29th November

So, the novel isn't finished. That last chapter took a lot more work than I'd planned. I am, however, set to write the epilogues tomorrow, just in time to finish NaNoWriMo 2008 with a finished novel. It makes me happy.

For now, though, it's 2:30am and I have more important things to be doing. Like sleeping.

Excerpt: [spoiler alert! XD]

“For god’s sake Olive, can’t you keep yourself under control?” Rouge snapped. “What the hell are you laughing at?”

“I was just- they were- look!” She pointed, then, noticing Cassidy on the floor. Suddenly Cassidy wasn’t laughing, in fact, she was scrambling to her feet, still holding a number of wires in her hands that had been trailing along the floor, clutching at them for some support. My heart lept and I felt my hands grow cold in panic.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Rouge turned on her. “I told you to get out of here. Blue, get her out of here! For god’s sake! Can nobody do anything right in this place? If you’d just do as I asked then we’d never have half of these problems. Stop standing there like an idiot and get her out of here!”

Cassidy, though afraid, didn’t flinch as Blue headed towards her. Rouge was still gripping the control box for the electric chairs in her hands, the lever hanging loose as though it had not been fitted carefully enough. Cassidy seemed to be looking at it, and then she spoke, calm and curious.

“What do these wires do?” she asked, tilting her head to one side.

“No, don’t touch those! Put them down!” A sudden change, and was Rouge was waving frantically. Her head still tilted to one side Cassidy brought the wires a little closer together, and watched as Rouge almost had a heart attack.

“What happens if I put them together?” she asked. “Will it reverse the flow of the current?”

“No,” Rouge said quickly. “And besides, the power box isn’t even on.”

And then Cassidy shook her head. “You’re wrong,” she said. “Look, see? You’re careless.”

With that she pressed the two wires together, and before any of us had the chance to react we heard a faint buzzing, and Rouge began to shake uncontrollably. I closed my eyes, clung onto Danger for support, burying my head in her neck. There was a cry of pain, inhuman and terrifying, a thud, and then there was silence.

When I opened my eyes, everybody but Danger had moved further into the chamber, and they were all gathered around the middle, where Rouge had been standing.

“Is she?”

“I think she is.”

“I wonder how...”

“Cassie-”

“But how?”

“Electric currents.”

“Science.”

“Rouge?” Olive’s voice broke our jumbled examining, unsure and scared. “Rouge?”

“She’s dead.” Blue, who had watched the whole scene from afar without much interest, now approached the younger girl and laid a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay,” he said. “It’s okay, you’ll be okay.”

“It’s not okay.” Olive’s face crumpled, and tears sprang to her cheeks. “It’s not, it’s not.”

“It is okay. I’m sure we’ll see her in hell.” For a brother, he didn’t seem particularly grieved by Rouge’s death, but then I assumed that he was in shock. Either that or he didn’t agree with her moral values. But the fact that she had gone to hell; well, that was something we could all agree on.

The shop was ours.

The world was safe.

I couldn’t help but think that it was a little anti-climactic, though.

And Cassidy as Hero? Who’d have thought?

Words written today: 6,760 =O
Word count: 114,193