When they got outside smoke was all around them. “What happened?” Roy asked.
Fred ran back in the cabin and looked at the time, he said, “we gotta wake up da’ slaves.”
Roy walked around to the back of the cabin, he yelled, “come around here.” Roy was looking at the burned trees in the forest between the outer and divider gate.
When they joined him, they could see clearly, with the leaves and most of the trees burned down, the children house looked empty. Roy sent the women back in their cabins to pack, he said, “ladies we are getting out of here today.”
He and Fred saddled their horses and galloped to the divider gate when they got there, they saw Charles lying on the pathway, Roy and Fred called out, “Mr. Charles, Help!”
Roy said, “Fred look, the outer gate is opened.”
They went to where the divider gate opened and shook hard, but it was fastened tight. They followed the divider gate that had an exit behind the children's area, it was also locked. Fred tried to climb out, but it was impossible.
“Who did this?” Roy asked.
The men said together, “the slaves.”
They got back on their horses and began to gallop at top speed from the divider gate to the slave area. The horses stopped at the overseers' cabins, drooling and breathless. They forgot to feed and water the horses. Roy asked Fred, “Did you lock the slave gate?”
“After what happened to Bo remember, we stopped lockin’ der’ gate every night.” A confused look was on Fred’s face when he asked, “how’s Lillie get Jack Danial?”
Roy said, “that’s what knocked us out, we're used to drinking watered down liquor from Mr. Brown.”
*******
The fire had burned to the edge of the service road, where the buses and Timpkins van had parked. No one came to the Browns rescue because the family had done a thorough job concealing the plantation. The Browns had no friends, no visitors, and no one to miss them. The last visitor that was in the plantation house was MacCall's Chief of Police, Stevens.
In town, Stevens had the police to drive around and search for where the smell was coming from. He went to the fire department; they had not received any calls. And then it hit him, he called Charles on his cell, no answer, then Barbara on her cell, no answer, he called both landlines to the plantation mansion and castle, no one answered. He wanted to take an officer with him but realized he was not supposed to know the location of the plantation. So, he went by himself.[RL115]
*******
Confused, Bo searched and searched for the way the slaves had gotten out. He had wandered around the empty plantation for twenty-five minutes. The solitariness and fear smothered Bo's reasoning, he looked up at the whipping tree, it too had suffered through the fire. An idea struck, he ran back to his cabin, in a corner was a rope. Bo grabbed it and went to the whipping tree; he was going to hang himself. He thought about the pain, he had watched Massa Ben hang a slave. Bo dropped the rope and went to the town where he sat at the bar.
In the absence of sound, his mind trundled, like a bowling ball towards pens, the crash was his memories. His two visits to the city with Harry, riding in a car, other coloreds dressed like his Massa, his Massa saying Sir to a man that was brown, Lillie’s beating, the terrible ways he treated the slaves. He remembered unnecessarily yelling at the kids, the overseers rape his wife, her cries for help, he did nothing. Guarding Saul's bloody body to keep the slaves from helping him.
Bo was five years old when Charles father dragged him to the children’s area. He yelled, “I’s tell my mama and daddy.” He never saw his parents again. When he turned fourteen, he was given to an old man that taught Bo how to be a snitch.
Crying, he said, “mom, dad where you be.” Unfortunately, he could only hear Lee’s voice telling him he's no better than they were, Bo flinched when he remembered Harry raping him. So many slaves had told him that he would die alone and unloved. It had come true, he was alone, and nobody loved him.
Unknown to Bo, his family were very poor and could not care for the evil child. His parents had whipped him and put him on punishments, still, it did not work. When Charles came to their door, Bo was sold for twenty thousand dollars. His parents left town, changed their names, got a job, and were never seen again.
*******
The overseers switched horses, they tried to gallop at top speed to the slave’s area, on the unfed thirsty animals. The horses ran for a half mile and stopped. The men got off their horse and tried to pull it, but they would not move. Fred kicked his horse, Roy took his shoe off and slapped his horse on its butt, with the shoe.
