A demon hunter is caught between heaven and hell in a post apocalyptic western world.
That's pretty much it in a nutshell. There's a lot more about it of course but that gives you a nice hook. If you wanna know more about the story check out my very first post on the blog. I've give a bit more lengthier summary which I will eventually put here. I'll post excerpts and such to give you guys an idea of where I am and to let you comment on what I've written so far. So to get you started here's the prologue and keep in mind that it's still in rough draft stage so pardon any mistakes and such. This by the way was a five page story that started it all. I didn't have a solid book idea in mind till I finished it and decided that it would probably make an awesome story idea.
Prologue
The day that Galen decided to shoot himself was also the day he first met the angel. The crumbling apartment stank of nicotine and alcohol mixed with desperation. He’d been living there for a month when he finally decided to do it. It wasn’t that he needed much persuasion, he just had to work up the energy. Galen stared at the handgun perched on the edge of the tub. He’d do this in the bathroom, easy clean up that way. No need to be a burden to anyone once he was gone. A deep breath, then cold metal was pressed against his temple.
“Now this is truly pathetic.”
Galen frowned, his hand frozen in mid motion. His eyes shifted up and there she was. A woman with honey brown hair and dressed in seductive red and black clothing. She sat on the edge of the tub, her back turned to him. She was staring around at the tiny bathroom. Disgust wrinkled her nose and twitched her lips.
He couldn’t decide what was happening. There was cool metal greasing his hand and temple and he had to be alone yet… He was hallucinating, no other explanation. Galen looked away from her and stared at his feet. Another deep breath, God he wanted another cigarette, and the gun shifted in his hand.
“Of all the places to do something like this couldn’t you have picked somewhere clean? I realize you don’t care but I do. Have consideration for others why don’t you.”
He wouldn’t look at her. “What the hell are you? Too much booze, my brain misfiring, trying to convince me not to do this?”
“Oh please.” She laughed and the mocking tone got to him. “Your mind isn’t anywhere near sophisticated enough to conjure me. That’s like asking a Neanderthal to appreciate a luxury sports car.”
“Well….whatever you are,” his hands were balling into tight fists. The gun’s grip was biting into his palm. “Go away and leave me the fuck alone.”
“Well….whatever you are,” his hands were balling into tight fists. The gun’s grip was biting into his palm. “Go away and leave me the fuck alone.”
“Look at me.” It took a lot of willpower to even try to block out the command in her voice. In the end he looked up and found himself inches away from her face. She locked eyes with him and held him there. Galen gasped in surprise at her eyes. They kept shifting color, changing with smooth ease.
“As far as I’m concerned you are an insignificant fool. A tiny speck not worth paying attention to. You’ve turned yourself into a coward who’d rather run away than fight.”
Gale opened his mouth to protest and was cut off. She reached out a slender hand and clamped it onto his jaw and chin, keeping him from speaking. The mercurial eyes shifted to a dark blue.
“Don’t speak. All you need to know is that you’re being given a choice. To live and fight with a purpose, or have your brains splattered in this tub. Whether you say yes or no doesn’t matter to me. I’m just a messenger, a worker bee like you.”
She pushed him away with such force that the back of his head hit the wall behind him. The gun clanked against the side of his tub as his arm fell. Emotions rushed forward and he shut his eyes tight to prevent tears. The angel stood up, turning her back on him again.
“You…you have no idea what I’m feeling. What I’ve done.”
She scoffed. “That’s funny. You’re the one who hasn’t the faintest clue as to what’s going on not me.” She turned to face him again. He was a wreck of a man, grimy, trampled, and totally clueless. “You have no idea that you’ve been chosen.”
“Chosen? What the hell does that mean?”
“I’m not some mirage, I’m actually here. I was sent to you.”
“Sent by who?” He brought a hand up to rub at his eyes.
“By God.”
Galen began to laugh. It was a hoarse, cracked sound that hadn’t come out of his throat in years. This whole thing was beyond ridiculous. How did a suicide turn into being chosen by God?
“God?” His body shook as his laughter turned hysterical. “I can’t be chosen by something that doesn’t exist.”
“Believe what you want.” She shrugged, not bothered at all by his words.
“If you were sent by God,” he took in deep breaths, his hand back over his eyes trying to calm himself. “That make you an angel or something?”
“If that’s what you want to believe.”
“No see what I want to believe is that none of this is real. We aren’t having this conversation and I’m lying dead in this shithole bathroom.”
