So, what do you do when you have no idea what happens next? Write a different scene! I’m trying to have enough story for the 25k because that’s where things will change. I have ideas for that part of the story, but really no idea how to tie in the end of the first half of Act 2 to the beginning of the second half. But that’s the fun of writing, right? It doesn’t have to make sense on the first draft. It just has to be written. So, I decided it was time to revisit some backstory while I let my mind figure out what happens next. My latest chunk is below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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I found an out of the way spot that still afforded me a view of the front of the men\u2019s room. And I sat there, newspaper open, covering most of me, but allowing me to peek over the top. At nine p.m. precisely, I saw Xavier walk up to the bathroom, manila envelope in hand. He entered the bathroom, and two minutes later, walked out sans envelope. Now the waiting would begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I sat there, unbidden thoughts of Athanasia rose up in my mind. Talking about her with Ernie had brought all those feelings back to the surface, and I was amazed to see that it hurt just as much today as it had hurt when it happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Atlantis was the crown jewel of civilization. We had perfected the sciences. We had an immense store of literature, the knowledge of the world as no culture since had managed to come close. Athanasia was one of those brilliant minds. I wished I could say the same, but as a simple arbiter, my studies had not been as extensive. Of all people to be saved from the cataclysm that struck Atlantis, it had to be only a man of middling intelligence, and a man with an appetite for destruction. The irony of that was never lost on me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Murder in Atlantis still occurred, because even at their best, people are still capable of their worst, but it was rare. Even then, Grylos had been something far more brutal than anything I had seen before. I had been put on the case after the second murder. Young women, courtesans, had been his targets. I still could see their faces and remember their names. I remembered the name of every one of Grylos\u2019\u2013Jack\u2019s\u2013victims. The scenes he left behind were gruesome and would turn anyone\u2019s stomach. Come to think of it, I remember having thrown up at the sight of the first one. That had been so long ago, I had completely forgotten that part. But it had been my first murder scene. I had no idea how many scenes I would see after that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was after the third murder that I broke the case. That had been Jacinta. Another courtesan. But this time, the killer had left behind evidence. A small, metal disk had rolled into a corner, unnoticed by the killer. Jacinta had put up a fight, she had not gone quietly, and must have managed to tear that off the killer\u2019s outfit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That disk identified the killer as someone sitting in the Senate, which narrowed down my suspects considerably. As arbiter, I was granted full access to question each of the five members. I was able to eliminate all but two immediately. Of the two that were left, Grylos and Leander, I questioned them for some time, but I knew instinctively even then it was Grylos. There was something in his eyes that made my blood run cold. Some reptilian entity staring out at me through those eyes. As we sat across a table, staring at each other, I slowly brought out the disk and set it on the table. Grylos\u2019 eyes grew wide, and he knew that I knew. Then that cold, reptilian look settled on him again. That unnerved me. I had expected him to confess, to know he had been cornered, but instead, he looked like he was the one hunting his prey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have been known to visit the occasional brothel, and during one of my times there, I must have lost that disk.\u201d He bared his teeth with a menacing smile. \u201cI have been known to be quite\u2026vigorous during my stays.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had to let him go, as the disk alone was not enough proof. But I vowed to keep an eye on him. Little did I know I had painted a target on my back for daring to accost a Senator. Or, more precisely, a target on Athanasia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the next two weeks, there were no further murders. I could rest easy in the knowledge that, even if I were not able to prove Grylos was responsible, I had at least managed to keep him from hurting anyone else. It was an incomplete victory, but a victory nonetheless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But, as if he could not help himself, Grylos struck again. Another courtesan. Daphne. But this time, there was no question about who did it. He had taken her blood and written his own name on the wall, apparently unafraid of any consequences. That was not a good sign. I ran to the Senate, but no one had seen Grylos all day. I searched everywhere in the city, with no success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I drew closer to the Senate again, hoping for news, a young boy ran up to me. He had apparently been running for some time, because it took a full minute for him to catch his breath. \u201cYour\u2026house\u2026\u201d he finally managed to gasp, and before he could say anymore, I was off at a dead run. Dread chased me all the way home and overtook me as I stood in the doorway. My home looked as if a small tornado had torn through it. Furniture was overturned, paintings hurled from the walls and torn, shattered bits of pottery everywhere. Two men were standing in the living area. As they saw me, both of them immediately averted their eyes, but in that instant of contact I knew what I would find. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She was in the bedroom. This room had also been victim to Grylos\u2019 rampage. And my Athanasia had been brutally ravaged, stabbed countless times, and lay in bed, a horror stricken expression on her face. A look that haunted me every day of my life since then. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I learned that Grylos had been spotted leaving the island earlier that day. I vowed I would catch him and make him pay. The chase had begun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Midnight was approaching. I made myself less conspicuous by pretending I was a homeless man sleeping on the bench. I covered myself with the newspaper I had been reading and waited.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
So, what do you do when you have no idea what happens next? Write a different scene! I’m trying to have enough story for the 25k because that’s where things will change. I have ideas for that part of the story, but really no idea how to tie in the end of the first half […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":917,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[176],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jacksontejada.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/975"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jacksontejada.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jacksontejada.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jacksontejada.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jacksontejada.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=975"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.jacksontejada.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/975\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":976,"href":"http:\/\/www.jacksontejada.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/975\/revisions\/976"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jacksontejada.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jacksontejada.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jacksontejada.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jacksontejada.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}