The Prophecy

Chapter 1: Prologue

A/N: And we're off to the start of a story that is very near and dear to my heart. While this is just a glimpse at the story, I hope that you all enjoy! Updates are set to be every Sunday—just once a week. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think! If you'd like to chat with me more, my tumblr is @luminouslywriting and I'd love to see you in my inbox! Thanks!

January 1942

The winters of Georgia were never particularly friendly things.  Having lived her whole 25 years of life here, Winifred Allen had no such illusions of a white winter being a safe one.  No—winter here tended to be icy and when it got icy, people tended to be stupid on the road and then they usually died.  There was a reason why all of the schools were shut down going into the second week of January 1942—and it had nothing to do with the impending war efforts.

It seemed to Winnie that the only things that were still running in Buford were the newly appointed factory for munitions (which had been converted from their largest shoe factory to date) and the hospital that she had left not three hours ago. It had been a busy couple of weeks, with men pouring into register for the various branches of the military.

Her own younger brothers had all been a part of that.  There were five of them, all her boys, all practically raised by the young woman who felt old at heart. Truth be told, Winnie had been biding her time and she had been waiting.  The divorce had finalized back in November.  She hadn't been given a chance to breathe given the fact that her brothers all lived with her and had helped her fight for the house.  Then Pearl Harbor had been bombed and each one had signed up as quickly as they could.

Charlie had been the last to go, just an hour prior at the train station.  She had watched him leave with a firm expression on her face and the unflinching ability to hold all of her emotions tightly in her chest, as if she were caging them in.  Now that he was gone too, there was nothing holding her in Buford. 

She had no husband (anymore, anyway), no family left (she certainly didn't count Dalton Allen as her father and hadn't counted him as such since she was 14), and no reason to stay.

Winnie dodged a plate to the head and a fury rose up in her chest.  Dalton Allen had been a mean drunk since the ripe age of eight when her mother had gone and died while giving birth to Charlie.  Since then, Dalton had never held a steady job, never once helped with his own children, and never once been any sort of reliable.

She had come home from the train station to find him sitting on her porch.  Winnie had had half a mind to drive away and come back with the police, but she knew that a confrontation such as this was inevitable, as were most things with Dalton Allen.

"Don't walk away from me, Winifred!" His raspy snarl came out in more of a bark.  He was less and less human the older he got.

Moving quickly, Winnie reached into the cabinet and pulled out the shotgun that her brother Richie had insisted that she keep on hand.  After how things had ended with her ex-husband, they kept it loaded and easily accessible.  Winnie kept a mean expression of fury on her face as she steadied the gun at Dalton's sweaty head.

Almost immediately, his sunken eyes had widened in total fear.  Almost as quickly as the expression had appeared, a look of disbelief had wiped it away.  "You won't—you won't shoot me."

"No?" Winnie demanded, taking a step forward.  "I think I've got a pretty convincing story."

"Honey—"

Her button safety clicked off and Winnie sneered at the lecherous creature in front of her.  "I want you out of my damn house."

"Your house—"

"Yes.  My house.  That I bought.  With my money.  With no help from you."

"Now Winnie, let's be reasonable."

"I'm gonna count to three.  And if you're not gone, I'm shootin'."

"You—"

Winnie simply moved the gun and fired it to the right.  "One!"

Within seconds, Dalton Allen had shrunken back in total fear.  His eyes had flashed at the sound and he had turned tail to run.  She knew what he was.  She knew that he was a coward.  She knew that he had been brave once, but she had never known that man.  And right now, all Winnie Allen wanted to do was get him the hell out of her house so that she could get the hell out of her house.

After all, she had a train to Toccoa to catch. And a training position as a Doctor to fulfill.  Watching as he fled into the cold air, Winnie lowered the gun slowly and let out a heavy breath.  Her heart was still pounding rapidly and she could hear the rush of blood in her ears.  For a moment, it felt as though all of her limbs were weighed down in water. 

And then she moved, slowly reaching the door and locking it. 

"I've gotta get the hell outta here," Winnie breathed out tiredly.