The Seven Fires Prophecies, by J.C. Kavanagh

 

Book 3 of the award-winning Twisted Climb series: 

A  Bright Darkness

In last month's blog, I referenced an Ojibwe legend about the Seven Fires Prophecies. It's a fascinating, genuine tale handed down over hundreds of generations by tribe Elders and Wisdom Keepers. The significance of these prophecies and how they've transpired over the centuries, cannot be understated. These prophecies became pivotal in the final book of The Twisted Climb series. Curious? Read more below in an excerpt from Chapter 20 of A Bright Darkness. 

Chapter 20 - The Seven Fires Prophecies

“In the ages when time had just begun for my people – the original Anishinaabe nation – seven prophets dared to speak to the Elders about the future. Their predictions and warnings are called the Seven Fires Prophecies. Each prophecy marks a significant turning point for our people. Let me explain.” Mrs. Beeforth, the Ojibwe Elder, settled in her chair. “The first prophecy spoke of our origins, of how we had to preserve our history, our traditions, and medicinal practices. All these things were to be written on sacred scrolls. The prophet said we had to travel from the shores of the great salt water – the Atlantic Ocean – to the land where food grows on the water. If we did not travel to this land, we would die.”

“The Second Fire Prophecy would be upon us when we doubted the wisdom of the Elders. During this time, the ancient ways would be ridiculed and stifled. It would take the insight of a young native-born boy to re-direct the people back to the traditional ways.”

“The Third Fire prophecy declared that the nation must continue their journey west, to the chosen land – the land where food grows on the water. I can tell you now that our people travelled for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, settling in the Great Lakes Region. There, the food on the water was found – wild rice. Berries, beaver, deer and fish were also plentiful, and our people flourished.”

“The Fourth Fire Prophecy was met with skepticism. Remember, these prophets were from the beginning of our ages. In this prophecy, two prophets foretold the arrival of a Light-skinned race. One warned that the future of our people depended on whether or not the Light-skinned race was offering true brotherhood. If they arrived with a handshake and desire to share their knowledge, then our people would join to form a great nation. However, the second prophet advised that if they came with weapons, and if they spoke from both sides of their mouth and secretly desired to steal the riches from our land, we should beware. If the rivers turned sour and the fish die, that is the sign the Light-skinned race brings death.”

Mrs. Beeforth adjusted her glasses, eyes grim. “The Fifth Fire prophecy foretold a struggle amongst all Indian nations; an internal struggle concerning traditions and beliefs. The Light-skinned people promised their own kind of salvation as long as we relinquished our beliefs. The internal struggle amongst our peoples would last for many generations and bring the nations to the brink of extinction.”

“The Sixth Fire Prophecy speaks to the results of the Fifth Prophecy. The deceit of those pushing to destroy our way of life will become evident when the wisdom of the Elders is disparaged and ignored. It will become evident when children are removed from the teachings of the Elders, and when our people are driven from their lands. A new sickness will befall our people at this time. Languages will be lost. The purpose of life – of living, loving and learning – will turn into shallowness and grief.”

“This is horrible,” Jayden muttered, “because it all came to be.”

“Yes,” Mrs. Beeforth agreed. “It all came to be.” She took a sip of water and continued.

“It was during this time that the Wisdom Keepers – priests if you will – called upon every Elder and every Priest, from every tribe, to gather all the sacred writings and scrolls. Everything that defined our people – our medicines, our languages and our traditions – was to be inscribed on birch bark and placed in a sacred bundle. This bundle would be hidden in a hollowed-out log and the log hidden within the crevice of a rock cliff. The log could only be reached by scaling down the cliff. All the knowledge of our people, from time immemorial, would be kept hidden there until the Indian people were ready to practice their beliefs and traditions, respect their Elders, and resume our Native ways without reprisal from the Light-skinned people.”

* * *

Check out A Bright Darkness for yourself and read what the Seventh and final prophecy will bring.

In the meantime, stay safe!

