by Ellie Aiden
leaving the way
Ellie Aiden
Table of Contents
COPYRIGHT
[Chapter 1] — Who the Hell is Tommy?
[Chapter 2] — Dick-Tator
[Chapter 3] — Stages of Grief
[chapter 4] — Chocolate or something
[chapter 5] — Get your popcorn ready
[chapter 6] — Shaking hands and kissing babies
[chapter 7] — You owe me five bucks, chica
[chapter 8] — I just peed a little
[chapter 9] — My other three o’clock
[chapter 10] — crossing my fingers
[chapter 11] — i wanna have a double wedding
[chapter 12] — Big foot is real
[chapter 13] — Parlay it is
[chapter 14] — I feel like a pirate
[chapter 15] — well that escalated quickly
[chapter 16] — Mua-ha-ha
[chapter 17] — hell fire and brimstone
[chapter 18] — How rude
[chapter 19] — Anna’s got her groove back
[chapter 20] — A few tricks up our sleeves
[chapter 21] — Truth or dare
[chapter 22] — anger management
[chapter 23] — Nothing
Afterword
COPYRIGHT
Leaving The Way. Copyright © 2020 by Ellie Aiden
Cover Art by Ellie Aiden
All rights reserved. Except as permitted by the U.S.
Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be
Reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by
any means without the prior written permission of the author.
First Edition: June 2020
The character and events portrayed in this book are strictly fictitious.
Any similarities to locations, characters, events, or persons, living or
dead, is purely coincidental.
Chapter 1 - Who The Hell Is Tommy?
ANNA
Having lived inside the compound of the Church of The Way since I was five, I knew they had a lot of questionable practices, but those things don’t compare to what they do behind closed doors. In the month before I escaped we discovered the church leaders were selling girls for supplies, stealing food from the locals, and one of their members was molesting girls as so called punishment.
We went through a lot to find all that out. Just a few weeks before my placement ceremony, I was attacked and nearly raped, my best friend and I were molested by a church elder, and I escaped the compound and met a survivor of the California compound. Not to mention a few cases of breaking and entering.
In the end, we knew we had to leave the church, but first we decided to lay all our cards on the table. The night of my ceremony, in front of the elders, their wives, and Vater and Mutter Henry, I told the Vater and anyone else willing to listen everything we knew. We had hoped the Vater, at least, wouldn’t have been in on it. But in the end, it seemed we were wrong. Even if he didn’t know about everything going on, he still sided with the elders, calling me mentally unstable and ruling I would be cast out. Before that could happen though, the church was attacked by a pissed off gang, giving me and my friends the chance to escape. Except not all of us got out.
We were all together when we got to the wall; me, Ash, Chase, Cody, Luke, and three of his friends. We stepped through the crumbled remains of the north wall of the compound together, or so we thought. When we came across an abandoned house and decided to take a break, we realized Ash and Chase weren’t with us.
It’s already been an hour since then. I’ve already tried to make a break for it twice, Luke stopping me once and Cody the second time. It isn’t safe to go back and I know it, but that’s my best friend. With the elders knowing she and Chase tried to escape, what will they do to them? We all know what they are capable of. How can we just leave them?
“Tommy, make another pass. Get as close as you can to the wall without being seen. Maybe you missed them,” Luke whispers from behind me.
Cody and I sit on the rotting floor of an abandoned house no more than five miles from the compound. Two of Luke’s friends are outside ensuring the area is safe and that we weren’t followed.
Tommy, his other friend, walks out the front door to look for Ash and Chase. He already went once, as soon as we realized they weren’t with us. When he came back, he said the members of the church, as well as the gang members were still fighting, and he saw no sign of my friends.
Cody’s head hits my shoulder, seemingly dozing off, and I don’t bother to move him. It’s been a long night; we could all use some rest. Leaning my head on top of his, my eyes follow Luke as he paces back and forth on the other side of the room. How someone can go through what we did tonight and still look hot is beyond me. I can’t see his eyes from here, but I know they are a crystal blue, the kind you can’t look away from. The shock of platinum hair on his head is unusual but no less beautiful, and despite his clenched jaw, I can still make out the perfect single dimple on his cheek. I still want to lick it by the way, that certainly hasn’t changed.
That fact might be the only thing that hasn’t changed between us though. It’s been less than a month since this man saved me from being raped in a hotel brothel, and while we have spent very little time together, the feelings we developed for each other were fast and hard. We had both expressed our feelings for one another, I even used the big L-word, but in the end Luke had held back. He had voiced some excuse about not being able to allow himself to feel anything for me considering I had to go back into the Compound instead of staying with him, but personally, I think that was a load of shit.
Now, with him standing just feet from me I have no idea where we stand, and to be honest, I’m kind of pissed at him. Sure he used the cover of the gang attack to slip in the compound and help me and my friends escape, but still. I at least have to make him suffer for a bit, that is, if he still wants me now that I’m this side of the wall.
The repetitive sounds of Luke pacing is like a lullaby, and between that and my thoughts, I start to drift off. I try not to, but it’s no use.
