The Gate

By A.L. Lester

It's 1918, and Matty returns home to the family farm from the trenches only to find his brother Arthur dying of an unknown illness. The local doctor thinks it might be cancer, but Matty becomes convinced it's connected to the mysterious books his brother has left strewn around the house.

Matty confides his suspicions in his friend Rob, a hired hand on the farm and potential lover. Rob has found something that looks like a gate of some kind, something Arthur referenced in his papers which may rest at the heart of his illness. But a gate to where?

This short story introduces the world and characters in A.L. Lester's novel, Lost in Time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Dec 23, 2017
• ISBN: 9781634865661

A.L. Lester

Writer of queer, paranormal, historical, romantic suspense. Lives in the South West of England with Mr AL and two children. Likes gardening but doesn't really have time or energy. Not musical. Doesn't much like telly. Non-binary. Chronically disabled. Has tedious fits.Instagram, tiktok, fb: CogentHippoMastodon: @[e-mail]

Book preview

The Gate

By A.L. Lester

Published by JMS Books LLC

Visit jms-books.com for more information.

Copyright 2017 A.L. Lester

ISBN 9781634865661

Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com

Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

All rights reserved.

WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.

This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It may contain sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which might be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published in the United States of America.

* * * *

The Gate

By A.L. Lester

The road unfolded in front of the car as it ate up the miles in the night. Way above he could see the high arch of the night sky, as distant and cold and passionless as an afterlife he didn’t believe in. Arthur was dead. Finally gone. After all these weeks, dragging from hour to hour, fighting for every last breath, he’d finally let go.

Matty didn’t know what to do with himself, so he drove. Not to anything or from anything, just an instinctive urge to keep moving. Before long he’d have to turn the car round and go back, back to the farmhouse—back to Arthur’s cooling body, life drained and dignity returned. Not quite yet though.

Six weeks ago, he’d finally come back from France to find his brother sick. There had been no warning of it in Arthur’s letters. Just the usual cheerful news about the neighbours and the cousins and the titbits about the grass in the top field starting to grow, , now spring looked like it was coming in and they were thinking about sharing a