THE CRUEL SEVEN

by Terence Mitford

  Lisa stripped off, climbed into the tub, and pulled down on the chain. The cold water took her breath away. She tolerated it just long enough to smother herself with soap before rinsing off and climbing out. She grabbed a towel and as she was drying herself, the image of Ed flashed across her mind again. In the split second snapshot, she was lying on the couch in the dark and Ed was peering down at her. She blinked, and the image was gone. Then she shook her head and again dismissed it as just her imagination.

  When she returned to the kitchen, Frankie was there with six eggs. She made a quick mental note that he was wearing a red checked shirt while Freddie’s was blue. She must remember this so she would know who’s who, because apart from their shirts, there was no difference.

  She took the eggs from Frankie and asked how they liked them cooked.

  “Summer scrambles them and puts them on bread.”

  Lisa opened cupboards, found the bread, then cooked the eggs in a pan on the hot stove and served them up onto three plates.

  As they ate together at the table, Lisa glanced around. “I take it you don’t have electricity from the grid here?”

  Frankie shook his head. “Pa says we don’t need it.”

  Lisa smiled. “I guess not, but I got a shock when I had a shower a few minutes ago.”

  Frankie grinned. “We are used to it. We pump the water from the well out front to a tank above the washroom. Well-water is always cold.”

  Lisa nodded. “It certainly is.”

  Freddie chipped in. “We have a generator around the side of the house we use for the lights, the water pump, the refrigerator, a couple of power outlets, and Luke is planning to fit a water heater in the supply.”

  “That will be good,” Lisa said.

  They finished eating, and the boys walked outside. Lisa grabbed the green bag from the couch and followed them.

  Freddie disappeared around the side of the house for a moment and returned with a wooden stretcher. “We made this a couple of years ago when Pa fell and broke his leg.”

  Lisa inspected the stretcher made from a canvas sheet sewn around two long branches used as bearers. Shorter pieces at each end acted as cross-members. “It looks sturdy, and it’s just what we need. Thank you, Freddie.” She took out the compass. “We need to go west for a mile or so and then head south.”

  Frankie walked over to the well nearby, hauled up a bucket of water, and filled three old-fashioned round canteens by submerging them in the bucket before handing one to his brother and another to Lisa.

  She slipped the canteen’s strap over her shoulder criss-crossing with the survival bag and pointed to four canteens still hanging from a peg above the well. “Can we take another for Mike?”

  Frankie shook his head. “Better not carry too much. You can share yours with him.”

  Lisa weighed the canteen in her hand and agreed there should be enough for her and Mike. Then she set off with the boys following close behind.

  They had been walking in silence for a few minutes when one of the twins asked, “How will we know when to turn south?’

  She took a moment before answering as she remembered how she had marked the turning point. “Err… I tied something to a tree.”

  Then came the question she dreaded. “What was it?”

  She hesitated again. “Just something white.”

  The boys whispered to each other and sniggered. Lisa stopped and turned back. “What’s funny?”

  Freddie smirked. “We know what it was.”

  Instinctively, Lisa’s hand moved up to the front of her dress, where the missing button should be. “Really?”

  Freddie pointed to her chest. “You are not wearing a bra. Ma says all city girls wear bras.”

  Lisa sighed. “Okay, you got me. I tied my bra to the tree. It was the only thing I had to mark the turning point.”

  The boys glanced at each other and grinned.

  Lisa continued. “But you are wrong. Not all city girls wear bras all the time.”

  Frankie’s eyes widened. “Yeah?”

  “Yes, but that’s enough talking about bras and what city girls wear or don’t wear. We need to keep going.”

  A few minutes later, Lisa caught a glimpse of white through the trees up ahead. She locked eyes onto it and sped up, relieved that she had already explained what the garment was. But she still hoped to retrieve it without further embarrassment.

