A Broken Time

by Anna Oney

  “I’d rather not have to hurt you,” she said, pulling the trigger back to the corner of her mouth. “But I will. My man is in trouble. I can’t waste any more time.”

  “Pluh-please,” the tallest boy stammered, holding his hands out before him. “We won’t tell nobody.”

  “We swear,” the shorter, scrawny boy joined in. “Wuh-we won’t.”

  Fawn narrowed her eyes, looking from boy to boy, studying each of their chin-quivering, acne littered faces.

  “Then help me through that window,” she said, lowering her bow. “And continue running around these halls like we never met.”

  The boys glanced at each other and turned their glistening, tear-filled eyes on Fawn. She had threatened to harm these boys, but prayed they wouldn’t give her a reason to do so. They were just boys, after all — boys who would do well to not test her patience.

  The tallest boy, who had soiled his scrawny friend’s trousers the day before, rested his arms between his thighs. Twirls of burnt yellow invaded the water he’d slipped in.

  “Yes-yes ma’am,” he stammered and sniffled. “Shu-sure.”

  The shorter, scrawny boy nodded and shakily came to his feet. He offered a trembling arm to his friend. The boys helped Fawn through the window by lowering their knees for her to step upon. Pounded by sheets of rain outside the window, Fawn swayed as she struggled to stay balanced on the roof due to the raging wind.

  Gran’s cross dangled from Fawn’s neck as she leaned forward and peered back through the window at the boys.

  “Thanks,” she called through the storm, resituating her bowstring over her chest. “The NWA is not to be trusted. Change is coming whether you want it or not.” She narrowed her eyes at the tallest boy and shook her head. “And don’t be pissing on your friend’s leg anymore.” She rose from her knees to a squatting position. “That’s disgusting.”

  The tallest boy’s jaw fell open while the scrawny boy raised a fist to his mouth, expelling a hoarse chuckle that ended with a snort.

  “Be careful and be safe.” Biting her bottom lip, Fawn stared in the direction Davlyn and Noelle had gone. “And remember,” she continued, turning her attention back to the boys whose eyes were full of wonderment. “Forget you ever saw me.”

  Fawn hurried alongside the slanted roof, staying close to the red-bricked wall. Patches of fur from her top snagged on the brick and were washed away by the angled rainfall. The thought of the boys sprinting down the stairs to tell the guards about their escape from the pit had her quickening her pace. She turned too fast around the first corner and slipped, ripping a hole in her leggings and skinning her knee. Regaining her balance, she brought her cheek to the wall, pressing the pads of her fingers between the divots of the bricks.

  Arms splayed on the wall, Fawn closed her eyes, hearing a voice drift toward her on the wind. The voice became louder and louder until she felt someone grasp her wrist. Forcing her eyes open, Fawn stared her cousin in the face.

  “Fawn!” Davlyn exclaimed, turning her head as a gust of wind ripped past them. “There’s a pipe we can use to climb down!”

  “Where’s Noelle?” Fawn asked as her cousin shuffled against the wall.

  “Waiting for us at the pipe,” she called over her shoulder. “It’s just around the next corner!”

  One behind the other, Davlyn and Fawn arrived at the vertical drainpipe separating a section of the roof. Rifle and ammo slung across her back, Noelle hung her feet over the edge of the roof, with one hand gripping the metal tube that stretched twenty feet to the ground.

  Peering below her, and then over her shoulder, Noelle gave Fawn a wavering smile.

  “Glad to see you’re still alive,” Noelle said, cutting her eyes back to the ground. “That’s a bigger drop than the pit.”

  “I’ll go first,” Davlyn volunteered, stepping over Noelle’s quivering form. “And make sure it’s safe.”

  Fawn crouched behind a petrified Noelle and watched Davlyn shimmy down the pipe. Fawn’s breath caught in her chest as Davlyn lost her footing about a yard from the ground. Davlyn yelped and slid the remainder of the distance with her hands wrapped around the rusted pipe. Stepping back from the metal tube, Davlyn held her hands up to her face and grimaced.

  “You all right?” Fawn called from above. “Cousin?”

