Facing Down "Demons" #atozchallenge

The half moon shone through the shattered window, glinting off the few glass shards that still littered the floor and casting odd beams of light upward. They danced in shadowed prisms along the baseboards, little distortions of light in pitch black. It wasn't enough to make anything visible, but then again, Kaden had no need of the light anyway. He could see his prey slinking across the decaying, musty room as well as if it had been midday.

The demon’s yellow eyes were closed to slits, his upper lip curled in a soundless snarl as saliva dripped from yellowed fangs. Gray fur nearly stood on end along his back, and the white, matted fur of his chest seemed to shine in the darkness. His claws clicked quietly on the rotted wood of the floor as he backed away from his pursuers, his head swinging side to side in search of an escape route.

There wasn't one, of course.

So begins a story I wrote several years ago about a war from an alternate dimension spilling over to threaten our reality. In the course of the story, our heroine, Anya, learns that such a war deciminated our world once before, and threatens to do so again. Demons are loose in the streets, and for reasons she can't even begin to understand, they're gunning for her. With Kaden's help, she discovers who she is, and they're able to close the gates and save our reality in the nick of time.

The story has changed dramatically from that first version, and has since become about a lethal virus and facing down proverbial demons instead of the real deal. It was for the best, but the idea itself is one I've revisited a lot over the last few years, and put off time and again.

The truth is... there are about a thousand novels, shows and movies out there that deal with demons. Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series pits Clary and Jace against demonic hordes sent by Clary's father. Supernatural pits Sam and Dean Winchester against demons, Satan, and a host of heavenly angels intent on bringing about the apocalypse. Every week on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the spin-off, Angel, there is some new "big bad" demon to battle. In The Exorcist, the girl is possessed by a demon. In C.L. Wilson's Tairen Soul series, the Fae must fend off demons sent by mages they thought defeated long before. The list goes on.

Demons are a fascinating subject for us as readers, as writers, and as viewers. They're those monsters lurking under the bed that we've never seen, but are still afraid of. And who wouldn't be afraid? If popular culture is to be believed, demons are our worst nightmare with gaping jaws, wicked claws, and a chasm brimming with evil where their hearts should be. Demonology from a religious context paints an equally as frightening picture. These creatures command legions in hell, have abilities we've only ever heard of, and take on forms that we can only imagine.

According to Christian beliefs, the Four Horsemen - Conquest, War, Famine and Death - are harbingers of the apocalypse. When they come riding in on their colored steeds, things get unpleasant pretty darn quick. On the heels of Death comes hell. When a star plumets to Earth, the demonic forces are loose, and, well, things continue getting unpleasant at an alarming rate.

It all sounds particularly uncomfortable, and probably ends with us getting eating alive, turned into demon stew, or something equally as horrible that, quite frankly, we probably don't wanna see firsthand. And that's what makes demons so fascinating, I think. They're that train wreck we can't look away from. The horrible, terrifying thing we've never seen, but have heard about time and again. And, for a lot of us, the thing we really hope we never see.

I mean, let's face it... any apocalyptic scenario is preferable to your worst nightmares chasing you through the streets with their four, scaly, horned heads to nom on your bones, right?

Right. Because we know the devastation and fear a volcano or plague can bring, but the only point of reference we have for demons is what our imagination dreams up. And that, y'all, can be downright scary!

What's your favorite novel (or movie/show) that deals with demons?

b"E" back with more tomorrow,

A.K.M.

 You can read other Letter D posts from all across the blogosphere here.

"Chaos" - The Score upon which Reality is Written #atozchallenge

From Chaos we came and to Chaos we return... or so says mythology from around the world.

In ancient Egypt, Chaos was a vast and endless ocean that predated everything in existence. Chaos was not intangible, but was rather a formless, physical material that gave birth to all of creation when ordered. Those who did not believe as the Egyptians did were the agents of Chaos, and were viewed by ancient Egyptians as a threat to life as they knew it.

Ancient Mesopotamian, Chinese, Babylonian and Greek mythology had their own beliefs that centered around Chaos. The Greek creation myth goes a little like this:

In the beginning, there was nothing but the void of Chaos. From this endless chasm came Night and Death (Erebus), and from them, Love. From Love came Light and Day, which gave birth to Gaia (the Earth).

