Hello, fellow readers, bloggers and authors!

It’s that time of the year again!

Time to celebrate horror, twisted minds and candy consumption. *insert evil laughter here*

In addition to Halloween, this month is a reminder to all women and men that breast cancer exists and it is a serious disease. It’s important to take the steps to detect breast cancer in its early stages. Click on the Breast Cancer Awareness image on the right side panel of this page to get information on how to get check for the disease and also how to donate to the cause.

Now, let’s have story time, boys and girls!

Starting today, I’ll be posting a new story for FREE. 2 chapters will be posted each week of this month for your reading pleasure. I will also post the images that inspired me to create the characters in this story. This is not a tale that I had sitting on the back burner or anything. This story literally came to me on a whim, so I’m writing it as I post it. It’s a new genre for me, dystopian sci-fi romance with a touch of steampunk. I haven’t done this before, so I’m treating this as a writing challenge. Let me forewarn you, it’s not edited or doctored up. It’s just me writing what my muse whispers in my ear. I really hope you enjoy it.

As the story progresses, please don’t hesitate to give feedback. I love to hear from the readers.

On a side note… Most of you already know I have a pretty vivid imagination and my descriptions are very graphic. Seriously, my tales come with a warning for reason. I’m going to insert that warning now and then move onto the story.

Enjoy!

**WARNING: Not suitable for the faint of heart, prudes or those easily bothered by strong and vulgar language, urban dialect, demon and vampire seduction, kickass female characters, sword-wielding bad asses, super-hot shifters, dark smutty sex and extreme violence.**

CRIMSON DAYS

**dystopian sci-fi, paranormal, erotic and interracial romance**

Chapter 1

The persistent banging on the front door increased the rapid thump behind my eyes.

Palming my forehead, I winced. “Hold on, Sanjay!” I splashed my face with a couple handfuls of water and stared at my reflection in the mirror. “Wow. I’m not even a shadow of my old self,” I murmured pitifully. In short, I looked a hot damn mess.

There were dark shadows under my eyes, due to lack of sleep. My chestnut skin tone had lost its healthy glow. I’m sure my poor diet had something to do with that. On some days I ate a little something just to fuel up and then on other days I didn’t eat at all. When your job requires you to spend most of your time around the walking dead and rotting corpses, it made it hard to work up an appetite. The woes of being a Cross Knight…

“Alexis!” Sanjay shouted through the door. “C’mon girl, we’re late! The hovercraft is waiting for us.”

“Geez, this man…” I grumbled under my breath. “He’s such a damn irritation.” I tied my dreads back from my face, adjusted the snug armor over my breasts and headed downstairs. “Who are you with?” I called out.

“I’m with you,” came his sultry response.

When I got to the door, I glanced at the screen on the side wall to make sure he was alone. He had the aggravating habit of traveling with a military entourage when he came to my quarters. He knew I hated that crap. After I cursed him out about it the last time, he promised to never do it again. For once, he’d kept his word.

“Disengage security and open the door,” I ordered to my personal AI.

“Command confirmed,” the disembodied female voice replied as the seven locks on the door clicked simultaneously. “Door opening.” Most people preferred a physical android living with them, but not me. That shit was creepy. Their artificial human features made them even creepier. I preferred the security without a bot strolling freely around my quarters.

The door slid to the right and disappeared into the wall, revealing the man who once owned my heart.

“‘Sup, babe.” The brim of Sanjay’s hat sat low on his head, concealing his dark soulful eyes. “I feel like you’re avoiding me.”

“Because I am,” I retorted snidely as I shuffled aside to let him enter.

The stench of death lingered on him. Crimson spots marred his uniform and armor, which indicated he’d sliced up some vampires on the way over here. Typical.

His full lips twisted into a frown. “What’s been going on with you?”

Huffing out a sigh, I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be an asshole. Look at me.”

“I’m looking. I see you, babe.”

“Do you? Do you really see me?”

He stepped over the threshold, and tried to pull me into his arms. “You look beautiful to me, as always.”

I pulled away and headed for my weapon cache, with Sanjay swift on my heels. “You’re only saying that because you want me to go out hunting with you. My health means nothing to you.” The moment I approached my storage room, the retina scanner emerged from the wall.

Sanjay and I stood still as the machine identified us.

“Yeah, of course I want you to go hunting with me. That doesn’t mean I’m lying about you being beautiful…” He flashed the smile that always made my heart flutter. Today it didn’t have the same effect. “And it doesn’t mean I’m not worried about your health.”

“Whateva.” I walked into room and started collecting my weapons.

I always carried three daggers, three G-four gats and a laser rifle. When I first joined the regiment, the weapons weighed nothing to me. Probably because I had a purpose, or at least I thought I did. Now, they felt heavy as hell.

I found myself returning one pistol to its holder. “I feel sick and it’s getting worse.”

“Well, if you were eating like you’re supposed to and taking your vitamin pack…” he murmured, rummaging through my ammo. “You wouldn’t have this problem.

Heat flared to my face as I cut a glare at him. What angered me the most is he knew my diet has fallen off, but he didn’t bother to say anything about it, or at least try to help me through it. That told me one thing. He truly didn’t give a damn. All he cared about was this fucking war.

“Nothing else matters to you when it comes to the cause.” Sarcasm dripped from each word. “If I dropped dead, would you even bother to come to my funeral, or would you go out hunting to kill as many vampires as you can in my honor?

He flashed a wicked grin. “Are you trying to pick a fight with me, Alexis?” He eased up behind me and slipped a hand over my crotch. “If that’s the case, we can squash the argument and cut to the makeup sex right now.”

Groaning, I shoved away from him. “I’m serious, Sanjay. We’ve been at this for what… a little over three years now? There has to be more to life than this. More to life than the war, blood and death.”

He quirked a brow. “What are you saying?”

“Gaaawd!” I threw my hands in the air. “I swear it’s like talking to a brick wall with you. I’m saying the same thing I said yesterday and the day before that, and the day before THAT! I’ve been saying this shit for a year now, Sanjay. I don’t wanna do this anymore! I wanna pack my bags and get as far away from this war zone as possible.”

“And go where?” he asked beneath a sigh.

“Anywhere but here.”

“Look babe, I know it’s hard, but the force needs us. Mankind needs us. We’re knights—”

“No, you’re a knight! I’m a waitress! Remember?”

“Yet, you’re the best hunter on the squad.”

I laughed, but not so much in humor. “Just because I’m good at it doesn’t mean I want to keep doing it. I can’t take another year of this mess.” I shook my head. “I just can’t…”

“Come here, babe.” He pulled me into his embrace and cuddled me. “You’re just going through withdrawal, missing the life you used to have. We all go through it.” Rocking his hips, he pressed his bulged groin against me and kissed the corner of my mouth. “I got a little something to remedy that. Let’s bust a quickie before we show up for duty.”

“Ugh, you’re such a pig! And you smell like vampires. That’s not sexy.” I shoved him away, and reclaimed the G-four I had put back. “Let’s go and get this mission over with.”

No matter how many times I said it, or how many different ways I put it, he would never get it. The only way to get through to him was to walk away from him and away from this war he’d dragged me into, but I couldn’t find it in myself to do it. Maybe because deep inside, I didn’t want to let him down. But how long could I keep living for him before this war finally claimed my life?

Copyright © 2014 by Yvonne Nicolas

All rights reserved.

Stay tuned for the next chapter in Crimson Days!

What was I listening to while writing this chapter?

Nine Inch Nails ~ Everyday is Exactly the Same