I am so excited to be here today to share a bit of the world I
explore in my YA dystopian series, The
Lost Souls. Book three, CREATORS, releases on April 28th. For
today’s stop on the blog tour, I was asked to write the meet cue scene between
the series’ doomed loves, James and Tess, from the pov of my male protagonist.
While it was definitely interesting writing from James’ point of view, and I
hope you enjoy it, please be warned that parts are a bit rough.
I never
understood what made me stop and go into that room that day. I wasn’t taught to
believe in fate; in fact, it was such a distasteful word amongst the creators
who educated me that I couldn’t help but cringe whenever I even thought about
such a concept---the belief that a power larger than man, bigger than my mind
could understand, could direct and lead my life.
But, of
course, my whole life was dictated by such a power. The council and their
creators dictated every gene in my genetic make-up and took from me any
possibility of free-will and choice. I was made to be a soldier and nothing
else. But that day I did make a choice.
No, I
could not call it fate. I had decided my destiny that day. The day I met her,
and I wouldn’t change it. Not for anything. Not even for one second.
I had
heard the music slither its way from underneath the closed door. It was
dangerous, outlawed. But I had to find the source. Who would be so brazen to
play openly as if he didn’t care who heard it. It was widely known that many
members of the council and chosen ones had hidden amongst their things
contraband books and music, but this was open defiance. There was nothing
secret about it. The last thing I had
expected to find was a girl.
The sight
of her playing the piano, lost in a world where she was ruler and I could only
watch, caused me to lose all sense of reason. I was swept along with the notes
she created, temporarily paralyzed by the freedom it whispered. Standing there,
unable to move, barely able to breathe, I took in the Templeton girl. I had
seen girls before. Forced into servitude by the council, they were always
around our training center. But unlike the other boys who taunted and pawed at
them like playthings, I kept my distance.
To love
was the biggest sin of all.
But I
couldn’t stop staring at this girl. She wasn’t perfect. Flawed. But it was
these flaws, these genetic mistakes, that drew me in like a moth to a flame. A
flame that began to burn through me. Consume me. Overtake me. The flames reached my throat, suddenly dry,
empty despite all the questions I had for her. All the things I was desperate
to know about the beautiful girl who sat before me.
Suddenly,
her dangerous music stopped, and I knew that I had been caught. Her back
straight as an arrow. She would run. It would be the only sensible thing to do.
Just as I should have reported her. But in that moment it was the last thing on
my mind. I slowly stepped towards the piano, and her head hesitantly turned
towards me. I expected to see fear. I was a creature of destruction, after all.
But she took me in.
I could
feel her eyes roam over my face, finally resting on the scar on my chin. The
one flaw my creator purposely made in a passive aggressive sign of resistance
against the council who abandoned him. In that moment the fire inside of me raged and
my hand twitched, recklessly wanting to reach for her. Instead, I placed my
hands on the keys. And I played. I played because if I didn’t, I would have touched
her. I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself.
For the
first time in my life I knew what it was to want.
And then
her hands were dancing across the keys as well. Two people from different
worlds, and yet we played such beautifully dangerous music together. It was
only when the music stopped that I realized just how foolish I had been. I had
committed a crime. With a natural, no less. The council was right. Women were
dangerous, and this girl seemed to be the most dangerous one of them all. Just
the sight of her, the simple act of her defiance, and I had nearly lost my
mind.
I was good
at following the rules. Five minutes with her and I wanted to break every last
one of them.
“Name?” I wondered if my voice sounded as shaky to
her as it did to me. The girl simply
stared at me. I cleared my throat.
“Name?”
“Tess,”
she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.
And when I sat silent, unsure if I could turn this girl in, she repeated
her name louder, prouder: “Tess. Number
258915.”
I meant to
say a million things to her in response. How she had broken the rules. How she
would have to be punished. But, instead,
all I could say was her lovely name, “Tess.”
Her eyes danced with mine, but I
couldn’t read the emotion behind them. “You should leave,” I whispered, not
sure if I was talking to Tess or myself.
With a
deep breath and a simple utterance, she proceeded to re-define my world. “No.”
That no should have infuriated me, but it only made me want to get to know her
more. Be as brave as her. Understand her courage. I was pissed. I was elated. I felt all the
things that I was told were terribly wrong to feel, and yet, I felt, for the
very first time in my life curiosity, and I couldn’t help but laugh. It was absurd, every last moment of our time
together.
It was
like a drug. It muddled my mind. But I
wanted more.
The girl
turned back to the piano and continued to play.
A dark thought began to haunt my mind. She
didn’t seem to fear me, and I couldn’t help but wonder why. It was no secret
that many of the Templeton girls took up with the training chosen ones. Was she
one of those girls? So sure her chosen one would protect her that she didn’t
fear me? A feeling I couldn’t quite name began to over take me.
“How do
you know this song?” I asked more harshly than I had intended. Had a chosen one
taught her? She should have known not to be foolish to trust one of them. I saw
the way the other boys treated the girls, all lies and betrayal.
“My
father.”
“You do understand that I should report this?”
I asked her.
“Yes.”
“You do
know the council won’t just ignore it? There are rules to be followed,” I
reminded her. Suddenly, the real world was screaming at me from the other side
of the door. If someone else had caught her, she would be in danger. She
couldn’t make this mistake again.
“I didn’t
realize I wasn’t allowed.”
“With that
kind of attitude, you won’t make it long here,” I snapped. Did she want
trouble? The same defiance that called to me before now frightened me. I didn’t
want to see anything bad to happen to this girl.
“You should leave,” I continued, placing my
hands on hers. I told myself that I had to touch her, remove her hands from the
keys to show her I was serious about her leaving, but the truth was I had to
touch her just once. Once before I let her disappear back into her world as I
went back into mine.
“I won’t
tell anyone, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Why won’t you report me?”
“I don’t
know,” I sighed. I should have but I couldn’t.
“Isn’t it
near time for the transport to take you back?” I asked her.
“I suppose
so. Yes.”
“Very
well.”
As I moved
away from the girl, heading back towards the world where this sort of event
would never happen again, I simply couldn’t help myself. With one long last
look at the enigma who enchanted me, I said: ““Tess, you are not to do anything
like this again. Not under any circumstances.” I would never speak to her again
after this moment, but I would make it my business to protect her.
“Yes, sir.”
“And Tess?
You play beautifully.”
I would
make it my business to protect her the rest of my life.
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