pulled a door open on one of the larger cubes nearby and shoved my garments into it. She closed it, dropped three silver disk into a shelf like what was on the smaller cubes, pushed it in, and turned a dial on the front. “Since it’s such a small load, 30 minutes should be fine. A larger load will take longer. Don’t ever put wool in a dryer. Here.”

She ended her instructions with a smile as she dropped a handful of the silver disks onto my palm.

I held out my empty hand like she had done. “I appreciative this very lot.”

She took my hand and moved it like she had done before. “No problem. It’ll take some time and a few ruined bits of clothes to learn how to do laundry, but you’ll get there. Good luck.” She patted my bare shoulder then walked back to her companion. They both picked up large white boxes with holes in them full of clothing and left the laundromat.

Two nice humans in a row. Maybe this planet was not all bad.

I resumed reading about Ooden on my communication device until the dryer beeped. I was not as startled this time. I pulled my garments back on. They were warm and it felt good being clothed once again. I put my communication device in one pocket, the silver disks in the other, and left the laundromat.

Two nice humans, but I was ready to go home.

I needed to find the Bringer quickly so I could.

To be continued...

Writing Prompt I: "I saw him. The boy I had to kill" (pt. 3)

The smaller male put his face in mine, his nose nearly touching mine. “Hello, freak. We think you might have something worth something and we want it.”

I frowned, confused by his meaning. “I have no something worth something, sir.” I desperately pressed my communication device and weapon hard enough into my leg to be absorbed by my disguise. The two ruffians could turn me upside down and shake me and they would not find the last of my equipment.

This was not the way an assassin of the Xans was supposed to greet an opposing force, but Earth had caused me trouble after trouble and I just wanted to be alive to go home. If pandering to these two would allow that, so be it. Plus, they were not the ones I was sent to kill. My unit leader liked saying “An assassin who leaves a trail of bodies behind them is no assassin. They are a simple butcher.” It sounds scarier in my language.

“Come on. Give us your wallet.”

“What is my wallet?” I asked.

“What?” The male squinted at me. “You seriously don’t know what a wallet is? Do you know what money is?”

I nodded. “I do. It is currency used to purchase goods and services in an economic system not dictated by bartering or the exchange of goods for goods and services.”

The male frowned and shook his head. “Yeah. Whatever. Hand it over.”

“My hand, sir?” I held out my hand, not sure what he was asking.

“No, give me your money!” He shouted slowly as if I were without logic.

“Oh, my sorries, sir. I have not money.”

“You don’t have any money?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“How?” He stared at me with his mouth hanging open again. If he kept that up, something was going to get in it. Maybe it was his way of catching food. It seemed unlikely with all of the stores I had seen with human food in it, but humans were illogical creatures. “Whatever. Give me your cell.”

This next demand was not familiar to me. I could not possibly give him a cell of tissue, they are too small to extract without special equipment and may be toxic to humans, plus, my disguise made it nearly impossible to reach any of my tissue without removing the entire thing. I was also not large enough to carry a cell for locking a person up in. “I do not know this meaning of cell.”

“Your phone!” He shouted, pulling his communication device from his pocket. Two wires dangled from it, much like the ones I had seen on other humans walking down the street.

“These wires! What are for?” I asked, reaching for them. The male jerked them out of my reach.

“What?” The male stared at me, then looked to the larger male. The larger male shrugged and shook his head before the smaller male turned back to me. “They’re earphones.”

“Earphones?”

“Use them to listen to music.”

“Ah, I enjoy the music. Something called Gaga Deathpunch.”

“Gaga Deathpunch? What?! What is wrong with you?! Are you retarded?”

I gasped. The Agency had a list of words to never use for nearly every planet we visit. That was on the rather short list of words for Earth. “That is disrespectful word for to call persons! Apologize!”

“I’m not apologizing to you, twerp.”

“You are rude!” I tried to leave but the larger male pushed me back against the wall.

“And you’re dumb,” the smaller male said as he hit me in the face with his fist.

My eyes immediately started leaking water no matter how much I tried to keep them from doing it. The larger male hit me in the stomach with his fist and I doubled over, unable to breath. Oodenites can survive with lower concentrations of oxygen that what is on Earth but we still needed it to live. The smaller male hit me again and I fell to the ground.

