by S. M. Shade
“Abby,” he whispers. His eyes climb my body, shining with simultaneous desire and guilt.
“It’s just us,” I reply, placing my hand on his chest while he rests his hands lightly on my hips. “Just us,” I murmur, as I bring my lips to meet his. Oh, his lips are everything I dreamed they would be, soft and full, gentle and warm. They fall on my cheek, the corner of my mouth, and my jaw, before meeting my lips again.
I graze his lower lip with the tip of my tongue, and he moans lightly, caressing my tongue with his. It’s a long, sensual, scorching hot kiss that ignites the fire between us, glowing for so long just under the surface. I forget where we are, and why we’re doing this. He slips his hand under my bra and softly runs his fingers over my nipple. My tongue explores every inch of his mouth while my hands run down his bare back and beneath his waistband to squeeze his lovely behind.
He backs me toward the bed and before I know it, I’m under his body, and he’s kissing down my neck as I run my fingers through his curls, over his chest, and lower. He nudges my bra above my breast, kissing and sucking until I moan. His hand slides down the front of my panties, and he brushes me lightly, before pressing a finger inside me. I’m lost in him, drifting in a billowing haze of bliss when I slip my hand beneath his boxers, squeezing and rubbing firmly. He’s hard as a rock when he groans and flexes his hips, pressing himself against me.
I come to my senses, but it takes every ounce of my self-control to stop touching him. “Go, Joseph,” I breathe. “You have to go and show him. I’m sorry.”
With an agonized groan, he pulls away from me and reluctantly knocks on the door before stepping into the hallway. I attempt to slow my breathing, immediately overcome by guilt. We got caught up in it so quickly, and Airen never entered my mind. Would I have thought of him eventually? If the situation had been different, would I have continued and cheated on him?
I sit up quickly as a young girl enters with my clothes. “Get dressed. I’m supposed to walk you back to your quarters.”
“What about Joseph?” I ask fearfully, as I dress.
“They want to talk to him. He’ll be back later.”
My hands shake as I slip on my shoes. What are they doing to him? He passed their stupid test. I felt it.
“Are they punishing him?” I squeak, so terrified of the answer.
“No, we’d hear him if they were,” she replies matter-of-factly. My heart drops into my stomach. Joseph. By the time we get to the stable, I can’t restrain my panic any longer. As soon as the door shuts behind me, Airen is at my side.
“What happened? Why are you crying? Did they hurt you?” he demands.
I shake my head miserably. “They kept Joseph, and I don’t know why. He passed their test, Air, but they didn’t bring him back,” I sob.
Troy approaches me. “He’s okay, Abby. They aren’t hurting him. Being with you was just the first part of their test. They also show him pictures and videos.”
“Videos of what?” snaps Airen.
“Naked men, gay porn. He has to show he is only turned on by women,” he whispers, embarrassed.
I curl up on my side on my cot, emotionally exhausted, churning with guilt, fear, and hopelessness. Airen sits beside me and rubs my back. We don’t speak. There is nothing either of us can say.
It seems like an eternity before Joseph returns. His face is red as he glances at me and makes a beeline for his cot. Airen shakes his head when I start toward him. “Let me talk to him.” They spend a few minutes together, speaking in hushed tones before Joseph rolls on his side to face the wall, and Airen joins me.
“Is he okay?” I whisper.
Airen’s dark eyes shine in the moonlight that streams through the window. The corner of his mouth is tucked in, and he sighs deeply before responding. “It’s like Troy said, they showed him videos of men, but he didn’t react. He passed their goddamned test, but he’s hurt, humiliated. To have to go through so much to deny who you are,” he whispers, shaking his head. “Leave him alone for a little while. He needs some space.”
“Is he upset with me?”
“Of course not. He feels guilty, like he’s causing problems between us.”
“It’s not going to cause a problem is it?” I ask fearfully. “What they made us do?”
“No, sweetheart. We don’t have to talk about it. I don’t need details. You saved Joseph from being tortured or worse. Hell, I’d sleep with him to prevent that from happening.”
“Now, there’s a picture.” I giggle, and he gives me a small smile.