***
ANNA
The door to the house bursts open, startling Cody and I both from sleep. I look up to see an unconscious Chase being drug through the front door by Tommy.
“Chase!” I yell as I jump to my feet and reach to help.
Getting Chase down on the ground, I grab a small wool blanket from bag, balling it up to place under his head.
“What happened?” Luke asks, his voice laced with worry.
Tommy shakes his head before responding, “It was a lot darker the first time I went out, that’s probably how I missed him. I found him a good two-hundred yards this side of the wall, face down and unconscious.” He pauses, reaching in his bag and pulling out what looks like a medical kit. “He’s got a pretty good sized gash on the back of his head. Looks like someone knocked him out.”
Cody and I kneel on one side of Chase, while Luke and Tommy take positions on the other. Luke rolls Chase toward me so we can get a better look at the gash. Tommy was right, it looks pretty bad but not fatal. A few stiches should do the trick. Although, he probably has a concussion.
I don’t understand though, where is Ash?
I ask Tommy that, and he doesn’t look up from his work when he responds, “I don’t know. It’s possible I missed her but I don’t think so. The sun was starting to come up this second time, and I just don’t think I would have missed her. Plus, why knock them out and then leave them lying there. No, I think someone knocked this guy out and took your friend. If I was to guess, they took her back to t
he compound.”
Shit, that’s what I was afraid of.
He cleans away the blood and dirt around the wound before pulling out a suture kit. It takes only eight stiches to close it up. Then covering the wound with some gauze, the guys roll Chase on his back and stand.
“Now what?” I ask.
“Now we wait for him to wake up, Anna. Not much else we can do,” Luke says as he turns his back to me.
What’s with him? I was pretty sure the only reason I couldn’t have him was because he was out here and I was in there, but now we’re together. So what’s the issue? Why is he being so cold toward me? If he didn’t want me, then he shouldn’t have showed up to help us escape.
I sit back on my haunches because despite his cool attitude, I know he’s right. We need Chase to wake up and hopefully shed some light on what happened to my best friend. Only, I’m not very good at waiting, so I secretly nudge Chase with my toe over and over while no one is looking, hoping that will speed up the process.
“Anna, stop kicking Chase,” Cody admonishes.
Ugh, fine!
If I have to wait on him to wake up on his own, then I’m gonna need some fresh air, so I walk through the front door and out onto the porch. I see one of Luke’s friends patrolling the area, but other than him and the trees, there’s nothing else for as far as I can see. The sun is rising in the east, casting orange and pink hues on the sky above, and despite the beauty of it, the freezing temperature ruins it. Frost clings to the branches of a bush to my left, and an icicle dangles from the roof eave to my right.
When we escaped the compound I was wearing my ceremony dress my mother had made, and while the lace is beautiful, it does nothing to protect me from the freezing temperatures of January. The bags we packed needed to be small, so for whatever reason, I hadn’t wanted to take up space with my coat. I’m really regretting that decision now.
The boards creak behind me, and a warm thin material is draped over my shoulders. I pull the coat tighter around me, and Luke moves to the side leaning a hip against the porches support beam. I don’t want to speak first, in fact, I’m not even sure what to say. Thanks for saving me? You look totally hot right now? We’re back together, right? I figure I should probably go with the thank you first, but Luke cuts me off.
“Are you okay?”
Absolutely not! How could I be after everything that’s happened, but I’m not sure I want to tell him that. I’m not sure where Luke and I stand.
Letting out a soft sigh and watching the fog escape my lips, I try to be honest. “I’m okay, just worried about Ash, and Chase for that matter. I guess I just have a lot of questions.”
“Like?” He asks, turning to lean his back against the beam, facing me.
“Like, who the hell hit Chase over the back of the head, why did they take Ash, and what are they going to do to her? Oh, and why did you come to help us?”
The last question causes a look of surprise to spread across his face, and perhaps involuntarily, he takes a step toward me before stopping.
“That’s a lot of questions,” he says. Pausing, he brushes a hand through his messy platinum locks. “I don’t know who did it or why, but I do know we’ll find out and get her back. I promise you that. As for the last question, to be honest, I hadn’t planned on coming to rescue you.”
I can’t help the crushed look that crosses my face, and I can feel the tears welling in the
corner of my eyes with the admission. At least he was honest. I would rather that, than to keep stringing me along. But as I will the tears back, Luke crosses to where I stand, lifting his hand to my cheek and then thinking better of it.
“That’s not what I meant, Little Minx. I knew you had to go back to get Ash and do what you felt you needed to do about the elders. I didn’t know anything about those plans, so there was no way I could safely bust in the compound. What if I screwed up something you already had in place? So, tonight resulted out of necessity.” His hands fall to my arms, rubbing them for warmth before he continues. “Lord Mateo found out the Titans planned to attack last night. He knows how I feel about you so he told me, and I didn’t know what would happen to you in the attack. I had to come.”
“How do you feel, Luke?” I had to ask. I need to know.
