Flash Clash, the first hundred

Attribution: Fir0002/Flagstaffotos

Welcome to another Clash week here at COTT. We've got something fun and different for you today, all about instant reactions. So get your trigger fingers ready and...

Vote quick! This clash will be over in a flash! The polls close Tuesday at midnight. Not only is our voting period super speedy, but so are the excerpts. Below, you'll find the first hundred or so words of two novels. Which do you like best?


But wait...before you read the excerpts, don't you want to know what the give-away is this week?! I kinda figured you did. 


This week, Splashdown Books is, yet again, generously donating one of their novels--Caffeine by Ryan Grabow. Tomorrow, we'll tell you all about it, but don't miss this opportunity to enter and vote below. Enter again by leaving comments, sharing on Facebook, and/or Tweeting on any post this week.


Without further ado, here are the excerpts...


EXCERPT A
Kate Neilson peered into the slot on the collection box lid. Was that money she saw on the bottom or crumpled paper? Sometimes people put weird stuff in offering boxes.
The early morning sunshine hadn’t reached her side of the dark log chapel, but she didn’t dare turn on the interior lights and attract attention. Maybe she should grab the flashlight from her car. Though she’d opened the side door at the front of the sanctuary, she still couldn’t see inside the box.
She toyed with the padlock. All she needed was enough cash to get by until payday at her new job.




EXCERPT B
Nathan’s eyes flew open. Sounds, screams and gunshots penetrated the cold air of his upstairs bedroom. The pungent smell of smoke invaded his nose. He coughed. Am I having a nightmare? Shadows danced wildly across the ceiling and down the walls.
Heart pounding, he threw off his covers, jumped out of bed, and rushed to the window. His little brother, Israel, followed.
Its real!
“What is it, Nathan?” Israel whispered.
Nathan pulled his brother against the wall behind him.
“Hey! I want to see!”
“Shush, Israel.” Nathan looked through the window at the valley below, his heart racing. Men in long coats and fur hats were running through the village brandishing swords and raising rifles. Cossacks!

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