Writing Sample
Secret Agent X : The Cold Touch of Death - Prose - Chapter One Excerpt
William Galvin stumbled though the late evening fog, which seemed to cling to his legs and arms as he passed through it, giving him an almost spectral appearance. He struggled through a myriad of dark and dirty alleyways, smack dab in the heart of downtown Seattle, leaving a sickly trail of blood behind him.
He watched with trepidation as thick droplets of his blood tapped their way into the cobblestones, mixing with the rainwater collected in the grooves. He couldn’t help it, though. Even with his left hand holding his wound shut, Galvin was slowly bleeding to death and it was all he could do to keep his mind focused on the task at hand: To escape certain doom and contact Secret Agent X before it was too late.
Galvin continued to lumber through the winding alleyways, trying to find his way home or to help, but the loss of blood made concentrating difficult. As the night’s dire events kept flashing before his eyes, He found it harder and harder to stay centered on the here and now. The images popped into his head, one after another, replaying all of the details at random. They were scratchy and larger than life, as if he was watching an eroded movie reel skipping slightly in the projector. It seemed like a lifetime ago when he received the wound to his stomach, yet only an hour or two had passed since Galvin’s life took a serious turn for the worse.
Distracted and betrayed by his own thoughts, Galvin stumbled on a loose cobblestone, causing him to fall face first into a fairly large and muddy puddle of water. Of course, the poor lighting in the alley did not help matters, either. He rolled over to his side, coughing and spitting out the dirty water he just took in.
Exhaustion and the extent of his wound were taking its toll on him, that much was clear, but Galvin was a strong man. He gave it a few seconds, maybe ten, before he managed to slowly roll over and sit up. He was not about to give up, but he knew well enough that he needed to pause for a few moments before continuing on. He needed to get out of sight and rest up; otherwise, he was not going to make it.