Sunday, June 10, 2018

Sunday Snippet: Belle of the Underground (A First Breed Nation Novella)

My youngest kidlet is back from her trip to Disney and it's so nice to have her home. It's also terrific she had the opportunity to visit every theme park in Disney's repertoire. She had such a great time. On a proud parent note, she enjoyed Epcot the best and it makes my entire year because that was my favorite when I went to Disney many, many moons ago. I'm resisting the urge to plan a full-on Disney vacation… mainly because I don't have the time. But it would be so much fun!

Had something of an off week in television viewing. I'm battling a nasty cold / allergies / upper respiratory "ick" that's kicking my teeth in. But… I did get quite a bit watched.

I started a new-to-me Australian show called Canal Road and it's rather good. I'm two episodes in and I'm hooked. I also got to finish up Archangel and thoroughly enjoyed it.

In my classic rewatch, I caught Midsomer Murders and several episodes of Classic Who. I finished up the Dalek episodes and started the new arc. I'd forgotten what a shifty guy the first doctor can be. I also caught another episode of The Sarah Conner Chronicles.

Endeavor continues to make me happy. I also got another episode of Constantine in and I'm quite excited for the character to make the move to Legends of Tomorrow. I started a show I only got to watch sporadically when it originally aired, Pensacola Wings of Gold. I actually hope I can catch other late 90s early 00s shows. I missed so much back then.

On DVD, I finished up The Batman's third season and started the fourth. I also caught a few episodes of current seasons of Chicago Fire and Blindspot. Gotta say the whole Hurst arc is turning out to be kind of exciting.

Band of Brothers and Strike Back gave me my military show fix. I continue to be blown away by the casting in Band of Brothers. So many good choices.

I'm five episodes into Sense8 and I'm kicking myself for waiting so long to watch this show. That said, I can binge the entire thing and see the finale in one go so there's that bit of good news. Fearless's third episode kind of broke me a little. It's a dark, dark show.

Krypton's first season proved to be pretty awesome. I have no idea where they'll go for the second season, but the end was kind of chilling. Jana called the whole General Zod ruling over Krypton thing and I'm truly hoping Lyta is now regretting her choice. If she isn't that character is dead to me. Just saying.

And that's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from First Breed Nation: Belle of the Underground, a novella with a metahuman community.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Raven Malone doesn't have an easy job, but she's a mix of freak and geek so both groups are willing to work with her. She meets her match when regular guy, Gio Roberts, starts poking around in her cover up of an unexplained murder. Sparks fly, especially when she lets him in on the underground community she's established. They forge a bond and work side by side, trying to keep everything together.

And a preview snippet…

Gio stared at his phone. Raven's not right. What the hell did that mean? Didn't matter. The undertone of fear and concern in Vince's voice had Gio's brain in full alert mode. He made it down below less than ten minutes after he answered the call.
The pall hit him before he hit the bottom rung of the access ladder. No one stopped him when he traversed the hall. He passed the mess and the recreation area, filled with freaks and geeks, the usual divide nonexistent.
Fuck. That did not inspire confidence.
He stopped outside Raven's quarters and raised a fist to knock. He paused, feeling dread, not sure if he should proceed. The door yanked open and Vince dragged him inside, not giving Gio the chance to make up his mind.
Raven lay atop the bed, naked and uncovered. Gio shot an angry look toward the shifter. "Wanna tell me what the hell is going on?"
Vince shook his head. "If I knew I wouldn't have called you." His gaze didn't leave Raven.
Gio pushed for answers. "Why is she unconscious? She is only passed out, yeah?" God, he hoped so.
Vince shrugged. "She's still breathing. But it's never been like this before."
Gio sighed. "Bring me up to speed." He didn't like the feverish look of Raven.
Vince gave Gio a brief rundown. "She used her abilities to find Charlie. I think she pushed too hard, too soon."
Gio's eyes widened. "And you let her?"
Vince finally glanced in Gio's direction. "Fuck you. I don't let Raven do anything. She just does it." He all but added the middle finger at the end.
Gio couldn't argue the point. "Did you bring him in?"
Vince glanced back in Raven's direction. "He'll be in containment soon."
Well, good news there. "Why did you call me?"
Vince's mouth thinned. "Because she needs you. I can't help her this time." His low tone belied the pain in his voice.
Gio frowned. "Why not?" He'd already had the "any cock, mouth, or hands would do" conversation with Raven.
He didn't want a repeat performance.
Vince flung an arm out. "Look at her. She's not responsive. Usually she's already back on form… but she went down and that's it… nothing since." His hands balled into fists.
Gio shook his head. "Again… why call me?" Surely there were plenty of volunteers who could help her.
Vince swung his angry gaze in Gio's direction. "Do you have to be a dick right now?"
Gio held up his hands. "Not trying to be. But what, exactly, do you want from me?"
Vince jabbed a finger toward Raven's prone form. "I want you to strip down, crawl in that bed, and fuck her senseless. It might be the only thing to bring her back." His voice choked on the last words.
Gio's mouth dropped open. "What?" Vince couldn't be asking Gio to be Raven's jumpstarter.
Vince bit his words out. "I'm not gonna say it again. Are you gonna help or not?" His eyebrow arched in warning.
Gio bit back his disbelief. Started to remove his shoes.
Vince blew out a harsh breath. "I gotta go see if they brought Charlie in yet." His hand twisted the doorknob.
Hopping out if his jeans, Gio kicked free. "Wait."
Vince paused, shoulders tense.
Gio shrugged out of his shirt. "You called me. And thanks for that. But you love her. You can't deny it."
Vince met Gio's gaze. "No. I can't. Because you're right, I do. But you need to understand something. Last week? What you walked in on? Not love. Or lust. Or anything involving emotion. She needed a hard cock and used mine. That's it."
"Why?" Gio didn't need to say more.
Why would Vince let her use him that way?
Vince turned to face Gio. "Because Raven matters, dammit. What she's doing here matters. She puts herself on the line and rarely takes anything in return. So, when she does need something… I'm there." He met Gio's gaze. "I can't be there this time. She won't say it, admit it, or even probably know it, but she needs you. Help her." He left before Gio could say anything.
Gio shed his boxers and crawled into bed. He lay on his side and angled Raven over to hers. Spooned up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. Had no clue how to proceed.
What the hell am I doing?

I love so much about this world. If all goes well, I might have a series on my hands with this group of characters.



That's it for this week.

Cheers!


Skye

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