The Roar (The Roar Series Book 1)

by A. M. White

  I jumped off the front porch. My boots made too much noise on the wood. It was nearing dawn and the village was quiet. I looked up and down the dirt corridor. I walked the way Timothy went to find Mira.

  The wind stung my cheeks. Smoke curled from chimneys. The smoke looked like ghosts rising from each shelter. I wrapped my arms around myself, walking briskly. I looked back before rounding a corner to make sure I wasn’t being followed.

  I turned right into a shadowy figure. A hand clamped around my mouth. I could immediately smell that it wasn’t Timothy. Alcohol and body odor filled my nose and I heaved. The man had me around the waist and lifted my kicking feet off the ground. I clawed at his arm. He threw me to the ground. It knocked the air out of me. I choked trying to catch my breath. I rolled over to see my attacker for the first time.

  He was huge, muscle and fat bulging from different places. He grabbed me by the hair and pulled me up, putting me in a head lock. I writhed and swatted at him, but I had not recovered from being thrown. I couldn’t breathe, let alone scream.

  My scalp was on fire and he continued to yank me over to a stone wall that lined the path. He shoved me against the rock and pressed himself against me. He crushed the last bit of air from my lungs. One hand squeezed my face. His pock marked face was in mine, bearing rotten teeth.

  “I heard we got ourselves a pretty new girl,” he hiccupped. “They were right.” He spit as he talked. The man licked my face and I dry heaved again. I squirmed against the pressure of him. He laughed.

  “That’s no way to treat the new pretty girl in town,” a voice said evenly. It was Timothy, thank God.

  “Mind your own business boy,” the man snarled.

  “She is my business,” Timothy ripped the man from me.

  I dropped to my knees. The man staggered off balance, but still swung at Timothy. He dodged the hit and answered with a left hook to the guy’s mouth. Blood spurted from his lips on impact and the man collapsed.

  Timothy scooped me off of the ground. He cradled me in his arms just as he did in the woods.

  “Are you ok?” He asked.

  I managed a nod.

  “That was really stupid Alex. If I hadn’t had the dream that woke me, I wouldn’t have gone to check on you. Do you understand how bad that could have been if I hadn’t heard you leave and followed you?” He was angry now.

  “I am so sorry,” I cried. Tears ran down my face.

  Timothy carried me back to the shack. He laid me on the couch. I was ashamed of myself. To go out at night unarmed and by myself was stupid.

  Timothy leaned down and growled, “I don’t even care what you were doing out there.” He pointed to the door, “Promise me that you won’t do something like that again.”

  A sob burst from my lips and I nodded, “Thank you.”

  “Do I need to sleep in one of these chairs to keep an eye on you?” He put his hands on his hips.

  “Oh, Timothy, I didn’t – I wasn’t running away.” I sniffled, “I just wanted to hear about what happened from another person like me. You have to realize that I have been a slave to your people for years. I lost my family because of them. Even if you are telling me the truth, I am blindly following strangers that lived among those th-things.”

  Timothy straightened and spat back, “I really thought you were different. I thought you saw that we are trying to help you.”

  “You are getting paid to deliver me. That is your job. I am a shipment for a well-paid job,” I snarled.

  “Sure, you got it all figured out, Alex,” he narrowed his eyes as he spoke.

  Cara appeared in the doorway. “Can you two keep it down out here? What are you fighting about anyway?” She asked, scratching her stomach.

  “Nothing, nothing at all,” Timothy replied. He turned and brushed past Cara to the other room.

  “Wow, you got him going good,” Cara yawned.

  I turned my back to her. She groaned and retreated back to bed.

  I was too angry and embarrassed to sleep. Thank goodness, it wasn’t too long before the sun started to rise. My bones were aching from trying to stay still. Streams of daylight found their way through the window and curtains.

  Soon, the noises of a busy daytime, began in the village. Voices permeated the thin walls. Deals were being made in the street.

  There was a loud rapping on the door. “Open up!” a voice startled me.

