Chapter 18 Excerpt

Excerpt--Chapter 18: A date gone wrong...

I silently start packing. I refuse to admit that I am, in fact, afraid of a little rain. Soon the wind rips through the trees, forcing them to lash into each other as they fight back and forth. I keep my hands on the hem of my dress as Renner pulls me along toward the fence. There are figures in the distance that sway with the wind. I let the basket fall and pull my doused hair out of my face for a better look. The closer I get, the harder it becomes to decipher the sways that clump together. Dry lightning cracks across the sky as one takes a step out of the woods. Rain pours down on me and the rustling of the wind draws my focus closer to its disfigured face. I glance behind them and see more clearly, through the trees into the clearing. 

“What are you doing?” he yells over the wind, and then falls eerily silent. 

“Go!” I turn and cling to his arm and pull him toward the gate, “They found us!” 

Before I know it he’s in front of me, pulling me as fast as he can. A few yards from the gate, my feet slip on the muddy grass and I plummet to the earth, “I’m fine.” I yell to Renner, “Go! Get the gate open!”