Excerpt from No Place Like Home

The advantage of doing NaNoWriMo and NaBloPoMo at the same time?? I can use parts of my novel on my blog when I can't think of (or just don't have time, which is the case today..) anything else to blog! This is actually kind of 'part of the story that I accidentally left out' from my runaway story.. But this is the fictional version from my novel. Enjoy..


Suddenly, Katy heard Tina let out a scream behind her. She jerked backwards as Tina grabbed hold of Katy's back pack. Katy fell on to the path, reaching out and grasping for the branches and roots jutting out of the hill side to her left. Tina dangled, holding desperately on to Katy's back pack, her feet swinging only inches above the water. Kyle and Star spun around to see what all the commotion was about and Star stood watching helplessly as Kyle grabbed on to Katy's arm and kept the girls from slipping into the rushing river below. Katy stared up at him with panic in her eyes and clung to his wrist with one hand and a tree branch that she had managed to snag with the other when she fell. Tina whimpered and struggled below her.

“Oh God..” cried Tina, “I'm going to die..” She kicked and swung her feet wildly trying to gain her footing in the slippery hill side.

Kyle looked intently into Katy's eyes and said, “It's okay. I've got you Katy.. You're okay.”

“D-don't let go..” pleaded Katy. “Don't let go of me.”

“I'm not letting go,” Kyle assured her. “I won't let you fall.”

Tina kicked hard and jammed her foot into the hillside. Katy started to slip a little as Tina started to try and pull herself up.

“Oh no..” Katy panicked. “I can't hold on.. I'm going to fall.”

“No, you won't, I've got you,” said Kyle. He planted his feet firmly and reached his free arm down under her left arm that was quickly losing its grip on the tree branch. “Now, hold on to me. I can't get a good grip on you, the plastic bag is making my hand slip..”

Katy clung to him with all her strength and pulled as Tina reached her arms around Katy's waist. Once Tina had a good grip under Katy's poncho, Katy pulled her legs up onto the path and
Kyle wrapped his other arm around her. He held tight as Tina scrambled up on to the path behind Katy. As she did the path started to give way underneath her feet and she grabbed at the tree beside her. She just barely balanced herself on a root of the tree as the mud washed away underneath her.

Katy struggled to her feet and squeezed her arms tightly around Kyle. He reached his hand out behind her and helped Tina back on to the path.

“Oh my God.. oh my God.. oh my God..” Katy whispered in Kyle's ear.

“It's okay, Katy,” Kyle reassured her. “You're okay now. I've got you.”

“Holy shit!” Star blurted out. “That was intense.. Tina? You okay, girl?”

“Yeah.. I.. I'm okay.” Tina said, gasping and shaking. Mud was slathered all over her pants and her wet hair stuck to her face. She looked as if someone had picked her up by her hands and slapped her repeatedly against the muddy hill side. She crossed her arms over her chest and rubbed her hands up and down the sleeves of her jacket as she shivered.

Kyle gently pried Katy's arms from around his neck and she stood staring at him with eyes filled with panic. “Hey.. you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah.. I.. no.. I mean..” Katy stammered as she tried to process all that had just happened. “Oh God.. I'm so sorry.” she said finally.

“What?? Why are you sorry? You don't need to be sorry.” answered Kyle.

Katy didn't know how to feel. She was relieved to be alive and on solid ground but suddenly felt horribly guilty as she realized that Tina was mere inches from drowning in the river and all she had thought at the time was 'Let go of me!'.. What kind of friend am I??

“I.. I want to go home..” Katy whispered.