Room 2347

I'm a wannabe author and language freak. Here I will post thinks I like and my writing :)

The Glass Tower - Prologue

I already have a blog, which sadly never gets read. So I give it a shot here. 

 

This is the Prolouge to my novel "The Glass Tower"

 

He ran fast through the old station. It had been a very long time since trains had come in. How long had it been, he wondered as he sped down the empty hall. Some trains still stood in their tracks waiting for a departure, which would never come. The man only caught glimpses of his surroundings.  His eyes were focused on the end of the hallway, the stairs that led him to the underground. He had to make it. He ran, he fled. If he had had the time to look up he would have seen the beautiful painted ceiling. After all these long years it was still as bright as ever.  Sunbeams fell through the high windows onto the marble floor. How could the sun shine while he fought for his life? In the sunbeams he could see the dust that was flying around all over the place. He ran through it leaving a little dusty trail behind him. There had been a time when he could have seen his reflection in the marble but now the place was full of dust, dirt and trash. Even some spaces even large puddle of now dark crusted blood.

            What happened here all these year ago? Where was he anyway? But all these questions did not matter right now. He knew he could get out of this place if he wanted to. The only question that did matter was if his pursuers where also able to leave. He did not know how long he was going to last. Blake was weak. Hunger and thirst were no longer an option given by his body, but an alarming plea. He wished he could give in. Give his body what it so desperately needed. But he couldn't. He literally was on the run. He saw patches of green on the walls. Little plants started to grow on the walls and through little holes in the floor. It was amazing to see nature conquering this place again. All that he did not see of course. His eyes were still fixed on the end of the hallway. He trusted that his feet would find the right path. He saw the staircase. He saw the little hallway leading to the right. All that he saw. What he didn't saw that right beneath him a root had fought its way through the marble. Cracks showed how the marble had tried to resist but the nature had one. His foot slit under the root. He wanted to run down the stairs but he was yanked back by the root. He fell face down on the floor. 

            Pain shot through his face as he hit the floor. His nose burned, the taste of blood shot over his tongue. He just lay there, feeling weak and defeated. The cold floor eased his pain slightly. What should he do? What could he do? Should he give up? It was only a matter of minutes maybe seconds until the shadows would be on him again. He had a plan an ever so desperate plan. Would it work? He didn't know. He needed time to gather his remaining strength. One last portal was all he would need.  He pushed himself off the floor. Blood dripped from his forehead. As he stood up he looks around. He didn't see them but he heard their steps. In his heart he felt how close they were. He started running again. This time keeping an eye on the floor as well as what lay ahead of him. He turned right and almost bummed into someone.  Instead of pushing the person to the floor he ran straight through him. The man knew what was happening. He had expected it he had feared it even. People from a different world, probably his real one, faded in and out like ghosts crossing the train station. He had heard of it before. The world he had invaded was starting to crumble. He hadn't much time left it was now or never. One more portal was all that it took. No mistakes were allowed. He ran through the little hall with people fading in and out like a cell phone signal. He slowed down ever so slightly. He could see them as he turned around. All his hopes ventured on this plan. He had to make it. He had to reach and warn him. The creatures weren't really smart but they knew what he was, what he was able to do.

            He fell again this time on purpose. This time his head hit the floor first. The man felt like he was having the biggest hangover in the history of mankind. He tilted his head so he could see what was happening to his left. He saw the creatures. He heard them, felt them. His head started to spin as they jump onto him. His hand however rested calmly next to his body. Palm to the floor. The screeched. They bit. They scratched. Were they supposed to kill him? Or was he needed alive? He felt his plan work right under him. He was used to open portals. But Blake had always opened them on a wall so he could walk through the black purple tunnel. Would it work this way to? Would he survive the fall? The portal under him grew lager and lager finally he fell through it.

            He was prepared for a hard landing. He was prepared to have his nose broken all over again. Instead he landed on soft soil. He had aimed for a little side street but a cellar would do. He stood up and looked around. The shock hurt him more than all the falls. He couldn't have fallen into a worse cellar. He kicked the dirt. It was his fault. He hadn't concentrated enough. He had thought about the tower and now he was here. Right under it. Right in the lion’s den. He looked up. He knew it was a cellar because there were stairs leading up to the ground floor. Even if he could reach them in time. Up there he would be just as lost as he was down here. The ceiling was made of solid concrete but the ground made of soil. It looked like a mix between a cellar and a cave.

Cold entered his heart. He turned around to face his pursuers one last time. They were about twenty feet away. Ten. Five. Two. All these years of fighting seemed pointless to him now. His mission had failed. Because of him. He hoped the person he had tried to protect would never find out that he'd failed. This was it. No way to escape. No more strength for any portals left. The creature in front of him got ready to jump. Blake closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The word sorry escaped his mouth as they pulled him down.

 

Chaos Walking

The Knife of Never Letting Go  - Patrick Ness The Ask and the Answer (Chaos Walking #2) - Patrick Ness Monsters of Men: Chaos Walking: Book Three - Patrick Ness

I do have to admit I hesitated a long long time before finally buying this book for my kindle. Even the first few pages of "The knife of never letting go" felt weird because Ness' writing style is somewhat different than others. But it was definatley worth to keep going. 

I really do not read books about any big wars but this trilogy changed that. The SciFi elements are there but the war topic clearly stands out. I was really surprised that I kept going.