I finished the rough draft of “Chapter 38: Escapism & Shame” in Dwellers of the Night. It is a pretty intense chapter filled with dialogue, tension, a scene of intimacy, and flashbacks. The ending is pretty cryptic as well. I only have a few more chapters to complete, and then the rough draft is ready for editing and revising. Here is an excerpt from Chapter 38 (page 692 in the novel):
She is sitting in the chair facing the vanity, her back to him, the shoulder-blades pressed against bluish-purple, blood-deprived skin. Her head is bowed, as if in prayer, and across the mirror is a great wash of dried blood, molded into the shape of a wretched grin, which had inched its way down from its arc of splatter in great rivulets, spattering onto the vanity’s counter. The man moves forward slowly, around the side of the bed next to the vanity, and he sees that her front is covered with blood: the blood had flowed down over her breasts, down her stomach, between her legs, and pooled in a gelatinous puddle amidst her stone-cold feet. On the counter of the vanity are open containers of old makeup, but her face is hidden in the shadows. The bloodied bayonet is still clenched in the icy fingers of her right hand. He stands on the opposite side of the bed watching her. He feels nothing. His heart beats sluggishly behind his ribs. Hers doesn’t beat at all.
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