Moments for the Heart

Hey Weekend Writing Warriors. Well I know I said I had a major announcement last week, but I ran into a couple snags. All is still on schedule, but I just ran out of time. And I do know I need to get on it because time is always of the essence. So, I am shooting for Tuesday for my announcement. I am sure y’all know what it is by now, but I just want to make it official.

Again, speaking of timing, It is time for our snippet. If you missed anything, here is last weeks entry.

The Five Barred Gate II is a Dystopian Suspense novel that takes place about 20 years after the events after the first novel. It surrounds the life of Michael, Jacob’s son. He faces the same, but different challenges his father faced. Times are much more difficult. I am excited to revisit this world. I love my characters and getting to revisit the Dystopian genre. You can catch up with past entries here.

SYNOPSIS:

Still working on a full synopsis:

Michael Andrews is Jacob’s son. He is now the main character. His wife has been arrested for talking to someone on her trip to the store about God. Now he must find a way to fight for her release and raise their twins. He has the help of Rachel’s grandfather Frank Dunham, his parents, and a supportive attorney that will do their best to protect Rachel. But they must fight Federal and local laws that are even more strict than what his father had to deal with. They must also struggle with a corrupt accuser and an old family adversary to ensure justice is served and Rachel is able to come home to her family.

>>>If you are curious about the first novels snippets, I have them archived: Here is a link to them if you want to read up on The Fiver Barred Gate <<<

SNIPPET:

Summary:
We left off last week with Michael letting the kids know that their mom is in jail. It was a difficult decision for him to make, but with all that was going on, he chose to tell them. They took it rather well. No one cried, they actually encouraged him.. If you have missed anything you can catch up on all past snippets here.

—First, here is a the tail end of last week:

“But why?” Angela asked.

Michael wished he could answer the question. Besides the answer being over his daughter’s head, he didn’t fully grasp what was going on himself. He felt honesty would be his best bet.

“I don’t know, sweetie,” he said, lifting the curls from her face.

“How long will she be in jail?’ Aiden asked. The second question Michael feared.

“That’s another one I can’t answer. I wish I could. I want mommy home, too.”

This week are move into the next section, same chapter. Michael has finished putting the kids to be and fallen asleep in his recliner. He was not ready to go to his bed just yet. We move into Rachel’s POV. This will be a bit long, but since this is the last post from this novel I am giving you a bit more. Plus, section must be completed in full.

A loud buzzer and the opening of her cell door woke Rachel from the sleep she had finally fallen into about an hour earlier. While more comfortable than she had expected, her single-bed cell was not a place she had found solace. The room was cold, not only in temperature but in appearance. The monotone grey was off-putting. It wasn’t dark, but neither was it lit; it played tricks on the eyes and sucked the life out of you. Even with her eyes closed, she could see it, keeping her from sleeping.

“On your feet. You have a visitor,” the shrill voice said as the room illuminated.

Rachel stood as quick as she could, knowing the penalty for not adhering to an immediate order. However, her sleepiness gave her stance a wobble, and she almost fell back onto her bunk. The corrections officer chuckled as she watched Rachel regain her footing. Rachel quickly wiped the sleep from her eyes and stood upright.

::There is your ten (or so). Here is a bit more.::

A gentleman in a starch-pressed white uniform stepped in. Rachel didn’t recognize him, but being in the enclosed room, she didn’t see many faces, meeting someone new was not unheard of. He looked her up and down with an eerie knowing glance. She wanted to grab her blanket to cover up; even in the prison issue coverall, she felt exposed.

His stare continued for a long moment. Rachel wasn’t sure if he was ever going to speak. The man finally met her eyes and breathed, “Seems we have an issue here, don’t we?” He turned to the guard, “We are fine. Thank you, Madame guard, you can leave us. If I need you, I will call.”

The guard looked between them, saddened like she was about to miss out on something. The glance only added to Rachel’s nervousness.

After the guard shut them in, the well-dressed man repeated his question. Rachel was not sure how to respond. The court not allowing her to speak to her attorney after the hearing, she wasn’t sure what was happening. “I—I’m not quite sure what you mean, sir,” Rachel said.

“Well, you’re a smart girl. I’m sure you’ve had time to figure things out by now,” the man’s lips widened into a sinister grin, and the corners of his eyes forked; he wasn’t as young as he appeared to be. “You do know why you’re in here. They have fully explained the charges against you, correct?”

“Yes, they have. The lady—”

“Doctor,” the man corrected.

“Yes, sorry. The doctor I spoke to was not as open to the subject of God as I hoped she would be.”

Her visitor began to laugh. It was more heinous than his smile. “My dear, you had no right to bring up such a subject to anyone. It’s not your place. You knew full well it was against her personal rights to hear about God or Jesus or any of your… beliefs. Especially in a public forum. It’s against the law. If anyone should understand these laws, it is you, citizen.”

Rachel’s head tilted, “Me? I—I don’t follow.”

“Don’t follow? How could you not? I’m sure you’ve been told the bedtime stories.”

“Sir, I apologize. I have no clue what you are talking about,” Rachel said, turning toward the Official, but realizing her error and snapping back to attention.

