Innocence Lost

by T A Williams

  “Get up.” Roy’s voice woke her up from her slumber.

  Ally pushed herself back and searched for the shard of glass.

  “I’m getting you out of here. You’re fucking up Ethan’s head and I can’t have that. I’ll let you go if you promise to leave here and never come back. I’m not talking leave this area, I’m talking you leave Louisiana. Head over to Florida or Texas or wherever the fuck, just get out of here.”

  Ally paused as her mind tried to process what the man was saying.

  “You hear me, kid? I let you out and you get the fuck out of here, understand?”

  “Yeah.”

  Roy approached the cage and pulled the key from his pocket just as Ethan walked into the room.

  “You’re not going to sell her.”

  Roy stopped what he was doing and rolled his eyes before turning to Ethan. “No, I’m not going to sell the little bitch. I’m letting her go.”

  Ethan looked confused. “What do you mean, let her go?”

  “Exactly what the fuck I said. I’m letting her go.”

  “So she can stay here?”

  “She doesn’t want to stay here.” Roy answered quickly.

  Roy looked to her and Ally confirmed. The man turned red and began to shift his weight from side to side.

  “No, no, no. I know what you’re doing. You got in her head. You convinced her she’s not welcome here and that’s not the truth. We’re a family.”

  Roy slammed his fist against her cage. “God dammit, Ethan. Fucking listen to yourself. This bitch is driving you crazy. I don’t know what the fuck your problem is but she’s gone. I either let her go or we sell her. Which do you want?”

  Ethan’s face was blank and he stopped moving. “Don’t sell her.”

  “Then she’s gone. I let her out and no attempting to find her or any such bullshit, agreed?”

  Ethan nodded. Roy turned around began to unlock his cage when Ally saw Ethan pull a knife. Before she could register a thought, Ethan had closed the distance between them and plunged the knife into Roy’s side. Roy let out a howl of pain and sent an elbow across Ethan’s head, knocking the man back. Ethan rolled on the ground once, jumped to his feet and charged Roy again. The force of his impact sent both of them slamming into Ally’s cage and she heard Roy howl again in pain. From her vantage point she could see Roy’s body shake each time Ethan thrust the knife into the man’s stomach. Roy managed to grab a hold of both of Ethan’s wrists and pulled the man close, and with a sickening crack, slammed his head right into Ethan’s. Ethan collapsed on the ground and Roy fell to the side.

  Ally could see the blood beginning to drip from Roy’s shirt onto the ground but he still managed to drag himself over to Ethan and began to pummel the man. Punch after punch slammed against the troubled man’s face until the knife, still in his hand, shot up and dug right into Roy’s neck. For a second Roy didn’t move. He stood in place, opening and closing his mouth, and then let out a wet gurgle and fell to the side. Roy pulled the knife from his neck and a stream of blood shot from his neck and hit the floor next to Ally. She scrambled out of the way and watched as Roy tried to stop the stream of blood. It poured from in between his fingers until his hand was completely covered. He let his hand drop away for a second and the blood again flowed unimpeded. Roy didn’t try to stop it this time. Within moments, he slipped away.

  Her breaths came out in gasps as she looked at the pool of blood before her and tried to process what had just happened. Roy was dead in the corner of the room and Ethan lay in the middle unmoving, until he finally did. He shot up screaming something incomprehensible. His nose was stuck to the side and his right eye was almost closed shut. He looked around the room and stopped on Roy’s body.

  “Don’t worry, I got him.” he yelled to her.

  Ethan crawled through the pool of blood to Roy and picked his knife off the floor. He then shoved it back into the man’s chest. When Roy didn’t move he looked at her and smiled, one of his front teeth were missing. He picked up the key from the floor and walked up to the cage.

  Ally snapped back to her senses and began to frantically search for the shard of glass under her covers. As she heard the creek of the gate open, her hand fell onto the cool surface of the glass.

  “Come on, little bird, you don’t have to leave or live in a cage no more.”

