by Elaine Meece
Libby shared how her mom retrieved the letters.
Annie laughed softly.
“You shouldn’t have come here,” Megan said.
“I’m here to rescue you. A plane is going to pick us up.”
“If we’re caught leaving, they’ll kill us.”
“They killed Connie,” Libby said. “That was one of Dan’s wives.”
Megan scooted back against the headboard. “Hawkins has men watching over the entrance and along the road that borders the commune. But the dogs know us. They shouldn’t bark.”
“One problem at a time,” Annie said. “How can we get out of this room?”
Megan studied the tiny room. “On the other side of that wall is Dan’s office. It used to be part of this room. The paneling they used to divide it is thin. I can hear any noise made in there.”
Libby giggled. “We hear Dan fart.”
Megan and Annie giggled softly.
“Maybe, we can find a weak spot in it and push it out enough to crawl beneath it,” Annie suggested. They pushed against the wall in different spots looking for a weak spot. Nothing. “We need some way of cutting between the sections of panel.”
Megan’s face lit up. “I have a knife. I found it in Dan’s desk drawer.”
Annie nodded. “Let’s go to work.”
“We have to be quiet. Ruth’s room is on the other side. Dan is with her tonight.”
Annie lowered to the floor and ran her hand under it. “I can almost raise it.” Then she touched a broken section that left a small hole at the bottom. “Give me your knife.”
“Careful, the blade’s out.”
Annie felt for the groove in the paneling, then positioned the knife beneath it, and worked the blade up the groove. The knife slid up the panel.
The door in Dan’s office opened and closed. Light shined through the hole at the base of the paneling where they had been working.
Dan was in his office.
Megan motioned for them not to make a sound.
All they could do is wait.
When a fart blasted from the other side, they had a difficult time not giggling.
Finally, the light went out, and Dan returned to Ruth’s room. The door closed.
Annie continued pushing the knife up the groove for a little over a foot. Then three boards down, she found another groove and sawed away at it.
“They’re going to hear you,” Megan said.
Annie shrugged. “That knife will only cut in the vertical grooves. It won’t cut across the boards, but if we can push it back, it will work like a doggie door.”
Megan and Libby nodded.
Once Annie had finished, she turned to her niece. “Libby, you’re the smallest. You’ll go first.” Annie pulled the board back and held it up allowing Libby to crawl through to Dan’s office. “Good girl.”
“You’re next,” Megan said.
Annie wriggled through the narrow space while Megan held the board up. “Your turn, sis.”
“I can’t. My belly is too big. Take Libby and go.”
“Mom, I won’t go without you.”
“You’re coming with us,” Annie said. “Lay on your back and use your legs to push yourself through. I’ll hold it.”
“Hold it as high as you can.” Megan’s stomach barely went under the top of the paneling.
Annie lowered the paneling back into place before standing up.
Megan raised the window in Dan’s office and pushed the curtains back. All three managed to get outside.
While Megan lowered the window, Annie glanced around. She had no idea where to go. “We’ll need hats and water.”
“We have supplies stashed in the barn,” Megan said. “We need to hurry.”
They walked up a path that led to a pasture with a large barn. On the other side was a fairly decent two story white house.
“That’s where Hawkins lives,” Libby whispered.
Inside the barn, Libby started up the ladder to the loft.
Annie handed Megan the taser. “I’m going to help her. If anyone comes through that door, aim it, and hit that button.”
Megan nodded. “Hurry.”
In the loft, Annie shined the tiny flashlight as Libby gathered supplies they needed for their trek across the desert. As they started climbing down, Megan gasped. “Someone’s coming. Go back.”
They returned to the loft and sat near the ladder in the darkness.
Megan crouched in the dark corner just inside the barn.
From where Annie sat, she could see the wide barn entrance. Someone stood just inside. Annie recognized Hawkins’ silhouette. Getting a cramp in her leg, she tried to rub it. A few pieces of straw fell on top of the leader.
