by E A Lake
“How long we got left, you suppose?” Sunshine asked, breaking the quiet. If I hadn’t heard the wind blowing outside and through our windows, I would have thought we were already gone.
“Several days, maybe a week. Not much longer than that, though.” There, how was that for honesty?
“Least you ain’t lying about that,” she answered. “The way I feel right now, I hope I die tonight.”
She went quiet, sleeping, I supposed. I stared at her coverings as they moved up and down slowly.
“Me too, Sunshine. Me too.”
Chapter 72
We survived more than a day or two, even in our ill, near-death state. As best as I could figure, four days had passed since Sunshine had illuminated me as to the real GeeMah. It was a miserable four days.
I lifted our last log and placed it in the nearly dead fire. The late afternoon sunshine filtered in through our filthy bedroom window, casting an orange glow in the far end of the living room. I grinned, considering the sun was warming us now more than our feeble flame in our stove.
We hadn’t eaten in three days. Our food was gone, completely gone. Water was still plentiful, but neither of us had the strength to fill a metal bucket with snow and bring it near the fire. I had taken to going out back several times a day and eating as much of the white substance as I could. It gave me something to do other than stare into an empty woodshed.
“I think we’re gonna die tonight,” Sunshine reported in a weak voice. “Maybe Jesus will come and take us home, finally.”
Even when I had been a child, I doubted the existence of a supreme being. This deep into a world that resembled hell more than anything else, I couldn’t bring myself to believe at all. It just simply wasn’t possible.
We’d never made it to the Amish store for one last supply run. I’d never summoned the courage to crawl to Mr. Hulton and beg him to adopt Walker, thus saving our lives. We were too weak to help ourselves and too far gone to even care.
I had many regrets that occupied the few hours I was awake each day. They even haunted my dreams as I tried to sleep.
I’d never said goodbye to my first husband. When the killing and abuse was over, I left him lying on the gravel driveway, dead. I’d never properly said goodbye to my daughter. All I could remember was kissing the top of her head and patting her behind as she chased after Brady.
Worst of all, I didn’t take the time to ever say goodbye to my son. He was the only family I had left. He would mourn my death. I only hoped he wouldn’t be the one to discover my rotting corpse one day.
Sunshine and I huddled in bed together as the sun disappeared below the western horizon, perhaps for the last time. Using every blanket we had, we covered our shivering bodies to at least attempt to be warm before we died.
We both shivered from the cold or perhaps starvation. We joined hands, albeit it gloved hands, and I noticed her teary eyes staring back at me.
“I love you, Abigail Turner.”
Though I didn’t think it possible, my eyes teared over, and my heart shattered into tiny pieces.
“I love you too, Sunshine Jones.” And I did.
“You’re the best friend I ever had,” she continued. “Closest thing to a sister a woman could ever want. You always had my back, even when I didn’t deserve it.”
Her eyes closed, and I wiped away the stray tear on her cheek… and then one on my own.
“I hope if there is a Heaven like you say there is, we get there together,” I added. “Of all the people I’ve known, there’s no one else I’d rather spend all of eternity with than you.”
I closed my eyes and shivered. If we were going to freeze to death, I’d always heard a great warmth came over you before the end. I hoped that came soon.
I felt her stir, and then our chapped lips met. She kissed me. It was the tenderest, most sincere expression of love I had ever felt.
“Goodbye, Abby,” she whispered.
“Good night, my dear.”
Chapter 73
When I opened my eyes, a great light filled the room. Though I wasn’t any warmer than I had been, I felt better. It was as if all the pain and torture and torment of the world was gone. All was right.
A figure appeared in the light. A brilliant white halo shone around the figure. It stepped into the room.
I didn’t have the strength to raise my hand to shield my eyes from the light. I barely had the ability to squint as it drew closer.
It had to be Sunshine’s Jesus. He had come… come to take us home.
“Fire’s out,” the figure said in a gruff voice. “Pretty damned cold in here.”
