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Synopsis: This one time, at band camp…aliens invaded earth. Sounds like a bad riff on an old joke, doesn’t it? Unfortunately for me and my friends, it’s all too true. I thought a mess like this only happened in the movies but, as I watch the alien ships hovering over the major cities, I suddenly realize I’m a thousand miles away from my Mom. From home. From safety.
Darkness may have fallen over the world, but I won’t let it claim me. I’ll do anything I have to get back to Michigan. Yet nothing could prepare me for what we find on our trek north from Tallahassee. There’s hardly anything the aliens haven’t bombed. Survival, at any cost, is the name of the game for the few people who haven’t been killed or captured. As if trying to stay free and alive isn’t enough, I think I just met the love of my life. And he’s just the kind of bad boy who’ll tear down the walls I’ve built around my heart—then break it.
Girls Rule Character Interview
TeamNerd
Reviews: What would you say are your strongest qualities? What do you think makes a girl a total badass?
Sinta Allen: Killing aliens is my strongest quality. LOL. I think a badass girl is someone that when she fights, no one even notices her gender. She’s just a fighter. I don’t know if I’m quite there yet. I’m trying to get there, but I have a long ways to go. I’ve killed before and I no longer hesitate when I have to do it, but I have to perfect my craft and unfortunately that’ll only come with more killing.
TeamNerd Reviews: What’s a piece in your wardrobe you just have to have on you at all times and why?
Sinta Allen: The sheaths that I wear across my back to hold my swords. I don’t wear them when I’m underground, but I never go up top without them. If something happens I’ll need to bring them out and take care of my business.
TeamNerd Reviews: How do you feel about A.M Griffin creating a series revealing your lifestory to the world?
Sinta Allen: I like it. I’d like it even better if she would leave out all the embarrassing stuff, like me pining away for Jason and my inner most feelings. But I like the idea of everyone knowing my story—our story. I don’t know what the outcome will be. I’m embattled in an alien invasion. I have to expect the worse. If I go, if any of us go, I’d like a remembrance of us somewhere. It feels good to know that we won’t be easily forgotten.
TeamNerd Reviews: If Against the Darkness (Cimmerian Moon, #1) became a movie and you could decide which actress would play your role, who would you choose and why?
Sinta Allen: I’d want a fresh face to play me. A newbie. Someone who the public wouldn’t be able to tie to another movie or have preconceived notions about. I’m not trying to be difficult in answering the question, but I’d rather if the moviegoers focused on the story of love and loss.
TeamNerd Reviews: What are the top five do’s to surviving an alien invasion?
Sinta Allen:
1.
Keep your eyes on the sky. They have
spaceships and they’re using them to hunt down humans. We don’t know why or
where they’re taking them, but it can’t be anything good.
2.
Learn to trust your gut. My gut has
saved me more than once. When the hairs on the back of your neck begins to
stand on end—run like hell.
3.
Learn how to fight. I never was a
fighter before. In fact, I’d never had a fight in my life. My first ever fight
was with an alien and I took off his hand.
4.
Make sure to have people that you trust
and love at your back. It’s going to be hard and you’ll want to break down, but
good friends will be there to pick you back up.
5. Get a pet. I’m partial to dogs. I met Winston, a German shepherd on the
way back home to Ann Arbor, Michigan. He doesn’t like aliens, he’s downright
scared of them and he can sense when they’re nearby. We take him on all our
missions and scouting trips. He’s a great asset. Plus he’s so darn adorable.
TeamNerd Reviews: What’s one of the most embarrassing moments you’ve had around your crush that you wish you could do over?
Sinta Allen: I told Jason that I liked him. Why was that so embarrassing you ask? Well, he was trying to tell me that we couldn’t be anything more than just friends and I misunderstood him. Yeah, cue red face.
TeamNerd Reviews: If you could have any band or artist come up with a theme song personally designed for your life, which band or artist would you want to come up with it? What would the title of the song be?
Sinta Allen: I’d want Eminem. He’s the only artist I think that could properly tell the story of what I’ve been through. Lyrically he’s great, with a little hint of crazy, which is good. You’d have to be a little crazy to survive an alien invasion. (I wonder if he survived or not? Oh, well) Anyway, I think the title should be, Don’t Let Them Get You. The story of my life.
TeamNerd Reviews: Let’s wrap this up with some fun questions to tease your fans with *wink*:
Sinta Allen:
Favorite weapon: Swords. I found a samurai sword in an old Army Surplus store and it has come in handy more times than I can remember. It cuts through alien skin like butter. *swish* In a pinch I can shoot a gun, but I hate the loud noise. The sound scares me a little.
Favorite cuss word (real or made up): Fuck. I don’t say it often, but I love saying it. Fuck that, fuck you, fuck this and if I’m really mad, fuck this shit. LOL
Favorite go to dessert: Oh, man why are you torturing me? We haven’t had chocolate since the invasion. I’d love a slice of double chocolate cake with the frosting piled high. Umm. Forgive me while I day dream.
