Lynn Grace by Michelle A. Baker (ebook offline txt) 📕

It all started when her mother gave birth to her baby brother, neither of them survived. She was two at the time. Her mother and father both nineteen. She grew up with her father and his friends. Her father was a train driver. Her and his friends thought it would be fun to rob the people on the train, little things. 
    When Lynn was fifteen, her father realized she'd grown up well. He convinced her to distract the men so her father's friends (who pretended to work on the train) would be able to steal easier. 
     One day they actually got robbed, not by her father's friends but by a group of people who they had robbed. The group of men had figured out what her father and his friends were doing. Instead of taking any valubles, they took Lynn; her father was beyond angry. After they took Lynn, she sat in the carriage tied up, she long ago stopped trying to break free. Oddly she realized she may never go back to her life agina, oddly she was excited. 
     The men took her to a hotel, got her a room, then talked to her.
The man who she supposed was their leader seemed familiar. She realized it was one of the men she had distracted, his eyes told her of saftey... and she believed him. They told her her father and his friends ahd taken something very valuble from them, and wanted it back. But they needed her help.
    They came up with a plan. They would tell her father to stop the train, in a specific spot. Tell the passengers there was some type of animal in the way. Then Lynn would sneak in, take the necklace, then leave. But what they didn't expect was once they tok the necklace, and after her father and his friends found out, they got help from one of his friend's brother, who was a real outlaw to help track them down. They had to run, town to town. One day the man came up to her (the one with the trusting eyes) he told her that he realized they were close, and after all the help she'd been he was giving her the option. He told her, "You can stay here missy, and hope they'll take you back to your father or you can come with us."
    The wasy he spoke it, she expected him to go on, but he stopped. She looked him straight in the eye, without saying a word she got on the horse to follow them. They stopped four days later at a camp siteearlier then normal. The man told everyone to set up camp. After everything was settled and they were sitting around a fire he stared at her, a shadow on his face. He knew they were catching up, closer then ever before. So he decided to tell her about the necklace. He started, "A while ago there was a simple farm girl with a gold necklace. No one knew how she got it, just that she wasn't supposed to have it. Everytime harvest night came no matter how much seed they planted it always trippled, no matter how many animals they had, they alsways trippled, no matter how much food they grew it always trippled every year. 
   "No one knew how. That simple farm girl had thre children, two boys and one girl. After many years of prosper that simple farm girl laid on her death bed, after saying goodye she had everyone leave except her daughter. She took off her necklace and looked at her girl. 'Honey no matter what... this will protect you, never tell anyone.' She said before thrusting the necklance into her hands, as she mumbled. Then the daughter colasped and that simple farm girl was dead.
     "Instantly the farm girl new about the necklace, new all the power it held. She didn't know how to use it, so she used it for herslef. She took advantage of the encklace and turned evil. She had three children, two boys and one daughter. When her death bed came she said and did the same thing as her mother, and her daughter did the same thing she did. Using the power for herself. This went on for several generations until one plain farm girl decided she didn't want the power so she locked up the necklace in a box, and gave the box and key to her daughter. When she died, all she left with her about the necklace was the warning to be careful. But when she opened the box and put the necklace on, nothing happend. The mother didn't say the words to activate the peower. She sold it once she realized it. Through the years it was passed between owners until my great-grandmother got it, she told my mom the story who told me.
    "I planned to find a realitive of theat simple farm girl and get it reactivated. So you see it isn't really the necklace thats valuble but the story behind it."
     That night while eeryone was sleeping they caught up to them. Looking into each tent they set fire to the men's tents leaving Lynn's alone. After the fire started the men sat back, talked and waited. Lynn awoke, when she saw the flames she grabbed water and put out the tent nearest to hers. The man was there laying down. She knelt beside him, tears running down her face. He knew he was dying, she was too late. He looked up at her the light hardly left in his eyes. "I'm sorry." He spoke the words, sending shock into Lynn. "Why?" He lifted his hand into hers before continuing.  "I should have protected you better, I should have gotten you away from them. I knew it wasn't safe... I knew I loved you..." His voice was barley a whisper, Lynn strained to listen. She was sixteen, she didn't know what love was yet. But she knew this man, and knew if she didn't do it now she never could. She leaned down and put her lupos on his, a final goodbye. She opened her eyes just to see the light dim out of his, he was dead. She looked down at her hand in his. When she unclasped her hands from his the necklace was warm in her hands. She put it on, tucked it under her shirt and left.
     Anger filled her as she stormed out of the burnt tent. She looked at the men who had killed those innocent men. She was just about to start yelling when she saw her father amoung them. Shocked it stilled her, before appalled she let out evrything she had been holding in since her father started stealing with his friends. When she was done she looked at every while paled face, jumped on her horse and started in the direction of the train. She knew her father realized he was wrong. She felt the necklace beat against her chest. "You'll never find the necklace! And you'll never forget you killed three innocent men!" She said before speading the horse to a run.
     She lived for a couple years on the train with her father until she was old enough to leave. Her father and his friends never did steal from anyone again. Lynn left the train, and searched. Search for what, she wasn't sure. Until she found a town that looked somewhat familiar. She stopped and worked there, no longer searching. 
     She promised herself that night of the fire she would: Never love again. Never take off the necklace. And forget the pain. She did just that every day, until every night where she would shed one tear as she allowed herself to remember.
    

Publication Date: 07-25-2013

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