by Glenn Ball
She had to get out of there for so many reasons.
Once again fighting back the tears she left the house, striking out to change her fortune. She was tired of crying. In her distraught state she forgot to take the backpack and clothing. All she had was the clothes on her back—a frazzled cocktail dress.
********
The raft spun in circles, fighting the dark current charging them toward the rocks. Heaving like a raging bull it tackled breakers and waves as if it were a ship in a hurricane. Skip and Sky hung on with fingers numb from the icy water. A boulder rose up from the water towering over Van Horn like a mighty troll awaiting the moment to crush them with a death swing. Sky saw only his daughter in danger.
********
Susanna began to explain to Pedro her plan of escape from the attic. They were still huddled under the blanket as they made their plans. The rain continued to pelt the roof. Now and then their faces lit up as the lightning flashed.
“So, as I said, once we hit the ground we need to make for the woods as fast as we possibly can. The roof would be safer for climbing down if it was not raining, but we don’t have the luxury to wait. They will be far less likely to hear or see us with this heavy downpour. Okay, let’s get to work.”
First, she gathered up two backpacks she had stored in the attic. In the backpacks she put in an extra set of clothes for herself, and a set of Adam’s clothes for Pedro. They would be large for him but better than nothing. They could not afford to be out in the rain without a change of clothes. Besides, his were beginning to smell.
The packs were already semi-equipped for camping. She had grown up with Sky so had made a habit of keeping the necessities ready to go in her pack. She had a compass, a canteen, a flint fire starter, two lighters, a small halogen flashlight, some matches in a plastic container, a small hammock, a hunting knife and some outdoor cooking gear. The second pack was that of Adam and was similarly packed, but also had a folding saw and a small hatchet. Stepping lightly, she went right to where Adam had a long stretch of rope stored. Taking it up Susanna situated herself underneath the skylight.
“I can tie for you. I am sailor; good with knots.” Pedro offered with a voice very assured of itself.
“I’m sure you are, but I need you to hold me secure from below. Don’t worry, I’ve got this.” She began to climb the ladder that she had placed directly under the skylight. In her hand she had a screwdriver and a rubber-headed mallet.
It took her several minutes to unscrew the plate that held the skylight. With the mallet she banged the screwdriver into the caulking that sealed it to the roof. It did not take long to get it loose, ready to remove for their escape.
“Okay, hand me the rope please.” In ten seconds, she had a special climber’s knot ready, securely fastened to the rafter.
Pushing up on the skylight the rain began to seep through immediately, dripping down on her shoulders. It felt cold against her neck. She braced herself for the deluge that was about to soak her. Taking a deep breath, she lifted the skylight upward and to one side of the hole. She was reminded of times she had showered in icy waterfalls.
Looking downward the water dripped from her mouth and chin as she spoke. “Okay, hand me the rest of the rope.”
Pedro obliged quickly.
She set it up on the rooftop and lifted herself up to the roof. Pedro had been thinking of her as a timid housewife and was struggling to process the sudden courage and resourcefulness of this woman he had just met hours before.
Susanna had climbed many a mountain living with Sky in the wilderness. Like an old hand she wrapped the rope around her for a makeshift repel and tossed down the remainder of the rope being careful not to let it hit the roof. She did not want to alert the death squad of their escape.
Pedro climbed up through the hole and she gave him some quick instruction. “This is how you will want to wrap it around yourself when you come down. Now this knot is what they call a kamikaze knot. You absolutely must keep the tension on it as you descend. When you see me go over the edge please make sure that the tension on it remains steady. Then as you feel my weight let off of it make sure you are tugging it with your own weight so that the tension never lets up. That’s absolutely crucial. You got it?”
With the rope the climb down was not difficult for her. It brought back old times. She had flashbacks of climbing with her dad. She also had memories of climbing with Adam. There had been plenty of opportunity for them to go cliff climbing with so many precipices nearby. At first it had been her that had been the expert who had him in awe. But after he had been in the military that all changed; he came back the expert doing things she’d never dreamed of being able to do.
“Here’s for you Adam, wherever you are,” she murmured as she swung down from the roof for the final twelve-foot drop. When her feet hit the ground, she held the rope taut until she could feel his descent.
Pedro watched as she went over the side. He was beginning to marvel at her hidden abilities. It had looked so easy when she did it. Heights did not bother him; rain did not bother him; he was used to balancing himself on wet slippery surfaces like this roof, having been caught in the open ocean in the fishing boat now and then in a thunderstorm. Nevertheless, this roof troubled him for some reason. Maybe it was the steepness of the roof’s slant. Maybe it was the fact that if he made it to the bottom of that steep slant there was a twelve-foot drop-off awaiting him. He felt the tension on the rope ease slightly and he tugged it harder to maintain the tension as he had been told. His turn had come.
The rain was coming down hard, slapping him in the face as he tried to get the rope around his legs the way Susanna had shown him. Was he doing it right? He could not remember for sure. He had never done repelling before.
