Brothers in the Storm

By Michelle McMillen

Jack and Kioshi are both new in town. Neither one is really fitting in. They meet at last when Kioshi is nearly hit by a car that's out of control. Jack's scream to "Look out!" saves Kioshi's life. This begins a new friendship and ultimately they find themselves in an adventure neither one ever expected. Lost in a blizzard they must find shelter or they will die. Join Jack and Kioshi as they travel through a mysterious world where time changes and the unexpected becomes reality!

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 15, 2011
• ISBN: 9781467025195

Michelle McMillen

Mrs. McMillen lives in the Rocky Mountains with her family and their "fearsome four-legged furry friends." She is an advocate of children and children's rights and is currently involved in the creation of a creative arts school for children. Mrs. McMillen wishes to give a very special "Thank You" to Brenda Brandson for her stories about Inukshuk and life in Canada. Mrs. McMillen sends deep thanks to all the wonderful people who contributed to this adventure; Especially her wonderful husband, her mother, as well as Amy E., Tami Urbanek, Dan, all of her friends whose love and interest supported this work, and her teachers Jonah and Hossca! "Wisdom begins in Wonder." ~ Socrates

Book preview

Brothers

In The Storm

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MICHELLE MCMILLEN

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AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

http://www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2012 Michelle McMillen. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 5/21/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4670-2518-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4670-2519-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011916862

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For Our Wonderful Son, Ty, who is unimaginably brilliant wise and kind.

And with special thanks to David. Your love and heart and light kept me going through all those years of losing loved ones, despite the challenges. You gave me the chance to heal and it has made all the difference … Thank you

It was an early storm, even for Upper Canada.

Kioshi walked with his head down, trying not to get too wet. The snow was coming down pretty hard. All he wanted was to get where home was now. He knew his parents would be late from work so he was going home to an empty house. An empty new home that held no meaning for him. His shoulders felt heavy knowing that no one at his new school was very friendly which made him feel even more alone. His thoughts wandered back to his life in Japan where, until recently, he had lived with his grandparents. His spirits lifted at the thought of them. If he concentrated, he could smell his grandmother’s incredible cooking and hear the breeze rustle through the woods nearby, gently swaying the chimes on the back of the house. He held back a tear as he thought of his grandparents. Of course he was happy to be back with his parents, but it just wasn’t the same. His heart ached a little more at the thought of them.

Trudging along, lost in his memories, Kioshi didn’t see the blue and chrome doom speeding through the round-about they called The Circulator, or that the car had lost its purchase on the road or that is was sliding straight for him! The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he thought he heard someone’s voice calling out from a distance. Then everything snapped ferociously back to present time in his mind as the frightened voice rankled through his brain.

HEY! LOOK OUT!

Kioshi snapped his head up just in time to see the blur of car and wet slush flinging toward him. Everything was suddenly happening in slow motion. He jerked his body away from the wild car with all his strength. The car swung toward him, he swallowed his scream as he flew backward, every muscle straining, pulling! The car slammed up over the curb where Kioshi had just been, dumped back onto the road and drove on. Unbelievably, the driver never saw him. Kioshi lay there, dazed from the face plant he’d just done in the newly shoveled snow.

Jack, who looked to be about Kioshi’s age, ran up to the kid sprawled out in the snow. With his hands on his knees, panting from the scream of warning and the dash to help, he said, in short uneven breaths, Are you, okay? Are you hurt?

With some effort, Kioshi rolled over. Groaning, he took the hand offered to him and pulled himself up, masses of snow and slush sliding off of his face and shoulders. His face was bright red, he was shaking. Jack recognized the kid from school. He grabbed Kioshi’s hat from the snow pile and handed it to him. Kioshi just stared at him. He was feeling shaken, embarrassed and pretty upset. Jack mistook the look on Kioshi’s face and stepped back.

"Hey, that car nearly hit you!" Jack said a little defensively.

"What do you care? I