An Unusual Writing Pairing

One of my least favorite genres is sci-fi. I think that’s pretty surprising, but it’s just not my thing. Yes, I love Star Wars. I love Doctor Who (definitely cried in the first episode of Thirteen, LOVE HER!). Loved reading Jules Verne and H.G. Wells as a kid. Kindred by Octavia Butler was pretty good. Other than that, it’s a big fat no.

So imagine my surprise when I ended up starting a sci-fi story? You hear about unusual animal pairings, but this is an unusual writing pairing!

Now, the way I’ve described it, I think it’s going to end up a combination of The Matrix and Gattica, but I think it’s going to be good. I don’t have much on this one, either, but I think it’s message is important.

Without further ado, here’s an excerpt from my sci-fi book that isn’t currently titled!

“I brought you something.”

He shifted in his chair, wary and frowning.  She pulled a bag out of her purse.

“These are for you.”  She placed the bag of cookies on the table in front of him.  For the first time, his hands moved. They were shaking as he opened the bag.

“Peanut butter,” he whispered.  A faint smile pulled at the corner of his mouth.  He took a cookie and smelled it. The smile widened and he took a bite.

“Oh, this is torture.”

“Why?  I baked them this morning for you.  They can’t have gone bad.”

“No,” he said, brushing crumbs from his shirt.  “I can’t taste anything. I almost wish I couldn’t eat, but I have to.  Otherwise they’ll know I know.”

She scribbled furiously.  “Know what? Who’s they?”

Light flashed in her eyes.

He put his hands back on the table and stared at the dot.

“I don’t trust you.”

Flash.  She tried to ignore it.

“Why not?”

“You’re one of them.”

A third flash.  It was longer than any others.  She could see a shadow, and it was gone.  She was back in the cell. It was hard to breathe.  She felt her breakfast coming up. He stared at her.

“I’m sorry, Nicholas.  I just…I think I might be ill.”

“You aren’t.”

She was stunned.  He always said things with such certainty.  He was grinning ear to ear. “You aren’t ill. You’re waking up.”

Everything went dark and she felt agonizing pain in her head.  She was floating in nothing for so long. Was this death? All of time was nothing to her.  A light rushed towards her.

A hand clamped over her mouth.  She couldn’t see anything with the blinding light.  It was cold and she didn’t know where she was. She tried to yank away but the hand held her down.

“It’s alright, Katie. You’re fine, you’re going to be fine.  Can you please take her restraints off? Hurry!” The familiar, soothing voice made her stop trying to lash out and her eyes began to focus on the shadows.  The hand gently left her mouth.

“Nicholas?”

“That’s right. You’re safe, but we need to get you out of here.  Can you see me? I need you to do what I say, or we won’t get out of here alive.  I need you to sit up and carefully swing your legs over the side of the table. Carefully, but quickly.”

She was in shock.  She didn’t know where she was or what was going on.  She didn’t even know if she could trust Nicholas. Had he driven her crazy?  Was this even real?

“Where are we?  What’s happened?  Why can’t I see properly?”

Nicholas helped her sit up and off the table.  Her knees buckled, and he caught her with one arm.

“I promise, I will explain everything, but I can’t right now.  We need to get out of here, and fast. Here, I need you to put this on.  Jamis, help her please.” A woman with scars covering most of her face handed her a grey jumpsuit and hat.  The back of the suit said “Maintenance” and there was an ID badge clipped to the front with her picture on it.  Her hands shook as she tried to step into the suit. Her knees buckled and she struggled to get up. The woman, Jamis, made eye contact with Nicholas and shook her head as she pulled Katie up.

“Katie, do you trust me?”  Nicholas took her hands into his and looked her in the eyes.

“Why do you only use your left hand?”  She tried to look at his right arm but he grabbed her chin and made her look at his face.

“Do you trust me?” he pressed.

“Not particularly.”  She broke her head free from his hand and his mouth pressed into a thin line.

“Well, you’re just going to have to trust me.”

She felt hands wrap around her and a syringe was shoved into her neck.  She felt the little stick of the needle, but not really pain. Her eyes fluttered, and for a second, she thought she saw a pained look on Nicholas’s face, but she was so sleepy…

Do you like sci-fi? What would you like to see in the future? Comment below or click Contact Me up above!