Yes, I did have this written in draft form...I have NO idea why I didn't publish--My guess is that it was the beginning of my needed surgeries! But, as we all know, Books Never Are Outdated! Sorry, Peter...
A spotlight fell onto the stage at an angle that revealed a lithe, female figure in silhouette. She raised her arms over her head as the intro to a classic rock track began. Ryan recognized it immediately. The Hooters. And We Danced. The guitars began and the lights revealed Laura wearing a glitter-studded leotard. She lowered her arms and spun with dazzling speed. Ryan’s jaw dropped. He’d never seen her in such contour-hugging attire before, and her physical condition stunned him. Despite her months of tireless training, he’d never expected this. She’s so beautiful.
Prologue: Ryan Scott gazed at the floor of the subway train, too uncomfortable to make eye-contact with anyone. The general public was all around him, causing him to shudder in harmony with the low rumble of the train. It was a world in which he had no place. His experience of life had taught him that much. What are you doing? This isn’t who you are. He knew he was just trying to make something of his life. Everything he’d ever touched had been taken away. Why couldn’t he just be himself? Why did it have to be this way?
He felt perspiration on his brow as he gripped a black, leather briefcase with a sense of loathing. His designer gray suit and tie made him feel as though he was walking around in someone else’s skin. The train came to a halt at his stop. His heart raced as he waited for the last commuter to get off before exiting. Walking through the subway station, it felt like a force field was holding him back. Commuters brushed passed him as they went about their business. His fear wouldn’t go away, but he knew he had to fight it. He needed a vocation. He made it through the front entrance and stepped out onto a Chicago street.
This couldn’t really be happening. He had to be having a nightmare. He recalled the four years he’d studied at law school—a subject he hated. Going against his own heart, he’d invested himself in something he didn’t want to do in order to thwart the terrible curse that plagued him. He’d reached the top of his class within his first year, picking up several best student awards along the way. The other students looked up to him, and he wanted to connect with them. But he couldn’t bond with anyone. He just kept his distance...
~~~
Ryan Scott was cursed, or was he? Even as he was broodingly walking to his work site, it blew up...and he spent most of the time on top of a mother and child, to save them...When it was safe, he got up and walked away... The Influencer had spoken. No matter how he prepared and worked to try something meaningful in his life, he was stopped... Finally, he took drugs, drank alcohol enough to kill and worked to commit suicide... Even at that, he failed...
But the stories Ryan had told her were beginning to peak her fears like never before. She’d gone into it fearlessly in the beginning, trying not to show her concern. Gradually, the memories came back, and it was getting to her. She’d experienced it in the TV studio, and again with the death of her uncle. She knew Ryan wasn’t crazy. “OK, let’s do it,” he said. As they walked into the run-down establishment, she noticed the decor didn’t look like it had been attended to since the 1980s. The retro rock music coming from the radio in the background seemed to fit. A young couple waited at the counter. “I like it,” Ryan said. “What? This place?” “The song.” Don’t stop . . . believin’ . . . Ryan headed for the deli aisle and picked up a few sandwiches. “Are you OK with these?” She looked over what he was holding—ham and cheese, chicken salad, a pastrami on rye, and a tuna mayonnaise. It was all very basic, but she accepted this was the nature of life on the road. “They’ll keep us going,” she said.
Two years had gone by since the explosion that destroyed the law firm where Scott had been headed... Since then, he had discovered that, for whatever reason, he could not die... It was his latest drug and drinking celebration that had brought him to the hospital, as a suicide, and he had met Dr. Richard Logan... They were able to bond like no other and Ryan Scott started on a new, almost unbelievable life that changed his future...
“For whatever reason, Mr. Scott wanted to leave this world.” “I don’t believe that. I have never believed that. What people call suicide, I call cultural homicide. This sick, diseased, bankrupt world makes them do it. They become convinced they have no place and are driven to despair. He didn’t take his own life. We killed him.” He was barely conscious of the outrage in his tone. “I understand,” she said. “I was with you all through what happened back then, remember?” He looked at her with an apologetic heart and tried to maintain his composure. “I know. It just never goes away. Every time it happens, I relive it again.”
Would you be able to adjust to knowing that you cannot die? What would you do? Be like the main character and try to kill yourself over and over... Or would you get past that first reaction--stop, pause, and consider just what has happened and where to go from here? Do I try to do good for all of mankind? Do I begin robbing banks because I could always get away from anybody who tried to stop me?
So what if another person comes into the picture? Would that make a difference in your decision-making? Ryan had moved into an isolated place away from the chaos and started looking around him, seeing the people suffering from one illness or another... And he saw that often poor people couldn't even afford to purchase the medicines that were already available! Could something good come out of all of this? But... What About The Influence?!
I'll tell you one thing, I'm anxious to see what happens in the next two parts of this extraordinary suspense thriller trilogy! Do check it out!
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