The excerpt I entered into a contest that literary agent, Nathan Bransford was running.

Patiently waiting just one more day now to see who the finalists were for that contests. It should be interesting to see who he chose considering the massive number of entries in this contest. If you have a little time on your hands, reading some of those entries is definitely encouraged, some very talented writers and you can find it here: http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2010/06/rock-paper-tiger-chaseaction-writing.html

So, without further ado, my entry into the very first writing contest I have entered:

“Who are you? What do you want from me?” I managed to choke out.

“I've come to take you home.”

“I am home. You're not real, just a figment of my imagination.”

“I'm as real as you are Kendra.”

“You can't be real. I really do have a good imagination. I'm going to close my eyes now, you'll be gone when I open them again.”

I couldn't close my eyes though, couldn't look away. I was lost in the depths of his golden gaze. My head was spinning faster making me nauseous. I could feel the acid rising up into my throat, burning through my esophagus as I instinctively swallowed it back down.

The spinning stopped abruptly as his hold on me was released and I dropped. I could feel the cool grass beneath me, smell the freshness of the too clean air. This couldn't be home. There was no sidewalk, no pavement, no cars parked in the driveways or on the side of the road, nothing but a grassy meadow surrounded by trees. Nothing like home. It had to be a dream.

“We have to go,” he spoke urgently now.

“Go where? Where are we? How did we get here? Who are you?”

“I will answer your questions just as soon as I get you to safety.”

He held his hand out to me.

“Come on Kendra, you can wake up anytime now,” I told myself.

“This is not a dream and if I don't get you out of here now we will both be in serious danger.” His voice was louder now.

“I sense no danger here.” Except from him, I thought. He's finally driven me completely insane.

I heard a noise in the woods behind us and turned to see what it was. He took my hand in his powerful grip as he pulled me to my feet again. It felt like every bone in it was being crushed. He dragged me behind him at a speed I was finding increasingly difficult to match, despite my years of physical training. My breath was coming out in ragged breaths as we continued the pace, branches slapped at my face and I nearly tripped more than once over fallen tree limbs. At least I hoped it was only tree limbs.

I could sense his desperation to get us out of these woods, felt the danger he sensed and my overactive mind began to conjure images of dead bodies littering the ground around us, bringing on a new sense of panic in me. Every attempt to breathe brought a sharp pain into my lungs, my legs felt like rubber and by the time he finally stopped, I collapsed into him. The panic increased as I realized I couldn't draw in that breath of air that I so desperately needed.

June 1, 2010 12:43 PM