The closer Chief Stevens got to the plantation the stronger the smell. When he turned to go down the long driveway the mostly burned down house loomed at him. He ran around the house trying to figure out how to get in. Then he drove around back and saw Charles body lying on the ground. On the porch stairs was Charles blood. Only bits and pieces of the house remained standing. With the forest mostly burned down, he could see more of the plantation, he got back in his truck and drove down the grassy path between the outer gate and the forest. As he drove, he saw two men walking inside the big gate. The Chief was the first human outside the plantation that they had seen in almost thirty years. They yelled out, “HELP!!”
Chief Stevens was confused, he thought the slaves were black, he continued to drive, he saw the devastation of the slave area. Even though Lee was shaking when he crawled out the tunnel, he took time with Cush and quickly covered the hole over, thus concealing their escape route. When Stevens was driving past and looking at the set up his front tire ran over the hole, but the back tire fell deep into it.
Roy and Haze ran to catch up with Stevens, who was trying hard to free his truck, but the wheel kept spinning. Stevens luck changed when a mule came walking out the woods towards him, around its neck was a rope. The mule had broken out the barn and ran to safety, it was returning hungry and wanted to be fed. Out of breath Roy and Fred caught up with him. They both pleaded, “please help us out,” their big mistake was informing the Chief about the Brown family atrocity and when he saved them, they would tell more.
Roy said. “Please help us,”
As Stevens tied the rope to his truck and around the mule's girth, he asked, “you two alright,” he turned the truck on and put it in neutral. He pushed while the mule pulled. It took a while, fortunately, man and beast got his truck free.
Fred said, “yes Sir. Officer, we’re okay.”
Roy asked, “Sir do you have diggin' tools?”
Bo heard the commotion, he ran out of the bar, and saw Roy and Fred, he was going to yell but saw a strange man. Stevens pulled out his gun and shot them both. Bo ran back inside the bar. Stevens got in his truck and drove around the length and width of the plantation. When all was quiet Bo returned outside.
He ran out the slave area over to Roy and Fred by the outer gate, they were dead. Bo had seen the overseers slap the horse backside before getting on, using his fist he punched the horse. The horse was not in the mood, it was hungry, thirsty, and mad, using its hind legs, it bucked. The kick knocked Bo down, before returning to the barn, the horse kicked one last time, Bo was hit in the head. He crawled to the gate, pulled himself up, and saw the hole Stevens truck fell in, he looked around at the church, back at the hole and said, “that’s how dey’ got out.” He died.
*******[RL116]
When Stevens reached home, he took the police car out the garage and put his truck in. His vehicle was filthy dirty it looked like he had been on a dirt bike trail, he closed the garage door. He took a shower and put on a clean uniform. When he drove up to the police station, several sheriffs’ cars were parked around the building. He got out of the car and casually entered the station. One of the sheriffs asked, “where have you been?”
“Driving around trying to find where the smell was coming from,” Stevens answered, as unanswered questions juggled through his mind faster than light could travel. Will they find the plantation? Di
d I drop anything? My tire tracks? And the two guys I shot has the bullets from my gun in them. Big brave confident Chief Stevens was folding.
Stevens was trapped, two other sheriffs entered the precinct with Mrs. Paddleton, she was carrying a black case.
*******
5:00 pm.
Tess was driving the bus, Kay the van, and James was driving. Theenda got on the two-way radio and said, “my sista's do we need a bathroom break?”
“And we need to switch drivers, Timpkin has been snoring like he's having a hog calling contest,” KayKay chuckled as she said, “he won.”
“Yes, I could use a break,” Tess commented.
James said, “I saw a sign a few miles back for Burger King, Thee, make an order, please. We'll fill up, let everybody stretch. We're almost to Ohio.”
Using her cell, Theenda called Burger King and ordered two hundred hamburger, fries, apple, and cherry fried pies. The order almost wiped the restaurant out of food, the manager had to call for more food to be delivered, he was told to shut down when he ran out.