That perplexed me. The being spoke like Sunshine and sounded suspiciously like someone I knew all too well.
“You gonna lay in bed all day, Mrs. Turner?” the voice asked.
Tilting my head slightly, I recognized the bearded face. It wasn’t Jesus. It wasn’t even close.
“Mr. Lasky,” I moaned. “What are you doing here?”
I heard him slip his hand from its glove and felt the warmth on my face.
“You’re as cold as ice,” he said, sounding more disgusted than shocked. “I think your pride got the best of you. Just couldn’t bring yourself to do what needed to be done, could you?”
“Would you just leave us alone and let us die in peace, you asshole,” Sunshine slurred from beside me. It was only then I noticed his smile.
“I’m just doing my job,” he replied, standing and going back into the doorway. “They’re in here.”
Another man appeared and went to Sunshine’s side of the bed. “Let me help you up, Miss Jones,” he said in a kind voice. “Can you walk?”
She slapped at him. “Leave me alone, you moron. What you want with me?”
“It’s time to go talk to the boss,” Mr. Lasky stated. “Time to do something that should have been taken care of months ago. Just no one had enough sense to do it then. But since you’re still alive, well, it’s time now.”
I rolled onto my back as he peeled the covers away. I noticed his glare.
“Sleeping in everything you own, now?” he asked, extending a hand to me.
“You could just leave me here to die,” I replied, pushing his hand away.
“Yeah.” He stopped and grinned for a moment. “The boss finds out you were alive, and I got some explaining to do. I don’t need that shit on my hands. You come tell him you want to die. See what he says about that.”
“I’m sure Mr. Hulton’s grand plan includes my death.” He reached around my neck and below my knees. “I can get up on my own.”
He knelt beside me, his face less harsh than usual. “Here’s the way I see it. You can walk to the buggy now, but then I probably got to carry you into the Hulton place. I don’t really think you want to make your grand entrance over there being carried in like an invalid.”
I felt my lips twitch as I considered the options. I probably only had enough strength left to make one of the two walks. I supposed he was right. I nodded slightly.
“That’s what I thought,” he said as he hoisted me off the bed. “My God, woman; you can’t weigh more than seventy pounds. I’ve picked up newborn calves heavier than you.”
“Food’s been in short supply,” I recanted. “That and we’ve been somewhat under the weather.”
He sniffed at my breath. “And you smell like the wrath of God. I guess it’s a lucky thing the weather broke and me and Cooper got over here.”
Perhaps. Or maybe if he’d waited another day or two, I could have saved him the trouble of carrying me out of my own home.
The men rode exposed to the frigid temperatures on the buckboard. Sunshine and I rode in style, enclosed by the dark paneled wood. The inside of the buggy had to have been 40, if not 50, degrees warmer than in our house.
Sliding open a window from the front, Mr. Cooper glanced at us. “There’s a thermos under the seat. The Hultons sent over some hot tea in case you two got chilly on the ride back to the ranch. Help yourselves.�
��
I twisted the top from the stainless-steel thermos, and the smell of mint filled the cabin. When I poured the contents into a cup, steam rose, clouding over the window.
“What the hell you suppose she’s up to?” Sunshine asked. “Sending us something warm to drink. And sending a buggy instead of a wagon.”
“What makes you think it was Mrs. Hulton’s plan?” I asked, taking a sip of the hot liquid before passing the cup to Sunshine.
“Because he ain’t like this,” Sunshine replied, waving around the cabin. “Hell, if it had been his idea, we’d probably be walking there. Just to rub our faces in it.”
That much was true. At least, I assumed it to be true. My plans for the day included dying and nothing more. The fact that our savior was the devil, with an extremely generous spouse, didn’t bother me. As long as we were alive and up, we may as well stay that way. Living was still better than dying; at least, I hoped it was.
