Making Progress!

I'm 9,000 words into End of Mercy, which doesn't sound like much, but the story is flowing nicely. Everything is on target to be finished and published at the beginning of November. I can't wait to share this story. I believe readers will be surprised and excited with the direction the story is going. I can't wait to show everyone the amazing cover.

Just to give a little taste, here's a snippet:

            For once in my crazy existence, I’d like to walk away from a situation, instead of sprinting for my life.  Clearly…not…gonna…happen…today…Charlie.

            I ran down the hallway like fire already blazed behind me.  Thanks to someone acting before thinking, the whole world of Mercy was about to come tumbling down any minute, and I had only seconds to get freaking gone. 

Fortunately, I didn’t have Star.  I’d sent her ahead, knowing things could get ugly real fast, and sure enough, they were about to.

The first explosion sounded behind me and I heard and felt the pieces of concrete and glass flying through the air around me.  I stumbled forward as the force of the blast hit me from behind, followed by a wave of intense heat that singed my exposed skin.  My ears began ringing, but whether from the sound of the detonation or from the stress of the situation, I wasn’t sure.  Didn’t matter anyway.  I needed to get through the door at the end of the hallway before the next explosion discharged.  It would trigger the rest of the ignitions and everything would go the way of the dinosaur.

Just as I felt the rumbling beginnings of the blast, I flung my grasp at the handle of the door and barely noticed the warmth of the metal before swinging the door wide and throwing myself through it, pulling it closed just in time to hear the whole world explode in a fiery ball of destruction behind me.

I didn’t pause to watch it long though.  Instead taking the stairs two at a time, flight after flight, until my chest ached with each labored breath.  I looked up to see a large number three on the side of the wall next to the door, worn but still clear.  I yanked open the door and sprinted down the darkened hall, picturing each turn I needed to take exactly to get where I was going.

After two right turns, I stopped in front of a large, steel door and rested both hands on the cool surface as I hung my head and worked to catch my ragged breaths.  Each pull of air into my lungs burned, but it wasn’t enough to stop me for long.

Movement on the other side brought me back to reality.  Time was limited, and I wanted free of Mercy and all its horrors.

I shook my head and worked the keys from my pocket.  “Gretchen?  I’m here for you.”

“Charlie?”

“Yeah.  I’ve got the key to get you out.”

Her voice seemed so small and confused as she asked, “Why?  Why did you come back for me?  You don’t…you don’t even like me.”

Why did I come back for her?  She might be a first-class, pruny-faced beyotch, but leaving her had never been an option.  Not when there were no other people in the world like us.  It would be like killing the only other unicorn in a mythical forest.  “Don’t know.  Maybe I just can’t leave knowing you had the last word.”