Moments for the Heart

Hey Weekend Writing Warriors. Fist thing is first. Were you in the path of the event of a lifetime? I am in south Texas, but if you follow me on social media, you know that cloud cover obscured my view. I am disappointed, but I did get a brief glimpse at totality. Do you have a story of your experience? I’d love to hear it.

I wont take anymore of your time, let’s get to this week’s snippet:

**If you’ve missed out on anything and want to can catch up on past snippets, you can click here.**

SNIPPET:

Summary:
This Five Barred Gate sequel, is a Dystopian Suspense about what would it be like if it our freedom of expression liberties were taken from us. These laws existed in the first novel, but are much stricter it being twenty years later. Now you cannot challenge an authority figure or be arrested. This spills over into the religious community as churches are no longer allowed to speak freely, out of fear that a sermon would violate the law. Pastors must submit sermons and speeches for scrutiny before they are spoken in a public forum. If you fail to do so, you are threatened with closure. This is where we find Jacob Andrews. He was the MC in the first book, he is now the pastor of a church and faced with the challenges of obeying the laws. This book surrounds his son Michael and how the laws now impact his life, wife, and children.

Here is a bit from last week:

Michael stood and paced. “I want to be in there. I need to be in there,” he said with growing frustration.

“The tension in your voice is why you shouldn’t,” Johnathan said. “Especially after your ordeal. You’d most likely lose it in there. Let me handle it. I am your voice, so let me do my job. You can trust me, Michael. Just be patient.”

—We are picking up right where we left off. Let’s go.

The doors swung open, and the second case walked out, frustration on the faces of the men exiting. “Can you believe that judge; the audacity,” said one to the other.

Johnathan shrugged. Michael paced to the end of the row of chairs and sat away from the doors. He didn’t want to hear anymore.

As Michael sat looking at the floor between his feet, he heard Johnathan’s voice with the bailiff, then to him. “Hey, Michael. I’m up.”

Michael looked up, confused.

“They continued the case before ours,” Johnathan met him halfway. “The judge is ready for us. I’m heading in before she gets even more upset.”


There is your ten, but let’s continue for a bit:


“She’s upset?”

“I don’t know, but if those attorneys were any indication, we don’t know what to expect. Better to expect the worst and hope for the best. I’ll talk to you later.” Johnathan said, then disappeared, the swinging doors swooshing shut.

The hallway mumbles drowned out the silence again as business returned to normal. Michael sat, wondering how long he would wait this time. It was only one-thirty—plenty of time for the case to go long; plenty of time for the prosecution to condemn his wife for something that shouldn’t even be a law in the first place.

The thought of his wife being behind bars for twenty years had yet to register with him. But now that he had the time to sit here alone, outside of where those questions were being deliberated, it was the only thought on his mind. He would be forty-seven. The kids would be… Michael had to hold back tears at the thought. They would be in college and possibly married with their own kids. No. He shook the thoughts from his head. This has to end here, he told himself. There was no way Rachel could be found guilty. The kids needed her; he needed her.

Michael stood again and walked the length of the hall. He looked down the corridor toward the elevators. He could see the wind blowing the trees through the window on the other end of the hall. Daylight was dimming; a storm was blowing in. He thought about the kids. Aiden was afraid of thunderstorms. Angela, not so much. He considered giving them a call but didn’t want to have to answer questions about Mommy. How selfish was that? Again, he was leaving providing comfort to his in-laws. He heard a rumble of thunder and pulled out his phone.

Michael is now alone with his thoughts. Johnathan is fighting for his wife in the courtroom. In the first installment my POV was initially from Jacob’s imprisonment. Here I wanted to be from the judicial end. Jacob never got his day in court, and I always wondered what that would’ve been like. Now I get that chance. It was an interesting process and fun to write.

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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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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.