Unresolved Resolution

As those who are reading my blog know, or perhaps those who have talked to me in person, I resolved on New Year’s Day to finish Rancid, the sequel to Toxic, by April 2012. It was an ambitious goal, but one that I thought would be possible. 
Since this is May 2012, you can see that I did not make my goal. I had two personal events happen – one very bad and one very good – that have taken time and energy from me, making it very hard to write. 
Now for the good news! I have over 75,000 words written. I figure Rancid will have about 100,000 words, so I’m almost done. I still have the editing process to go through, but I’m very hopeful that it will be finished soon. I’m extremely excited about Rancid and how the story is coming together. I’m not going to promise a certain date until Rancid is much closer to being finished. I don’t want to hurry through the editing or the writing. I want to make sure Rancid is as good, if not better, than Toxic.  However, to tantalize you a bit, I thought I would post a bit from the first chapter of Rancid.Please keep in mind that it is not edited or finalized. It is quite possible that I will change some things about this section. Enjoy!

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A scream as sharp as a warrior’s sword pierced through the darkness. Lizzy jerked awake as her heart quickened. Seekers! Rica! Fear washed over her like a sudden flood, but her eyes refused to stay open. She struggled to wake up, forced herself to move. Yet her arms and legs wouldn’t move. Panic grew as she imagined what unseen horror was causing the shriek. For a minute, she thought she was still with her parents. The yell sounded just like a cougar she once saw trapped in a tree by dogs. But somehow she knew that this screech was from a human. She could hear the terror in it as it echoed around her. It was the sound of something cornered but not yet ready to give up. She fought to keep her eyes open and tried to see something, anything, that would tell her what was attacking.She glimpsed a small light off in the distance growing close. Eladar!Hope soared. The great white Archippos would chase away whatever evil was close. Her eyes closed as she remembered how the winged horse had fallen to the ground covered with blood. Tears she could not wipe away streamed down her cheeks as she recalled the instant that he took his last breath. She forced her eyes open again, trying to clear her head, trying to think. Why can’t I wake up? Who is screaming? The light blinded her as it grew from the size of a small candle to a large lamp. The shadows from the light bounced off large dark shapes looming like Seekers. Her weariness disappeared with horror, and her scream joined the other in an eerie harmony. The other scream changed to shouted words filled with a tinge of panic and hysteria. “You can’t take me! I won’t go!”Lizzy stopped screaming. The voice, although strained with fright, was strangely familiar. The name, the face, that belonged to the voice drifted away before she could grasp it as her eyes began to close again. She struggled to stay awake as darkness closed in around her.“I don’t want to go!” The words shot through her, and her eyes snapped open with realization. Kai! It was Kai screaming!