CampNaNoWriMo: Day 29 (with video!)

Author's Note: Read day 1-2, day 21-22, day 27 and day 28 of The Renegade Messiah. I've attached a time lapse video of writing part of today's entry!

Below you'll see Raize's last name is replaced with ____. I don't know it yet. I'll go back and add it later.

Follow along on my new YouTube channel!

I've made a Google Plus page as well! I'll be doing Google Hangouts once I get back to writing The Burning City for anyone who wants to hang out, ask questions, interview characters, etc.

Google Plus


The Renegade Messiah - Day 29

Word count: 930

Raize stepped outside the little grocery store. She looked around for a bench but it was occupied by employees on break. She crossed the parking lot and decided to take sanctuary in her car. This was never an easy conversation and she was thankful it would be her last.

“Ok, I'm ready.” She heard her voice begin to shake. Ten years and the memories still gripped her like ice.

“Yes, thank you. Miss ____, I'm calling to conduct your 20th and final interview with Blue Mountain Clinic.” The woman repeated herself, as if Raize had handed the phone off to someone at some point. It was a script and one that Raize could probably recite in her sleep if she had to.

“I'm going to ask you a series of questions about the events that brought you to Blue Mountain Clinic and how your life has changed since your decision.”

Raize felt her skin twitch slightly. She knew the woman was impartial; she wasn't judging her, and the survey was confidential. It paid some bills, bought some groceries and all Raize had to do was answer a few questions. This last interview was going to hurt.

“Go ahead.” Raize leaned her car seat back and closed her eyes. Outside, rain began to fall. The rain pummeled her car rooftop and made her tired. It had been a long week already. She was ready to finish her grocery shopping and go home. It was getting close to curfew time.

“At the time of your surgery, you described your relationship with the father of the child as—estranged. How would you describe your relationship now?” Raize hadn't seen Ruin in ten years. She had no idea where he was. Her answer was always the same.

“Relationship is non-existent. No change.” She heard the woman type some notes then continue.

“Do you have family and friends who are aware of, and support, your decision to visit Blue Mountain Clinic?”

Raize hated this question. Mostly, she hated the answer.


“I know these questions can be difficult, Miss _____. We appreciate your honesty.” Raize felt a genuine truth in the woman's voice, but it did little to quell the anger that was rising within her.

“Do you currently work full time, part time or not at all?”

“Part time.”

The woman continued with basic questions, trying to judge how the abortion had affected (effected? I never know this one) Raize's life, health and her ability to continue and maintain relationships. It was a non-profit organization that conducted the interviews for research in exchange for money. The gift cards came from third-party with no return address a few days after her interviews.

“Ok, we've finished with the preliminary questions. As your final interview, I have a few questions that will be new. My supervisor will be taking over the call from here. Goodbye, Miss ____.”

“Good evening, Miss ____.” A man's voice came over the phone. Raize sat up slightly in her seat. The interviewers had always been women. What would this man know about how she felt? About her decision? What could he possibly ask that would--

“I'm here to ask you about the explosion that occurred at Blue Mountain Clinic the day of your surgery.” Raize's throat went dry. None of the other interviews had been about this; she was only meant to answer questions about her abortion. She never had a police officer take a statement, no one had ever come knocking on her door asking questions. The entire clinic had been destroyed—the media had written it off as another E.V.E. bombing.

“I don't know what you're talking about.” Raize knew she didn't sound convincing, she could barely convince herself. The man on the other end of the phone laughed.


“Ok, Raize. There's no need for pretenses.” She heard the man shift against the phone.

“We know you were at the clinic. We know, because we took a sample of your blood. We know because we've been monitoring your life ever since. I know you're grocery shopping right now at the market a few blocks from where you live with your parents. And your cat.”

Raize pulled her seat all the way up and checked her pocket for her car keys. Her hands were shaking so hard she nearly dropped her phone. She turned her car key. Nothing happened. She swallowed back a need to vomit.

“What do you want?”

“Just your cooperation, as we've always had.” He paused. “Your car isn't going to start. Not until you finish answering my questions.”

“Ask them, then.” Anger and fear made her voice harsh. Her voice wasn't shaking any more.

“Did you ever wonder what happened to your hospital bill—the one you accrued once Officer Letum checked you in? Where you slept, peacefully and safely, for three days? That bill was quite substantial. But not as substantial as your abortion costs.”

Money. It was about money, and they had picked the girl who worked part time at a gas station and lived at home with her parents. And they knew that, because that's what her interviews said.

“I can't pay those back,” Raize said as tears began to blur her vision.

“We are well aware of that. We'd like to negotiate something you can do, in return for financial freedom from your debts and the continued safety of your family.” Raize stared across the parking lot towards the small apartment she shared with her parents. She listened to the rain and felt her heart pound in her chest.

“What do I have to do?”


CampNaNoWriMo - Day 28 (with video!)

Author's Note: Read day 1-2, day 21-22 and day 27 of The Renegade Messiah. I've attached a time lapse video of writing part of today's entry!

Below you'll see Raize's last name is replaced with ____. I don't know it yet. I'll go back and add it later. There's also a section of just dialogue at the bottom of this story that I wrote, included in the word count, but won't use until later.