While they waited for their food Theenda allowed the children to play in the children area. The adults laughed as they watched the kids. Donovan, Timpkin, and Haze took the vehicles to the gas station.
Three employees helped Theenda, Tess, KayKay, and Sara take the food out. The employees gave all the children a toy and placed a crown on their head. One of the little six-year-old held up his toy and with great big beautiful brown eyes claimed, “dis be feedom toy.”
An hour later everyone got back in their assigned seats and ate on the bus. Donovan cut the two-way radio on, so they could chat. Glaidous said, “glory be I's like dis freedom food.”
Jethro said, “dat’s right,” as he stuffed his mouth.
Lillie said, “I's likes da' indoor toilets, dey' don't stank.'“
Donovan, Haze, and Timpkin were driving. Donovan had download Pandora music app on his pay-as-you-go-phone, when he turned it on, Stevie Wonder song Ribbon In the Sky was playing, “he said Lee this is my jam.”
Lee said while chewing on his food, “I like it to, Mr. Bright.”
In Timpkins van “Look how big this world is,” said Lillie as she chewed on French fries.
“Thank you so very much, Mr. Bright,” Sophie cried.
Glaidous stared at Sophie before saying, “I's thought you liked Massa.”
“I's like freedom and da' food, dem pannie’ cake be, hum good,” Sophie answered.
Lee asked, “Mr. Bright if there are no more plantations, where do the babies come from?”
“What babies?” Donovan asked.
Lillie answered, “Massa gib' me Lee to raise, he say I had da' baby, so I da’ mama. He act like I's don't know where babies come from, I's delivered lots of babies.”
“Miss. Edna,” Ben said to Theenda, “Lee say I don't remember gates.”
Theenda ask Lillie, “how old was Lee when you got him?”
“Fourteen likes all the others,” Lillie replied.
KayKay ask Lee, “Lee, how old were you when you were taken?”
“About four, Mr. Brown go in a thing like this, it be smaller,” he pointed outside his window and said, “like those little things.”
He was pointing to cars driving past. KayKay being in the van could not see him pointing, Donovan said, “he was taken Kay, to the plantation in a car.”
Lee continued to remember, “it be me and some more chil’ren.”
“I was one of dem' chil'ren,' I was fo,” Jethro commented, from Haze bus.
“There were other chil'ren dey went to da other places,” Jethro continued to remember.
“I remember that,” Lee said. I kind of remember my mom and dad. Not their face, just them.”
Donovan said, “this is interesting, why are their memory so clear now?”
Theenda asked KayKay, “Kay, you think it's familiarity, the bus, stores, smells...”
“I believe so Thee.”
Glaidous said, “is there a way we can find out, maybe I was adopted, Lillie you may not be my real sister.”
“Oh, hush up Glaidous,” Lillie said.
Donovan in deep thought said, “Timpkin you may be right about other plantations.”
“What?” Timpkin said sternly.
“When all this began you said, driving up and down these freeways what if there are…”
Haze chimed in and said, “don’t mean to cut you off Don-man, are you telling me that we have to do this all over again”
James said, “not us when we’re in New York we are meeting with a few government officials about all this.”
Timpkin commented, “good, I'm too old for a repeat.”
Soon after their conversation, Haze said over the system, “we're here in Ohio, see the sign.”
Before crossing the Cincinnati bridge a huge sign reading, Welcome to Ohio greeted them. As they road high over the Ohio River, many of the slaves lift their legs in their seats.
“Columbus is not far away,” Donovan's voice came over the system.
“When we get to the hotel, I want to take a hot bath,” Theenda said.
Tess got on the two-way radio and said, “Thee and Kay I am very sorry for how I was acting, Donovan I deserved to be tossed out the bus, please forgive me.”
Theenda asked, “Sweetie you threw her out the bus?”
