Alternate Endings
Mark, Cody and I kicked around numerous possibilities
for Rex endings, one of which might just find its way into a
sequel. Ideas include ANOTHER Rex -- maybe it's an EVIL Rex that hunts for TJ
and Sam, leading to a showdown of good vs. evil.
We talked about a MECHA-REX or a CYBORG REX -- that
the bad guys built to catch and kill Rex.
We talked about having Sam or TJ (or Sam and TJ)
getting captured by the bad guys, forcing a swap -- them for Rex.
And we talked about a really sad ending... What if Rex
died saving the lives of TJ and Sam.
But ultimately we decided upon an ending that we feel
everyone will love -- and definitely want to read what happens next!
Cody
B. Stewart, Mark Rogers,
and
Adam Rocke
Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: Common Deer Press
Date of Publication: October 5,
2016
ISBN: 978-0-9959729-1-6
ASIN: B06ZZS4ZRT
Number of pages: 320 pages
Cover Artist: Common Deer Press,
Ellie Sipal
Book Description:
When eleven-year-old TJ finds a
weird looking egg in the Florida Everglades after a tropical storm rips
through, naturally he takes it home for identification. It could be the egg of
a mutant duck or something, which would be awesome.
Problem is, the egg doesn’t look
like it came from a mallard, even a mutated one—it’s too big and heavy
and…strange. So he hides it away in his closet and continues on with his life
as usual, doing his best to ignore the creepy men constantly banging at his
front door and the significant rise in military helicopter sightings in his
typically quiet neighbourhood. Then one day he comes home from school and it’s
as though a cyclone has gone through his bedroom.
Suddenly, TJ knows he’s dealing
with something a little more interesting—and a little more deadly—than a duck.
Excerpt:
TJ and Sam stood silent and
still, too afraid to move or make a sound. “Wait a second,” TJ finally said.
“Mess downstairs? We weren’t downstairs.”
Their
eyes met and they shared the same thought. They darted into TJ’s room, emerging
a moment later, sufficiently rearmed with the slingshot and bat. Then, they
snuck downstairs to assess the damage.
When
TJ saw the extent of the wreckage, he almost let another marble rip. His heart
sank when he spotted the demolished cherry pie.
“Hell-o
Kitty,” Sam uttered, marveling at the mess. “I think your house is haunted, TJ.
You have one of those polter-geese.”
“Geist,”
TJ corrected. “Poltergeist. Do you think a ghost hatched out of that egg?”
“I
don’t know what it was that came out of that thing, but I know it’s a huge pain
in my butt. Since you found it, I’ve almost been eaten by an alligator, shot by
a swamp cowboy, and now I’m stuck cleaning up its mess.”
Sam
and TJ grumbled at each other, and ghosts, and the whole world as they scrubbed
the floors, wiped the counters, and picked up bits of broken plate and other
unidentifiable things. Once the kitchen sparkled, Sam threw her dirty rag at
TJ.
“Not
that this wasn’t a fun night or anything, but I’m going home before the ground
splits open and we get attacked by mole people.”
“You’re
leaving?” TJ shrieked. “While there’s still a possible ghost goblin poltergeist
thingy stalking around my house?”
Sam
shrugged. “Ghost goblin poltergeist thingies got nothing on my dad when I miss
curfew. Call me if something tries to eat you.”
***** ***** *****
Fatigue hit TJ hard. He yawned
and didn’t stop yawning until he reached his bedroom door. His mind raced in
circles. He couldn’t focus on any one thing long enough to even care about
poltergeists or alligators or whatever. All he wanted to do was go to sleep
with the hope that he’d wake up in the morning with all of his limbs still
attached.
Luckily,
TJ’s reflexes were working just fine despite his mostly asleep brain. He opened
the door and ducked just in time to avoid getting hit square in the face with a
flying sneaker. He dropped to the floor and covered his head with his arms. He
peeked up when he was sure the other sneaker wasn’t going to follow. He
instantly wished he had his helmet—and the swamp cowboy—because standing on his
bed was the thing that had destroyed his room and the kitchen…
A one-foot tall Tyrannosaurus
Rex.
About
the Authors:
