Well folks, I did it.
I have completed the 2008 National Novel Writing Month 2008 Challenge. I wrote a 50,601-word novel, The Long Hunt, in a month; actually 18 days. But who’s counting?
Most of the time, it didn’t seem like work. And, most importantly, I’m pleased with the end result. I like the damned book. At [...]
The full moon seemed to radiate stronger than a burning sun and, along with a cloudless sky and seemingly endless canopy of stars, lit up the night on all sides, as Jesse and Rakov made their way to Mill Creek.
It was also a quiet night. There seemed to be no night time sounds, no crickets, [...]
They rode at a moderate trot. They had both followed the tracks, wolf tracks, out of town, but as Rakov had pointed out, they knew where Namid was going, so they stopped trying to see the tracks in the dark of night, and just made their way to Mill Creek.
Neither Jesse or Rakov said too [...]
Jesse and Rakov were still outside, looking for Namid’s footprints or a blood track and had not even made it out of Henderson, when they heard the gun shot.
Rakov was surprised and bristled when he heard the sound. Jesse, however, who was still unnerved by what they’d just witnessed, cringed with a start, nearly jumping. [...]
Jesse knew something was wrong before they even walked in. He didn’t know how, it was like a vague sensation of a light electric shock. The his foot crunched a pile of broken glass and he saw the window was busted out.
He tried to say something, get out some sort of warning, but Rakov had [...]
Jesse and Rakov made it to Mill Creek in less than an hour, with time to spare before darkness fell. Jesse had spoken to Doc Ogle at length and had a good idea as to where it was where the Parsons girl was attacked and killed.
Thankfully, it had started to warm up a little. It [...]
They were all woken shortly after dawn by a terrible clamor. Rakov was up first, fumbling for his glasses as Jesse sat up and peered around in the dimly lit room, trying to get his bearings.
The chaos was coming from inside Namid’s cell. The strong smell of urine, heavy and ammonia-like immediately filled their nostrils, [...]
Although the trail and the hunt called strongly to them both, it was necessity and common sense which kept Jesse and Rakov in place for all the next day, at the makeshift lab in Henderson. There was just too much to do.
Furthermore, Namid hadn’t calmed down much. She was still a handful. At one point, [...]
It was another couple hours, well past midnight, when Rakov and Doc Ogle finally emerged, ready to share their findings with Jesse and the sheriff. Both Ogle and Rakov looked harried as they scrubbed their hands and poured themselves some coffee from the kettle, which must have been left over from earlier in the day.
“How [...]
Finally, the brought Namid into Doc Ogle’s office and laid her on one of the examination tables. Again, although she was sedated, she still moved slightly, moaning, tossing her head from side to side occasionally, as if caught in the grips of a bad dream.
It was at this point that Rakov looked first at Jesse [...]
