Another Dark Day

by Lucas Coon

  “Alright…”Sheturnedbacktofacingtheroadandshrugged. “Iguessthat’sthat…”

  “Yep…”Alexpressedthepedaldownashestaredoutontothe openroad.

  So… Hereweareattheendofthethird,andfinal,novelofthe ‘SomewhereIntheMiddle’series… WhenIstartedthefirstbook afew yearsago,Ididn’tknow whereIwasgoingwithit,Itdidn’t know how Iwasgoingtoendit(forthemostpart,Ihadideas) andIneverexpectedtogetanywherewithit.Now,it’sMarchof 2018andI’m done,I’vefinishedthelastpartofthetrilogy.

  Thisserieshasdefinedme,tosomeextent,overthepastfour orfiveyears(Ilegitcannotremember).Thefactthatwe’reatthe end,thefinalpartofthisseries,well… It’salmostheart-breaking. I’m goingtomissMitchell,Lilly,Darren& Kayla,Alexander, Ciara… allofthem.Hell,I’m goingtomissDenver!Theywereall grownfrom variouspartsofmyimagination,thustheyarealla partofme.Theyplayedtheirparts,andtheydidadamnfinejob.

  Iknow thatthesenovelshaven’tbeenperfect;myspelling mistakesmayhavebeenleftin,mygrammarfailsstillexistinthe printcopies,andtheremayevenbeaplotholeortwo.Thatsaid, you,mydearreader,arestillhere.You’rereadinganafterthought from theauthor,whichmeansyoureadthisbook(Ihope… otherwisethisisawkward).Ifyoureadthisbook,thatmeansyou mostlikelyreadtheothertwo,whichmeansyouknow thefateof Mitchell,Aria,theBarbers,andtheLangleys.Ihopeyoulovedit; Ihopemorethananythingelsethatyouenjoyedit.Ifyoudisliked thestories,Iam sorry;butIstillwanttothankyouforgivingme achance.Ifyouwanttotellmeaboutyourexperienceor thoughts,youcanemailmeatLucAdaCo2@gmail.com or LucasC@vivaldi.net.Iwillseetheemailifitgetstooneofthose. I’llevenrespond!

  Alright,let’sgettosomeinfothatyoumaybeinterestedin.I’m goingtostartwithinformationabout‘AnotherDarkDay’.Iwrote Alexasthemaincharacterinthisnovel,mostlybecauseIliked mydescriptionofhim in‘EndingTheNightmare’.Idrew apicture ofhim inmyhead,decidedwhohewas,andwantedtodevelop him asacharacter.That’sliterallyit.Myoriginalintentforthe thirdnovelwasgoingtohaveMitchellasthemaincharacter,but Icouldn’tfigureouthow tomakethatworkwithmyendingin book2.IrecallmythoughtsweregoingtobeMiddle,Sequel, Prequel;butthatdidn’tworkwithhow Iwrotethebeginningof ‘SomewhereInTheMiddle’.

  IwrotethepartaboutCiaraandAlexsurvivingbybasically justbeinghomefortwoweeksasanhonestcontrasttoMitchell andtheBarbers.Theywerealleverydaypeoplewithabsolutely zerotraininginhow tosurvive,andtheywentthroughhelljustto notdie.Alexanderwasatrainedsurvivalist,andliterallydid nothing.Thethoughtthatnormalpeoplefoughttolive,whilethe soldierjustsatonthecouchwithfrozenpizzamademelaugh (internally);plusithelpedtoadvancethetime.

  IwroteMitchellintothisbookasabitofaDeusExMachina, butIwantedhim tobethebackgroundcharacteratthesame time.Withhow muchyourwereinhisheadduringbooks1& 2, youhadtolookathim from theoutside,andIintentionallywrote him likethat.Theexceptiontothis,ofcourse,isthechapterthat startedwithhim andLilly-Annedrivingaround.Iwrotethat chapterasifitwerepartofBook2.