J.C. Kavanagh, author of 
The Twisted Climb - Darkness Descends (Book 2) 

voted BEST Young Adult Book 2018, Critters Readers Poll and Best YA Book FINALIST at The Word Guild, Canada 

AND 

The Twisted Climb,

voted BEST Young Adult Book 2016, P&E Readers Poll

Voted Best Local Author, Simcoe County, Ontario, 2022

Novels for teens, young adults and adults young at heart

Email: author.j.c.kavanagh@gmail.com

www.facebook.com/J.C.Kavanagh

www.amazon.com/author/jckavanagh

Twitter @JCKavanagh1 (Author J.C. Kavanagh)

Instagram @authorjckavanagh

Hold the Advice or Live by it? By BC Deeks, Paranormal Mystery Fiction Author

 

Visit B.C. Deeks' BWL Author Page for Book and Purchase Information

http://bookswelove.net/deeks-bc/

It’s taken me 64 years to learn not to teach others what it took me 64 years to learn myself. People must discover things themselves or it just doesn’t stick. That’s not to say I haven’t heard some really good advice that I wish I had known, or even listened to, over the years. For example. I wish I had known, Skip all the heartbreak and drama of teenage dating and just read a book until you’re 25 – Wish I'd had that nugget of wisdom at 15.

Ironically, now I collect advice sayings like tree ornaments and I even try to follow the sage wisdom to lead a more mindful life. Another one that I wish I had known way back is, Find your passion-Then figure out how to make money at it. I’ve known since I was twelve that I wanted to be an author, but my career took a very different direction.

I was a young woman in the ‘yuppy’ generation. We energetically threw ourselves at that glass ceiling determined to be the first to shatter it. I’ll admit I experienced some exciting adventures. In the early 1980s, I sat at a table with the CIA on one side and the KGB on the other! They didn’t speak to each other, but I spoke to both of them separately. Fascinating times. I also got lost in the warehouse district of Paris at midnight on another occasion and was rescued by a mysterious French businessman. He drove me back to my hotel and wished me fond memories of the city before disappearing again into the night. I’m not making this stuff up, but it sure does find its way into my writing.

It wasn’t easy being a single woman working in male dominated industries and traveling internationally. Computer security was an emerging field, and I was dealing with hackers, terrorists, and an emerging Dark Web. I was also rising into management, and sometimes encountered men who didn’t like a woman directing their work. Fortunately, there were also men along my journey who gave me a solid hand up. I’ll share another piece of advice I live by: What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

And I did eventually get back to my dream of writing and pour all those experiences into my writing.

Maybe I should have listened to some of the advice I was given when I was younger. I wish I had believed then that I would survive the tough times and grow from my experiences. My mother’s favorite advice to me was, And this too shall pass. She was a wise woman.

Do you have advice you live by? Or wish you had listened to when you were younger?

Stick Season

 Find my books here

 Welcome to Stick Season here in Vermont!

What is it? It's that time when the leaves have left the trees but the snow has yet to visit.   Inexact, to be sure, like our maple sugaring season...more dependent on Mother Nature than on the calendar. 

Stick Season in Vermont is a time of transition. The days are shorter, the nights are colder. We start to nest indoors. It's time for contemplation, for walks among the downed leaves.

For me, it's a great time for cooking up plots for future novels, for trying to understand my characters and stories of books in progress, while enjoying our landscapes, transformed to an almost black and white beauty of bare limbs and grey skies letting us know that winter is on the way.

The Novel I Wish I'd Written

 

Please click this link for author and book information

My book club chose the classic novel Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier for our October meeting. This was the third time I'd read the book. I've loved it each time for slightly different reasons. 

I was in my twenties when I first read this story of a young woman who marries a wealthy older man she meets on a holiday in Monte Carlo. His late wife, Rebecca, looms larger-than-life and haunts the tale from beginning to end. Gradually the story builds to a series of plot twists. I didn't see any of them coming, yet I instantly recalled clues the author had planted along the way to make the surprises completely believable. The only author I've read who did this almost as well was Agatha Christie. Literary writers often dismiss such twists as mere plot. In Rebecca, every twist is embedded in character. If the story narrator, her husband Maxim, Rebecca, and all of the secondary characters had been different people, the story and twists wouldn't have happened exactly as they did.  

 

About twenty years later, I started writing mystery novels. Whenever the subject of favourite books came up, I'd say that I couldn't choose my favourite as a reader, but Rebecca was the novel I wished I'd written, mainly for the author's handling of surprise. Perhaps this prompted me to read Rebecca a second time. By then, I'd seen several movie versions and remembered all the twists, but I still found myself gripped by the suspense of what was to come. Fans will recall a scene where the narrator breaks a valuable figurine. As the narrator struggles to cover her action up, I was on the edge of my seat, worried for this sympathetic character.   

