About NaNoWriMo 2013: Week 5 Excerpt

It is the end of NaNoWriMo. Only today and tomorrow remains to reach your November goal. I know that I have soared through, but the holidays have caused me to slow down a bit. Yes, I do consider Black Friday a holiday, but I think it’s blasphemous that stores opened on Thursday. It’s called Black FRIDAY for a reason. Anyway, I have one final excerpt for you. This will again be from my second NaNo novel, which will not be complete end of day tomorrow, but it is certainly making progress.

Without any further ado, here is an excerpt for week 5. And If you want to see the other excerpts they are here: week 1, week 2, week 3, week 4.

It didn’t stop a few of the really savvy people from spotting and calling her out. A trip without getting nasty stares, much less hearing the poor vocabulary of the layman was a good day. This didn’t seem to be one of them as Addy felt the eyes of a few people sneering at her. She could figure out what gave her away later, but for now she needed to get off the bus. She could walk the extra block in the cold.

“5th and Thackeray,” the bus chimed in its automated voice. Considering how uncomfortable some people were around anything non-organic recently, she was surprised people still tolerated the artificial voices. Then again people loved their conveniences.

A short woman muttering to herself groaned as Addy reached over her head to pull the cord.

“Sorry, sorry,” Addy said as she pushed toward the front of the bus again.

The bus pulled to a stop and Addy paid her fare. The bus driver grunted a thank you.

The wind beat against her face as she tried to nuzzle into her scarf. Someone got off the bus behind her as she turned in the direction of the meeting. Her boots sunk into the the shallow snow. Winters always seemed to have a constant coat of snow around. At least the snow hadn’t piled up or the temperatures decided to drop into the negatives.

Addy glanced behind her at the man who followed her off the bus. His beard was perfectly manicured and his dark hood obstructed his eyes. She made eye contact with him and a chill ran down her spine. She needed to go. Something about this man just felt wrong.

The back way to the meeting would take her through a dark alley, but she’d be able to dodge the man. No one in their right mind, other than herself would walk into such a place. Ducking into the alley way her footsteps echoed off the stone buildings. The sound bounced up the sides of the buildings and were quickly joined by more footsteps.

At least now she knew for certain that he was actually following her. Addy speed up, allowing the darkness of the alley to cloak her from the stalker. With every step she could hear him coming closer to her. She stopped and flattened herself against the wall. His footsteps continued to echo. He passed right in front of her. In his hands was a long night stick. He groped through the darkness looking for her. For the first time in her life she was grateful for inheriting her parents terrible genes because her enhanced eyes made the low light look almost as bright as midday.

“Freak!” the man shouted in the alley.

Addy jumped and her foot came down on a piece of garbage beside her. She froze as the man eased toward her. Spit built up in the back of her throat. Never before had she felt the need to swallow so badly.

The nightstick swung down to her face as she shielded with her replaced hand. The metal of his nightstick echoed as it slammed against the metal that had made up her fingers for the past five years. He froze.