Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Only Two Came Back
    Only Two Came Back
    Only Two Came Back
    Ebook67 pages56 minutes

    Only Two Came Back

    By Matthew E Morgan

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Sarah watched at the three most important men in her life - her father, brother, and husband - left for a casual fishing trip on the lake to enjoy the last vestiges of fall. As a sudden and terrible storm moved in, it left the men shipwrecked, injured, and exposed to the elements. They must fight for their survival through a treacherous trek across the island while Sarah tries desperately to make sure they have a home to which they can return.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMatthew E Morgan
    Release dateNov 4, 2014
    ISBN9781311517258
    Only Two Came Back
    Author

    Matthew E Morgan

    Matthew E. Morgan tries to combine strong ideals with elements of fiction and fantasy to create works that inspire, educate, and inform. This stems from his Master's Degree in Professional Counseling from Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA, and a Bachelor's Degree in Biblical Studies and Pastoral Ministries from Trinity Bible College in Ellendale, ND. He has worked as an automation systems programmer, a teacher, and even a blessedly brief stint as a stand-up comedian.

    Related to Only Two Came Back

    Related ebooks

    Action & Adventure Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Speak, Water

      Apr 1, 2021

      Speak, Water
      7 min read

    • Article

      Forever Wild

      Oct 1, 2018

      When I think of the Scarborough house, I remember the wind whipping through my salt-hardened curls and my little-girl feet bare and crusted with sand as I run through its heavy wooden doors. I was four and wild as the landscape itself. My grandparent

      3 min read

    • Article

      Water Is Wide

      Nov 15, 2021

      Water Is Wide
      5 min read

    • Article

      River Kismet

      Jul 21, 2020

      River Kismet
      9 min read

    • Article

      It Happened to Me…

      Feb 22, 2024

      It Happened to Me…
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Face I’ll Never Forget

      Jun 25, 2022

      The Face I’ll Never Forget
      3 min read

    • Article

      We All Live in Uncertain

      Jul 30, 2020

      “Think of Caddo as a maze of lakes within lakes,” says John Winn, proprietor of Caddo Outback Tours, as the two of us settle into a small Go-Devil boat roped to a dock in Uncertain, on the border of northern Louisiana. For two decades, Winn has given

      6 min read

    • Article

      A Symposium on Loss

      Mar 1, 2023

      A Symposium on Loss
      30 min read

    • Article

      Five Poems

      Jul 1, 2018

      Without the adventof Stockholm Syndrome,how could I havelearned to love myself so much? I’m asking Godand New York, can anyonehelp me? (An all-but-audible “or else.”) The captain’s chair:it’s beginning to smella little too much like me. Again.But the

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Periodic Stranger

      Mar 2, 2017

      My roots are in a hilltop village west of Matera, where rabbit and boar run riot in the fields. Figs, apricots, and pears hang in heavy clusters, at eye-level and within easy reach. There, the local girls are famous for their calves, made firm and st

      21 min read

    • Article

      The Periodic Stranger: When exile becomes home.

      Dec 12, 2013

      My roots are in a hilltop village west of Matera, where rabbit and boar run riot in the fields. Figs, apricots, and pears hang in heavy clusters, at eye-level and within easy reach. There, the local girls are famous for their calves, made firm and st

      21 min read

    • Article

      Striper Island

      Oct 5, 2021

      I’ve always had a thing for islands. I fished five islands in the North-east, by boat and from shore, for so many years that I consider them home waters. Most of the large stripers I’ve taken have come off four of those islands, which are swept daily

      4 min read

    • Article

      Lost Souls

      Jun 3, 2021

      Lost Souls
      9 min read

    • Article

      Loving Lock 30

      Jun 17, 2020

      Loving Lock 30
      3 min read

    • Article

      All Night, Early Morning

      Jul 18, 2023

      IN THE AFTERNOON WE WENT to the bird sanctuary at High Island, which wasn’t an island, just a little town with a church and a motel that we drove around till we finally found the entrance. Jenny liked birds. I was indifferent, but stubborn: If we loo

      7 min read

    • Article

      A Trip to The Shire

      Jul 26, 2022

      A Trip to The Shire
      4 min read

    • Article

      A Day At The Beach For Aphrodite

      Jul 1, 2023

      A Day At The Beach For Aphrodite
      14 min read

    • Article

      Clandestine

      Jan 10, 2022

      It was 1980 and I was nineteen, barely into what my mother quaintly referred to as the Prime of My Life. From what I’d learned up to that questionable apogee, there will never be enough time before bony-fingered Decrepitude sinks her yellowed nails i

      12 min read

    • Article

      Watch Your Step

      Nov 19, 2020

      Watch Your Step
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Space Between

