The Zeuorian Awakening Deleted Scenes

Alternate Beginning #1

Writing a novel takes several drafts and revisions. For me, it took 12 drafts to write The Zeuorian Awakening. The first chapter was the hardest for me. I ended up writing at least 30 different beginnings until I decided to go with the one I published.  I like to share a few of my deleted scenes.

Please note the chapter below is a rough draft and it wasn’t edited. So all you grammar buffs, please be kind. If you notice a glaring error, just send me a note and I’ll make the correction when I have a chance.

If you haven’t read The Zeuorian Awakening as of yet, the deleted scene doesn’t contain any spoilers.

Brief Background of the Scene

This was the very first chapter 1 version.

FROM THE DARKNESS a burst of light lit up Lexi’s tiny bedroom. It burned through her eyelids, waking her from a deep sleep.

She sat up and clutched the blanket close to her chest, breathing heavy. What was that light? She wondered and glanced around her dark room barely lit by the cloud covered moon, but the light was gone and every piece of furniture, book, photo, and other items scattered throughout her room were in the same place she left it before going to bed a few hours earlier.

But the light had to have come from somewhere. She scanned her tiny room looking for the source of the light and her eyes stopped when they reached her closet door. Could some be hiding in there? She grabbed a large umbrella next to her nightstand and slowly walked over to her closet. Once she reached the wood door, she listened for the sound of breathing or movement, actually anything unusual that could be made by someone standing behind the door, but all she heard was the wall clock ticking, the wind blowing outside her window and a soft tapping against the glass from a tree limb.

She gripped the door knob and threw open the door, but no was inside. Not a single piece of clothing was out of place. Not even the designer outfit Angie gave her for her birthday.

Where had the light come from? Maybe the light shined from outside? She walked over to her window and looked outside. The cars parked on the street headlights were off. Her neighbors porch lights were turned off. The street light next to her house was out as well. No one appeared to be standing outside either.

Perhaps she was wrong and there wasn’t a light after all. She turned her head to go back to bed, when she noticed a dark figure run to a tree across the street.

Who could be watching her? A stalker or a deranged killer, or someone even worse that a deranged killer. Oh, God, what could be worse than a deranged killer?

She watched the tree, waiting for the evil lurking behind it to step out of the shadows and reveal itself to her. After a minute, her neighbors black cat walked out from behind the tree and lied on the grass. Then the cat proceeded to lick her black fur, starting with her ears.

Lexi shook her head. This was ridiculous. She needed to stop watching all those horror movies. They’re warping her mind and making her imagine things. She walked to her bed and went back to sleep.

 ###

SEVEN O’CLOCK A.M. the buzzer went off and the radio turned on. “And there are no accidents on either direction of Highway 101. If you plan on going to the beach today, the high will be seventy degrees on this warm August day—” Lexi smashed the button with her hand and rolled over on her side to go back to sleep.

Twenty minutes later, she woke to her aunt Irene saying, “Get up. You don’t want to be late for your first day of school.”

“Another ten minutes,” Lexi said and rolled on top of the remote. The television flipped on and loud screaming bellowed from the set.

“Lexi can you give the TV a rest.”  Irene turned off the television. “I didn’t fall asleep until three last night. I kept waking up to screaming.”

“I’m sorry.” Lexi yawned. “But I was finishing up the last of the horror marathon.”

“I really don’t understand how you can spend so much time watching that trash.”  Irene walked to the door and turned toward Lexi. “Well are you going to get up now?”

“Not yet. I still have time to rest a little longer.”

“Lexi you have ten minutes to get ready.”

“No it can’t be that late.” Lexi raised her hand to block the light shining in from her window and gazed at the digital clock sitting on her nightstand. It took a second for her eyes to adjust and focus on the glowing digital numbers that read seven twenty-four. “Damn! I am late.”

She leaped out of bed, ran past Irene to the bathroom, jumped in the shower and then just as fast she leaped out. Throwing a towel around her soaking wet body, she flung open the door and stopped when she caught a glimpse of her strange reflection in the mirror.

“What the hell happened?”

 She touched her face. Not a single freckle or flaw could be seen on her porcelain skin. Her strawberry blonde hair had darkened into a beautiful rich auburn color that accentuated her emerald green eyes. Her boyish figure had filled in all the right places. She looked like a totally different person than she did twelve hours ago.