Good day. It's been a while since I've blogged due to severe occupation with important stuff off the cyber, and I've only just snuck away for a brief while. I'll be sharing a book excerpt of a writer-friend I recently met on facebook. His writing and his works, I've found out, are very visual and impressive.
Book Excerpt: The Darkness Within, a novella By Robert Friedrich
Space - the vast and cold emptiness that surrounds everything. Space is the silent witness to all events past and present. To all atrocities and pain that occur on each and every world. But sometimes, in both blood and pain there may appear a sign of hope and freedom. A freedom born from misery.
It is in space where everything unfolds and all becomes clear as day. In the year 2073 both the beginning and the end come together to shed blood. It is in space where the “Lightark” class 2 salvage ship roams, both in rust and shame. It is an older ship and less advanced than the new class 3 ships. But still it roams around space, searching. Awaiting it’s next mission.
It is in space where many accidents happen and mostly end in horrible ways. But someone has to clean up the mess and pick up the broken pieces. This is where the “Lightark” roams. With just 6 members as Crew, but when needed, it listens to every call and plea. This story situates around the Captain of this ship, a broken man with horrible nightmares and alcohol problems. A man who lost his entire past due to an unfortunate series of events that brought him here.
A window in the “Lightarks” hull reveals the Captain’s cabin, where he sits alone. Two fluorescent lamps just light the cabin, but one is flickering at times. The Captain sits at his desk, starring endlessly at the wall. A half empty bottle of whiskey at his side, with two glasses, one half full and other tipped over beside an ashtray full of cigarette buds. Above his desk, the wall is filled with newspaper and magazine covers. Each one revealing a different heading. Headings such as “Tragedy in space, lone survivor hospitalized”, “Victim or Criminal”, “Children psychiatrist burned alive, his dark secrets come to light” and many others.
The Captain is sitting motionless in his chair, wearing a long black leader coat since the ship’s heating system isn’t working anymore as it should. Under his coat by his waist is an empty weapon holster. The Captain finally moves his hand and picks up the half empty glass of whiskey and drinks it before reaching into a drawer in his desk. In this drawer a metal box rests. Engraved on it is “Special edition Colt 2021 with a self-recharging case less pulse round magazine.” He opens the box and takes the Colt all covered in black matte with engraved “110 Year Anniversary Edition”.
He looks at it for a few seconds, before pointing it at his forehead. He exhales and closes his eyes, ready to pull the trigger. It seems as if the time slows down as he slowly starts to pull the trigger. His face thou shows distress, as if this is his last hope to remember everything. People till today say, “when you are close to death or dying, your entire life flashes before your eyes.” But the distress symbolizes that nothing flashes before his eyes. There is nothing left but pitch black darkness.
The sound of the comm. speaker interrupts the Captain. A female voice comes on: “Captain Roberts, your presence is requested on the Bridge.“ The Captain takes his finger off the trigger, holsters his gun and stands up from his desk. He goes towards the comm. speaker. He simply says: “I’m on my way.”
He just takes a blister of medication from the drawer in which his gun laid not so long ago and slides it inside his inside coat pocket. He exits his cabin through the sliding door and starts walking through the corridor towards the Bridge. The distress from the earlier suicide attempt is wiped off his face as he makes a stop at the ship’s kitchen. Inside the kitchen already the ship’s medical officer Anderson is making tea for himself as the Captain enters.
You can get the full copy here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/321582
Don't forget to leave a rating and review to encourage the author.
Author Bio
I'm Robert Friedrich, and I am the author of The Darkness Within Novella and the Anthology Enlightened by Darkness. The Darkness Within is one of the first Fiction Novella's specially dedicated to Metal & Metalheads around this world. And my Anthology will take you to the fabrics of reality.
I am originally born in Slovakia, but reside abroad before returning to Europe. I am a freelance writer and this is my biggest undertaking and it is not my last one. Besides this project I also write on my own blog, and I did freelance work on the American comedy website Cracked.com. I always had a vivid imagination and it took some pain, guts and a ton of misfortunes to bring me to this point where I harnessed all my energy and stepped out to do the things I really want to do.
If you are a fan of Horror/Sci-fi you will enjoy these books, and even if you are not it may still change your perspectives. So be Enlightened by Darkness or face The Darkness Within!
Nice blog and an Interesting book.
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