Invisible Barrier Follow-up: Teague & Meridian

Since my random writing-prompt snippet Invisible Barrier (that I’ve since decided is in some form going to make it into my as-of-yet-unstarted novel The Other Half of Everything) was received with such surprising enthusiasm, I thought I should share what I’ve written as a sort of follow-up.

I know the styles / “feels” of the two snippets feel kind of different, which I might have to work on, I don’t know… And some stuff clearly happened between the two but I don’t know what exactly yet because I don’t have plots figured out. But at least you can see that the guy wasn’t stuck in the invisible barrier forever! 😉

And you get a longer glimpse of Teague and Meridian. Because we all need some lighthearted humor in our lives.

I hope you’ll enjoy this snatch of The Other Half of Everything!

Excerpt from The Other Half of Everything

Meridian

The invisible nothing vanished—I know that sounds odd but it’s what happened—and Teague flickered into sight. For an instant I could see how he must have been slumped half sitting, half leaning against the invisible side of the barrier. But now it was gone and was no longer holding him up.

Teague slumped sideways into the wet grass.

I ran to him and dropped to my knees beside his limp form, ignoring the damp.

“Teague!” I said.

His eyes were closed and I wasn’t sure if he was breathing, but at the sound of my voice he stirred. I sat and pulled his head into my lap, looking down into his face. His breath began to come evenly.

“Teague,” I whispered. “Wake up at once, do you hear? This is not the proper time for taking a nap.”

“Is it ever?” he murmured. His eyes opened and looked up at me. They focused. A slow smile appeared on his face like a sunbeam in clouds. “Hello, Meridian,” he said.

“Hello you annoying author.” I was happier than I had any right to be, considering I was sitting in a very damp patch of grass in another world with a very out-of-it Teague not showing any sign of getting up or moving his head from my lap.

“Mmm.” Teague closed his eyes and breathed for awhile.

“What happened?” I asked him, meaning “how did you end up locked in an invisible enchanted prison-thing?”

Teague

“I made a Wind Chaser angry.”

“And how on earth did you go about doing that?”

“Would you stop saying that—we’re not on Earth. And I don’t know, exactly.” Then he smiled a little. “It must have been my charming personality.” He coughed. And went on coughing for awhile until I became alarmed.

“Are you okay?”

“Of course. I’m just remembering how to breathe air again. There wasn’t any in there, you know.”

“Well I call that nasty! How did that happen?”

“There was air at first, naturally. I just used it up. Foolish of me, I know.” He coughed again. “Breathing is a bad habit of mine. It’s also impossible to break.”

“Believe me, its one of your few good habits.”

“Thank you. I didn’t know I had any.” He tried to get up. “The grass is wet,” he observed.

“Thanks for that, Mr. Obvious.”

He frowned a little. “Well. It is.”

“Did it work?” a voice called.

Lulin

We both glanced over. Lulin was running across the field toward us, her short white hair flying up and down with the wind of her speed.

“Teague!” she said.

“I don’t know what ‘it’ is, but evidently it did,” Teague said as she came up. Then, “Hello, Lulin.”

Lulin looked down at him with a cheery smile. “Hello obnoxious descendant of the human race.”

“Same to you, sister of mine.” Teague sat up this time.

Lulin’s smile took a vacation. She dropped next to him and assaulted him with an enormous clinging hug. “Don’t you dare ever ever do that again,” her muffled voice said into his shoulder.

“Believe me, I have no intention of it.”

“Why do you never listen to my advice?” I said.

“I would if you had anything useful to offer,” Teague said.

“You mean if I said something you already planned to do,” I translated.

He smiled. “Exactly. By the way, Lulin, I was very much enjoying getting to breathe again and you’re kind of defeating that just now,” he added.

She let her tight hug go and pulled back.

“Thank you. Very considerate.”

“I learn from the best,” Lulin said with a mischievous grin, suddenly cheery again.

Teague laughed. “I know—I am.”