Chapter 6
River
Sunday morning can’t come fast enough. I want to go home. Adam has already taken our bags to the car. Now, we only need to collect Jack and Sophia, and we’ll be on our way.
As we leave the room, Sven is waiting for us.
“Master Cameron would like to speak with you one last time.” It’s not a request but an order.
We follow him to the same study we met Cameron in yesterday. I transferred the funds in front of him. I’ve paid for Jack and Sophia’s freedom.
The same stale cigar smell hangs in the air. Cameron is busy with a call.
“Take a seat,” Sven barks.
I narrow my eyes as I glare at him. We remain standing, and I can feel the tension coming from Adam. Something is wrong.
When Cameron is done with the call, he leans back in the oversized leather chair. He rests his hands on the armrests and crosses his legs.
“There’s been a development,” he starts.
My body tightens and I try to stay calm as I say, “I’ve paid for the slaves.”
“Indeed you have,” he continues. “You will have them, but they are no longer in the same condition.” Cameron clears his throat and taps his fingers on the leather as if he’s bored. “The male slave attacked my son.”
My heart speeds up with panic.
“Both of the slaves had to be punished. It’s the law of my house.”
I cling to the slither of control as I hiss, “Just let me have my slaves.”
Cameron nods. “They have been taken to your vehicle. I just thought it would be in good form to advise you of their condition.”
Not bothering with the monster, I rush from the office. I can’t keep up the act any longer, and I break out into a run.
I race out of the house, and down the stairs. As I near the car, I can’t see anyone in it. As I yank the back door open, it feels as if someone physically punches me. The air is torn from my lungs as shock vibrates through me.
They are covered in blood. Dark chunks of either flesh or blood are all I can see.
I feel hands on my shoulders and my head snaps up. Adam’s eyes land on Jack and Sophia, and the blood drains from his face.
He shoves me to the passenger side. He closes all the doors and then gets in behind the wheel. I’m shocked to my core as we speed away from the hell hole.
I can’t keep the tears from spilling over my cheeks, and my heart breaks for them.
We leave San Antonio, where Cameron’s business operates from, and make our way to Houston. We stick to the main roads and crowded cities. The more people there are around us, the easier it will be for us to lose any tails. We only deviate from the road once, and that’s to stop in a small town near Jackson, Mississippi. We always change cars, dumping the one we used to free the slaves. The car waiting for us is an old station wagon, nothing to draw attention to us.
We carry all the bags over to the station wagon before we move Jack and Sophia. Adam opens the door and he doesn’t waste time hauling Sophia out of the car.
“Be careful!” I snap at him. “She’s hurting.” A sob chokes my words, making them thick.
“She’s out cold!” Adam snaps back at me. “The sooner we have them home, the sooner we can ease their pain. I’m not going to waste time, and risk them coming to while we’re on the road.”
He’s as angry as I am. I watch as he places Sophia on the back seat.
“We should leave the bags,” I say. “Then we can put Jack in the back, and they don’t have to share the backseat.”
Adam looks at the backseat, and then at the space where our bags are. “You’re right.”
He quickly removes the bags from the station wagon, and tosses them back in the car.
“Make sure there’s nothing in the bags that can be tracked back to us,” Adam says, before pulling Jack from the car. He throws him over his shoulder and carries him to the station wagon.
Quickly, I search through the bags. I also do another thorough sweep through the car.
While Adam searches Jack and Sophia for any tracking devices, I grab a clean shirt and hold it ready for him.
He finds the tracking devices on their hips, and I look away as he takes out a sharp pocket knife. I can never watch as he cuts the devices out. I know it’s necessary to ensure our safety.
Once Adam’s finished, he drags the bloody shirt over his head and uses it to wipe his hands clean. He throws the bloody shirt and tracking devices in the car. He takes the clean shirt from me and quickly pulls it over his head.
I get in the station wagon, driving it a distance away. Adam sets the old car alight, burning all the evidence. He covers our tracks all the way to where I am, and then he gets in the passenger side.
Adam closes his eyes and rests his head back against the seat, while I drive towards the interstate. We only stop for gas. It’s a long and hard twenty-four hours before we reach home.
It’s well after breakfast when we finally drive through the gates. I feel a slither of relief when I spot Landon and Kyle patrolling the entrance on horseback.
I bring the station wagon to a standstill in front of the manor. When Miss Ella comes hurrying out of the house, tears flood my eyes.
I rush from the car as she asks, “Did you save anyone?”
Just as Adam opens the back door of the station wagon, Tristan comes running towards us to help.
I watch as horror clouds both Miss Ella and Tristan’s faces.
“Are they alive?” Tristan asks.
