The self-appointed sheriff enlisted the help of the black man, who called himself Harold, to dump the bodies into the lake. They tossed her husband and son over the side of the boat like bags of trash, leaving a gaping hole in Shelly’s life.
When Grace had finally managed to look up from behind Shelly’s shoulder, she asked, simply, “Momma, where’s Mikey?”
That was all it took to break Shelly’s frozen state. Tears burst from her eyes as she collapsed forward, burying her face in her hands as sobs wracked her body. Through the sound of her crying, she heard Grace ask, “Mister, what’d you do with my brother and daddy?”
“I sent them swimming.” The man replied, chuckling.
“They don’t like to swim!” Grace yelled loudly.
Shelly reached out her hand, grabbing Grace’s leg. “No sweetie, don’t…”
“But Mikey doesn’t like the water! He can’t swim!”
The man’s voice got cold. “Shut up, girl.”
Grace, oblivious to the danger, continued. “That’s a bad word! You’re not supposed to say that! You can’t say that! You’re gonna get in trouble!”
Blinking back tears, Shelly looked up in time to see the man step forward, raising his gun. “I said shut up!” He yelled, his eyes filled with fury.
“Wait!” Shelly cried, sliding over to put her body in front of Grace’s. “Please, sir, don’t hurt her. She doesn’t understand.”
The man kept the gun pointed at Grace, pulling back the hammer. “Don’t care. She’s noisy and she’s pissing me off.”
Shelly pleaded with the man, putting her hands out in front of her. “Sir, sir, please. Don’t hurt her. I’ll do anything you want.”
Turning his head, the man looked at Shelly, his eyes taking on a lustful look. He stared openly at her chest. “Anything?”
Desperate to save her daughter, Shelly stood slowly, unbuttoning her blouse to reveal her bra. “You can have me, sir, just don’t hurt her. Please. I beg you.”
The man lowered his gun, smiling. “I think we can work something out. You’re not my type, I like them young, but you might be useful.” He chewed his lip for a second, then lifted his chin towards Grace. “She’s gonna have to work, though.”
“Yes sir, no problem, she’s a hard worker. Don’t worry.”
“And she better not give me or my men a hard time.”
“Okay, okay, she won’t. I promise.”
The man nodded, putting his gun back in its holster. “Good. Now both of you be quiet. We’re heading back in.” He turned away from Shelly. “And close your blouse. You look ridiculous.”
Arriving back at the harbor, the two men had led Shelly, Grace, and the other passengers onto the pier, where they’d had their wrists tied with rope before being stuffed into a van that the boat’s driver, a man that Shelly now knew as ‘Kyle’, had produced the keys for. The black man had somehow managed to convince the two others that he was on their side, and though he wasn’t given a weapon, he was spared from being tied up, and instead sat in the Sheriff’s SUV, riding in the passenger seat as they left the harbor area.
The next day and a half had been a blur as she and the others had spent hour after hour tied up in the van, tired, uncomfortable, hungry, and thirsty. At one point the two children, Grace and the young boy named Scott, had passed out from the heat and dehydration, prompting the men to give them a short reprieve. Placed in the center of a small campsite, they were allowed to choose between sitting or standing while hungrily eating candy bars and drinking bottles of water. The men had maintained watch over them, holding their guns on their laps as they waited for the group to finish.
The leader, Grayson Halwell, had spoken to them at length as they ate and drank, droning on and on with his bullshit motivational speeches about how they would be serving the greater good. Shelly ignored it, focused instead on keeping Grace company, soothing her as much as possible so that she wouldn’t have one of her fits and incur the wrath of the Sheriff.
The real work had begun when Halwell had taken over the Lodge. He and his men got things working in short order, and once they did, Halwell began giving out assignments. Several of them, including Grace and Scott, were assigned cleaning duty, spending day and night cleaning the messes the men carelessly - and sometimes intentionally - made. Others had been assigned water and fuel duty, and were forced to venture out, always under armed guard, to find water to filter or gas for the generator. Shelly and Wanda, the black woman, had been assigned kitchen duty, where they were expected to turn the meager stores the men had collected into gourmet meals. Most of the time they failed, earning a slap on the face or worse. Occasionally they did well, earning praise and a slap on the ass.