      Feb 24, 2022

      The Space Between
      7 min read

    • Article

      Natural Habitat

      Jun 24, 2021

      Natural Habitat
      5 min read

    • Article

      Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Rainy Isles

      Aug 30, 2023

      I FIND social media pretty obnoxious at the best of times, but it’s at its worst during high summer. According to Instagram, every friend I’ve got is getting fat and drunk by a swimming pool somewhere beneath the Mediterranean sun. In a sense, I’m pr

      2 min read

    • Article

      Tomorrows

      Mar 15, 2022

      The night, as most nights, was like a dream. At ten, once I’d fed the dog the last scraps off the stove. Once I’d cursed the cat for scratching up my mama’s antique furniture, then welcomed him back into my arms. Once I’d slicked my hair into a ponyt

      26 min read

    • Article

      Tiny House

      Oct 4, 2022

      Tiny House
      2 min read

    • Article

      Emerald City Escape

      Dec 17, 2020

      Emerald City Escape
      4 min read

    • Article

      Guiding Presence

      May 18, 2020

      Guiding Presence
      7 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Only Two Came Back

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Only Two Came Back - Matthew E Morgan

      Only Two Came Back

      Matthew E. Morgan

      Copyright © 2014 Matthew E. Morgan

      DEDICATION

      I am forever indebted to the Creator who made me, the Savior who redeemed me, and the Spirit who walks with me.

      It would be easy to ignore those without Martha - my wonderful wife – by my side.

      And I am daily in awe of my son Michael, who makes me want to be a better person.

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      Inspiration comes in the strangest of places. This eventful tale was birthed in my father-in-law’s boat at Salt Fork State Park, Ohio. After unwittingly volunteering to a day on the lake with my brother-in-law Caleb and my father-in-law Garry, a story idea was the only thing I caught.

      It’s okay – I’m not a big fan of fish anyway.

      CHAPTER 1

      Just like I remember it, I whispered softly, stepping out of the water taxi, unconsciously rubbing imaginary dirt from my palms onto my faded jeans.

      Have a good day, ma’am, the pilot said before speeding away.

      I noticed a large boat anchored further out in the lake – most likely owned by the same person who had docked the unfamiliar shuttle behind our house, and most likely both the possessions of a wealthy individual.

      I drew my flannel coat around me, trying to insulate myself from the fading grasp of winter's long chill. Everything around me welcomed me from its proper place - with the exception of the boats - just as it had done for decades. The budding trees exhaled the sweet smell of spring, like blankets hung on a line to dry. The green buds dotted their way up the steep hill that formed the cliffs at the southern end of the island, their branches offering shelter to the myriad of birds chirping in the small forest. At the base of the cliff, my old salt-block house stood stoically, flying its hunter green siding and burgundy shutters in a quiet defiance of the horrors it had witnessed the previous fall.

      Five-Finger Island had been our family’s summer home for longer than I could remember. The aptly-named island resembled a right hand with each of the fingers meeting the lake and the palm rising sharply into the air until it dropped off into the lake below. Before last autumn, it held nothing but good memories from spending summer after summer here with my mom, dad, and two little brothers - Alex and William. While most other girls spent their summers socializing and tanning at the pool, I preferred mine to include throwing baseballs and hooking worms. People blamed my father and brothers for my tomboy nature and Daddy’s Girl mentality. In truth, I just felt more at home in the outdoors.

      I remember leading my brothers on hikes through the woods from the time they learned to walk. We would spend the morning climbing up the hill towards the steep cliff, watching as it fell into the sea – and usually helping it by tossing rocks, sticks, and pretty much anything else we could lift and throw. When the afternoon sun’s heat grew, we’d charge back down the hill. At first, I would lead with the two younger boys struggling at my heels. As they grew older, Alex would push me to run faster and William would struggle to keep up with us. But as William drew closer to his teen years, his athleticism began to shine. He could easily overtake Alex, and eventually run faster than me. Alex would bite his lower lip in frustration as he watched his little brother fly through the front door first.

      I’d intentionally slow down to let Alex keep up, but I think he always knew I wasn’t trying my hardest. It would be tough to pass anything by Alex - he was by far the smartest of the three kids; what he lacked in athleticism, he made up for in brains.

      Regardless of how fast we ran, or in what order we reached the door, we would all end up in the same place. Having stampeded through the house, we'd burst out the back door clad in bathing suits, and plunge into the lake.

      I stared down the dock, remembering the ensuing symphony: six feet beating a raucous drum line, accompanied by harmonies of laughter, and a thunderous applause of water splashing high into the air.

      Now I only heard sloshing through soggy leaves - which jolted me from my nostalgia. Each finger of the island was home to a family - ours sat squarely on the pinky finger. Though we would frequently

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1