SFFS SNIPPET #1 - 05/19/12

Thanks for allowing me to join in on the Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday Snippets.  And thanks to the always influential Heidi Ruby Miller for turning me on to the site.  This snippet is from my manuscript Welcome to GreenGrass - set in a patchwork city of magic and technology that is home to a multitude of amazing creatures.  It’s also a place where racial tensions have pushed the population to the brink of civil war.  Feuding factions between the Technologists and Enchanters are destabilizing an already unbalanced civilization and a recent high profile murder threatens to bring down the mysterious dome that both protects and enslaves the city’s denizens.  The story centers on John Traveller, former terran police officer, who leads an unorthodox band of allies to include a pacifist demon, cast out demi-god, and telepathic female into the heart of the city to investigate the mysterious death.

          “Thunderin’ newbies.”  Traveller whispered as he racked a round into his shotgun.  The sound of the weapon chambering echoed down the alley as the figures below him froze in place.  Leveling his head into the weapon’s sights, Traveller spoke, “Load.  Stun.”

          A blast of energy exploded from the barrel, hurtling across the alley and hammering into Gatto’s chest.  The creature hissed as it tumbled away from its intended prey, dropping to the ground as swirls of red light danced across its chest.

          Finding cover behind a couple trash cans, Slythe peered into the corridor’s dark recesses.  Watching his partner writhe in pain, his eyes widened with realization.  “Aw no, not you.”

          Slythe sprinted in the direction opposite the blast.  Jumping over his fallen partner, he bounded over a fence at the alley's end, his lupine silhouette outlined by the twin red moons overhead.