by Frank Bates
“Well, I pray I’ll never have to use this but thank you for teaching me, Seth.” Father Alain said. They said their farewells to each other and Father Alain gave a piece of beef jerky to Brodie as a parting gift. Seth introduced them to each other when they took a break from the lesson.
Seth had finally arrived at the cabin. He let out the curious dog from the truck and led him to the front door. “Welcome to your new home, Brodie!” Seth said as he swung the door open. Brodie ran into the cabin, barking happily. He was still weak so he could not bark as loud as he wanted to but he showed his gratefulness in the energetic wag of his tail. Seth smiled down at him and told him he could check the place out while Seth brought in his stuff.
Seth was busy with moving his things and caring for Brodie that he didn’t notice the suspicious vehicle headed for the cabin.
Chapter Nine: Amelia Meets Whitney
"C'mon, William. You can do it." Amelia said supporting William on her side as they tried to make their way to the main gate. They had only gotten a few feet away from the court where Amelia fought with the two goons.
The goons were no longer in the vicinity and it didn't seem like anyone was going to show up and cause trouble for them. Still, Amelia thought it wise to move as fast as they could.
Suddenly, Amelia lost her balance and fell to the side. William had stopped walking and the unexpected weight of his body caused Amelia to fall to the side.
Amelia grunted in pain, rubbing her sore backside. "William, why'd you stop?" She asked, a bit pissed. She looked at him and saw that his eyes were closed and his breath was coming in short, light puffs.
"William?" Amelia lightly shook him. "Are you okay? Can you still go on?"
William's eyes opened a little though he didn't look at her. He just looked straight ahead. "Amelia."
"What is it?" Amelia said in a steady, calm voice that was at odds with how she felt inside.
"I want you to leave me here."
Amelia's eyes widened. "What are you talking about? I can't leave you alone here?"
"No, I don't...” He gasped. “Have much longer anyway. There's no use in bringing me with you. I'll just drag you down."
Amelia felt her throat tighten. William had been one of her best students and best friends. Seeing him like that not only scared her but tore at her heart.
"You're not going to drag me down. You'll be fine, William. Just a little more and we'd be out of here."
William sighed and took a shallow breath. "Leave me."
"No. I--"
"Please." William sighed. "We both know I don't have much time left. Amelia, you're one of the best people I've ever known and it had been an honor to learn from you and to be called your friend so please, grant me this selfishness one last time and survive—for my sake, for your sake."
Amelia couldn't stop the tears from falling. They spilled over her cheeks as she tried to hold in a sob. She had always been known as a strong and brave woman. No one had ever seen her cry and she knew that William would feel upset if he saw her like that. Amelia didn't want his last moments to be one of regret.
"All right. I'll leave." Amelia said. "Thank you, William, for everything. Thank you for being my friend." Amelia swept the hair from his forehead and laid a gentle kiss there. She stood up and left. The last of William she saw was of him smiling.
*****
Amelia was just walking down the road following its winding path having no idea where to go. It had been such a long time since she had been outside and free. It was ironic though. She had finally achieved freedom only to have it when the world was no longer the same—a time when simply breathing could kill someone. It was like she had been finally given a piece of her favorite chocolate cake only to be told that it was poisoned. Amelia took a deep breath. Oh, well. It’s not like I have anyone waiting for me. Seriously, Amelia thought, what should I do now?
Amelia had walked about half a mile when she came upon a Church’s Chicken restaurant with a burning helicopter on its rooftop. “That’s new. Whoever came up with that design had a very unique sense of artistry.”
The helicopter had become charred. The flames that had once devoured it had dwindled down and was on its way to burning itself out. The surrounding area was deserted except for a few a cars that had been abandoned.
Amelia was still looking at the restaurant, wondering if she could cook some food if she went inside. There must be some chicken left. She could fry a couple and make spicy buffalo wings. Her stomach grumbled and she remembered that she hadn’t eaten anything yet. “You know what, I’m going to do just that.”