  I jumped up and ran into the other room. Both Timothy and Cara were scrambling to get dressed.

  Timothy looked at me, “It’s got to be the guards. That jerk from last night must’ve filed some kind of fake complaint.”

  There was another pounding on the door.

  “Who, what happened last night?” Cara was exasperated.

  “Cara, we don’t have time,” Timothy wrapped his arm through mine.

  “I am so sorry,” I apologized. I looked in Timothy’s eyes.

  “It may be time for you to save my life, now,” he said as he swung open the door.

  Two guards pushed their way inside. They immediately seized Timothy, tying his hands behind his back.

  Cara sprang upon them, asking, “Wait, wait! What did he do?”

  “He was reported for attacking a man last night,” the guard announced and shoved Timothy toward the door.

  “But he didn’t, that man was attacking me. Timothy saved me!” I pled. I clung on to his arm.

  Cara was shocked. She took a step back. I let go of Timothy and reached for her. She cursed at me and sidestepped out of my reach.

  “This is the kind of trouble you will get by running around with these things,” the other guard nodded at Cara.

  They stumbled out of the door and on to the road. A small crowd had formed to watch the drama. Cara ran around me and blocked their way. It stopped them.

  “Where are you taking him? Wait till Elijah hears what you have done to his friend!” She shouted at the guards.

  They laughed, “Elijah is the one that ordered the warrant for him.”

  Timothy kept his mouth closed. His gaze was thoughtful, as though he was trying to think his way out of this.

  Cara looked at him and then at me. She stomped past me into the shack. I watched them march Timothy away. People in the crowd yelled insults and spit in his direction. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before walking back in to deal with Cara.

  “You had better tell me what happened, NOW!” She was in a rage.

  “I messed up,” I raised my hands in surrender.

  “No joke! Keep talking.” She yelled.

  “I woke up during the night. I wanted to talk to another person about what happened when the world ended. A man attacked me in the street,” I began to choke up.

  Cara sighed, “And Timothy saved you. What did he do to the guy?”

  “He punched the guy. Maybe knocked out a couple of teeth,” I shrugged.

  “That doesn’t sound too bad. I am going to go talk to Elijah and try to figure this out. He should understand why Timothy hit him. Get our stuff together and wait for me. Do not leave for any reason. Do you understand?”

  I put all of our stuff in a pile by the door and sat on the couch to wait.

  Cara barged in after what felt like forever. She looked down at me on the couch, sympathetically.

  “As mad as I am at you for getting us into this mess, I am sorry that I am about to have to ask this of you.” She lowered herself to sit on the floor.

  I closed my eyes and put my head in my hands. This meant there was bad news.

  “The filthy pig that attacked you last night was the perfect excuse for Elijah to take Timothy. That old geezer knows that my people will pay dearly for him. What Elijah is too stupid to realize is if they turn him over to our people, they will disintegrate this place and all the people in it, just to set an example,” Cara explained.

  “Tell me what I have to do,” I interrupted.

  Cara breathed out, “Elijah said he would let Timothy go, on one condition. We trade yo
u for him. You apparently made quite an impression on the old dirt bag.”

  “It’s my fault,” I clasped my hands around my knees.

  “Listen,” she pulled herself on to the couch beside me, “I have no intention of just leaving you. Timothy and I have a much better chance of rescuing you than you and I have of getting him out of there. I have a plan.”

  Cara explained the plan. She also told me that she had seen Timothy and in a brief embrace, she told him to follow our lead whenever he saw us again. The plan seemed simple and straightforward, it should work, but it didn’t make me feel less nervous.

  Cara’s people were known in this new world for self-preservation. That was the message I got from the reactions of people and the stories Timothy shared. The idea was to try and roll with that. I hope that Elijah would buy that the two of them really saw me as a meal ticket and that I was disposable. I just truly hoped that really wasn’t the case. If it was, I was about to be Elijah’s property.

