One of the best parts of being a writer is all of the fun things you get to try in the name of research. When my characters, Molly and Jake, go rappelling for the first time, I know exactly how they feel. :)

The Run for Freedom: The Life and Times of Lemuel Xandiver - Part 9

Lem forced himself not to panic. After living with dragons for over a month, he knew better than to make any sudden moves. A drop of nervous sweat traced its way down from his forehead and dripped off his chin. He felt a chill as the night air fanned his face. Glancing around slowly, Lem wracked his brain trying to think of a plan, but he came up with nothing. His mind was empty except for the vision of those red and black eyes so intently focused on him.

The largest of the beasts slowly began to creep forward. Then, following their leader, the others advanced. That’s when Lem noticed it. One of the dragons walked with a limp. Lem knew that limp. He knew that dragon. It was the first one Lem had ever met, the one from the school yard. The question was did the dragon know Lem. He had spent some time with the creature in the hidden village but not much. Not much at all. He tried to remember its name. It started with an “A.” Ahote, that was it!

“Ahote,” Lem called to the dragon. “Here, Ahote.” The dragons stopped, and Ahote cocked his head and looked curiously at Lem. Lem slowly reached into his pouch and pulled out some of the thick jerky he had packed to eat on the trip. He held it out to the dragon. “Do you want something to eat?” With his focus on the injured pet, Lem almost didn’t see the alpha dragon until it was too late. Apparently, he wanted the jerky too and was willing to take Lem’s hand off to get it. Lem quickly threw the meat to the side when the big beast pounced on it. He reached back in his pouch and grabbed the rest of the treat tossing it as far from himself as he could. They all rushed after it, and Lem got up and took off in the other direction. He realized he was lucky that they had lived with people long enough to prefer prepared food to human flesh, but he knew that if he didn’t hurry away, he might just be next on the menu.

Lem tore through the forest without even bothering to try and cover his tracks. He knew that his only chance of escape was speed. When he originally made his plan, he had hoped that his absence wouldn’t be discovered until the next morning, but with the guard hearing him leave, he suspected that time was not on his side. Luckily, the moonlight was bright enough that he could see his way. He only had to stop once to remove his makeshift kneepads as they slid down his legs. Stuffing them in his pouch, he kept running.

Lem clutched at the pain in his side as he stumbled along. He felt like someone had stuck a knife in him, but he didn’t dare stop. He didn’t have much night left. Once the sun rose, it would be much easier for the guards to track him, so he had to put as much distance between them as he could. It would have been so easy to give up. His life in the village hadn’t been bad after all. Everyone had been very friendly with him, and his side and head did hurt so. Maybe he could risk sitting down for just a few minutes. Besides, he was so tired. A short nap couldn’t hurt. He had been up all night. As Lem’s body began to grow heavier and heavier, he almost gave in to the temptation but, fighting against the very persuasive voices in his head, he staggered on.

Just when he felt that he couldn’t go any further, Lem saw a strange blue glow through the trees. At first, he thought his exhaustion was causing him to hallucinate, or he had collapsed and was experiencing some strange dream. He pinched himself, and still the blue glow remained. His natural curiosity was piqued, and the wonder of it shot through his body giving him new energy.  As he made his way closer to the strange glow, the trees thinned and he began to hear the sound of waves rushing against the shore. The blue light grew more intense, and he could see that it came from the water. It formed what appeared to be a ring outlining the shore, a ring made of small glowing, moving pieces. Lem hurried forward taking a nervous glance behind. He realized it wasn’t wise to stand on the exposed beach, but he just had to see what this was.

Moving closer, he recognized the small creatures. They were squid, glow-in-the-dark squid. He’d never seen anything like this before. It was beautiful. A thick line of them ran down the length of the beach as far as he could see illuminating the night in a blue ethereal glow. Exhausted, sore, injured, and hungry, Lem stood there soaking in the beauty of the scene.

He didn’t hear the silent footsteps come up behind him, but somehow he suddenly felt that he wasn’t alone. Lem sighed. So, they’d found him. He was almost too tired to care. Tearing his eyes from the wonderful sight in front of him, he slowly turned around and saw Running Wolf standing there staring out at the sea. 

Trees

 

I love trees. They stand like silent sentinels surrounding, hovering, watching, guarding. Reclining on my deck looking up at their majestic faces at twilight I can feel their presence and personalities like old friends.

Free Drawing Results

AND THE WINNER IS (drum roll please) Jerry Woolfolk! Congratulations, Jerry. You've just won a $50 gift card to the bookstore of your choice. I'll be contacting you to see which bookstore you prefer, so be thinking about it.
A big thank you to everyone who participated in the drawing. I'll be having another one soon, so stay tuned to my Facebook page, Alice Elizabeth Cook, for more details.
Another thank you to Zeynep Harkness for helping me out and drawing the winning name.