  Ally grabbed the shard of glass and kept it to the side out of the man’s view. He stepped to the side as she exited the cage and laid his hand on her shoulder.

  “It’s the two of us now. Things are going to be ok.”

  She turned to run when his grip tightened around her shoulder and he swung her to him.

  “You don’t have to run anymore, little bird.”

  “Ethan,” Ally said slowly. “I don’t want to be here. I don’t need you to protect me.”

  Ethan stared at her blankly. “Then what is that?” He pointed to Roy’s dead body. “What did I just do there?”

  “You killed your friend. The same one that helped you kidnap me.”

  Ethan’s face began to get red. “You’re too young to understand, little bird. I am your protector. When you get older, you’ll understand.”

  He wasn’t going to let her go, not by choice. “Ethan, let me go.”

  Ethan’s grip tightened around her shoulder. “No, you’re mine.”

  In a flash, Ally shoved the shard of glass in his stomach. The sharp glass cut through his shirt and entered his belly like a hot knife through butter. Her hand was still on the shard of glass and she just stared at the object partially exposed from the man’s stomach. Ethan screamed and backhanded her across the face. Ally’s world spun in circles as she twisted in the air and landed hard on her back. She fell on her stomach and her left arm instantly went numb.

  “What the fuck did you do little bird? Why did you hurt me?” Ethan stared down at the shard of glass exiting his stomach. He gingerly pulled it out and fell to the ground where he threw up.

  Ally tried to get up but when she put pressure on her left arm she went crashing back onto the floor.

  Ethan looked to her with hatred in his eyes. “He turned you against me. He got in your head. We were supposed to be together. I’m a survivor, little bird, I won’t let you kill me.”

  Ethan was on her before she could move. He grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her down hard on the ground. Her head hit the floor and all the sound in the world became muted. He did it again and the world went fuzzy. She felt his hands around her throat and felt them squeeze, cutting off her air supply. His grip was too strong, she couldn’t break it. He was too heavy, she couldn’t push him off. The edges of the world began to darken when she managed to get one of her legs loose and kicked the man in the stomach right where the glass had entered. He toppled off of her and screamed in pain.

  Ally was on her feet and running before she fully realized it. Her head was still cloudy and her left arm hung lifelessly at her side. She ran through the front door and the bright sun blinded her temporarily. For so long she had only glimpsed this object from the dark living room where her cage sat and her eyes struggled to focus. She heard a scream of hatred erupt from inside the house and then the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching. Ally squinted her eyes and ran to the shed. She ran past where Tiger had been stabbed, past the spot where they had kidnapped her, into the shed and past the loose plank into her room.

  It was just as she left it, messy but hers. She grabbed her bow and arrow with her right hand and realized she still couldn’t move her left arm. She attempted to lift her left arm in the air and pain shot throughout her entire body. Something was wrong. She felt something warm dripping down her face and looked up expecting to see water coming from the roof but there was nothing. She reached up to wipe away the water and her hand came back covered in blood. Her head was bleeding and it felt like it was bleeding a lot. Her world shifted momentarily but she closed her eyes until it calmed back down.

  A loud smack came from the wall sepa
rating her room and the shed.

  “Little bird, come out here now. You need to be taught a lesson. We can still be together but first I need to teach you right from wrong.”

  “Go away!” she screamed. “I don’t like you. We aren’t together. You kidnapped me and put me in a cage, I hate you!”

  It was quiet.

  “He turned you completely against me, little bird. I’m sorry I couldn’t kill him sooner, but don’t worry, I’ll end your suffering. I won’t let you be all alone again”

  Another loud smack and the loose plank was pushed into her room. The opening was too small but Ethan could look in. The man had a crazed look in his eyes and strings of spit hung from his mouth. His right hand covered his stomach and blood had completely soaked through his shirt. Ethan flashed a knife.

  “We’ll die together.” he said as he began to throw his body against the weak wall.

