Beginning of "A Long Walk"

Three faces suspended within the panes of three unwashed windows looked out upon a burning hayfield. The flames crept nearer to the quaint home. Smoke billowed high, blotting out all but mere remnants of the sun.

A mass of gnats hummed over a pool of stagnant water to the left of the doomed structure. The dog, an old, shaggy, golden lab, drank from the puddle and retreated beneath the porch while the barn cat lept from branch to branch in the uppermost regions of a stand of trees behind the house. The youngest of the three children in the home, Benjamin, stared wide-eyed as the flames grew closer, consuming the dry alfalfa. He bit his lower lip to stifle his sobs. Tears rolled gently down his smooth, sun burned cheeks and he quickly hid his face from his older brother to his left who looked on defiantly at the rapidly approaching fire.

The boy's sister, Hope, sat patiently and looked at the back door suggestively, drawing their gaze away from the fire. They all rose slowly, painfully, and walked quietly out of the house. The dog followed faithfully as the flames weakened and swallowed the comfort of their home...