by C. Cervi
Conditions are bad here. Although I suspected that was the case, it was still a shock to see it in person. All of the prisoners were in shackles, and most of them had their wrists tied to the small cots. The smell of human waste, and diseased flesh filled the air, and I had to visit “the hole” frequently. Needless to say, I didn’t eat my lunch.
I saw Jesse, only for a moment. They keep him in a special room, it’s small and dark. I know how much Jesse hates the dark. I’ll have to see what I can do about getting him out of there.
Aaron jumped suddenly at a slight shuffling noise, and quickly blew out the light. He stayed under the bed in the dark for a long time, waiting. He couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching him. Straining his ears, he listened for the slightest sound. He couldn’t be sure, but he could almost make out the sounds of someone breathing.
C
hapter 9
Eventually, sheer exhaustion won out over self-preservation, and Aaron fell asleep. The next morning, he awoke to the sound of Keith yelling his name, and he sprang up, only to hit his head soundly on the board his mattress was strewn across. He gave a loud yelp and then slid out into the open. Rubbing at the knot forming on the back of his head, he looked up at Keith in aggravation.
“What are you yelling about?” he asked.
“Sorry about that,” Keith responded, “I came in and didn’t see you . . . I . . . well, I . . . what were you doing under there anyway?”
Aaron looked around cautiously and noted with relief that Keith had shut the door behind him.
“I was trying to read this journal,” he answered quietly, holding up the worn book.
“Did you find anything out?” Keith asked.
“No, I had to quit before I got started,” he replied, then answered Keith’s next question before he could ask it. “I’m pretty sure I was being watched. I blew out the candle as soon as I heard something, but I think they might have seen me anyway.”
“What do you mean?” Keith asked. “Who saw you, and how could they see you without you seeing them?”
Aaron’s gaze shifted over to the wall nearest his bed. He seemed to study it quietly for a few moments.
“I’m not sure,” was all he said aloud.
“Well, I have something to tell you,” Keith said, with just a hint of superiority in his voice. “Tom left again last night. I got up to follow him and that was when I noticed Philip was awake too.”
“What did he have to say?” Aaron questioned.
“He couldn’t tell me much, just that his brother sneaks out every two or three days,” Keith answered. “He said, he’s not sure where he goes—Tom won’t talk about it.”
Aaron crossed to his water pitcher to get a drink while Keith continued.
“There’s more,” he said. “Philip told me that he always comes back with a little pouch, and he hides it in the floor boards. I think Philip’s as curious as I am to know what Tom’s up to. I’m going to try and come up with a way to take a look.”
Aaron reached out to stop Keith, placing a restraining hand on his shoulder.
“Don’t go doing anything hasty,” he said. “Take your time, listen to your instincts. When the time is right, you’ll know it.”
Keith surprised Aaron by pulling away from his grasp, and stalking toward the door.
“My instincts are telling me that we need to get out of here,” he said, leaving the door open behind him.
Aaron sighed and re-deposited the book inside his belt, tightening it against his middle. He quickly caught up with his brother and gave him a grin. He was relieved when Keith returned it. Every ounce of Aaron’s being agreed with his younger brother. They needed to get away, but as he entered the dining hall, he was reminded once again of why things weren’t that simple.
Emily sat timidly in her seat and gave him a small smile, this time it almost reached her sad, blue eyes. He noted with some satisfaction that Tom and Philip had rejoined their table, and he opened his mouth to say good morning. He quickly closed it again after catching a glimpse of Philip’s face. The young boy’s eyes were red and puffy and he refused to look up from his plate. Tom seemed in an equally despondent mood, and their light breakfast of hard grits was eaten in silence. Aaron flashed a glance at Keith, nodding in his roommate’s direction, but Keith just shrugged his shoulders helplessly. Whatever happened had happened after Keith left the room that morning.
Aaron had predicted that they would be scheduled for the fields again and he was right. On their way across the yard he spoke quietly to Keith.
“You remember the two prisoners we were working with yesterday, right?” Aaron continued without waiting for an answer. “I need you to work your charms with the girl, Annie, and see if you can get her to talk to you.”
Keith raised an eyebrow at that statement.
“Emily said she does things,” he continued. “If that means what I think it does, then she may have more information than just about anyone else here. At the very least, I need you to try and keep her away from me, so I can talk to her brother. He’s a regular chatter box, but it’s going to take some coaxing to get him to talk about the right things.”
Keith agreed, seeming relieved to actually be doing something productive. Within twenty minutes time, he and Annie had worked their way to the far edge of the field, and Keith even had her giggling every once in a while. Aaron just shook his head, once again, amazed that even at such a young age, his younger brother already had a way with women.
By the time Emily arrived with the afternoon meal, Aaron had established an easy camaraderie with Meri, and had found out the histories of about half the prisoners in the place, along with a rough sketch of the property. From the information he had gathered, it seemed that the only way in and out was indeed the front gate, which for as long as Meri and his sister had been there, had always remained unlocked.