  Ally laid on the ground with her back against the far wall. She steadied the bow with her left foot long enough for her to grab and place an arrow in the bow with her good hand. As another piece of wall broke off she put her left foot into the bow to point it and pulled back with her right arm. Ethan stepped into the room and stopped, a look of confusion appeared on his face.

  “What are you doing, little bird?”

  Ally let loose and the arrow struck him square in the chest. He took a few steps back and fell out of sight. The world shifted again but this time when she closed her eyes it didn’t stop. She rolled to her side and emptied her stomach. Her body tried to again but she didn’t have anything left. Ally braced herself with her good arm and stood up. She needed to get to the city and find help but it was over a mile away.

  She exited her room and saw Ethan laying on the ground with the arrow sticking out of his chest. At first it appeared he was swaying from side to side but Ally realized it was her. The man’s eyes were blank and were looking up at the ceiling, his right hand clutching the arrow.

  The man was dead.

  Ally felt nothing.

  She stumbled out of the shed into the bright and hot world she hadn’t been in for what seemed like forever. She wiped more blood from her face before it could get into her eyes, as the trees in front of her danced and moved in tight circles. Ally took small steps but soon the shifting world became too much and she fell to her knees. Something was wrong but she didn’t know what she was supposed to do. She could hunt, she could trade, she could scavenge, but she didn’t know how to handle this.

  She wanted Alec.

  She heard a bark that seemed to come from right next to her and from a mile away at the same time. It came several more times and her eyes caught movement in the tree line. Tiger stood there. He couldn’t have been real. She had seen Roy stab him. Tiger ran to her and nudged her gently. She felt his warm breath against her face and felt his soft fur on her skin. Ally laid her head on his side and saw a large white bandage over where he had been stabbed.

  Tiger began barking towards the tree line but the world was spinning too quickly and Ally closed her eyes. She fell back against the hard ground and didn’t try to move. She heard yelling coming from the tree line and was certain it was human. She felt Tiger lay his head on her chest and then felt hands picking her up.

  Alec

  There was still snow on the ground but its time was nearing an end. The bone-chilling cold had left and in its place came warmer days and only slightly freezing cold nights. Alec watched as Beverly and a few others went into the hen house to pick out some eggs for breakfast. His stomach growled in anticipation.

  The winter had not been as harsh as it had been the last two years but it had still been a challenge. Every night everyone had food on their table and warmth in their homes and for that Alec was grateful. They had lost April to sickness but everyone else had made it through. During the winter months, when weather allowed, Freddie went to Centralia to see how they doing and to see if there was anything to trade. The town had made it through but had not been as lucky as them. There had been a hunting accident that took the life of one of their younger ones, and the sicknesses hit them much harder. All and all they ended the winter with eleven less souls than when it started. In order for the settlement and for Centralia to thrive they were going to have to find trading partners outside of their safe zone.

  A gunshot knocked him out of his thoughts. For a moment he stood there trying to register what it was he heard but the scream that followed helped him connect the dots. It was hard to pinpoint where the gunshot came from but the accompanying shouts originated by the trailers on the east side of the settlement.

  As he rounded the corner he came upon Jack laying on the ground. For a second he could almost convince himself Jack had merely fallen down, but when the man turned over his hands were covering his lower stomach and blood was seeping between his fingers. Pain was evident on the old man’s face. He glanced at Alec and then focused on something else. Alec squatted down next to him.

  “Alec, run.” he said.

  Alec followed Jack’s gaze and settled on Clive. The man was about half the size he had been when he had left their settlement. The man’s clothes were torn and dirty and hung off him like someone had tried to dress a skeleton. Dirt covered his face and was caked into the man’s beard. The white of Clive’s eyes were evident and he glanced around like a crazed animal waiting to strike out. Nearly lost in this mess of a man was Trevor’s daughter Jamie. Clive was holding the young girl in a headlock with his left hand as he swung around a pistol in his right.

  Clive’s eyes met Alec and recognition dawned on the man’s face and he gave him a sneer.