  She got to the tree ahead of the boys, reached up and pulled down the bra, then drew breath as she studied it. There was a rip through the broad rear strap, and as the branch she had tied it to was nearly six feet from the ground, she guessed an inquisitive bear’s claw was responsible. She pushed the garment out of sight into the survival bag.

  When the boys got to the tree, they seemed disappointed. Frankie pointed to the green bag on her hip. “Can we see?”

  Lisa held it closer and shook her head.

  Frankie persisted. “We’ve never seen pretty underwear before. Ma’s is awful and Summer doesn’t wear any.”

  Lisa raised an eyebrow. “Well, you shouldn’t be looking, anyway.”

  Freddie said, “My brother’s right, we don’t get to see many pretty girls or pretty underwear. Can we just have a quick look? We won’t tell anyone.”

  Against her better judgement, Lisa took the garment from the green bag and held it up.

  The boys moved closer. “It’s very nice.” Frankie said. “Put it on.”

  Lisa put the bra away and shook her head. “Are you serious?”

  “Just for a moment,” Freddie said.

  “I can’t, it’s damaged now. It looks like a bear wanted a quick look too.” She turned, held the compass in front of her, and set off again. But there was no sound of plodding footsteps following behind. She stopped and looked back. The boys were standing by the same tree.

  Despite the warm morning, a chill ran down her back, and even though she could guess the answer, she returned and asked them what was wrong.

  The twins glanced at each other, then looked at her and smirked.

  “If you want us to help you—”

  “Put it on and show us.”

  Frankie started the sentence, and Freddie finished it.

  Lisa stared at the twins while trying to figure out what would happen if she did what they wanted. Would they leave it at that and continue with her to the plane? Or would they want more?

  12

  LISA

  Lisa considered her options. By using the compass, she was sure she could find the plane. But she couldn’t move Mike on her own. For that, she needed the boys. And after studying their faces, she had no doubt. They were not going any further until she obliged.

  When she compared what the boys wanted to Mike stuck in that plane alone, her decision was easy.

  So she slipped the bag off and pulled out the bra. “If I do this, we need to get going again, okay?”

  Their faces lit up, and they nodded in unison.

  “Turn around then,” she said.

  The boys turned around like excited children waiting for a present.

  Lisa watched them closely as she unbuttoned her dress, flicked it off her shoulders, and slipped her arms through the bra straps. She fumbled behind for the hook and sighed. The bear must have ripped it off. So she held it in place with one hand behind her back. “All right, you can look now.”

  The twins spun around and stared, open-mouthed. Then they looked at each other and grinned.

  She held the pose for a few seconds until they nodded in harmony, and without prompting, turned away. “Thank you, missy. You can get dressed now,” Freddie said.

  Lisa removed the damaged bra, pulled up her dress, and fastened the buttons. Then, as if nothing had happened, the three of them carried on walking in a southerly direction, held on course by the compass in Lisa’s hand.

  They walked for nearly two hours with virtually no conversation. Just the occasional glance over her shoulder to ensure the boys were following, until Freddie as
ked her to wait, before disappearing behind a tree.

  When he returned, he enquired if anyone else needed to go.

  Although Lisa had only taken a couple of sips from the canteen, ensuring she left most of its contents for Mike, she decided to take advantage of the brief stop and headed for a tree large enough to shield her from the boys.

  As she re-emerged, the twins were scurrying back to where she had left them. They turned around with grins similar to when she had shown them her bra. She glanced back to the tree, then at the boys. “Oh, seriously, you were spying on me?”

  They may be in their twenties, but they giggled like a couple of school kids.

  Lisa shook her head and set off again. She recognized the occasional opening in the trees from her journey the previous day and a few minutes later, her heart jumped at the sight of the white and gray plane poking through the trees ahead. Not knowing what she might find, she ran to the open door.

  Mike’s face lit up. “You did it, Lisa. I knew you could.”

  She climbed in and hugged him. “Are you okay?”

  “I am now.”

