Today I’m giving you a sneak peek at an exciting scene from my new book, Crash Planet. The completed book is not scheduled to be released until this summer but I’m so excited about it, I just had to share a small part of it with you.
I chose this scene because it gives a brief introduction to three of the main characters. The scene is also a key point in the story that will have ramifications later on. Besides all that, I just really like the scene. I hope you will too.
Setup For The Scene
The two human characters in this scene along with a Princess have just crash landed in the wild jungles of an alien planet. Jack is a prisoner, the low man on the totem pole. He was exploring the area around their downed spaceship when he discovered a large wild animal. Captain Jarteau is the ranking military officer on the ship, the man in charge. Jack had hoped to keep his new discovery a secret but Captain Jarteau has other plans.
A Scene from Crash Planet
A voice called from behind the wrecked space cruiser, “Jack! Where are you?”
Jack recognized the voice as Captain Jarteau’s. He called back to him, “I’m in the front of the cruiser. Stay where you are. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Jarteau shouted, sounding much closer, “I heard some animal sounds. Are you in trouble?”
Jack returned, “Everything’s fine, Jarteau. Stay back!” Jack heard Jarteau’s heavy footsteps as he came around the space cruiser. Jack rushed back toward the nose of the ship and intercepted Jarteau before he got to the point where he’d be able to see the animal.
Jarteau approached Jack, looking worried. His eyes focused on the trees beyond Jack. He had his gun out, pointing it from left to right, looking for some kind of danger. The top half of his uniform was unbuttoned and Jack could see a white bandage beneath that had been wrapped around his rib cage. The sleeve of his right arm had been rolled up and Jack noticed a thick white bandage had been taped over the wound on his forearm.
Jack put up his palms, in a “calm down” gesture, saying, “I told you I’m fine.”
Jarteau said, “Did you find something? I heard a wild animal.”
Jack hesitated before saying, “Yes, I found something. I’ll show you, but let’s talk about it first.”
Jarteau’s eyes widened. He pushed Jack aside and walked passed him.
“Wait!” Jack pleaded.
Jarteau took two more steps and stopped suddenly at the top of the small hill. Looking down at the cage he said, “Oh, my God. It’s a tarrexx!”
Jack caught up to the Captain and saw the beast just inside the bars of the cage, growling at Jarteau.
Jarteau stepped closer, stopping just a few meters beyond the beast’s reach, “These things are killers!” He planted his feet, raised his weapon, and pointed it at the head of the tarrexx.
As soon as the beast saw the gun in Jarteau’s hand, it became riled up. It opened its mouth wide and roared while extending one arm out of the cage, swiping at Jarteau. Even though Jarteau was safely out of its reach, he reacted by taking a step back. A look of hatred was painted across Jarteau’s face as he aimed.
The beast had protected Jack earlier. There was no way he could stand by and watch Jarteau shoot it in cold blood, “No!” shouted Jack. He leaped toward Jarteau and tackled him. The gun went off just before the two of them hit the dirt. The impact knocked the gun free and it fell away from their reach. The tarrexx responded to the gunshot with a loud roar.
Jack found himself on top of Jarteau. The man instantly shoved Jack off, slamming Jack’s face with his forearm. Jack ended up on his back, looking up at the trees that seemed to be rotating in a giant circle. Out of the corner of his vision, he saw Jarteau pushing himself up from the ground and standing. Jack shook his head and scrambled to his feet, not wanting Jarteau to feel like he had the upper hand.
As Jack stood he saw Jarteau’s gun on the ground next to his foot, buried in a clump of grass. He bent and scooped it up. Jarteau saw the weapon in his hands and lunged toward him. Jack managed to step away and avoid him.
Jarteau pointed at the gun in Jack’s hand and said, “Don’t do anything stupid, Jack. Give me the gun.”
Jack considered the gun in his grip and then looked back at Jarteau. There, in his eyes, Jack saw a fiery vengeance that would most likely result in violence. He didn’t know if Jarteau would take out his anger on him or the tarrexx or both. Either way, the man could not be allowed to hold the gun. Jack turned and threw the gun into the jungle.
“No!” Jarteau shouted. Then he growled at Jack and pointed an accusing finger at him, saying, “What’s wrong with you, Jansen? Why would you protect a monster? Is it your religion? That animal would just as soon eat you for breakfast than look at you. What kind of sick religion would prevent you from killing a monster like that?”
Jack shouted back, “That tarrexx, as you call it, is not a threat to you or me! It’s trapped!”
Jarteau brushed himself off while he replied harshly, “Maybe it’s trapped for now but what happens when it gets loose? You just threw away our best weapon too!” He huffed in anger, then he stepped closer to Jack, just a few centimeters from his face. “I have one priority out here, Jack, and that is to protect the Princess, no one else. Not you, not that animal, only the Princess. If you continue to stand in my way I will have no choice but to terminate you. Is that clear?”
Jack looked away, scowling. He rubbed the back of his head and thought for a moment before saying, “Yes, that’s clear, but I told you before, being terminated doesn’t scare me.”
Jarteau exhaled sharply and his eyes squinted, still focused on Jack. He hissed, “Then I’ll find your wife and your kid. I’ll make them pay for your stupidity.”
Jack bristled at the comment. His back straightened and he leaned forward, forcing Jarteau to lean back slightly. Jack said, “You stay away from them. Understand? Leave them out of this!”
Jarteau smiled and said, “You want them left alone, then you’d better start playing by my rules!” He turned to leave but stopped after a few steps, looked back, and said, “I expect you to go out there and find that weapon. I’m not letting you back inside the cruiser without it. Bring the weapon and make sure it’s pointing at your own chest, not mine.” Jarteau turned and headed back to the rear of the space cruiser.
That’s all for now. If you’d like to be notified when the full story has been published, please sign up for my newsletter at scottcahan.substack.com. By doing that you’ll receive a weekly newsletter from me that includes updates on Crash Planet and other creative projects. Each newsletter also includes a new chapter from my serialized story, Caged Animals. Yes, that’s the name of my last novel. You can read it for free by subscribing to my newsletter.
SCOTT CAHAN 