Defiance currently stands at 125 pages long and numbers 91,200 words. Like any other NaNo draft, it is full of plot holes and inconsistencies, and I am already planning the rewrite. However, right now, high in the sky in my bubble of "I've-just-finished-a-story" euphoria, it is my pride and joy.
... please excuse me while I go and collapse in a heap.
Here's a little extract from the end of the story; hope you like!
The explosion made the hull of the Siofra shake as if it had been struck. Standing beside Rachael at the helm, Dusk yelped as the floor swayed and wobbled under his feet.
“What the hell was that?” Rachael asked, struggling to stay in control as the ship reared and fought against her control.
Dusk didn’t answer. He ran back down into the main cabin area and looked out of the window, just in time to see a huge fireball burst out over the hangar, sending pieces of flying debris whizzing into the air. As the sound of the explosion faded away, there was complete silence in the cabin. Dusk moved away from the window and lowered his head, tears pricking at his eyes.
“W-Was that ... did he ...” Libya asked. She was sitting across the room, covered in a blanket, with Jessa’s arm around her shoulder.
Dusk nodded silently. Libya looked away and buried her head in Jessa’s shoulder. But, Dusk noted, she did not cry, nor did she make any sound at all. Her grief ran deep, but he also saw a faint glimmer of pride in her tortured eyes. He looked away quickly, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. He looked back out of the window, at the smoking ruins and glowing embers that marked the last stand of the bravest man Dusk had ever known. A smile crossed his face, and a sudden lightness entered his heart, as if a great weight had just been lifted from his shoulders. The madness was over. They were free.
“What the hell was that?” Rachael asked, struggling to stay in control as the ship reared and fought against her control.
Dusk didn’t answer. He ran back down into the main cabin area and looked out of the window, just in time to see a huge fireball burst out over the hangar, sending pieces of flying debris whizzing into the air. As the sound of the explosion faded away, there was complete silence in the cabin. Dusk moved away from the window and lowered his head, tears pricking at his eyes.
“W-Was that ... did he ...” Libya asked. She was sitting across the room, covered in a blanket, with Jessa’s arm around her shoulder.
Dusk nodded silently. Libya looked away and buried her head in Jessa’s shoulder. But, Dusk noted, she did not cry, nor did she make any sound at all. Her grief ran deep, but he also saw a faint glimmer of pride in her tortured eyes. He looked away quickly, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. He looked back out of the window, at the smoking ruins and glowing embers that marked the last stand of the bravest man Dusk had ever known. A smile crossed his face, and a sudden lightness entered his heart, as if a great weight had just been lifted from his shoulders. The madness was over. They were free.
Returning to the helm, Dusk stood beside Rachael and watched as the Siofra sailed away over the placid morning sea, the grey water turning pink as the first rays of sunlight began to break through the night. Rachael turned the wheel and pulled a lever at her side, and the great ship sped onwards into the new dawn and the bright, unexplored future beyond.