  Speakingofperspective;youmayhavenoticedthatthisbook wasalittledifferentinitswritingstylethanthefirsttwo.SiTM andEtNbothwerehighlydetailedwritingswherethecharacters thoughtswereconstantlyprojected.Thisbook,ADD,waswritten tobemorefocusedonthedialogue,andlessfocusedonthe exteriordetails.There’sareasonforthat;Mitchellisatotally differentpersonfrom Alex.Mitchellisconstantlyfocusedonthe details,thesmallestthingsabouteverythingwouldinteresthim. Alexisnotadetail-orientedperson.Inthefirsttwonovels,you werepartofMitchell’sbrain,inthethirdyouwereinAlex’s. That’salsowhythechapterswithAlexthatwereinbook2were slightlyalteredwhentheywereputintobook3.AnytimeAlexwas inbook2,youwereAria.Inbook3,youwereAlex.They rememberedthingsdifferently,sothethingssaidandthedetails notedweredifferent.

  Alright,lastthingaboutbook3beforeImoveontotheseries asawhole.TheendingofthisbookwasREALLYhardformeto write,andchangedtowhatitwasasIwroteChapter20.Youcan probablyfigureoutwhereIwasgoingtoendthebook.Ciarawas notgoingtosurvivethis,andthe‘blackout’wasn’tanoriginal partofit.Thatsaid,Istarteddownthatpath… butIcouldn’tdo it.Ihadtoendthisoneonalighternotethantheothertwo.The firstbookendedwithadeaddoctor,twoinfectedparents(though youdidn’tknow itatthetime)andagroupofpeopletryingto figureoutwhattheyweregoingtotodonext.Thesecondnovel endedwiththeBarbersstayingbehindwhileMitchelltooktheir daughterbecausetheywereinfected.Oh,andIkilledAria.With thatbeinghow itwas,Icouldn’tripCiaraoutofAlex’shands.It almostfeltwrongtodotheendinglikeIdid,butIthinkIlikeit thisway.AlexandCiaragottolivetheirhappyending,minusthe factthatHollywasdead.Theend…

  Ontotheseriesfacts.MitchellSwartzwasthefirstcharacterI hadevercreated,Judaswasthelastonewrittenforthiswhole thing.Charactercreationisprobablymyfavoritethingabout beingawriter;youcanmakeanyonedoanythingandbeany personalityyoucouldeverwant.Myfavoritecharactertowrite wasDenver.Yeah,Denver;thepsychoticradioDJ.That’swhyhe didn’tdierightaway,that’swhyhedidn’tdiethesecondtime, andthat’swhyIhadtokillhim brutallyinbook3.

  MyleastfavoritecharacteroftheserieswasHolly.Ifeltbad witheverythingIwroteaboutorinvolvingher.Shewasn’tabad person,shejustgotfedupwithalotofthingsinherlifeandhad accesstopharmaceuticalsthatshechosetoabuse.Idon’tthinkI everwrotewhatherprofessionwas,didI?Well,pretendit’s somethingwitheasyaccesstomedication.Anyway,Ididn’twant thereadertohateher,butIthinkthat’swhatisgoingtohappen.

  Myfavoritechapterofbook1wasthechapterwheretheymet Denver.Ithadonlybeenafew daysintothethingandthisguy hadalreadymadeitahabittodismemberacouplepeople.He snappedimmediately.Book2,easy;TheChild.Writingthe chapterthatKayladecidedshewasdonewasagreattime.It’s dramatic,it’sheart-stopping,it’severythingIwantedittobe. Book3ishardertodecide,thoughIthinkthechapterwherethe twostoriesconverged(afterbook2,duringbook3)wasmy favorite.WritingtheconversationbetweenAlexandCiarawhere AlexhadtoexplainwhoMitchellwas;thatwassatisfying.

  I’m notsurewhatelsetowriteherehonestly.Iwanttoexplain everylittledetail,butthatruinsthemagicofthestories.Iguess, here’ssometechnicalinfo?

