by A. American
“Do you have to begin each piece of news with I got news? How about just telling us?” Charlotte snarled.
“There’s the girl I know, and I thought the greeting meant we were getting somewhere,” Drew quipped.
“Tell us, tell us,” Hope said.
“We’re going somewhere, together,” Drew said.
“Yippie, I hope it’s somewhere fun,” Hope said, hopping up and down.
“God, you’re such a loser,” Charlotte barked at Hope.
“Shut up, you’re mean,” Hope shot back.
“You’re an idiot. Don’t you care that these people killed Dad? You act like they're your friends; they’re not,” Charlotte barked.
“Calm down,” Drew ordered.
“I want to go home; then I’ll calm down, okay?” Charlotte said, slamming her diary closed and jumping to her feet.
“I’ve told you before, give it time. If you keep acting like a damn brat, you won’t get past the gates ever,” Drew yelled.
Hope stood with her hands over her ears.
“Charlotte, I would leave you here alone while I go with Hope, but I can’t. I won’t, it’s too risky. So get your stuff; we’re leaving in ten minutes.”
“Where?” Charlotte asked.
“It’s a surprise,” Drew said.
“I’ll look after her,” Bob said. He was standing in the doorway of the side building, smoking a cigarette.
“No, thanks,” Drew said.
“Yeah, I’ll stay here. Bob will look after me.”
Drew leaned in close to Charlotte and said, “He’s a dirty old man. Don’t trust that crusty old man.”
“But I should trust you?” Charlotte asked mockingly.
“Yeah, you can.”
“I’m staying here, and you can’t make me go,” Charlotte said defiantly.
The veins in Drew’s neck were pulsating with anger; he glared at Charlotte then turned his gaze on Bob. “If you’re going to stay here, take this,” Drew said, handing her a four-inch-blade knife.
With wide-eyed enthusiasm, Charlotte took the knife and pulled it out of its leather sheath.
“If anyone tries anything, stick them.”
“Can I have a gun?” Charlotte asked, hoping she could up the bargain.
“Hell no, at least not yet.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because I don’t trust you, that’s why.”
“So you think I’ll shoot you?” Charlotte asked.
Drew cocked his head and replied, “Yeah, I do.”
“You’re right, I probably would,” Charlotte snarled.
Bob burst out with laughter.
Drew again glared Bob’s way.
Bob leaned back and took a long drag of his cigarette.
“We’ll be back in a couple hours,” Drew said as he directed Hope back inside.
The door closed with a clack.
Charlotte looked at Bob, raised the knife and said, “Look at that.”
“You’re a keen one. I’ll be keeping my eye on you, that’s for sure,” Bob joked, insinuating she might be a threat to him. He tossed the butt of his cigarette and opened the door to leave.
“Hold on, wait. Let’s talk,” Charlotte pleaded.
“Then come on,” he said, waving for her to follow him inside.
She took a step but hesitated.
“It’s fine. Plus you’ve got that knife; I won’t mess with ya.”
From an early age her father advised her to trust her gut instincts and intuition, but she pushed those aside and followed him.
He pointed to the table she’d seen before and said, “Grab a seat. I’ll be right back.”
She walked to the table and sat. The items she’d seen before were gone. The table was clear except for a couple half-empty water bottles.
Bob returned and tossed a bag of M&Ms on the table.
She jumped when the hard candies hit the thick wood tabletop.
“There’s more where that came from,” he said and took a seat across from her.
“I don’t eat candy,” she said again, reprising the healthy-eating shtick she had told Drew.
“What kid doesn’t eat candy?”
“Me.”
“What are you fucking worried about? You ain’t gonna get fat, not in this world. I look at it this way, best to eat what’s in front of you because you never know if that will be your last meal.”
“I just don’t eat—”
“Oh God, don’t tell me you’re one of the many allergic types. What is it with your generation? All the helicopter mommies and allergic kids who sit around bitching because they never got a trophy for coming in last,” Bob said, mocking her.
“I’m not allergic. We…um, I don’t eat bad food.”
“Is that what your mommy or daddy taught you?” Again Bob hit her with a scornful mocking tone.
“Sugar isn’t good for you.”
“I like to size people up, and you’re one of them.”
“One of what?”
“Those spoiled entitled kids who got everything and could eat all the candy they wanted, but you didn’t because ‘sugar is bad for you’,” he said, holding up his hand and adding quotations with his fingers.
“Why did you want to look after me then treat me so mean?” Charlotte snapped.
“What are you going to do, go cry and tell your new daddy?”
Charlotte jumped up and hustled towards the door.
“Wait, wait,” Bob urged.
“No.”
“C’mon, I’m just busting your…I’m just teasing.”
“I don’t need to sit here and listen to this.”
“I’m sorry,” Bob pleaded.
Charlotte ignored him and kept walking.
“I know how we can escape,” Bob blurted out.
Charlotte froze. She turned and said, “How?”
“Sit down, eat your M&Ms, or don’t eat them, I don’t care, but I do need you to listen.”
