The price of DRAMA. And the dire stakes inside book experiment #3

The Greatest Dane knows how to execute the finest DRAMA. And reminds us all she's worth it.

We all know that Fable is the star of her own, very dramatic soap opera -- seriously, she could give the best telenovela a run for its money. 

This dog can wail with the best of them, and knows how to gasp in shocked horror as her Next Door Bestie DARES to play with another dog. The betrayal! The scandal! 

Cue the dramatic waaaaaaaaaaaail. 

Of course, she manages to execute all of this while ignoring the fact that she was invited to play before and a) was a jerk to the other dog and b) was a jerk to another tenant who lives in the house. So really, it's her fault...

Oh, I just got the dirtiest look. 

*ahem* I have been corrected. It is not her fault, that other dog and human were simply not up to her exceptional and totally correct standards. And Mama is absolutely wrong when she says sometimes we need to tolerate people to get what we want -- and that if we refuse, then we don't get to play with others. 

Fabes refutes that. The world should clearly bend to her whims. 

And on that note, it will not surprise you to learn that Fabes took her preferred brand of drama to the vet's last week. Nothing so crass as arguing with the vet or the techs -- they give her treats after all. No. I'm talking about the very nature of the appointment: an x-ray, to discover why my best girl had been hobbling around for a week. 

I was basically a bundle of worries and nerves in a hoodie and yoga pants. 

The last time I had to take a dog in for an x-ray, the news was not good. So there I am, bracing for the worst. I drop Fabes off first thing in the morning and don't let myself cry until I make it back to the car. I try to eat, do a few chores until it's time for my check in with the human vet (oh middle age). Then it's back to the vet for the scheduled pick up time. 

Only Fabes isn't ready. 

I shouldn't have been surprised -- a true drama queen knows to keep her audience waiting. 

And wait I did. I spent the better part of two hours wandering around a fairly industrial area and hanging out in my car. All the while growing more and more nervous. Finally, the vet calls and says my girl is ready to go home -- but can we talk first? I've been expecting that, so I square my shoulders and head into the office. The very kindly vet takes me into a private room -- which does not one good thing for my nerves -- and starts walking me through the series of x-rays they took. Explaining how it took longer because Fabes is even more floppy than normal on the sedative, and kept melting out of position... And the following conversation goes something like this:

I can't stop myself. I cut in. "Just tell me the worst. Get it over with."

The vet looks at me. "Huh?"

"The worst," I repeat, drawing in a deep breath. "Rip the band-aid off."

"Oh," he says. "Nothing. She's fine. There's a little arthritis in her left shoulder and a bit of compression in her lower spine, but that's it. I'm sorry I can't be more informative--"

"She's fine?" I can't believe it. 

"She's fine," he confirms. "I know it might seem like a big expense to learn not as much as you thought--"

"No. No, I couldn't be happier." I sag with relief. "Just take my money."

And that's the truth. It may sound sarcastic, but I'm delighted to pay the price to learn there's nothing major wrong with my girl. In fact, the official diagnosis?

A dramatic senior lady with a sore back.

Who's determined to make it everyone's problem. 

Which matches the energy of Book Experiment #3. Only in that case, things have gone horribly wrong and it's already everyone's problem. In fact, it's SO MUCH of a problem that I actually hesitated to share these chapters. 

They're dark -- possibly too dark. 

Did the drama get out of hand? Maybe. 

Welcome to EXPERIMENT #3: After The Frenzy And The Silence. 

These chapters belong to a book I first wrote a decade ago. While I've completely rewritten these chapters, the bones of the story remain: an earth decimated by a vicious alien invasion and the insidious plague they unleased to eliminate human resistance. 

It opens on the ledge of a building, where one victim of the plague is trying to fight back. The only way she knows how...

Big trigger warning for chapter one: there is suicidal ideation. It will work out in the end, but if that's a fraught space for you, please make good choices. 

If you choose to read these chapters, I hope you enjoy them! It was wonderful and strange and fascinating to delve back into a world I created so long ago -- and like my zombieverse novels, there's some major zombie action. What's easier than invading Earth? Getting humans to take each other first, then stepping in to control the pieces. Wicked, right? But what's a dystopia without a truly villainous plan? Enjoy!

Luv,
Dee