Alpha Farm: The Beginning (Prepper Chick Series Book 1)

by Annie Berdel

  Tilting her bad back so the tears didn’t escape, Emma took a deep breath. The rage within her needed refocused. It was bad enough what had happened, but to be treated like the victim was a part of the issue, as much to fault as the actual criminal, was beyond Emma’s scope of reasoning.

  Sliding into a chair besides Angie’s bed as silently as she could, Emma waited. She would not leave her here alone. She would not desert her; dismiss the seriousness of this act because it was inconvenient to her. She wasn’t just a number to Emma. Could it be part of Emma’s healing to help this woman? Was Emma in need of helping her as much as seeking the woman’s help herself?

  Emma laid her head back in the chair. She mindlessly stared at the ceiling and felt herself relax a bit. Her breathing starting to slow, Emma couldn’t escape her mind taking her back to her childhood.

  16

  Drifting back thirty years, Emma's mind fought against the unpleasantness of her own youth, and lost.

  It was time to go home, and she was tired. Emma had gotten most of the cleaning done so hopefully she wouldn’t have to come back. She was uncomfortable being here, in this man’s house. He had always made her feel edgy. She didn’t like him, but she didn’t know what it was about him that she didn’t like. Maybe it was just all of him, she thought. But she would clean his house and then she would have the money she needed to buy the bike she wanted. And being 13, a bike was a necessary mode of transportation to her friend’s house.

  She snuck through the house as quiet as she could. She knew there were other people there, his kids and their girlfriends, but she really didn’t want to see them. They teased her and made her feel uncomfortable, just like their dad. Unfortunately they were all together in the living room, Fred, the big slob of a man and his boys Roger and Terry.

  Emma took a deep breath. Jesus how she hated this but her want overshadowed her fear and she stepped just barely into the room.

  “Can I go home now?” She asked addressing no one. Her eyes lowered and her voice barely intelligible

  “You done?” Fred asked

  “Yes”

  “Alright, we will leave after I get my shoes on.” He grunted

  The big slob of a man pointed to his shoes and Emma went and got them. He was so obese that she had to put them on his feet and tie them as he couldn’t bend over. His shoes were as wide as they were long, bent down from the swelling in his lower extremities caused by his diabetes. And they smelled. They smelled bad.

  She went into the kitchen and washed her hands after touching his feet. Feeling sick to her stomach, all she wanted to do was get some fresh air. She slipped outside figuring she would just wait out here for him.

  It was already getting dark. The air felt alive as it stung her cheeks. Could you smell snow? Taking a deep breath, the cold made her happy. The stars were starting to wink as her and she was happy to be finally going home and out of the man’s house.

  She heard the door open behind her and jerked her head around. He was coming out the door. Turning sideways, he had to descend the steps one at a time holding the rail as not to fall.

  Emma caught herself staring at him, at his grotesque body. How could her mom like to date him? He couldn’t even walk down the stairs straight! Who walks sideways down the stairs anyways?

  He unlocked the car from the driver’s side and Emma slid into the front seat. She felt butterflies in her stomach, which she guessed was from the excitement of her finally going home.

  They drove through downtown and headed in the direction of where Emma lived. Silence enveloped the car. Emma was comfortable with silence. It allowed her to play around in her mind. She dreamed dreams of visiting far-off places where people did not make fun of her because she was shy.

  Emma watched as the houses sped by, catching glimpses into other people’s lives. She was happy that people left their curtains open. It gave her the chance to peek into their world and dream of how she would design her life when she got older.

  Houses turned to fields and before long they were headed into an area that grew darker as it was densely populated with trees. She knew this dirt road. It wasn’t the main road to her house but it would get them there eventually. She could hear the gravel pelting the bottom of the car. “Whatever” she thought, as long as she was going home.

  She felt the car slow and the man steered it over to the side of the road. He had to be careful because there wasn’t much room until the ditch started. She remembered her dad getting his car stuck in the soft mud along the side of a dirt road and she didn’t want that to happen. Sitting up straighter, she felt the seatbelt hug her tighter so she couldn’t move much.

  “What are we stopping for?” she asked

  Silence.

  This silence unnerved her. The man put the car in park and turned off the headlights. He unlatched his seatbelt and Emma expected him to get out of the car.

  Instead, he moved closer to her.

  “You’re going to be dating boys soon, aren’t you?”

  “Um. No” Emma said as she swallowed

  Something wasn’t right here. Her mind scrambled to figure it out. Her breathing increased as her eyes stared straight ahead. She was so scared. Her arms wouldn’t move; her body tightened up.

  The man grabbed her chin and turned her face towards him. His fingers dug into her skin.

  His hand left her chin and slid down her neck to the top of her small breasts.

  Oh God, Emma thought. He shouldn’t be touching me like this, this isn’t right. Her mind swirled around like a ballerina on crack cocaine.

