Some of the Stuff I've Had to Cut

I figured some of the stuff I've cut would be useful somewhere, and I guess this is the place. For your viewing enjoyment, here are some of the stuff I've had to cut over the course of my noveling journey.

“How would you save the world?” Ashton answered immediately. “I would build a giant robot suit and stop an alien army. Or build a time machine and kill Hitler. Or- are you listening?” He glanced at his sister, Destiny. She stared into the sunset, her dark hair blowing behind her. “You okay, Des?” She shook her head. “Yeah. Yeah. I was just thinking. Do you really think that aliens and time travel exist?” “Anything can happen.” Destiny looked back at the sun setting behind Blue Mountain. Her dark skin stood sharply against the red clouds. “I think…. I think that if there were aliens--I wouldn’t want to fight them.” Ashton’s blue eyes twinkled. “You’re no fun.” “I hate violence,” Destiny said, her hands gripping the shingles more tightly. “If everyone was just kind to each other, that no one wanted to hurt anyone, the world would be-- perfect, I guess.” “Well, people don't think like that. They just like hurting people. “That’s why I want to be a superhero. So I can protect people.” “You don't need to be a superhero to help people. You just have to do your small part.”         The stars were bright tonight, blinking into view as the red sunset faded into the horizon.  Destiny smiled and closed her eyes.

She wished she hadn’t been so mean to Trickster, not for his sake, but for Destiny’s. The poor girl looked the way the little girls back home had looked when the soldiers marched through town. She remembered giving them each a candle and a hug before leading them into the basement, even though she was barely a year older than them. She wished she could protect Destiny the same way. But she was a soldier now, and could afford no signs of weakness. Even when eating pizza in the control room at A.P.E., she kept her guard up. She only let it down for Francis, and even he, with his ridiculous hair and affinity for hamburgers, was growing more distant. His new girlfriend, Lauren, took up most of his time these days.

The police cruiser pulled to a stop next to the truck. A short woman with blonde hair cut directly along her jawline stepped out and came to the window

“License and registration, please.”

Charlie tapped the policeman on the shoulder. “Did you not see me take down those helicopters? I think you know who we are.”

“Excuse me?”

He took his key card out of his pocket. “Farsight. Special agent with A.P.E..”

“Ape?”

“A.P.E.”

“I’m pretty sure you just made that up.”

He shook his head. “It stands for American Protection Endeavor.”

She raised an eyebrow.

I decided to intervene. “Ma’am, It’s true. I’m Black Eagle. Here’s my ID card. We’re bringing two consultants, Trickster and, ah--” I glanced at Destiny. “Meteor.”

“Riiiiiiight.”

“We were fleeing enemy attack. I can’t promise it won’t happen again.”

The officer scribbled something on a pad of yellow paper. “You’re lucky, you know,” she muttered.

“Ma’am?”

“Gettin’ out of all these laws, gettin’ to fight real baddies in the real world. Gettin’ to be like in the movies.”

“It isn’t all talking watches and [stuff], ma’am.”

She scowled. “You sassin’ me?”

I shook my head.

“Good.” She stepped back into her cruiser and sped off.

“So that happened,” Trickster muttered.

So, there are some pieces of very early drafts of my novel. I hope you enjoyed seeing the garbage I've tossed out of it over the past-- what, a year and a half? It may have been more than that, I have no idea. But I think we can all agree that none of these belong in a published book.