Hawkins turned, placed his hands on his hips, and stared up at them. “Come down from there.”
Megan eased from the shadows and crept behind him. She gasped in pain, drawing his attention, and he spun around.
She shoved the taser against him and hit the button.
A current of electricity made the old man dance.
“Take that you bastard. It’ll be a cold day in hell before you lay your hands on my daughter.” When he crumpled over, Megan switched it off. “Get down here. Hurry.”
Annie and Libby climbed down and brushed straw from their clothes.
“I can’t go,” Megan said. “I’ll only slow you down.”
“We’re not leaving you,” Annie insisted.
“I had a really bad pain. I think I could be going into labor.”
“Son of a biscuit eater. You have the worst timing of anyone I know. It’s probably false labor. Your body is just preparing for the big day.”
“I can’t walk.”
Libby grabbed a bridle that hung on the wall. You can ride Trooper. He’s gentle.”
“He’s big. I’ll never get on him.”
“Yes, you will,” Annie said. “We’ll help you.”
Libby bridled the big horse and walked it from the stall.
“What about a saddle?” Megan asked.
“There’s not one. He’s a work horse. He pulls wagons. I’ve ridden him bareback. You’ll be fine.”
After helping Megan upon a stool, then onto the horse, Annie removed a rope and laid it across the horse’s wide back behind her sister. She tied a water jug on each side. Libby draped the tote bag over her shoulder and led the horse out the far side of the barn that opened to the pasture.
“I’ll be right back,” Annie said. She returned in the barn, placed her hands under Hawkins’ arms and drug him into the empty stall. She took a leather strap hanging over the stall door and tied his hands. She wished she had a way to gag him.
“Hurry,” Libby said.
Annie joined them. “We need to get off of Cactus Point property.”
Libby nodded and started leading the horse through the dark pasture. The moon came out from behind a cloud and lit their path. They finally entered a second stretch of land with huge hay rolls as far as Annie could see. She had hoped they could make it to the camp, but her sister’s pains came more frequently.
A coyote howled in the distance. An owl hooted.
The horse made a low rumbling sound.
Megan cried out. “My water broke.”
Annie had received training on delivering newborns on an airplane, but being in the middle of a field wasn’t the ideal situation. The water they had would be needed for drinking when they crossed the desert in the heat of the day.
Annie’s eyes adjusted to the darkness allowing her to see the shapes around them. She searched for some type of shelter or cover, but only saw more enormous round rolls of hay. They stopped at the next one they came to.
“Let me dig this out.” Annie grabbed an arm full of straw, digging out a section in the mountain of hay.
Megan cried out. “Please, I’ve got to lay down.”
“One more second, and I’ll have it.”
“One more second, and I’ll have the baby.”
“
How many kids can say they came into the world riding a horse?”
Annie and Libby laughed.
“That’s not funny. Seriously, I’m having this baby.”
“Blow short breaths to stop the contractions.” Annie worked frantically ripping the side out of the tall straw formation. She scattered it over the ground, then walked over to the horse. “You hold Trooper while I help her down.”
Libby nodded and stood in front of the massive animal with both hands holding the top of the reins.
Megan slid her leg over the horse’s wide back.
The last thing Annie wanted to do was drop her. “Slide on down until your feet touch the ground. You won’t fall. I’m right here.”
As Megan started to fall back, Annie caught her.
The horse sidestepped and neighed.
“Easy boy, it’s okay,” Libby said. What do you want me to do?”
“Hold that horse. If we lose him, we’ll never reach the pick-up point. There’s no way your mom will be up to walking.”
Megan cried out again.
“Blow,” Annie shouted. She helped lower her sister onto the straw. “Where’s that knife?”
“In my pocket,” Megan whispered.
Annie dug into the big pocket. “Are those hideous dresses you’re wearing lined?”
“Yes,” Libby said.
