Preview: My Last Ballgame
The following is an excerpt from "My Last Ballgame", a middle grade chapter book.
Chapter One: Stop Play
“Run!” Marcus screamed as the baseball flew high over the heads of the outfielders. My shoes dug into the dry compacted dirt and I took off, legs and arms pumping. My breath came in hard gasps but I made it to third base before the ball was retrieved. Victorious, I threw my hands in the air and did a wiggly little dance. Mom was in the stands, laughing at my antics but proud. I was the only girl on the team, but I could keep pace with any of them.
Two innings later, the game was nearly over and we were losing big. I shrugged this off. We lost more games than we won, but I had done really well and I wasn’t ashamed. We’d just faced a stronger team, that’s all. My buddy Gregory was pitching. The kid up to bat was a wiry little runt but hit the ball surprisingly hard. Unfortunately for him, it was a pop up. Everyone watched the ball except me, but when they kept staring upward even after the ball plopped back down into the dust, I looked up, too.
I had never seen a spacecraft. I wasn’t sure that I was seeing one now. All I really knew was that there was a thing that I couldn’t identify or process. It wasn’t very big, not like you see in movies like Independence Day, but it was the creepiest sight I’d ever laid eyes on. It was rectangular, about five feet long by maybe two feet tall, solid slate gray, with none of the blinking lights Hollywood enjoys adding for effect. It did hover, however, about 30 feet above the crowded ball field. I wasn’t sure what to do. None of the adults on the sidelines were offering any guidance. It was like they were mesmerized. The kids were, too. Only I seemed to be capable of moving my head and looking around. I was almost surprised to be able to move my feet as well. I don’t know why I would be except for maybe the utter stillness of every other living creature here. I walked forward slowly, watching, trying to gauge a reaction from the Thing. Nothing. I crept closer. Still no response. Brave, now, in my innocent way, I sidled up to the pitcher, who was directly beneath it. As soon as my arm brushed Gregory’s side, he went limp and collapsed. I wasn’t sure whether he just fainted from shock or if it was something more serious. My eyes barely left the Thing, ship, whatever it was. Still, it hovered silently, seeming to watch me just as I watched it. I’m not sure when I blacked out, but I hope I didn’t land on Gregory.
***That's it for now. I'm four chapters in and I hope to submit this along with other stories to an agent at some point. For now, I am focusing on my writing and trying to get more poetry and short fiction published. These are the things that entice agents to work with you.... Any feedback on any work I publish to my Wix site is appreciated!