  Davlyn wasn’t one to cry, but as she turned over her hands, revealing bloodied palms, Fawn swore her cousin’s anguished expression let loose a couple of tears. Allowing the rain to wash the metal particles from her torn flesh, Davlyn backed up against the brick wall.

  “Be careful,” Davlyn replied, gingerly drawing her bow and nocking an arrow. “Who’s next?”

  “I’ll go,” Fawn said to a stilled Noelle, patting the girl’s shoulder. “You better be on your way as soon as I touch down. No lollygagging around, Noelle. I mean it!”

  Managing to reach the puddled ground without any mishaps, Fawn drew her bow and nocked an arrow. She joined her cousin against the wall. The moat that had formed around the low parts of the train station had begun overflowing. Water seeped down the slope toward the stables, located northwest of the station.

  Upon their horses’ backs, Stagecoach’s townsmen rushed in and out of the stables trying to get their animals to higher ground. The community’s houses were built to sit above flood waters, saving them from extensive damage. Women and children peeked through the curtains of their homes waiting out the storm while the men tended to what needed to be done.

  Fawn’s pulse quickened at the sight of Clancy directing his men — he was mounted on a saddled, brown mare with a white diamond adorning the middle of the horse’s forehead.

  Juniper, she thought, clenching her jaw.

  Fawn peered upward, taking in the image of Noelle overcoming her fears by descending the pipe. A smile of accomplishment appeared on Noelle’s face upon arriving at the bottom.

  “I-I did it,” Noelle said, looking from Fawn to Davlyn. “I did it.”

  Bow drawn, Fawn sprinted down the side of the train station, ducking below the first-floor windows. She came within inches of the overflowing moat and didn’t hesitate before plunging herself into the shoulder-deep water. Splashes and quick breaths erupted behind her as she came to the other side. Davlyn and Noelle swam up and joined Fawn who lay on her belly, peering ahead.

  “That’s Juniper, isn’t it?” Davlyn said, tipping her head in the direction in which Fawn stared.

  Thunder boomed, and lightning flashed and struck in the distance. Rain pounded their backs as they observed Stagecoach’s townsmen distancing themselves from the stables. Clancy remained at the entrance with two mares’ reins clasped tightly in his hands.

  “If we’re going to make it out of here,” Fawn said, turning to Davlyn, “we’re all going to need a ride.”

  The thirteen men Clancy had ordered to gather the horses had begun leading the animals down the sloshy, muddy road between the houses and booths set up for trading merchandise. Fawn, Davlyn, and Noelle stayed huddled to the ground as the group of armed men trotted past them with sixteen horses in tow. Fawn peered over her shoulder in the direction in which they traveled, seeing that they headed toward Stagecoach’s rear entrance, which had been opened.

  Higher ground, Fawn thought, remembering the empty corral she’d noticed outside of Stagecoach as she’d crept toward the hidden passage.

  Drawing Fawn’s attention was the sound of Juniper neighing. Her ears were slanted stiffly back, and her tail tucked down tightly. One thing was certain —Juniper didn’t like the feel of Clancy on her back, nor the saddle, Fawn reckoned, as she’d never required Juniper to wear one. The thick blanket Fawn used to separate her backside from Juniper’s spine had always been enough comfort and protection.

  Clancy had bit off more than he could chew attempting to handle two horses, while mounted on one that despised him. Juniper bucked and kicked, casting a flustered Clancy to the soggy earth.

  Turning to Davlyn, Fawn tipped her head to the two mar
es set free by Juniper’s outburst.

  “You and Noelle get control of them horses,” she said, rising from her stomach. “I’ll handle Clancy.”

  Keeping herself low, Fawn led the way through the hunched blades of grass, beaten down by the rain. Davlyn and Noelle followed closely.

  “This way,” Davlyn said to Noelle upon emerging from the grass. She motioned toward the two horses. “I’ll tell you what to do.”

  Fawn grabbed Juniper’s reins and made eye contact with her closest friend. She glided her palm down the side of Juniper’s neck to calm her. Disoriented, a swaying Clancy pried himself from the ground. He came to his knees as Fawn unbuckled the billet straps cutting into Juniper’s stomach. She released Juniper’s constraints to the ground, making a splash. She left the padding beneath the saddle on Juniper’s back to comfort them during their long ride to the Bogan Farm.