“Your family has been making waves in this town for quite some time,” the man explained, his face turning a light shade of pink. “One would think the lot of you would have learned your lesson the first time.”

“Sir, I don’t understand what you are talking about? The first time? What first time?”

The man went silent as his eyes closed. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, “You should ask your father-in-law, citizen. He will fill you in on all the details. Until then, I hope you enjoy your accommodations,” he said with a flourish of his hand. With that, he turned to the door. “Guard!”

“I don’t understand, Official,” Rachael pleaded.

“You can just sit here and count the days until you do,” the Official said as he pulled out his pocketknife releasing its blade; it caused Rachel to yelp. The Official turned to the wall and etched four straight lines, then connected them diagonally. He pocketed his knife and looked back to Rachel. “Does that help you, citizen? I’m sure your family knows all about it from your father-in-law’s stories.”

“What are you talking about? My family? What about my father-in-law?” Rachel asked, relaxing her attention stance again as the buzzer sounded and the door slid open.

The man remained silent, turning toward the guard.

Rachel grabbed the man’s arm, “You need to tell me.”

“Unhand me, citizen, if you know what’s good for you,” the man said, not flinching or reaching for Rachel’s hands, but the guard’s did.

“Rachel Andrews, if you do not release the Official, you will be restrained by force,” the female guard barked.

Rachael didn’t listen, “Please tell me what Jacob Andrews has to do with this, Official.”

“Rachael Andrews—” the guard raised her club, which knocked Rachel to the ground. The Official waved her off and knelt in front of Rachel.

“Go tell your father-in-law that Official Kendrick Edwards is on this case. He must answer for his crimes against Official Nathan Edwards,” Kendrick Edwards grinned again, stood, and brushed the imaginary dust from his arms. “There was no need to become unpleasant, Mrs. Andrews. We can do this as civil as we can.”

“How civil is using me as the pawn in your game to get even for what happened twenty years ago?”

Edwards laughed again. “Fair enough. I was being facetious anyhow. You could tell your attorney, but he couldn’t tell anyone else.”

“How’s that?”

“From the moment I walked into this room, this case will be held within a closed courtroom. Private. No public for any of you to poison with your God-talk. There is now a gag order on everyone. All I have just said to you is confidential. You can tell your attorney that Kendrick Edwards has a watchful eye over your company, but he cannot tell them. He would be breaking a court order, ending up here with you, and what good would that do you?”

“Where is the fairness in that?”

“Fairness?” the Official’s laugh echoed in the small cell. “Who said anything about fairness? Oh, I assure you this is all perfectly legal. Well, skating on the edges, maybe, but I’m well within the parameters of the law. But my dear, this has nothing to do with being fair. Jacob Andrews took family from me. Now it’s my turn to take family from him. Only I have a heart. He will get to see you from behind bars and not visit a grave marker as I have had to the past twenty years.”

Edwards turned and walked out of the cell, the guard at his tail. She locked up behind them and dimmed the lights back to their twilight ambiance. Rachel sat on the edge of the slab she called a bed and tried to remember the stories Jacob had told her while they were dating. She hadn’t really heard much from her grandfather about the old days; he wasn’t a very talkative man about such things. She knew he was part of a group of men who started the church Michael’s dad had pastored. She remembered vaguely that he took over the pastorate when the original pastor died. How did he die? And what is this about Nathan Edwards? She couldn’t remember or didn’t want to remember. But now it seems as if it was the most important thing in the world.

Well the other shoe drops. We finally see who is behind all of what is happening. But to what extent? And how far will he get? Thanks again for bearing with such a long snippet. I wanted this last one to go out with a bang.

Thank you for joining me on this brief journey though The Five Barred Gate II. As I’ve said, I am not sure when this book will see bookshelves. I am far too busy with promoting Little Reminders of Who I Will Become. Then writing Transference II in November for NaNoWriMo. We will see what 2024 brings.

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Monday is Memory Monday
We remember an important event that occurred on that Monday or sometime that week.

Tuesday is Two Twenty-Two Tuesday
A weekly vlog where I talk about writing or something that’s been on my heart, all in two minutes and twenty-two seconds. — I am way behind on this… sorry.
This is posted on my YouTube channel.

Wednesday is when I post my blog for the week.
I speak from my heart on various topics from writing to faith.

Thursday is This or That Thursday
A weekly two-option poll that raises the question, do you like this, or do you prefer that?
I host this on this on Twitter, IG, and Facebook.

Friday is Fun Fact Friday
I find and share interesting or obscure facts on my pages.

Saturday is for Weekend Writing Warriors
Saturday is for Snippets from a current piece or past work.

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THIS WEEK’S WRAP-UP:

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT:
Thanks for reading this week. And for your continued support.

Keep your eye on my social media. I have something to announce this week!!

Catch up with everything even writing a blog. You can read it here, Please check it out.
Here’s to living the dream. God bless Writing Warriors!!

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In His Exciting Service,

Jeff S. Bray

Check out amazing established and emerging writers at Weekend Writing Warriors. Each week we post new snippets from either published works or works in progress for each other to comment on. Gain insight into how the mind of a writer works and a behind-the-scenes look at works before they hit bookstands everywhere.

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