A sly smirk cracks his lips as he leans down, brushing his lips across my nose.
“Guys, I think he’s waking up!”
I’m gonna kill Cody, and Chase for that matter. How dare he wake up right now!
***
ANNA
When we walk in the main room of the house, Chase is just trying to sit up. Cody is on the floor next to him, trying and failing to keep Chase still, and Tommy is knelt down beside the two of them trying to explain that he most likely has a concussion.
“I don’t give a shit if I have a concussion. Where the fuck is Ash?” He tries again to stand and fails, falling back on his butt on the wood floor.
Dropping down on my knees next to him, I try to get his attention. “Chase, I think you are the only one that can answer that right now. Tommy found you a couple hundred yards from the compound. Someone had hit you over the head, and Ash was nowhere to be found. What happened? We thought you two were right behind us.”
His eyes are glassy, his skin looking peaked, and I think he might pass out again but instead he speaks, “Who the hell is Tommy?”
I almost giggle despite the circumstances, because yeah, we didn’t know Tommy before tonight, or the other two men that came with Luke to help us. In fact, I still don’t know their names.
Tommy gives Chase a little wave before introducing himself. “I’m Tommy, man. Luke and I are friends, both members of Diablo. I’m the one that found you.”
Chase seems to process that, and then quickly moves on.” Okay thanks, but I honestly don’t remember anything at all. The last thing I remember is us leaving behind Elder McGee and running through the hole in the wall. I know Ash and I were holding hands, running, and you were in front of us. That’s it. That’s where it goes blank.”
“Well the only reasonable answer is it was someone from the compound. Probably hit you over the head first, then grabbed Ash and took her back inside. If I was to guess, they’ll use her to get to you, Anna.” I had almost forgot Luke was behind me until he spoke.
I don’t understand what he means, so as he steps further into the room I ask, “What do you mean, use her to get to me?”
“I mean just that. They took her back, and will most likely try to use her as bait. Either directly or indirectly. We are looking at one of two things. Either they’ll get a message to you that if you don’t turn yourself in, they’ll hurt Ash or worse, or they know you’ll come back for her, so all they have to do is sit and wait. When you try to rescue her they’ll be waiting.” Luke curses under his breath, squatting beside me and shaking his head.
I look to Cody, then Chase. Not one of us is willing to just leave her there. It’s written all over each of our faces. With Cody, that’s his sister, and with Chase, she’s the love of his life. For me, that girl has been my number one since day one. I’ll be damned if I let them so much as lay a pinkie finger on her.
“Why do you think they care though?” Cody says turning to Luke. “I mean, Anna is one girl. If she wants to leave, what’s it to them? Wouldn’t it be easier to just let her go?”
“It would be if she wasn’t a security risk. She knows all their dirty secrets. They can’t just let her go, and Ash is their insurance policy,” Luke answers, crossing back to the front door. “I’m gonna go check on Taron and Easton.” As he gets to the door, he turns back over his shoulder and says, “We need to leave within the hour.”
Leave to go where?
Chaper 2 - Dick-Tator
ANNA
After Luke said we were leaving in an hour without so much as a where to or why, I couldn’t help but be irritated. You can’t drop a bomb like that and then just walk out the door. It’s not like I thought we could just set up shop in this
dilapidated house, but this is not how we do things. We’re a team. We discuss things as a group before making decisions. So who the hell died and made you dick-tator?
So when the hour passes and Luke stomps through the door barking orders for us to get our shit we’re leaving, I have no choice but to give him a piece of my mind.
“Whoa, slow your role. Team Snowflake discusses things as a group before going off all halfcocked.” I hear Chase and Cody both shoot down my latest team name, but there’s no time for it, I’m in the zone. “You may have helped us escape, Luke, but we need to get something straight. We were already escaping, and while we appreciate your help, we were doing it with or without you. So you don’t get to come in here being an ass and barking orders. I’m not going anywhere until someone tells me where exactly we are going and how we plan to get Ash back.”
When I’m done, you could hear a pin drop until Tommy mumbles to Luke, “I thought you said she liked you?”
Cody covers a snort with the back of his hand, and I have to hold back a giggle because I do like him, but I’m not a woman to be messed with. Just because I like you, doesn’t mean I will let you be an ass to me or my friends.
Tommy pats Luke on the shoulder before telling him he’ll be outside, but neither Chase or Cody turn to leave. They’re part of this team, and there is no reason for them to go. Luke runs both hands down his face, seeming frustrated. Ask me if I care.
“Anna, we can’t stay here. It’s not safe,” he says on a sigh. “We aren’t even five miles from the compound. They aren’t just gonna let you go. They will come looking for you, and this place is too close. I’m taking,” from the look on my face he decides to rephrase. “I want to take you to Diablo’s HQ. That’s the safest place for you, for all of us, until we can figure out a plan to get Ash back.” Placing both hands in his pockets and nervously stepping toward me, he continues, “It wasn’t my intention to be an ass. I’m just worried. I feel protective of you, and until we get some place safe, I’m probably gonna keep coming off like that.”