This third time reading Rebecca, I was mainly drawn in by du Maurier's writing. The novel struck me as a cross between two other classics written by women, Jayne Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, with mystery and suspense thrown into the mix. Rebecca features the grand passion and gothic qualities of Bronte's story, with subtle Austen-like touches of social observation and humour. All three books are about women who fall in love with men who are far superior to them in wealth and social status. I interpret each of the stories as showing how the woman becomes the man's equal. Perhaps this partly explains why these novels resonate with modern readers. 

In addition, on third reading, I realized that Rebecca contains a number of life lessons, about such things as not making assumptions about other people, assuming you know what they are thinking, and speaking out for yourself. In middle age, I read a popular book on cognitive therapy, which is commonly viewed as the most effective psychotherapy method. Everything in the book was already there in Rebecca. I wonder if this is why I easily grasped the therapy concepts and if, subconsciously, I applied them to my life after reading Rebecca when I was young. 

Our book club discussion leader also brought up some modern interpretations of Rebecca that I hadn't heard before. Maybe I'll grasp them if I read the novel a fourth time. You can dive into Rebecca forever it seems and surface with something new.   

When I reached the end of the novel last month, for the third time, I decided to go out on a limb say, Rebecca isn't only the book I wish I'd written, it's my favourite novel ever. Admittedly, I'm the only member of my book club who rated it this high. A couple of people didn't like it. Others had mixed feelings. A surprising number hadn't read the book before. Nobody predicted the twists on their first time. Rebecca is worth reading for that reason alone, and for so many more.                    

Rhododendrons symbolize Rebecca in the story

 

The Split Narrative: Like it or Hate it by Karla Stover

 

Visit Karla Stover's BWL Author page for book and purchase information

I just finished my 4th book with a split timeline and dual sets of characters and I'm not sure how I feel about this way of writing. This most recent mystery was divided between World War 11 and the 1960s. It started with a prologue ( for some reason, the first page was number 10 ) and 35 pages in had gone back and forth six times. Getting to know the characters took some time and I often had to reread a couple of pages in order to be reoriented. There's so little time and so many books, I find this aggravating and I wondered how other readers feel. Here are two comments from a book called The Alice Network: "I enjoyed one part of the book but not the other. There are two storylines going on. I absolutely loved the story in 1915 but the story in 1947 was just OK for me." and " It's difficult to like a novel when it has different story lines going- there are always things you love about one but not so much about the other - which rings true for the one I'm reading now!" On the other hand, here's what one person said about The Dark Isle. It "moves seamlessly between two timelines spanning the intensely hot summer of 1976, and the political unrest of 1989, with the poll tax demonstrations firmly rooting us in this particular period. Likewise, the story pivots between London and Orkney within both periods of time."

Someone on netgallery.com wrote, "I'm a sucker for books with split timelines." The Perspicacious Bookworm has a list of 10 Great Books with Split Timelines and Amazon has a section labeled "Dual Timeline Novels." I find all these opinions very confusing so I asked two librarians what they thought. One liked a dual timeline and the other said they liked it only in time-travel books.

During the 1960s and 1970s I read books by both Mary Stewart and Phyllis Whitney. No split narratives but lots of different locales. Little Women had separate sections, one each for Meg, Jo and Amy. Anne of Green Gables occasionally drifted away from Anne, but Nancy Drew was only about Nancy.

According to Hank Phillippi Ryan, "In a linear book, the author must insert explanation and backstory into the manuscript’s “now” timeline. But multiple timelines let us be immersed in what could be called a “past present.” To feel the importance of events the main character did not know would matter — because when they’re happening, “later” hasn’t happened yet. A dual timeline develops the same way our own lives do. Every decision we make and every action we take is based on our history and our experiences — even though the other characters in our life story may not know that."

What Mr. Ryan doesn't say is how confusing  it can be for the reader to go back and forth and how skillful a writer has to be.

Right now I'm reading, Where the Crawdads Sing which is really sad in both timelines but doesn't have a ton of characters to keep track of. There is also a book by Tomasz Witkowski called Fads, Fakes, and Frauds: Exploding Myths in Culture, Science and Psychology which I won't read because I'm pretty good about knowing when pop psychology is trying to do a number on me. 

But no matter who we write for, a reader or ourselves, I guess a split timeline doesn't really matter.

Grampa Saves the Day - by Barbara Baker

On a gorgeous fall drive with two of our young grandkids we stop at a park to play. Fresh air. Colourful leaves. Blue Alberta sky. And a backpack full of snacks. A perfect outing.