Chapter 74
A man bundled in pale-brown coveralls opened the gate and quickly closed it as soon as we passed. He had a rifle strapped over his shoulder though it didn’t look as though it would have been easily accessible if needed.
Our driver and his man chatted about something as I stared at the large main house before us. Smoke came from each of the four chimneys that I counted. There may have been more, but I couldn’t see them.
The buggy came to a stop by the rear door, and I watched Mr. Lasky and Mr. Cooper dismount. Sunshine grabbed my arm as I reached for the door handle.
“When we get in there,” she said, her eyes surveying our surroundings, “you need to play it cool, okay?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know what you mean by that, Sunshine.”
Her hands fidgeted with a loose button on my overcoat. “It means don’t go giving away the farm unless you have to. Make Hulton make the first move.”
Shaking my head at her, I heard Mr. Lasky tug on the outside handle. “I’m not really in a position to demand much. You understand that, right?”
The door opened, and she leaned her mouth next to my ear. “Just play it cool. Go slow.”
“Cooper,” Mr. Lasky barked. “I’ll help Mrs. Turner inside if you’d like to help Sunshine there.”
“I don’t need no help,” Sunshine insisted.
Mr. Lasky grinned at her. “Kind of icy out here. Keeps melting off the roof, and we can’t seem to keep it away.”
Sunshine pushed past me, reaching for Mr. Cooper’s waiting hand. “Good God, man. Throw some sand on that ice. Even GeeMah always had sand on hand in the winter, just in case of ice.”
I smirked at her reference to the now-fallen goddess. She noticed.
“It was mostly to keep her from falling on her big fat ass,” Sunshine added with a wink. “But at least she had sand.”
With Sunshine safely by the back door, Mr. Lasky reached for my hand.
My head came out first as I studied the winter landscape surrounding the residence. I’d never visited this place this time of year. The snow made everything look so clean and perfect. The sun shining off the white drifts made me squint. If I didn’t know any better, I would have sworn this was paradise.
Three wagons crawled by, two horses and two riders each. Even through my blurry vision, I could see they were filled with cut and quartered wood. Some sort of trade that Mr. Hulton had made with some nearby farmer, I supposed.
“Best not keep the boss waiting,” Mr. Lasky grumbled. So much for paradise. I was about to make a deal with the devil, and he held all the cards… and contracts.
We were escorted into the main living room by Mr. Lasky. He pointed toward the couch across the room.
“Why don’t you two have a seat on the couch over by the fire?” He even took my arm and escorted me across the room. “Now, don’t go sitting in the chair on the left—that’s Hulton’s. And the one on the right is where Mrs. Hulton usually sits. So don’t be plopping down in your dirty clothes on her chair, neither.”
We rounded the couch and he turned to leave.
“Thank you, Mr. Lasky,” I said with as much pride as I could muster. “Thank you for all of your help.”
Glaring at me, he approached rapidly. I wondered what I had said to offend him.
“I just do what I’m told to do,” he growled. “I was told to get you and Sunshine and bring you over here. That’s all I did. So don’t go thanking me for nothing. Because if things turn to shit, I don’t need you blaming me for that.”
Self-preservation, I determined. He was neither the bearer of good news nor of bad. He simply did his master’s bidding. In the end, he expected to receive no praise or criticism. I couldn’t blame him.
His body swayed back toward the door, but he stayed in place. There was more, most likely nothing pleasant.
“Let me give you some advice, Mrs. Turner. Listen to what Hulton has to say. Don’t go interrupting or running off at the mouth. You’re in no position to bargain with him—as if you ever were.”
His eyes floated to Sunshine. “And keep her smart-assed mouth shut too. Don’t let her go pissing off the boss. That wouldn’t be wise.
“Hulton’s a fair man if you give him a chance. Yeah, he has all the power, but he’s decent. Somewhere inside that man you despise so badly is a good person. Not that you’d ever give him the chance to prove it.”
I sighed before looking up at him, nodding slightly. “I’ll take your advice, Mr. Lasky. Thank you. But you know this won’t end well for my sake.”
