A blog where one NaNoWriMo Seattle Duck posts the chapters of the novels she never wants published for people to enjoy in the literary abandon.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Red Sandstorms Chapter 22



           The truck below us shuddered to a stop, thick smoke coughing out the tail pipe. Our driver didn’t seem at all pleased as he swore under his breath, forcing himself from the cab of the vehicle and to the hood. Steam came from between the cracks, making it very hard to open. Climbing down from the back, Jade, I and Max approached the front to give him a hand. My sister strayed some distance behind us, looking around at the sand. The landscape was very barren and flat, with the occasional dune rising above the rest.
            “I can’t get it fixed out here. The filter is too clogged to work now. We’ll have to clean it out manually or get a replacement,” he said, setting the screen down. Taking a large swig from his canteen, the driver sat back on the step of the truck.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Red Sandstorms Chapter 21



            Max wiped the sweat off her brow as some of the items she requested were brought over. I could tell she was very uneasy about this. Her eyes kept scanning the ground as if for some kind of help while she tracked the woman’s pulse. She spoke to several of the refugees before they went about searching for more things. Speaking to the woman slow, it seemed Max was explaining what needed to happen in order to help her birth the baby. One man started to panic, who I assumed was the father. Each time his wife cried out he knelt down and carefully rubbed her lower back before getting up once more and pace.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Red Sandstorms Chapter 20



Shells flew over our heads, crashing across the sands behind us. Already I wished to return to the safe haven of my office. Each new explosive flare lit up the sky and our faces. Keeping our eyes on the slow crawl forwards, I watched the mortar crash into a building and almost instantly turning it to rubble in a giant cloud of smoke. Ahead of me both Max and Jade were crawling forwards, hiding behind piles of debris.
            Tugging on my helmet, I trailed them as both at last stopped. They seemed rather nervous about something, as if unsure about the next move. Looking to them I gestured for them to keep going. Max shook her head, a nervous expression on her face. Never had I seen her look so scared or worried.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Red Sandstorms Chapter 19



Max looked through some binoculars down at the city from where she lay on a cliff. Wind blew her hair a bit loose from under her desert cloak where it moved about as the breeze picked up. She set them down, resting her arms from the long look. The walkie-talkie next to her must have gone off, as she spoke into it for a few moments before finally getting up and heading towards the narrow trail. It was a long treacherous climb downwards through the rocks back to the roof of the hidden cliff base.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Red Sandstorms Chapter 18



I squinted in the direction of my desk, seeing a form hunched over textbooks in the desk light. Groaning, I tried to burrow under my blankets but gave up as my feet became uncovered. Forcing myself out of bed I walked over and stood behind my sister.
            “Max, it’s three in the morning, get some sleep,” I said, reaching for the lamp. Her hand shot out and batted mine away.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Red Sandstorms Chapter 17


            The atmosphere seemed very different as Max packed her messenger bag. She was replacing any medic supplies and adding some new ones. A helmet lay on the table, carefully chosen and fitted. Her jacket lay strewn across a chair, freshly cleaned and crisp. Zipping up the bag, I watched her precise procedure as she straightened the coat before finally putting it on. Securing it on, Max then took the helmet and bag, heading in the direction of the main doors. Stopping at one office, she peeked in, knocking on the door.
            “Jade?” Just stopping near Max my ears seemed to pop—returning my hearing. The turning of an office chair made me perk up and peer in to see her look to my sister. Jade’s eyes glanced at the bag and helmet in my sister’s hands.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Red Sandstorms Chapter 16


            I sat on the train, my fingers drumming in anticipation. My eyes kept looking out the window at the landscape flying by us. Somewhere in the back of my mind I recognized it from before. Footsteps sounded from some place behind me, making me sit up straighter in hope it was the one I had not seen in so many months—fourteen to be exact. Over a year in waiting to come home. It had been forever since I had seen my sister and the one I loved. The person passed me by and took another seat somewhere else in the cabin—not seeing her yet caused my hopes to dwindle.
            Slumping in my seat, I must have dozed off at some point. A loud screeching noise woke me as the train lurched—my head banging against the window from the sudden stop. Several people almost slid from their seats, all of us surprised from the abrupt movement. I looked out the window, searching the landscape. Yelling caught my attention—although it was more like a scream—and it must have caught the rest of the train’s too. People all pushed to look out the windows, trying to see exactly what it was that had stopped our train.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Red Sandstorms Chapter 15