“Has anyone ever tried to just walk out before,” Aaron asked.
Meri had suddenly found the ground very interesting. “Once . . . he didn’t come back alive.”
Aaron was glad to see that Meri was starting to loosen up and decided he would start asking him some more pointed questions after they had eaten.
The weather that day had decided to provide them a small relief and the sun shone brightly, while a soft breeze carried the refreshing scent of rain soaked earth. Aaron and Keith decided to walk while they ate, stretching out their cramped muscles.
“I haven’t been able to get anything out of her yet,” Keith said, tossing his head toward Annie. “But I get the feeling that she’d sell out her own mother if I had anything to offer her.”
“Well, for now, just keep her thinking you’re friendly,” Aaron answered. “Eventually we might have something to barter with.”
Aaron paused in their walking for a moment, allowing the gentle breeze to flow over him.
“Keith,” he said finally, “I’ve been thinking about that delivery Emily told us about. I don’t want to raise your hopes, but I might have a plan.”
At Keith’s sudden intake of breath, he hurried on.
“There’s no way to know for sure when it’s coming.”
“Aaron, do you think . . .” Keith started.
“I don’t think trying to escape with him is going to be easy, if that’s what you’re thinking, otherwise it would have been done already. I figured he probably comes at night, so the prisoners will be asleep in the house. I’m working on an idea. If we can’t get away, maybe there will be some way to at least send a message to Pa.”
Aaron paused, examining Keith closely. He knew him too well, and he recognized the scheming look in his brother’s eyes. He knew there would be no use in making Keith promise not to try anything. Which meant he now not only needed to come up with a plan for tomorrow night, but he also needed to come up with a way to keep Keith’s mind on things other than escaping.
“The only reason I’m telling you this,” he said aloud, “is because I want you to be ready, jus
t in case, not because I want you to do something stupid.”
Keith opened his mouth to protest, but when he caught the teasing smirk on Aaron's face, he remained silent. They had finished the little bit of food Emily had brought long ago, and decided they should re-join Annie and Meri, who were already back at work.
“Keith, in about ten minutes," Aaron said as they walked back, "I’m going to excuse myself to that clump of bushes over there. I want to see if I can read a little more from the journal. You whistle or something if it seems like anyone is getting suspicious.”
Keith nodded and ten minutes later, Aaron assured Meri he would only be gone a moment, then headed for the bushes.
Journal Entry – 11 May
I’m so tired. I guess that’s my own fault, I traded one of the other guards for his shift. I wanted to see if I could get a chance to talk to Jesse. It’s not easy to get anything past the guard captain over here. Nobody wants to deal with these prisoners so he’s given free rein. Power hasn’t been good for him. Giving power to a man like that is like trying to use gunpowder to put out a fire. Of course, he and Jesse clashed right off. It seems the captain’s made breaking him, his special project. I’ve been told that nobody is allowed to go anywhere near the room where they keep him locked up. I’m going to have to be very careful, and plan every detail just right, in order to get to him. I got close once, as close as I dared, while the captain was at lunch. I’m pretty sure I could hear Jesse crying. He can’t stand the dark.
Aaron jerked upright from where he’d been crouched behind the bushes when he heard Keith calling his name. There was an urgency to his voice that immediately put Aaron on alert.
“What is it?” he asked, scanning the area for any sign of something out of place.
“Grant was just here,” Keith answered breathlessly. “He was asking if we’d seen Tom. He and Philip had gone to dump a load from their cart and didn’t come back. Grant found Philip running down one of the tunnels screaming for his brother. From what Grant could get out of him, Tom was there one minute and then gone the next.”
Aaron felt his stomach tighten and his dark eyebrows drew together in concern. He turned as if to leave the field, but Keith reached out to stop him.
“Where are you going?” Keith asked him.
Aaron pulled himself gently from Keith’s grasp.
“It’s all right,” he answered. “I’m just going to talk to Grant.”
“You can’t leave,” Annie said as she and Meri joined the two brothers. “It won’t do Tom any good, and you’ll just be putting the rest of us at risk.”
There was no mistaking the fear in Meri’s eyes, nor the hostility in his sister’s tone.
“Look,” Aaron said, keeping his voice even, “if Tom is missing, we have to help. He could be hurt, or . . .”
“It’s not the first time someone’s disappeared,” Annie interrupted. “It happens all the time. If you’re taken, it’s so they can punish you. He’ll either be back tomorrow morning or he’ll . . .”
Her voice tapered off as she coldly shrugged her shoulders.
“He’ll what?” Aaron demanded.
“Grant will tell us if there is a new grave in the tunnels tomorrow,” Meri finished softly for his sister. “There’s nothing we can do right now. Grant will see to Philip.”
“Do you mean to tell me,” Keith demanded, advancing menacingly, “you’re just going to sit around and do nothing? What if it was your sister that was taken?”