  “Thank God for the compass. I couldn’t have found my way back without it.”

  “Actually, it was my compass, so I’ll share some of the credit with the almighty if you don’t mind.”

  She smirked.

  The twins arrived at the plane’s doorway, and Lisa introduced them. Then she stepped aside to allow them to pull Mike out and sit him on the ground with his back against the nearest tree.

  Lisa kneeled down next to him and handed him her canteen. “Have you regained any feeling or movement in your legs?”

  Mike gulped down a few mouthfuls and shook his head. “Sorry.” Then he glanced at the stretcher. “But I see you came prepared.”

  Lisa turned to the boys. “Are you ready to take him back?”

  Frankie placed the stretcher on the ground and helped Freddie lift Mike onto it. Then he stared at the front of the plane for a moment before walking over and pulling something black from beneath the crumpled foliage.

  Lisa’s blood ran cold, and she sensed a similar reaction from Mike as Frankie returned carrying a bulging black leather carryall bag, which he placed on the stretcher between Mike’s ankles. Then he unzipped it, glanced inside, and grinned at Mike. “I guess this is yours?”

  Lisa held her breath as Frankie reached in and pulled out a pair of men’s boxer shorts.

  Mike seemed speechless, but Lisa thought fast. If they explained it wasn’t theirs, Frankie would almost certainly search the bag. So she blurted out as fast as she could, “Yes, thank you. It must have been thrown out in the crash.”

  Mike looked up at Lisa and nodded.

  Frankie pushed the shorts back into the bag and zipped it up again.

  Lisa sighed inwardly with relief, and as they set off on the return journey, she walked next to the stretcher, holding Mike’s hand and focusing on the bag. She prayed it contained nothing more than Carlos’s spare clothes but couldn’t help thinking that the underwear could be concealing a more sinister cargo.

  An hour into the return journey, Frankie stopped next to a clearing and pointed east to a mountain. “I know this terrain. We can take a shortcut that way.”

  Lisa looked down at the compass. “Are you sure?”

  “Of course I am. We grew up in these parts.”

  Frankie’s shortcut shaved an hour off their journey, and they arrived back at the family house before noon.

  Luke was out front skinning the game from the day before, Ed was chopping wood, and Erica was sitting on the veranda watching them.

  As they approached, Summer and Billy came out of the house, making it a full family welcome.

  Mike looked up from the stretcher. “You did well finding this place, Lisa.”

  The boys placed Mike down on the ground in front of the house and stood back, as if awaiting instructions from their parents.

  Erica walked closer, looked down at Mike, and then turned to Lisa. “So this is your precious husband?”

  Lisa found the tone of her question a little odd. But she answered anyway. “Yes, this is Mike.”

  Erica exchanged a brief glance with Ed before instructing the boys to take Mike to the cabin. Lisa followed and helped to settle him into the bed, then watched from the window as the twins walked back to the main house. Once they were out of sight, she grabbed the carryall from the floor and placed it on the bed. But as she took hold of the zipper, she hesitated. “I’m not sure I want to know what’s in here.”

  “Me too, but we need to know. We might be worrying about nothing.”

  Lisa yanked back the zipper, grabbed a handful of clothes, and peered inside.

  “Well?” Mike asked.

  She tilted the bag over to show him.

  He glanced inside and sighed. “At least now we know what Carlos’s little business was.”

  Lisa removed a clear plastic bag filled with a white powdery substance and weighed it in her hand. It was the size of a one-pound bag of sugar. “If this is what it looks like, it’s not a little business. There must be a dozen of these in here. Carlos is involved in a big way.”

  Mike nodded. “Sorry, Lisa. I’m sorry for getting you mixed up in all this.”

  “It’s a little late for apologies. What the hell are we going to do with this lot?”

  “Put it back in the bag. The boys think it’s just full of my clothes.”

  “We should burn it or bury it in the woods.”

  “It would be too risky. The family might see you, and anyway, we have to think about Carlos.”

