Before Death

This has been an extremely fun yet challenging week for this next piece. Although I did not post by Friday, there will be a post coming today. I just have to issue a warning because there will be disturbing and possibly even triggering events that occur in the story. Although I knew that at one point it would come up in the story, I was not sure when I started this project if it was going to happen this quickly or not. I actually didn't want it to happen right now (hence the hesitation to post it by Friday), but it seems that it has arrived sooner in the storyline than I originally expected, so I will go ahead and say that there will be violence against women and sexual assault depicted.  I do not use it for fun or meaningless shock value. I assure you, I take these offenses very seriously and would never speak of them lightly by any means. I will tag this update with the trigger warning in key words, and I will also list them in the key words when I post the actual piece that has ...

Woman Golden sunrise greeted her warmly when she rose the next morning.  I will walk as far as my feet will carry me , she thought. A large black bird squawked in the distance--she could see it circling the sky over something that must be laying there dying, if not already dead, ahead. She did her best to avoid the unfortunately-fated animal, and it proved beneficial.  By midday she arrived to a body of water and decided to take some time and rest. She was hungry, hot, and grateful for the shade provided by the nearby grove. Palm trees reached down from above as if to pick her up and carry her away in the blowing breeze. Laying down at the river's bank, she scooped up fresh water by the handful, drinking as much as she could swallow until her thirst was quenched. Finally satiated, she closed her eyes for a quick rest.  Aroused from her restful nap, it was much later in the day than she expected. She paused for a moment to take in the view of the sinking sun. Golden fire d...

Woman Running until her legs got so sore she couldn't take it anymore, she then pushed herself forward and ran some more. Collapsing into the sea of sand surrounding her, on hands and knees she looked around at the desert expanding in front of her in all directions. She stopped dead in her tracks, laughing maniacally.  "He is no more in my presence?" she screamed into the vast nothingness. "He is no more in my presence!" she roared, the wind carrying her declaration away. She slowly raised herself onto one knee then the other. Dusting off her hands, knees, legs, and feet, she realized she liked the gritty feeling of the sand against her skin. The gentle scrape it made was soothing.  She looked around, realizing she could literally go in any direction she wanted. "He is not here to direct me or tell me where I should be. I,  for now and ever, will decide where I go, when I go, or how I get there. If I want to build something, I will build it. If I want to do...

Updates:  28 June 2024 Sorry to have to do this to y'all again, but due to the immense amount of research and development I am doing to deliver the best story as possible, I am changing the timeline of posts to at least one post per week by Friday night at 7:00 p.m. EST. Some weeks I may update on a Monday night as well since I've done it before, but we'll have to see. I'm not completely sure. I have so much material to explore and having to get it right, in order, the first time as I'm posting it piece by piece to this blog is actually kinda tricky. Lol.  I promise I haven't bailed on the project. If anything, this is the only thing I do all my waking hours.  Yes, this means I am posting by 7:00 p.m. EST tonight. I have already started working on it, and I think it's going rather well. No one's left any comments so far, but I hope that means you like it.  Also, I have updated Parts I & II a couple of times because I realized a lot of the story's...

Liliana (continued) She walked up to the interactive security gate to unlock the store. It was more like a blacked-out interface like the one above the kitchen island at home. Instead of actually using the noisy ancient metal gates like the ones people used on planet Gaia 6-514, formally known as Earth in the 21st century, L.I.A.M. for Business Technology was quite the upgrade. Technology had changed drastically over the last 250 years since Gaia 6-514 had to be emergency evacuated.  Liliana spoke to the interface, "Input security apparatus, unlock code and initiate eye scan to confirm authoritative identification." A translucent scanner appeared in front of her and she laid her left palm flat on it. "Individual hand print initiated, please prepare the appropriate eye selected for scanning," L.I.A.M. requested. She put her right eye up to the scanner and allowed her retina to be authenticated.  "Retinal eye scan entry accepted. Good morning, Liliana," a co...

When the ties that bind create a line that doesn't know yet falls in place,  a woman's voice echoed in her ears as if she said it herself, causing her to pause for a second and look around.  "Hello?" she called out. "Can anybody hear me? Where am I? Can you please tell me where I am?" No one answered. Her breath and heart fought for residency in her throat, forcing her to stop dead in her tracks, stand up straight and reach her arms to the sky, rolling her shoulders in half circles to release the pressure building due to the lack of oxygen in her chest, dissipating the tension immediately. The exaggerated depth of her stretch allowed her to achieve a full diaphragmic inhale, and she exhaled slowly so as to remain silent. Her joints popped and unwound from the graceful range of motion. She was so cramped and uncomfortable, but the stretch helped. The mystery woman's voice repeated itself as she glanced down the empty corridor. Looking behind her, to the r...