The kids run and jump and swing through the playground. In no time at all, I have 5,000 steps and only three near heart attacks at the hanging upside down antics.

Just as I begin to video our granddaughter as she hurtles down a zip-line, our grandson, who is only three years old and too short for the ride, lets out a scream. Not just any scream - a full out anyone-within-a-mile-can-hear-him kind of scream.

I bend over in time to see him swipe a wasp off his pinky finger. Tears streak down his face as he sticks his hand in the air.

Even without reading glasses on I can see the stinger, with a blob of venom attached to it, sticking out of a small cut right above his pudgy knuckle. I pull the stinger out and lift it to my eyes. The venom sac still clings to the sharp barb. It’s kind of cool to see but another scream brings me back to my grandson’s finger.

Hugs can’t console him and people start to stare. I’m sure they think the tyke has fallen victim to some enormous travesty set upon him by me. I give the staring people a pleading look to tell them, “I’m doing my best.”

“Let’s go to the car and get a band aid,” Grampa says.  “Stick his finger in your mouth.”

I look at my grandson’s dirty hand.

“It was a wasp sting not a snake bite,” I say.

“It’ll distract him.”

I pick up the tyke and put his finger in my mouth knowing I’m doomed. No amount of hand-sani can’t save me now.

Once his finger is in my mouth, the screaming stops. When it starts up again, it’s not as loud. I suck on the finger. The scream turns into snotty sobs.

At the car, I set him on the tailgate and pour water over the sting while grampa searches for a band aid. Candles, old granola bars, blankets, masks and gloves (thanks covid) pile up beside us. Not one band aid.

Grampa digs through his emergency car repair kit. “Look what I found.” He holds up the tiniest silver hose clamp. “It’s a superhero ring for a brave little boy.”

Our grandson’s eyes go big. “Really?”

Grampa nods a very serious grampa nod. He takes the injured pinky and ever so gently, puts the hose clamp over the red mark.

All the way home our grandson holds his hand in the air.

“I got a superhero ring.” He waves it at his sister. “Because I’m brave.” 

What About Me?: Sequel to Summer of Lies : Baker, Barbara: Amazon.ca: Books

Summer of Lies: Baker, Barbara:9780228615774: Books - Amazon.ca

Barbara Wackerle Baker (@bbaker.write)

 

                   

 

 

 

 

A Lit Interrogation of My Co-Author by Vanessa C. Hawkins

 

 

 Vanessa Hawkins Author Page

      My bad. I forgot to post last month. But I have good news! I've finally gotten around to interviewing my co-author: Tara Woodworth! You know... that *other* name on a few of my book covers? She's real! And after a few libations, what started as an interrogation ended in a character development and shenanigans that somehow mapped out book 3...

Are you curious? Of course you are! So without further ado, here is our interview, which she may or may not remember having... 

 1. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer, Tara? (This is a boring arse question, I know, but bear with me, it gets better)!

Tara: When my friend Vanessa sent me a text message saying that we should write a book. 

*interviewers footnote* We used to write together back and forth. Some call it RP. Some of it was crap. The bulk of Shad and Scarlet was pretty good.

2. How long does it take you to write a book?

Tara: *she blinks and tries to ask me the same question. I tell her it is not I who is being interviewed* About a year depending on how often we write, which is about two or three days a week for a few hours per session. Right?

*interviewers footnote* This is correct.

3. What would you say is your interesting writing quirk? 

Tara: Sometimes I lay awake at night thinking about a conversation between characters or how a scene will play out until I fall asleep. 

4. What does your family think of your writing? 

Tara: They think it's great, but they also don't think of me as a real writer because I'm writing fiction/fantasy

*interviewers footnote* Cries** So true...

5. Do you have plans to ever write a book on your own or with another author besides me?

Tara: *She is of course thinking: No way! Vanessa is the best there is! How could I possibly think of writing with anyone other than this amazing genius of fiction and fantasy?* 

What she says: I mi-i-i-ight write a book on my own eventually, but I have no plans to write anything with any other authors. I won't talk about my idea though, or I'll lose my gumption to write on my own, so don't ask about it!

6. Hardest thing about writing with Vanessa C. Hawkins (if any :D) Did I ever frustrate you to no end?

Tara: Vanessa spells pajamas weird and uses weird colloquillisms that I edit out when she isn't looking...

*interviewers footnote* Yeah well, I edit all your adverbs out. Tara is an adverb queen. Also, it's spelled pyjamas. *sticks out tongue*   

7.If you could meet any character in Ballroom Riot which one would it be? 