Picturing how she moved down the rope he checked to see if it would work the same way with the form in which he had wrapped it around him. Checking his weight by leaning back the way he had seen her do he confirmed that everything was as it should be.
The rope was slippery, but his hands were trained for that. Taking slow steps downward and backward he blinked with the rain filling his eyes, trying his darnedest to see. Out of nowhere there was a blinding flash exploding so loud in his ear it caused him to slip. He was jumpy and took a moment to steady himself. After having nearly lost his life several times during the night to the rifle shots the lightning had totally unnerved him. It was so similar.
It seemed an eternity moving backwards, not being able to see behind him. He kept waiting for the moment that he would step right off the roof as if into an abyss. There would be emptiness, then the jarring collision with Mother Earth.
“Get a grip!” he reprimanded himself. He had been through so much. This was nothing. Besides, it was so nearly like handling a boat at sea it should be simple for him. Then his foot came to the dreaded edge.
“How on earth had she done this?” he questioned himself. He paused for a long moment, recalling her movements as she had gone over the edge. She had sort of swung herself and just dropped out of sight. He imagined that she caught herself with her feet against the wall as she swung back into the house. But he could not quite picture himself doing it. He decided instead to lay face down on the house, to let his legs dangle over the edge, and thus lower himself down gradually. It was slow, but it worked.
Before he knew it, he was standing next to her on the ground. He let out an enormous sigh. He had made it.
She took the rope from him, snapped it, and down it came.
“What the…?” His consternation showed all over his face.
“Don’t look so shocked. I tied it that way so we could recover it. We’re going to need a lot of rope where we’re going.” Wrapping it in a coil she put it in the backpack that she had brought with her. “Follow me” she signaled, and they were off.
********
Alicia took off through the woods. She had been with Artie a number of times walking in these woods since her arrival with him. He said the fresh air
would help to restore her health, both body and soul. She had been inclined to agree. Thanks to those walks she was not wandering around lost.
Recalling instructions Artie had given her one day about how to find her way around she headed in the direction of Highway One-Ninety, which he said would be her best bet if she tried hitchhiking toward Baton Rouge. “The interstate don’t permit no hitchhikers,” he had said, “and what’s more those there folks on that Highway One-Ninety are more likely to offer a ride.”
It took her a few hours going through the woods till she came to Highway One-Ninety. Birds accompanied her walk with singing the whole time, and the sun warmed her through the trees, but she hardly noticed. Her mind was deep in thought. What if Antonio’s henchmen found her again? How had they found her this time? What if the police wrongly blamed her for Artie’s death? All these thoughts nagged at her like the gnats buzzing around her ears.
Yet in the profound depths of her soul something else was stirring her thoughts. Artie had said that she was God’s precious pearl, and that he had given all to find her and have her as his own. But Artie didn’t understand how much of a monster she had been. Could God love such a monster? She had been nothing but the scum of the earth, giving her body to man after man, and loving the horrible beast that had killed Artie. Could she ever be that special pearl that God loved so much after having stooped so low?
At the edge of the highway her thoughts paused for a moment as she began to consider which direction she should go. From what Artie had said she would probably want to go toward Baton Rouge, it being the next closest city. That seemed smart to her. But which way was it? He had said it was west of them, and with the sun being on that side that direction must be west.
A pickup was coming. She waved for it to stop. What type of men would these be that were stopping to give her a ride?
********
Perle and Pedro reached the woods in a matter of seconds. After they reached them, they did not go back in the direction from which Pedro had come. He would not have permitted that; but was relieved to see that was not Susanna’s plan anyway.
Where they entered the woods, it would be hard to see any of their tracks in spite of the wet weather. But about two-hundred yards in it became much harder to hide them with their feet now sloshing in mud. Then they came to some stony ground. Susanna led them in one direction at first and had them clean off what mud still remained on their shoes. They then doubled back on some rocks higher up. They were able to go a full mile like that without leaving any more tracks. It was somewhat comforting to Pedro.
The rain finally passed over as they were coming to some denser woods. The sun came out and immediately began to evaporate the rainwater. At first it felt good on their wet clothes. But after an hour their clothes began to dry, and they were growing hot.
Pedro was famished. He had been without food now for more than a day. Dripping with sweat he asked if they could take a short brake.
Susanna turned and with a reluctant expression on her face explained that they weren’t far from the cave where they would make camp for the night. But in saying so she noticed a prickly-pear cactus. Her knife flashed, and she began cutting off some of the pears that were protruding from the top of the panels. Peeling them as deftly as a magician shuffles cards she shared some with Pedro. They munched on them and Pedro felt his energy returning. It was exactly what he needed to get him going again.
“The sun is already getting low on the horizon. We need to reach the cave in the next half hour if we’re going to be able to get our shelter ready, get food and a fire going. Fortunately, there is a stream close by the cave, so getting water will be quick.”
That half-hour passed fairly fast, and they came upon her cave without much difficulty. Upon seeing the rock face Pedro commented that there was no cave, and that they must have taken a wrong turn.
Susanna smiled. She led him into what looked like a natural grotto with small trees and bushes growing at the back of it.
