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Date Posted: 18:00:00 05/20/10 Thu
Author: 
Page
Subject: In here >>>>
In reply to:
Page
's message, "The boards are back in town!" on 17:43:02 05/20/10 Thu
Excerpt from working title Royal Orleans
©2010 by Juli Page Morgan
Posted for purposes of critique and does not constitute publication
It hurt to breathe. Sherry awoke in the dark bedroom, her chest heavy. Instinctively she took a deep gulp of air, only to have it end in a violent fit of coughing. Her throat was raw, and she realized she’d been coughing in her sleep for some time.
Something was wrong with the air; it seemed too heavy to draw into her lungs and every small gasp brought on more coughing. She struggled upright and grabbed Geoff’s pillow, pressing it to her face. That helped a little, and as the spasms in her chest eased she became aware of a hissing noise coming from the fireplace. As she peered over the pillow trying to bring the fireplace into focus, she noticed Kashmir lying by her side. The little cat was still; she hadn’t moved even when Sherry sat up.
The sight of the cat, the heavy air and the hissing noise came together in Sherry’s mind like a thunderclap. Gas! Natural gas was leaking from the fireplace and filling the room! Sherry flung the pillow aside and snatched Kashmir to her chest. The cat’s head lolled against her arm and Sherry cried out in anguish. As she sucked in a lungful of deadly air, she began coughing again. Panicked, she put a hand on her belly. The baby! She had to get out of the house, and quick.
She half slid, half fell out of the bed and staggered across the room. The lights in the back yard provided enough illumination for her to make out her sandals in front of the closet door. Trying to take shallow breaths, she slipped her feet into the shoes and grabbed her purse from the seat of the rocking chair. She slung the strap across her chest bandolier-style and fumbled with the lock on the door that gave on the patio, still clutching Kashmir in her free arm.
By the time the balky deadbolt opened, Sherry was almost too dizzy to turn the knob. She stumbled onto the covered, screen-enclosed patio and took a deep breath. The result made her fall against the brick wall; the air was no better on the patio than it was inside. It was as if the gas had followed her out of the bedroom, a living entity that would not let her go. Moaning in fright, Sherry lurched toward the screen door and threw herself against it, breaking the lock. She burst into the back yard, violent coughs tearing at her chest, and staggered away from the house.
Her first gulp of clean air made her sob in relief, but she didn’t stop to savor it. Her only thought was to get as far away from the house as she could. Despite the trembling in her fingers, she managed to open the gate and escape the back yard. She clutched Kashmir tighter and curved her other hand under the bulge of her belly before she began to run.
The low row of soft lights outlining the driveway gave her a point of reference, and she ran at an angle across the front yard, heading for the gate. She tried to ignore the limp feel of Kashmir, refusing to believe the worst. If she could just get to the street, she’d be safe. She’d be safe, Kashmir would be safe, and the baby would be safe.
The black bulk of the wrought-iron gate swam into her vision and she tried to run faster. She was going to get out; everything would be alright!
That’s when the house blew up behind her.
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Wow! -- Debi, 18:34:29 05/20/10 Thu
You're killing me here, you know that, right? Little glimpses, little snatches of drama and then....aaaggghhhhh!!!!! ;-)
Hurry up and write the rest, woman!!!;-)
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Oooh! -- Paige2, 23:14:14 05/21/10 Fri
I really enjoyed this and can't wait to read more. All these little snippets here and there. Great job! Can't wait for more on this story.
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I'm a-workin' on it. (Kind of! *G*) Trying to figure out to avoid a fire. All I need is an explosion with no flames, but I don't think that's gonna work. We'll see... -- Page, 14:42:35 05/23/10 Sun
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Re: Oooh! -- Paige2, 16:25:15 05/23/10 Sun
Well if it's gas...the house can just implode on itself. Just gotta watch out for flying debris. Very few flames, some debris would catch but the house wouldn't as when it explodes it smothers the major flames. It can be done.
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But...but...I don't wanna kill you! *G* Hopefully I'll finish this part soon, and I promise I'll post it! -- Page, 14:41:12 05/23/10 Sun
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More! More! More! :0) -- Promise, 11:32:43 05/24/10 Mon
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Hey Page! Want me to post the question on little_details? -- debikm, 21:25:15 05/31/10 Mon
There is a great community on LiveJournal called little_details, where members can post just this sort of question when their GoogleFu is not working.They've helped me on many an occasion. I tried to find some information I could direct you to about explosions with no fire but am failing, as my GoogleFu is sometimes weak. I don't want to post there without your say-so, though. Just let me know!
Debi
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