was the safest place for them.
Baptized or not, I was an adult woman now. Time to make my own choices. I chose not to repent and ask for mercy. I chose to go beyond the gate.
Alex shrugged, adjusting his pack. His sleeves were rolled up over his elbows and shirt unbuttoned to show his tattoos, and his hat was pulled down low to shade his eyes. His black jacket with the zippers was tucked under one arm. He led the white horse on a bridle behind us.
“What happens now?” I asked again.
“I dunno, Bonnet. But we’ll figure it out.”‘
“Wait! Wait for me!”
I turned. A round figure in Amish dress ran toward us, kicking up dust and clutching a pink purse. Ginger. She broke past the startled line of Elders as if she were playing an adult version of red rover, launched herself over the fence with a degree of agility that shocked me. She skidded to a stop in the dust before us, the sun reflecting off her eyeglasses.
“Um. You guys want some company?”
About the Author
Laura Bickle's professional background is in criminal justice and library science. When she's not patrolling the stacks at the public library, she's dreaming up stories about the monsters under the stairs, and writing contemporary fantasy novels under the name Alayna Williams. Laura lives in Ohio with her husband and five mostly-reformed feral cats.