“Check his pockets,” the smaller male ordered and the larger man complied. He grunted when he did not find anything. The smaller male hooked a finger under the chain holding my transcarrier and both of my hearts stopped briefly. He slowly pulled so my transcarrier was outside of my shirt. He made a strange sound and let the chain drop. “Junk. Nothing.” He swung his leg and his foot connected with my midsection, causing more leaking and less breathing.

I was nearly certain these two human males had just killed me.

I watched them walk away and continued to lay in the refuse in the alley until the light began to dim. It was embarrassingly long before I realized it was the sun setting and not my life leaving me.

I also began to realize that my midsection hurt less than it had and I was breathing easier. I slowly sat up and scrubbed the water from my face with the sleeve of my shirt. I looked down at my human clothes and was dismayed to see how soiled they had become.

Since my disguise manipulator had been calibrated incorrectly, it would not project clothes onto the outside of my disguise and I was left with no option when I arrived than procuring ones from a human store. I had taken a few sets of pants and shirts after nightfall, using the research recordings for reference. I was disappointed to see no capes in the stores I visited. I much wanted to look like the humans with the special abilities, but they must have a special store where they find their clothes.

Now, with my ship in police control, I could not return there for clean garments and must procure more from a store. It would be risky attempting it again. I did not want to get caught by the police.

I struggled to my feet and exited the alley, planning to find a store I could easily enter after closing to obtain new clothes.

            For the first time since I landed on this planet, I felt visible to every human I passed.

To be continued... 

Writing Prompt I: "I saw him. The boy I had to kill" (pt. 2)

The police have my ship. Police was human for law enforcer. Even on my planet outright murder was wrong and that is exactly how they would see my presence on their planet as. They would not see it as a necessary killing to save billions of lives. And I was an “alien.” I had scoffed at the term when I heard it while watching one of the research recordings. I had assumed it was the human word for the specific slim-covered creature that kept eating people on the ship but I had eventually learned it was their word for any being not from their planet. And one of the research recordings said that the humans had a group whose job was to hunt down aliens and dissect them.

Abruptly, my strength drained away. I slouched against the window but knew I had to find a secluded spot to recharge. I stumbled away with my hand against the wall until I found a narrow alley between the buildings. It did not smell the best, but it was the closest place I felt safe enough to power-down the few minutes it would take. I hoped I was not infected with an Earth disease. I was needing to recharge more frequently here than I ever have at home. I could usually go nearly an Earth week on one charge whereas I have had to recharge at least twice a day since I arrived. I hoped it was the atmosphere or maintaining the disguise that was causing it.

I crawled into a small space between two large, smelly, metal containers and rested against the wall. I pulled up my pant leg to get to the chargecell strapped to my ankle. I pulled the retractable cord out and plugged it into the port disguised as a human belly button.

Oodenites are Carbon-based beings, but we rely on artificial energy the way humans rely on food. We have also been able to mechanically modify ourselves to make us more adaptable to the changing atmosphere on Ooden and neighboring planets. My disguise is an artificial case around my body created by my mechanic modifications but it acts and reacts like real human flesh.

Even though I had been in it since I left Ooden, I was still caught off guard when it did something human, like sneezing the other day. Or when I accidently slammed one of my fingers in a door, water immediately started leaking from my eyes. According to one of the research recordings, that was what crying was and “real men don’t cry.” Since I was attempting to pass myself off as a real human male, I tried to staunch the water coming from my eyes. It was surprisingly difficult to do with the pain radiating from my finger.

Once my power was back up to optimum level, I returned to the problem of my missing tracking device. I know I had it in my pocket the last time I powered-down. It might have fallen out of my pocket when I climbed out of the hole I had fallen into this morning in my energy-deprived stupor.

I crawled out from behind the metal boxes and ran right into a pair of legs in blue pants. I looked up to see two males standing over me. Something told me they were not friendly.

“Hello,” I managed to say as I got to my feet. “How can I help of you?”

“What’re you doing back there?” The smaller of the two asked.

