Chapters to ‘The Astronomy Club’, book 1 of the Fraiser Trilogy.
Pretty and Blink Chapter Eighteen (Spring, 2037) (4.5k words, ~15 min read) Blink had held fast to Pretty out of terror as they sank with a crash through the mirror. Pretty’s grip on Marshall slipped as he and Blink exited instantaneously out of another mirror. The gun, emptied of its ammunition, jostled loose from Pretty’s …
Mariah and Langley Chapter Seventeen (Spring, 1937) (6.5k words, 30-40 min read) The man in the green coat had grabbed Langley during the fall through those clear tunnels. Mariah and Langley had kept their hands together and crashed through the mirror with the man, feet underneath them. Langley felt his hand slip from Myles’s while …
Marshall Chapter Sixteen (Spring, 2037) (5.5 k words, 20-30 min read) After that strange fall with all the lights, that random guy who grabbed Langley, then losing grip of Pretty’s and Mariah’s hands, Marshall crashed out through a mirror by himself and his legs caught on the edge of a vanity which almost fell right …
Myles Chapter Fifteen (Spring, 2037) (6k words, ~30 min read) Myles Willis awoke to the reality he’d hoped was just a nightmare. The right side of his face was on something scratchy, but for the most part his body was warm. The air around him was alive but cold. He heard birds and most of …
The Party’s Collapse Chapter Ten, (Spring, 1978) (2.8k words; ~10 min read) In twenty minutes all but two emergency vehicles in all of Winton had parked outside the Butterfield’s house. Bathrobed neighbors stood anxiously on porches giving muddled descriptions of what they heard and saw. When Ryan and the officer arrived at the scene, they …
The Mirror Chapter Fourteen (Fall, 2000) (7k words, 30-40 min read) Archibald Langley heard scratching outside the door and heavy sniffing. Langley jumped up, hoodie swinging around him, and sprinted from the garage into his house. He wanted to call Pretty, wanted to tell him the Dark Night was here, but he couldn’t. He wanted …
The Dark Night Chapter Thirteen (Fall, 2000) (6k Words, ~25 min read) The stargazing kids left the clearing and went to their respective homes. Once Marshall got home, he went to his room and pulled his backpack off the coat hanger in his closet. He tossed it (and whatever he’d left inside of it) on …
The Plan Chapter Twelve (Fall, 2000) (8k words, ~35min read) The full Astronomy Club played the arcade’s machines for three more hours before they decided they’d had enough. Then they headed to the clubhouse for the final initiation piece. They biked all the way to Bushkill Avenue and coasted down Myles’ enormous driveway. They then …
Initiation Chapter Eleven (Fall, 2000) (8.5k words, ~40 min read) Boomerang Arcade used to be a family-owned burger building called Belgian Grill House, constructed in 1911 by Gredd and Harriette Crutche (pronounced ‘croosh’) before burgers were a big deal. Brick and mortar held it up back when Winton was young and video games didn’t exist …