Charlotte walked back and sat down. She looked at the candy and was tempted, but after the back and forth, eating the candies would equal defeat.
“How serious are you about getting outta here?” he asked.
“Serious.”
“I’m asking because if you run away and get caught, they just might kill you and your little sister.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
He nodded.
“Drew bought us out of slavery. Why can’t we leave?”
“Because you’re not really free. He owns you; Drew owns you.”
“But he said he’ll let us go soon.”
“He’s lying. That boy has a taste for…let’s just say he likes to date young girls.”
Charlotte scrunched her face and said, “Yuck, that’s so gross.”
“Me, I like them—”
“Stop, I don’t want to hear,” she said, holding up her hand.
“So you’re serious?” he asked.
“After what you just told me, more than I was before.”
“Good.”
“Why do you want to leave?” she asked, genuinely curious as to his motive.
“At first it made sense to join; it was either that or die. Now I just want the hell outta here. The boss is an unstable man, and his crew are cutthroats. You can’t trust a one of them. I’d feel safer on the open road than with this group.”
“Where will we go?”
“Me, I’m going to Argentina.”
“Why go there?”
“I love to tango,” he joked.
“Huh?”
“It’s as far away from this insanity as one can get without hanging out with the penguins.”
“I don’t want to go to Argentina.”
Bob laughed and asked, “Who said you’re coming with me?”
“I thought.”
“I’ll get you back to your house, and from there we say our farewells. I can’t have two little girls dragging me down.”
Looking a bit let down,
Charlotte began to fiddle with the bag of candy but stopped short of opening them.
He watched her and wanted again to tease her but kept it to himself. “There’s one thing that happens here that everyone can count on. It’s like fucking clockwork. Every Friday night at nine, the boss has a party, right out in the yard there.”
Charlotte leaned in to listen more intently.
Bob started to chuckle. “At first I thought these guys rock, they’re awesome. I still remember my first Friday party; then shit got real.” He stopped and looked down.
Charlotte waited for him to continue, but he remained quiet.
“What got real?” she asked.
“Well, you’ll see. Tomorrow is Friday.”
“Tell me.”
“These devils bring debauchery to another level. They first start with the Friday fights. They have two people, prisoners always, fight it out to the death. It’s always best for them if they’re family. It’s disgusting, sick. They cheer and make those poor bastards fight and kill each other with their bare hands. Then after that they bring in the women—”
“Enough.”
“But Fridays are the best time to get the fuck out of Dodge. Most of the men are drunk as hell, and the others are paying too much attention to the fights to notice a lot. It’s our best time to sneak out of here.”
Charlotte thought about the wallets she had found. She guessed they were brothers, and now it added up. They had captured those two young men and were going to use them for entertainment.
Bob snapped his fingers. “You here?”
Charlotte was lost in thought but quickly snapped back, “How do we leave?”
“First you have to get away from your boyfriend—”
“Stop saying that.”
“Fine, you have to get away from Drew.”
“How do I do that?”
“You figure it out; just make sure you and your sister are out back here at nine.”
“Then?”
“Then we go down to the fence line, the one below us. I know the guard rotation, so I know who will be there. I’ve been giving him homemade booze and snacks on the side for months. He won’t suspect anything, as I make it a point to go down to see him on his shifts.”
“No car?”
“That’s too risky. We’re going to have to go on foot. Getting a car is just about impossible. Tony has the vehicles locked down tight. If we make a play for one, it could blow the whole plan.”
“How far do we have to walk home?” Charlotte asked.
Bob jumped up and grabbed a map from his room and quickly returned. He unfolded it and pointed to where they were. “We’re here.”
She leaned in and asked, “Is this it?” She pointed at a circle up in the hills with the address written in pencil.
“Yes, right there.” Bob pointed, jabbing his finger at a spot on the map.
“We’re not too far from my house.”
“So where are you from?”
“Descanso, just a little to the west along the highway here,” Charlotte said.
“Good.”
“So if we head out this way, we’ll have the cover of night and the Cleveland National Forest. We’ll parallel Old Highway 80 here until we get to Descanso.”
“Hope and I won’t need your help once we get out of here. We should be fine,” Charlotte said confidently once she knew exactly where they were. Charlotte then thought of Tony and the rest of the men. It was an unresolved issue, especially for her and Hope. “How do we prevent Tony and his men from coming after us?”
“Let me work on that. I’ve got a plan that will ensure we never hear from Tony or his men again.”
Beyond curious, she asked, “What?”
“That’s for me to worry about. You have your responsibilities and I have mine.”
“I’ll take care of Drew, don’t you worry.”
Bob sat back and gave her a smug look.
She too leaned back. Happy to know they weren’t far from home and feeling that their ordeal would be over soon, she gave in and grabbed the peanut M&Ms. She tore the package and poured a few into her hand. “I like the green ones.”
He gave her a look and said, “I thought you didn’t eat candy.”
“I don’t normally, but I’m a kid, it’s what we do.”
“So you bullshitted me?”