  IoriginallyusedBookmanOldStyleforthebook’sfont.I changedtoTexGyreBonum becauseit’sOpenLicenseandI thinkitlooksnicer.The‘AnotherDarkDay’titlefontiscalledFFF Tusj,andIhavenoideahow tosaythat.Idon’tknow whyanyone wouldevernametheirfontFFFTusj.It’ssupposedtobethe “HandwrittenversionofthefontGeorgia”accordingtothe creator,MagnusCederholm.ItisalsoOpenLicense…butnoticeI justperformedamagicalattribution!Thephotoforbook3,this book,isfrom asitecalledPexels.It’sOpenLicense(noticeatrend here?).Thephotousedonbothbook1andbook2(it’sthesame), wastakenbyme,inmykitchen,ofrandom thingsIthought wouldfitthecover.ImakemycoversinGIMP,whichisanopensourcepictureeditingsoftware.IwriteeverythinginLibreOffice, andeverythingisstoredonanencryptedflashdrivethatIuse Veracrypttoencrypt.Noneofthatmatterstoyou,doesit?

  Anyway,backtothewhole…thing.Iwanttosaythankyou onemoretime,so;ThankYou.Youarewhatmattershere.Ihope youwilljoinmeagainforthenextnovel,andstaywithmeforthe

  durationoftheride.Therestofthisspaceisforanautograph.

  Sincerely,LucasA.Coon.

  TheFollowingisthefirstchapterofmynextnovel Dragonfly:CloseToHome.Enjoy!

  “...Andtheweatherlookslikeit'sgoingtobeabsolutely gorgeoustoday.Youdon'thavetakemywordforit;I'llgoahead andpassitovertoourleadmeteorologist,MichaelMills.How are welookingoutthereMike?”

  “Well,Andy,you'reaheckofalotbetteratyourweather predictionsthanyouareatpredictingsportsgamesthisweek, that'sforsure.”Ireallywishtheywouldtakethesetwooffthe air...

  “Oh!Ouch.Thatonehurt.”WhydoyouandMikehaveto pretendlikeyou’rebestfriends?Weallknow youhateeachother. Well,Iknew it,atleast…

  “No,no,no;I'm justjokingwithyou.”Thetwomenfilleddead airwiththeirlaughinguntilthesecondmovedonwithhisjob.“I willabsolutelyagreethough;wearelookingatahighofsixtythreetoday,muchcoolerthanwhatwe'dnormallyexpectatthe beginningofJune,butnotquitedippingintorecordterritory.” Mike’svoiceliftedintohispositivetoneashecontinuedhis forecast.“Evenbetter,wearelookingattomorrow beingalmost thesame.Thehighwillbeawarm sixty-six.Thisweekendshould bedecent,butIwouldn’tplananypicnics;earlySaturday morningwe’relookingatastorm rollingin.Sundayshould--” Mikesforecastwascutshortbyahardsmackontopofthesmall plasticbox.I'dhadmorethanenoughofMichaelMillsandhis cheerydemeanor,atleastforthenextnineminutes.

  MisterMillsandhiscolleague,Andy,werealwayswaytoo happytobetalkingintotheirmicrophonesatsixinthemorning. Iwassuretherenoonewaslisteningtothem i
ntentionally.The restofthecitywasmostlikelyonlyawareoftheirexistence becausetheywantedthem toshutup.Iconsideredthepossibility oftheirannoyingattitudesbeingonpurposetogetpeopleoutof bedinthemorning;maybetheyknew theywouldbeoneofthe firstthingspeopleheard,sotheymadeittheirgoaltobeas damnedannoyingastheycould.Ialsoconsideredthepossibility thattheywerejustarrogantassholesthatgenuinelylikedthe soundoftheirownvoicesandbelievedtheirjokeswerefunny.To saythatAndywasbetteraspredictingweatherthantheoutcome ofsportsgameswasanaccuratejabthough.Andywasanidiot; he’dbeenanidiotforaslongasI’dknownhim atleast.Itwas hardtobelieveheendedupinthesamecityasussolongafter highschool.

