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First 3 Chapters of my new Middle Grade Fiction by Tommy Batchelor
Monday, November 8, 2010
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This is the first three chapters of my first Middle Grade Fiction Novel. "Lost on Spirit River" is Book One of a Spirit River Trilogy. Please leave comments!!
Chapter 1
1709
Smoke from the village fires lifted though the trees,
and light winds steered it to the river. Fog then intertwined
with the smoke, pushing it up out of the valley. The sun
was rising out of the east; a new day was dawning, and
villagers were up early, packing the last of their personal
belongings, planning to leave their land.
Chitto “the brave,” at thirteen summers old, and
his cousin, Miakoda “power of the moon,” at eleven
summers, were the last to leave the cold waters, their clay
pots flowing to the brim with red river clay while their
dog “Wolf” followed close behind on their heels.
As the two children rushed to the edge of the opening
to the “Spirit River Cave,” the Panther Clan warriors
labored to set huge stones into place, securing them with
red river clay; once dried, it would seal the stones in place
for a very long time.
Once they positioned the last stone in place, the
opening is closed; the job completed, it was time to leave
the home village.
Chitto and Miakoda knew the ceremonial spirit river
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would always flow at the center of Mother Earth, which
guarded the totem of life, and that the great hunter, the
panther’s spirit, would guard the caves around the waters.
Ancestor shadow warriors hid within the trees at the
hidden cave entrance. If anyone were fortunate enough
to find his or her way to the healing waters river, no one
would break the powerful spirit of the panther.
The children broke into a run to catch up to the
villagers, who were leaving at a fast pace. Before crossing
the river, Chitto and Miakoda turned to where the opening
was no more; someday, an ancestor of the clan would
defeat the mighty panther at the healing waters, and the
panther would become their guide to the ever-secret totem
of life.
Winds howled through the forest trees, and dark
clouds tumbled across the sky, blocking out the last
rays of sunlight. As the three compatriots crossed the
icy Thronateeska River, the cold penetrated their thin
clothing, and a heavy snow began to fall…
7
Dec. 2009
“Don’t be too long getting the Christmas tree,”
Grandpa shouted, “and watch out for the ancient ones.”
As he laughed, his laughter followed the children out the
doors of the cabin, who ran along the path leading them
to the river’s edge and into the forest.
Shadows moved as smoke through the trees…
8
Chapter 2
The Tree
The weather report said something about snow
coming in, but it sure didn’t snow much - if ever - in
South Georgia. Grandpa lived along the banks of the Flint
River, and it had never snowed there at Christmas. In fact,
he could only recall it snowing there only once in the last
thirty years.
As far back as anyone could remember, Grandpa had
lived in that little cabin, just him and his beagle, ever since
Grandmother had passed away some years ago. Grandpa
sure loved that old place, and when his time came, he’d
rest next to Grandma on the hillside, in the shadows of the
giant white oak trees in the small family burial plot that
goes back more than three hundred years.
Grandpa was born and raised in that same cabin by
his parents. His grandparents bought the five hundred
acres of land from his mom’s family in the mid 1880’s,
and at one time they owned thousands of acres and were
married into the Lower Creek Indians. Grandpa and
Grandma continued the tradition, raising a family of six
children right on the river, each of whom chose their own
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life and careers away from the family land. All that is,
except one son, Tom, who with his daughter, Kathryn,
lived close enough to help his father.
The weather seemed perfect for the end of December;
the sky was blue with just a few stray clouds on the
northwest horizon, and it looked and felt like any other
day in the Deep South. A light, cool breeze blew out of
the northwest.
Grandpa’s aging companion was a purebred, tricolored
beagle named Sally. She was close to the age of
seventy in human years, and everywhere Grandpa went,
Sally was sure to follow. Today, she’s going with the kids
to cut down a Christmas tree, for Christmas is in only two
days.
Grandma sure loved Christmas, so Grandpa kept her
spirit alive though the holidays each year. As always, the
rest of the family would be joining him at the cabin on
Christmas Eve to celebrate the joyous season together.
Tony could have gone up to get the tree without
anyone’s help – especially that of a little girl! He’s never
spent much time with his cousin Kathryn; He only knew
that she was eleven years old with short-cropped blond
hair and very good at gymnastics. Kathryn’s smart, too;
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she makes straight A’s and has tons of friends.
Kathryn lived close to Grandpa, and they spent a lot
of time exploring the river and the land that surrounds the
home.
At age thirteen, Tony is the oldest of the group -
unless you count the old dog. He’s of average height for a
young boy his age, and he has short, dark red hair.
Living in a nice, large brick home in a middleclass
neighborhood in Atlanta, Tony isn’t what you’d typically
call “country;” he’s enrolled in one of the best schools in
the area, makes the Honor Roll each semester, and plays
forward on the school’s soccer team.