Follow along on my new YouTube channel!


The Renegade Messiah - Day 28

Word count: 558

“Try not to move.”

Sleep had crusted over her eyelashes, making them gummy and brittle. It took all her strength to force her eyes open. As light chased away the darkness, her world became pain.

“Where am I?” She asked, running her tongue along cracked and dry lips.

“You're in the passenger seat of a police car. I'm taking you to another hospital. There were—complications.” Dirk said and his voice was drowned out as he turned on his sirens. She was pressed back in her seat as the security car accelerated.

“Complications,” she repeated to herself. Her lungs ached. Her legs and stomach felt damp. Through blurred vision she looked down and saw that her nightgown was covered in blood. Spittle dripped down the corner of her mouth and all she could do was stare in horror. The pain, though overwhelming, didn't feel real. She felt like she was looking at someone else.

Raize wasn't sure how much time had passed. She felt the car shift and accelerate, and the pain numbed the rest. Dirk spent some time on the car radio, receiving commands from Central and telling them his intentions. She caught pieces of his conversation but her memory couldn't hold them for very long.

“...another bombing, no one has claimed responsibility yet? Of course it's E.V.E! Brent, get off the radio, you need to get to a hospital.”

“I see you took the pretty one. Where's my escort?” Brent's voice cracked over the radio.

The car shook to a halt after a few speed bumps. Dirk got out first and had a heated conversation with staff members of the hospital before the passenger door opened. Raize felt a hand touch her forehead.

“I'm so sorry. I can't stay—but I'll come and visit.”

That was the last time Raize had heard from Dirk the rent-a-cop, the security guard at Blue Mountain Clinic.

She was admitted, screaming in pain and confusion as her medication wore off. And there she slept for three days straight once she was finally given a room.


“Hello, is this Miss _____?” A woman's voice said on the other line. Raize balanced her cell phone against her cheek and stood in the grocery line. She gave the clerk a sheepish look.

“I have to take this,” she mouthed to the cashier and stepped out of line.

“Yes, speaking.”

“Miss ____, I'm calling to conduct your 20th and final interview about your experiences at Blue Mountain Clinic. Is this a good time?” Raize's hands began to shake. Two interviews a year for the past ten years, and this was her final one. She took a steadying breath.

“Now's not really a good--”

“Your compensation will be doubled, Miss ____.”

Raize looked behind to her shopping cart. She could already barely afford the few groceries that lined the bottom. She'd already put back her chocolate milk and fresh fruit.

“Let me step outside.”


CampNaNoWriMo: Day 27

Author's Note: Read the previous entry of The Renegade Messiah here.

The Renegade Messiah - Day 27

Word count: 520

Raize began to cough, but the pain in her lower stomach made it impossible to move. All she managed was to cover her mouth with a corner of her nightgown. Her ears were still ringing from the explosion. Tears steamed unchecked down her cheeks and she tried to steady her breathing.

She'd never actually heard a gun before, but somehow she knew it couldn't be anything else.

Outside the door she heard muffled voices. She could hear Donna wailing in pain and fear, and one of the rent-a-cops shouting. Rushed foot steps echoed down the hallway. Smoke began to slowly fill up the room; hot and thick. Raize forced herself to stand. She knew she left a trail of blood on the

chair she had been sitting in.

The floor was cold against her bare feet. She saw her clothes in a pile next to the chair but couldn't risk taking the time to change. Besides, she wasn't sure she wouldn't pass out from the pain. She took a shaky step towards the door. She couldn't stay in the room. The smoke was already making it hard to breathe.

Raize took a deep breath and limped towards the door. Vague memories and caution insisted she touch the surface of the door to see if it was hot. The door was cool and she took a moment to rest her head against it. She felt sluggish blood drip down the inside of her leg. Outside, she recognized the voice of one of the rent-a-cops.

“...Central, do you copy? Central?” Then, the voice sounded further away. “Damn it, Brent, you chose a hell of a time to get shot.” It was Dirk, the man who had been outside. She heard a muffled chuckle and turned the door knob.

The building shook so hard that Raize was thrown to the ground. The lights flickered and burst, sending glass crashing from the ceiling. The door flew open and a wave of hot air slammed over her. Smoke overwhelmed the room. Her lungs were on fire. The smoke burned through her with each panicked breath. She closed her eyes. The pain in her stomach spread until every part of her body hurt. Her medication was wearing off and she couldn't catch a gasp of clean air.

Raize felt like she was falling asleep stoned. Her world was spinning but the pain was fading away. She wanted to let the darkness calm her fears, to let the darkness take her away from the pain. But her life had other plans.

The young rent-a-cop from before stepped from the smoke. He gripped her shoulders and pulled her in to a sitting position before wrapping his arms beneath her legs and lifting her in to the air. She felt her nightgown stick to the floor from blood. Her voice croaked; she wanted to warn him, to tell him that her blood was poison—but her mouth wouldn't work. Her body was too weak to protest. He was trying to talk to her but the roar of the fire in the background and the pain overwhelmed her. Darkness found her.