But the two of them, along with the two lesbian women, had secondary jobs.
They were the men’s whores.
Halwell had chosen Lisa, the smaller of the two lesbian women, uncaring of the fact that she had no interest in him or any other man. Kyle, his ‘Deputy’, had chosen Elaine, saying he would ‘turn the bitch.’
The giant man, who went by ‘Diesel’ had chosen Renee, the beautiful woman whose boyfriend they’d killed out back behind the lodge, dragging her to his room while she kicked and screamed, clawing at the man helplessly.
Diesel’s fellow biker, a muscular man with long hair named Luke, chose her, guiding her to his room with his hand at her back. Once in the room, he threw her roughly on the bed, grabbing at her breasts like a starving man at a buffet. She’d initially resisted his advances, pushing him away with all of her strength, but he’d reminded her that keeping him happy would keep Grace alive.
Looking into his cold, dark eyes, she saw no compassion there, telling her all she needed to know: it wasn’t an empty threat. Seeing no way out, she’d removed her clothes, giving herself to him openly, pushing her conscious mind into a small box in the far corner of her mind as he raped her. Later that evening, he took her back to his room. The next morning, he’d summoned her yet again. Over and over he had her, using her solely for his pleasure.
He’d put her on a diet, wanting her to lose some of the weight she carried in her midsection and thighs, intent on molding her into the shape he wanted. Night after night, she went to bed hungry, longing for a few more bites of the cold vegetables or rice they were given. (She wasn’t allowed to eat beans; gas around Luke wasn’t tolerated.)
Through it all, she said nothing, knowing that pushing back in any way could lead to the death of Grace, the only thing she had left in the world.
Yesterday, through pleading and sexual favors, she’d managed to earn thirty minutes with Grace, much of which was spent with her simply holding her daughter in her arms, rocking her back and forth as she cried.
Shelly prayed she’d be able to do the same today. She hoped her efforts this morning were enough.
Luke didn’t bother looking at her as he pulled on his leather vest, not bothering with a shirt. He liked showing his muscles. “You’d better get up and get dressed. Breakfast is in thirty minutes, and I want my eggs over easy. Put some biscuits on the side, too.”
Looking down at the floor, she saw her shoes there next to her clothes, carrying the only part of her husband and son that she had left.
Their blood.
Sliding out of the bed, she reached for her bra, the only one she had, which she washed each night in the sink.
“Wait.”
Looking up, Shelly saw the man staring at her. He motioned with his finger. “Stand up, let’s see how your diet is working.” She rose to her feet, silently cursing for his objectification of her body, but it was par for the course with him.
“Not bad.” He studied her form, his gaze working his way up and down her body. Motioning with his finger, he directed her movements. “Turn around.” She turned and faced the wall, imagining all the ways she would kill him, given the opportunity.
“Alright, you’re making progress. Keep it up.” He sat down on a cushioned chair and began pulling on his boots. S
eeing her still standing there, he looked up, annoyance showing on his face. “What are you still doing here? Get dressed and get to work. I’m hungry.”
Shelly looked at him, pleading with her eyes as she spoke. “I was wondering if I’ll be able to spend time with my daughter today.”
Luke finished tying his right boot, then paused, resting his elbows on his knees as he looked up at her. “Hmmm….”
“Sir, please. It’s all I ask. Just thirty minutes. I promise I’ll still get all my work done.”
The man grinned before standing up, unbuttoning his pants. “Maybe. Let’s see if you can earn it.”
Shelly sank to her knees, resolute in her mind. In time, he’d pay for his degradation of her.
