He held the hand of the person who had pulled him. They ran together, down the ramp into the once-hidden room beyond the Gate, into the hallway beyond, around its first turn and into the utter darkness that awaited them. Somewhere along that path Delen realized it was Nantale that held him. He thanked the Ancestors that she was safe. Then, he focused only on running.
Another turn, then black. They stumbled together, running sideways and headlong into walls, tripping over trash or loose Field animals, turning at any opening, hoping it would get them further from Death. That such a thing would forget them. Pass them over. He knew Aldridge inside and out, knew its every path, but in his panic he had no idea where they ended up. It could have been a room or a hallway, but eventually they just stopped and fell, panting, shaking.
They could not see an inch in front of their faces, but they could still hear. Delen took his hand away from Nantale and shoved both over his ears, hoping to muffle the noises. No use. Though they had left the sounds far behind, they were inescapable. They crept through the halls, rebounding and reverberating off cold steel, thinning and muted and all too horrible. All the clomping. All the chewing. The cries, the screams, the dragging. Chittering and growling and bass and shrieking and scraping.
Residuum, a sci-fi novel set on a fallen planet Earth, is something of a coming-of-age story through dark times. It follows the life of Delen Kolesov, a sixteen year old boy who is overburdened with self-consciousness and doubt of his own abilities. He is overshadowed by his best friend and the girl he is, by law, to wed. That obvious deficiency gnaws at him and spurs him down a path that puts everyone and everything he knows in jeopardy.
When the world he and his people had been taught was gone turns out to be anything but, Delen must come to terms with a life he never thought he would have. Desperate and alone, he turns to the one thing that gives him answers. The thing that makes him stronger. Better. The thing that, it seems, the outside world fears. Balanced on the edge of these worlds, Delen must choose the path he follows. A choice that may ultimately lead to his death, or that of those around him.
I am currently looking for alpha readers and critique partners for this novel. To that end, I’ve put the first six chapters of the current draft on this site for everyone to read. If you are interested in reading more and wish to lend a critical eye (and don’t mind putting me to the ringer), please don’t hesitate to reach via the contact form or on social media. If you are also a writer looking for feedback, I’d love to exchange work and see how best we can help one another.
Thank you for taking the time to look this over. I hope to hear from you, and hope you find as much potential here as I did when the idea fell upon me.
May you find stories that inspire you.
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