“Hush.”
“I didn’t sleep with him.”
“I know.”
“We need a plan.”
“Maybe it’ll come to us in our sleep.”
I wake in the middle of the night to the sound of someone crying, softly. As my eyes adjust, I see Joseph sitting on his bunk with Troy’s arm around him while Troy comforts him in a low voice. “I know it hurts. No matter how the world changes it seems this hate will never be behind us, but it’s not you. There’s nothing wrong with you. It’s them, Joseph. Don’t let them get into your head. Don’t let them change who you are.”
“I denied it,” Joseph moans, ashamed. “I pretended to be disgusted by the insinuation.”
“You should have denied it, Joseph. I’d swear the earth is flat if it prevents us from being tortured.”
“I swore to myself I’d never be ashamed of it again and never hide it from anyone. I told Abby and Airen right away and took a chance they’d throw me out.”
“And they didn’t care, did they? Abraham and the rest of them are crazy, disturbed people. You have to play along, play their game, beat them by surviving. Don’t be ashamed of what you have to do to stay alive.”
Joseph nods reluctantly. “You didn’t hide your sexuality from them.”
Troy snorts. “I tried like hell to hide it, man. I failed their test. Both parts,” he adds, raising his eyebrows comically.
“I’m bisexual. I guess that helped,” Joseph admits with a smile.
“Cheater,” Troy teases. They both laugh, and Troy returns to his cot.
When I shift my head to Airen’s shoulder, his eyes are open. He’s been listening as well. “Troy isn’t one of them,” I whisper, and he nods in agreement.
“There’s something I need to show you,” Troy announces the next morning. He motions for Joseph to follow him, and Airen is hot on his heels. I catch up to them as Joseph moves a stack of pallets aside. Behind them is a warped and slightly rotted board, hiding a dip in the ground where Troy has obviously been digging. “I’ve been sawing through the plank for the last few days.” He produces a small pocket knife. “If we can break it off, I can get under it, and unchain the door. If we’re fast, we may make it before they see us. This side of the stable faces away from the house.”
Airen immediately takes the knife and begins sawing at the wood.
“If they catch us, we’re all dead,” Troy warns.
“Then listen for them,” Airen commands.
Airen, Joseph, and Troy spend the rest of the day taking turns with the knife. We listen, ready to replace the pallets at a moment’s notice. It’s late when they agree to stop for the night. Their hands are raw from forcing the small, dull knife through the stable wall, and they have scarcely made a dent.
“Tomorrow,” Airen whispers in my ear as we curl up on his cot. I nod and fall into a deep sleep.
Troy
“Troy, wake up,” she whispers. Jennifer is crouched beside my cot. “It’s time.”
I can’t believe I fell asleep. Joseph, Airen, and Eric are standing in the shadows, waiting. Airen insisted that Abby be kept out of our plan.
“She’d never go along with killing so many people,” he assured us, and Joseph agreed. She’s asleep on her cot as Airen, Eric, Jennifer, and I quietly slip out of the stable. Joseph remains behind with her, in case she wakes.
Jennifer and Eric have been plotting and planning this for months, the knife
was my pathetic attempt at a backup plan. Jennifer flashes Eric a tight, nervous grin as she hands him a gas can. We each take two five gallon containers filled with gasoline, and Eric doles out packs of matches.
“Troy, go with Jennifer, she knows where to spread the fuel. Come with me, Airen,” he orders. Jennifer leads the way as we dowse every exit and window on the back side of the house while Airen and Eric do the same to the front. We want to be sure no one comes out alive.
As soon as the gas is spread, Jennifer pulls out a pack of matches. Before she can strike it, she’s tackled at the waist by a dark figure. She shrieks when he pins her down and holds a knife to her throat. It’s Cole. Fuck! I don’t even have a weapon. I straddle them both and lock my arm around Cole’s neck, efficiently cutting off his oxygen, but he sinks the knife into her throat before scrabbling to remove my arm from his neck.
“No!” My vision wavers at the sight of blood spraying from her throat.
