Winter Went | #2 Winter Series

Chapter 6

|| Josh ||

The sky is bright but clouded over, sending a chilly wind that drives into his bones. He grips Maisie's hand tightly, knowing what will happen if he lets go. Even he knows how she has a habit of wandering off by herself, wrapped up in her own mind, mumbling incoherently to herself.

He grabs onto her the way he saw her sister do it. Amelia. He sighs but he refuses to think about her. She was a one-off. A mission he had to accomplish. And he did. He did what Sarah asked of him.

They wait at the bus stop, brains aching, bodies shivering. He has the last few coins in his pocket, the ones that will only allow him to get on the bus. After that, he'll have no money left.

But he knows where he's going. Sarah left him a set of instructions that he replays to himself. Prisons, he thinks. Find the prison.

The bus comes, rumbling forward until it pulls to a stop in front of them. The doors swing open and he pushes Maisie first, not wanting her to bolt.

Reluctantly, he lets go of the few precious coins in his back pocket. The driver takes them without comment and ushers them onto the bus. His throat swells up at this as he remembers when he and Amelia got on a bus together, the way he swung in after she'd picked a seat. The way she'd looked at him, examining his face, eyes wide in awe and admiration.

He shakes his head and grits his teeth, knowing that letting memories resurface will do him no good.

He propels Maisie to a seat now, making sure she's by the window so that she won't have a crazy notion to run when the bus stops again. She seems to sense this—as thick as he thinks she is, he knows there must be a brain in there somewhere—and shifts uncomfortably in her seat.

"Settle down," he tells her. "It might be a long ride."

He knows exactly how many stops it will take. He knows at which stop to get off. He knows what to look for, what to say because Sarah explained, shoved a bit of paper into his hand before the tentpole came crashing onto her head again.

The bus moves and he watches the world go by, wondering just how many lives he changed. Just by one simple storm, he ruined things, destroyed homes, families.

Only that it's not ruin, he thinks to himself, it's just duty.

Indeed. It's his duty. Joshua Middleton who observes and thinks and plans has a duty.

He lets his mind wander after a while until the woman's recorded voice prompts him that it's their next stop. As the bus slows to a halt, he hoists his bag onto his back, grabs Maisie's hand, and exits the bus.

He begins walking, Maisie trotting along beside him. As he speed-walks, he yanks out the piece of paper from his pocket. The one Sarah gave to him when her brain was being caved in.

Once you get off the bus, turn right, cross the road and head straight. It will come into view.

He follows the instructions diligently, refusing to read the rest of the page, wanting to do things one step at a time.

And when he turns right, crosses the road and heads straight, he knows it's what he's looking for. Because written on a plaque in front of him reads,

Windfell's Prison for the Winter-Gained.

He sighs in relief. He's arrived. At last.

Hiya! I have the next few chapters written but then after that I have no clue where the story should go. So, idk, but this book may (and it's only a 'may') be on hold for a while.

Soree, but enjoy the next few chapters while you can. A xx