Annie popped its blade open, then cut the lining from Libby’s dresses. “Don’t let that horse step on me.” She sighed. “Do you have any alcohol or matches in that bag?”
“No,” Libby said. “Just the flashlight.”
Annie removed the water jugs from the horse and opened one of them, then removed the cap, and poured a little over the blade. She figured it was better than nothing.
Megan lay on her back with her legs spread.
Annie lowered to the ground and shined the light on her sister. “Holy crap. I see the head. Next time push.”
Megan nodded, looking frightened.
Annie glanced toward the commune. Once they woke up and found Hawkins, they’d be on their trail.
When the next pain hit, Megan grunted and bored down.
Annie gasped. “Almost. Keep pushing.”
The newborn pushed through, slipping into Annie’s hands with its face down. Remembering her training, she kept it level to Megan. As the head turned, she made sure the umbilical cord wasn’t around its neck. Once the cord stopped pulsating, she placed the newborn on Megan’s stomach and covered it with sections of cloth from their dresses.
She had no choice but to cut the cord. “I need some kind of clamp.” Not having one, she cut a piece of the rope holding the bag and tied it around the cord tightly, then snipped it with the knife. “Got it.” She gathered the screaming infant in her arms and tried to clean him before handing him to Megan. “It’s a boy.”
Megan smiled at her son, with joyful tears streaking her face. “He’s beautiful.”
Annie didn’t think she’d ever have the opportunity to bring a child into the world and feel that intense bond.
Libby’s eyes and expression revealed her fear. “There’s so much blood. Is Mom okay?”
“This is normal for childbirth. Your mom is fine.” Annie figured this was a good life lesson for Libby. It might help to make wise choices as a teenager.
They had lost several hours of travel time in the cooler night temperatures. While there, they drank some water.
She cut away the bloody lining of Megan’s dress. If they found the bloody afterbirth and rags, the men would be able to hunt them down. She shoved it inside the haystack and stuffed the straw back inside. Having nothing else, she cut their tote bag in strips and folded over the sections to make a pad for Megan.
“I can’t go,” her sister said.
“Well, you sure as hell can’t stay,” Annie said. “We’ve got to find a way to get you back on that horse.” She placed the infant in the crook of Libby’s right arm. “Think you can hold him and the horse?”
“I can. Don’t worry about Trooper.”
Annie locked her fingers together. Step into my hands. I’m going to boost you up on his back.”
“Annie, I can’t.”
“You’ve got to. You have no choice.”
When Megan placed her foot in Annie’s hands, Annie used all her strength to lift her sister.
Megan cried out as she climbed on.
“You’re up,” Annie said. After loading the water jugs on the horse, she turned to Libby. “Give me the baby.” She cradled him in her arms as they walked. Libby led Trooper.
In the dark, they continued to the end of the field and came to a barbed-wire fence with a post and wire gate. Libby opened it and threw the wire back so they could enter.
“Better close that gate,” Annie suggested. “It could tip them off.”
Libby tethered the horse to a post, then pulled the wire into place and slipped the loop over it.
Ahead, cows covered the field. Clusters of them huddled together in the early morning hours. Thinking they were about to be fed, the cows bellowed out long mooing sounds.
When they came to a manmade pond where livestock drank, Annie and Libby stopped. It had almost dried up. Libby allowed Trooper to drink before they pushed on
A thin line of light shimmered across the horizon.
Dan would miss them soon.
“Do you have a name for him?” Annie asked, while looking down on her new nephew.
“Dan wanted to name him Jacob, but I’d rather it be Aiden.”
“Aiden, it is. Dan is a douche bag.”
When the sun rose, the back of the property would be more grueling than the pasture. The worst thing that had happened was Libby stepping in a cow pile.
“Think we’re still on commune property?” Annie asked.
“I think so. We should come to a fence.”
Tall cacti and clusters of rocks covered the ground.
