Chapter 14
Charity
I have been trying to stay out of sight for two days now. Getting back into our community wasn’t a problem and getting back to the cave was a little more complicated since I was also hiding my tracks. I have been following the plan that Uncle Hem and I came up with. I made it in here, I hid a couple of backpacks close by in case I am found out and need to run, I brought some things into the cave and then I hid the jeep under limbs and brush in a ravine. I don’t feel safe by any means of the word, but I have relaxed a little.
When I was setting up the cave I found the box that Faith and I have been putting our savings in for so long. It isn’t much, but anything will help along with the money that Uncle Hem insisted I take. I told him it is a loan and if it is the last thing in this world I do, I will repay him. I will repay all his kindness. Along with the money in the box was a letter that Faith left me. The heads of the community have the restrictions in place for now. She didn’t explain why, but Pop and the others only do that if they are worried that the community is going to be attacked or invaded. That means it may be a few days before I can contact Faith. During restrictions there is a curfew, and everyone travels in groups. That means no alone time for anyone when they are outside the walls of their homes. We have a few people that are trustworthy to an extent, Faith’s small circle of friends, but not if they know I am planning to take Faith out of here.
Today I decided it was time to get out in the daylight. I am staying out of sight and making my way to the pond. That is the only place the younger people can get away without watchful eyes. I don’t even know if that will be true with the restrictions. I am taking my time and being extra careful. I hear voices before I ever get to the pond and when I hear Faith speaking my heart skips a beat. I move closer being sure to stay out of sight. I can’t afford to screw it all up now. I have an unobstructed view of the pond now and I can see Faith but my Ma and Faith’s friend Nic are with her. Faith looks healthy, so her asthma must not be bothering her right now. I see Nic grab Faith’s hand as they walk. This is not just a regular trip to the pond, Nic is trying to court Faith. She’s not having anything to do with it. She flings Nic’s hand back at him. My Ma chastises Faith for it, I can’t hear her very well, but I know that look she has on her face. I know I need to get Faith’s attention. I do the only thing I know to do. I let out a bird call that Faith and I used for signals as we were growing up. Faith’s eyes are looking everywhere in an inconspicuous way. Ma’s back is to me and Nic is busy looking out at the pond. I move myself where Faith can get a glimpse of me. I only stay there for a few moments and then I go back in hiding. Ma and Nic don’t act like anything is out of the normal. Faith is still looking in my direction and she is shaking her head yes. I know that she knows I am here. I turn around and head back to the cave. I know Faith will come to me. I need to be prepared to move out as soon as she makes it to the cave.
It takes a while to get back to the cave and I am starved. I make me a peanut butter sandwich and grab me a water. Eating the sandwich reminds me of growing up and sharing a sandwich with my sister. I have missed her so much, but we are going to get on the other side of this and then we will be free and with the help of Uncle Hem and his family we will have somewhat of a normal life. It’s a beginning. I laugh as I eat my sandwich. Uncle Hem had surprised me when I woke up from my nap in the early hours of the morning and he had the jeep loaded with so many supplies. There is enough space for Faith and me to fit. I hope Faith packs light. I can’t think of anything else we might need. Uncle Hem gave me a hundred dollars to get to Dallas with and get a prepaid cell phone as soon as we can. Faith and I had seventy dollars hid in the cave and I have another hundred or so stashed in my room under a floor board. I know Faith will remember it. Doesn’t sound like a lot but it is more than what I expected. It will work, we will make it work.
I know I need to nap. If Faith gets out tonight we will both need to be up for a lot of hours. I hope Faith is ready to get out of here. I wipe my hands of the crumbs there and wipe them off and then take a drink of water and then I try to get comfortable. I just need a short nap so until the sun starts to set. My eyes start to flutter, and I feel sleep taking me under. I feel like I have just closed my eyes when I am being smothered with a hug. It startles me, and my first reaction is to fight but then Faith’s scent hits my nose and before I even open my eyes I am hugging my sister back. Faith pulls me to my feet and I open my eyes and I have never seen anyone that is more of a welcome sight. I finally step back from Faith and look her over from the top of her head to her shoes. “We need to get out of here tonight by morning they will be looking for me.” Faith has tears running down her cheeks. I look at her and see the worry.
“Did you bring your medicine?” I ask. I can’t afford for Faith to have an asthma attack right now. “Have you had very many attacks since I have been gone?”