Amelia was about to go into the store when she heard a commotion on the rooftop. She looked up and saw a young girl stumbling to the edge of roof and doubling over, coughing. The girl was dangerously close to falling off of the rooftop. If she moved just a little bit more forward, she was going to be in trouble.
The girl looked down and saw Amelia. “Please help me!” She said.
“Okay. Just stay calm and don’t move from there. I’ll be right back.” Amelia called out to the girl. The girl nodded.
“Okay, let’ see.” Amelia looked around for a ladder or something that she can step or climb on and reach for the girl but there was none. “Now what are the chances that a trampoline is around here somewhere?” If she found one, the girl could jump down instead. Okay, fine. Who was she kidding? There’s no way something convenient like that would be lying around.
Amelia went back to the front of the restaurant. “Hey!” She called out to the girl. “Do you see any door there? You can go down through it.”
“I-I’ll check!” The girl said. Amelia watched her disappear from view. After a minute or so, the girl came back, almost ready to cry. “There’s no door here!”
Shit. Amelia looked around with her hands on her hips. Is there really no trampoline around I might have just missed it.
“Please help me!” The girl cried.
“All right. Here’s what I want you to do.” Amelia said. “See the ledge there? I want you to go there.”
The girl looked at where Amelia was pointing. “Are you crazy? I can’t possibly get down there.”
“You want to get down here or not?”
“I’m not going to that ledge!”
“Fine. You can stay up there forever for all I care.” Amelia said and turned her back.
“Wait!” The girl sobbed. “F-Fine. I-I’ll go down there.”
“That’s a good girl.” Amelia smiled. She watched as the young girl carefully climbed over the edge of the rooftop and slowly lowered herself to the ledge with shaking arms.
“You can do it! Don’t worry, I’m here. I’ll catch you so just relax and take it slow.” Amelia cheered from below.
At last, the young girl was able to lower herself successfully onto the ledge. “I-I did it.” She said with a wide, watery smile.
“You sure did. Now, I need you to drop down from there and I’ll catch you.”
“What!?”
“Well, how else did you expect to get down here?”
“I thought you asked me to go to this ledge so I can climb down using a ladder or something.”
“It’s good to have hope, kid.” Amelia told her.
“Don’t patronize me!” The girl said, outraged.
“Ooh, big word. Now jump.”
The girl was at a loss for words. She realized that there truly was no other way for her to get down other than to jump off the ledge. Biting her lip, she stepped cautiously to the edge of the ledge. “All right,” She said. “But make sure to catch me!”
Amelia readied herself to catch the girl. “Okay, now ju—”
The tail of the helicopter fell off and made a loud noise surprising the girl, catching her off guard. Her foot slipped off the edge of the ledge and she plummeted down, screaming.
Luckily, Amelia remained steadfast and was fully prepared to catch her. She caught the girl and set her on the ground. The girl was in shock and she was
crying hard.
“Shh. It’s okay now. You’re okay now.” Amelia said, rubbing the girl’s back soothingly. The girl continued to cry and Amelia let her. She could only imagine how scared and stressed out the young girl was—what she’d been through.
Sometime later, the girl relaxed and eventually her tears had stopped. “Are you feeling better now?” Amelia asked.
The girl nodded. “I’m sorry for calling you crazy a while ago. Thanks for saving me.”
Amelia grinned. “Don’t mention it.” A loud sound interrupted their moment. The girl raised an eyebrow at Amelia who shrugged. “What? I haven’t eaten for two days.”
The two women went inside the abandoned Church’s Chicken restaurant. The girl sat down in one of the empty tables near the counter. “Wow, I’ve always wondered how it would feel like to be in an empty restaurant and just be able to eat whatever I wanted.”
“Now you have.” Amelia said from behind the counter where she was looking for ingredients.
“And now I have.” The girl said quietly. “Look to the bright side, I guess.”
Amelia started making buffalo wings. It was a good thing that the chickens were well-preserved and so were the other stuff in the kitchen. While she was frying huge pieces of chicken wings, Amelia started a conversation with the young girl.
