April is off to a
weird start. We had a tornado warning in the wee hours of Thursday morning. That
was fun. The temperature warmed up then dropped back down with a chance of snow
tomorrow or Tuesday. But, sure, we aren't having any climate issues.
Still plugging
along on multiple work projects. I did finish up two and added another new one
to my pile. I'm very happy to be busy!
Had a decent viewing
week. Ended up making it through my full slate of shows and I think I know
which new program I'm adding to the lot. I'll give it a view and report back.
Actually realized I
did finish up London Kills last week, so I ended up watching another
full episode. Things are headed for a showdown with David and Vivienne and I'm
here for that.
Watched Death in
Paradise and enjoyed the episode. Discovered Izzy is still around and,
well, still not a fan. If she returns, maybe she'll grow on me.
Caught Beyond
Paradise and thoroughly enjoyed it. So nice to have a little backstory for
Esther. And, if rumors prove true, a potential love interest in season three.
That'll be fun.
Enjoyed an episode
of Elementary. I'm definitely interested in how things will play out
with Kitty's attacker. I can't wait to see if it gets resolved in the next
installment.
Watched an episode
of Batman Beyond. This is one I remembered from my original run through.
Quite liked seeing it again.
Caught another
episode of Classic Rugrats and it's one I don't remember so a new-to-me episode.
Thoroughly enjoyed it. Only a few more left before I move on to the reboot
again.
That's pretty much
it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Melee, a
novella that puts a couple through a trial by fire.
Here's the
miniblurb:
Josie Walls and Parson Parrington gain extraordinary
skills when they're captured and experimented on in a remote laboratory in an
icy tundra. Longing to be free, they put their newfound abilities to the test,
escaping their prison and going on the run.
And a preview snippet…
Josie alternated between floating
on a cloud and diving into hot burning coals. Heat coursed through her veins
and her skin felt like it sizzled.
Somewhere in the periphery, a tersely
worded questions burst from Hollis. "What do you mean the experiment
failed? You were supposed to make them pliable and programmable to do my
bidding?"
A nasal voice responded. "We
told you the serum might not be ready yet. You said you didn't care. Well, this
is what happens when you don't."
The sound of a fist hitting flesh
bounced off the walls.
"You have three weeks to fix
this mess. For now, put them in containment." A door slammed.
No doubt Hollis made his usual
dramatic exit.
Shuffling feet drew close to Josie
and fingers wrapped around her wrist.
"Ack! Shit. She's burning up."
The shuffling turned to scampering and then fumbling hands. "El? This is
Em. Check your subject. Mine is burning up."
Josie focused on the voice, trying
to shake off the lethargy and drowning, bobbing sensation from the drugs. Brief
stretches of semiconsciousness followed by long periods of dark dives into
nightmarish dreamscapes had Josie struggling to form coherent thoughts. The
adrenaline from the lab tech—at least she assumed the nasal voice belonged to a
technician—gave her a jolt and helped her stay on this side of wakefulness.
Em made a garbled choking sound.
"So, yours isn't burning up but they're giving you shocks? Like the static
kind?" He sighed. "No, no. I didn't foresee this either. But the
stupid, blundering ass didn't exactly give us time to test the serum, did
he?" Another sigh. "No, he didn't take it well. Yeah, he wants us to
fix it. And no, I don't have a damn clue how."
Josie strained to make sense of the
one-sided conversation. What the hell did Hollis give her … them. She'd almost
forgotten Parson. He'd been moved to another room … cell … whatever the fuck
they wanted to call it.
Nasal Em snorted. "Aw, fuck.
If this is what you think it is, and we've trigged some kind of latent ability
in the subjects, we're all fucked. It doesn't matter what Hollis wants." A
pause. "Yeah, yeah. I'll make the notations. And I'll increase the sedation
dosage. Yes. Yes. Then I'll get some sleep. From here on out, we have to
document everything." Em ended the call and started back toward Josie,
muttering to himself. "We're so off the page we're not even in the book
anymore. Hell, we're not in the same library." He grabbed a rolling cart
and slid it beside the gurney. "At this point, all bets are off and we're
officially in uncharted territory."
A sharp prick against her bicep
brought the fuzziness back. Josie dreaded going back under and succumbing to
the inky darkness of unconsciousness. But … she had something she didn't have
before…
Hope.
I'm having a lot of
fun with this story. Josie and Parson are going through it, and they'll have to
use everything they have to get through this challenge.
That's it for this
week.
Cheers!
Skye