  “I told you, this is the only law you need,” he gestured towards the gun in his hand. “I helped build this place and I’ll burn it to the ground if I need to.”

  Alec stood up slowly and held his hands in the air. “Clive, put the gun down. You’re mad at me you don’t want to hurt Jamie”

  The girl let out a scream as Clive jerked her to the side and tightened his grip on her.

  “You all think you are better than me, even her.” Clive glanced around searching for something. “Where is Trevor? Where is the hero? He thinks it’s a fair fight sneaking up behind someone and hitting them? I’ll show him a fair fight.”

  Tears streaked down Jamie’s face and Alec was aware of Jack laying near him slowly bleeding to death. From the corner of his eye he could see movement but couldn’t tell if it was someone coming to help or just people trying to get to safety.

  “Clive, take me. Let Jamie go and take me hostage. You know that Jamie never judged you, she never did anything to you, and it’s me and Trevor you’re mad at.”

  Clive glanced around again only this time he seemed confused. His forehead scrunched up and it looked like he was mumbling something to himself. Finally he shook his head violently and pointed the gun at Jamie’s head.

  Alec’s stomach dropped: he was going to kill her. “No,” he said forcefully. “You’re problem is with me. This is my kingdom and these are my laws. You are nothing to me, just another peasant I order around to do my bidding.”

  The confusion on Clive’s face increased but the gun dropped slightly.

  “You were right about me, I think I’m better than you and I’ve told everyone here to act like they’re better than you. They have to listen to me because I’m their king. You were the only one that wouldn’t listen to me and that is why I kicked you out.”

  Confusion began to be replaced with anger and then Clive turned the gun on Alec.

  “These people didn’t hate you, Jamie sure as hell didn’t hate you. They have just been following my orders. If they didn’t then I would kick them out just like I kicked you out.”

  Clive let Jamie go and for a moment, the girl just stood there, unsure of what to do, but within seconds she came to her senses and ran off. It was just Alec, Clive and the gun.

  Clive took a step toward Alec. “You acted like you were different but you were the reason people hated me.” It sou
nded like a mix between a statement and a question.

  Alec merely nodded his head.

  “I’m going to destroy your kingdom.”

  Trevor stepped into view behind Clive with a shovel in hand. All he needed was a few seconds but the look on Clive’s face didn’t look like he was going to give Alec that long.

  “Do you want the truth Clive?” Alec asked.

  Clive shook his head no and tightened his grip on the gun. “I already know the truth.”

  Trevor came down with the shovel on Clive’s head just as Alec dove to the side. The gun went off and Alec’s ears were filled with the gunshot. On the ground he waited to feel the pain, he waited to feel where the bullet connected but his ears cleared and he still didn’t feel anything. When he opened his eyes Margie was there next to him and Trevor was standing over the downed Clive.

  “Are you ok?” she asked.

  Alec didn’t answer instead he rolled over and turned to Jack.

  The man was still lying there but he was gone.

  Alec

  The breeze flowed gently through the hidden meadow, giving off the soft sounds of the leaves swaying with their passing. Alec sat on the ground, staring ahead at the two things he had been avoiding since he had come back, or more accurately the two things he had avoided since they happened. Part of him didn’t remember digging the graves that sat in front of him. He remembered Freddie and Whitford doing the bulk of the work of digging the graves, but he couldn’t remember if he helped with that. The clearest memory he had of the time was placing their bodies in the ground. They had both been covered up so their faces weren’t visible and Alec remembered trying to register the fact that these two people who had been such a big part in his life were gone. That he would never see their face again or hear their voice, or feel their warmth. Even now he could not wrap his mind around that reality.

  The sites had changed after he left. There were now wooden crosses with Grant’s and Joseph’s name on it. There were flowers planted near them and the entire area was cleared out. When Alec left and even when he returned but was unable to come to the site, Jack had taken care of it. He had been there and had given the place the attention it deserved. But now the man was gone.