Patricia Gunn Hall

The following is an excerpt from my fifth novel. Eighteen-year-old Abigail and David, her eight-year-old brother find themselves alone in the wilderness. She struggles with panic attacks, while clinging to her faith. Her prayer is answered in a bittersweet way, but God was working on her future long before she prayed about it. Be Strong and Courageous is now available on Barnes and Nobel.

Abigail and Keith heard David’s scream and Drifter’s wild barking and growls. She watched in horror as Keith ran for the door. “Jesus! Please! Please help him,” she prayed before being able to move her legs.

Keith intercepted David’s flight of terror. He lifted him into his arms, while his eyes scanned the area for danger. Drifter was trying to climb up his leg. “What’s wrong Little Bro? What scared you?”

“Mr. Clark’s ghost is at the pond! He spoke to me. It scared Drifter, too.”

“Who’s Mr. Clark?”

“You buried him at the wagon, but he followed us.”

“Now David . . . you know that’s . . .” Keith stopped talking and watched a shaggy burro coming from behind the bushes, with a shaggy old man holding onto the pommel of the small saddle.

“Look behind you, Davy. Is that what you saw at the pond?”

David stiffened in his arms. “Yes!”

“That’s not a ghost, Davy. That’s my friend, Elias Scott. He’s a mountain man. That donkey’s his pet. Like Drifter and Shadow.”

As if to reaffirm Keith’s words, the donkey’s excited “Eeee-aw! Eeee-aw! Eee-aw-aw!” filled the air. David’s eyes were wide with wonder, as he looked at the pair coming toward them. “Really? He’s . . . your friend?”

“Yes . . . he is a sight to see, but he’s harmless.”

Abigail ran up to them. “David what’s wrong?”

“I thought Keith’s friend was Mr. Clark.”

“You what?”

“Sis, he looks like Mr. Clark and he smells dead.”

Keith placed David on the ground beside Abigail. She was holding Drifter, because he had run to meet her. “Your friend doesn’t look well, Keith. Is that a skunk I smell?”

Turning to look at Elias, who had stopped to stare at them, Keith said, “What’s wrong man?”

“A polecat done gone and bit me, boy. There was a stench of ‘em in a rotted tree, that I wanted for firewood. Hydrophobia gonna do me in. I already feel it killing me.”

“What? Scotty! How long ago?”

“Two days ago. I’ve been hurrying along. Trying to get Pearl here to you. I’d hate to see her alone out here on the mountain. Boy, will you care for her?”

“You know very well that I will, but first let’s take care of you.”

“Abby, will you get some soap and a bucket of ashes for me? Davy, bring them to the creek, along with a towel, my razor, and some scissors.”

David slowly backed away, with Drifter in his arms. His eyes were wide. “Where we bathed last night?” he whispered.

Keith chuckled. “Yes. I’m going to soap Scotty down and put ashes all over him, before I wash him down.”

“You can count on me, Bro.”

“I know that I can. Let’s be quick about it. Abby needs to treat the bite.”

“I’ll get everything ready,” she said.

Abigail hurried after David and Drifter. Elias watched them for a minute, before looking at Keith. “The boy called you Bro. Is he kin?”

“My wife’s brother. I call him Little Bro. Are you going to let me give you a bath?”

“You’re married now?”