CHAPTER SIXTY TWO
“Alright. Great job, Paul.” Daniel gently tested the hardness of the concrete, finding it to be nearly set. ‘Thank goodness for ‘Quikcrete,’ he thought.
“Thanks. This was pretty cool, learning to set fence posts.”
“It’s a good skill to know. Now, let’s run the rest of the wire. It looks like we’ll have some left over, which will come in handy.”
Paul nodded, looking at the rolls. “It certainly looks like it.”
Together they ran the protective wire between the posts they’d set over the last several hours, beginning with barbed, following that with razor, then barbed again, before finishing with razor wire at the top. While they waited for the concrete to set, they’d finished running the wire along the trees, encompassing all of the property with the exception of the front portion, which they were completing now.
They’d taken only one break, sitting on the porch of the cabin, drinking bottled water and munching on crackers as sweat dripped off them, falling onto the wooden planks of the porch, evaporating quickly in the afternoon heat.
Securing the last strand of razor wire, Daniel felt both a sense of accomplishment and, more strongly, a sense of worry. ‘Where were Serafina and the girls?’ He asked himself, regretting his decision to let them go without him. If something happened to them….
He couldn’t finish the thought.
They were his everything.
Shaking his head, he decided he and Paul should stay busy. There were plenty of things to do, and the distraction would be beneficial.
Stepping back from the fence, he admired their work. While it was far from impenetrable, it would slow any attacker long enough for them to take them out with bullets or arrows. He looked at Paul, once again complimenting the young man for his hard work. Looking over at the remaining roll of razor wire, he estimated that they had just over two hundred and fifty feet left.
Leaning down, he stood the spool of razor wire on its end so that he could roll it. “Grab the shovels and follow me,” he told Paul as he pushed the wooden wheel, rolling it forward. It turned end over end as it rolled over the twigs and pine needle that covered the dirt, moving slowly as he pushed it. Moving up the hill, towards the back of the property, it became difficult, but Daniel pushed harder, leaning into it to keep it moving.
At the backside of the property, he gave Paul instructions, handing him the shovel before moving to the far side of the property’s back end. He sunk the shovel into the dirt and began digging an eighteen inch, two foot deep trench. He tossed the dirt into their yard as he went, creating a pile. From the other end, Paul dug the trench as well, following Daniel’s instructions.
Over the next hour, they worked towards each other, digging and tossing the dirt aside, closing the gap inch by inch. When they were finally within a few feet of each other, Daniel told Paul to take a break, which the teenager happily did, as he completed the trench.
When Daniel finally tossed the last shovel of dirt aside, he turned and sat down, exhaling as he did. His forearms, biceps, shoulders, and back ached from the day’s work, and he knew his lower back and knees would remind him of his age the following morning, if not sooner.
Paul came over and lowered himself to the ground near Daniel, looking equally as exhausted. He set the shovel down on the ground next to him, then took off his gloves, setting them near the shovel. “So, what’s the plan with this?”
“Tomorrow,” Daniel began, stressing the most important part of his plan as his muscles threatened to cramp, “we’ll put sharp stakes in the bottom of the trench. Then we’ll run two strings of razor wire inside the trench, about six inches apart, along the entire length. When that’s done, we’ll cover the top of the trench with some of the chicken wire I have, then put leaves over it to conceal it.”
Paul nodded in agreement as he listened, then paused, cocking his head. The plan sounded good, but he didn’t understand one part.
“I don’t understand why we’re putting the razor wire inside the trench.”
Daniel smiled deviously. “Not done. Once the trench is done, we’ll use some of the thin wire I found in the neighbor’s shed to run a single line about a foot off the ground on the outside of the trench, about a foot back. See what we’re doing?”
Paul tried to figure out the plan, but couldn’t. What was he missing? “Sorry. I don’t. Is the wire attached to a device or alarm, like a tripwire?”
Daniel shook his head. “No. But people will assume that it is. When they go to step over the wire - ”
Paul’s face lit up as he realized what Daniel was setting up. “ - they’ll step right into the trench!”