Favorite sound: Silence. It’s been so long since I’ve heard pure silence. In Arrowwood compound there’s always some type of commotion. Starting at breakfast, there’s constant noise. During training we’re yelling and grunting. Down time are usually spent playing cards or another hobby. Even at night I can hear my roommates breathing and snoring. Don’t get me wrong, I love my new roommates, Lexi and Abby, but just once, I’d like to be able to enjoy silence again.
SNEAK PEEK FROM AGAINST THE DARKNESS
The screams.
I can’t get Ms. Burgess’ screams out of my head. Her screams are
blood-curdling and loud. Every now and then a shrill cry bursts through and
cuts through the air. I almost welcome the thought of the aliens hearing her
and coming to get us. At least then she would be rescued from the Tanners.
It happened right after dinner. All three of them stood around her
and declared her as their wife. Then before we could figure out what was going
on, they dragged her, kicking and screaming, into one of the cabins and there
was nothing we could do about it. Not with our hands tied behind our backs and
ankles tied to together. And if that wasn’t enough, Holt had staked the ropes
securing our arms into the ground.
Wade keeps beating his fists into the dirt. Even from where I’m
sitting, I can see blood dripping from them. Ian is lying on his side, curled
into a ball with his hands over his ears, trying to block out the screams. MJ
is pulling at his ropes, trying to unearth the stake. Shayla and Mia are doing
the same as me, crying hysterically. But I’m also rocking on my butt, holding
onto my knees, praying that they let her go.
I don’t want to think about what’s being done to her. I just want
it to stop. I’m also worried about the rest of us girls. They said they didn’t
want anything to do with anyone not white, but I doubt it. They’re animals.
They’ll turn on us too. Those will be our screams next.
Panic starts to replace the scary thoughts. I won’t go without a
fight. I’m small and I know I won’t be able to hold them off for long. But I
can’t let them take me to one of those cabins, but what’s to stop them?
Weapon.
I need a weapon. I won’t find a knife or gun, but a stick, I can
get a stick. A sharpened stick will come in handy when the Tanners come for me.
I wipe my eyes on my shirt, clearing my vision. But even so, the
tears are still flowing and I’m sniffling, trying to catch my breath.
Pull it together.
I scan the ground behind me, where I find the majority of sticks.
They’re from the area that surrounds the cabins, probably kicked closer during
the course of the Tanners coming to and going from the woods.
I twist, contorting my body uncomfortably. With my legs extended,
I hook a handful of sticks with my shoes and pull them closer. More determined
than ever, I do it again, pulling more sticks my way. By the time the Tanners
come for me, I’m going to have so many weapons they’ll think twice before
messing with me. I don’t know how I’m going to sharpen them into spears, but
that doesn’t concern me right now. Surviving does.
That’s when I see it. A glimmer of movement to my right. I blink
and what I thought was there is gone. I stare into the woods, wondering if the
aliens have finally found us. I’m not going to yell out. I’m just going to let
them come and take us. These sticks I planned to make into spears would slow
the Tanners down, but aliens…no.
Just when I’m about to look away, I see it again.
White.
I squint harder. Squinting, trying to make out what I see under
the blackness of night and through the trees.
A t-shirt.
Into view steps a Caucasian boy…no a man. He’s young, maybe in his
early twenties. His hair is hanging just above his eyes. I can’t quite make out
the color, but it looks dark. He’s got something written on his t-shirt in bold
block letters, but I can’t tell what. He creeps out of the woods and glances
around.
What is he doing out here?
I can’t believe there’s someone else in these backwoods besides
us.
As he comes closer, I can see him more clearly. “Booty Inspector”
is what’s written across his shirt. I frown. That definitely seems like a poor
choice of clothing for an alien invasion. Who would want to die with that
written across their shirt?
He snaps his fingers, bringing my attention back to his face.
He mouths something that I can’t make out. I shake my head.
He creeps closer. I notice a few other things about him. Like the
gun that he’s holding in one hand and some kind of knife in the other.
My eyes widen in understanding.
He’s here to save us.
I peer to my right and left. No one else is paying attention to
him. I turn back to him.
“Where are they?” he mouths again.
I nod toward the cabin where Ms. Burgess is screaming.
“How many?” he mouths.
“Three,” I mouth back to him.
He nods and goes back into the woods.
No, I want to yell. Come back, don’t leave us here.
I’m about to do just that when he returns with another man, this
one older, but similar looking. They creep closer to us, their eyes scanning
everything around them. As they come closer I see the rifles strapped across
their backs, the guns in shoulder holsters, the knives strapped around their
legs and pistols in their hands. I want to cry.
If anybody can save us from the Tanners it’s them.
The tickle of a tear is on my cheek. I use a shoulder to wipe it
away.
I don’t say a word as the younger one crouches behind me and uses
his knife to cut through the ropes that bind my wrists. The other man goes
behind MJ to do the same. I see him whispering something to MJ and MJ nodding
in response. Once my hands are free, he moves down to my ankles and begins to
saw away at the ropes there.
He glances up to me, his eyes focused squarely on mine. I have a
hard time looking away and I think that’s his intention. “What’s your name?”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Where to Stalk A.M. Griffin!
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