Chapter Four
Mary returned home in record time, anxiety over the safety of the children eating away at her insides. If Jefferies had harmed one hair on their heads… She couldn’t finish the thought.
Though the children didn’t technically belong to her, Mary felt a certain responsibility for them. They’d been placed in the same foster home as her.
Fear for their treatment had prompted Mary to keep them out of their foster parents’ way as much as possible.
Ralph and Georgina Clark had been fostering children for over twenty years. Cruel and unjust, the couple took in as many kids as the law would allow, in order to pocket the checks they’d receive from the state.
The Clarks were evil personified, forcing the children to work from sunup to sundown in exchange for one meal a day.
Mary had resorted to stealing food for the newcomers and sneaking it into their rooms at night after the Clarks went to bed.
Catching Mary with the food on more than one occasion, Ralph would force her to strip down to her underwear before beating her with a wire coat hanger.
He then locked her in a small closet for two days without food and water. As torturous as it became, the hunger paled in comparison to the inky-black darkness.
But being locked in the closet was nothing new to Mary. Her foster parents had been tormenting her with that particular punishment since her arrival there at ten years old.
Over time, Mary developed claustrophobia as well as nyctophobia, a medical term for fear of darkness.
Yet Mary would face that darkness every night to protect the others.
Little Liza had only been three months old when she’d arrived at the Clarks with her brothers and sisters.
Mary would spend hours rocking Liza at night to prevent her from crying and drawing the unwanted attention of Georgina Clark.
Ralph had begun showing signs of a fever two days before Georgina had fallen ill.
Realizing the Clarks had contracted the Incola virus, Mary had gathered the children and fled in the middle of the night. How they made it out without also contracting the virus remained a mystery.
The death of the Clarks had been a blessing to Mary. Though the children had made it out relatively unscathed, Mary hadn’t been so fortunate. She would carry the scars of her abuse for the rest of her life.
Fleeing on foot, Mary had walked throughout the night, finding refuge in an empty shack a few miles away, situated on the shores of the bay.
She and Hank worked tirelessly to feed the younger ones by scavenging what they could and fishing from the bay.
It wasn’t until Liza fell ill that Mary realized they needed a more suitable shelter with running water and warm, soft beds.
Mary found an empty house about a mile away, with blankets, towels, dishes, and running water. She’d immediately moved the children to the new residence, only to be found by Doug Jefferies.
After threatening the kid’s lives, Doug had forced Mary into prostitution, providing her with the drugs needed to render her johns unconscious and take whatever money they had to aid in his attempt to build an army.
What Jefferies didn’t know, however, was that Mary had never sold her body, and she had no intentions of doing so.
Jefferies met her at the door. “You took long enough.”
“I was gone less than an hour. Where are the children?”
Nodding toward the back of the house, he gripped her arm as she moved to push past him. “The brats are fine. They’re playing in one of the rooms. Did you see the alien?”
“Yes,” Mary whispered. “He’s taking me to Aukrabah so his healer can look at my face.”
“Perfect.” Doug reached into his pants pocket and pulled a vial free, forcing it onto her hand. “This was not an easy thing to acquire. Once you arrive in Aukrabah, you will pour this into their drinking water the first chance you get.”
Mary had prayed on the walk home that Jefferies would change his mind about poisoning the Bracadytes. But her prayers had apparently been in vain. “Please don’t make me do this, Doug. There has to be another way.”
“There is no other way!” he snapped, painfully tightening his hold on her arm. “You’ll do this, or I can go in there right now and give it to your precious children.”
Her heart lurched. “No! I’ll do it. Just please don’t hurt the kids.”
A look of satisfaction settled on Doug’s disgusting face. “Smart girl. Now, go say your goodbyes and hurry back to the alien before he changes his mind.”
Yanking free of Doug’s hold, Mary tucked the vial of clear liquid into her skirt pocket and hurried off down the hall toward Hank’s room. She somehow knew that the oldest boy would have taken the others there.
“Hi,” she murmured, stepping into the room.
Seven-year-old Kelly and five-year-old Lance dropped their toys and rushed over to wrap their small arms around Mary’s legs.
Hank remained where he was, holding little Liza on his hip.
Mary dropped to her knees and hugged the children back. She spoke in a soft voice over their heads, her gaze glued to Hank’s. “I have to leave for a while.”
Fear flickered in Hank’s eyes, but he didn’t speak.
“I promise you that I will be back as soon as I can,” Mary continued, holding Hank’s gaze. “Nothing will happen to you while I’m gone.”
Hank shifted Liza to his other hip, his chin held high in defiance. “You’re leaving us here with that man?”
Mary swallowed hard, finding it difficult to speak. She rose to her feet and slowly moved toward the thirteen-year-old Hank.
In a voice low enough that Lance and Kelly couldn’t hear, Mary whispered. “If I don’t go, that man out there will hurt us all. Do you understand?”
Hank nodded. “How long will you be gone?”
“I don’t know, but I need you to do something for me.”
He simply stood there, staring back at her with a brave determination shining in his eyes.
Mary leaned in close. “Take care of the others. Make sure they get enough to eat. If I’m not back within three days, I want you to take the children and run.”
Standing a little taller, Hank’s gaze flicked toward the door before shifting back to Mary. “Where will we go?”
“Do you remember how to get to that shack on the bay, where we used to stay before we found this place?”
“Yes,” Hank affirmed.
Relief poured through Mary. “There’s fresh water at the fish-cleaning station, and you know how to bait a hook.”
“I know what to do, Mary. If you’re not back in three days, I’ll take the kids out my bedroom window while Jefferies is asleep.”
He was just a kid himself, Mary thought as tears stung her eyes. A child, mature far beyond his thirteen years. A young boy forced to fill a man’s shoes.
Mary quickly pulled the bag of stones from her pocket, wrapped Hank in a hug, and stuffed it down his shirt. “I love you, Hank. And I’ll do everything in my power not to let you down.”
Pulling back, she noticed a suspicious moisture in his eyes as well. “What did you put down my shirt?”
“Something that you’ll need to survive if I don’t make it back. Hide them in a safe place.”
“Move your ass!” Jefferies suddenly barked from the doorway, scaring Liza into a fit of tears.
Mary spun on her heels and rushed from the room before Jefferies had a chance to come inside.
Hurrying across the hall to her own bedroom, Mary packed a few days’ worth of clothes without looking at Doug’s insufferable face. “If you lay one finger on any of those kids while I’m gone, I’ll kill you. No matter how long it takes or how far I have to go, I will hunt you down and I will kill you.”
“Such big talk from someone who’s on the losing end of the stick. Remember, sweetheart, I hold all the cards here. Now hurry up, time’s wasting.”
With one last glance toward the door to Hank’s room, Mary snatched up her bag and stormed past Jefferies.
Doug followed her down the hall, through the kitchen, and onto the back porch. “You have three days to take care of the Bracadytes. If you’re not back at the appointed time, the kids will suffer for it.”
“I heard you the first time!” Mary sneered. “You just remember what I said.”
Jefferies grinned. “You’ll try to kill me? I look forward to it, sweetheart. Now, run.”