Daniel pointed at the kid. “Bingo. And of course they’ll try to pull back their foot, the razor wire will tear the shit out of their calf and Achilles.”
“Ouch.”
“Ouch is right, but that’s not even the point.”
“What?”
Daniel snickered in response. “The point is to hold them in place while our sharpshooters - Ashley and myself - take them out at long range.”
“Damn, that’s brutal.”
“Yes it is, but they have no business trying to sneak on our property.”
Paul paused, then corrected Daniel. “You mean your property.”
“Until something changes, Paul, you’re part of this family. As long as you are, you live here, making this home and land yours as well.”
The young man looked away, blinking. Fighting back tears, he stared into the woods as he replied. “Thank you, Daniel. Thank you for saving me and thank you for bringing me with you.” He turned back and looked at the older man, tears brimming in his eyes. “Thank you for not giving up on me.”
Daniel grinned and nodded. “You’re welcome, kid.”
The sound of the Jeep’s engine revving as the vehicle rapidly ascended the hill drew them both to their feet. Daniel rushed forward, descending the hill in long strides, forgetting about the soreness in his muscles.
“Is everything okay?” The young man asked as he ran behind Daniel, struggling to keep up.
“I hope so, but I don’t know why they’d be driving up the hill at that speed if they weren’t in trouble.” He touched the gun on his hip unconsciously, needing to know it was there should anyone be chasing Serafina and the girls.
The Jeep pulled to a stop in front of the driveway, the engine idling as Daniel rushed over and unlocked the heavy padlock before removing a thick chain that held the gate which stretched the wires across the driveway. With the chain removed, he walked the gate open, and held it in place while Serafina drove the Jeep up the driveway and around the cabin, parking it in its normal spot behind the structure. Paul assisted Daniel by holding the end of the gate in place while Daniel strung the heavy chain around the two pieces of wood before securing it in place with the big padlock.
With the gate secured, Daniel and Paul ascended the driveway, heading to where the Jeep was parked. Before they got there, Serafina rounded the corner of the house, followed by Ashley, Brenna, and a young girl who was frighteningly thin. Stunned, Daniel stopped, looking at the girl, then back at Serafina.
She broke the ice, smiling at the two of them. “Honey, Paul, this is Isabella. Isabella, this is my husband, Da
niel, and Paul, who Daniel rescued.” She laughed slightly, smiling at Daniel. “I guess it was my turn to bring home a stray.”
Daniel shook his head, smiling. “You’re terrible. Isabella, welcome. I’m guessing you need somewhere to stay. You’re welcome to stay here as long as you need.”
The girl looked back at him, then at Serafina. “But, neither of you know me…”
Daniel grinned, jabbing his thumb towards the teenage boy standing next to him. “I didn’t know him, either. He just helped me with my groceries.” Looking over at Paul, he nodded, adding, “Now, he’s part of the family. Speaking of which, where’s yours? Do they know where you are?”
Isabella looked down, tears welling in her eyes. “They’re both dead.” For the first time in five days, she allowed herself to truly grieve, and once she started, the tears flowed openly, spilling down her face as she bent forward, holding herself as she cried. Brenna put her arm around the girl, looking at her father.
“Good job, Dad.”
Daniel put his hands up in defense. “Sorry, I just wanted to know - ”
Serafina cut him off. “Let it go, Daniel. She’ll talk when she’s ready.”
“Okay, fine.” Daniel sighed, watching as Brenna and Ashley led the young girl into the cabin. When the door closed, he looked back at his wife. “So exactly what the hell happened?”
After hearing everything that had transpired during their trip into town, Daniel decided time wasn’t a luxury they could enjoy when it came to establishing their defensive perimeter. The work needed to be completed as soon as possible, since they had no idea if the friends of the guy Ashley had knocked the crap out of would come looking for them. Daniel made it clear to the family that they’d eat a quick dinner and get right to work.
Surviving Rage | Book 1 Page 62