I raised an eyebrow as Max walked into the courtyard. There were other members of the base there, most of them throwing around a beat up baseball. We both watched the group for a few moments before I observed her walking towards the them. They appeared to be trying to split into teams—not very successfully if I might add—because of the shortage of players. With gauze still tapped on her head, I watched her talk to them for a few moments. Some of their gestures seemed to get wild, if not aggravated to have a girl on their team.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Red Sandstorm Chapter 14


Max sat on my bed watching me pack. There wasn’t a whole lot I could bring in this large duffle bag. A huge list of forbidden items was held in her hands. Her only job was to make sure I packed what I was told. Most of the drawers in our room were pulled open and half empty—the other half being Max’s stuff. It looked as if someone tried to rob the place with everything lying open. Glancing to my sister, I watched her eyes skim down the list, occasionally checking off the things I was supposed to bring. This wasn’t going to be easy, leaving her here, but I couldn’t take her into the war zone either. Somehow it was a miracle that we found a classmate of both Jade and I to watch Max here on the base.

Friday, April 27, 2012

Red Sandstorms Chapter 13


Max set down the three trays she was carrying precariously in her arms, not wanting to spill anything. The little girl slid off the bed to grab a tray when Max shook her head, moving the table over to the father and child. I watched the three converse—looking rather happy. Setting two of the trays before both patients, I saw my sister grab a chair to join them. It was good to see her so joyful in such a bleak time; all the patients she had to treat day in and out must have taken some toll on her. Seeing her laugh and munch with others was a definite change. Especially since these two patients were enemies of the military and she so openly rescued them and chatted with them like friends.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Red Sandstorms Chapter 12


            “We’ll be back in a few hours, okay Max? Thomas is going to watch you until we return,” I said, ruffling my sister’s hair. I was kneeling down tying my shoe. Her hand currently held a small stuffed penguin; a security item she had brought with her—among other toys from her room—from our house. Glancing up at her, I saw her head nod. Jade came over and knelt down with me.
            “I’ll take good care of him, don’t worry,” she said, hugging Max. We both stood and made our way around the labyrinth of toys and furniture—part of a fort we had made earlier today. Thomas and Max both walked us to the door.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Red Sandstorms Chapter 11


The man laughed, finding what Max said amusing. He gestured to the chair, needle and thread still in his hands.
            “Calm down. I know what I’m doing,” he said, laughing. “Max right? Well, you need to sit down and stay still so I can sew this closed. If you’re in pain, just say my name and I’ll back off.”

Friday, April 13, 2012

Red Sandstorms Chapter 10


Max giggled as we walked towards the school.
            “You won’t hit any kids today, right? I don’t want to have to stop work to come take you out of class,” I said looking at her. It was no surprise that she laughed at me.
            “I promise. No hitting,” Max said, swinging her metal lunchbox. “What if it’s an accident?” I stared at her blankly.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Red Sandstorms Chapter 9


           My eyes widened as I saw exactly who was in the driver’s seat. It had been years since I had seen her and suddenly she was showing up during the middle of a skirmish. Quickly looking to Max, I saw her stare for a few moments before finally nodding.
            Over the past while I had been watching Max and her converse with others. Slowly, but surely I was able to start to decipher words and understand what was going on, especially now.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Red Sandstorms Chapter 8


            Max closed the drawer with her stuff in it and climbed on the bed. She flopped on her back, a stuffed animal in her hand. I followed suit, staring at our new ceiling. Mr. Leland managed to pull some strings for me and Max to have a small dorm.
            “So? What do ya think?” I looked at my little sister. Her eyes glanced around the room before a sigh escaped her lips.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Red Sandstorms Chapter 7

            Max staggered back from blocking a strike from the livid man’s gun. There was really very little area for her to move. Any more towards the windows and she could get taken out by a sniper; any deeper into the building and there was no hope on getting out unless one of them lost their life. Seizing his gun, they wrestled about for a few moments until at last he kicked her back into a wall.
            His lips moved quickly, his mouth widening—indicating his shouts—with spit flying everywhere. My eyes watched Max’s reactions to his shouts. Already she seemed tenser than when he first pointed the gun at her. Her hands were held up towards him, trying to explain and do whatever she could to get him to see her reasoning.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Red Sandstorms Chapter 6

