"You have a child." He didn't ask. "Lauren, find the child." He propped me up on the log facing the RV. "You'll want to see your baby, won't you?" Samuel was right, this man was twisted. Lauren came out of the RV.
"There's no one there. The back window is popped out." Relief flooded through me. Someone had gotten the children to safety. I would have cried, had I been able too. Darius turned to me with anger in his eyes, picking me up by the front of my blood stained shirt.
"You lied to me, little Alex. It's not nice to lie." He let go of my shirt and punched me in the jaw, knocking me unconscious before I hit the ground.
The bright sunlight is what woke me. I opened my eyes and squinted against the brightness. My head was pounding but at least I could move. I tried to sit up but couldn't. Instead, I rolled onto my stomach and rose to my hands and knees. I heard a crunch of boots and looked over to see one flying at me, striking me in the ribs. I flew backwards into the log and crumpled to the ground. The boot struck again at my stomach. I laid there, gasping for air, when I was kicked in the chest. The boot was coming at me a fourth time when another set appeared and knocked the other down. The man that fell was short and hispanic looking.
"I never gave you permission to beat her Jose." Darius drew a gun and shot him in the shoulder. He came over and helped me to my feet while Jose laid there screaming. I clutched my ribs from the pain, trying hard to take shallow breaths. Darius moved my hand and felt my side with a soft touch.
"They're fractured, going to hurt like hell for a while." He tilted my face up to his, brushing the dirt and blood away. "You're even more beautiful in the daylight. Let's get you cleaned up." He held my hand gently as he led me over to a bench under a tree. His gentleness scared me more than anything else. A woman came over carrying a bucket of water and a wash rag. She had a black eye and swollen jaw. It took me a moment to realize who it was.
"Liz." My mouth hung open and she wouldn't look at me.
"She was a stubborn one. Wouldn't listen to a thing I said. The others caught on after they saw what I did to her." She placed the bucket in front of me and handed him the rag. "Thank you Lizzy, you may go" She turned and limped away.
"You bastard. Why did you do that?" He dipped the rag into the bucket and started to clean my face. He was so gentle, his touch light.
"Because you lied to me little Alex. I told you, it's not nice to lie. Now tell me, who else was here with you?" I looked at him with scorn and turned my face away. "Don't be like that. Remember, I have your mom and brother too. Now, who else was here with you?"
"No one. We are the only ones here." I continued to look away until he grabbed my face roughly, forcing me to look into his amber eyes
"I heard that baby crying, you can't tell me I didn't. Who are you hiding?" A man came running up to the tree.
"Darius, we found some tire tracks leading to a back road. I sent John and Hank to check it out." Another man came running up.
"It's the truck those two runaways stole." Darius nodded and they left. He turned back to me with satisfaction.
"Now, let's try this again." He touched the ribs that had been kicked. "Where are they?" I flinched but didn't speak. His fingers found a spot between two ribs and started toying with it. "Come on now little Alex, I don't want to hurt you but I will if I have to. Come on, talk to me." I glared and spit on his face. He smiled and pulled me off the bench, pinning me on the ground with my arms above my head, then sat on top of me digging his fingers between my ribs to make me cry out.
"Come on now girl, you can do better than that. Scream for me. Make those green eyes all teary." He shoved his thumb next to his index finger and was slowly separating them, moving my ribs. I couldn't help it, I let out a wail as he moved the fractured bones. Why hadn't my group come to save me? The plan was simple, wait until then are all asleep then slash their tires and escape. What had happened?
"Where are they?" He asked, his voice rising above my groaning.
"I don't know." I gasped out.
"Where are they, little Alex?" He opened his fingers wider.
"I don't know!" I hopped they were watching, seeing what was happening while they bid their time.
"Stop lying to me girl and tell me where they are." I felt my rib shift and still he pushed. I screamed, unable to speak any more. He turned and he removed his fingers.