Gaia gave birth to Uranus, and from their union was born the three Cyclopes, the Titans, and the Hecatoncheires. When Gaia became angered at Uranus, she convinced their son, Cronus, to overthrow him. As his blood spilled, the Giants, the Nymphs, and Furies were born.

Meanwhile, Cronus set up shop as the ruler, and birthed yet other children, including Zeus. Zeus, of course, eventually defeated Cronus, and took his place as supreme ruler. Zeus is eventually overthrown by another God, and so on and so forth. As each new God takes the place as supreme ruler, a new age begins.

This, of course, is not an uncommon theme in mythology and religion. The eternal struggle between order and chaos, good and evil, or light and dark is a staple in religious belief from around the world. When the scale tips too far in favor of one, a battle or apocalyptic event occurs to rebalance the scale, or to tip it in the other direction.

In Christianity, for instance, when chaos begins to gain a great foothold in the world in the form of the Antichrist, a great battle will be fought between good (God) and evil (Satan). God is expected to win this battle, and tip the scales back in the direction of good, or order. Nonbelievers are cast into hell, and the faithful will be granted eternity in a peaceful paradise.

The tale is the same in most apocalyptic tales or prophesies of the end times. They deal not with the end of the world, but with the end of a given age or time. The Mayan calendar, for instance ends on December 21, 2012. The world does not end at that point. A new age starts. In Norse mythology, when Ragnarok comes, one man and one woman survive and the world is reborn from them. In the Hindu faith, when man reaches a point of abject depravity (a time referred to as the Kali Yuga), the Kalki Avatar comes to destroy the wicked. Order is then restored and a golden age comes. The list of similar beliefs and myths goes on.

The true end, then, comes only when Order gives way completely to Chaos once again. What was made through the ages is unmade, and we return to that formless void, or that endless ocean. As the ancient Egyptians believed, the Serpent returns and creation sinks once again into that vast, endless ocean. Life as we know it doesn't end, but life itself ends then.

How (or if) that happens is anyone's guess, of course. Maybe it's a blackhole that swallows everything. Or a giant snake that opens his jaws and devours us. Or, if one wanted to take a religious viewpoint, perhaps that time comes when/if good (God, etc) is overthrown by evil (Satan, etc).

After all, if anything is capable of destroying life itself, why not evil? Personally, I prefer that such an event never happen and we keep on keeping on through each new age from here to... well, eternity. That's much more pleasant than Chaos, don't you think?

Do you have a favorite creation myth?

"D"on't miss me too much!

A.K.M

You can read other Letter C posts from all across the blogosphere here. 

*The title of this post comes from a quote by Henry Miller.



Bombs Away! #atozchallenge

One of my favorite shows of all time is the short-lived Jericho, in which the citizens of Jericho, KS try to survive after half of the United States is taken out in massive nuclear bombings. For most of the show, no one has a clue whodunit or why they done it, and the town must deal with everything from an all out war with a neighboring town, to lawless contractor companies, to a bomb hidden inside the town, to a new government with questionable motives, to a lack of resources.  

There are about a million novels and movies with similar themes out there. When we think apocalypse, bombs tend to rank pretty high on our list of possible causes. And why not? I mean, we've seen just how catastrophic these suckers can be. When Little Boy was dropped from Enola Gay on Hiroshima during WWII, the city was devastated. Thirty percent of the population died immediately, and thousands of others have died in the years since from medical issues related to the bombing. The story is the same in Nagasaki, also bombed during World War II.  

Enola Gay by OMD (about the bombing of Hiroshima)

If we're all going to die in some horrible kind of way, nuclear bombs would certainly do it! You've got the immediate death from, you know, being bombed by kilotons of TNT, and then the horrible radiation sickness, cancer, burns, injuries, the crazies that survive and find other unpleasant ways to kill you in a post-apocalyptic world... It's rather horrible to think about!  

About a year ago, The Husbinator started reading The Atomic Bazaar by William Langewiesche. The book is an investigative journalist's report on nuclear weapon production, specifically by nations and groups who we don't necessarily want having such capabilities. Langewiesche basically traveled around the world, trying to ascertain how difficult it would be for just such a nation or group to obtain the materials needed to make a nuclear weapon. His conclusions are pretty grim. (You can read an interview with him and an excerpt from the first chapter here.)

aka How I Became Paranoid in 179 pages.

