by Angie Martin
I replaced the quill in its resting place and smiled at the title of my first chronicle. Enough time had passed for my wounds – inside and out – to heal. Now, I had to record the history of my first mission. I decided to begin with how I was called into the life, knowing it might help others in the future through those first few uncertain days after they, too, were called.
My blood intake was down to half a pint once a week, and Mr. Smith continued to supply the blood that entered my body. He refused to allow anyone else to help. He claimed me to be his responsibility and his failure that I had been taken by Dark Man. Since I no longer had the feeding tube I’d had while in the medically-induced coma, I had to drink his blood the old fashioned way. Though much more sterile than when I first fed from him – first taken from him by the doctor, then cleaned and prepared for consumption – it was still something we shared together, privately, and in a closed room. We never spoke during the sessions, but it worked for us.
Not too long after I awoke, I learned that Dark Man had escaped the blood seekers. Something about the revelation didn’t surprise me. Though his ability to infiltrate my thoughts had faded, he still seemed present in my life – and I knew he could also feel me in the world. Mr. Smith figured that he wouldn’t show up for a long time, if ever. He had a nest to rebuild, and another complex had taken over tracking him for the time being.
Rich had been the only night stalker to perish during the battle at the factory. After I finished my first chronicle, I planned on learning more about him so I could record his life in a separate book. He deserved much more than just a brief mention.
After an emotionally torturous battle, Mr. Smith had taken his brother’s head at the factory, though it hadn’t affected him as much as I would have thought. He had already believed his brother dead, so nothing had changed for him from before to after the mission – at least, that was what he outwardly claimed. Something told me not to believe him.
From the moment I awoke from my medically-induced coma, Liz resumed haunting me. Moments of our friendship – or what I thought was our friendship – entered my mind every so often. How much had she faked during our time together? For the sake of sanity, I tried to believe that not all of it had been a farce, though I knew better.
I had been caught off-guard when Keira told me Liz survived the ambush of the house I had been held in. Garrett and Andre had captured her, and she was quickly shipped to an overseas complex for interrogation. I wanted to know all about her, but hesitated to ask. Torturing myself over her deception would not do me any good in my quest to recover from the past, especially when I had to live with the consequences of the virus and the knowledge that Dark Man could still find me one day.
The door to the Chronicle Library opened, and I shook my head. Mr. Smith – as I had resumed calling him from the moment I woke up – never failed to interrupt me at the worst possible times. Since the one while in my coma, we’d experienced no more shared dreams, nor had we discussed them. We remained friendly, with no animosity between us. He still trained me in the gym, still answered my questions when learning, and kept preparing me for my future as the chronicler. We also still took jabs at each other at every possible turn, though they were always out of affection and no longer filled with hostility. So many times, the words had been on my lips – possibly his as well – but we never once spoke about the kiss we shared in the dream. I was okay with that. I don’t think I ever expected anything from him, no matter how much I thought about it – maybe even wanted it.
“How are you feeling today?” he asked as he neared my desk.
“Stronger than ever,” I said.
“Good.” He turned the page in front of me and read it. “The Chronicler.”
“I decided it’s time to jot down my first chronicle.”
“Really? And, you’re using a quill pen to do it?”
“I’m not that much of a masochist.” I laughed and shrugged. “I thought I’d do the first page like the chroniclers of old. The rest of it, I’ll type.”
“Interesting.” He reached across the desk, grabbed the pen, and dipped it in the ink. Before I could protest, he scribbled something on the paper below my words. When he replaced the pen, he rotated the page so I could read it, a triumphant smile beaming on his face.
“The Chronicler and Mr. Smith.” I smirked and looked up at him. “Cute. Just had to put yourself in there, huh?”
“Seems fitting,” he said. “Well, I suppose I should leave you to it. Uh… don’t make me out to be too much of a jerk. If you can help it, that is.”
My smile acted as my response. Whether he came across as a jerk would be up to the future chroniclers to decide.
As he walked back toward the hallway leading out of the library, I stopped him. “Wait, Spencer?”
He turned to me, his head lowered, eying me. “Spencer, now, is it?”
I tried to stammer out words, some excuse for deviating from what I always called him, but I couldn’t find one. Instead, I said, “I’m not sure how to go about this.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, how do I write this chronicle? Is it a book form like a memoir? Is it done in journal form? Or, do I write it like a reporter telling a story? I’ve read other chronicles for ideas, but I’m not sure what the best way is to approach it.”
