I smile as I watch my mother play with my little brother Tommy on the hearth-rug. My father sits in his chair, still but alert. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye I detect a movement in the yard. I turn to look. Soldiers, four of them! By the way they are dressed, I know them instantly as ‘the enemy’. My father has followed my gaze as I gasp in fright and immediately he’s on his feet, sweeping up Tommy in the same movement and shoving him in my direction.
‘You know what to do Annie,’ he says quietly. He nods urgently at me and I grab Tommy’s hand and propel him through the kitchen. I look through the window, checking our route to the barn. It’s clear, so I open the door and we slide through and dash into the slatted wooden building. Behind us, I hear the soldiers hammering on the front door, shouting.
Although Tommy’s only little he knows what to do. Just as we’ve practiced so many times in recent months, I help him up the ladder to the hayloft. He doesn’t make a sound as we creep across the creaky boards and hide ourselves in the straw behind the loosely baled hay. We lie there, waiting. We haven’t practised what happens next. Then I hear a scream; I know it’s my mother, although the sound is like none I’ve ever heard her make. Her pain and terror flood my head. I grip Tommy tightly; he’s trembling and sobbing silently. The minutes tick by; I wonder what’s happening in the house. My father is shouting, but I can’t make out what he’s saying. The shouting stops abruptly and I hear the back door slam against the outside wall of the kitchen.
Heavy boots march towards the barn; I bite down hard on my knuckles. A cold fist contorts my stomach as I suddenly realise I forgot to drag the ladder up behind us. I hear the soldier’s heavy breathing down below. He’s pulling things over, searching. He approaches the ladder and in my mind’s eye I see him grab the ladder and place his boot on the first rung. Sweat runs down my back. Tommy is rigid in my arms.
There is a loud call from the house: ‘Move on!’ I hear the sound of the ladder clattering to the floor. It settles and there is no sound apart from the blood pumping in my ears. Slowly I get up, my legs are shaking. I grab the rail at the edge of the loft and feel for the rope which we use as a swing when it’s too wet to play outside. Telling Tommy to stay where his is, I let myself down and run quickly towards the back door which is gaping off its hinges.
Inside the house furniture has been overturned and one curtain has been ripped from the window. My mother cowers in a corner. Her blouse is torn and there is blood on her skirt. Father’s face is bruised and bloody. He reaches for her, but she turns her face to the wall.
That was the first piece from ‘A Sextet of Shorts’, my little book of short fiction pieces.
‘Sextet’ is currently available to download on your Kindle for $0.99 / €0.99 / £0.99 and other currency equivalents (+VAT) until midnight on 01.01.19.
And, since it’s the holidays, if you’d like a freebie, I will arrange to gift a download to the first 10 people who respond in the comments section below!
Powerful.
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Dear Sadje, please email me at chris87hall@gmail.com and I’ll send you your Kindle book gift – Happy New Year!
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Thanks a lot 🙏🏻
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My pleasure! Don’t forget to email me for the gift card…
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I will as soon as I have a moment. Thanks again.
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Such a scary story! It leaves me wondering what happened next and what happened prior. Is it from a longer piece, or is it left to the reader’s imagination? The descriptions are all very vivid!
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It was a short piece which I wrote quite a while ago for a creative writing class. We had to come up with something in response to ‘a scary moment’ and I took the scene from something I did at school, long, long ago. When we were about 14-15 a group of us spent a week away in an old farmhouse with actors from the local theatre company. The idea was that we all got into character as if we were living during the English Civil war and we were hiding from the enemy. One evening the enemy soldiers did come; we hid up in the barn, and we did here a very realistic fight…
I might develop it onto an entire story some day.
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Wow that’s amazing! Sounds like a cool but scary project with the actors at the farmhouse! Definitely creative writing material!
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Do that! 👍 I’d like to read!
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I will definitely work on it. You’ve all made up my mind.
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Dear Debra, please email me at chris87hall@gmail.com and I’ll send you your Kindle book gift – Happy New Year!
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How cool! Thanks! I didn’t know I was “in the running” to receive one!
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Hi Chris! I got my Kindle book and started reading it yesterday. (Had to charge up the Kindle first lol). I still have a couple of stories that I haven’t read, but as you might guess, my favorite so far is “A New Friend for Henry”! So cute! Also I have to say the twist ending in “Dying With Determination” was really good too! Thanks again for the gift of the book!😀
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Had my heart racing! You should definitely expand on this someday if you find the time, I’d love to read on.
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Thanks for the encouragement, Ellie. It is something I’ve had in mind for a while. I’m still searching for the setting though.
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Dear Ellie, please email me at chris87hall@gmail.com and I’ll send you your Kindle book gift – Happy New Year!
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I actually already own your Sextet of Shorts – it’s on my to-read list and I should get to it soon! Perhaps you could give a freebie to another commenter? And Happy New Year to you too!
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If you like I can send the book voucher. It’s not much, but you can put it towards something else 🙂
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I thought the title sounded familiar lol. I agree with Ellie…this one should be expanded someday 🙂
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Thanks Teresa. I’m going to make some notes…
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Dear Teresa, I know you’ve read ‘Sextet’ but if you email me at chris87hall@gmail.com I’ll send you your Kindle book gift and you can exchange towards something else – Happy New Year!
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Oh gosh! It became really a ”wake up” this morning. Brilliant and scary.
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Dear Thea, please email me at chris87hall@gmail.com and I’ll send you your Kindle book gift – Happy New Year!
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Thank you, Chris! I’ve sent you a mail! 😀
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Hi Thea, you should receive an email from Amazon with your gift card shortly. 🙂
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Hi Chris! Thank you very much!
Duty called, so I had to leave home for a couple of hours, but now I’ll try to make this Kindle-thing working for me. Have absolutely no idea how! But I’ll give it the time it needs! 😀
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Hope it works for you! 🙂
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Oh, you wouldn’t believe!
Trying to write, will be back with you later…
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[…] was one of the lucky ones, who received a Kindle Book gift from Chris Hall on Luna’s online. At first, I was a bit reluctant. Since I don’t have Kindle myself, would it be possible for […]
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[…] Chris Hall […]
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I pressed like but I don’t like it. It’s too much of the same thing that never ends…hatred, brutality, cruelty and fear for everyone, no matter their age. Women torn apart, men beaten and children hiding in terror. Well, written but I just want it to be over. Sigh.
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You have a point. Raising awareness though? Yes, we all want it to be over. 😦
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