Free Drawing

To celebrate getting 101 likes on my Facebook page (Alice Elizabeth Cook), I'm having a drawing for a $50 gift card to the bookstore of your choice. To enter the drawing, like my Facebook page and share this on yours. Good luck! :)

The Escape Attempt: The Life and Times of Lemuel Xandiver - Part 8

Lem closed the door to his hut as if he were going to bed, but instead, he began his preparations to leave. He changed into the clothes he had been wearing when he found the underground village and folded up the extra shirt and pants that Running Wolf had given him. Taking two cords that he had  saved for this purpose, Lem tied the shirt and pants to his knees as improvised kneepads. He clipped his small flashlight to his belt, slung his pouch with some dried food it in around his neck and tied his shoelaces together draping his shoes around his pack. Standing up, he took a deep breath. He was ready.

Lem walked to the door of his hut and cracked it open just wide enough to peer out into the darkness. He couldn’t see them, but he knew they were there. Even at night the warriors stood guard blocking each exit. It would be tricky getting past one of them, but first, he had to make it across the wide cavern without causing any sound or attracting any notice.

Concentrating on each step, Lem inched his way along the path that he knew well from weeks of study. He had never moved so slowly in his life, so painfully slowly. His muscles ached under the strain, but he didn’t dare go any faster. With each step, he felt out the ground in front of him before he placed his foot. Then he lowered his toes first and gently his heel followed. He had tried just walking on his tip toes to start with, but after almost losing his balance a few times, he changed his tactics.

Inch by inch, Lem made his way to the other side of the village. Once he reached the archway and the huge boulders that covered the floor underneath, he sank to his knees and crawled over them one by one, feeling his way carefully. It was in anticipation of this that he had made his kneepads, and they served him well.

The journey which would normally only take a few minutes, felt hours long. Only when his outstretched hands finally hit the rock of the cave wall near where he had entered all those days ago did he allow himself to take a moment to rest, but even then, he hardly dared to move. Up above his head somewhere on the ledge by the tunnel entrance stood a guard.

This would be so much easier, he thought contemplating his next move, if I could just somehow climb up the side of the rock. Hmm, some animals can do that, can’t they? I wonder if those skills could be transferred to humans. Probably not. After all, humans don’t have the sticky hands and feet that some animals do. Lem let his mind wonder over the possibilities. But, what if there were some way to imitate that characteristic in people? Wow, the possibilities could be endless. Hmm. A soft noise brought his distracted mind back to task. That’s a thought for another time, He told himself. Right now, I’ve got to focus.

Bending down ever so slowly, Lem picked up a handful of dirt and small stones. Gripping it tightly, he began inching his way around the cavern wall to the steps that led up to the ledge. Breathing as quietly as he could and taking one cautious step at a time, he slowly made his way to the top counting the steps as he went. Once he reached the ledge, he knew that only a few feet away stood the guard. He froze. He hadn’t heard a sound, but he got the feeling that the warrior knew someone was there. It might just be his overactive imagination, but he couldn’t take the chance. He would wait a moment before moving again.

There he stood in the pitch darkness only inches away from being caught. The sound of his breathing seemed to pound in his ears, so he opened his mouth hoping that would help. The air seemed to crackle with tension. Lem thought he heard the whisper of light cloth moving and instantly started to panic. The guard only had to reach out his hand, and he would feel him. He had to do something. Not moving his feet, Lem slowly and quietly bent his knees to squat closer to the ground. He waited a few seconds and then carefully bracing one hand on the ground, while not letting go of the dirt and rocks he had picked up earlier, he picked up his leg with the other hand, so he could more easily and more quietly move, and in this way, he shuffled over to the opposite side of the ledge, his leg muscles screaming under the strain. He was glad for the darkness at this point. He could only imagine how ridiculous he looked. He felt like a frog. Hmm, some frogs could stick to the sides of walls, couldn’t they? Focus, focus. He told himself roughly.

Once he felt the edge of the rock platform, he froze again and listened and waited. After what seemed like an eternity, his nerves couldn’t take any more. The adrenaline rushed through his veins, and he began to fear that his breathing was getting louder. He had to make his move. He took the dirt and small stones and measured out the distance in his mind. He would have to throw them, so they would land at the bottom of the steps. If the guard had detected his presence, that distance might be believable. He would also have to throw them low, so they wouldn’t make much noise when they landed. Anything loud would be too obvious, but the warrior might believe a soft sound was someone trying to sneak by. Concentrating on the direction and distance, Lem threw. It was perfect. The small stones, muffled by the soft dirt, made only the lightest clatter, but it was enough. Lem felt more than heard the guard leave his post.