  The disgusting pig tried to turn his wretched body towards her more but the steering wheel jabbed into his fat belly stopping him. His hand flung out and grabbed her behind her head and forced her to strain against the seat belt making it hard to breathe. His other hand grabbed onto her chin again as he forced her face forward to bring her mouth against him. Thrusting his tongue into her mouth, she tasted his vile saliva. Pushing back against him, she managed to dislodge herself from his violation.

  “Stop it” she whimpered, drawing the back of her hand across her mouth as the tears started to fall down her cheeks.

  Emma jumped as the nurse walked into the room. Sitting up quickly, she brushed her hand across the cold on her cheek. She thought she had moved on from her past, but it had the ability to affect her even still. Grabbing a tissue, she quickly dried the tears before anyone noticed.

  17

  Angie spent a few more days in the hospital until they released her. Having to endure a rape test, various blood and sample tests and the questioning, Angie was more than happy to leave, only to be met by the fear of being alone.

  She had always been an independent type, never wanting to play within the rules established by someone else. She had the sense to choose right from wrong and felt stifled whenever she had to color within in the lines of someone else’s coloring book.

  She looked over at the woman talking with the nurse outside her door. Emma had offered to let Angie come stay with her at her place for a while. “Give herself some time to heal,” she had said. Angie recalled the look in Emma’s eyes, like she really understood what Angie was going through. She felt an oddly calm peace when she was around Emma.

  Placing what little belongings she had laying around the hospital room into her purse, Angie decided that it was time to accept this helping hand instead of trying to tough it out herself. Yes, Little Miss Independence was going to let someone else take care of her for a while, she thought to herself. Tears welling up, Angie knew it was going to be OK to trust Emma.

  Emma walked back into the room with the nurse

  “Hey kiddo, she ready to get some real lunch?” Emma asked, trying to remain chipper

  Seeing the look on Angie’s face, she knew it would be hard for her and her strong desire to remain self-sufficient, but Emma also knew she could help her through this. Angie had demons to face in the very near future, and Emma had every intention of holding her hand on the jo
urney ahead

  Emma also knew that Angie needed to learn how to defend herself and getting her out to the farm would enable Emma to slowly open that door without causing more fear. Emma knew what she had to do. She had been throwing the idea around for a while, but it was time to take action and it looked like Angie was going to be her first student and hopefully a valuable teacher in the future. She just needed Angie to see the big picture.

  18

  Emma and Angie pulled up to the farmhouse as the big fury white mass of drool bounded toward them, his tongue flapping wildly against the side of his face.

  “Angie, I want you to meet Dixon” Emma laughed as he peered straight into the passenger’s side car window right at Angie

  “Um, is he gonna eat me whole?” Angie choked out

  “I want you to understand something about that dog. First, he likes women. And he obviously likes you or we wouldn’t have a car door right now. Second, he is the gentlest dog but will protect those he likes with his life. He can sense danger faster than any human and has quite a way about him of deciding if someone is good or bad. He hasn’t been wrong yet. Stay where you are and I will come around to your side and introduce you both. I have no doubt you will be fast friends.”

  Angie watched as Dixon bounded around the car to meet Emma. She felt a tinge of jealousy. She had never had anyone love her with the unconditional emotions that Dixon was showing toward Emma.

  Emma kneeled before her big friend and took his face between her hands. “Dix, I want you to meet a friend of mine. She’s been deeply hurt and needs our help.” Dixon, his tongue still hanging out as he panted deeply, looking at Emma like he understood. “I want you on your best behavior” she chimed

  Standing, they both walked around to Angie’s side of the car. “Dixon, sit for our guest.” Angie gave a quick smile as she watched the beast of a dog obey. Angie opened the door and stepped out.

  “Angie, I want you to meet Sir Dixon. Sir Dixon, this is our guest, Miss Angie.” Right on cue, Dixon stood and walked over to Angie, sat in front of her and held out a paw.

  Angie, a look of astonishment on her face, reached out and took his paw. “Sir Dixon, it is my honor” she chuckled. Dixon gave a bark in agreement and Angie let out a laugh, reaching up and giving him an affectionate pat on the head.

  Emma smiled. Step one was a complete success.

  19

  Angie spent the next few days just trying to relax. Time and time again she caught herself jumping at the least little noise. Dixon was a big comfort in that area as he never strayed far from the girls, and in return, Dixon was being spoiled rotten by their guest. They were healing Angie whether she realized it or not, much faster than she could have done it on her own. One of the hardest things to do after an assault is rebuilding trust, and Dixon managed to wiggle his way right into her heart. Being a canine, he didn’t carry the same threats, didn’t cause the same fears.

  Emma handed Angie a cup of coffee as she walked into the kitchen. “Sit down, let’s talk,” Emma said with just the slightest tone of seriousness that it made Angie take pause.

  “I want to talk about some training I have going on and wanted to know if you might be interested in helping me out,” Emma inquired

  “Well, OK,” Angie let out a sigh of relief. She thought Emma was going to ask her about what happened in the parking garage and she had no intention of talking about it yet.

