There\u2019s a ramp that leads straight out of Midnight.\u00c2\u00a0 But it doesn\u2019t go far.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u2019s four lanes wide and stops abruptly between two massive pillars.\u00c2\u00a0 A brief bit of asphalt balances precariously on the next pillar, but it\u2019s not a jump for the weak of heart.\u00c2\u00a0 Beyond that…well, they say if you can get that far, the road will open up before you.<\/p>\n
At the base of those pillars, you\u2019ll find the twisted, shattered, burnt-out remnants of a dozen attempts.<\/p>\n
The girl says, \u201cYou can\u2019t do it.\u00c2\u00a0 No one can do it.\u00c2\u00a0 Just come back with me, we\u2019ll drink whiskey, we\u2019ll make love, we can have a good, good life here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The boy on the motorcycle grins wickedly and says, \u201cThe sun shines bright in Miami.\u201d<\/p>\n
She\u2019s young, her hair is wild, the wind is fierce at the edge of the precipice.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s young, he\u2019s brave, he\u2019s recklessly optimistic, and though he loves her with all his heart and soul, the Midnight Madness has got him in its grip.<\/p>\n
Theirs is the type of love that inspires sonnets and tragic plays.<\/p>\n
The boy revs the engine.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u2019s a solid, sleek, crazy fast machine, it\u2019s excessively loud, it\u2019s sexy and dangerous, and just like him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou only get one shot,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI only need one shot,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Wind whips maniacally through the streets of Midnight.\u00c2\u00a0 A raven lands on the very edge of the balanced bit, where it caws once, either in challenge or warning.<\/p>\n
The boy doesn\u2019t believe in omens.<\/p>\n
The girl does.<\/p>\n
He kisses her, one last time before he jumps, a hot, fierce, desperate kiss that ends abruptly.\u00c2\u00a0 He revs the engine one more time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no turning back,\u201d he tells her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no turning back,\u201d she tells him.<\/p>\n
She climbs onto the back of the bike, presses herself tight against him, thrills at the vibration of the machine as he guides it to the bottom of the ramp.\u00c2\u00a0 She peers over his shoulder.\u00c2\u00a0 You don\u2019t close your eyes for a trip like this.<\/p>\n
He guns the engine.\u00c2\u00a0 They climb the ramp, ripping through the wind, able to hear nothing over the roar of their hearts.<\/p>\n
They leap.\u00c2\u00a0 They hit the balanced bit–but uneasily, without balance.\u00c2\u00a0 They are swallowed by Destiny.
\n~~~<\/p>\n
June 19, Thunderstorm Books<\/a> starts accepting pre-orders for Once Upon a Time in Midnight<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There\u2019s a ramp that leads straight out of Midnight.\u00c2\u00a0 But it doesn\u2019t go far.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u2019s four lanes wide and stops abruptly between two massive pillars.\u00c2\u00a0 […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9,6,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.darkfluidity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/947"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.darkfluidity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.darkfluidity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.darkfluidity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.darkfluidity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.darkfluidity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/947\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.darkfluidity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.darkfluidity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.darkfluidity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}