Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 119158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 596(@200wpm)___ 477(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 596(@200wpm)___ 477(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Me: But…but…outside is messy and there are people out there. That’s also going to require me to shower and locate pants.
Georgie: OUTSIDE
Me: You’re mean.
Georgie: You need to remember how to human.
Me: But people, Georgie. PEOPLE.
Georgie: Time to put on your big boy pants, Adam.
Georgie: Wanna meet Jack and me for lunch? We’ll protect you from the people and you can eat something that has a vitamin or two. We’ll even help you brainstorm your plot.
Me: …but pants…
Georgie: Yes, you’ll have to shower and put on pants, but you’ll get fresh air and a fixed plot. That’s a fair trade.
As much as I hated the idea of going outside among the masses, she was right. I needed to fix this mess, and glaring at the computer wasn’t doing it any longer. As it was, I would have to tell my readers I was going to miss a posting day. If Georgie and Jack could help me fix this mess, I’d risk only losing one writing day.
So, after a little more coaxing—because I was that big of a baby—I agreed to meet her downtown for lunch at a cute restaurant with outdoor patio seating. She wasn’t letting this “fresh air” thing go.
The shower worked a few small miracles, and I located some clothes that made me appear to be a well-adjusted, normal human being. I caught a ride-share downtown and stopped off at a bookstore ahead of the agreed time and browsed the shelves.
When I hit the sidewalk and walked toward the restaurant, the worst of the dark clouds that had been hovering over my head had dissipated and the warm, late-spring sun was shining on the city. Blue skies above, a soothing breeze, and some new books in my backpack. Now I was off to meet up with friends to have proper food. If I were lucky, I’d get a few good suggestions to fix my book and all would be right in my world again. It was as though the gods were smiling down on me at last.
To reach the restaurant a couple of blocks away, I had to cross a bridge that stretched over an old canal that wound through the city. The water was usually a calm stream with a few tiny rapids and adorable waterfalls. However, this spring had brought endless rains, and the stream had swollen so that it gushed like an untamed river under the arched stone bridge.
As I crossed, something gold and shiny glinted from a clot of leaves in the gutter. I bent and fished out a coin. It was about the size of a persimmon, with a dragon on one side and a raven on the other. My eyebrows lifted as I flipped it over. The quality was exquisite, but there was no fucking way I’d found a real gold coin in the gutter. If I’d lost this much gold, I would have spent the rest of my life searching for it.
With my thumb, I rubbed away the bit of dirt that clung to the details minted into the coin, but there were no words on it. Nothing to indicate who had made the coin or what it was related to. The thing looked brand-new, as if someone had made it that afternoon. Other than possibly being gold, this wasn’t actual fungible currency.
However, that didn’t stop it from being gorgeous.
Maybe my luck was turning around. This was the start of a great day.
Whistling to myself, I flipped the coin into the air. The gold winked and reflected the brilliant sunlight as it spun. It was as though laughter had become a solid, tangible thing to be held in your hand. I caught the coin in my right and squeezed it, preparing to slap it on my left hand just to see what creature would appear, when crunching metal and squealing tires jerked my head up.
The world exploded into chaos in the blink of an eye. A giant black SUV had plowed through a smaller red sedan and was racing straight at me, its massive engine roaring like a dragon. My heart leaped into my throat, and all thought screeched to a halt. Panic and terror powered my legs, sending them backpedaling as fast as I could move. The heels of my sneakers slipped and gripped the uneven pavement.
With a bump and a trip, I tumbled over the stone railing of the bridge. My feet went over my head once, and then I was falling toward the rushing stream.
If I didn’t bash my head on the rocks, I was going to get sucked under by the racing waters.
Fuck.
This is why I should never have left my house.
Chapter 2
A Hell of My Own Making
Ow!
Ow! Ow! Owowowow!
My face hurt. And my head hurt.
I squeezed my watering eyes shut and covered my face with my hands as pain radiated from my nose while an answering ache echoed from the back of my head.