Out of the Ruins by Karen Barnett

Author:Karen Barnett
Language: ara
Format: epub
Publisher: Abingdon Fiction
Published: 2014-03-14T04:00:00+00:00

23

6:30 a.m.

Abby slung the bag over her shoulder as she hurried down the alley toward O’Farrell Street, freedom lightening her steps. The steady breeze tugged at her hat and she lifted her face to the morning sky, gazing around at the nearby houses, pleased to see how little damage had occurred to the sturdy wooden structures. The tall, narrow homes lining the street towered over her like a company of soldiers awaiting orders

People brushed past, their faces tense. A small dog raced along a fence, yelping at Abby through the boards.

To the east, a wisp of yellow smoke rose into the morning air. She remembered watching the fire wagons with Papa and Davy and it brought a wave of longing for her father’s presence. If only he hadn’t chosen this week to make the final preparations on the farm. She adjusted the heavy bag on her shoulders as the ground rumbled slightly under her feet once more. This isn’t over.

She waited on two passing wagons before crossing the street. A large crack meandered up the roadway, cobblestones lying at odd angles, like an ocean wave frozen in stones. Picking up the edge of her skirt, Abby stepped over the crack. A loose cobble shifted under her shoe and she pitched forward, falling hard on hands and knees. Staggering to her feet, she wiped the tiny bits of gravel and a sliver of broken glass from her palms before examining her torn dress and shredded stocking.

Rubbing both palms against her skirt, Abby glanced back to the east. A towering plume of smoke rose from the skyline, billowing upward, moving and changing in the early morning light.

Abby hurried up the street to the west, battling against a sudden desire to run back to her mother and hide behind her skirt like she did when she was a little girl. She brushed the thought away and pressed on toward Gerald’s house.

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