Into the Forest Shadows (36 page)

Watcher, Gatekeeper. Good grief, she hadn't
even graduated from school yet.

She smiled up at Ayden as he talked with her
mother.

And she had people around her who accepted
her the way she was, even though she knew herself to indeed be
different than before.

And it was right.

The End

StarBlink Universe

I have 4 primary 'universes' I write in. Each
has a different set of physics that affects how space travel
occurs, as well as human abilities, the frequency of aliens and
habitable worlds, and so forth.

This story belongs in the early years of the
StarBlink Universe.

Humans head to the stars with the help of
Jump Gates and Diamede Drives, but habitable planets are few and
far between. The search for more worlds keeps humans moving
outwards, and brings war and political tug-of-wars over the
precious worlds known.

The few aliens surrounding human space aren’t
pleased by the human expansion or willingness towards violence,
even those species with a knack for it themselves.

But humans might be their saviors from an
ancient enemy to all sentient life.

Other stories in the Starblink Universe

The Art of Negotiation: After overseeing the
downsizing of a construction facility at Arcturus, Zada Harper
comes face-to-face with an old friend... whom she just helped lay
off. Zada then finds herself the next target of the ISC Corporation
layoffs. She is suddenly without a job and forced into automatic
arbitration for a severance settlement. But Zada won't go quietly.
The ISC feels the sting of her departure.

About This Story

The germs of this story date back many years,
starting with a vision of a woodcutter holding a laser-axe who was
afraid of the dark. Not a good thing to be in a world dominated by
gigantic forests filled with deep shadows.

And there the idea sat for many years. I had
other snatches, such as an episode with a shuttle haring off on a
rescue mission, a sassy and spunky female protagonist, and the
moving trees.

As with most professions, continuing
education is essential. Writing is no different. I am always on the
lookout for other viewpoints, methodology, tips, and hints. It was
a plotting workshop on Forward Motion Writers that finally sparked
the solid idea for a novel. As part of the workshop we all chose a
fairy tale and worked to expand the theme, plot points, turns, or
characters (or all of the above).

My mind turned to that little germ of an
idea. I started looking up and reading all the various versions of
the story "Little Red Riding Hood" that I could, including those
from before the French version so popular now (changed to be more
moralistic to that time period).

And those old ideas really sparked the
synapses.

The breakthroughs started in earnest when I
started a class given by Lazette Gifford called "The Two Year
Novel". The hard planning and idea gathering started in January of
2009 culminating with the first draft written for "National Novel
Writing Month" in November of 2009.

In December of 2009 Holly Lisle started up an
intense course called "How To Revise Your Novel." Of course I had
to take that class, as I've been very impressed with all the writer
educational books, classes, workshops, and free articles she's put
out.

And I'm glad I did.

Over the next five months the first draft was
hammered on, analyzed, taken apart, and made to bleed red ink. The
resulting book was much stronger for the effort.

That is by no means the only big steps in the
idea, plotting, writing, and revision of this book. There were many
other steps, sometimes big time-consuming steps. But now, with the
book finished, it's interesting to reflect back on the journey from
a little seed and watch it through the germination stage right up
to becoming a fully adult result.

And forgive the horticulture phrasing.
Considering the main theme of the book, it's understandable!

Note: The plotting workshop inspired at least
two other stories inspired by various fairy tales, but you'll have
to wait a bit for them. :)

And now, a few extras written while planning
the book out...

New Arrivals

A breeze off the ocean caressed his skin, the
smell of salt heavy upon it. Scattered clouds drifting across the
sky, the forest still and silent. A good day to be out and about,
to be sure. Morris looked out across the green water, noting how
the swells moved. Tomorrow would be another good catch, if the
weather held.

A dot in the sky appeared, quickly growing
larger. Morris ignored it. He had a catch to deliver. With a flick
of his wrist, he closed the lid of the compartment holding the
gutted and iced fish. With a tug on the handle the cart lifted up
off the ground, gliding behind him as he picked his way across the
beach. Buildings of squares, rectangles and octagons rose up over
him, with a nearly transparent wall surrounding the construction
that formed the one and only human city on the planet of Oburos,
all of it glinting in green and blue hues. Beyond it stood the
forest, the giant trees competing with the city in height.

He pulled the cart up the gradual ramp
leading from the shoreline onto a paved open area. In the midst of
it, the freighter neatly landed with a final roar of its engines.
Immediately, crews moved forward to the freight pods.

The front hatch swung open and a stairway
descending the short distance to the ground. The crew were the
first to disembark, moving to help the ground crews. Then came a
group dressed in dark tailored clothing.

New arrivals. Morris’s experienced eye
quickly categorized each one. A businessman, a rebel, a dreamer.
Typical passengers. None of whom would last long.

A middle-aged woman with a sad face descended
timidly, her back and shoulders held tense. Limp-hanging mud-brown
hair flew into her face as she glanced around nervously, her eyes
lingering on the edge of the forest. With a jerk, she transferred
her attention to the city, refusing to look at anything else.

That one wouldn’t last long, his instincts
told him. No one who openly feared or loathed the forest remained
long.

A teenaged girl with brilliant red and purple
streaked hair severely disciplined into two pigtails that stood out
from each side of her head walked down the stair. A loose bright
yellow shirt hung over black with a red belt that matched her hair
around her waist.