  At the door to Elijah’s house, a guard waited for us. “You must be the two I am waiting for.” He grinned at me, “You are certainly worth the old man’s time.”

  My stomach turned. Cara grabbed my arm and shoved me into the main room with a knife at my back. Elijah sat in his chair by the fire. The two guards from earlier stood on either side of Timothy. Timothy’s eyes widened at the sight of us. Cara was delivering me as a prisoner. I struggled against Cara’s grip on my arm.

  “Cara, I always knew you were a sensible girl,” Elijah gripped the armrests on his chair.

  “No!” I thrashed against her strength.

  Timothy winced at my shriek. He couldn’t look at me and allow this, so he stared at the floor.

  Cara pushed me to the ground. “She’s yours Elijah, just let Timothy go. We will be on our way. I don’t want any more trouble,” she reasoned.

  Elijah smiled, “As promised, your brother.”

  One of the guards kicked Timothy in the back. I looked back at Cara. Timothy was her brother! She helped Timothy to his feet. Somehow, we hadn’t even had that conversation.

  Timothy looked me over for signs that I was going along with all of this. I was trying to be as convincing, as possible. A couple of years in the camp had made me a professional at acting.

  “Thank you for this most fantastic barter. You two will be escorted to the gates. If you ever return, I will personally return you to your people to collect my reward,” he waved them out.

  “No! Don’t leave me here!” I threw myself at Cara’s feet.

  She kicked me off and said, “Sorry Alex, it’s not personal. It’s business.”

  They left. I screamed at the top of my lungs. A guard materialized from the back room with a rope in one hand and a strip of cloth in the other. He flipped me face down, gagged me, and tied my hands. I kicked and writhed against him.

  He lifted me and presented me to Elijah.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “My dear, there is no need for all of that. Here I was going to invite you to have dinner with me, but I can’t have such a violent guest at my table,” he said calmly. “I think we should give her a little alone time to reflect upon her choices.”

  The guard threw me over his shoulder and took me out a back door of the house. There was a small stone structure with a wooden door against the house. There was a deadbolt on the outside of the door. I hadn’t noticed Chris, Elijah’s servant, following us. The guard tossed me flat on to the ground. I tried to catch my breath.

  Chris knelt beside me and whispered, “You had better do what is asked. If Elijah likes you, you might be treated well.” He smoothed my hair, “If you displease him, there are many ways for him to punish you.”

  Chris stood and slapped the guard. I was shocked when the guard didn’t react.

  “This is one that displeased Elijah. Show her what happens when Elijah is not happy,” he hit the guard with a stick in the back.

  The guard leaned over me and opened his mouth. There was no tongue, only a nub at the back of his throat. I squirmed away. Maybe this plan had all been a big mistake.

  Chris laughed, “I would strongly suggest that you get yourself under control so that when we come back we will be able to get you cleaned up and presentable for Elijah,” he kicked me in the stomach.

  I curled in to a ball and coughed into my gag.

  “Elijah demands that you do not hit her. He doesn’t want her all marked up on that pretty face of hers. You will guard her,” Chris demanded of the guard, turned on his heels, and disappeared from view.

  The guard opened the small door and pushed me through. There was barely enough room to sit upright. The door closed behind me. I watched the shadows of the guard through the slats in the rickety door.

  The silence was a curse. I had too much to think. I was now in the hands of Elijah, a patriarch in this village. No one here was going to save me. I had to have hope, something I had shut off from my life before. I had to hope that Timothy and Cara would come back for me.

  The plan did make sense. The two of them were much more equipped to come back for me instead of Cara and me taking on the task of saving Timothy.

  Fear ran through me, nonetheless. I had no idea when or truly, if they would come back for me. I had to hope that the people in this place had them all wrong. It scared me that Elijah had known them longer than me and counted on them giving me up so easily.

  I kicked at the dirt. I wondered if Timothy had been kept in here during his capture. Maybe he had sat here wondering if we would come for him.