Tara: Shad. Coz he's a dragon. 

8. Let's talk about Shad. If he could, for whatever reason, only keep one thing from his hoard, what would it be and why? 

Tara: Shad would be so heartbroken that I can't even picture how he would react. He probably has a dragon bug out bag that contains his most precious treasures. So... like, a necklace with the most expensive diamonds, or something with a giant gemstone. Whatever it was with the most monetary value. But if he is thinking of Scarlet as part of his hoard, then he'd take her...

*interviewers footnote* and probably whine about it later...

9. How would Shad break up with someone? 

Tara: He wouldn't. He'd always be the person who was broken up with. Maybe... maybe he would ghost a person... maybe... 

10. Would Shad think fart noises were funny?

Tara: What? Omg. No... if Scarlet tooted he wouldn't say anything, he'd probably just pretend it didn't happen. Scarlet probably would though... she's that kind of woman, and if Shad farted she'd tease him endlessly... if she wasn't blown away by noxious dragon gas.

11.  What would Shad think was the most annoying thing about Scarlet? 

Tara: When Scarlet gets mad at him, she walks too fast on purpose so he has to hobble to keep up. That's annoying... but also, despite being a graceful and loving person, she'll take out something with packaging, open it, use it, and leave the packaging wherever in the hell is convienent for her! She doesn't throw it out! Done using these clothes? Wham! Thrown on the back of the couch! Can't find an ashtray? Cigarette butt in the fruit bowl! 

*interviewers footnote* I think we've hit a nerve here...

Well, Tara, thank you for the interview! Before we end though, is there anything else you'd like to say?

Tara (who may or may not have actually said this): Book three is in the works! Hoping for a release of next year or so, but be sure to keep an eye out on the Books We Love webpage or Vanessa's blog for updates! We promise, it won't take ten years for us to write it... we aren't buttheads like... 

Till next time, folks!
 

Accidental Deaths by J. S. Marlo

  

Wounded Hearts

"Love & Sacrifice #2"

is now available  

click here 

 

 

  

J. S. Marlo's BWL Books

I write murder/mystery/romance novels. As such, someone will be injured or die by the end of the book, and my perpetrators will go to great length to deflect or cover their crime.

In average, 15,000 people die every year following an accident in Canada. Accidents are the 1st leading cause of death in people under the age of 45, and the 4th overall in all age groups after Cancer, Heart Diseases, and Covid-19. Interestingly, if we separate the statistics by gender, accidents are the 3rd leading cause of death in men but the 5th in women.

Since accidents are relatively common, one way to cover a murder is to make it look like an accident. Here are the six major causes of accidental deaths:

- Motor Vehicle Accidents (1st cause in both men & women): one of my perpetrators tampered with a car...

- Fall (2nd in both men & women): it's fairly easy to push someone down the stairs, but the problem is when the victim survives the fall and can identify the perpetrator...

- Drowning (3rd in men, 6th in women): forcing someone to drown without leaving signs of struggle behind is not as easy as it looks...

- Fire (4th in men, 3rd women): fire tends to destroy everything, except what started the fire...

- Suffocation (5th in men, 4th women): pillows come to mind here...

- Poisoning (6th in men, 5th women): the perpetrators in historical novels could get away with poisoning their victims, but nowadays only a handful of substances will not show up during an autopsy, and these few undetectable substances aren't readily available.

My perpetrators won't stop trying to hide their crimes, but they won't get away with it LOL

Enjoy the small blessings that life brings every day & stay safe!

JS

 

 

J. S. Marlo's Website

 

Sometimes Inspiration has Fur by Eileen O'Finlan

 

Click here for purchase information

Click here to visit Eileen O'Finlan's website

I am delighted to announce that my next book, All the Furs and Feathers: Book 1 in the Cat Tales series will be released by BWL Publishing on April 1, 2023. Unlike my first two books, Kelegeen and Erin's Children, All the Furs and Feathers is not historical fiction. Instead it is humorous animal fantasy.

If you wonder what brought on such a deviation from my normal writing fare, it was occasioned by an illness and two cats.

About five years ago as I was recovering from major surgery after a long bout of chronic diverticulitis, I was watching my two cats, Smokey and Autumn Amelia, interact with each other - always an entertaining show. I started wondering what they would be like if they were human. Before long, a story began to form in my mind. As with most stories, I couldn't let it linger there for very long and started writing it. I made Smokey, my sleek Russian Blue, an architect at Fluffington ArCATecture and Autumn Amelia, my food-loving calico Maine Coon, a chef and baker savant.