He nodded and thought for a moment. “I think the best way for you to do it is like what you writers typically do. In whatever way it decides to come out, write it down exactly like that.”
And, so I did.
###
Mr. Smith’s Hunting Playlist
Enter Sandman – Metallica
Bodies – Drowning Pool
The Kill – Thirty Seconds to Mars
I Stand Alone – Godsmack
Before I Forget – Slipknot
Blow Me Away (feat Valora) – Breaking Benjamin
You’re Going Down – Sick Puppies
Animal I Have Become – Three Days Grace
Lights Out – Breaking Benjamin
Time Bomb - Godsmack
Life is Beautiful – Sixx:A.M.
Renegade – Styx
(Don’t Fear) The Reaper – Blue Öyster Cult
Metalingus – Alter Bridge
Bat Country – Avenged Sevenfold
Awake and Alive – Skillet
Author’s Note
This all started as a dream.
No, seriously. In March 2017, I woke up one morning after watching too much Supernatural and remembered wisps of a fabulous dream starring Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester) and myself. It had to do with secret orders and slaying monsters… all those fun things that I really enjoy. Plus, Dean Winchester.
In March 2018, I put fingers to keyboard and started typing out The Chronicler and Mr. Smith. Although it was nothing like that dream, it ended up being a journey I would never forget. The book mixed bits of Supernatural with bits of Assassin’s Creed and, of course, I added in my own little fun twists.
The title began as The Chronicler and changed to The Chronicler and Mr. Smith after the cover was photographed. That’s when Mr. Smith just wouldn’t stop telling me that he had a much bigger role in this thing that I ever thought. Turns out, he was right.
The original score written by my son, Christian Goscha and performed by him and David Bryant, is one of the best songs I’ve ever heard. And, I may be a little biased (my son, my “other son,” and my book), but yeah, it’s pretty damn awesome. When I heard the song the first time, I knew exactly what to title it. I played around with a few words before coming up with Vengeance Divided (Mr. Smith’s Theme). The song sounds like Mr. Smith’s internal debate about his life, his role in his brother’s death, and how to handle it. It’s something we never hear about firsthand in the book (since the book is in Madison’s point of view), but there are hints to his struggles. That Christian captured it so perfectly in his song is amazing to me.
As for the blood seekers themselves, I love creatures and monsters of
all kinds, but I really like to make up things that are unique – as you probably guessed from Conduit and Chrysalis. Since creating a whole new monster is difficult enough, I ended up rolling with the whole vampire/zombie with demon origins thing. I’d always wanted to write about vampires (they are scary, not glittery!), and zombies have fascinated me since childhood. I had just written about demons in Chrysalis, but I loved the idea of my monsters having Biblical origins, so I went with it. I think it worked out okay.
And, finally, the question that is on every reader’s mind who has reached out to me after finishing the book: Will there be more Mads and Mr. Smith? The answer is a very definite “yes.” This book has been an incredibly fun journey, one that I want to take again and very soon. There is so much more story to tell with lots of monsters yet to be introduced. Oh, yes, there are more than blood seekers out there, and I cannot wait to introduce them to your imaginations and, hopefully, nightmares.
Thank you so much to all my readers for making this and every book I write both a possibility and a reality. Without you, I wouldn’t have much to say. Until next time…
Angie Martin
About Angie Martin
Angie is an award-winning, lifelong writer and firmly believes that words flow through her veins. She lives in Calimesa, California with her husband, two cats, and beloved dog. She also has two sons paving their own way in the world. She grew up in Wichita, Kansas and has lived all over the United States. Her work reflects her background in criminal justice and her love of Midwest life.
She has released six novels in the suspense/thriller, paranormal/supernatural thriller, and horror genres. She also has a poetry/short story collection and has contributed short stories to multiple anthologies.
“Conduit” won the Gold Medal for Paranormal Fiction in the 2014 Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards. “The Boys Club” won the Silver Medal for Suspense Fiction in the 2015 Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards. It was also voted as one of the 2014-15 Top 50 Self-Published Books Worth Reading (ReadFree.ly). Chrysalis was also awarded Honorable Mention for Paranormal Fiction in the 2018 Reader’s Favorite International Book Awards, voted one of the 2018 Top 50 Self-Published Books Worth Reading (ReadFree.ly), and a finalist and semifinalist in other highly respected competitions. All of her works have won additional readers’ choice and blog choice awards.
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