  Time passed at a painful pace. I kept track by watching the angle of the sun as it came through the cracks in the door. Eventually, dusk came and there was little light in my cell at all.

  Shadows moved outside closer to the door. It cracked open and Chris squatted in the doorway.

  “Are you ready to play nice?” He reached in and took a handful of my hair.

  I nodded and scooted forward.

  “Good girl, I am going to let you crawl out of there. Then, we will get you all fixed up for dinner, as long as you are a good girl. If you try anything, I have this.” He pulled a knife from his belt. ”But we don’t really want to play that game, do we?”

  I shook my head and clumsily emerged from the cell. He had to help me to my feet. It took a minute for me to get my stance and bearings.

  Chris poked me in the back. “We will be going into the house and heading straight to the bathing room. You look a mess.” He turned to the guard still sitting opposite of the doorway, “Doesn’t she?”

  The guard groaned at us and found his feet. He came up behind the two of us. I followed Chris into a section of the house you couldn’t tell existed from the outside. Down steep stairs, we entered the basement.

  Mira and another girl were busy making the room look more formal than needed. I am sure I looked shocked to see her there.

  The floor was tiled with flat stone, as were the walls. It was extremely cold below the house despite another lit fireplace. A large free standing tub sat in front of the fire. Steam rose from the water.

  Mira wiped her hands on her apron. “Fancy to see you again,” she smiled.

  “Trust me, this wasn’t by choice,” I said in a low voice.

  “People don’t usually find themselves down here any other way.” She clapped her hands and the other girl stopped and faced me. “This is Sadie, she is my new assistant,” Mira said pleasantly. Sadie bowed. “I acquired her after a recent promotion to Elijah’s home,” a smirk spread across her face.

  I had a distinct feeling that I was here, by her doing. In the midst of four captors, I could only use my stare as a threat.

  “Do what you can to make her presentable,” Chris directed. “You have an hour before Elijah expects her at dinner.”

  Chris started to climb the stairs. He spoke to the guard, “Give the girls a little privacy; you may wait at the top of the stairs.”

  The mute left us to the task at hand.

  Mira gave me a o
nce over and poked me, “An hour, huh, I guess we will make it work.”

  “Amazing how some people grow a little sassy when they aren’t working the slums anymore,” I pointed out.

  “You are lucky Elijah doesn’t like his ladies marked up, because that would earn you a slap in the face. Be careful,” she warned, “Undress.”

  I stripped my now dirtied uniform to the floor. Sadie came to help me into the tub. I was incredibly aware of my naked body being in front of two strangers.

  “Scrub her down and wring her hair, we need it to dry quickly,” Myra instructed Sadie. “I’ll be back in a moment. I need to bring the dress down.”

  Sadie took the bar of soap and roughly lathered my hair. I decided that no matter how much it hurt, I wouldn’t let her see.

  She worked the soap through my hair. Sadie then poured a pitcher of scalding water on my head. I grit my teeth to keep from shuddering.

  “Alex, is that what they call you?” Sadie asked once the footsteps on the stairs stopped.

  I answered with silence. She yanked a brush through my wet hair. I felt small clumps being pulled from my scalp.

  “You know, I can make this more pleasant for you, if you will talk to me,” she said primly and dropped a wad of hair into the tub. “It gets so boring taking orders all the time. So, I’ll ask again, is your name Alex?”

  I nodded this time.

  Sadie patted my back and used a cloth to wash my back, “Isn’t that better?” I nodded again.

  “I do feel sorry for you. I can’t imagine being kidnapped by those monsters,” she whispered sympathetically.

  “It seems like we have very different opinions about what is considered a monster,” I sneered.

  “We hear all kinds of stories about them. Many say they eat humans, is that true?” She paused.

  “I don’t think all of them do,” I explained. “For the most part they have been kind to me. Timothy even saved me a couple of times.”

  Sadie gasped and moved a stool to my side. She frowned, “My Ma told me they are taking everything they can from us so they can get rid of us all.”