When Smokey lands the account of her dreams, her boss, Abigail Fluffington, says that if she's successful, she'll become a partner and inherit the business when Abigail retires. This may seem like a dream come true, but there's a problem. The land for the proposed park is adjacent to Rodent Way. Activist Jerome J. Rately quickly organizes R.A.T. (Rodent Action Task Force) and stages a protest.

Meanwhile, quirky, but loveable, Autumn Amelia is busy dishing up meals too delicious for any fur or feather to resist and wandering into the kitchens of local restaurants to improve their recipes.

Together with their furred and feathered friends, Smokey and Autumn Amelia must find a way to make the proposed park a reality if only they can figure out how to abolish the long-standing animosity between felines and rodents.

When I began, I was only writing this story to amuse myself and pass the time while I was stuck at home recuperating. Before long, I had several chapters and it was flowing in a way that nothing I've ever written before or since has ever done. Even after I was fully recovered and back to work, I kept returning to it. By then I was completely hooked. I was working on Erin's Children at the same time so I didn't give it my full attention, but once that manuscript was completed, I returned to it until I could finally write "The End." 

But that's when I realized it wasn't really the end. So many more ideas for the characters filled my head, I knew it would have to be a series.

If you're wondering how I picture the cats, here's my Smokey and Autumn Amelia as they might look in All the Furs and Feathers:

       

              Smokey                                                  Autumn Amelia

How the beauty of my surroundings contrasts with the darkness and evil in my story by Jay Lang

 

The Cove

Jay Lang

Click this link to purchase

http://bookswelove.net/lang-jay/

Chapter One

   My inspiration for writing this chapter was to utilize the beauty of my surroundings, the Pacific Northwest, and then contrast that beauty by writing a scene that has darkness and evil.

 Awoken by scuffling sounds on the path only feet from where I was lying, I watched motionless from the thick brush as the two men walked past. The moonlight illuminated the trail that led to the giant fir. I had seen them up here before, smoking pot and laughing. However, that night, there was a different energy between them. Neither one of them was talking when they stopped at the clearing. When the shorter man of the two leaned against the tree, he disappeared into the shadows. The taller man stood in front of the other, lit a smoke and kicked the dirt with his feet. 

The man in the shadows spoke, “Couldn’t you just talk to me at your place?”

“No, not about this,” answered the taller one.

“Well? Spit it out. I’ve got shit to do.”

The tall man pulled his cigarette out of his mouth and threw it to the ground, crushing it under his foot. I saw him reach under the back of his jacket and pull something out. As soon as his hand passed through the moonlight, I saw the shimmer off the long blade. 

“What the hell is that?” The man sprung from the shadows into the light. His face looked sallow and anxious. 

The taller man flicked his thumb across the blade and said, “You need to make a decision, Tony. Either you tell me where you put the cash, or I gut you like a pig.”

“You can’t be serious,” said the shorter man—Tony. “You’re threatening me after all I’ve done for you?”

“Time is wasting, and my patience is, too. Are you going to tell me or should we get on with this?”

“Ok. Ok. I’ll tell you. The cash is in the black case in my car, under the driver’s seat. I’ll take you to it.”

The tall man nodded slowly and smiled. “Thanks. That makes me very happy. There’s only one more thing I need to deal with first.”

“What’s that?”

The tall man lunged forward and sunk the long blade into Tony’s stomach.

I heard a deep groan as Tony slumped over. I gasped and quickly covered my mouth with my shaking hands. My heart was racing. I wanted to crawl out of my sleeping bag and run but I was too terrified to move.

“Please, you don’t have to do this,” pleaded Tony.

“You’re probably right,” the tall man said. “But to tell you the truth, I’m kind of enjoying it.”

“Listen to me, man. I’ll do whatever you want, ok? If it’s money you want, I know how to get a lot more of it, just let me go.”

The tall man seemed to be listening as he looked down at his victim. The hand that was holding the knife relaxed and fell to his side. After a few moments, he said, “Ok, Tony. You win. Let’s go get the money.” Then he reached out a hand and in the process of helping Tony up, I saw him grip the knife firmly.

In the ending to this chapter, I wanted to show the witness, a homeless man who had nothing, become an important key to the story. He now holds power.