KayKay said laughing, “it's not funny but it was, Thee, you was sleep, girl,” KayKay laughed so hard she could hardly breathe, “we were getting ready to drive off, but a superwoman came flying out the bus. Timpkin said, she done gone and went and made Don mad. Girl he said it in the most southern drawl I've ever heard.”
“You finished?” Tess said, laughing,
“Yeah.” Kay was still laughing.
“Haze I owe you an apology, I am not stupid – Theenda, Donovan, Kay, Timpkin, I started the fights with Haze.”
Theenda cut in and said, “yep, we know, do we forgive her everybody?”
They all mumbled, “yes.”[RL117]
“So, moving forward,” Theenda said, “Tess apology accepted. We’re going shopping for church clothes and stuff, Tess, you in?”
“I'm in. My sister lives in Columbus, I’ll text her.”
“Sister?” Theenda questioned.
“Yeah, sister,” Tess said.
In the van Sophie started humming a song from the plantation, she asked, “Lillie memba' dis' song.”
KayKay asked, “Thee what happened to the clothes you bought in town?”
“Hum, at the house in Donovan's office.”
Tess asked, “you forgot them?”
“Yep.”
Sophie sang louder, Lee said, “Mr. Donovan can I hear your music?”
It was playing softly but Sophie singing drowned it out. When Donovan cut the two-way radio off, Michael Jackson Beat It came on, he cut the music up full blast.
Lee said, “I's like this song Mr. Bright.” he looked around and asked, “y’all like this.”'
Donovan's bus was rocking, the slaves stood and danced, he looked in the rearview mirror and said to himself, “I will teach them today's steps.”
On Haze bus, he said to Tess, “you never said you had a sister.”
“Yeah, she ran away when she was sixteen,” Tess replied.
Theenda said, “Miss. Lillie and the other’s want to attend church. That’s the reason I want to go shopping.”
In downtown Columbus, the slaves got off the bus in true amazement, they look at the tall buildings, all the cars, the people, and all the black people. Looking at the women in heels, Lillie asked, “Ms. Thee, what kind’a’ shoe they wear.” She grabbed Theenda's arm and said, “look at all the walk-abouts, and the tall things goin to the sky, will dey' fall?
“No Miss. Lillie, they won't fall, they are tall buildings built well. You are safe here.” Theenda answered.
The Hotel knew they were coming, an attendant had them park in the designated area. Theenda reserved rooms in three different hotels
in downtown Columbus.
During that week a convention was not in town, nor was it hockey season, the Blue Jackets were not playing, for that reason, the hotel rooms were not full to capacity. In case the freedmen and women had questions, she divided themselves into groups of two’s, James and Sara, Timpkin and KayKay, and she and Donovan. Theenda put Haze with her in-laws and Tess with KayKay and Timpkin.
As the freedmen and women entered the hotel, the female freedmen and women stood in awe of the exquisite décor. The men, on the other hand, mouth flopped open, eyes almost popped out as they watched women going to-and-fro in their low-cut tops, short hemlines, and high heels. Lee said to no one in particular, “dey’ woman ain’t wearin’ enough clothes.”
Jethro said, “l’s like feedom women better than a slave.”
Saul asked, “how we meet em.”
Ben said, “I’s thank we just ask dey name.”
Rita stood next to Lee and whispered, “lookie' at da' coloreds and whites be dressed da’ same.”
Lee was gawking at the women, he ignored her, Rita looked for Theenda,
Theenda looked around for Tess, she called her over and said, “are there any stores opened tonight?”
Rita stood next to Theenda and listened to the women talk.
Tess sister came over to the women, she joined Tess and Theenda and said, “you made it.” She and Tess hugged, Tess, said, “my sis,” she looked at Theenda and said, “this is my sister Penny,” to her sister, Tess said, “this is my friend Theenda.” The two women shook hands. Tess looked at Rita and said, “this is Rita.”
Theenda said, “tomorrow we want to go shopping for everyday and church clothes.”
Penny said, “I know exactly the store. It has everything for men women and children.”
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