“I was resting short. Not a wondrous place to do such a thing but ‘twas convenient and my needs were urgently.”

The males wore twin expressions conveying some emotion I was not familiar with. Their eyes were wide and their brows were furrowed.

“If I can do nothing you to help with, I will be away. Good today.” I bowed as I had seen the Bringer do and started down the alley away from them. I paused when I remembered what some humans had said to their friends when leaving in the research recordings. I turned and held up two fingers tilted to the side. “Later bitches.”

Their eyes widened even more and the larger one’s mouth dropped open. “Freaking alien,” one of them said.

I spun around. “Oh, no. I am not alien. I was born here. On Earth. In… France. Yes. France.” I cringed and ran the rest of the way out of the alley. “Idiot.” I wound my way through the crowd, hoping the two males did not follow me and made my way back to the hole I had recharged in earlier. There were five males walking around it wearing orange items on their heads. I quickly dropped into it and searched around for the small metal case but did not find it. I climbed the ladder and got away before the orange males stopped me.

“Cutpurse.” The word floated through my mind. I had heard it in one of the research recordings. It had been one of the few that did not have colors. Only black and white. I did not like it as much as the ones in color, but the word had been for a male who stole items from people’s pockets. That must have been what happened to my tracker.

I was just about done with this planet. Nothing but rude humans, bad smells, and lost possessions. I simply needed to find the Bringer one more time, kill him, and go home.

I turned a corner too quickly, trapped in my own thoughts, and ran headlong into the larger of the two males who had stopped me in the alley. “Excuse my clumsy ass, sir. Apologies.” I attempted to step around them but he grabbed my arm. The smaller one took my other arm and they dragged me into an alley, this one somehow smellier than the last. They released me and the larger male shoved me against the wall.

The smaller male put his face in mine, his nose nearly touching mine. “Hello, freak. We think you might have something worth something and we want it."

To be continued...

Writing Prompt I: "I saw him. The boy I had to kill" (pt. 1)

A few weeks ago, my writer's group decided to start giving out writing prompts at the end of our meetings as an exercise for us to work on until our next meeting, then we share what we have written. 

It has been a fun activity for everybody and many of us (myself included) are stepping out of our comfort zones. Our poet is writing fantasy, the fantasy writer is writing family drama, and our sci-fi writer is writing comedy.

I want to share some of the short stories I have come up with. The following is the first part of a short sci-fi story I wrote. It is my first foray into sci-fi so, please be kind.

From Alibaba.com
Phasers to stun, please!

Then I saw him. The boy I had to kill. He didn’t look like much, but boy was I wrong.

He was the Bringer. The one prophesized to bring the end of life on Oonden, my home planet and the center of the Kaliege Empire. If Oonden fell, the rest of our galaxy would fall.

He must be stopped.

When my father had been killed, I was transferred to fill his spot in Xans, the Empire’s elite fighters and assassins. They were big shoes to fill and I had hoped, with enough time and training, I would fit into them as if they were made for me.

I was unprepared, to say the least, when my name had been chosen for this mission. I was the youngest member of my unit and the greenest assassin in the Agency, but if I made the kill without too much trouble, it would do amazing things for my career.

The council had objected to someone so inexperienced taking on such an important job, but rules were rules. The one chosen by the Gods was the one sent. It took me almost three months to get to Earth, even in the Agency’s fastest ship. Why the Supreme Being would chose a tiny planet ruled by self-destructive creatures in a distant, sparsely populated galaxy in the gerlac’s anus of the universe to put the Bringer, I will never know.

The boy turned to glance behind him and I quickly ducked behind a vehicle. Then cursed myself for a fool. He had never seen me before and I had been here for nearly a week in disguise. Nobody had questioned it.

But today was the first time I had actually seen him and my nerves got the best of me. I pretended to tie my shoe like I had seen in many of the research chips sent with me to study on the trip. I much enjoyed the ones about beings with superior abilities who destroy cities in their quest to save the cities. Their flawed logic is very humorous to me.

I waited until I was sure the boy was not looking, then stood, only to discover he had disappeared.