“This…this is the cave that you think will hide us from them if they follow us here?” His voice cracked, partly from being parched, but more so from the disappointment.
She said nothing in response. She merely walked to the back of the grotto where two bushes leaned into each other. Pulling them apart she looked back to see his reaction.
“Santa Maria! Es cierto; hay una cueva!”
She chortled. “Come on, let’s check it out.”
They pulled out their flashlights and stepped inside. It was surprisingly spacious. The ceiling of the cave went upward in sort of an arch with a crevice that opened wider at the back of the cave allowing smoke to escape their cavern. “We will be able to build a fire without it being detected,” she commented to him while pointing to the hole. “But even with the fire we’re going to need to put something down on the floor to keep from freezing during the night and to avoid sleeping on hard rock. And before we do, we’ll want to smoke out any nasty critters. Spiders and centipedes love these kinds of places.
“We’ve got about twenty minutes of good light to collect firewood and floor covering. Can you handle finding dry firewood for us?” He nodded. “I’ll get the bedding and kindling.”
********
The dark green pickup pulled up to a stop just beyond Alicia. She could see the backs of two heads of men inside. As she approached the man in the passenger seat stepped out. “Where you headed?” The driver asked.
“Where I go?” She asked, making sure she understood his question.
He nodded with a grin. She could feel the eyes of both men checking her out. Her cocktail dress was very low cut to begin with, and had covered very little of the legs, being used as it was for prostitution. Having been torn a good bit in her travels through the woods there was not much left to the imagination.
“Baton Rouge” she said with a thick accent.
“That’s where we’re going. Get in,” the driver said. He indicated the middle of the seat next to him for her to sit there. He was a young man with brown hair. She found his blue eyes both attractive and dangerous. He was muscular and was wearing a football shirt, as was his companion. She noticed then the man who had gotten out and was standing very close to her was also muscular.
Not knowing their intentions, she hesitated. The man by the door gently prodded her, taking her hand in the direction of the seat. It was a gentlemanly act of offering assistance with a subtle undercurrent of alternate intentions.
Half reluctantly she climbed inside. The pickup had oversized wheels making her feel like she was mounting a perch on a cliff with no escape. The passenger sat down beside her, sandwiching her in.
“We’re coming from Southeastern University and are on our way to Baton Rouge to spend the weekend partying there. What brings you this way?” The driver was a talkative type. The passenger snickered, keeping his mouth shut. She tried not to look at him, but she knew that his eyes were burning a hole through her dress. She tried to understand the driver, realizing he had asked her a question. “Universi…ah, Universidad?”
“Yeah, Southeastern... I guess you’re not from around these parts.” He chuckled as if he had just received some good news. “So where are you going?”
She was beginning to understand his question, but at the same time understanding his unspoken thoughts. There was no way she could tell the truth about anything. She was alone with nobody to help her if she got in trouble. The only man who could have helped her was now dead, and she was likely to be blamed for his murder if she were caught.
Looking in the rearview mirror she could see her disheveled hair. It was a rich black color, matched by her striking black eyes. Her sandy-brown skin was still supple even after all she’d been through. It occurred to her that her stunning figure might actually be a curse for her in her current predicament.
“I go to see friend.” Her words came haltingly. “He wait for me.” Looking back at the driver as she finished her sentence, she caught his eyes returning to the road. H
e had been looking between her legs. To her horror she saw that the tear in her dress left her almost entirely exposed. She quickly put her hands there to cover herself.
“Ah, uhuh…a friend you say?” The edge of his mouth turned upward a hint. “What’s his name?”
This time she anticipated his question, but in her fear her mind had gone blank. She just could not think of a name. She was glad to play dumb so she could stall. “Yes, friend….”
“But what’s his name?” the driver repeated.
The only name that seemed to come to her was Antonio, but she didn’t dare mention him. “Yes, I meet friend.”
“Hey Buck, I think our lady here may not have any friends. What do you say? Maybe we should be extra friendly with her ourselves?” Buck responded by putting his hand on her right leg. He began to slide his fingers first down, then slowly up her leg.
She tensed, knowing that she was indeed in trouble. From the moment she stepped into the truck she had been glancing around for anything she might use as a weapon, but she had found nothing.
“Yeah Buck, I’ve been thinking, how could she have arranged to meet a friend when she obviously has no cell phone on her? There weren’t any phones around where we picked her up…nowhere near. And for that matter, I bet she doesn’t even have any identification on her. You know what I think?”
“What’s that Joe?” Buck’s hand was uncomfortably close to her vagina.
“I think we’re going to party hardy this weekend. We may even take her back after the weekend is over to be our guest at the apartment in Hammond. What do you say?” They were both laughing with anticipation now.
“That sounds like a mighty good idea bro!” Buck could hardly get the words out in his laughter.
As his hands let up slightly in his laughter, she pulled her dress down some to help cover herself down below and put both hands between her legs, leaning over just slightly with her arms inward to shield from anymore horseplay. Only to her dismay her attempt at covering up backfired; her breasts came nearly completely out of her dress.