One day, Tony arrived home from school and found
that his dad had come home during the day, packed up his
belongings, and left before he got home. His mom tried
to explain that they’d had a falling out and just couldn’t
live together without getting into an argument; even the
slightest little things upset them.
It had been his father’s idea to leave and find a new
place to live; they had tried to work things out, but it was
best that way. She tried to reassure Tony, though, that it
had nothing to do with him; they both still loved him and
wanted him to continue to have the best out of life.
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Ever since that day, life has gone downhill for Tony.
He blamed the separation on himself, his grades started
to drop, and he lost his position on the soccer team. He
also began getting into fights at school, his foul attitude
eventually chased his friends away, and he decided he
didn’t need anyone’s help with anything or at anytime.
Since Christmas Break was coming, Tony’s Mom
thought it would be a great time to get out of the city;
Grandpa would keep him busy with chores so he didn’t
have time to think about any of his problems back home.
Today, the kids have a mission: to find and bring the
perfect Christmas tree back to Grandpa’s cabin.
The two kids and the dog continued walking beside
the river without saying a word. Tony dressed in blue
jeans, a long sleeve cotton shirt, and a lightweight jacket.
Kathryn dressed almost the same, but she had on a thicker
shirt with a cool weather jacket and had stolen Grandpa’s
hat off his balding head as they left the cabin, using it to
keep the hair out of her eyes.
After the children had walked nearly a half-mile
along the rushing water’s edge, the path broke out of the
tall pines covered with Spanish moss, which hung a foot
above their heads. They finally make it to a small clearing,
12
which held about twelve nice cedar trees. Each one was at
least four feet tall, some even as high as six feet.
“This looks like the place Grandpa told us to look
for a tree,” said Tony.
“Yes, this is it. Grandpa and I have been coming
here for the last two years,” Kathryn replied. “It has some
of the best Christmas trees on the river.”
The kids began sizing up the cedar trees, looking
for only the best for Grandpa’s Christmas. While Sally
was sniffing out the trees, she got excited as she caught
the scent of a swamp rabbit nearby. She was dismayed,
though, to find that she couldn’t get her old legs moving
fast enough; age had stopped her from what she loved
best: chasing rabbits. Settling for a spot in the sun, Sally
turned around three times and laid down to nap as she
waited for the pair of children to decide on a tree.
Busy conducting their search, neither Tony nor
Kathryn noticed a small shift in the wind out of the north,
nor did they detect that the temperature slowly fell a
couple degrees.
“This one is the perfect one, don’t you think Tony?”
suggested Kathryn.
“I don’t like it,” Tony shot back at her, not even
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turning back to look at the tree.
“It’s starting to get cooler, and all I have with me is
this light jacket,” Kathryn said, pulling her jacket tighter
around her.
“Well, you shouldn’t have come with me. I don’t
need your help,” Tony said quickly, heading between the
trees.
Hugging herself to keep warm, Kathryn told him,
“Grandpa asked me to come with you; it wasn’t my idea.
Besides, why are you so angry at everyone all the time?”
“I’m not,” she heard him reply through the trees.
“Yes, you are. Quit barking at me. I didn’t do
anything to you, and neither did anyone else. Mr. High-
And-Mighty doesn’t need anybody’s help,” she scolded
him.
“Hey, why don’t you and the old dog just go back to
the house? I’ll be along after I get the tree,” he snapped
back.
“No, we’ll get the tree together; we promised
Grandpa,” Kathryn answered firmly.
Tony suddenly felt a chill, noticing that the wind
had picked up some speed. He was going to suggest that
they cut down the same tree, the one that Kathryn had
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suggested; however, he didn’t need anyone’s help to pick
out a stupid Christmas Tree. Since she had said it first,
Tony decided to find another one to cut down.
As he continued walking farther downriver, he said,
“Let’s go,” almost as a command.
“Go where? We have to get this tree cut down and
get back to Grandpa’s before it gets dark,” Kathryn yelled,
realizing that Tony was out of sight.
“I’m going downriver; our Grandpa needs a better
tree than any of these mini trees,” he called back from
somewhere ahead.
“It’s not about his needs. It’s about you and you
only,” Kathryn shot back at him.
“You want the final say in everything.”
“I’m leaving! Bye, bye!” she heard one last time.
Kathryn knew they needed to start back to the house;
nevertheless, they had come this far together, and they
would return together - no matter how much she hated her
cousin at that moment.
“Come on, Sally; let’s follow the leader. We can’t
let the city boy get in trouble,” she said, coaxing the dog
to follow.
At the sound of her name, Sally rolled over to stand
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on her four short legs, then followed closely beside
Kathryn.
In nature, the animal world has a built-in sense for
bad weather; forest animals had started to disappear into
the thickest part of the forest for protection, and Sally
could feel it too: something bad was on the way!
Shadows shifted within the trees…
16
Chapter 3
River Crossing
At the house, Grandpa was on the roof, trying to
finish the decorations. While he strung lights up across the
top of the porch, every few minutes he’d look down river,
then glance down at his watch. Where are the kids? They
should have returned with a tree by now, he wondered.
