| ISBN 0-9778745-4-0 |
| fiction non-fiction memoir poetry |
| Contact the author: Click here to send email to CC WHARTON |
| A gripping tale of personal ethics |
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| A native of Anniston, Alabama, CC Wharton now lives in Tryon, North Carolina, with her husband and four-legged children ... the two-legged ones having grown up and flown away. |
AN EXCERPT FROM PEARL MAKER ...
Escape was their unifying thought.
"We'll follow the driveway but stay in the woods out of sight," Jan
directed as she set a fast pace in front. "We don't want to be seen
if the other men return. The driveway will lead us out of here."
"Maybe we ought to take the gun," Caleb suggested.
"No, leave the gun," Jan answered. It lay on the ground at her feet
where she had dropped it after spending all three shells. He loaded
one for each of us, she thought.
In silence, they set up a slow jog entering the protective branches
of humanless nature made supernatural by the sheen of the full
moon. Jan ran in front, followed by Murray. Caleb brought up the
rear. From the bottom of the first ridge they could see the roofline
of the cabin that had been their prison. As long as the cabin was in
sight, Jan was pushed on by fear. When they reached the bottom,
their legs were shaking from the strain of the steep incline.
"I don't care who we see drive by, we stay out of sight," Jan warned
when she stopped to catch her breath. "We don't know who we can
trust. Is that agreed?"
The boys nodded.
"We'll stick to the woods and parallel the road until we get down to
a very public place ... unless either of you has a better idea," she
said.
The boys said nothing. They moved steadily ahead.
Escape was their unifying thought.
"We'll follow the driveway but stay in the woods out of sight," Jan
directed as she set a fast pace in front. "We don't want to be seen
if the other men return. The driveway will lead us out of here."
"Maybe we ought to take the gun," Caleb suggested.
"No, leave the gun," Jan answered. It lay on the ground at her feet
where she had dropped it after spending all three shells. He loaded
one for each of us, she thought.
In silence, they set up a slow jog entering the protective branches
of humanless nature made supernatural by the sheen of the full
moon. Jan ran in front, followed by Murray. Caleb brought up the
rear. From the bottom of the first ridge they could see the roofline
of the cabin that had been their prison. As long as the cabin was in
sight, Jan was pushed on by fear. When they reached the bottom,
their legs were shaking from the strain of the steep incline.
"I don't care who we see drive by, we stay out of sight," Jan warned
when she stopped to catch her breath. "We don't know who we can
trust. Is that agreed?"
The boys nodded.
"We'll stick to the woods and parallel the road until we get down to
a very public place ... unless either of you has a better idea," she
said.
The boys said nothing. They moved steadily ahead.
| (c) 2012 |
photos by EK Larken
| Fiction 271 pages |
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