Crew: Named (eBook)

Darleen Urbanek (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2024 | 1. Auflage
268 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
9798350972405 (ISBN)

Infos

Five random teens experience an unexplainable occurrence and band together to understand the messages and miracles occurring all around them. With their ever-changing realizations about themselves and the spiritual and natural world around them, they strive to conquer the challenges they encounter on their mission from God. Throw in three Angels and a cat who changes into a black panther at will, and their lives will never be the same.

Darleen Urbanek's career has been a tapestry of diverse experiences, including Disaster Recovery Planning, a role that resonates with the storyline of these teens and aids in their escapades. Her passion for creating visual worlds, as evidenced by her award-winning art, is a key element in her writing. She resides in Michigan with her husband and two dogs and has plans to pen at least four more sequels to 'The Crew: Named.' Keep an eye out for these future installments, where the wisdom, power, and strength of the Lord guides these young people in changing the world!

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Five teenagers who were once strangers band together after witnessing a freaky, awe-inspiring event in the park. As they get to know each other, they research possible reasons and explanations for their message - 'You have been Named.' As they try to uncover the truth, they face many unexplainable adventures and difficulties, and some leave them with more questions than answers. Individually, they experience God. When their mission is finally revealed, they set out to accomplish their callings through twists, turns, and extreme danger. Along the way, they experience wisdom and protection that could have only been sent by God. They have no time to wonder why they were chosen for this but move forward in the strength of the Lord. This book is a coming-of-age adventure for all readers, whether they follow Christian concepts or not. Tweens, teens, and young adults searching for a story that will keep them eager to read the next chapter will love "e;The Crew: Named"e;. Get ready for an adventure wrapped in Christian truth, mystery, and fantasy.

Textauszug

Prologue

Who We Are

We are The Crew, as we call ourselves. How we met, well, that’s quite an exciting story.

But before we get into that, let me tell you a little about myself; the others can introduce themselves, too.

I am Zoe. Some would call me brave; some would call me tough, smart, or crazy. Others would say I’m a 16-year-old who has worked through her less-than-favorable upbringing. You see, my father left when I was maybe two years old. I never saw him again. I don’t remember him, probably a mental safeguard, so don’t feel sorry for me. I don’t. Without going into too many details, my mother should never have had children, but, alas, here I am. She remarried when I was four. My step-father’s name is Charlie. He is a nice enough guy with the patience of a saint, so he lets my mother boss him around. He’s a truck driver, so he is gone a lot. But, when he was around when I was young, he took me places. Places like Karate, baseball practice, and gymnastics. I think mainly this was to get away from my mother and her complaining. We were friends more than father-daughter. We still are.

I got a job last year at a restaurant in an area they updated to look like an old, quaint village.

After a particularly difficult argument with my mother, I made the decision to leave home. I sought refuge with friends, passing off my stays as innocent sleepovers. Unbeknownst to my mother, Charlie, in a gesture of support, bought me a small, weathered car as soon as I was old enough to drive. Despite its humble appearance, it was a symbol of my newfound independence and resilience.

When it became springtime, I started sleeping in the car on pleasant nights. Again, I don’t feel sorry for myself; it was more enjoyable to sleep in the car than being around my mother. I would go to school at Winston High during the day, shower in the gym or at the restaurant where I worked after school, and do homework at the library or a friend’s house.

The owner of the restaurant was a nice lady who knew my situation. She lives upstairs over the restaurant, lets me use her facilities whenever I want, and lets me eat there for free. Charlie would come to the restaurant often and bring me money or things from the house I wanted or to see how I was doing. I assume he told my mother where I was, but she never reached out to me. With his help, I earned enough to get by, plus I knew he had my back. The restaurant owner will let me rent a small apartment over the garage behind the restaurant as soon as the current renters move out. With all this, it was still a relief not to argue with my mother or constantly hear criticisms. Life was good.

Alex

Hi. My name is Alex. I go to school at Winston High, too. I guess you could call me a jock. I play sports and am pretty good at them. Most of the kids seem to look up to me, literally, as I have grown a lot in the last year. I’m 6’2 now. Even taller than my dad.

My Dad is a good father. He is the CEO at the biggest company here and travels – a lot, like at least a couple weeks every month. He goes all over the world. He’s a pretty important guy…I guess. He always asks about my games and school and what’s going on in my life – but when I answer, it’s like he is only listening to be polite while thinking about his next project at work. He means well. He and my mother wanted me to go to Winston High, not in the fancy neighborhood where we live, to get a taste of the ‘real world,’ different kinds of people, and life outside of excess before they send me to college. The Winston people seem pretty nice to me. Often nicer than the kids in my neighborhood.