  Iheldmyfaceinit'spositiononthepillow;theonlywayto describeitwould'vebeentosayIwasattemptingtosmother myself.Itwascomfortable,anditdidn'tmatterifIsuffocatedso longasthesuncreepingthroughtheblindswouldminditsown businessandletmedriftbackintomydream.Ihadninewhole minutestofadebackintothecomfortinggripofunconsciousness. Ofcourse,atthispoint,itwaslikelytobelessthannine, probablyclosertoseven,butmyoptimism wasgettingthebestof me.Iknew thattheextrafew momentsofsleepweregoingtobe thedifferencebetweenrestless,andwell-rested.Theprevious sevenoreighthoursmadenodifference;mysanitywasgoingto hedgeitsbetsonthenextseveralminutesinanattemptto maintainorder.Withmyeyelidsshuttightly,Iwasdriftingquickly backintothewarm darknessofthedream-world.Therewas nothingmoretomyexistencethanthecomfortofthebig,empty, king-sizedbedandthegiantcottonfilledcomforter.

  “HolyShi--”MyhappinesswasinterruptedbywhatIknew to bethefrozenhandofdeath;therewasnodoubtthatthefingers pressingagainstthelowerpartofmybackbelongedtotheherald ofmyend.Myheadflippedaroundquickerthanmybody,Ihadto lookintotheeyesofmymurdererbeforeitwasallover.Thatstare wouldbesomethingI’dneverforget...

  “Morning.”Attheedgeofmybedsatanadorableyounger womanwithabrightredsmile.Herblackhair,darkeyes,and scatteredfrecklescontrastedwiththeblushingskinthatheld backanintenselaughter.Shewasshort,thatwasobviouseven whenshesatdown,andherbuildwasaverageineverydefinition ofthewordaverage,shewasn'tbig,norsmall.Justliterally average.Myobviouspainwasenoughtogethergiggling,which onlymadehercuter.Angelofdeathindeed.

  “Whatthehellwereyoudoingthatmadeyourhandsodamn cold?!”MyvoicestrainedandmanagedtocrackasIaggressively askedmyquestion.

  “Icleanedouttheicemaker.Theicewascomingoutfoggy again,anditsmelledlikemold.”Shestoodupandglaredatme withover-sizedbrowneyes.“It'saftersix,youneedtogetup.”

  “Idon'tneedtodoanything.”Iflungmyselfbackontothebed inaweaktantrum.“Idon'tthinkIshouldhavetoworktoday.I thinkyoushouldgodomyjob,whileIstayhome,watchcrappy daytimetelevision,andeaticecream untilIthrow up.”

  “Oh,please.”Hereyesshotanotherpiercingglareinmy direction.“I’veonlydonethatonce...”

  “Ok… But,it'smybirthday!”Iattemptedthetantrum one moretime.

  “Thewholeworlddoesn'tstopjustbecauseit'syourbirthday, Leonard.”Shestoodupandstartedwalkingtothedoor. “Yeah,well...”Ithoughtabouthow towinthis.“Idon'tloveyou anymore!”

  “Cool.Now getyourbuttupandgetdressed.”Herfacewas unmovedandherresolveunwavering. “Yougottostayhomeonyourbirthday,butyoucan'twaitto getmeoutofthehouseonmine?Iseehow itis.”Isatupand rubbedmyforehead.Thehead-rushcausedtheroom tospin slightly.“Thewoesoftheemployed,Iguess.”

  “That'sthebenefitofnothavingajob,Igettostayhome everyday.”Shestuckhertongueoutinachildishmannerand scrunchedhernose.“Comeon,getup.I'llmakecoffee.

  “Yes,please!”Icalledoutassheexitedthebedroom.“Thank you.”Iremainedinplace,sittingontheedgeofthebeduntilthe radiostartedtauntingmeagain.Myhandquicklyhitthepower button,Icouldn'ttakeanotherminuteofAndyandMike.Atleast notuntiltomorrow morning.Ipulledmyglassesfrom the nightstand;myeyesadjustedtothelightthroughthelensesasI stoodupandlookedaround.“Hey,Lilly,didyouwashmy--”

