A Scholar's Fury: The Road to Justice

ment, his gaze sweepin

in mud, my face brui

m the few times he might have seen m

re to himself than to me, "Don't look much like the Sher

on the

name in vain, girl, folks 'roun

ed and walked away, disappe

e extinguished, leaving

nd re

and

didn' t look

apped, assaulted, and w

al, based on my current, horrific a

rushed, my clothes clean, even if t

ouldn' t have i

was a cr

nd the younger one, dragg

en worse than the

unwashed bodies, rotting food, and something

l, windowless room at the back,

ng my already bruised hip

ut, and I heard a b

ped me, thick a

there, stunned, the impac

and undiluted, fl

ing to be t

m light filtering under the

against somethin

bout two feet long, s

eap

ingers closing aro

r even Brenda, came through th

n, and pressed myself against the wall b

ater, I heard f

t scrap

and Cletus' s silhoue

e started, then stopped,

pped i

s his m

hair leg with all my might

rprise and pain,

head, but he ducked, and the w

h!" he roared, c

was quicker, fueled by

lintered end to

new respect, or mayb

expecting

he younger son, whose name I now h

shocked as they saw me, wild-eyed an

ngled mess, mud streaking my face and cl

ly looke

o

y but firm, "I am not going to be you

he chair le

ff John' s granddaughter, he might not have believed

but maybe, just maybe, it w

looked at

seemed momen

rubbing his rib

nger one, lo

t if she is? What if the

n his voic

ut news, especially bad news involving

in, but the flicker of unce

d, but her voice was a little

ing, crazy

seed was

but of who I might be, of w

narrowed with a new

ast me, towards the only other thing

abbed one, a heavy burlap sa

smelling of dirt and somet

hair leg wildly, but I was

d me, Cletus and Je

g clattered

ling, out of the small room, throu

r out to the old shed, tie her up go

sh

ructure at the edge of the woods whe

n more isolated

eart

that would be too risky if there was eve

ke sure I couldn't escape

t the back door, I heard a vehic

engine, get

art l

aving second though

rs froze,

d, "Get her

nd a pile of junk, Cletus' s hand clamp

, but he wa

hicle stop near the

You home? It's Billy, Billy Coulte

ll

usin

tty' s sis

as h

as h