"Bring me some wraps so I can fix her up." He yelled at someone close by. He leaned down on his elbow so his face was right above mine. "I want you Alex. I want those eyes looking up at me in terror. I know your people are watching. I know they can see us. They are going to watch everything me and my men are about to do to you and your family. And when we are done, I'm going to tie you to the roof of my truck as a symbol of what happens when someone defies me." The man returned with some cloth. "Bring the others out so they can be next." Darius said to him. He took one of the strips of cloth and bound my hands to the bench. I tried to lift my hips to buck him off but only managed to raise up about an inch before he slapped me. My vision swam as he toyed with my shirt.
"I can't bind your ribs with this on you. It'll have to come off." He grabbed the neck of my shirt and ripped it to the bottom. "Much better." He then started to bind my ribs, brushing my chest as he did so. I looked at him and he was staring hungrily at me, like he hadn't seen a woman in years.
When he was done with the binding, he sat back and just stared at me. I could see what he was going to do before he even did it. I tried to wiggle out from under him, desperate to escape what has happening. He slapped me again and this time my ears rang.
"You're not going to escape this. Not unless those friends of yours come out of hiding." He looked around the mountain surrounding the campsite. I knew he was looking for them. He looked back at me and moved so he was sitting on my shins.
"If you do this then there is no where you can hide that I won't find you." I knew it wouldn't stop him, but I was trying to buy time. Where are you guys, I screamed in my head.
"Nothing you can say or do will stop this. Only the two that stole my truck will end it." He undid the button at the top of my pants. As he pulled the zipper down, Ragnar's voice boomed around the campsite.
"Stop and we'll come down." Darius froze, a wolf like smile creeping across his face. He got off of me and looked around.
"Where are you Ragnar? Do you have the woman as well?"
"We are both here. We'll come out as soon as you let her go." I looked for his voice but the echo made it impossible to pin down. Darius looked down at me. He knelt to untie the binds, whispering in my ear as he did so.
"Your friend is going to die and when he's dead, I'll come for you and finish this." He stood, pulling me up with him.
"Alright, she's unbound but I won't let her go until I see you both." He leaned over the one of the men standing next to him. "Tell the snipers to shoot as soon as they see him." Hearing this, I shouted as loud as I could.
"Snipers!" Darius turned and backhanded me, sending me spinning to the ground but Ragnar had heard.
"Don't worry little sis, we have our own snipers. Darius, if you touch her again you'll go through life with no way to take a piss." Darius looked at his pants and we all noticed the little red dot. He franticly looked along the mountainside for any sign of people.
"I don't believe you!" He shouted. Then, from somewhere along the hill, came the sound of a gunshot. The ground in front of Darius exploded in a shower of dirt. He fell backwards in surprise, cupping his manhood to be sure it was still there. I used the distraction to try and jump up and escape. I was running to the access road when one of the raiders threw a fishing net around my legs. Sobbing as I hit the dirt, I sat up and tried to untangle my feet.
"I told you to behave little Alex." Said Darius as he strutted over to me. "Come out Ragnar, let's settle this." Kneeling down to untangle my legs, I kicked him with all my rage and knocked him out. I
struggled to rise, but the net just drew tighter. One of the older raiders came forward with a knife and whispered to me.
"Please stop running. I'm going to help you but we need to let your friends come down. If you leave now, your family is dead." He looked at me with kind eyes. Should I trust him, I thought? Do I have a choice? I nodded and he helped me stand up. Darius was waking up and he did not look happy.
"You bitch." He spat out some blood and stood up, glaring at me.
"Here." shouted Ragnar. He was standing on a large boulder about fifteen feet away. Holding his arms up, he walked down to where we were.
"Let her and her family go and Niobe will come down." I turned to back to Darius and saw movement by the RV. My knees went weak with relief and I almost collapsed. Sean had snuck into the camper. The older man caught me and let me lean on him. Then there was a commotion on the hill to our left.
"Let me go damn it." It was Beatrice. I looked over and a raider had her by the hair. Two others came into view, both holding one of my children. I gasped and Darius looked back to me.