My mother is a high-level defense attorney. She is usually in meetings with clients, at court, or doing whatever she does to prepare for cases. I typically get to talk to her at least once a day, sometimes more.

I watch her, surrounded by papers and documents and pacing on the phone, and actually feel sorry for her…and me sometimes. But she means well, too. She will ruffle my hair and kiss my forehead as she rushes to her next meeting.

They love me.

They have always bought me anything I needed or wanted, sent me to bodybuilding training, entered me into sports leagues, or got me the best equipment for my sports activities. I don’t brag or anything to the Winston kids. I don’t want them to feel bad. I often give them my “old” equipment and stuff. It’s better than anything they could have gotten on their own, and I like the smiles on their faces when I ask them if they want these things that “I was going to get rid of.” Or say, “Would you take this off my hands so I don’t have to take it to the resale shop?”

They are good people.

My biggest confidant, and the one who is around the most, is our housekeeper, Mrs. Griffin. She has been living with us since I was a baby. She used to take care of me and drive me around before I got my license. She does the housekeeping, shopping, and cooking and helps me with my homework. She’s more like an aunt to me. We talk a lot.

Bridgett

Hello there. It’s Bridgett. You will notice me. I’m the tall, thin girl with long, shiny blonde hair whose clothes are on-trend and whose makeup is applied perfectly. Blah! I hate my “image!” Yes, I’m all those things, and most would call me beautiful, but I want to wear jeans with holes in them, no makeup, and scuffed-up tennis shoes.

But my parents were so proud from the start to have a little girl who was so pretty. Neither of them was more than average in the looks department, so they were surprised at their good fortune. Even as a baby in the carriage, strangers would tell them how beautiful I was and how they should get me into commercials or something. They went out of their way to promote me and did get me into commercials. Eventually, they were told I should be a model. They sent me to modeling school. I was taught how to apply makeup, what kinds of clothes to wear, how to style my hair, how to walk, how to stand up straight and give myself an ‘air of importance’. My parents were delighted.

But what about me? What about what “I” wanted? I would rather be comfortable in sweats, live off the grid in the mountains somewhere, and be an artist. I always have drawing paper and pencils in my room, and you will find me drawing animals, people, or happy scenes. Drawing is my place of peace. I can get away from the life that, somehow, I had fallen into. My parents adore me. They are so happy with my ‘progress’ and how I will move into professional modeling when I graduate from Winston High. I dread it.

Henry

Henry is my American name. My real name is Asim, but my mother changed it when we came here. We are refugees from Sudan. I was very young, but I remember a hard life there. We had very little food, mostly a millet porridge, and I remember the water tasted like mud. It was dry and hot. I remember being afraid most of the time. There was war in our country. My father originally got us all to Ethiopia. Many of us were in camps, mostly women and children like me. There was a lot of sadness and abuse. I don’t remember what happened exactly, me being only maybe three or four, but my mother and I somehow got to America. My father was not able to travel with us. He was a brave man who fought for us and loved us. I have asked my mother many times what happened to my father, but she won’t speak of it. She says he will join us someday. I miss him.

I know it was a long process coming here. My mother was helped with the language, but it is still difficult for her. I was seven years old when we came, so I still have a bit of an accent, I am told, but it was easier for me to learn English than for her. They helped us find an apartment and helped my mother find a job. There is a Middle Eastern community in this area, and the manager at the supermarket hired her despite her language challenges. She doesn’t make a lot, but we have all our needs met. We have clean water, food – much better food than I’d ever tasted before - and a place of our own that is more than a tent. Her favorite saying is “Inskla Allah,” which means ‘if Allah wills.’ A lot of the anxiety from my life still exists in me. I still have a fear that appears for random reasons. I find my solace in food. So, not only do I look different with my dark skin and sound different with my accent, but now, being plump has caused me to be the point of many jokes from my fellow students at Winston High School. But to be able to go to a school and learn is a privilege, so I am thankful for that.

Max

Yo! Max here. I’m the last of “The Crew.” I find myself here now because I went on a joy ride with my low-life buddies one Friday after skipping school. I was probably going to get kicked out anyway for missing most of the semester, so who cared? After my parents got divorced, I didn’t care about much anymore.

My buddies and I wound up drinking too much, driving way farther than we had planned (like two days, I think; I was drunk most of the time) until we ran out of money. My friends decided to rob a little store to get gas money to go home, more liquor, and some food. I wasn’t into it, but I figured if I was going to eat the food and drink the booze, I’d better participate. I didn’t figure anyone was going to get hurt. I was wrong. Three of us went in. Only two came back out. I didn’t know Jake had taken his father’s gun....

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 17.12.2024
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Kinder- / Jugendbuch
• ISBN-13: 9798350972405 / 9798350972405