“Dammit.” I cursed, taking a bit of pleasure in the harsh human word. I pushed through the crowd, hoping to spot which direction the Bringer had gone but could not see him in the sea of humans that filled the sidewalk. “Dammit!”

“Language, young man!” A tiny, wrinkly, female human scolded me and slapped my arm as she passed me.

I stared after her, shocked and angry that she would dare touch me but also that she had been the first human to address me in the open like that. Apparently, they could talk to strangers, they just chose to pay more attention to their hand-held communication devices than others of their kind. A male about the same age as my disguise bumped into me from behind and barely looked at me as he passed. I wondered if the wires going into his ears were some kind of mind control or if they helped him navigate the maze of streets that I had been hopelessly lost in for the last month. I had seen many people with the same wires but was nowhere nearer to the answer.

It was days like this that I wished I had been able to stay in the research division of the Agency instead of being moved to Xans, then I’d be allowed to investigate what the purpose of the wires was (among other curious things humans did), but instead, I had to hunt down the Bringer again and finally kill him.

I pulled his picture up on my own communication device. He was approximately twenty Earth years old, 1.8 meters tall, black hair, brown skin, green eyes, but otherwise looked like nearly every other human I had encountered. In the picture I had, he was wearing a red object on his head that resembled what Earth females wear on their heads while bathing.

The Agency had no information about him other than the city he resided in and his appearance. Others in Xans had completed missions with less, but I was intelligent enough to know that their own experiences played a large part in their success.

I glanced around again and randomly picked a direction, hoping it was the right one.

It was not. I spent two more days circling the area before I found him again.

He was just exiting a shop filled with brightly colored items and strong smells that mingled until they were unidentifiable and made me sneeze. A reaction that caught me completely by surprise. Apparently my disguise was more human-like than I thought.

The Bringer bowed to the old female who had followed him to the entryway, then started down the street away from me.

Very curious that such a powerful being would show reverence to a female who did not seem to be anything other than a regular human.

I commenced following the Bringer with the beginnings of a plan forming in my mind. I would get close enough to put a tracker on him so I could follow him to a less populated area to kill him. I did not want to kill him in the midst of a crowd. If a human attempted to halt my departure, it would be very bad for us both. My transcarrier could only send one Oodenite at a time. If any more than one or any other species attempted to use it, they would be disintegrated. It could only be used once in this atmosphere and it was my last option if anything bad were to happen.

My plan was to kill the Bringer and use it to get back to my ship, which seemed to have gone missing. It was not in the large grassy area where I had left it a few days ago, but thankfully I did not have to know where my ship was for my transcarrier to work.

I was within feet of him and reached into the pocket of my human pants for the case that held my tracking devices. My hand only felt fabric. I stopped in my tracks, earning myself a shove and a few rude comments from the humans disrupted by my deviation from the norm. I dug deeper into my pocket. Then I checked my other pockets. My communications device and my weapon were where they were supposed to be, but my tracker was gone. I knew it had been in my pocket a few hours ago because I had checked to make sure the power source was holding up to this atmosphere. In a panic, I felt under my shirt to make sure my transcarrier was still on the chain around my neck. I sighed with relief when my hand closed around it.

I looked up and the Bringer was gone again. “Dammit!”

“Language!” A male in dark blue clothing with a metal plate on the left breast and a hat scolded me.

“Apologies.” I waved at him, the action still awkward for me. Only the rudest of Oodenites would make such a gesture but the humans seemed to like it.

I slowly joined the crowd moving in the direction the Bringer had gone. I scanned the shops along the walk, hoping to catch sight of him again.

A picture flashing across a screen in one of the shops made me stop and move closer. It was a picture of my ship. “Dammit,” I whispered as the implant in my head translated the words that scroll across the bottom of the screen.

Diane: What appears to be a space ship has been discovered in Franklin Park. The police are investigating what they are calling either an extravagant prank or an abandoned film prop. They are encouraging anybody with information about it to contact the 800 number on the screen. At this time, it is unclear if or what charges will be pressed. The Captain ended his statement with “we really just want to make sure that the owner gets their obviously expensive item returned to them.”

          The police have my ship.

To be continued...

