Ice-Age

[Guest guest]

I've been working on and off on my first novel. Its about the world gone

totally mad. I've got it completed up to

the second draft. I'm now going through it again and doing a third draft,

and so as I finish each chapter, I shall post it to Green Vibrations. Here

then

is the first chapter:

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ICE-AGE

by Andy Savage.

 

 

Chapter 1

 

Dave lifted his shocked, red face out of the bloodstained snow. He lay

spread-eagled in the middle of the vast, white, open plain, like some great

weight had just rolled over him. There was a taste of acid in his mouth and

he could feel with his tongue a jagged gap where two of his lower incisors

used to be.

He wasn't too sure how long he had been lying in the ice, everything was

spinning around. He guessed he must have lost consciousness for a short

while, and he felt sick. His scalding ears were making a high-pitched

pulsing noise inside his head, and his sinuses were ringing. A hot tear

rolled down his cheek and he let out a pitiful moan. Gritting his teeth, he

started to push his slim body up onto his knees, making the straining

muscles of his skinny arms shake. He felt dizzy, and had to concentrate a

few moments to stop himself from vomiting. With a flash of pain from behind

his green eyes, he heaved himself upright.

He slowly stretched his back, until there was a crack from his spine, and he

held his white haired head, which seemed like it might roll off. He took a

deep breath, permeating his lungs with numbing, glacial air. Squinting, he

looked up. The sky was as blue and thin as his slender hands.

Dave did not yet know if he had been badly injured. He didn't care just now.

He couldn't feel too much. He didn't give it a thought. Everything had

happened at breakneck speed. The smell of the dogs was fresh in his mouth

and he could still hear the sound of the rumbling sleighs speeding into the

distance. He shuddered. He was scared and alone. Something terrible had just

happened and there was nothing he could do about it.

His breath was as ghostly as the endless land. He knew he was lucky. It was

the start of spring, the blizzards had come to an end and the temperature

was now above freezing. Had it been a week earlier he wouldn't have lasted

more than five minutes in the Arctic conditions.

The senses started to return to Dave's body. Everything was hurting. Maybe

he'd been stabbed, perhaps more than once. It was hard to think. The thud of

the baseball bat had emptied his head. He looked around for his sunglasses,

but could only see the smashed remains of the shattered frames.

Nausea was seeping upwards from deep within his stomach. There was a

piercing ache across his back and down his legs. He began to shiver. The

right sleeve of his long leather coat had been torn, and the arm of his

white, woollen pullover underneath was tattered, red and wet. The left knee

of his jeans was ripped, exposing his bare, grazed skin. Not able to reason

clearly, he huddled his arms around himself and stamped his cold, black,

leather boots into the crunchy ground, desperately trying to make his brain

work.

Close by, he saw a purple scarf junked on the snow, and he stooped over

gingerly to retrieve it. He picked it up and held it close against his face.

Simon's smell was on it. It was Simon's scarf. It was still warm. A feeling

of panic burst through Dave. His eyes widened and his heart started to

thump. The horror of what had taken place not five minutes ago now started

to fully hit him, " Oh God, " he wept, " Oh God, Simon, I'm so sorry. "

Dave felt utterly hopeless and degraded. His memory started to fire images

at him, dreadful, beleaguering images, and with each one he felt more lost

and ashamed, " Oh Lord! " he cried, overwhelmed by despair, " Why Simon? Why my

son? "

Shielding his eyes from the dazing, white glow of the messed up snow

spreading out around him, he gazed angrily at the dog sleigh tracks hurrying

off to the northern horizon, " How could I have been so stupid? " he yelled

with frustration and rage in his voice, " How can I be such a complete

idiot! " he bawled, shaking his fists, " Why did I let this happen? "

Dave coughed and felt a sharp, knifelike jab at the top of his chest. He was

finding it painful to breathe. He feared he'd been cut. There was a lot of

blood smeared down his front, but at least it didn't seem to be still

gushing out from anywhere. He wasn't even sure if it was his own blood.

Carefully, he peeled the neck of his pullover open to peer down. There were

three swollen, clotted gashes on his right pectoral. They looked nasty.

Some more visions of the attack shuddered through his mind. He could see the

snapping, yellow teeth going for his legs, taste the solid round wooden bat

in his face and hear the grinning woman's manic whoop.

Then there was his young son's terrified scream as he was seized from his

father's battered arms by the two terrifyingly strong, frenzied men who were

dressed in white bear skins.

Seething tears fell from Dave's face, melting little holes by his feet, and

he held out his bruised hands, " Simon! " he shouted.

It still didn't seem real. It was too awful to contemplate. His son, his

whole reason to stay alive in this refrigerated nightmare of a world, had

been snatched away from him by some evil, cut-throat gang of murderous

bandits in a mad, abrupt instant of horror.

Doggedly, Dave decided he must force himself along the trail made by the

sleighs. He didn't know what else to do. He had nothing left to lose.

Weeping uncontrollably, he staggered forward and shrieked out loud in a

wrathful voice, " I'll get you back. Don't you worry. Your dad's coming. Do

you hear? I'll never give up. I'll make them wish they killed me when they

had the chance. They're going to pay for this! I'll find you, I promise.

I'll get you back! Can you hear me, Simon? "

[Guest guest]

Very vivid work! Are you sending this off for publication? I'm intrigued!

Lori

[Guest guest]

isomwave- wrote:

original article:/?start=69

> Very vivid work! Are you sending this off for publication? I'm

intrigued!

> Lori

 

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Hey, glad you like it!

I think I will try a few publishers with it once I get through the

third draft, there's still a lot of bits that need tying up, especially

in the later chapters.

[Guest guest]

Interesting start, Sav. Not exactly dull is it!

Novels, free gifs, what next from GREEN VIBES? The mag for one. Try and contribute!

P.