Excerpt
EXTRACT FROM CHAPTER 1

London - Wednesday the 7th of October

Delusional. That was the only word that came to my mind as I looked at the woman sitting across from me on the subway. I had spent the last three-quarters of an hour fighting my way through a sea of people and had finally managed to secure a seat, when I saw her. At first glance I noticed her white leather boots and red jacket. Her mane of brown hair was definitely eye catching, but I froze as she turned around and smiled at me. Those dark green eyes caught me in an instant, and I knew we had met before.


EXTRACT FROM CHAPTER14

Sub-Saharan Africa - three years earlier

"The more you struggle, the quicker you will sink," I yelled as the fire caught and ignited another bush to reveal the plight of an almost-submerged general, with only his shoulders and head remaining within sight. Unsheathing my machete, I chopped at a nearby vine.
"You don't have much time," said Angie.
"The spirits will save me. You will see that it is my destiny to live and bring glory to our tribe."
"You talk to your ancestors as though they hear you, you fool. They are all dead and rotting in the grave, where you will be shortly if you don't stop thrashing about."
"I have a greater destiny," he said as his shoulders submerged into the mud, and he struggled to breathe with each passing second.
"Your only destiny is to spend eternity in hell with the rest of your ancestors if you don't stop moving," I yelled as I wrapped the vine around my wrist and tested its strength.
"Why do it?" Angie asked with a coldness now showing in her eyes, which I chose to ignore.
"If I don't try, God will not let me forget," was all I could say before marching out into the mud with outreached arms. As soon as I had entered, the bog reached out to engulf me in its stinking clutches. I ignored the smell and strained to raise my boots from the mud as I clawed my way forward within an arm's length of our guest. And then he was gone. It happened so quickly. His head disappeared with a sucking sound as the mud moved over him. I stared blankly, almost in disbelief at what had happened, before reacting on instinct. Diving forward, I yanked my feet free from the mud and went sprawling face first into where he had disappeared; one hand was still clutching the vine while the other forced its way into the mud. The surprising warmth that the bog offered in contrast to the chill of the night air was almost inviting and played with one's mind...if only for a second. I failed to find any sign of life, whilst my own weight started to cause me to sink.
"You have to be here!" I yelled.
"Let him go!" Angie yelled, now fearing for my own welfare. "He deserved to die like that."
"I must at least try," I yelled back at her, now moving my fingers wildly through the mud. And there it was...a flicker of movement.