Asylum Sneak Peek

On Wednesday, I'm finally re-releasing Asylum. I know it's an odd day for a book release, but it's my birthday, so I thought it fitting. All the pieces are in place and ready to be launched with the mere click of a button.

The story all started with an imagined conversation between two people. A man and his wife...only she didn't remember him. "Why not?" my brain asked. And it rolled from there.

I looked back in my computer files, and found that brief piece I wrote that started the entire story. Here it is...unedited and unrevised.

*****

“You really don’t remember me? Not even the slightest bit?”
“What are you talking about?”
“They cut your hair. They took you away from me…”
"I – ”
“You wonder why I call you _____. That’s what I called my wife. She disappeared – ”
“No.” she said, shaking her head.
“ – a year ago. The Legacy captured her and made an example of her…”
“You’re crazy.”
“I know your sister.”
“Why are you doing this?” she cried, backing into a wall.
“_____ is a good friend of mine. And my sister-in-law.”
“You’re turning my story against me…”
“_____– ”
“I’m not her!” she shouted, pushing at him.
He grabbed her arms and pulled her close as she collapsed against him, sobbing. “I’m not…her…”
He lowered himself to the floor, holding her in his arms. “I have no reason to lie to you.”
“You’re in a facility for the insane…” she whispered.
“You’ve said yourself that I’m not a lunatic. Trust me. I have proof, but it’s all back at Escon. Everything I carried with me was taken when I was processed.”
“Why do I not remember?”
“The Legacy erased your memories and embedded memories that they created. That’s why you don’t remember your parents. They served Prince Ternion and were imprisoned by the Legacy for some time before they were executed. _____raised you – ”
“No.”
“Yes. _____ raised you on Escon, under the protection of the Ghosts. Aram Zephaniah, the only father I knew, brought me there so that I could serve under Redic Clairet. That’s how we met. We fell in love and on one lovely sunny day, under the shade of the subluce trees, you agreed…” he paused, fighting back tears. “…you agreed to be my bride.”
“This isn’t right.”
“You went out on a mission and never came back. I did everything in my power to get to you, but I couldn’t. The Legacy had you and they were bent on making an example of you. We heard everything from you being imprisoned to you being executed. And when we found out that you were in service as a systems analyst…”
“It’s not possible…”
“…we tried to make contact. Redic himself set up the job and asked specifically for you. We knew it would be close, but we had to try.”
“They left,” she whispered. “They launched early.”
“Only because they caught wind that the ZeeBees were on their way.”
“They arrested me instead.”
“They took you to the Interrogators and ‘freshened’ your memories.” He touched her shoulder. “_____,” he murmured.
She exploded, shirking off his hand as she leapt to her feet. “Don’t touch me.”
“_____…”
“I came here to do a job. And I end up finding out that not only are the inmates not crazy, but I am. And that I am married, but I missed out on the wonderful experiences of falling in love and that giddy, girly feeling that I’ve dreamt of…”
“_____…” He stepped toward her, his arm reaching out toward her again.
“Stop calling me that!”
He froze. “You know, don’t you?”
“I don’t…remember…” she cried. “But yes…I know.”

*****

I kept most of that dialogue. You can read more on Wednesday!