After days of trying to figure out what storyline to work with for my assignment due on Monday, I decided upon one.

Here it is - I know this is really sad using my fan as a homeworked checker but maybe you'll enjoy it. It's supposed to just be the first "act" of a short story where the narrator, or hero, resigns him/herself to a struggle or challenge and a goal is set.

Please let me know if this is good or crap or a mix of both. It is only supposed to be a page long so that's why it's so short. I'll stop babbling now about it and just let you read it.

Thanks ahead of time, 'yall.

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The woman ran from the small house into the dark night. She thundered down the porch steps and across the sun scorched grass. Her soiled dress flapping around her legs as she leapt barefoot over the rocks and shrubs that hugged the front yard. As her feet hit the pavement of the highway she slowed a little, the soles of her feet not used to the hard surface. As she jogged to her brother�s house, the pounding of the pavement matched the throbbing of her head. Blood was trickling from her nose and she began to feel a bruise well upon her cheek. Her lungs burning with fury and fear, she continued on at her pace, though she knew he would not follow her. He was too drunk to follow her and he didn�t really care about her anyway. Sobs racked her body as she tore across the south Texas landscape.

As she came upon her brother�s house a dog barked dutifully but noticed who the visitor was and went back to it�s station on the porch. The boards under her feet creaked as she shifted back and forth in front of the door. She inhaled slightly and knocked. Heavy footsteps were heard approaching closer and closer to the door. The cicadas were screeching into the summer night.

The porch light flicked on to illuminate the thin woman, her sunken face and the tear tracks drawn on her dirt-smudged face. As her brother opened the door he gasped and quickly opened the screen door for her. As the screen door shut with a slap she began to sob and speak a stream of unintelligible words very quickly. She felt herself being led across the room and her body sunk into a couch.

�Calm down, sister. Shhhh. Calm down. What happened?� her brother asked. He looked at the crown of her tiny head, her wavy hair hanging down grazing her lap and saw tears splashing on the tiny hands that were wringing themselves.

A ragged breath came out of her and she began to speak, �He�came home drunk and angry�told me I was a terrible wife�started beating me.� Her nose squeaked a little as she inhaled deeply. She heard a teakettle whistling loudly in the kitchen. Her sister-in-law, Kay, came into the room with a worried look and a warm, damp towel and began to wipe the tears and blood from her face. Like a child, she let her do it.

Wayne put his large, calloused hand on his little sister�s back and rubbed softly. He looked at his wife, who was holding the chin of her sister-in-law as she wiped the unending flow of tears from her face, and nodded very slightly. The large man quickly and quietly grazed the top of his sisters� head with his hand and rested it on the back of her little skull. He looked her in the eyes and said, �you stay here with Kay and the kids tonight � everything will be better in the morning.�

�But what if he comes looking for me?�

�Don�t worry, sister, he won�t � get some rest� as he rose from the couch. Kay nodded in agreement and moved to lay the frightened woman down on the couch as her husband spoke, �Kay, will you look after Ruby � I�m gonna� go talk to some folks in town and see what can be done about this�.

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