  “What about Carlos?”

  “If he fails to deliver those drugs, he’ll have the cartel after him. We need to keep them safe.”

  “That’s his problem. I’m sorry, but I don’t have any sympathy for anyone delivering this quantity of drugs. How many lives could be ruined by this lot?”

  “Well, if you don’t care about Carlos, do it for us.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “If they find him, he’ll tell them where the drugs are. When they go looking and find an empty plane, they’ll know we survived and must have the bag.”

  “We can just deny ever seeing it.”

  “They won’t accept our word. We’ll be tortured until we tell them. And what do you think they’ll do to us when they discover we destroyed their drugs?”

  Lisa slumped down on the bed next to Mike. “Okay, when you put it like that, I guess we don’t have a choice. We’ll keep them… for now. But you know what this means, don’t you?”

  “What?”

  “We are now drug smugglers.”

  Mike smiled at her. “Only in theory, not in our hearts.”

  “I’ll remember that when I’m in front of the judge facing twenty years to life and he asks me how I plead. Guilty, your honor, but only in theory.”

  “That’s why I fell in love with you, for your sharp wit.”

  “And I thought it was for my body.”

  He grinned. “That too.”

  Lisa rubbed her chin between her thumb and forefinger. “Why would Carlos be making a drop around here? It’s so remote I wouldn’t have thought there would be a thriving drugs business in these parts.”

  “Me neither. I guess there’s a demand everywhere nowadays.”

  He glanced at the leather carryall. “Just act normal around the family so they don’t suspect anything.”

  She picked up the bag and pushed it under the bed. “I need to warn you. This family is a little strange.”

  Mike stared at her. “In what way?”

  “I think Erica and Ed run the house like a military operation. The younger members of the family don’t seem to have a mind of their own.”

  Mike grinned. “They are country folk. They have their own ways, and although they may seem odd to us,”—he pointed to the bandaids on Lisa’s legs—“they must be good people to help you and then rescue me.”

  She considered Mike’s comments.
“I hope you’re right, but I’m not sure I trust them.”

  “What are you worried about? Apart from a bag full of cocaine, we have nothing for them to steal, and anyway, we don’t have many options right now. We have to trust them.”

  “I guess so.”

  “Did they say how soon they can get me into town?”

  “No.”

  “Did they tell you how far the nearest town is?”

  “No, only that it is too far for people to drop by.”

  “Well, we can’t stay here.”

  Lisa nodded. “I’ll get you some food and ask them when we can leave for the hospital.”

  She returned to the house and found the family gathered around the table. She spoke to Erica. “Can I take Mike something to eat?”

  Erica pointed to bread on the kitchen counter and to a slab of cheese next to it. “Of course, help yourself.”

  Lisa thanked her and set about making a sandwich. “Can I ask when we are taking Mike into town?”

  Ed grunted. “I’m afraid it may be awhile. The truck needs a new fan belt, so I’ll send Billy to get one.”

  “How will he get there without the truck?”

  “He’ll have to walk.”

  “How long will that take?”

  “A few days.”

  She sighed at the thought of spending several more days with this family in the middle of nowhere. “Are there any neighbors who could help?”

  “Not within fifteen miles.”

  Lisa took the sandwich and a fresh cup of coffee to Mike, then sat next to him on the bed. “We are stuck here for a few days while Billy walks into town to get a new part for the truck.”

  Mike hesitated, then nodded, thoughtfully. “Okay, don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

  “How can you say that?”

  “Because I’m not bleeding anywhere, and whatever is wrong with my back can wait a few days. If it’s broken, there might be nothing the doctors can do anyway, other than wait to see if time heels it.”

  After studying him for a moment, she guessed he was trying to reduce her anxiety. But he was right. Other than his back injury and a few cuts that were healing, he had no visible wounds of concern, and they would know by now if he had internal bleeding. Because damaged internal organs can result in death within hours if not treated.