Hello again readers!

I've been toying with the idea of reading some stories and putting up the recordings for my followers to listen to. This will be the first time I've posted any for you to listen to. I don't claim to have a voice suited to it, but I think listening to a book is a fun way to "read" it.

This also pulls double duty as a small preview for the first couple pages of my soon-to-be-released short story: Sibling Solace ! And by soon I mean next week!

I'm curious what you, my readers, think of my dull, monotone voice. I've actually recorded this four or five times. Hoping I sounded less boring each time. I've added the text of what I read below, in case you'd rather just read it yourself.

Sibling Solace

Rae stared out the dirty, filmy back window of the old bus until the town disappeared beneath the horizon like a setting sun. It wasn’t a large bus, in reality it was closer to a large van. The bus' suspension squealed in protest over the uneven, ill-maintained road; chassis creaking like an arthritic old man going up a flight of stairs. All the seats were torn and most of the padding had been gone for at least a decade. Vinyl covered the bare metal stabbing into his legs with every pothole. The only thing on the bus that seemed to be properly cared for was the driver's seat—a brand new looking, electronically adjustable unit—and the engine, chugging along smoothly without a care in the world. It was all Rae and his twin sister, Tae, could afford. And that was after the driver's I-feel-sorry-for-you discount.

They were leaving behind their father. At fourteen years old, most would call them runaways, but they were simply moving on with their lives. They weren’t running away from him. They were leaving behind his tyranny over their lives.

Their father blamed them for killing their mother as she gave birth to them. Durachev—the raptor-like, smooth skinned, sister species of Hilachev—giving birth to identical twins is very rare and complicated, due to their small stature compared to the other species. It was recommended she terminate the pregnancy because of the threat to her own life. Teil, their mother, adamantly refused to get an abortion, somehow she knew before her doctor had examined her that she carried twins. Their small colony did not have the sophisticated medical services necessary to care for a durachev giving birth to twins, especially one that already suffered from complications. Teil died in her home before she heard the cries of the newborn offspring she’d fought to keep alive. All the midwife could do was save Rae and Tae. Names their parents had decided upon before they were born. Their father cared for them and raised them, but he would never forgive them. As they'd grown, he'd become more resentful and more aloof; more recently he'd started to become abusive.

The vivid, fresh memory made Rae's jaw ache and he rubbed it reflexively, feeling the bruise beneath his skin. At least their father had waited until they were older to become an overt asshole. It was little consolation, he could still remember the bitter, copper taste of blood. Father had cuffed him hard after he'd cussed at him for unjustifiably yelling at Tae. It was the first time he’d ever hit him like that. Tae had immediately jumped in to protect her brother, with claws and screams, catching their father off guard and taking him to the ground. Every hit they landed on their father held years of bitterness and each blow felt like served justice, long deserved. Despite being smaller and weaker, they left their father curled in on himself, wheezing and coughing blood onto the dirty floor, cursing their names with each ragged breath, but he didn't dare get up. The twins had made damn sure of that. An hour later they were buying tickets from the bus driver to the nearest settlement—with credits taken from their father—Benk.

But they didn’t go straight to the bus. On their way they stopped at their mother’s grave. It was an obvious place to go, if their father wanted to stop them. The grave was a pillar of strength in their young lives. They could still remember the first time their father brought them there. He’d wanted to make a point, to show to them what they had done, to try and make them feel the pain he’d felt all the years since. He wanted them to believe, as strongly as he did, that they had murdered Teil. He wielded the word like a stinging whip. Being so young they’d believed him and it hung over their hearts for many years.

With age, however, came knowledge of how life worked and they knew it wasn’t their fault. That was the final truth. The key to their eventual freedom. From then on their mother’s grave became a place to be together, to dream of being a family. The only place of refuge from their father that they knew. It wasn’t long before he refused to come there to get them when they ran. He couldn’t bear to see such a stark reminder that his wife was never coming back, and the two reasons why, at the same time. The twins didn’t want to leave their mother behind, but they knew they had to. They clutched each other, huddled against their mother’s grave marker until their silent tears dried. Then they said goodbye to all they’d ever known. Goodbye to the last stable anchor in their lives.

Rae looked over at his sister, who was staring at the rapidly passing, desolate countryside. He loved his sister, more than he dared to admit to anybody but her. They had never been separated for more than a couple of days in their lives—and that was before they were old enough to remember—and they had agreed never to be. A promise to never leave the other, no matter what happened. He swore he would never break that promise as long as he lived.

Tae noticed Rae's reflection in the window, staring with worried fondness at her, and turned to him. “Are you afraid father will try and find us?” Rae shrugged and smiled crookedly. His split lip and bruised face covered up his boyishness, lending him an older, roughish appearance.

“He might, especially after what we did to him. But I’m not afraid.”

“He deserved every punch and kick for hitting you,” Tae growled venomously, hands clenching into fists. Rae put a hand over one of them and slipped his fingers between hers when she finally relaxed.

“I don't regret what we did and we'll do it again if he comes,” Rae said confidently, squeezing Tae's hand reassuringly.

“I know, brother. We left him as he is, a damn bleeding coward. He thought he could treat us like that, like it was our fault for what happened to mom.” Rae could hear her voice quiver and pretended not to notice. “I'll always be by your side, Rae. I'll fight if I have to, I’ll never leave you alone.” Tae leaned over and rubbed her nose against his soft cheek. He smiled when she scooted closer and used his shoulder as a pillow. Rae rested his head atop her long, crimson hair and closed his eyes, trying to ignore the horribly uncomfortable seat and the fear of what might become of them. Barely enough money for food and traveling the farthest from home they’d ever been.

Benk was a nine hour drive.

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