All the Colors of the Dark — Chapter 238

238

Patch could not sleep after, felt each moment on that bus like a lifetime of waiting, his stomach empty.

At Rowan Bridge a woman moved to use the restroom and stared at him for so long he contemplated leaving at Birmingham, instead held his nerve and waited the hour alone, the night still warm enough that the driver kept his window down.

An hour from dawn Patch took his small bag from the seat and stepped out into Alabama air. A few cars cruised by slow till they crested the hill and dropped into half dark. A full moon held as the sun rose east of the horizon.

In the river city of Montgomery, the white dome of the state capitol stood.

The streets filled with sounds of morning workers as Patch rode his last bus from the city, his head lying back on the seat rest until he climbed out, checked his map, and breathed deep as he walked the last miles.

At the sign he reached up and touched the lettering.

GRACE FALLS

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