“I will answer this but then it is your turn, where have you been? I came back from helping the women and you were gone. No one knew what happened.” Faith holds on tightly to my hand. “My attacks have been closer together and more serious. The thing is I caught Ma putting aspirin ground up in my drinks and food. I started insisting that I cook since Ma has been working in the storage buildings for hours every day.”
“What the hell, Faith? Everyone knows that you can’t have aspirin, what is going on?” Faith has aspirin sensitive asthma and she has small polyps in her nasal cavity, it’s Samter’s Triad. We have always been careful. When Faith was diagnosed is one of the few times that someone here was taken to an outside medical facility. Faith almost died that night.
“I don’t know Charity. I was in the kitchen one day and Ma was making us all some tea. She didn’t know I was there and it shocked me when I saw her crushing pills up, I watched as she put it in the tea and then put the bottle away. I waited until I knew she was in the other room and I went to the cabinet and there was the bottle of aspirin. I didn’t know what to do?” I know Faith had to have been scared. I have told her many time through the years to be sure to check labels before she takes any pain reliefers or cold medicines. We have an infirmary inside the community and it is stocked with different medicines and first aid supplies and that is where we go for all our illnesses.
“I don’t know what our parents are thinking half the time but that is being reckless with your health and it won’t happen again because we are getting out of here around midnight.” I have been scouting the trails I had to take in here and I have them memorized. We will use the park lights like I did coming in.
“Where have you been and what took you so long to get back? I quit coming to the cave when Pop started the restrictions. I couldn’t even go to work in our garden without someone going with me. It was usually Ma or Nic. Nic wants us to be wed and Pop agreed.” Faith stops for a second and then she looks at me. “I don’t love Nic. I know he would take more wives than just me and I can’t handle that. I like Nic, but that is as far as it goes. I will not only be on the run from Ma and Pop but from Nic too. We are to be wed next month before we all move.” I am trying to take in everything that Faith has told me.
“Faith sit down and take a deep breath.” I move over towards I had my blanket. “Have you eaten and taken all your medicine?”
“I ate earlier and all I like is my nebulizer if I need it.” The moonlight is coming in through the cave opening but it is still dark in here. We both sit on the blanket. “Will you answer me, please?”
“Faith, I just don’t want you upset and this is going to upset you.” I reach for the flashlight I had sitting beside me and find the candle I had ready for tonight and light it with the lighter I had in my front pocket. I can make out Faith’s face so if she gets too upset I can see it. “Pop traded me to a motorcycle club. They were going to use me for a blackmail scheme and then use me in their clubhouse. They wanted me to have sex with different men.” I hear Faith gasp.
“I don’t understand, why? Are you alright? Did they hurt you?” I hear the hiccup in Faith’s voice.
“I was drugged and held in a horrible place, but two men helped me escape before they could make me do the sex thing. They wanted to tape me with those two men. Do you remember those men that rode their motorcycles in here a few times? They are the ones I was traded to, but I don’t understand why Pop would trade me.” I don’t tell Faith it was her the motorcycle club wanted but Pop traded me in her place. I don’t want her to have to deal with the thought of it.
“Charity, things have been weird since you disappeared. Almost all the girls my age have either been married off or disappeared just like you and just like you there was no explanation.” I must not have been the only female traded to the Hell Keeperz MC. I didn’t see anyone in there that I know. That must mean they have more than one place to hold the women. This is a worse situation than I thought. “Pop said I had to marry Nic or my life was going to change drastically, and he wouldn’t be able to protect me anymore. I don’t think I could ever love Nic. I know this may sound selfish, but I want someone that I pick, not someone chosen for me and that I must share. Nic slapped me the other day when I would not let him kiss me. It was on my birthday.” I thought about what Faith is saying. I missed Faith’s birthday and didn’t even realize it. Then there is the whole hitting thing.
“You’re seventeen now. I can’t believe I missed your birthday.” I bring Faith to me and hug her like there is no tomorrow. Never again. I will be there every step of the way. If I get a chance I will put a bullet between Nic’s eyes. No one hurts my baby sister. I wipe away a tear that is sliding down my cheek. I take a deep breath and blow it out. “What else has been happening?”
“They are moving things out of here every other night. That is the reason I came tonight instead of waiting. Ma was watching me like a hawk this afternoon. I think she is afraid I am going to run. They are not giving the girls the choice to leave anymore, they just disappear if they don’t agree with the ways of the community are doing things or they express a dislike for the man chosen for them. I am so glad you showed up today. We need to get out of here before the sun comes up. They find out I am missing, and they are going to bring out the hounds.” Faith is digging something out of the backpack she brought with her. It’s something wrapped in a handkerchief. Faith unwraps it and more money than I have ever laid eyes on before falls out.