             I sighed, stuffing things in my bag. Max came in and flopped on my bed, staring at me. Smiling, I zipped up my bag and fixed my jacket.
            “Are you ready to go?” She stared up at me for a few moments and then got up, skipping to her things.  “Good, Mr. Leland will be here soon. Want me make sure you have everything?”
            “Yeah, here,” she said, bringing me the suitcase. Pulling it open, I blinked at the items: stuffed animals, coloring books and crayons.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Red Sandstorms Chapter 5

            Max moved about the sands, searching, listening. If there was any voice, she’d go to it. Spying over the dune, she seemed to hear something—a voice in the wind or just some noise—I’m not sure. Her sand camouflage uniform helped her keep hidden, but at times was more of a hindrance in this heat. Just as she gazed over a bank, I watched her travel in a definite direction. Almost in a panic she slid over the top mound and down. My eyes followed for a few moments before soon I was darting among the debris right with her.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Red Sandstorms Chapter 4


 Author Note: A surprisingly short chapter - which is actually very rare when I write. But in honor of International Pi day, I figured I would post a chapter, even though I'm doing terribly at sticking to my usual schedule. Enjoy! 

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Red Sandstorms Chapter 3


            Some noise caught Max’s attention, causing her to look around towards the roof tops. She must have shouted over whatever it was, as suddenly many of the soldiers fled for cover. Shouldering her bag and she towed the injured man. I watched as a mortar landed farther down the road. Its explosion shook the ground as fire erupted in the ruin of the building nearby. The group moved quickly to their vehicles, frantic to get out of the enemy’s range. The flames grew as the wind picked up, sending smoke and sand through the city.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Red Sandstorms Chapter 2

            I was not surprised to hear her footsteps behind me. We were ascending the stairs towards our rooms, the noise of our parent’s party getting underway as the guests already began to arrive… four hours early. More booze for them I suppose. By my mother’s request we were to remain upstairs. Dinner would hopefully make its way up to us, but I wasn’t completely sure she knew exactly what the meal would contain.
            “We can play with your superheroes,” she said, racing ahead of me to my door. Stopping in the opening, my sister looked at me, a grin on her face. This little game of ours continued each night until she finally dozed off and I began my homework. The noise of the party drifted up to us; sometimes I’d hear someone stumble and knock against the wall as they made their way to the bathroom. More than likely to throw up the large amounts of liquor they consumed.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Red Sandstorms Chapter 1

  Auther Note: I wrote this my first year of NaNoWriMo. And honestly, it hasn't seen the light of day since then. Basically, it's a war story. How 17-year-old me could write a war story without ever having been to a physical you-might-die war, is beyond me. Anyway, enjoy. 


Chapter 1


            I watched her silently as she dug through her medic bag. Sure, it would be easier to dump out and find what she was looking for, but sanitation was a more important issue than just merely treating a patient with all this sand billowing about. As she steadily treated him, another missile flew over head. Its target was much farther down the block, but none the less she lay over her patient to protect him.
            The explosion knocked down the corner of a building—it crumbling so easily from all the battering it must have taken from earlier hits. Returning to her task, I could see the expression on her face was blank. Her lips moved as if she said a silent prayer or maybe it was to keep the patient awake. Each time she finished a quick procedure her lips would move the slightest; her eyes glancing around, watching for that aid vehicle.

Monday, February 6, 2012

What to Expect Next

So yes, I did miss posting yesterday, the 5th. I was really busy with the Super Bowl. Congratulations New  York Giants, by the way. I was rooting for you! And some of that has to do with my crush on Eli Manning.

But anyway, I hope you all enjoyed Writers vs Ritters. I had a blast writing it, and really it all just seemed to come about via stream of conscious. Some scenes were slightly planned. And my sense of planning is I jot down the idea for a scene in one sentence, or jumbled words many months before I wrote this and then somehow it all comes to fruition when NaNo arrives.

The novel that I'm going to start posting next is super long. I'm serious. I think it's like, double the number of chapters Writers vs. Ritters has. It's a war story - I know another one. But this was from my first year participating in NaNoWriMo. In a lot of ways, it's far more serious than I ever intended a WriMo to be. Honestly I rarely plan these things and this one just came about out of boredom, or dumb luck, or something.