“So, what’s your name?”
“My name is Elizabeth. You can call me Liz. And you?”
“My name is Amelia.”
“I don’t mean to be rude but are you an... escaped prisoner? You’re wearing an orange jumpsuit so…”
“That I am. I got out of prison today.” Amelia said. Liz nodded. “Why? Are you scared of me now?”
Liz shook her head. “I’m not scared of you. You don’t seem like a bad person.”
“Aww, thanks.” Amelia said making Liz giggle. “What happened to you? That was your helicopter up there, right?”
“Yeah. That helicopter belonged to my family. I was with Scott, my bodyguard. We were on our way to Virginia to meet my mother when suddenly the pilot lost control of the helicopter and we crashed to this fast food place. I was the only one who survived.”
Amelia glanced at Liz. The young girl displayed a composed facade that only someone broken and hopeless could show.
“Food’s ready.” Amelia said carrying over to the table two platefuls of spicy buffalo wings.
Liz’s eyes widened. “That’s way too much.”
“Let me tell you girl, if you weren’t here, I could have eaten all these on my own so be grateful and eat or I’ll eat your share for you.”
“Uh, thank you for the food.”
The two ladies ate their meal in relative silence broken occasionally by Amelia’s enthusiastic exclamations over her food. If Liz were to be asked to describe Amelia it would probably go something like this: “She loves spicy buffalo wings.”
They were halfway through their meal when Amelia picked up on sounds coming nearer from the north. She looked out the window and saw a group of men riding motorcycles headed for the store.
Finishing a piece of chicken wing, Amelia ushered Liz under the counter. Liz kept asking what was wrong but Amelia ignored and practically shoved her down under the counters. Liz resisted her and slapped away the older woman’s hand on her head.
“Seriously, what’s wrong, Amelia?”
“There are people headed this way and they don’t look friendly so I suggest you keep quiet and stay out of sight.”
Liz had gone white at the prospect of an encounter. “T—Then I need to find something to defend myself with.” Liz said and got out of her hiding place.
“Liz!” Amelia snapped.
Liz looked around the kitchen for a weapon. She went around opening drawers and cabinets. Unable to find a suitable weapon, she went to the backroom in hopes of finding something.
“Where are you going? Elizabeth!” Amelia called out, running out of patience. The loud sound of the motorcycles’ engines had gotten a lot closer. She could make out the faces of the oncoming riders and cursed. The day was so not going well.
Just then, Liz returned to the kitchen. “I found something.” She said and held up a large revolver in both hands. Amelia whistled at the sight of it. “I’m going to use it.” Liz said.
“Wait, what? Do you even know how to shoot a gun?” Amelia asked incredulously.
“No.”
“Give it to me. You’re going to hurt yourself trying to shoot that thing.”
“No way. How am I supposed to protect myself?” Liz said moving the gun out of Amelia’s reach.
“I can protect you and I will. Now, please give me the gun and hide because the bad guys are about to come in.”
Liz looked behind Amelia and sure enough, a group of dangerous looking men had already parked before the restaurant and were starting to get off their motorcycles. Starting to panic, she gave up the gun to Amelia and hid again under the counter. Amelia took the gun from her and hid it in a drawer.
The door to the restaurant opened while Amelia was washing her hands. A group of four men entered the building, looking around. One of the men sniffed the air. “Oh, is that fried chicken?”
Amelia stayed silent and watched them like a hawk, waiting for them to notice her though she hoped they wouldn’t but with her luck, she knew that was impossible. The man standing before the others exuding a strong aura was unmistakably the leader. He was also the worst person Amelia had ever known and wished to never cross paths with. The guy was a known pervert. He was a serial rapist and a sexual predator. He didn’t care who he was raping—grown women or young children—he didn’t discriminate. As long as the target was female and vulnerable, he’d be sure to go after her. He didn’t get caught until he accidentally killed a teenager after raping her repeatedly for days. The teenager just happened to be the daughter of a prominent family. The family used everything they had to have him incarcerated. The said man swung his head towards her direction and recognition lit up his eyes.