The horse’s hooves clicked against the loose rocks. Trooper grunted and snorted.
Lizards zipped away as they approached.
The large horse shied left. Its eyes rolled back, and its ear lay back against its head. It made a deep rumbling neigh.
Megan gasped. “I’m going to fall off!”
“Grab his mane!” Libby said.
A rattler shook its tail in a deadly warning. Its head alert, tongue out.
“Libby, get back!” Megan screamed.
The snake was camouflaged. If not for the horse, they might have stumbled over it.
They continued keeping an eye out for snakes and scorpions.
Annie tried to keep one eye on Aiden while watching the path. The last thing she needed was to trip and drop him.
As the sun rose, the staggering dry heat consumed them. “I had hoped it’d stay cool for part of the morning.”
“It’s been like this all week,” Megan replied. “The crops have dried up. It’s hit the upper teens all week.”
Aiden started screaming, and Annie handed him to Megan. While sitting on the horse, she lifted her son to her breast. The infant latched on and nursed.
“Where do you think they’ll search first?” Annie asked.
“The cornfield near the road. It’s the path Connie took the night they murdered her. We had planned to go with her.” Megan explained how close they had come to being caught.
“The men will be driving out to feed the livestock,” Megan said. “Let’s pray the cows stomped over our footprints.”
A drop of sweat rolled down Annie’s back. At home, she would’ve been drenched in the Atlanta humidity. She couldn’t believe her sister had worked in this rough environment.
Ahead they saw another barbed-wire fence. Annie sighed with relief that they would be out of Cactus Point. There was only one problem. The horse couldn’t cross the fence. There wasn’t a gate. At the fence, she tested it for a weak spot. There wasn’t one.
“Think you can walk?” she asked Megan.
“I can help you, Mom.”
&nbs
p; Annie handed the baby to Libby and helped Megan down. She grimaced a moment and straightened up.
Annie draped the rope with the water bottles around her shoulders. They were incredibly heavy. After giving the baby back to her, Libby slipped the bridle over the horse’s head and hugged it before shooing it away. The horse turned and galloped back toward the commune. They would find it in the pasture with the cows. If they noticed the blood on its back, they might figure out where they had gone.
Crossing through the barbed-wire while juggling Aiden and their water bottles looked more like a comedy routine clowns in a circus would perform, but none of them were laughing.
Once on the other side, they stopped and drank water. Libby dug in her big pockets and pulled out two bonnets. Libby placed one on her mom, then offered Annie the other one. “I’m used to the sun and heat. You wear it.”
“Thanks, Libby. What if we take turns wearing it?”
Libby smiled. “That’ll work. We’re lost, aren’t we?”
“No, silly. Those mountain on our right are guiding us. We’re going south. You help your mom, and I’ll carry the water and Mr. Aiden.”
“That’s too much,” Megan said. “Let me carry Aiden.”
“You can barely walk. I’m fine.” Annie had prayed for God to help them, to give them strength and protect them. Good thing she’d gone to church the previous Sunday. She didn’t want to be one of those who reached out to God only when she was in trouble.
Aiden slept nestled in Annie’s arms. She stared at him a few moments, thinking how absolutely divine he was. Tiny, but perfect in every way.
Libby placed an arm under her mother and helped support her while they walked.
Megan grimaced as they continued at a tortoise’s pace over the cracked, dry earth.
The Arizona sun was mercilessly, scorching them. It didn’t take long for Annie’s muscles to burn from carrying the water and baby.
♦♦♦
Brice had slept until noon. Annie had been adamant that she wouldn’t make it out for a day or two. He called the hospital first for an update on Shea. She had improved and might even be sent home. He called the boys and informed them their mom was going to be all right. While talking to his sister, he asked if Shea could stay with her.
He removed his computer from the bag and set it up on the desk. He had to do his best to conduct business from the motel. Though Owen Reynolds sat in his office, the old man wouldn’t know what needed to be done.
