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So I finished my bb_shousetsu story, which means starting next week I can get back to actively writing to post here, rather than writing what I can't post and then digging up something I haven't already posted just to keep up my streak. But for now, here's an excerpt of something from a while back.

Maybe it went without saying but Nome, Alaska was nothing like Honoka'a, Hawaii. Chloe left Honoka'a years ago, when her parents divorced, and then spent the rest of her formative years in Nome. She'd gotten used to the difference, though she never really felt at home. It was funny to think years later, when she had to move again, that even though they were in the same state, Point Hope was nothing like Nome. It was one thing to move from the warm tropics of Hawaii, where the summers were hot, the exotic food was normal fare, and going to the beach was just as routine as walking the dog. It was another thing entirely to go from the cold, long-wintered days and nights of Nome, where, though it was remote in comparison to the rest of the United States, it was still a decently sized city to someplace like Point Hope.

Chloe was certain that when the term "middle of nowhere" was coined, it had been referring to Point Hope, Alaska. Miles from anything resembling civilization, it was a tiny town with less than two hundred people in it, with one school, one sheriff's office, four bars, and a whole lot of fish and ice. It was a far cry from any city Chloe had ever lived in, and that made it the perfect place to hide.

She chose a poor time to move, the beginning of winter, when days were nonexistent, and the sun that rose was never seen. If not for the lights in town, supported by the main town generator, the entire winter would be draped in pitch, a night blanket at any time of day. The though was a little disconcerting, but not as much as what Chloe had left behind. She didn't have much of a choice about when to leave. If she stayed in Nome any longer, she didn't think she'd have come out alive.

A nervous shiver danced down the length of her spine as she unloaded the last box from her truck. The cabin she was renting - possibly buying in the future - was on the edge of town, not quite nestled in the woods. It was far enough away to provide her with the privacy she desired, but close enough that she wouldn't feel so alone. Better yet, one of the town bars was close by, one called Gone Fishin'. She hadn't had any time to explore town yet, actually. She had arrived in mid-afternoon, not that she could tell by the state of darkness. The town was just as well lit now as it had been before she started unpacking. Hours later and she was exhausted, but more so she was completely through off by what time it truly was.

Chloe leaned back in a chair that she decided to call a difficult chair, because it certainly wasn't an easy one. She couldn't get comfortable, but she wasn't entirely sure she should. She knew what she saw when she closed her eyes. She chose that chair for a reason, so as not to fall asleep.

Despite her best intentions, Chloe's eyes drifted shut. She was lulled into a false sense of security, a gentle sleep filled with images she couldn't quite grasp. They weren't just stray thoughts, weren't quite dreams either. Even in her sleep, her lips curved as she thought she her music. It sounded like the twanging pulls of a ukelele, a sound that brought her comfort.

Until it twisted with a sharp jarring sound that should have woken her instantly. She wished it had. Her face drew in, tightening at her mouth and eyes. The soft teasing images behind her closed eyes sharpened, hardened. They shifted and coalesced into solid shapes, and one was the shape of a young woman. Her dark hair framed her face like a pixie's but the expression on her features wasn't the coy and cute look that complimented the hair. It was frozen in terror, her mouth, frosted in pale lip gloss, shaped into a perfect O of fright.

It was disturbing enough to see her, so obviously scared. It was worse to see a pair of hand close around her neck, thumbs pressing in hard. Her eyes went wide, and Chloe, shifting in the chair, let out a whimper. The ukelele sound was gone, replaced onto by the short, gasping breaths of the unknown girl, sound that twined with what were likely choking pleas. Chloe jerked awake as those sound cut off and dark brown eyes rolled back.

One hand pressed to her mouth and the other to her head, Chloe raced for the bathroom. Her lunch had been far better on the way down, she decided, as she slumped in front of the toilet. Her stomach was in upheaval, roiling and trying desperately to settle. But it was nothing to compared to her headache. It was throbbing, pounding, like sharp stabbing plunges of a knife in the center of her forehead. This pain had happened before, and when it was this bad, there was only one cure for it.

Stumbling to her feet Chloe grabbed her purse, not bothering with her car keys. She wasn't going to be in any condition to drive back home. She gingerly slipped on shoes and her coat and headed outside. The chilly night air assaulted her, and she wrapped her coat a little tighter. She remembered her drive out of town and retraced it now on foot, walking back toward the closes bar she'd noted: Gone Fishin'. She hadn't gone in before, but she needed a stiff drink - or six - and this was the only option.

It was noisy inside, crowded and more full of people than one would expect in such a small town. Then again, Chloe rationalized, and she started squeezing through the sea of people, there wasn't much to do in some small town but drink. She managed to wade up to the bar, taking stock of people as best she could without staring. The bartender was blond. It marked him as an outsider, a non-native. Or at least non-Inuit like almost everyone else in town. Chloe could probably pass for at least part-Inuit, but her last name, Maeoka, marked her Hawaiian. Chloe stared at the bartender for a long moment, too shy to raise her voice for his attention.

She apparently didn't have to. With a smile that lit up his face, the bartender turned to her. There was something in that smile she didn't see then, something that if she'd noticed, she might've known she should just turn around and leave right then before it was too late.

"Hey there," he spoke, and his voice was pleasant, but low enough she had to lean over the bar a bit to hear over the din. "New here huh? Can't have been in town long; I'd remember that pretty face otherwise. What's your name, and what'll you have?"

Chloe temporarily forgot how to speak. Her order came out as a squeak, and she had to fight not to clap her hand over her mouth. She shook her head and tried again. "Um, I'm Chloe, and I'll have a double shot of tequila. Jose, if you have it."

That's all I wrote so far, but this has a pretty decent outline and notes saved and stuff, sooo this should be fun when I finally get back to it! This is sort of a revised version of this.