30 Days in November
an excerpt

My novel (or as I like to call it, blogvel) is posted at
http://blog.dawnsrise.com/

Here are some excerpts:

Excerpt 1:
OK. I am really having a problem right now. I'm literally shaking. I'm sweating like a pig and freezing at the same time. I feel like puking but nothing's coming up.

I stumbled across something at work today that I really don't think I should have seen. Something really bad. I mean Evil with a capital 'E'. I don't know what to do. I don't know if there's anyone I can talk to about this. The only reason I'm blogging about it is that I've got to get this off my chest.

Excerpt 2:
Are you still with me here? Someone rolled a car into her. On purpose. I just stand there gawking, while people all around me are screaming and running after her. The poor woman never had a chance. In about five minutes the place is crawling with police cars and helicopters are buzzing all around.

Excerpt 3:
"If you found me here, then they won't be far behind," he says, rising from his chair. "You two are in a perfect position, inside the company. You need to find a way to get deeper inside. We need to know who's pulling the strings. Right now they have complete deniability. We need some solid proof. You might be the only hope--"

Excerpt 4:
"Run," I say. "RUN!!"

As fast as we can we bolt down the hall. Just as we reach the door we first entered, a violent concussion blows past us, throwing us through the door. Carrie screams. I hear alarms sounding, and cars from all directions are honking or buzzing.

Excerpt 5:
I don't know what to do. I should just go back and make her understand. I want her to tell me she doesn't love me. There's got to be something I can say.

Please Ellie, if you read this, please understand what's been happening. Please just give us another chance.

Excerpt 6:
I look at all the pictures. I don't know what to say.

"Alex, there are about 500 years of jail time here, and possible capital punishment. Now I'm not a prosecutor, I'm not here to arrest you. We've simply been able to put the pieces together faster than the authorities. You may be thinking that you can lie to me, or get out of this somehow, but right now, I'm the only friend you have."

Excerpt 7:
Ellie walks over and holds my hands. "You know we can't be together Alex. You may never understand how much all of this hurts, to have a taste of a normal life. Everything we've been through is something I can't have. My life is not my own. I'll never be a mother, or a wife, or anything."

Excerpt 8:
"...I know we're only two people, but we can put a stop to this. We need to be prepared to destroy Building Four."

I don't know. What Carrie is proposing is ludicrous. But if they have that technology, the world as we know it could be coming to an end. We won't be in control of ourselves anymore. We won't have free will. It's not a world I want to live in...

Excerpt 9:
The door opens and a couple men come in, one dragging a board with some metal rings on it. They grab me and throw me down on the board, cuffing my hands against the board and putting a rag in my mouth. The General hovers over my head. I try to yell but the rag prevents that.

"I find it very interesting that your government doesn't consider waterboarding to be torture. I personally find it to be quite distasteful. There are far too many 'accidental' deaths with this technique. However, times what they are, who am I to go against modern interrogation techniques..."

Excerpt 10:
...She squeezes my hand. "Oh, Alex. You know I might have to kill again. You know how hard I'm trying to get away from that. I don't want you to have to go through that."

I look at her. "Ellie, it's what you do..."

Excerpt 11:
"I want to thank you for what you did," she shouts over the din. "You saved our lives back there. I won't forget it." The helicopter raises her up and then takes off towards the nearest hospital.

I can't believe it's over. But my dad's house is ruined, there's a contingent of Chinese agents and their captives on the lawn, there are burning cars down the road, and a couple of craters here and there. Not to mention the piles of shell casings everywhere. We're really going to have to come up with a good explanation for this when the authorities show up.

Excerpt 12:
I'm in a building wired to blow up. I've got a minute to get out before it all blows up. I run down the stairs like a madman and out the emergency door. I'm about twenty yards from the building when I'm thrown off my feet in a terrific blast. I feel sharp pains as debris slams into my back. I'm tossed probably another thirty yards away. After rolling on the ground, I look back. Smoke is pouring from the bottom of Building Four. I see one edge of the building sag, and then the whole thing collapses in a huge cloud of dust and noise. I put my shirt over my mouth so I can breathe, and start running away as fast as I can. I don't look back.

Excerpt 13:
I jump up. "You don't know shit about the truth. You pretend that you're trying to protect your country but it's all a fucking game to you. You mess with people's lives like players on a chess board. You don't care who you hurt, or even what you even accomplish. It's all about the game, and who can play it the best."

"Yes. You're absolutely right. We play a game where the losers are dead and the winners have no souls..."

"Ellie," I say, sitting down next to her. "I know you feel like you have to save the world. I know you feel like you have to be tough. But I've seen your other side Ellie, and I have to say I like it a lot. You're a special person, if you would ever allow yourself to be yourself..."