Rurik’s Revenge

Chapter 2. VOMIT DRAFT

As I awoke, the world seemed to stand still. The silence around me was haunting. The first rays of dawn pierced the darkness. I girl sat nearby. I looked again at the girl. I didn’t recognize her. She had tended my wounds. Her silence was a balm to my shattered soul. My thoughts were as tumultuous as the sea, wave after wave crashing on the shore as I slowly recalled the horror that had happened the day before. My mind grappled with the weight of it all. The loss. The despair.

She must have seen me stir.

“We cannot stay here.” she said. “They are still searching the woods. We have to move.”

I nodded. Gently she helped me up and led me out of the cave. In the daylight she was beautiful, a goddess. We set off. She moved with quiet confidence. Her steps sure, as if propelled by an unseen force — navigating the uncertain terrain of the forest.

We traveled for days, subsiding on whatever the forest could provide. It was an arduous journey. And each step a reminder — the faces of my family — my village, nothing but a scorched memory.

Under the cloak of darkness we reached

(see Chapter 1 here.)

Yeah, that’s as far as I got. I ain’t proud, but here we are.

As good fortune would have it, I came across some writing advice from Jesse Itzler. Vomit the first draft and then come back and revise.

And Jesse knows a thing or two. He wrote Living with a SEAL and Living with the Monks. I’ve read them both, you should too.

I found myself going back and tweaking and re-tweaking Chapter 1.

Sure, I didn’t get far in this second chapter, but I now have a better plan.