Having strung up several thousand lights around the
house since the kids left earlier that day, Grandpa was
getting tired and needed their help to finish the job.
Around the corner of the house, he noticed the sound
of a car pulling up the gravel drive. As it stopped in front
of the house, a car door slammed shut, and Tony’s mom
appeared around the corner.
He shouted down to her, “Up here, Emily!”
“Hey, Pop! The wind’s going to blow you off the
roof if you don’t get down. Where’s your heavy coat?
You’ll catch a cold.”
“Thanks. It’s good to see you too, daughter. Heard
you got a new job - how is it?”
“It’s going good. I really like it a lot; the people I
work for are wonderful. It sure pays better. Where are
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Tony and Kathryn?”
“They’ve gone downriver to get a tree! You remember
the spot we used to go when you and your brothers were
small each Christmas Eve to pick out a tree? I hope they
don’t go any farther; Kathryn doesn’t know that area past
the trees.”
“Have you heard the news? There’s a blizzard
headed this way. It’s going to be bad, Dad!”
“Did hear a little something about a storm...can’t
get too much news out here in the middle of nowhere;
snowstorms don’t make it down this far south. Would you
change clothes and help me get the rest of the lights up?”
“Why?”
“We’ll use the lights like a signal fire; if it gets much
later, the kids can see the glow and follow the lights
home,” Grandpa said. “We’ll keep the lights on all night
if we need to - but I’m sure they’ll be along shortly.”
“Should we go look for them?”
“Let’s get the last of the lights up. We’ll get them
turned on, then we can walk a little way downriver and
see if we can spot them.
They may come home in another direction, so we
don’t need to be gone too long.”
18
-------------------------------------------
Twenty minutes later, the temperature had fallen
another five degrees, and the wind had gotten strong
enough to bend the tops of the trees along the shore of
the river, throwing up old dead leaves and grasses that
whirled around the kids’ feet like mini tornadoes.
The trio came upon a section of river where the space
between the shores was about six or seven feet across. The
water level was less than two feet deep, and three large
stones stuck out of the water, providing enough room for
them to cross over to the other side.
“Let’s cross here,” said Tony.
“Tony, we don’t need to cross the river. There are
enough trees on this side of the river. Time is running out,
and the weather is getting worse.”
“See there on the other side? It’s a break in the
trees, and I see some nice trees that would make a great
Christmas Tree,” he said, continuing to walk without
looking at her. “You and the old dog stay here, then.”
“I don’t like this. We’d better get back in a hurry,”
Kathryn said, looking toward the sky.
“We’ll make this a quick trip across the river, cut
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the tree down, and jump back across. Then we’ll run for
home.”
“You’ll have to carry the dog across.”
“OK, let’s go! Come on old dog.” Throwing Sally
up in his arms, Tony realized that she was heavier than
she looked. “No more biscuits under the table for you,”
he quipped.
Sliding down to the first rock was the easy part; it
was when they made it past the second stone and tried to
get to the third one that the mistake was made. Misplacing
his footing against the rock, Tony slipped and fell to his
knees, splashing them both with river water. Getting his
footing back under him, though, he crossed safely to the
other side. Unlike Tony, Kathryn crossed over the rocks
in no time at all; growing up every summer on the river
with Grandpa, she’d learned the tricks of the river from
him, along with a few survival skills.
Tony wondered what other things Grandpa had taught
her. Would he teach him the ways of the river, too? Would
he be willing to spend the time to share his knowledge of
the wildness?
No, probably not! He thought. He doesn’t care -
just like my dad. Tony dismissed the thought and started
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toward the clear-cut area, which was about 200 yards
from where they’d crossed the river. He moved slowly
through the trees, when she spoke up!
“Which one do you want? Please, pick one fast,”
Kathryn said, leaning behind a large pine tree to keep the
cold wind off her.
Together, they looked through the trees to find the
best one to cut down for their family celebration; the
longer it took, the more Kathryn’s impatience grew.
“It’s your choice. I’m not going to say a word - just
cut one down fast,” Kathryn said.
“I’ll get this one,” Tony said, kneeling down on one
knee and clearing out around the trunk so he could get a
cleaner cut. Kathryn handed him the small folding saw,
and in less than ten minutes the tree was down on the
ground. She didn’t want to say it out loud, but it was an
excellent tree for Christmas; Tony had done quite well.
Laying the saw behind him, Tony rose to his feet,
grabbed a hold of the tree, and started back toward the
river. Kathryn and Sally followed close behind him.
Suddenly, the children stopped and looked skyward as
one, and as if on cue, the trio heard the sound of the wind
running through the forest trees; it rose five, ten, twenty
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miles an hour in less than five seconds.
Then, as dark clouds shut out the last patch of blue
sky, snowflakes the size of half-dollars began to fall...