He looked away and shook his head. “Never know how it’s gonna end up. Especially if you don’t even give it a chance. But I suppose you think you know better, Abigail Turner.”
He turned and walked away. At the door, he paused. “I’ll let them know you’re here. Someone should be in shortly.”
Joining my friend on the couch, I gazed at the crackling fire some five feet away. Its warmth felt good but gave me pause.
“Why do I feel like I’m about to leap right in those flames?” I asked, reaching for and finding Sunshine’s hand.
“Because you’re about to deal with the prince of darkness himself,” she answered, squeezing my cold fingers. “But I’ll be right here. I’m not going anywhere.”
All that meant to me was that two of us would be dancing in the fires of hell shortly. I wasn’t sure if that gave me comfort or not.
Chapter 75
I thought about taking my gloves off and warming my hands by the flames but decided I was too comfortable on the couch. That, and I didn’t want to be found squatting by the fire like some poor beggar child when our host entered the room.
Sunshine loosened her hood, and I did the same. “Remember,” she whispered, “play it cool. See what he wants before you go fluttering out how desperate we are.”
My jaw tightened as I fought back the urge to slap her. “I heard you the first time,” I snapped. “And as for looking desperate, I believe we’re the poster children for that.”
She slapped my shoulder. “Don’t be so negative; that’s my job.”
“Where are you finding the energy to be so damned argumentative?” I demanded. “I would think you’d be happy just to be here and warm and alive.”
Her eyes opened wide as she gawked at me. “Oh, Miss High-and-mighty using cuss words now.” She glanced back at the fire. “And we both know damned well you’re about to sign away my man. Maybe for life. I’d just like it if you’d at least try and keep him, if only for me.”
Drawing a deep breath, I shook my head at her. “We need food, we need supplies, and we need wood, Sunshine. You won’t have a man if you’re dead. I won’t have a son if my corpse rots in that ramshackle farmhouse.”
I knelt in front of her, forcing her to look at me. “We aren’t desperate anymore, sweetie. We’re dead without this help, even more dead than we were a day ago.”
She grinned, finally. “You’re either dead or not, you fool. But I know what you mean. Just hear him out, okay?”
“
I’ll do my best, I promise.” I stood and scanned the ornate room. The walls were paneled with what I assumed was cherry, the floor was covered in the same wood with several large rugs spread in places. The room smelled of cooked food though I couldn’t say just what, but whatever it was had left a nice odor.
“I wonder what’s keeping Mr. Hulton?” I asked, sitting again.
“Probably sharing a good laugh with Lasky,” Sunshine replied. “That would be like those two, enjoying the hell out of our misery.”
I loosened my scarf and shoved my hands under my shaking legs. “Now, let’s not be all negative. Whatever he has planned for us is still better than the alternative.”
“There’s my girl,” Sunshine said. “All happy and positive. Of course, you’re still misguided.”
I heard the door open and steeled myself for what was to come. Sunshine and I shared a nod, and we turned to face our tormentor.
Or so we thought.
When I turned, I saw a thin woman in a beautiful dark-green dress approaching—Mrs. Hulton. She was the poster woman for grace and elegance and kindness.
“Mrs. Turner,” she said, approaching at almost a run, “and Miss Jones. I’m so happy to see you. I was terribly worried about you both.”
“Could have fooled me,” Sunshine muttered. I shot her a terse look. She needed to keep her comments to herself.
I went to rise, but she signaled otherwise. “No, please, stay seated,” she insisted. “I’ll have one of my girls bring you hot tea and something to nibble on. Jeremy tells me you haven’t eaten in a week. How awful.”
“Probably been more like two,” Sunshine stated, not understanding why I stared at her every time she spoke. We were pathetic; everyone knew that. But there was no sense in broadcasting our desperation.
She stopped in front of us and gasped. As she stroked my face, I saw tears welling in her eyes.