“If it isn’t Amelia Dale.” He said. “I didn’t expect to see you here. How did you get out?”
“Adam.” Amelia nodded at him by way of greeting. “A friend helped me.”
“Hm. Well, congratulations on getting out.” Adam smiled at her. That was the thing about Adam. The man could be very charming when he wanted to. The way he looked and acted were disarming. Charm and cunning, a very dangerous combination in a man like him.
“Thanks.”
“We were out looking for supplies and we passed by this store. Do you mind if we look around a bit? We won’t take much, I promise.”
Amelia thought it over. If I say no, they’ll surely make a commotion. As much as possible, I don’t want trouble. “Sure.” She said and flashed him a sharp look. “But make it quick.”
Adam chuckled and directed the three men with him to look for anything useful in the store. The men dispersed to various directions. One of the men sniffed the air and wandered over to the counter. “Ooh!” He exclaimed. “So, this was what I’d been smelling.” He reached for the plate with his dirty hands. Amelia stabbed a knife on the counter in front of the plate, nearly stabbing the guy’s hand. He jumped back in surprise.
“I practically have a relationship with spicy buffalo wings so if you don’t want to get hurt, get your grimy hands off my food.” Amelia shot a menacing glare at the guy.
He looked at the plate and back at Amelia. “Not even one?”
“Don’t make me repeat myself.” Amelia said in a low voice.
The guy was clearly in a state of dilemma. He debated whether it was worth pursuing the issue or if it would be safer for him to go away based on the murderous look in Amelia’s eyes. Shooting one last longing glance at the plate, the guy decided on the latter.
“Fine.” He said. He made a move to enter the kitchen but Amelia blocked his way. “What is it this time?”
“There’s nothing here so go away.” Amelia said.
“Look, Amelia. Adam told
us we need to look for supplies and where else can food be found?” The guy tried to pass by Amelia but still she blocked his way. He sighed in irritation.
“Look, buddy. I don’t like repeating myself. Move away from my food and from my kitchen.” Amelia moved toward the guy, invading his space. “Now.”
The guy has had enough and snapped. Whipping out a gun, he pointed it at Amelia’s head. “No, how about you get the fuck out of my way.”
Tension rose between the two locked in a standoff. The intensity of the rising animosity between them caught the attention of the other men.
“What’s going on here?” Adam asked as he walked over to them.
Alarm rose in Amelia’s chest. She sneaked a glance down at Liz who looked back at her with fear in her eyes. Using her body as a shield, Amelia remained steadfast in barricading the small entrance to the kitchen.
The guy turned to Adam. “This bitch here wouldn’t let me go into the kitchen.”
Adam turned his attention on Amelia. “Amelia, I thought you said we can look around here.”
“Yes, I did but I told you to do it quickly. You’ve been here way too long for my liking and I’m getting really antsy.”
“So impatient. I suppose that is one proof that you are indeed a woman.” Adam said as he let his gaze travel down Amelia’s body. “From what I’ve heard at the prison, I thought you were a monster.” He looked back into Amelia’s eyes. Amelia felt bile rise in her throat. Fucking pervert.
“Let my guy here look into the kitchen for a bit, will you? We’ll just get some food or is it that…” Adam glanced down towards Liz’s direction. “You’re hiding something?” He strolled towards the other end of the counter. Amelia’s eyes kept glued on Adam’s movements. “Ah, that’s right. We saw a chopper on the roof. I wonder if there were any survivors? Have you seen any, Amelia?”
Amelia gripped the knife harder in her hand. Her eyes hardened and the corner of Adam’s lips lifted.
The guy before her gripped her shoulder and started to roughly push her aside but Amelia raised the knife she was gripping and stabbed him in the chest. He staggered back, clutching at his chest, eyes wide in confusion unable to process what just happened. Adam’s two other goons got alerted and opened fire at her. She ducked and grabbed the revolver from the drawer.
