It is difficult to imagine a more awful way to wake up. Personally, I experience a tiny panic attack whenever my morning alarm goes off. Peaceful, utterly relaxed and probably snoring and then BAM! Heart rate pumping, adrenaline coursing through your veins. It might be a bit cliche but I enjoy waking Jura up with a good fright. Here are two examples of scaring Jura awake:
Someone pulled on her leg. She snapped out of her slumber, her reflexes lethargic as she shook off the last of her dream. The pressure on her leg grew tighter. She looked around the room, seeing no one, yet an ever widening sense of panic forced her to sit up. There was no one in the room. Whats on my leg?! She threw the covers away from her body and let loose a strangled gasp at the gigantic snake that was tightly coiled around her leg. She kicked and jerked away from the bed, stumbling for her bedside table in search of a weapon of some sort and calling for help.
Ignited, Chapter Thirteen
Yeah, I like snakes and all but I definitely wouldn’t want one waking me up in the middle of the night! Here is a bonus short story from my own personal life in which I was woken by an uninvited guest in my bed:
It was late one winter night and hubby was snoring loudly when I felt a steady movement beside me. Or perhaps it was the scratching I heard first…In any case, I came to conscious slowly, blinking my eyes and trying to collect my bearings. Yes, that’s Riley (my little yorkie terrier) there beside my pillow. Okay, that was her scratching there by my head but what does she have and why does she keep….oh Lawd, no “Robert!” I scream at hubby and shake him awake to inform him that Riley had brought A MOUSE INTO THE BED and was PLAYING with it right by my head!
I had to go sleep in the guest bedroom.
Picture of Riley, the sweet little mouse killer.
Okay, here’s another time poor Jura is awakened in terror. This from the half-way mark in the book, possible triggers for rape and assault.
She was awakened by a hand clamped over her mouth. She dug her nails into the hand and bucked wildly, hoping to make enough commotion to alert her men just outside the chamber. Whoever held on to her was much stronger than she was and it became increasingly harder to breathe through her panic. Her eyes darted about the room, struggling to focus, if only there was some sort of weapon at her disposal. On the far side of the room, a lone candle sat on her father’s desk that hadn’t been there before. She blinked rapidly and eventually was able to focus on the figure that held her pinned to her fathers bed.
Ignited, Chapter Twenty-Five
Can’t a girl just get a full night’s rest? Poor Jura! I hope y’all enjoyed my snippets from Ignited. If you’d like to read more you can purchase your copy here. Can you think of any other great scenes where the heroine is abruptly awakened? Or did you write one yourself? Share them with me in the comments!