"So these are your children? Cute little things." As soon as the kids saw me, they tried to get out of their captor's grasp. "It's ok, let them go." Darius told them. They put the children down and both came running over. I knelt and scooped them up.
"What do you want? You have your truck back, you have Ragnar and Niobe will come out as soon as we're gone. Why won't you just let us go?" I tried to figure it out but couldn't.
"Look, it's nothing personal. You deceived and lied to me, Ragnar stole from me. If I let you live, then my men wouldn't think I was a strong leader. My men are scouting the area. Soon all your men will be either dead or captured and then you can either join me by my side," he leaned in close and grabbed my hair "or on the hood of my truck. Your choice." He let go of my hair to turn and walk away. "Grab the children and shut her up." He shouted.
"No, no you can't take my children!" I shouted and screamed, begged for him to let me hold them for a little longer. The last thing I saw before I was knocked out was my daughter and son reaching for me, terror in their eyes.
I was getting really tired of being hit in the head. I opened my eyes and saw I was still in the same spot I had dropped. I sat up and an older man was behind me, helping me to stand.
"I'm sorry about that ma'am. If I didn't do it, then someone else would have." I took his hand and he helped me hobble over to the fire pit.
"How long was I out for?" I really didn't feel good.
"About twenty minutes. Niobe came down after they knocked you out. She's in the camper with Darius." Speaking of the devil, they both came out of the tow behind camper smiling. He looked out direction and his smile widened. Sauntering over to me, he pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket.
"I was wondering when you would wake up, little Alex." He lit the smoke and offered it to me. I took it without thinking. Might as well smoke it now that I had it. He reached out a hand and took my arm, leading me towards the trailer he had just left. "I've got something special planned for you, my sweet." We were getting closer to the trailer when the sound of gunfire echoed through the hills. On the other side of the camp, Ragnar smashed a man in the face and took his gun. Three were dead before anyone could react. I broke free from Darius to start looking for the kids before the entire camp erupted in shouts and gunfire. They weren't in the trailer; I ran looking for them. The older raider shouted at me.
"They're in the yellow truck!" Darius had already gotten there and was climbing into the cab with his remaining men.
"You should have taken my offer while it still stood! Now, you'll have to search for me to see your kids again. And don't worry little Alex, I'll keep them safe until we meet again." He slammed the door and the sped off down the mountain, my kids screaming for me in the rear window. I couldn't stand, I couldn't breathe. I collapsed into a panic attack. I would never see my children again. In the distance, I heard a noise of something primal and beastly. It was the sound of every mother that had lost her babies. The sound grew louder and I realized that I was the one wailing. I screamed and growled at the sky until my throat was raw and sore. Familiar arms wrapped around me and held me tightly as I died inside.
The arms picked me up and sat me on the log by the fire pit. Sean came running up from the other side of camp, sliding in his haste to get to me. I grabbed onto him like he was a life raft.
"We can save them. Jeff, the raider, knows where they're going. He and I are going to go after them. We'll get the babies back." I lifted my head. He was getting ready to leave again.
"No," I clung to him in panic. "Don't leave me here, I have to go with you." He shook his head.
"It's too dangerous and you are in no condition to travel, let alone fight. No, you'll stay here and I'll get the kids. We'll meet in Hartsel, Colorado" I screamed and clung to him.
"No, I can't lose you again!" He grabbed me into a rough hug and kissed me hard.
"Take care of her Malcolm." Pushing me toward Malcolm, he jumped into the truck with the raider, Jeff, and sped out. I would have run after him but Malcolm grabbed me before I took two steps. I turned and pounded on his chest, screaming for him to let me go. He let me beat my fists until they were out of strength. When I finally ran out of tears, he picked me up and cradled me to him. As he walked to the log, I looked up and saw everyone was gathered there. Not able to face anyone, I turned my face into Malcolm's shoulder to hide from the pain.
