Sunday night, laughing at the telly, kids lolling all over me, fiancee´on the other sofa sipping at a glass of wine, all is well with the world.
Tweet Tweet! Why did I have to look? What is it about Twitter that makes those surreptitious glances oh so tempting. What do you mean I’ve got a challenge? What’s 7x7x7x7? Ah, thank you @heidinorrod…
The basics of the challenge are simple: starting at the seventh line of the seventh page of a current WIP, post the next seven lines and tag seven more authors to join in the fun. Here’s my excerpt from THE SAWOL: AVERSION, sequel to my first novel, DISCOVERY, also a sci-fi conspiracy thriller:-
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With sensory perception turned up to maximum, it was possible to hear the faintest of hums. Gilles found the noise surprising. He’d sat in the same place countless times before and never noticed it.
The three cavernous hallways underneath The Mountain were supposed to be silent, buried so deeply in the earth even an explosion from the munitions previously stored there would pose no threat to anyone living at ground level, one thousand feet above.
Not that anyone lived there. In that remote part of north Norway, where the cliffs held back the sea with timeless and rugged durability, there was no sign of human habitation for hundreds of miles. Except for the five men and women staying in the accommodation block next to the steel-lined tunnel that formed the The Mountain’s entrance. If the blast doors were open, the gaping mouth was big enough to swallow a juggernaught and take it to the heart of the complex eight hundred metres beyond.
Gilles was responsible for the small team of volunteers who managed the former weapons store, once operated by the North Atlantic Fleet, now officially a self-sufficient data centre. So far, no data had ever been stored there. And it was only the occupants of the life support machines stored underground that needed watching.
He sat motionless, monitoring the declining health of his best friend, struggling to comprehend the source of the deep, resonating thrum. In time, he concluded it was machine right next to him causing the noise. The capsule was also responsible for the blinking red light flashing intermittently off the polished toes of his black leather boots. In contrast, dozens of other pods stretching into the darkness beyond were silent. Noiseless, but not completely empty.
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OK, a few more than seven lines, forgive me. Right then, who can I challenge in return….
James Ormonde 