Contest rules. At the end of the excerpt I have
asked a multiple choice question. The answer is in the excerpt. Post you answer
in a comment to be entered in contest. The contest will run from Wednesday
8/27/14 to Tuesday 9/2/14. The winner will be chosen by my friends at random
and announced here and on my facebook page on 9/3/14. The prize will be a lighted key chain. Simple as that.
Good luck to all.
Gina's
rude welcome
Excerpt
from The Daughters of Teelan
(Gina and
Becky)
She took another bite from the
tasteless ration stick and chased it with a swig of water. She frowned at it. These may sustain life but they sure as hell
wouldn’t qualify as fine cuisine.
An earsplitting roar assaulted her
ears. Something struck the side of the life pod and sent it tumbling over and
over. Gina tossed around in the interior like a rag doll in a dryer. When the
craft stopped rolling, it was upside down. Again, a tooth-rattling roar came
from outside and something struck the side of the pod, sending it rolling once
more. This time she managed to grab hold of a chair and controlled her tumble.
The ship ceased its wild rotations
with the hatch on top. Gina opened it and stormed out like an angry hornet
defending its disturbed nest. The creature she faced was the most horrible
sight she had seen in her entire young life. She estimated its head was thirty
feet above the ground. Its open jaws revealed row upon row of sharp teeth. Two
eyes, each half the size of her body, glared at her. The beast had green, tough
looking hide. It had a long tail, two powerful looking legs and smaller arms
midway up its torso with deadly appearing talons.
She splayed her legs slightly to
brace herself on the slopped hull. Brushing a lock of disheveled hair from her
eyes, Gina glared at the animal. Anger and frustration took control. "You
will not destroy my ship you damned ugly brute!" she screamed. "Ever
since the Men-gar I’ve been spoiling for a fight. Something to take my
aggressions out on. You’re fuckin it!"
She pointed her digits at the beast.
Flames streaked across the distance to explode in the creature’s face. It
roared in surprise and pain. Its head darted forward with jaws opened wide. The
creature's putrid breath made her gag and sent her hair swirling. More fire
burst from her fingers. This time flames reached deep in the beast's open maw.
The roar cut short when the creature’s jaws snapped shut to extinguish the fire
in its mouth.
"Take that asshole. I may be
little but I have a vicious deadly bite."
The beast took two steps back. She
launched more fire. It screamed in anguish vanishing for a moment in a shroud
of an intensely raging inferno. The acrid smell of burning flesh filled the
air. With its entire body engulfed in flames, the creature voiced a final
shriek of agony. It toppled to the side creating a huge splash of muddy water
that drenched her. The creature lay still.
Gina remained stiffly erect for some
time waiting for it to rise. She pulled her drenched hair back from her face.
With one hand, she wiped the mud from her eyes. The sudden silence was eerie.
"I
think it's dead Gina."
"I
guess that answers the question of life existing on this planet."
The pod shifted under her. She gazed
down and saw the creature had ripped a huge gash in the side. The craft had
come to rest in deeper water which poured into the gaping hole. She leaped back
inside and in dismay, saw water already sloshed across the floor. Grabbing the
four packs, she climbed out, slid down the side of the rapidly sinking ship and
swam to shore.
She sat in the sand breathing hard
from exertion and the energy expended from casting her flame. The pod settled
deeper and finally sank beneath the surface. "So much for my home."
Turning to the side, she glared at the dead animal. "Grant we need to find
shelter." She glanced up at the sinking sun. "Soon," she added.
"I don’t fancy sleeping here on the beach and having my slumber
interrupted by one of those." She pointed at the dead beast.
"If
you wake up before it eats you," Grant teased.
Gina was in no mood for her AI’s
humor. "I’m assuming you’ll remain alert and warn me before something like
that occurs. I’ll remind you that if I perish so do you."
"I’m
aware of that and will remain vigilant while you sleep."
"Thank you," she said
sarcastically.
She gathered the packs, two to an
arm. "Something above the ground in the trees for tonight I think."
"I
agree. I will help you search."
To add to her discomfort, the rain
that had been threatening all day, began to fall in earnest. In no time, she
was drenched. She settled into the
branches of the selected tree surrounded by dripping leaves and soaked to the
bone. Her nightshirt was a shambles after tumbling and rolling inside the pod.
The rain tapered and quit shortly after dark.
"While
I’m trying to sleep I want you to access your archives and look for the methods
of tanning and curing hide. I’m going to need clothes soon and that beast out
there has a lot of hide I can use."
"I
will do so. You need sleep. It has been a big day."
"Goodnight.
Talk to you in the morning. Remember to wake me if danger threatens."
"I
will."
She spent a miserable night tossing
and turning, trying to stay warm and get comfortable in her wet clothes.
Question:
Gina has the ability to
1. Levitate
2. Cast
fire
3. Teleport
4. Cast
a web
Enter
your answer in a comment.
2 comments:
Cast fire
excellent guess.
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