At the foot of the stair, she stopped,
standing up straight and tall, her chin up. She looked straight at
the forest, and without a shudder or hesitation, dismissed it. Her
gaze continued to take in the rest of the scenery, even coming to
rest to study Morris and his cart for one moment. Her eyes narrowed
slightly as she studied the city, those sharp eyes taking in all
the little details.

Wry humor quirked her mouth as she then
joined the timid woman, shaking her hair so that the pigtails
caught the breeze.

Morris picked up his pace, finding a smile on
his weather-beaten face. He had a feeling he would see the little
lady again before too long. That one might fit in, stir things up a
little bit in her wake, too.

Just what the colony needed, a little more
color.

Hunter of the Shadows

He sniffed the air. All alone. Just him and
the old woman. Perfect.

The old woman stood in front of the tree, a
shiny object in her hands. Always she had something in her hands,
looking at the trees, working with the trees, studying the plants
in her carefully tended plots and pots.

Messing with what she had no right to mess
with.

He crouched under the bush, casting a wary
eye towards the treetops. No noisy flying rigid creatures the
humans preferred to travel inside. Couldn’t even travel on their
own two feet for any distance. His contempt for these creatures
grew even more.

He slunk back out of the bush, loping to the
next tree. The old woman had moved to another tree with a narrow
object inserted into it. Harming the trees? Why didn’t they fight
back?

His fangs bared themselves, thirsty to sink
into warm flesh. The last hunt with his fellow razor wolves had
been a long time past. Too bad this hunt would be of so little
challenge. At least he would have all the meat for himself.

He slunk forward on all fours, preparing for
a leap. A vine dropped in front of him. With a snap of his teeth he
severed it, leaping forward.

A branch came out of nowhere, knocking him
backwards. His back came up hard against the rough bark of a wide
tree-trunk. His breath caught as he dropped to the ground.

The old woman continued her studies, either
unaware of what had just happened or ignoring it. Either caused him
to seethe even more. Protect her, instead of themselves or him? He
snarled as the branch lifted upwards to arc once again towards the
sky.

The old woman turned. A flash of red. No,
more than a flash. Upon her back hung a cloak of red.

His eyes went wide. What was this
blasphemy?

Kate

The small closet at the foot of Kate's bed
barely had enough room for two pairs of shoes side by side at the
bottom. The two levels of hanging clothes didn't give much choice.
Still, enough to stir things up a little.

She started with black leggings and a short
purple skirt. Now for a slash of color. She grabbed a yellow tank
top and pulled it over a purple short-sleeved shirt. Purple shoes
to match it all.

She closed the closet door, studying the
effect in the narrow mirror. She fluffed her bangs making sure the
red and purple hair coloring were still pure. Highly reflective
yellow dangling earrings sparkled fiercely from her lobes.

Oh yes, it would be a lovely dinner with
Uncle Travis. She hoped he'd choke on his food with her colors
glaring out at him from across the dinner table.

With a satisfied smile, she left her bedroom,
declaring with a shout, "Mom, I'm ready for dinner! Let's get this
over with!"

About the Author

It's said I was launched into space from
birth and I haven't been back to Earth since.

There might be some truth in that.

As a reader I love science fiction with great
plots, interesting characters, exotic locales, all accompanied by a
sense of wonder with optimistic endings. As a writer, I love the
same.

Come and visit me at my website. I love to
visit with other science fiction fans at
http://jamarlow.com/

Connect with Me Online

Homepage:
JAMarlow.com

Twitter ID:
jamarlow_sf

Email:
[email protected]

Other work by J.A. Marlow

Spires: A failure-of-a-telepath crosses paths
with a smart-mouthed kid on the run with a stolen alien artifact,
only to find the destructive vines taking over the city have plans
for them both.

Glint of a Suncatcher: While hunting for
Suncatchers, shells of a native Jad land-mollusk, Elvy Akum
stumbles onto something else entirely: an ancient artifact that may
belong to the fabled Travelers from the center of the Milky Way. It
might just save her father's job at the Jad Cultural Center. If it
doesn’t re-ignite a devastating war between the Humans and Chion,
that is.

Into the Forest Shadows: On a world of
valuable giant trees and intelligent animals, a red-cloaked
headstrong teen struggles to save her family from a planetary
conspiracy awaiting her at Grandmother's house. A Science Fiction
novel retelling of the fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood."

Where the Purple Grass Grows: Vorstogen: A
world primarily known for producing grain, the only other claim to
fame was a long-abandoned alien space-elevator which the human
colonists adapted for their use. But Reporter Steve Gortney doesn't
find boredom on this back-world, he finds a pirate
raid-in-progress. And the space-elevator has a few secrets of its
own, and the pirates are about to trigger it.

Salmon Run Series

Welcome to Salmon Run, Alaska! A place of
wild animals, wild land, and wild inhabitants...oh, and native
legends come alive and an inter-planetary alien conflict at their
backdoor.

Night of the Aurora (Salmon Run - Book 1):
The Callahans arrive in Alaska to begin a new life at the lodge
left to them by crazy Uncle George. But first they must survive the
wilds of Alaska, a massive Aurora, and an alien spacecraft hidden
under the snow.

Alien Winter (Salmon Run - Book 2): During a
harsh Alaskan winter, the inexperienced Callahans struggle to
prepare the lodge despite power failures and a possible haunting
when a diminutive alien with a big attitude complicates
efforts.

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Epub ISBN: 978-1-937042-06-6