  “Inthebasket,bythedoor.Probablyatthebottom.”Lilly's responsecutmeoffasifshehadhonedhermind-reading abilities.Ipulledtheitemsoutofthebasket,one-by-one,and tossedthem ontothebed.Mysearchendedasmyhandpulleda greenshirtfrom thepileofstackedclothes.Ilikedmygreenshirt. Iwasconvincedthatthewholedamnworldlikedmygreenshirt.I continuedmyroutineasIrifledthroughthedrawersofmy dresserandaddedvariouspartsofanoutfitontomybody.The endresultwasapairofblackpantsheldupwithablackbeltand asilverbuckle.Theoutfitwascompletewiththegreenbutton-up shirtbeingtuckedinandcovereddownthecenterwithaslightly darkergreentie.Theentirethinglookedaboutplainasitgot. Greenwasahardcolorformosttopulloff,butImanaged.

  Isteppedheavilyacrossthehallintothebathroom.Ialways founditoddthatoneofthenicestroomsinthehousewasthe masterbathroom.Thewallswerepainteddarkbluewithwhite shellsplacedinseeminglyrandom locations.Theshellsmatched perfectlywiththerestofthenauticaltheme.I'dseenthem so manytimesthatIignoredthem andcontinuedtomyspotinfront ofthemirror.Istaredmyselfdown;talkaboutasightI'dseentoo manytimes.Sixfeettall,straightenedjawline,fairlycleanskin, dark-rimmedglasses,andamedium-brownheadofhair.The manstaringmebackfrom themirror'sreflectionlookedfairly normalincomparisontosome;Iwouldn'thavebeenabletopick him outofacrowdifIhadto.Thankfully,Ialwaysknew wherehe was.

  “Ishouldprobablyshave...”Iranmyhandoverthestubble thatwasgrowingovermychinandcheeks.Itwasdoingit'sbest topushthroughtheporesandcoverthetannedsegmentsofmy face.Ithadn'tgottenlonginanysenseoftheword,butitwas clearlyvisible.“No.”Ishrugged.“Itcanwaituntiltomorrow.”

  “Ah,don'tshaveit.”Myeyesshiftedtothedoorwaywhere Lilly'slongingeyeswerepiercingme.“WillIevergettoseeyou withafullbeard?”

  “Iknow youwantto.”Ismirkedandlookedbackatthemirror. “Ijustdon'tthinkitwouldworkforme.”Iexaminedthegrowth onmychinandconsideredthepossibility.“Maybesomeday,love.” Iturnedandleanedinforakiss.Shereturnedthegesture.“Don't yougothinkingthatI'm growingitoutforyou,ItoldyouIdon’t loveyouanymore,remember?”

  “Oh,fine.”Lillypoutedandsteppedbackintothehallway. “Despitethat,Imadebreakfastforyou,ifyou'rehungry.” “How longwereyouupbeforeme?Andhow didIsleepinthat long.”IcombedmyhairuntilItfellinthedirectionIwanted. “Aboutanhour.”Herfeettappedontothesmallsetofstairs thatsplitthehouse.“Yousleeplikeadamnrock,Leonard.I'm prettysureIcouldgetamarchingbandthroughherewithoutyou evennoticing.”

  “Uh-huh.”Iflickedthelight-switchoffandstartedintothe hallway.“AtleastIdon'tsnore.”Mycommentwasenoughto visiblysnagasoftspot.

  “Idonotsnore!”Herangeredprotestwasadorable. “Likehellyoudon't!”Ilaughedasshestartedbeamingred. “Yousoundlikeatrainwhenyousleep,Lilly-Anne!”Herface twistedintoasourglare.

  “Donotcallmethat,Leonard!Idon'tevenletmydadcallme that.”Sheshiftedherbodybacktowardthestoveandshuffled breakfastitemsacrosstwoplates.

  “Oh,calm down.I'm justplayingwithyou,love.”Icouldn't helpbutchuckleasIsatdown.“How'syourdaddoing?Haveyou spokenwithhim lately?”

  “Yeah,hecalledyesterday.Heseemedlikehewasalright.”She smiledassheplacedtheplateinfrontofme.“Hestilldoesn'tlike thatwemovedthough.Itoldhim thatit'slessthanhalfanhour betweenusbut...”Lillystaredoff,seeminglyatnothing,asshe frowned.“...hedoesn'thandleseparationwell.”

