Update and "rose novella"

I apologize to y'all for the absence of posts recently...my life has been really busy (whose isn't?).  This week is performance week for my dance school, and what with mother's day and all...plus I'm trying to keep up with schoolwork and still find time to work on my novella.  About that!  I guess it's high time I told you guys a little about it.  =D


My novella is based on a concept of my dance teachers' for one of our pieces this year.  The main theme is about sacrifice, and it involves some (hopefully non-cheesy) time travel elements.  The main character is a girl whose story is loosely based on Rachel Scott of Columbine.  Her family is having trouble, and she doesn't know what to do about it.  She keeps seeing this motif of a rose with long thorns on the stem, but she doesn't know what it means until she learns from God that she is going to die very soon.  She also learns that if she dies like she is now, without her heart being in the right place, her family will fall apart.  Then she is taken to two different places in history where she is shown things that prepare her for what she has to face, and hopefully the ending will be as cool as I'm imagining it to be.


At any rate, I have about 3,500 words done at the moment out of about 12-15 K (hopefully that'll be my ending word count).  I've finished the first of four major scenes - it needs a lot of editing, but hopefully I can get this thing taken care of in a pretty reasonable amount of time.  For me.  At this point I have no idea how long that is.  (Hang on, that's not funny...)

Here's an excerpt:

“What?” Alex blurted under her breath, suddenly apprehensive. “I don't know what to do!”


You don't have to – I do. But I need you to trust me, Alex. I'm calling out to you now, all you have to do is obey.

The rose snatched Alex's attention in the corner of her eye. The surface of its petals seemed to be dripping a dark, red liquid, like ice slowly drips water. It looked like the rose was bleeding. Fascinated, Alex couldn't tear her eyes away from the strangely morbid sight.

“What do you mean?” she breathed. “What's happening?”

You will be killed on Friday morning.

At first, Alex didn't really believe what she was hearing. But as the feeling grew on her, the force of the unspoken words grew stronger, and she knew it to be true. She'd be a fool to not understand.

If you do this without me, the tragedy will destroy your family.

A doubt crept into her mind, a doubt that suggested she was being forced into what was about to happen. What kind of a choice did that leave her, if this feeling rang true? But she knew that it did, and pushed the doubt away, struggling to maintain her bearings. What did this mean? What options did she have?

“Is there any way I can survive?” Alex found herself pleading with reality, panicking, trying to find a way out of the future. “I don't want to die!”

They have made their choice. I won't stop them – I gave them free will, just like I gave you free will. I gave it to all humans alike.

“How -” she faltered, “how do I save my family? How can I fit the rest of my life into one night?” The impact of what she knew to be true was rushing at her like the full force of a freight train. Her mind was spinning out of control, and she clutched the sides of her head with white fingers.

Put your trust in me, Alex. I can turn your death into something greater than you could ever imagine – perhaps even stop another tragedy like the one that will kill you. And it will bring your family together – trust me, Alex. I don't want you to go down without me. You will be lost without me.
 
 
~Madeline alias *the Bedouin*