How The Allies of Old began: (Novella) BORN Chapter Twelve "Grassroots!"

Painting in Acrylic by @therealpaul

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6

Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9

Chapter 10 Chapter 11

For those of you who missed the post of the release, I briefly explained how the series began as an idea for a Young Adult novel, and that I had in fact written what amounts to a novella taking place the summer before REBORN begins, and I decided to release it here on steemit.

BORN

Chapter Twelve

Anna pulled up the long driveway to the Next Door camping area and felt her stomach do a little flip as she spotted Austin’s SUV. She parked alongside it and practically tripped in her haste to get out of the car.

Macey walked around the car smiling from ear to ear. “This is going to be totally freaking awesome!” She said, pointing at three large canopies that had been set up in the central area of their adjoining campsites.

There were three tables set up beneath it along with a large circle of chairs; and lining the outside perimeter was an assortment of coolers of all shapes and sizes. The smell of barbecue drifted on the air and Anna caught sight of Nate’s cousin, Tyler, standing by a grill off to the left tending lines of hamburgers and hotdogs. He had a remarkable resemblance to his cousin, both of them brown haired and green eyed with dimples in their right cheeks. Not particularly tall or built, but still good-looking in a boy-next-door kind of way.

Holly pulled in next to Anna’s car and she, Jenna, and Marina got out, all wearing similar grins of excitement. Jess was already on the grounds somewhere with Nate, and Jenna commented that she would probably be lonely in the tent she was supposed to be sharing with her sister this weekend. They all snickered as they unloaded their own tents, setting them up in a circle to the right of the canopies. When they were finished assembling Anna made her way to the canopies and frowned at the empty chairs. The bands wouldn’t be starting for another two hours…“Hey Ty, where’s everyone else?” She asked.

Tyler pointed his spatula towards the side entrance to the festival. “Jess and a couple other girls dragged the guys through the gate to take 'before' pictures.”

Anna snickered, leave it to Jess. She wondered what other girls he meant but was suddenly afraid to ask. As far as she knew the six of them were the only girls who were technically camping in this spot. Most of their classmates had opted for on-site camping, which she personally felt was a mistake. The sites inside the gates were too open and afforded no shade. She opened her mouth to ask Tyler about Austin, then shut it again. She was not ready to hear…

“So Austin with Gina huh? I didn’t see that one coming,” Ty said casually.

Her stomach sank into her feet. She tried to hide her expression but wasn’t quick enough.

Tyler raised an eyebrow. “Shit Anna, if that’s the way it is, I’d suggest you clue him in.”

She shifted uncomfortably, “The way what is?”

He shook his head slightly and pointed his spatula in the direction of the path. Her stomach fluttered as she caught sight of Austin heading toward them.

His gaze landed on her as he walked under the canopy and she opened her mouth to greet him but was interrupted by a shrill giggle as Gina bounded to his side, lacing her arm through his.

“Hi Anna,” she said sweetly.

She nodded at her new arch nemesis, her throat suddenly too tight. She ducked out from under the canopy and took a deep breath. Holy shit, she thought in disbelief, am I actually going to cry? She hadn’t cried since the third week after her mother’s death, yet here she was with a lump in her throat the size of an orange, her eyelids burning.

“Anna?” Macey walked up to her, alarm filling her face. “Anna what’s wrong?” She exclaimed.

She shook her head, unable to respond and dashed over to her tent flinging herself inside and zipping it shut behind her. Get a hold of yourself, she commanded as she knelt on her foam mattress, her hands curled into fists at her side. Her lip trembled and she bit down on it.

A moment later she heard the zipper opening and thought it was Macey until she saw the large hand pulling aside the flap. Austin crawled through the entrance and she scurried away from him, grabbing a pillow and squeezing it to her chest like a shield.

She kept her eyes on the pillow, afraid that if she looked directly at him she would fall apart.

Buy Your copy of The Allies of Old: Reborn HERE-

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=linnet+mclaughlin