“Yes,” I snap, pushing past him. “You can help Adam carry Jack to the room.”
I look around and spot Ian coming around the side of the house.
“Ian!” I call and getting his attention I wave him over. “Come help me.”
There’s an urgency in the air as we all work together to get them into the room.
Miss Ella yanks the bedding off, leaving only the sheets covering the mattresses. When both Jack and Sophia are each settled on a bed, we run to get our medical supplies.
Ian leaves the four of us to do our thing. Miss Ella brings two buckets of water and a bundle of cloths. I start to clean the blood from Sophia, while Adam cleans Jack.
There are thick smears of semen all over her body. It yanks a chunk of my heart out, just thinking what she must’ve been through.
The water has to be changed four times before most of the blood is washed off.
I start to cry silently when I see just how badly she’s been hurt.
We spend most of the day cleaning Sophia and Jack. Thankfully, Adam has medical training so he can stitch the deep gash on Sophia’s thigh.
Once Adam is done checking all their wounds, Miss Ella and I get clean sheets for the beds.
I sit down next to Jack and slip my arms under his back. I try to be as gentle as possible as I pull him up. I let him lie against me as Miss Ella slides the sheet under his back. I have to resist the urge to hold him to me.
When Miss Ella has the sheet over the top of the bed, I lower Jack back. I then pick up his legs so Miss Ella can pull the sheet all the way over the mattress. I only cover him with a light sheet, knowing anything heavier will just hurt.
We go through the same process with Sophia.
When we’ve done all that we can, Miss Ella talks for the first time.
“I’m going to go make some chicken soup. The children will need food when they wake up.”
She rushes from the room, and I know that she needs time to herself in the kitchen, so she can deal with what just happened.
Adam takes hold of my hand and he pulls me into his chest. I wrap my arms around him, needing the comfort he’s offering. I’ll never understand the senseless cruelty of some people.
We hold each other for a long while before Adam whispers, “Go clean yourself up. I’ll take the first shift.”
I nod and leaving in a hurry, I go straight to my room. I strip the clothes from my body. I rush into the bathroom and open the hot water. I let the water pelt me. I wish it could wash all the horror from my soul, but I know that’s never going to happen.
When Jack and Sophia wake up, they will need every ounce of strength I have.
I scrub every inch of my body, until my skin is glowing red. I move faster and faster, an urgency to get back to them building within me.
As I dry my body, hot tears sneak over my cheeks. I’m hurting for Jack and Sophia. How could those monsters be so cruel? How can one human being do such a thing to another?
I’ll never understand it.
I pull on a black shirt and slacks that are comfortable. I never wear shoes when we’re home. I tie my wet hair in a low ponytail and then rush back to Jack and Sophia.
As I walk into the room, I feel how hot and stuffy it’s gotten in the room.
I touch Adam’s shoulder. “Go shower. I’ll sit with them.”
I turn the temperature down on the AC. There are two buckets with clean water standing next to the beds. I rinse a clean cloth and get to work again.
Start with Sophia, I wipe her down again. We’ve dealt with cases like this before. We’ve had one death where the girl was too far gone. There was nothing we could do for her.
When I’m done with Sophia, I move over to Jack. I keep my touch soft as I wipe over his chest. I haven’t had a good look at him yet, and seeing his wounds makes tears well in my eyes. I swallow them down, reminding myself that I have to be strong for them.
I move the sheet away and continue to work my way down his body.
Adam returns quickly, bringing an extra chair with him.
“I told Nana to phone Doc. We’re going to need antibiotics, and they need to be tested for HIV.”
Doc is our town’s general practitioner. He’s older than the huge tree we have out front. He helps us where he can. We can trust him, and in the end that’s all that matters.
Doc doesn’t take long to come. I hear him as he walks up the passage.
“That’s eleven dates you owe me, Ella.”
“I don’t owe you a damn thing, old man. If you don’t want to help these people then leave.”
They are always going at each other. Why they don’t just get together, I’ll never know.
Doc stops in the door, looking to his left where Miss Ella must be. “You know I love helping. I’d love it even more if you’d to take pity on my old heart, and go on a date with me.”
“Oh hush! You just see to the children.”
Doc finally comes into the room. As soon as he sees Jack and Sophia the smile drops from his face.
“Lord have mercy,” he mumbles, rushing to Jack’s side.
“Check them for diseases as well, Doc,” Adam says as he takes a seat.
I sink down on a chair and watch as Doc works on them.
“It’s wrong,” Doc mutters.
Worry that they might not pull through churns heavily in my stomach.
Two days have passed since we got back home. Their fevers broke early this morning. They’ve been in and out of consciousness.