Aaron quickly stepped in front of Meri and laid a restraining hand on Keith’s shoulder, whose red face and fiery eyes were sure signs that he was about to lose control. Everyone was startled when Annie spoke abruptly.
“I’ve been taken,” she said, and although she kept her voice low, it shook with fear and rage. “I was taken, and I came back. Nobody came after me and I survived just fine.”
Aaron wanted to ask her why she’d been taken and what had been done to her, but it was clear from her angry silence that she wasn’t going to answer any questions about her experience. He decided to try and change the subject.
“Why would they have taken Tom?” he asked quietly.
“Maybe for standing around talking when he should have been working,” Annie replied bitterly.
She turned then and stormed back to her rock pile. Keith looked as if he were about to follow her, but Aaron managed to catch his eye, and shook his head discreetly.
“I’m sorry,” Meri spoke up finally. “It’s just this place, and when they took her it . . . well . . . she changed after that.”
Keith’s body became rigid and he folded his arms across his chest, turning his gaze to the ground he kicked at some rocks. Aaron understood what he was feeling, he was feeling it himself. The anger that built from knowing someone innocent had been hurt.
“I’ll work with her for the rest of the day,” Meri continued. “There’s nothing you can do for Tom. There was nothing I could do for . . .”
Meri didn’t finish his statement, he didn’t have to. The tormented look in his eyes as he crossed the field to join his sister told them what they needed to know.
“Aaron, do you think what they did to her . . . Well, I mean do you think they . . .” Keith started.
“Yeah,” Aaron said, cutting off his question.
“Well, she must have seen something. Maybe she . . .” Keith’s voice faded as he watched his brother’s expression.
“Who’s going to ask her Keith? Do you want her to have to relive those memories?”
Keith looked startled for a moment and then sighed softly, rubbing the back of his neck.
“No,” he answered. “I guess I’m just getting desperate. They must have found out that Tom snuck out last night. I wish I could go talk to Philip.”
“You will,” Aaron answered. “Tonight. Right now I think we better get back to work. Whoever is in charge of this place watches things pretty closely, and I don’t want either one of us disappearing.”
The rest of the day dragged on slowly as Aaron’s mind continued to worry over Tom’s disappearance. He hated to admit it, even to himself, but he’d had his suspicions about Tom. The fact that the man was now missing seemed to prove his innocence. He wondered what was happening to him right now, if he was even still alive.
When it was finally time to go inside for the night, Aaron and Keith hung back, waiting for Philip and finally spotted him at the rear of the line. The boy’s drooping shoulders and dragging feet let Aaron know he wasn’t in very good shape. When they reached him, Aaron laid a hand on his shoulder, turned the boy to face him, and noted his swollen eyes and tear-stained cheeks. He’d almost forgotten how young Philip was, not quite twelve-years-old yet.
“Hey,” he said, hoping his voice sounded reassuring. “It’s gonna be okay.”
He watched, helpless as Philip fell to his knees in front of him and broke down, agonizing sobs causing his thin body to convulse as he rocked back and forth. Not knowing what else to do, Aaron picked the boy up and carried him back to the house.
After they had been seated and the Gardener passed out plates of steaming mushy grits that were leftover from breakfast, Philip finally wiped at his eyes and looked gratefully at Aaron.
“Thanks,” he said. “You must think I’m a real baby cryin’ like that.”
“No, I don’t think that,” Aaron said, giving Philip a reassuring smile.
“He . . . he’s gonna be all right. I know he is,” Philip continued. “I . . . I just wish I knew what was happening to him.”
“Now, don’t you go borrowing trouble, “Aaron said, repeating a phrase his father often used. “Your brother wouldn’t want you worrying about him all night when you need your rest.”
Philip nodded and loudly swallowed the lump in his throat. Aaron was surprised when Emily reached across the table and laid her small hand gently over Philip’s, and he watched as the young boy looked up and met her eyes. Philip seemed to take comfort in something he saw there, and managed
to make it through the rest of the meal with no more tears.
Aaron kept close to Philip as they made their way up the stairs, hoping the boy could at least draw some strength from his presence. Before they parted for their separate rooms he turned to Keith.
“Why don’t you tell Philip about some of our adventures tonight?” he whispered. “You know, to keep his mind busy. Maybe, tell him about the lake back home.”
Keith smiled and nodded his approval of the idea, then took his brother’s place at his roommate’s side. Aaron turned toward his room, feeling more exhausted than he ever remembered feeling before. But when he entered his room, all hope of a good night’s rest fled, like the rush of air that escaped his lungs. His bed was gone. Aaron stared blankly in the dark at the empty space that was left where his bed should have been. He stood in confusion for a long time before flashes of memory from the night before entered his mind.
Lighting the candle under the bed to read the book, the shuffling sound, someone’s breathing. He now knew for sure, that he’d been being watched.
As he sank slowly to the floor, his body worn and his mind weary, he cursed the darkness around him.
“You want to punish me?” he cried. “Fine! I don’t care! I don’t care. I don’t care . . .”
C
hapter 10