“Don’t you let him go,” she croaks, blood pouring through her fingers as she tries to hold it in.
“Jennifer,” I whisper, horrified. She’s fading.
“Hurry, light it. Light it,” she chokes out the words through the blood filling her mouth. I watch as the light fades from her eyes. Cole slashes at my arm, cutting it to ribbons, but I hardly feel it. Finally, finally he goes limp, and I release my grip on him, snatching the knife from his hand as he crumples to the ground. I don’t hesitate before plunging the blade into his heart.
“Oh, Jennifer, I’m so sorry,” I mutter as I remove the matches from her hand and close her eyes gently before dashing to ignite the pools of gas. Surely, they have heard us by now, and I wonder how Eric and Airen are coming along with their part. I run faster than I ever have in my life, the flames erupting behind me.
When I round the corner onto the front lawn, Eric leaps from the second story, and I’m stunned to learn he has set the roof on fire behind him. Airen throws a burning book of matches onto the porch, and it flares up, instantly engulfed.
“Jennifer?” Eric asks, trying to catch his breath.
I shake my head. “It was Cole. I killed him, but I wasn’t quick enough. I’m sorry.”
He nods and gestures toward Airen. “It’s time to get Abby and Joseph and get the hell out of here.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
I sit up groggily. “What’s going on?”
“Shh, Abby, come with me.” Joseph pulls me to my feet before my eyes are completely open. “Put your shoes on,” he orders in a hushed voice.
“Where’s Airen? And Troy?” I ask when I realize we’re alone in the stable.
“They’re coming. We have to be ready to run when they do.” His eyes are wide and terrified, his hand shaking in mine.
“The gun!”
“Airen has it.”
“They got out!” I exclaim, still trying to piece together what the hell is going on. Joseph stands in front of me as the door swings open, releasing his breath when he sees Airen and Troy.
“It’s done. Let’s go!” Airen shouts.
What is done? What have they been doing? Oh Shit! I smell smoke! I freeze in terror when I see one of the men from the house. I don’t know who he is, but he was with Abraham.
Airen follows my gaze. “He’s on our side. He let us out,” he explains, grabbing my hand as we move around the building that has been our prison for the past few days and Troy’s for nearly a year. I stop, horror struck, when I realize where the smoke is coming from. The enormous house is engulfed in flames!
“Airen,” I whimper in disbelief.
“We had to do it, Abby. Just keep moving. We don’t know how many of them may have made it out.”
No sooner did the words leave Airen’s lips, than Joseph shouts, “Troy! Behind you!”
Troy ducks just in time as Abraham swings a baseball bat at his head.
“Take her somewhere safe!” Airen shouts at Eric, who grasps my arm. I start to shake my head, but Airen grabs my face. His eyes are fierce. “Now, Abby! Hide!”
I do what I’m told. There’s no time to think as Eric tugs me into a copse of trees, and we burrow into the underbrush. I’m shaking while I watch the horror playing out before me in the abandoned farmyard. Bloodcurdling screams emanate from the house, now an inferno. The flames turn night to day and throw an eerie glow on the fight for survival between the four men.
Troy manages to duck the bat the first time, but it catches him on his right side when Abraham swings again. Joseph catches the end of the bat, but Abraham jams it into his stomach, dropping him to his knees. Airen fires the gun and Abraham’s knee cap shatters in a spray of blood and bone as he goes down screaming. Airen aims again.
“No!” Troy shouts. “We had a deal!” He stumbles to Airen, holding his injured ribs, and Joseph gets to his feet to join them.
They surround him, and I imagine what it must look like from Abraham’s perspective. The three men hovering over him, faces alight in the glow of the flames, must seem to be devils incarnate, here for him at last. Airen gives the gun to Troy, who accepts it with shaking hands.
“Brother Troy, please,” Abraham begs.
Troy shakes his head, laughing bitterly. “Now I’m worthy of being called Brother?”
“I was trying to save you.”
Troy’s face blooms a bright red as he screams. “You beat me! You burned me and starved me and tortured me for months! You sick, fucking bastard! You killed Micah!” he screams with all his might.
