Welcome to this week’s Rainbow Snippet! We’re up in Kentucky this weekend, visiting younger son in the midst of his first semester away at college. It’s dinner together on Friday, breakfast on Saturday followed by a trip to Walmart to help him with a few needs. After that, my Anna and I will give him hugs then head back home. It’s almost mid-terms for him, and we most certainly aren’t getting in the way of his studies!
For this week’s #RainbowSnippet*, I am again sharing from Surrogate: Hunted. I’m still waiting for the edits at this point, but I suspect there won’t be a lot to revise. *crosses fingers*
Feel free to read and comment, but when you’re done head over to the RainbowSnippets Facebook Page and read snippets from a host of great LGBTQ+ authors.
Note: Taklas are the native species of Takran, the world Etain has grown to call home. Taklas are humanoid mammals, but they’re more tied to the water than we Humans are. Etain’s autalaci, Leigheas, and her ottonol, Dresh, are both Taklas. However, they are not on this journey with her.
The setup: Etain and Brigit’s situation is quickly becoming dire.
The six Taklas across the hanger were arranged so Blue Cloak could inspect them, sniffing each — “Sntcha. Clthrc.”— before proceeding to the next.
Two white cloaks walked behind Blue Cloak, claws exposed as they tore open the rejecteds’ throats one by one, kicking each victim out their path as they proceeded to the next. The last man in line, the lead pilot from Etain’s shuttle, tried to fight, but Blue Cloak grabbed him by the throat before he could wrestle away, squeezing until every fiber and bone in his neck crunched at once. “Sntcha fdatyl.” Blue Cloak lifted him to stare into his face, chuckled, then tossed the man over its shoulder and across the hanger, where he landed in a twisted heap at Etain’s feet, his blood splattering up her front and onto her face as he landed.
All six.
Dead.
“Hush, child.” Etain clutched Brigit’s head to her shoulder and pressed her own face into her goddaughter’s hair, stifling both their cries.
Read more Rainbow Snippets from Surrogate: HuntedHERE.
*Rainbow Snippets is a safe and welcoming space for LGBTQIA+ authors, readers, and bloggers to share 6 sentences each week from a work of fiction—published or in-progress—or a book recommendation. Feel free to join in!
Wouldn’t Etain understand what he’s saying, why he’s killing them? It didn’t feel like mindless violence to me, so I’m looking forward to the next bit.
They speak Etain’s tongue to her, but their own tongue to each other. It’s a form of control that you can only see with the big picture. (which you don’t get in six sentences) So, no, the violence isn’t senseless. It’s carefully planned to create fear and obedience. The mindset of these creatures (or this set of these creatures) is like, well, think of a slaughterhouse and what happens to the animals therein, the way they are treated. What happens to the unsuitables therein.
The novel is called Surrogate: Hunted and these creatures are, you guessed it, hunting… herding, sorting.
Very graphic scene. And the fear of the unknown — what are they looking for and why are they doing this? — is intense.
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Intense, yes. It’s supposed to be. They’re facing something awful, but only Etain knows the depth of the situation at this point.
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I’m liking their captors less and less…
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They’re, um, hungry. Let’s leave it at that for now.
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Oh, how awful for all of them. I can’t imagine how Etain is still holding it together.
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Etain’s a strong woman because, she’s always had to be. She, like everyone else, has her moments of weakness, but she is, above all else, a survivor.
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Oh man – horrific! What on earth are they going to do??
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At this point, they’ve no idea whatsoever how to handle things, putting their captors at a decided advantage.
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What an awful situation for them all to be in! 😦
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Yeah, and things ain’t getting any better, I’m afraid.
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Wouldn’t Etain understand what he’s saying, why he’s killing them? It didn’t feel like mindless violence to me, so I’m looking forward to the next bit.
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They speak Etain’s tongue to her, but their own tongue to each other. It’s a form of control that you can only see with the big picture. (which you don’t get in six sentences) So, no, the violence isn’t senseless. It’s carefully planned to create fear and obedience. The mindset of these creatures (or this set of these creatures) is like, well, think of a slaughterhouse and what happens to the animals therein, the way they are treated. What happens to the unsuitables therein.
The novel is called Surrogate: Hunted and these creatures are, you guessed it, hunting… herding, sorting.
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Wow. They’re in big trouble.
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That, my dear, is an understatement. 🙂
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Ohhh, that’s depressing–so sad 😦 but very vivid. Great snippet.
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Not all bad. Etain is learning. The hard way. But she’s learning, and that means something.
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