Welcome back to Black Words-White Pages. This week's Featured Author post, we get the chance to read an excerpt from Of Vultures and Kings. And we are sharing chapter one today. So Scroll down and check it out!!
Of Vultures and Kings
by William Joseph
Published by CHBB
Publishing date: April 5, 2020
EXCERPT
Chapter 1
A New Home
A car is driving down a long country road following behind a large moving truck.
“Billy, are you excited?” a voice asked from the front seat.
No answer.
“Billy?” the voice called out again.
Billy pulled the headphones out of his ears. “Yes, Dad?”
“Are you excited about the move?”
“I guess so.”
Billy’s dad looked up, making eye contact with him through the rearview mirror. “I know you aren’t excited about being so far from your friends and going to a new school in a few months. You’ll make some new friends and I think you’re going to like your new school, too.”
Billy nodded in silence, continuing to stare out the window. The high sun shone through the tops of the tall trees they passed.
As the car continued to travel down the road, the trees suddenly came to an end, revealing a vast and open grassy landscape with cliffs far off in the distance and the ocean out on the horizon.
“Wow, would you look at that view,” Billy’s dad said.
Billy didn’t respond and placed his headphones back in his ears, watching the ocean’s waves crash into the cliffside off in the distance.
***
The drive went on for another hour before the moving truck turned off the highway. Billy’s dad continued to follow as they passed some houses and several large, open fields before turning down another road. The road was lined with trees, and as the truck and Billy’s dad continued, the pavement eventually turned to dirt. The truck slowed down when it reached the top of a hill and then made a left when the road opened into a small clearing. After the truck turned around, it came to a stop in front of a large house.
“We’re here.” Billy’s dad announced as he pulled into the small clearing and parked across from the truck.
Billy unbuckled his seatbelt and climbed out of the car. As he looked up at the house, he took his headphones out.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Billy’s dad complimented, rubbing the top of Billy’s head.
“It looks just like the pictures,” Billy said, now with some excitement in his voice.
Billy’s dad laughed while several guys got out of the moving truck and opened up the back.
“Here, Billy. Go open the door and go pick out your room. You get the first pick of the bedrooms,” Billy’s dad said, placing the key in his hand.
“Wait? Really? I get to pick first?”
“Yup!”
“Oh, man! I’m going to pick out the biggest room. No, no, the one with the best view.” Both Billy’s dad and the truck driver laughed.
“You can pick whatever room you want, son.”
“But, Dad, which one would Mom—”
Billy stopped mid-sentence and lowered his head, looking down at the key.
Billy’s dad let out a sigh before he knelt and put his hands on Billy’s shoulders.
Billy looked up and stared into his dad’s teary eyes. “I-I’m sorry, Dad.”
“Don’t be sorry. Never be sorry. Your mom passing took us both by surprise. That’s why we’re out here, to start over. It’s a new beginning for the both of us.”
“I just wish it never happened.”
“I wish that, too, but sometimes things happen and we’re in the wrong place at the wrong time. Your mom didn’t know when she was leaving work early that day that bad men would be coming into the bank to rob it. We don’t have to worry about that happening here. This is a good place, and it’s quiet. It’s safe here.”
Billy nodded, quickly wiping a tear away with his hand.
“You’re a brave boy. Never forget that. Your mom would be so proud of you right now. I’m proud of you.”
Billy and his dad hugged each other for a long moment before Billy’s dad looked over at the moving guys who were placing the furniture on the front lawn.
“Now, go open up the door so we can start moving our stuff inside and choose your room. I think your mom would pick the one with the best view, but the choice is yours!”
“Okay,” Billy said, excited once again, looking down at the key before running toward the front door.
Billy ran past the moving guys as they sat a sofa on the grass. He ran through the yard before coming to a stop on the front step. He looked up at the big, brown door before putting the key in the hole and turning it. With a loud click, the door unlocked. He turned the knob and pushed the door open, revealing the large living room on the other side. He took a few steps in and spun in circles until he got dizzy, falling onto the white carpet.
“This is awesome!” he said, letting out a chuckle while still feeling the effects of his spinning.
Once he was back to normal, he stood back up and began to explore the house. He noticed a staircase leading to a door beside it. He remembered from the pictures that there was a small room that his dad wanted to use for a study and office. He ignored the door and ran up the steps as fast as he could in search of his new room. At the top of the stairs was a hallway with two doors at either end. He knew there was one room on each side as well as a separate bathroom.
He ran down the hall one way and quickly opened the door to one of the rooms. He then walked around the emptiness for a minute, trying to imagine where he would place his toys, his bed, and everything else that he had before he ran out of the room and down the hall to the other side of the house. When he got to the other door, he held onto the doorknob for a moment, hesitant to open it.
He had seen some photos of what the view from the large window in the room looked like. He was hoping that seeing it in person for the first time would look just like it did in the pictures.
After taking a deep breath, he opened the door.
The room was filled with daylight. The window was on the opposite wall and he ran over to it to look outside.
It looked just like the pictures.
“Wow!” he shouted to himself.
Tall trees stretched as far as the eye could see. Above them, the bright, blue sky was full of big, puffy clouds.
He put his hands on his hips, gazing out of the window for a moment before he heard voices coming from downstairs.
After deciding the room with the view was the one that he wanted, he headed back downstairs to explore the rest of the house and to see what else was going on. He saw that the moving guys had placed a few pieces of the furniture against one wall at the back of the living room already while Billy’s dad was bringing in some smaller boxes.
He watched his dad before deciding to explore the last part of the house he hadn’t seen yet— the kitchen.
He quickly dashed to the opening, revealing the kitchen with a big window and glass doors. He first went over to the counters and jumped up and down, trying to look out of the window. The only thing he could see were the big trees out back. He then skipped over to the doors and placed his face on the glass to look outside.
The trees looked even taller now that he was on the first floor of the house.
He stared out at them and felt an overwhelming desire to go explore and play in the backyard.
He quickly ran back out into the living room, ducking under the couch the moving guys were carrying, and then ran through the open front door and exited into the front yard.
“Dad, Dad!” he shouted, looking around frantically.
“Yes, Billy?” his dad’s voice echoed from inside the moving truck.
Billy made his way over to the rear of the vehicle and jumped up onto the back of it, resting on his elbows.
“I’m going to pick the room with the view!” he decided.
“That’s great,” Billy’s dad said as he helped one of the moving guys lift a large desk and then carry it out of the truck and place it on the ground.
“Dad! Dad! I wanted to ask you something.”
Billy’s dad brushed his hands off on his pants, taking a moment to catch his breath.
“I’m swamped, Billy. What is it?”
“I wanted to know if I could go out back to explore and play in the woods?”
Billy’s dad looked out toward the trees.
“Eh, I’m not so sure about that. I haven’t had the chance to see what’s out there yet.”
“You said it was safe here.”
“You’re right, I did. There could be animals out there, though.”
“I’ll be careful. I promise.”
Billy’s dad sighed.
“Okay, but I don’t want you to go too far and I want you back before it starts to get dark out. If you hear me shout for you, you have to come right away.”
“I will, Dad. Thank you.”
“Be careful!” he shouted as Billy quickly took off, darting around the side of the house toward the back yard.
He dashed across the grass and came to a stop about a dozen yards from the entrance to the forest. He marveled at the trees, now towering over him like skyscrapers and the buildings back home. He peered out, both excited and curious about what he would find.
Just then, several squirrels scurried by and a couple of birds flew overhead, moving from tree to tree.
After a few moments of just staring at the many trees in front of him, he took a deep breath before taking his first step into the unknown.
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