“Where did you get all this money?” I wait for Faith to answer. She hesitates, but finally looks at me and I can see she is nervous.
“I took it out of the shed where Pop keeps it hid. I know I shouldn’t have, but we are going to need money, so they never catch us.” Faith starts sobbing. I put my arm around her.
“You are right Faith, and do not feel guilty about it. You need to get a couple of hours of sleep while I get the Jeep loaded. I just like a few more things to get in it and then we can move out. Uncle Hem let me borrow his jeep and he filled it with things we will need. He also has a place for us to go around Dallas. His sons live there, and they are going to help us until we are on our feet and decide what we want to do.” I wait for Faith to do as I say, but she is as stubborn as me.
“I took a nap this afternoon and I haven’t been awake that long. I can help. We are in this together and I want to help my sister, so everything is not on her shoulders. Are you sure Uncle Hem will keep our secret?” My little sister has grown up a lot while I have been gone.
“Alright. I want to watch the trails for a little while before we take off to make sure no one is out and about. We get caught and our days are numbered. I put nothing past this group of people we call our family and I am betting our lives that Uncle Hem will do anything he can to help us.” I want to distract Faith, so I start picking things up. Faith hands me the money and I stick some of it in my pocket and hand Faith some to do the same thing and then take her backpack and sticks the rest in it. I am guessing there is a few thousand dollars and it will help us, but I am not sure it is the smart thing to take it. It may be the reason our family keeps hunting us. My mind is going in circles. I will be glad when we are away from this place. “So, why did Pop pick Nic for you? Normally the young girls are matched with older men.” Faith stops for a minute and looks at the ground and then back to me.
“Nic comforted me when you went missing. I thought he was being a friend, but then he kept pushing for more than friendship. He kept insisting we have sex. I was scared. I have zero experience with men and sex or sex at all. I’m still a freaking virgin. I kept saying no. What does Nic do, him and his dad go to Pop and tell him what had been going on and that Nic wants to marry me since I was a good girl. I have never been so embarrassed in my life. Talking about sex and marriage in front of Pop and the other two. I was mortified, and Ma was nowhere in sight.” Faith stops suddenly and then turns her attention to picking more things up. Not that there is much to pick up, but she seems uneasy and then she looks at me. “Charity, how do you know when you are in love? I have never felt that feeling and I don’t want to miss it in case it happens. Have you ever been in love?” Now I am the one who feels like I am out of my comfort zone, but I will answer anything for Faith.
“You are not the only one that has had a lot happen in the last few months. I told you that there was two men that helped me escape but I fell in love with one of those men, Brody.” The thought of Brody, his insanely sexy smell, even sweaty it makes me weak in the knees, and his muscles have muscles.
“You look all dreamy eyed or maybe it is too dark in here for me to see. Don’t keep me hanging, share.” I have missed my girl talk with Faith, but I guess I am not a girl anymore. “Tell me how it feels to love someone, so I can be prepared when I find it.”
“Love isn’t something you can prepare for. It is something that grows in your heart without a reason. It consumes you beyond any reasoning and even if you try, you can’t deny it. One look at Brody and I felt it growing inside me and I don’t think if I run from now until eternity that I can unfeel it. I am marked for life.” I can’t explain it any other way and I don’t even know if my explanation comes close to how much I feel for Brody.
“Is he going to meet us somewhere? Are you two going to be man and wife some day?” Faith has no idea of all the things that stands in the way of Brody and I being together, but I do.
“We had sex once and no, we won’t be together. Brody is too good for me and he let me know it. We are from two different worlds. He is intelligent but stubborn. Sexily handsome but insufferable. His kiss sets my heart to beating double-time, but he is lacking in the sweet talk department. In other words, I can’t get him out of my mind and I don’t think I ever will.” That’s all I have to say on the subject.
“Oh, you two will happen. If it is meant to be, then it will be, and I am so happy for you!” Faith is all excited.
“I don’t want to talk anymore about it or him. Let’s get this stuff to the jeep and get the brush off it. I put it in the ravine and put brush and limbs on it. I want to sit and watch the road for a while before we leave.” I pick up the bag I filled, and Faith has her backpack and we make our way out of the cave. We move quietly and quickly. We still have a long night ahead of us. I hope we both make it out of here safe.