Chapter 14
I was having the most wonderful dream. I was in my old house, in my old bed. Lying next to the man I loved. I couldn't see him, but I felt him. I could feel his heart beat under my hand. He was so warm and firm I never wanted to leave the bed, especially with his arm wrapped around me. I curled my hand into his chest hair happy to feel it again. I felt his heart beat quicken, heard his breath come faster. I played lazy circles on his chest as I kissed his shoulder. The arm that was wrapped around me tightened and I heard a low groan escaped him. I smiled to myself. I trailed my hand lower and came against a pair of jeans. That's odd, he never wore pants to bed. I was enjoying my dream too much to give it much thought. I tried to slip my hand under the band but he grabbed my wrist. I made a sound of protest. The hand brought mine back up and he started to kiss it. I used my other hand and legs to pull him towards me. I was straddling his hip when he finally kissed me. It was soft and light, like a first kiss would have been. His lips were so soft, his stubble tickling my nose. I whimpered for more and he deepened the kiss. He was like a man dying of thirst and I was his well. He rolled me over and pinned me to the bed, breaking the kiss to follow the curve of my neck with his mouth. I writhed beneath him wanting so much more that what was being offered.
I felt his hand tracing the curve of my breast moments before he freed it from my bra. His mouth covered mein a wash of hot breath while his tongue traced the tightened bud. I arched my back, grinding my hips against his, trying to get closer to him.
Concussions make for really great dreams, I thought to myself. The dream didn't feel like it was over and I wanted more. I hadn't had that in so long, I never wanted it to end. I reached for him and I assumed he had the same idea as he ran his fingers through my hair. We kissed and touched, tickling each other's senses. He grabbed my breast in a painful grip and that's when it all went wrong. I remembered Darius, his bruising kiss, and that's who I saw now. I started to panic, swatting at the hands and body that were above mine. I broke our kiss and managed to hit him in the nose.
"No, please no Darius. Just let my children go. Just let them go." I sobbed. I woke up to Malcolm calling my name and shaking me.
"Alex, wake up, you're having a bad dream. Come on now, wake up." He sat next to me holding my arms above my head so I wouldn't hit him. From what I could see in the faint light, I already had.
"Oh Malcolm, I'm so sorry!" I said. He let me go and touched his nose
"It's
not that bad. Never mind me, how are you feeling? That was quite a dream you had there. Well at least it seemed that way. Your ah, your ..." He pointed to my chest and I looked down. My bra had moved out of place. I fixed it quickly and stood up to get some water. We were the only two in the RV so I turned asked him what had happened.
"You fell asleep almost as soon as we sat down at the fire pit. Neither of us had eaten all day so I tried to wake you up and get you to eat, but you wouldn't open your eyes. So I brought you in here to put you to bed. Your shirt was pretty messed up with blood all over and ripped so I cleaned you as best I could without getting too...personal... and laid you down. I went back out to eat and about thirty minutes later we heard you screaming. Ragnar and I came in and you were tangled in the sheets screaming for Darius to let your kids go. I tried to untangle you but you just fought harder. I tried to hold you but you ripped my shirt pretty bad and gave me a few scratches. I had to lay on top of you to finally get you to quiet down. Then every time I tried to get up you would cling to me. Eventually I fell asleep and you know the rest." He had turned on a light and was pulling a bottle of water and a bottle of whiskey out of the cabinet. He handed me the water and opened the whiskey, taking a long drink from it. He wasn't wearing a shirt and it was a fine sight. He wasn't rippling with muscles, but very well defined. His shoulders were broad, his waist narrow, and his chest had hair. I was imagining running my hands through that hair when he looked at me. My breath caught at the look of tenderness in his eyes. But why was he sliding sideways.
"I'm not feeling so hot." Dizziness was kicking my butt and I barely managed to hit the couch as I fell. I looked at him as he rushed over. He was so full of caring and warmth and then he slapped me.
"Alex, wake up!" I blinked and there was Malcolm. But instead of tenderness in his eyes there was panic. I blinked again and he hung his head sighing.
Breathless Bodies Page 10