  Baring his teeth, Clancy clutched at the shoulder he’d landed upon. He looked up from the inches of water flowing through the grass to find Fawn, standing beside Juniper about five feet from him. Staring at the tip of the arrow nocked in Fawn’s bow, Clancy shakily took his hand from his shoulder.

  “I-I did you wrong,” he said, holding his hand out before him. “I know that, but please, you don’t have to do this.”

  Breathing in deeply, tears stung her eyes. Images of her aunt Claire’s body laying lifeless within the dark depths of the pit prompted Fawn to draw her arrow further back.

  “Unfortunately,” she said — a surge of anger running through her like a flash of lightning. The tips of her fingers brushed against the corner of her mouth as the trigger reached her anchor point. “That’s not true.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  For six days, the NWA kept Back Wood’s inhabitants barricaded within the community’s walls. They’d blocked off the front and back entrances with their Humvees. By dusk of the first day, Pete had confronted Asher about the matter, saying that his neighbors were growing restless and concerned. The Commander explained that it was for the peoples’ protection — that he had gotten word of a group of dangerous individuals making their way through Back Wood’s part of East Texas. Early morning of the fourth day, during a raging storm, Asher had parted from the community, conveying to Pete that he was off to put an end to these peoples’ misuse of power.

  On the fifth day, things had got considerably worse, as the NWA began forcing all children under the age of twelve onto buses and hauling them away. The soldiers did the same with the livestock. Chickens, turkeys, goats, pigs, and horses had all been loaded up and snuck out through the community’s walls during the night.

  Pete had gone to fetch his bow from where it hung on a hook inside his closet, and realized the NWA had discarded it. Pete stood below the awning of the dance hall, swarmed with dragonflies, and scanned over the chaotic setting of his once peaceful community. Mothers and fathers kept their wide-eyed, frightened children pressed closely to their bodies as soldiers tried prying them apart. Pete’s feet remained rooted to the ground — his thoughts shifting between how everything had gone so wrong and what he could do to end the madness.

  Audrey clung to Ally and Cade on the porch of their home, shouting for Pete to join them. His heart shot to the base of his throat as he realized only two of his kids were accounted for — Reesa was nowhere in sight.

  Shame clouded his sight with fresh tears as he came to grips with the fact that he hadn’t paid much attention to his recently-turned-teenage daughter since the NWA’s arrival. He tried remembering the last words he’d said to Reesa. He hoped they had been, I love you.

  Reesa could be anywhere, he thought, the guilt looming over him. But anywhere is better than here.

  Pete caught sight of Axton and Polly sprinting through the chaos in his direction. Both of their hands were latched to their son, Jackson, who steadily wept between them.

  “We’ve got to get out of here!” Axton said, tightening his grip on Jackson’s hand. “Now!”

  A panting Marie, striding toward her two brothers with Meadow’s arms around her neck, drew Pete’s attention. Forrest limped behind his wife, struggling to keep up. Pete’s brother-in-law’s right pant leg was soaked through with blood.

  “Why’re they doing this?” Marie cried, balancing a distraught Meadow on her hip. “They’re taking the children! Forrest was able to fight one of the soldiers off.”

  Regret took over Pete’s ability to speak. He looked at the grass, matted by his people’s attempt to flee and the soldiers tearing the families apart.

  “We should’ve listened to Fawn,” Pete said, shakily looking to each of his siblings.

  A scream, much louder than those of Pete’s neighbors, came from the porch of his home. Three soldiers barged up the steps after Audrey, who pushed their young children inside.

  “Pete!” she screamed over her shoulder. “Pete, help!”

  Frantic, Pete rushed to his family’s aid, nearly tripping over the last step of his porch. A scuffle and a scream broke out between his siblings and five soldiers, who were trying to take Jackson and Meadow. A gunshot behind him rung in Pete’s ears as he stumbled through the doorway. Inside the house, a soldier slapped Audrey so hard that it spun her around. Rage exploded from Pete’s mouth as he witnessed his wife staggering backward with blood streaming out the side of her mouth.