“Please, don’t. Please.” Abraham crawls to Troy’s feet.
“I should fuck you.” Troy’s eyes flash, and Abraham’s jaw drops in horror. Troy leans down and grips his hair. “I should fuck you on your hands and knees and make you beg for more.”
Abraham’s face is stone white. “Please, just kill me, shoot me,” he begs in a trembling voice.
“Now, where have I heard that particular request before?” Troy’s smile is bitter as he jerks Abraham’s pants and underwear down, baring his ass to the night air. “You may like it,” he croons cruelly, and Abraham shrieks in terror.
Oh God, I can’t watch this. Abraham sobs and babbles unintelligibly.
“I wouldn’t fuck you with a stolen dick, you hateful, bigoted whore,” Troy says, staring at him in disgust. Grabbing him by his hair, he jerks him to his knees and screams, “Kneel!” Circling to look him in the eye, he points the gun at Abraham and draws a deep breath, steadying himself. “Micah,” he declares and fires two bullets into Abraham’s chest. After handing the gun to Airen, he walks away silently and slumps against a tree, burying his face in his arms.
With the last of his strength, Abraham reaches toward Joseph. Blood pours from his mouth. “Please, help me.”
A look of disgust crosses Joseph’s face, and he kicks his hand away. “My husband’s name was Tim,” he announces, quickly stepping back as Abraham collapses face first in the dirt.
I look around frantically, but it doesn’t appear anyone else escaped the fire. Troy stumbles to his feet and suddenly bends at the waist, grasping his knees, and retching repeatedly.
“Abby!” Airen calls, his head whipping back and forth. Eric and I crawl out from beneath the underbrush, and he runs to me.
“I’m okay, Air, I’m fine,” I assure him. He holds me tight, his body trembling. “Breathe, Airen. Breathe, baby…it’s over,” I whisper.
Silence settles over our little band of survivors as we survey the grisly scene before us. The house is blazing, completely enveloped in flames. Blood is everywhere, and Abraham’s body, half-naked and bloody, the moonlight shining on his bare ass, is a gruesome sight to behold. These images will forever be imprinted on my brain. There will be endless nights I’ll revisit this moment in my nightmares and wake, sweating and shaking, expecting to see the stable walls. The smell of smoke will bring me back to hear the screams and witness the horrific scene, too many times to count.
“I want to get out of here!” Troy blurts.
“Good idea
,” Joseph agrees.
After we walk for nearly an hour, Troy mumbles, “Where are we going?”
“We should put some distance between the fire and us before we find a house and rest,” Airen replies.
“I killed them. I killed them all.” Troy’s voice is flat, entirely devoid of emotion, and Airen throws a worried glance in his direction.
“He would’ve killed you eventually, Troy. He planned on it, and he was already comparing Airen to Micah as well,” Eric says.
My breath catches, and Airen’s arm slips around my waist. “I’m right here,” he murmurs.
Joseph falls in step with Troy and grasps his hand as they walk. “You saved yourself and all of us. Abby’s pregnant. What kind of monster do you think they would’ve turned the baby into, if they had let it live at all?”
Troy glances at me in surprise, and I nod. “I’m sorry you had to do that, Troy. I know how it feels to take a life, and I can never thank you enough.” His lips press together, and tears trace clean lines down his dirty face. “That goes for you too, Eric. I can’t imagine what you must’ve risked to rescue us, and I’m so sorry about Jennifer.”
“She’d be happy we got away, at least.”
“Why weren’t they armed?” I ask. “Cole and Abraham, why weren’t they armed when they escaped the fire?”
“Jennifer and I hid the guns in the basement before we unchained the stable doors. We were betting they wouldn’t have time to find them,” Eric explains.
“Why not just shoot them then?”
“We may have been able to shoot a couple of them, but as soon as we fired a shot the others would’ve attacked us. This was the safest way.”
Troy continues to walk with Joseph. “We also have three kids at home waiting for their parents to return,” Joseph says, going on to explain about our home, the kids, and Julie. By the time we stop to rest in a small house off of the highway, Troy seems to be in better spirits.