So up next you'll be able to read my first ever WriMo, Red Sandstorms.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Writers vs Ritters: The EPIC Battle Epilogue


The sun hung low on the horizon, setting the sky ablaze as a small group sat on top of the base on a small area not covered by solar panels. Using lawn chairs placed carefully on the peak of the base roof, they lounged about drinking soda and anything currently refreshing. High above them, large copters flew past hauling large sections of the satellite that was currently being dismantled. After working so hard to set up a proper government, the leaders of the Alliance took plenty of time to relax and enjoy themselves as friends and companions.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Writers vs Ritters: The EPIC Battle Chapter 17


Dom approached the stage with Sola, Minari and Ane as they remained behind the curtain. From where they stopped, they could hear the roar of the crowd as the rebels all waited anxiously for what was to come. It was going to be a minute or two before Ane actually walked out on stage. She felt like she was going to throw up, but with the encouragement of her friends, she forced her fears to the back of her mind.
            Going up the steps that led onto the stage, she strolled out and waved. Reaching the middle of the stage, she stopped and continued to wave at all the cheering. It took a few minutes for all the shouting to quiet down. Once it was fairly silent, she began to speak.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Writers vs Ritters: The EPIC Battle Chapter 16

All of the armor was in its final stages, but so was the gigantic satellite the GFU party was building. Now that they were upping their production, the Rebel Alliance was trying to compete with them and make sure they left nothing out of the plans. With Jon’s help, they had made sure that any scenario was created and a solution was made in order to cover it in times of emergency. It was all coming down to theses defining moments. Many were trying on their new armor and testing their updated weapons at the shooting range.
            Battle formations and simulations were being executed in the field behind the base. Anyone if not everyone was involved in those at least at some point throughout the last days. Every member of the council was busily making sure their equipment was up to date with all of the data that would constantly be streamed to them. With everyone getting edgy about the upcoming events, it was getting towards that time when they needed a motivational speech.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Writers vs Ritters: The EPIC Battle Chapter 15

It was the middle of the night when alarms started to blare. Almost everyone was asleep; everyone except for of course two people that remained awake. D00m and Dom were in the military facilities command center, keeping a close eye on the surveillance. Both of them were busily typing away the instant the alarm went off. People all across the facility were instantly awoken and getting dressed. Many were already pulling on their uniforms. Sola was awake in a flash and in the command center.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Writers vs Ritters: The EPIC Battle Chapter 14

Sola sighed, seeing that the recruit list had not gotten any bigger in the last two months. If no one new was being brought in, then they really were going to have limited support. According to a lot of the members, people were busying themselves with work for the gigantic satellite being built. Already the base was just over half assembled and it was just barely over seven months. Now they were coming down to the grind. It was time for all of their final preparation to get put into place. But not before they found more people. They had calculated they needed at least seven hundred people if not a thousand to be able to do any sort of damage. Right now their number was barely close to five hundred. And here they were trying to scrounge at the bottom of the barrel for at any rate two hundred more.
            She had yet to really announce the numbers to anyone other than Dom. She voiced all of her concerns to him, which in turn gave him the chance to calm her fears and come up with some kind of solution. Her eyes scanned the list again; just hoping that maybe she had missed a name. And yet somehow at the back of her mind, she knew she wasn’t going to find what she was looking for. Hope among everyone was starting to run thin. It seemed that the Good For You party and the Ritters were already speeding up production. If they worked any faster, the Rebel Alliance would be doomed from the start.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Writers vs Ritters: The EPIC Battle Chapter 13


Dom frowned as he adjusted his welding mask. Things just weren’t working out right now, and it didn’t help that he was trying to do a lot of his usual tasks while in a cast. Teek was below him currently adjusting a few of the lower portions of the new armor they were building. Because of his broken wrist, it was taking them a lot longer to accomplish the simpler tasks. Although with Teek and Moose both now at the warehouse, things were moving along at a bit of a faster pace. It was still not as fast as Dom preferred it, but well enough that he felt he had accomplished at least something that day. Glancing over to where he was, Sola could see that he was stopped once again, trying to readjust how he was currently holding his torch. That was the fourth time in the past two hours he had done that.
            With the torch now out, he continued to fiddle with it for several moments. Teek raised her welding mask and peered up at him, concerned as to why he had stopped. Sola smiled, watching as the little female Ewok doted over Dom like a loving older sister. She spoke to him, probably trying to get him to take a break or at least do something less involved with his hands. So far Sola had counted one of the two conversations occurring at least seven times today. Looking past them, she saw Collin and Moose busily working on assembling a few items that were to go down on tomorrow’s shipment to the facility.