View From the Cab

For today's blog, I wanted to share something special with you. My dad, Rich, is a railroader and sometimes shares his thoughts and musings from his trips on the train with the rest of the family. I always look forward to his "View from the cab" emails because they are so full of his voice and so true to him that it is like he is sitting next to me telling me about his trip. He might not be a writer by trade, but he knows how to inject his voice into anything he writes, even simple emails.

From my sister's Facebook page and no, you're not getting the link.
My Mom and Dad. Aren't they adorable?!

View from the cab.

We all know that rain and water are one of the necessities of life. It is a given that we in the Midwest experience thunderstorms and occasional super cell storms that produce rain, tornadoes, and hail.

Hail is the topic of this rambling.  

Headed west out of North Platte, the first town we come to is Hershey. Some damage, corn leaves are split and torn up. Next is Sutherland. This is another story. Early this summer a storm came through with wind from the north. Damage was extensive: windows, roofs, siding, cars, trees, etc.  Talked to one fellow, he had over $30,000 damage to his house. From the track and my view, not a lot to see, saw some trees uprooted, limbs down and minor crop damage.  Heading further west we come to Paxton, Roscoe, Ogallala, Brule, Big Springs; crops look good, no damage. Life is good.

Next up is Julesburg. We enter the town from east and here, the track leaves the friendly grade of the South Platte River, takes a right turn, and begins the climb to Cheyenne 150 miles away.  At the end of June, a storm went though and turned pastures to bare ground, fire bush and sunflowers to sticks, waist high corn reduced to stubble, and soy beans fields turns to bare ground. (Katherine you know what this looks like from a couple years ago in Gibbon.) The trees were stripped of leaves and have not yet grown any new leaves back. Cedar trees and pine trees were stripped of needles and are about bare. Some trees appear to be dying, nor sure if any of the damaged ones will recover. All last winter and this spring, we saw pheasants galore, not now. Those too, were likely victims of the hail. There is a small subdivision of acreages in this area; windows are boarded up, roofs to be replace, sheds damages, and of course shelter belts thinned. I was through this area the day after the storm and had not yet heard of the damage. 

Picture from NTV
This was a cornfield of knee- to waist-high corn that was stripped in the hail
storm that hit the town I live in two years ago. It shredded siding, shattered windows,
flattened crops, and uprooted trees. It was heartbreaking to see the damage.

You stare out the window in disbelief as to what you are seeing and say a prayer for the folks affected and one for yourself that we had been spared. A couple miles either way, and crops look great. One man's disaster is another's gift.

The next hundred miles or so, life is good. Between irrigation and rains, pastures are green, corn, beans, and sugar beets are lush and bountiful. The further west you go, the climate becomes drier, the soil’s less productive, you begin to see an increase in winter wheat, sugar beets, hay, and pasture land. 

Pine Bluff, Wyoming, sits right on the Nebraska border. As a matter of fact, there is an old truck stop on Highway 30 that sits on the line. Interestingly, there were 4 fuel pumps in Nebraska and 5 feet away, 10 in Wyoming. A tribute to the higher fuel taxes here [in Nebraska]. The same cannot be said today; fuel is higher in Wyoming.

I felt a bit of apprehension as we approached Pine Bluff this week. After seeing the Weather Channel video of the devastation, I did not know what to expect. Interestingly enough, the wind on this storm was from the south and the majority of the town is south of the tracks. We saw several buildings with a lot of damage, but not the devastation I expected to see. The head high corn was reduced to broom handles, pasture reduced to bare ground, alfalfa ready to cut now looks like it was harvested. Fortunately, the majority of the wheat was already cut and thus, was spared. Pine Bluff gets its name from the pine trees on the bluff that overlook the town. These trees had a lot of damage and were thinned just like the ones in Julesburg.  

Surreal, I guess, is the poets’ and writers’ term to describe when you see this type of devastation. Awe at Mother Nature’s power and feelings of loss in the pit of your stomach would better fit my background and understanding.

With a month or so to go in the growing season, let's all hope and pray that the rain is gentle and abundant, and those affected by this summer’s storms can find the hope and strength to move forward. Say a prayer for their well-being and a pray of thanksgiving for the blessings we have all received this summer.