  Lunging for the soldier who had struck his wife, Pete’s skull was butted by the man’s rifle. His head split. The soldier held Pete to the floor with his boot. The other two soldiers knocked Audrey to the floor beside Pete, and then dragged her into the master bedroom, kicking and screaming.

  “Help the children!” she shouted from their room. “Pete!”

  That was the last Pete heard from his wife as he could hear her being forcefully silenced. Another slap and multiple thumps of her body being slammed against the floor had Pete struggling to catch his breath. Light-headed and blurry-eyed, Pete stared at the two soldiers emerging from the bedroom. Blood was smeared across the top of the first man’s hand. The soldier pinning Pete to the floor punched him in the face, and then snatched a whimpering Ally and Cade from the floor.

  “Daddy!” Ally screamed as one of the men carried her out the backdoor. “I want my Daddy!”

  The front door of Pete’s home flew open. The booming crack of the doorknob thudding against the wall shot a splitting pain through Pete’s already throbbing head. Two soldiers filed inside, replacing the two who had taken Pete’s children. A third man trailed behind them. Pete kept his blurry sight fixated on their hurried steps as they reached his beaten body on the floor.

  Asher emerged from between his two minions, and knelt in front of Pete’s bloodied head. Resting his forearm upon his knee, Asher whistled through his teeth.

  “I hate that it had to come to this, Pete. I really do,” he said, clicking his tongue. “Why’d you have to disobey my orders and go see Fawn? I thought we established that your big sister wasn’t to be trusted.” He shook his head, scratching below his chin. “She’s done escaped from Clancy’s pit with that gal you sent to deliver that message and one of my own girls. Doesn’t surprise me much, Clancy’s as stupid as they come.”

  “My-my children—” Pete began, struggling to keep his drifting mind in check.

  Asher snatched Pete’s head from the floor by the back of his hair.

  “Tye is dead,” he whispered, pressing his forehead to Pete’s. “Big Sneed is dead. They were two orphaned boys that I took in and raised as my own sons. One of your own ended their lives. One that you made the poor decision to fraternize with. My Oleander and I believe this just won’t do.”

  “I—”

  Asher dug the pad of his thumb into the gash made on the side of Pete’s head.

  “Your children are mine now.”

  Blood oozed from the wound, seeping down the side of Pete’s face. Wincing at the unbearable sting, Pete weakly grabbed hold of Asher’s wrist.

  “Please,” Pete began, his lightheadedness beginning
to take over.

  “Cade will be put to good use as a soldier when he’s of age,” Asher said, smiling down at Pete. “I’ll see to his training myself. Ally on the other hand,” he said and paused, looking to his men. “She’ll be forced to sacrifice her body like all the rest of the women that’re unworthy to carry out a normal, happy life.”

  Locking eyes with the soldier stationed at his right, Asher tipped his head downward toward Pete.

  “You know what to do.”

  The last thing Pete saw was the butt of the soldier’s rifle coming down on his head.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Due to the chaos brought on by the storm, Stagecoach’s front entrance was left unmanned. The guards had retreated inside their elevated homes after the flooding had begun. After Fawn had dispatched two arrows into Clancy’s chest, she, Davlyn, and Noelle had ridden through the gate without anyone trying to stop them.

  On their way out, Fawn had swiped four jars of spiced peaches and six apples from one of the booths. She stowed them inside Noelle’s canvas bag full of ammo. She planned to share the apples later with the horses. The rain that Fawn had dreaded had provided them with a distraction to escape. She knew they had Clancy’s poor planning and leadership skills to thank for their, for-the-most-part-unscathed (except for Davlyn’s skinned palms) speedy departure.

  The storm raged on. Fawn led her companions through the thick woods. The pouring rain couldn’t get to them as easily, as they were shielded by the canopy of trees. She decided to head the back way to the Bogan Farm, using the foliage as camouflage. Noelle rode with Davlyn as she was an inexperienced rider. She kept her arms wrapped tightly around Davlyn’s torso. Fawn’s right hand was latched to Juniper’s reins, while the fingers of her left gripped the reins of the other horse they’d brought with them.