Hey all! In anticipation of my upcoming release SHATTERED, book 2 in the SCORCHED series, here's a deleted scene from the first book in the series, Scorched. This was how the book was originally going to begin - so if you haven't read the book yet, there's no spoilers. :)
Check it out!!
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Scorched Deleted Scene
By Mari Mancusi
Originally this was the scene where readers met Trinity for the first time, along with her often mentioned best friend Caitlin. I love this scene—especially the Monster Prophet—but sadly it was cut by my editor—in favor of getting to the action of the museum robbery more quickly.
"Don't look now, but your boyfriend's back."
Sixteen-year-old Trinity Foxx spun in the direction her best friend, Caitlin Curry was pointing as the
y turned off Main Street on their way home from the community center Christmas party. Her eyes fell upon the familiar wild gray hair, bushy beard, ripped jeans, and grime-caked Reeboks, standing under a streetlight and gesturing wildly.
The Monster Prophet. Guess Sherriff Bob had let him out again.
"Repent!" he was screaming at poor Mrs. Jenkins who was wheeling baby Ava down the street in a bright orange stroller. "The end of the world is at hand!"
Trinity watched as he leapt into Mrs. Jenkins path, waving a large cardboard sign in her face. Though she couldn't see it from here, she could pretty much guess what the sign portrayed. Some sort of fire-breathing, horned beast with glowing eyes and spiky tail, surrounded by graphically portrayed victims, alternately bleeding or burning to death. The color of the beast varied from week to week, but the message was always the same.
"Repent! The beasts are nigh upon us!"
Baby Ava burst into tears. Mrs. Jenkins recoiled. The two of them bolted to the other side of the street, without bothering to look for oncoming traffic. Which, to be fair, wasn’t a big gamble these days. After the powers-that-be rerouted the interstate five years before, the town of Old Oak Grove, Texas, population: 701 (including baby Ava), didn’t exactly have a traffic problem.
"There's no place to run!" the Monster Prophet cried after Mrs. Jenkins, who was, indeed, running at this point, though not likely from the aforementioned apocalypse. "There's no place to hide! The beasts are coming! REPENT or you will surely burn!"
Trinity couldn’t help a small giggle at the look of terror on Mrs. Jenkins’ face as she ducked into the closest store. Then she turned back to the homeless man, who was lowering his sign in defeat. "Poor guy," she remarked, giving him a sympathetic look. "He's never going to convince anyone of the end of the world that way."
"Poor guy?" Caitlin snorted. "Please. Sherriff Bob needs to lock him up in a loony bin and throw away the key.”
Trinity cringed and Caitlin immediately shot her friend an apologetic look. “Sorry,” she said quickly. “I didn’t mean to imply--”
But Trinity just waved her off. She didn’t want her best friend’s pity. She already had plenty to spare from the rest of Old Oak Grove. It had been two years since her mother’s death and the members of the Ladies League still dropped off casseroles on a bi-weekly basis. And while Trinity did appreciate a good Chicken Cacciatore as much as the next person, she could do without the probing eyes snooping around her grandfather’s house. Or the ridiculous gossip that spread through the town like wildfire after each and every drop-in.