He didn’t waste any time. As quietly as he had been moving but with a new sense of urgency, Lem made his way down the tunnel. Fortunately, he remembered this passage well. It ran pretty smoothly and straight. With his hand feeling the wall as he went, he was able to move a little more quickly. However, in his newfound haste, he forgot to be cautious. When he came to the end of the passage where it opened up into the small room, Lem squeezed through the tiny opening and immediately hit his head on a low-hanging jagged edge.

Momentarily stunned by the pain, he sucked in his breath and reached up to feel the quickly forming bump. His hand felt something wet and sticky, and he knew he was bleeding. When a wave of dizziness hit him, he sat down on the rough ground to catch his breath. Feeling his head again, he tried to determine the extent of his injury. The last thing he needed to do was leave a blood trail. He untied the spare pants he had been using as a knee pad and wound them around his throbbing head.

Rising to his feet slowly and shakily, he continued his journey, but this time, he held his hands out in front of him in addition to feeling along the ground with his feet. Eventually, the ceiling of the tunnel began to get lower, and he had to scoot along on his elbows. Daring a little light, he pulled out his flashlight, and covered the end with one of his pants legs that hung down by his face. The dimmed light was barely enough for him to see immediately in front of himself, but it still helped. Just when his battered and bruised body felt like it couldn’t take any more, he saw the moonlight streaming in at the end of the tunnel and knew he was almost out.

Crawling through the small opening, Lem wiggled out into the soft glow of light in the forest and sank to his knees in relief. He was out! He had made it!

Suddenly, his joy was interrupted by a low snarl from his right. Looking over, Lem’s blood froze. There glaring at him hostilely, stood five dragons. With teeth bared, they began to circle around him. 

Top 5 Things to Do When You Get Bored

1.       Conduct a sociological experiment

Materials needed

1.      video-recording device

2.       tree or pole

3.       $10 bill

4.       Stepladder

5.       tape

Procedure

Find a tree or pole in a well-traveled (walked) area. Find a time when traffic is slow. Using your stepladder, tape the $10 bill to the tree or pole where it will be seen but where it is just out of reach of the average person. Then hide with your camera and wait. Video the people as they walk by and see how many try to reach the bill and how many just ignore it. After the experiment, draw conclusions based on your observations, write a paper and publish it in a journal.

2.       Plan a formal dinner for you and your friends at McDonald's

Materials needed

1.       white tablecloth

2.       candles & candle holders

3.       cloth napkins

4.       silverware & china

5.       permission from McDonald's

6.       Information on napkin folding and dinnerware placement

7.       Place cards with your friends’ names on them

Procedure

Arrive a few minutes early to pick out the perfect table. Spread the table cloth, lay out the silverware and fold the napkins into the shape of an animal or flower. Set the candles up in the center of the table and light them. Put the place cards at the appropriate seats. Wait for your friends to arrive. Have everyone order their food, and enjoy.

3.       Record you and your friends critiquing an old/obscure television show or movie in the manner of Mystery Science Theater

Materials needed

1.       an old/obscure television show or movie

2.       a recording device

3.       friends

Procedure

Pop some popcorn, set up the recording device, get comfortable, play the show/movie, and begin making brilliant, insightful and hilarious comments.

4.       Make home-made butter

Materials needed
1. whipping cream (can be normal or heavy but should not be cold)
2. a jar
3. a measuring cup (not necessarily needed)
4. strong arms, able to do a lot of shaking
5. 10-20 minutes

Procedure

Measure out 1 cup of whipping cream for each ½ cup of butter that you want to make. Once you have your desired amount, pour it into the jar. (Your jar should be no more than 1/3 full.) Close the lid tightly. Shake hard. Keep shaking. Still more shaking. You should see the cream begin to separate into butter and buttermilk. The cream will begin to get “heavy,” become firm and turn yellow. You have butter at this point. You can stop here and have a good soft spread or keep shaking for a harder spread. Dazzle your family by serving your efforts at the next family meal.

5.    Make a maze/obstacle course out of silly string and race with your friends to see who can get through it the fastest

Alternative idea: Set two mazes up in the woods to protect each team’s flag. Use a blue chalk line instead of silly string. The other team must steal their opponant’s flag without getting any of the blue chalk on them.

Materials

1.    Silly string

2.    Space

3.    Trees, tables, poles, etc. to act as a foundation or outline for your maze

4.    “Mission Impossible” or “Eye of the Tiger” music

5.    Timer

Procedure

Go crazy with the silly string while setting up your maze. Play music. Take turns going through the maze as quickly as possible. Time each person. Determine a winner. Go out to eat to celebrate your mad new spy skills.