Novel Exerpt

Simon found it hard to sleep that night. The sounds of British soldiers’ boots marching against the cobblestone streets wafted up to his room, through his window, and echoed through the cavernous spaces in his mind. He couldn’t think of anything else besides listening for that unfamiliar call to suit up in a minute’s notice. He could almost hear the shouts of men coming up to his window from the streets below, yelling, hollering, shouting for him and his brothers to grab their shoes and their guns and assemble out on the cold street.
But he laid there for hours, and nothing happened. Simon rolled over on top of his cold sheets, and looked across the room at Julian’s bed that was made noticeable in the moonlight. He continued to stare as his eyes adjusted, until he noticed his brother’s eyes were wide open, and staring right back at him .
They said nothing to each other, still keeping their ears peeled for the shouts of men calling them out for a fight.
Then it happened.
Several men were heard riding on horseback through the streets below. “Grab your guns! The regulars are coming! Wake up! The regulars are coming! They’re on the move!” Shouts, screams, chaos filled the air as every man, woman, and child was awakened from their sleep. Simon and Julian soared from their sheets and grabbed the guns that were so conveniently placed by their beds. They raced to the door with hardly any light in their path. Simon’s heart began to beat out of control, and small beads of perspiration formed on his brow as he was covered in the wet blanket of anxiousness, and almost fright.