Whoosh

Here's one from Michael Graff (thanks, Laura):

He wouldn’t run. All those thoughts racing through his mind, and never once did he consider running.

Lew McDonald stood in the front yard. All alone. Just 10 years old. His mind, not his legs, sprinting.

His mother, younger brother and baby sister were inside the house, waiting to die.

His mother’s boyfriend had flipped. Wanted to burn the whole family. Instructed Lew to go outside and find the gasoline.

But Lew knew it was inside. He’d put it there after cutting grass the previous day.

Lew thought of hollering for help, or throwing a rock through his neighbor’s window, or setting some caged dogs free and letting them chase him into the house, hoping they attacked the boyfriend.

But then, the boyfriend found the gas can, between the refrigerator and the stove, right where Lew left it. The boyfriend called for Lew once. Then again.

Finally, at 3 a.m. on April 6, 1977, Lew McDonald made a decision that shaped the rest of his life.