  “Idon'tblamehim;he'sbeenthroughalot.”Itriedtoretain mysympathyasIbitintothegoldenbrowncake,flattenedwith theutmostcareandsmotheredinthemostdeliciousmelted butterandmaplesyrup.“Thisisridiculouslygood!”

  “Doyouthinkhe'sgoingtobeOK?”Lilly'sstaremaintained it'sfocusontheemptyairfillingthediningroom.“Idon'tlikehim beingupsetisall.”

  “Honey,he'llbefine.Yourdadisatoughmanandcantake careofhimself.”Ifilledmymouthagainandwasimmediately struckwithaseeminglyeternalbliss.“Eitherthat,orhe'llmove intothebasement...”Ireallydidn’twantthattohappen.Her fatherwasagoodman,buthehadissueswithlettingLillygo.

  “Iwouldn'tmindthat.”Lillysmirkedandbitintoastripof bacon.“So...”Herstarereturnedtome.“...it'syourbirthday.”

  “That'swhatmymotheralwaystoldme.”Ismiledbackather. Shewastypicallyacheerfulperson,butherfamilywasalwaysa topicthattookaturnofthemoreserious.

  “Don'tbeasmartass.”Sheglaredatme.“Whatdoyouwant todotonight?” “I...”MythoughtscircledeachotherasItriedtofigureout whatIwantedtodo.Intheyearspast,Iwould'vechosentogo partyorhaveabigdinneratafancysteakhouse.Eitherway,I wouldhavechosentocelebrateanddrinkandmakeitanight worthnotremembering.It'sfunnyhow lifechangessoquickly.“I thinkIjustwanttostay
hometonight.Wouldyoumindmaking dinner?”

  “Seriously?”Herfurrowedbrow andpursedlipstoldme everythingshewasthinking. “Yes,seriously.”Ifilledmymouthwiththelastblessingfrom thegodsofcake.“Myshow isontonightandit'sanew episode.If youthinkI'm goingtomissitthenyou,mydear,aresadly mistaken.”Myresponsewasenoughtoshoveherintolaughing territory.

  “Wow!Ithoughtwewerestillayoungandrambunctious couple,butitlookslikewe'veenteredourgoldenyears.”She pushedawayfrom thetableandstoodup.“Letmecallthe retirementhomeandseeiftheyhaveroom foratwenty-sevenyear oldgrandpa.Maybethisweekendwecangettogetherwiththe neighborsandwriteourwillsorplaycanasta.”

  “Sure,butfirstletmeask;whatexactlydoyouhaveplanned foryourbirthdayinacoupleofmonths?”Icouldtakethejabsif shewasgoingtothrow them,butshehadbetterbereadyto receivethem back.“Whatdidwedowhenyouturnedtwenty-four lastyear?Letssee...”Istareddownatthetableandpretendedto thinkaboutit.“Oh,wait!Iremembernow!Wewenttothemovies andyoufellasleeponthewayhome.Ibelievethehighlightofthat nightwasmeunloadingthedishwasherandfeedingthecat.”She huffedasIshotthetruthather.“Faceit,we'renotexactlyinthe partysceneanymore,love.”

  “Well,yeah,thatwasn’tanexcitingnight,but...”Shetwisted thehandleonthesink,causingwatertospraydownontothedull graybasin.“...didyounotlikethemovie?Ithoughtitwasagood movie!”Iwalkedovertothesinkandshookmyheadwitha smirk.

  “Ididlikethemovie;talkinganimalsarealwaysworthwhile.” Thewarm watergentlyshiftedtheremainingmaplesyrupfrom myplateintothedrain.“Iwasjustmakingapointthatyoudon't getmakefunofmefornotwantingtodoanythingonmy birthday.But,ifyouwantedtogooutanddoso--”

  “Nope,it'syourdecision,notmine.”Lillysteppedawayfrom thesinkandbacktowardthehallway.“I'm goingtogotakea shower,letmeknow whenyourleaving.”Herfeetstampedasshe trottedupthestairsanddownthehallway.