Sunday Snippet: Not Quite Paradise

Well… this has been a crazy week. My daughter had a break on Monday for MLK Jr. Day and hasn't been back to school since. Four snow days in a row. We're supposed to have a warmer weekend so hopefully they'll be back to school this week. She's going stir-crazy and keeps mumbling about the district cancelling school for the rest of the year. LOL

Not a bad week in television. MY SHOWS ARE BACK!! The Flash put Barry on trial and, holy crap, he's not in a good place. I'd like to say I cared more about everything happening but I just can't give two craps about the stupid body swap, uber smart big bad here. Eh… at least we're getting some good character development on other fronts.

Gotta say if you're not watching Black Lightning, find it and watch! What a kickass premiere! I'm excited about this show. I'm still holding out hope we eventually get a Vixen scripted drama sometime in the future.

Arrow still ranks as my top DC universe show. Even though James is similar to the uber smart Flash villain scenario, I like how he's got a team of junior villains backing him. I'm holding out hope this one has a satisfactory ending.

Riverdale. Oh, show. Where the hell are you going? I'm kind of thrilled I have no freaking clue what out of left field thing will happen next. Part of the joy in watching this show is the absolutely crazy dark alleys it decides to go down. That said, pitting Archie against Hiram is either the best thing ever or the stupidest move an FBI agent will ever make. Just saying.

Got started on The Punisher and, honestly, it ranks right up there with Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Daredevil. Iron Fist is still the weakest link in this group, but I have faith Danny won't be the most annoying super hero ever in his second season. Maybe.

Murdoch Mysteries had a great episode last week. I know nothing about cricket but it made an interesting murder backdrop. Also, it's so awesome William and Julia are possibly going to start their family. Fingers crossed that actually happens.

Frankie Drake provided a terrific case this week and also had excellent guest stars. So awesome to see George Crabtree around and doing quite well for himself. Also, Laurence Fox can guest star again whenever he wants. I'm totally down with that idea.

Finished the second season of Chicago Fire and, wow, what an ending. Got the third season ready to start today. Definitely glad I don't have to wait through a hiatus to find out what happened to everyone.

And that's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Not Quite Paradise, a novella that started with a writing community prompt of writing a story where the main characters get marooned on a desert island. I put a twist in and made the island a deserted planet instead.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Janee Neff and Oxley DeCosta are military transport pilots flying a peacetime mission to pick up new recruits when their craft crashes and strands them on a deserted moon. The couple discovers things aren't exactly what they seem when they find their signal beacon is destroyed by blaster fire, which means their unexpected vacation isn't quite paradise after all.

And a sneaky peek…

Ox snorted. "Yeah? Next time maybe you can check the status of the thrusters before we take off." He wanted to keep her focused on being pissed at him and not her precarious situation.

He needed to get her down. If he couldn't, he'd have to leave her and set a homing beacon. He should have made getting the signal out his first priority, but he couldn't bring himself to leave her, not in an unconscious state.

And she'd probably rip him a new one when she discovered he'd put her first.

He'd do the same to her if their roles were reversed.

But… they needed each other if they wanted to survive. Their odds went way down if they got separated for any reason.

Janee moaned then growled in frustration. "Dammit, Ox. Get me down. Or so help me, I'll heave up my guts all over you." To her credit, she refrained from trying to pull the harness apart again.

Not a pleasant thought. He weighed several options. He could climb up and cut her down, but the drop concerned him. Maybe he could get to the jump kit and rig a rope rescue. Better chance to release her and avoid injury for both. A quick visual scan didn't reveal the bag where it should be. He glanced around, hoping to find it.

Janee shook her head. "Ox… what the hell are you looking for?" Her hair dangled straight down, the holder nowhere to be seen.

He kept up the search. "The jump bag. I should be able to rig a system to cut you loose and lower you down. A fifteen-foot drop won't help your headache." Or get them out of the ship to set the beacon.

Janee craned her head from side to side. "There. Hang on…" She kicked out her leg and caught the strap with her boot. "Look out below." Hooking her foot under the handle, she swung the case from its location then dropped it.

Ox shuffled to the side, barely getting out of the way in time. He grunted when his shoulder connected with the bulkhead. Bending down, he riffled through the duffel and grabbed two ropes and a carabiner.

He rose and found a good anchor spot. "Janee, can you wind this around the arm of the seat? I'll climb up, get you secured then cut you loose." He judged the distance he'd need to cover with the toss.

Janee gave a nod. "Yeah, I should be able to work it through and get it wrapped around the armrest." She readied to catch the end when he threw it. "And you'd better make sure I don't end up making that fifteen-foot drop." She caught the rope and started threading it through the space. "With my luck, I'd land headfirst, because, really, the day couldn't get worse if I did."

Ox started the climb up, a grin on his face. Janee might drive him crazy with her nonstop salvos but he wouldn't want to be stranded with anyone else.

I love writing the back and forth with these two characters. They're already terrific friends and adding the tension-building scenario of being stranded together creates some awesome conflict.

That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.

ML Skye