Movement from Sophia catches my eye. Adam is up before I can move a muscle. He watches her carefully as she comes to. Her eyes flutter open and it’s with great relief that she focuses on Adam.
“Hey,” Adam whispers as he sits down next to her. “How’s the pain?”
Sophia swallows hard and tries to bring her hand to her neck.
“Try some water,” I whisper.
Adam slips his hand under her head as he brings a glass to her chapped lips. She takes a sip and swallows painfully on it.
A tear sneaks from the corner of her eye, but before it can trail into her hair, Adam wipes it away. He doesn’t take his eyes off her. I don’t miss the protective look in his eyes.
My eyes go back to Jack and that’s where they stay.
My body is stiff from all the sitting, but I can’t bring myself to leave the room.
It’s late afternoon when Jack starts to stir. I get up and walk over to the bed. He opens his eyes and blinks a couple of times before they focus on the ceiling.
“Jack?” I whisper softly taking another step closer to him.
I start to think that he didn’t hear me, when he turns his head to me. His green eyes are dull. There’s no sign of the vibrant green I saw on Thursday.
I lean a little forward. “Are you in pain, Jack?”
He turns his face away from me and closes his eyes. His mouth is set in a hard line.
Miss Ella comes in with two bowls of soup and places the bowls on the table between the beds.
Slowly, I sit down on the bed. I’m careful not to jar Jack’s body.
Adam gently pulls Sophia up into a sitting position, and slowly feeds her. He’s patient as she swallows hard on every bite. I’ve noticed that Sophia only looks at Adam. She avoids me as if I’m not even here. I wonder what happened between them on Thursday night.
I take Jack’s bowl of soup and move a little closer to him.
“Jack, would you like to eat something? It’s Miss Ella’s famous recipe.”
Jack moves fast, and I shriek with fright. He slaps the bowl from my hands and it crashes to the floor. Some of the hot soup splashes against my leg.
Jack’s face is right by mine. His harsh breaths mix with my own, and his eyes are wild and dark. It feels like I’m staring down the barrel of a loaded gun.
His chest rises and falls with every angry breath he takes. His jaw is clenched as he keeps his eyes locked with mine.
I see the challenge in his eyes. He thinks he’s defying me. He’s daring me to punish him.
Truth be told, I’m scared. Jack was wild before they almost beat him to death.
“You’re free, Jack,” I whisper. I swallow hard on my fear, forcing myself to not break eye contact.
It doesn’t look like my words are registering with him.
“You’re no longer a slave. You can stay here until you’re better and then leave if that is what you want. I want you to know that you’re welcome to stay here. The choice is yours.” He frowns darkly and I quickly repeat, “You have a choice, Jack.”
He shoves me harshly and I stumble to get out of his way. There’s pain etched in every line of his face as he struggles to his feet.
Shit, this man is strong. He should be half dead.
He uses the wall to keep himself upright and then slowly starts to walk toward the door.
“Jack, you shouldn’t be out of bed,” I say as I realize that he’s planning on leaving this very second. He’s naked, but doesn’t seem to care.
He ignores me as he stumbles out of the room and into the passage. I can see his muscles straining to keep him upright. There’s nothing I can do. I gave him the choice. I just didn’t think he’d make the choice right now.
Sophia struggles to her feet. She’s clearly in pain as she limps past me.
Shit, I should have kept my mouth shut. They won’t make it out there if they don’t heal first.
Sophia grabs hold of Jack’s arm. He swings back, and for a moment, I fear that he might strike at her. His eyes roam over her. Finally, recognition sparks in his eyes.
“Come rest, Jack. Eat something first. You need to get stronger.” She shakes her head at him. “You can’t leave like this.”
Taking hold of his hand, Sophia pulls his arm around her shoulders. I get out of the way, letting her help him back to the bed.
Once he’s back in bed, Sophia takes what’s left of her soup, and feeds it to him.
I’m relieved that I placed them in the same room. They can help each other heal.
“We’ll get you some clothes today,” I say. Exhausted from the past two days, I leave them.
I walk out back, and slowly make my way to the sandy beach that’s on the east side of the property. I love the plantation. Everything is peaceful and green. The trees are old, and huge, housing many different species of birds.
The manor was built in 1934, and it has settled in well with the nature around it. It has eight hundred and twenty acres of farmland, mature forests, restored wetlands, and sandy beaches that stretch out around the lake.
The manor itself is huge, with eight bedrooms and six bathrooms. It’s big enough to house eighteen people if we place three in a room. Miss Ella lives in the manor with me, along with those we’ve saved. Adam, Tristan, and the other men all share the four cottages out back.
Everything about The Sanctuary makes me feel at peace, and I hope it will do the same for Jack and Sophia.