For some reason I've yet to understand, I picked up the book when The Husbinator was finished, and bombs have since become the number one way I don't wanna die. I was paranoid for weeks that we were all going to die any minute in explosions to rival those in Jericho. I may be a wee bit overdramatic in my paranoia, but seriously... explosions should be contained to abandoned buildings, fields of cocaine, the MythBusters, or action movies. Cities, people, the entire planet? Not such a good thing! With so many nations and groups attempting to get their hands on nuclear weapons, it's not as crazy an armageddon scenario as we'd like to think.

And what really creeps me out is the fact that cockroaches could potentially survive, thus proving, once and for all, that the suckers really are protected by evil forces. I mean seriously. How crazy is it that those itty bitty, demonic bugs are fifteen times more resistent to radiation than oh, I don't know, the humans they already torment? Plain cruel and unusual if you ask me.

Things that make you go Hmm.

That said, since reading the book, I've come to the conclusion that the only sane thing to be in a post-apocalyptic world is the girl in charge of toilet paper distribution. Only a madman would kill the girl standing between him and a handful of butt-chaffing, unsanitary leaves. Or possibly the girl in charge of the Raid. From the looks of things, we just might need it!

What about you? What's your post-apocalyptic career plan?

"C" you tomorrow,

A.K.M.

You can read other Letter B posts from all across the blogosphere here. 

It's that time again! #sixsentencesunday

It's been a while since I've done Six Sentence Sunday. Sorry for that, y'all. Real life and all of that, but I'm back, and I have something new for you. Yay! This has no official title just yet. I'm calling it Shattered at the moment, but that'll change eventually. It's just a little drabble I've been playing with here and there.  

Enjoy it! :)

The girl huddled over the coffee cup in her hands, straining to hear every word being exchanged at the table behind her. She was obscured from view by the huge oak between her and the picnic table, but it's not like Xander or Ainsley would have noticed her anyway. They'd forgotten all about her, if they'd even spared her a second thought at all since the last time she'd seen them.

That set her blood to boiling.

Did the stupid boy really think he could do what he had and just get away with it? Did Ainsley?

Someone is not a happy camper! I wonder what that's all about, don't you? ;)

You can check out other SSS posts here. Remember: not all are appropriate for younger readers!

Happy Sunday,

A.K.M. 

Don't forget that we're doing the Armageddon Alphabet all month-long for the A to Z Challenge here at the blog! And the 6th through the 8th we'll be doing the Hoppy Easter Blog Hop, and one lucky commenter will win an ebook copy of Fade upon release!

Kiss your "Asteroid" goodbye! #atozchallenge

What's that up in the sky? It's a bird. It's a plane. Holy crap! It's Steve Buscemi riding a nuclear warhead!

You probably saw that one coming, right? We are talking asteroids, after all! And I don't know about you, but when I think about asteroids, comets, or any other space rock-caused apocalypse scenarios, that's the image that immediately jumps to mind. 

Forget snot-sobbing while Bruce Willis tells Liv Tyler goodbye. Just give me Steve Buscemi riding that bomb like it's a mechanical bull, and I'm a happy camper.

In all seriousness, there's just something about a giant space-rock on a crash course with Earth that has the action-movie fangirl inside dashing off to find popcorn and a good seat. I figure if we’re going to have an extinction event and zombies can’t be involved, we should at least go for broke! And an asteroid promises to make a big splash, no pun intended.

Scientists are pretty much in agreement that just such a rock crash landed on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula 65 million or so years ago. The force of impact triggered everything from massive earthquakes to landslides to giant tsunamis, each of which has featured in its own end-of-the-world scenario a time or two. When all was said and done, the planet was covered in a nasty cloud of junk that thrust it into a catastrophic winter and eventually killed off the dinosaurs.

Who’s to say it won’t happen again?

It’s certainly a popular apocalypse theme in Sci-Fi movies and novels, with everyone from Michael Bay to Jack McDevitt getting in on the asteroid action. You have to admit, it certainly makes for some great action sequences and tense moments. Sadly though, I’ve not come across many current YA novels featuring asteroid-y goodness.

Maybe some of my fellow writers can remedy that shortage for me, yes? ;)

What about you? When you think asteroid apocalypses (or just plain asteroids), what novel or movie scene comes to mind for you?

Behave and I’ll Be Back with B tomorrow (har har),

A.K.M.

*Useless factoid side-note: Steve Buscemi is talking about Slim Pickens taking a bomb ride in the movie, Dr. Strangelove.    

**Remember to check out other Letter A posts for the A to Z challenge here.