Lonely Oak Chapter 43
It was nearing sunset; the great fire in the sky an orange more ripe and round than any on the surface of the world. All around it the sky was turned to gold and the clouds turned to coal. Its gilded light swathed the earth, making the shadows long...
Lonely Oak Chapter 42
When Ket's mom suddenly showed up beside them, telling them they were getting a bit far away, they decided to take a break. Back on shore, they found out that they had actually been out for two and a half hours, and once they discovered that it...
Lonely Oak Chapter 41
A spider. Fat the size of a quarter, hanging idly by its silk in the dark, waiting. For what, who could ever know; there was not a way at all for any prey to come within the confines of the tent. It was just there, waiting, possibly for night, when it...
Lonely Oak Chapter 40
Ket was the first to finish changing. But then, that is sort of a given. When it came to getting ready for things, girls were usually slower. He would definitely get yelled at if he said that out loud, but it wasn't a mean thing to say, it was just...
Lonely Oak Chapter 39
The first thing Ket noticed was how thick the air was. As soon as he took his first breath he felt it not swelling in his lungs but saturating them; weighing his diaphragm and turning the exhalation into a laborious task. The sun was the second...
Lonely Oak Chapter 38
Lyza stepped out into the heat, the car engine puttering as her brother killed it. She adjusted the brim of her hat, making sure it was on straight. Beneath her feet were the whitest stones she had ever seen, and they reflected the afternoon sunlight...
Lonely Oak Chapter 37
It felt like she was lying mud. The air was thick and hot and she felt heavy. A copious amount of sweat was collecting underneath her back, which had an ache all up and down just to the left of her spine. Lyza sleepily pried her eyelids apart....
Lonely Oak Chapter 36
The bell on the door jingled as the two moms and two tiger cubs stepped out of the little pizzeria. Ket was the last out, and he held the door open for a couple who were coming in. The sky was black, as night had fallen, and they made their way back...
Lonely Oak Chapter 35
"Come on Ket, they'll be here any minute!" Ket huffed, picking up his backpack and a large, heavy duffel bag. He looked about the room very quickly, mentally running through a checklist in his head. He panned about the room, in case he saw something...
Lonely Oak Chapter 68
Ket relaxed a bit with a sigh. He was last in the group, and as he exhaled Emeral glanced back to give him a bit of a smile. The apology wasn't as bad as he had imagined it. She even softened the blow for him. He wasn't really angry, she gave as an...
Lonely Oak Chapter 16
There is a place at Lonely Oak Elementary, in the school's courtyard, different from any other place in the world. There is an iron fence that has no gate; just an open way. The fence surrounds a modest square of land, nestled in the corner outside of...
Lonely Oak Chapter 15
The classroom was silent, save for the scritch-and-scratch of pencils against paper, the occasional eraser chirp, and a couple of kids with a persistent cough. It was only the second Monday since the...