She crossed her arms and stared at him steadily. “Then do it, make it a reality. That’s your choice. Kill yourself and be done with it so I can move on to the next bastard who has more sense then to waste my time.”
Galen stared up at her. “I thought you said I was chosen.”
“You were but that doesn’t mean you’re the only choice we have. The blessing and curse of free will.” She smiled at the look on his face. “You thought that you were that kind of special? The hero of the day, the one who will save us all?”
She started to laugh, the mocking tone flooding the room. Galen’s fists tightened and his teeth clenched.
“Shut up…”
“Look at you, you can barely stand let alone bathe yourself. You’ve got some nerve to think of yourself as a hero.”
“Shut up!” He shouted and pointed the gun at her. It took no thought to fire three quick shots. They went through her and slammed into the wall sending chunks of plaster to the ground. Galen stared up as she smiled again and moved till their faces were inches away from each other. Her smile was dark and chilling, her voice cold.
“You’re just a man, full of up front weaknesses and buried strengths. You may be unique but being special is earned through your actions. Right now your actions label you as filth and not worth anyone’s time not even your own. All of that remains reality unless you decide to change it. No one else can decide your fate, only you.”
They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. Suddenly all Galen felt was exhausted. He slumped back into the tub and all of his muscles let go. The gun clattered to the ground harmlessly and he started to sob. The angel leaned back and sighed looking slightly annoyed.
Galen finally squeezed his eyes closed and scrunched up his features to stop his tears. Then he vigorously rubbed his face with one hand. The hand that had held the gun had gone numb. When he felt calmer he spoke again.
“What,” his voice caught and he coughed. “What am I being chosen for?”
The angel didn’t speak for a long moment. She looked like she couldn’t believe he was even asking. “It’s not a single mission, you say yes and you’re committing your whole life to the cause.”
“What cause? Be a little more damned specific.”
She looked annoyed again and scowled at him. “The world is crumbling all around us. Humanity has self destructed and it won’t be long before you’ve picked each other apart.” Her voice was heavy with contempt.
“We’re rebuilding, things aren’t perfect but we’re trying.”
“Trying?” She rolled her eyes and stood up again. “If you call reverting back to an even more barbaric period of history trying. I call it an exercise in futility.”
“For an angel you’re viewpoint is really fucked up.”
She couldn’t help but smile. “Just because I’m God’s messenger doesn’t mean I can’t accept reality.”
“Reality is what you make of it.” He tried to sit up straighter and couldn’t. His muscles creaked and complained.
The angel’s smile widened. “Exactly, you’re catching on.”
Galen clung to the sides of the tub as his mind raced and he took in steady breaths. He had been so sure that ending it all was what he wanted and he still did. But now he wavered, teetering between taking himself out of the big picture and having a new purpose. His heart sank and he slumped again. What was the point of a purpose if there was nothing else in his life? The angel stood there, her arms crossed and one foot tapping impatiently.
“Think of it this way, even if you say yes now you could always say no and shoot yourself later on. Not to mention the fact that the mission is dangerous. Who knows, you might end up dying soon anyway.”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure I see the point.”
The angel sighed again and spat out at him. “Look, knowing your history the last thing you’d want is to die like a lazy coward. At least this way you could go out in a blaze of glory. Maybe even attempt to help others.”
Galen’s mind wandered and he thought about his life. All of the good and bad, the struggles and triumphs and all the darkness of the last three years. He reached over and picked up the gun again, turning it over in his hands. It could end in one flash, or continue for who knew how long. The only question was whether or not he had the strength.
“Would you hurry up and decide? I don’t have forever to wait around for you.”
Galen continued to stare down at the gun. He frowned softly and thought about what he might be able to change. “What the hell…why not?”
“Remember, this is not going to be a cakewalk. It’s going to be tough and savage.” The angel stood there inspecting her nails. “You’ll get the shit kicked out of you constantly. I doubt you’d last very long.”
Galen glanced up at her and gripped the gun. He thumbed the safety and shakily stood up in the tub. He gave himself a moment before stepping out of it and coming over to stand next to her.
“I’ll do it.” He said the words with conviction. It melted slightly at the sight of the smile on the angel’s face.
“Excellent. I hope you’re ready for this because you’ll be walking through hell.”
“I’ve been through hell.”
“Nothing like this you haven’t.”
He gazed at her steadily then spoke. “What will I be doing?”
She smiled icy cold again. “You’ll become the harbinger of death, and maybe somewhere down the line you just might become the hero.”