“Yes and no, Mom didn’t like us to eat a ton of sugar, but that didn’t mean we never ate it. I had you believing that. Now who’s the one who was fooled?”
“Touché,” Bob said. “Just make sure you and your sister are out back tomorrow at nine.”
“We will be; you can count on it,” she said, tossing a few candies in her mouth.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory. Instead, forgiving what we cannot forget creates a new way to remember. We change the memory of our past into a hope for our future.”
– Lewis B. Smedes
El Centro, CA
"You made me a promise once, do you remember that?" Karen asked, her hand in Neal’s.
"Yes, yes, I do," he replied.
"What was that?"
"Now is not the time."
She squeezed his hand with all her strength. "What was it?" she asked again, insisting he answer, as if saying it out loud would make it real.
Neal grimaced but honored her request. "That I'd make this world a better place."
She smiled and said, "You declared that the day Beth was born. You kept that promise, even after everything happened; you kept making our world better."
Neal began to sob.
Karen petted his head as tears streamed down both of their faces.
"Please don't leave me," he moaned.
"Make me another promise."
"I can't."
"You must."
"I can't,” he cried.
She lifted his head and looked through his eyes and into his soul. "Promise me that you'll live on. Promise me you'll survive this.”
"I can't make that promise."
"You must, because you're the only one left that will keep us alive. If you die, no one will say our names; you must survive and carry on."
Neal lowered his head, tears raining down.
"Promise me," she begged.
"I promise," he relented.
Squeezing his hand with what little strength she had, she said, “Thank you.”
“You can’t leave me, you can’t.”
“You’re going to hate me.”
“Why would you say that?”
“I need you to promise me something else.”
In what could be her last moments, he was resolved to make her happy. “Anything.”
“You’re a strong man, a good man. I want you to survive so you can help people. Promise me you’ll help those in need, those who are weak and innocent. Be their strength, be the rock they can cling to for salvation.”
Neal slowly shook his head and said, “I don’t think I’m that man. I wasn’t strong enough to save Beth. I wasn’t smart enough to know something like this could happen to us. I didn’t prepare; I wasn’t ready.”
“Oh, sweetheart, don’t do this, don’t torture yourself. You’re a good man with a noble heart. I’m angry at the world, but not you, you’re my soul mate, my one true love. I’m just so sad that I won’t be with you.”
“Karen, you can’t give up. You have to fight.”
“Where’s Bethie? Have you buried her yet? Please tell me you haven’t.”
“In her bed, she’s lying there like an angel. She looks like she’s just sleeping.”
“Take me to her; carry me to her, please.”
His entire body shook, and the weakness he felt wouldn’t stop him from fulfilling her wish. He stood up, shoved his arms under her frail frame and lifted.
With her arm around his neck, she rested against his shoulder.
With every ounce of strength and determination, he walked the
distance to Beth’s bedroom and placed Karen next to their daughter’s lifeless body.
Karen instantly curled up next to Beth’s body and began to cry loudly. “My little baby, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry.”
Neal fell to his knees and sobbed more.
Karen petted Beth, running her fingers through her hair. “My little baby, my poor baby.”
Neal grabbed Beth’s cold hand and kissed it. He’d give anything to have her back, but it was all too late. He was losing his family and there wasn’t anything he could do about it.
“Can you get me some water?” Karen asked.
He looked up and towards the nightstand. The glass there was empty. “I’ll be right back.” He braced his weight against the footboard and stood. He stumbled out of the bedroom and towards the kitchen. He tore the kitchen apart, looking for fresh drinking water, but couldn’t find any. “Damn it!” he groaned. Knowing more cases of bottled water were in the garage, he headed there.
After finding the water, he made his way back. When he reached Beth’s bedroom door he looked in and saw them lying still. He took that moment to reflect, take a mental snapshot. These two were his purpose, his life. Without them, life wasn’t worth living. He entered the room and said, “Sorry it took me so long.”
Karen didn’t respond.
He unscrewed the cap and with a shaking hand offered it to Karen.
Still she didn’t move.
He looked closer and could see her eyes were open but lifeless. “Karen?”
Nothing.
He dropped the open water and crawled up on the bed. “Karen, Karen, wake up.”
The weight of his body on the bed made her head roll easily.
He placed his fingers on her neck and prayed he’d find a pulse, but there was nothing.
“Karen, no, Karen, please God, no!” he cried and slumped over them. He turned his gaze towards the ceiling and screamed out, “NO!”
Guatay, CA
Hope couldn’t stop talking about the day trip she and Drew had taken yesterday. On and on she kept mentioning it.
Only after Charlotte heard they had gone to her house to get toys and other things did she regret not going.
She was grateful that Drew had thought of her enough to bring fresh clothes. She just wished she could have seen the house, but it didn’t matter, she’d be seeing it soon enough.
The concerns about Tony and his men following her and Hope home made her anxious. She was sure they’d go looking for them, and it was natural to think they’d go to her house. Bob himself couldn’t give her assurances, so it was a big risk.