  “Good. Our local Emergency Management director has asked me to put together a class geared toward women and handguns. Guys have a hard time getting their point across about drawing from a holster when they tell us to just move our boobs out of the way.” Emma rolled her eyes and Angie let out a giggle.

  “Ya, would be kinda hard to show the technique, I guess! OK, so what do you need from me?”

  “Well, how proficient are you with a handgun?” Emma asked

  “My dad has a shotgun, my brother has rifles but not much in the way of handguns. I dated a guy once who had a revolver but I didn’t much care for it.”

  “So, first steps first. Let’s sit down and go over the pieces and parts of the various kinds of handguns. One thing that I have learned over the years is how differently men and women learn. The male brain has a much better time handling mechanical device such as handguns or even a motor vehicles. They can look at a diagram of something they are trying to build, and most times, they can get it together without too much trouble. They might have some pieces and parts left, but it will more than likely function,” Emma said as Angie gave a smirk

  “Women, on the other hand, learn best when the fundamentals of shooting are broken down into smaller segments. They need time to chew up each part and digest it before they move onto something else. We like detailed instruction and the necessary time to practice each step,” Emma explained.

  “I like that, yes. Makes perfect sense to me. I walked into a gun shop one time down in Memphis. The guys treated me like a brainless bimbo,” Angie added

  “That isn’t going to happen up here,” Emma chirped. “I think I’ve threatened every gun salesman in the state on treating a woman with respect if she came into his shop. But remember, it’s also up to us to gain knowledge beforehand. Think of it like buying shoes,” Emma explained. “You kind of know what you like before you go into the store. Once you get there, you try on several styles until you get what fits right. Think of it the same way with buying a gun. Most ranges will rent out various styles and calibers. Try out as many as you want until you get the one that works best for you. Not what your boyfriend or husband thinks or what the salesman is trying to sell you, but what actually feels right to you.”

  “Great analogy!”

  “Well, here’s what I have in mind. I have a small assortment of guns here. We will spend some time talking about them, getting to know them and then when we feel comfortable, we will go out back and do some practice shooting. I have some targets that Tommy and I use in the back field that we can go and plink on. We can take our time and not worry about gawkers,” Emma said

  “Awesome. Last time my boyfriend took me to a range to shoot, I was like the only girl in there. The guys were all watching and made me feel very self-conscious. Not fun at all. And then every guy in there kept telling me what I was doing wrong to the point they all had me confused.”

  “We’ll take it a step at a time, and I want you to understand there is a lot more to shooting a gun than just pulling the trigger. “

  20

  Emma and Angie spent the next few days sitting at the kitchen table, guns and gun parts spread about. Tommy smiled when he walked into the house to the smell of gun-cleaning solvents. “How many guys get to be this lucky?” he thought to himself.

  “It would be nice if there were more trainers like you,” Angie said to Emma

  Their friendship had blossomed over the last week. Angie was starting to sleep better, even with Dixon on the bed with her. Her spark was coming back so Emma pushed forward with her plan.

  “Well, you seem to be picking all the information up right quick. A natural, you sure you haven’t done this before?” Emma asked

  “Ha! You explain things that make sense. Probably because, if you haven’t noticed, you’re a woman and understand what women go through. Like when you explained about wearing a holster. Do you think guys ever think about how women’s pants don’t have as many belt loops so aren’t as stable for drawing? Or how a woman, gasp, has curves!” she said as she rolled her eyes. “The guys love them curves but don’t understand how it makes our holsters do weird things. How about how high our pants are so our holsters are higher than a guy’s so our draw is more uncomfortable when bending our arm back.” Angie had to take a breath she was talking so fast.

  “OK! OK!” Emma laughed “I get it!

  “Oh!” Angie was laughing so hard now she had tears running down her cheeks “Let’s talk about the boobies! How many guys have a problem getting from a low ready stance and damn near smack themselves unconscious trying t
o get into a high ready stance when they have to flip up past the ta-tas! I mean mercy sakes!”

  Both girls were now just rolling with laughter. It was good to have silly moments, even in the midst of such pain in one’s life.

  21

  Angie was sitting outside sunning herself when she noticed the big truck pulling up the long drive. She shielded her eyes to see if she could get a better look at who is was, but the shadows played off the windshield and she couldn’t tell. She reached her hand out and gave the still sleeping Dixon a pat, more for comfort for herself. Emma said he was a great judge of character and he didn’t seem overly concerned about whoever was about to invade his territory. Maybe she should just chill, too. She also lightly touched the holster at her hip, just in case Dixon found it more fun to continue chasing the rabbits he was dreaming about.

  The truck rolled to a stop before the garage and Angie heard the driver engage it into park. She heard the door open before Dixon picked his head up and looked in that general direction. Before she heard the door shut, he was up and bounding across the yard to meet the visitor.

  Angie took a deep breath. “Can’t hide forever, girly,” she whispered to herself

  She stood as Dixon and the male figure came around the garage. “Howdy!” he yelled out with a wave.

  Angie examined the scene before her and quickly deduced that they meant no harm. A man and a pretty red dog were being escorted by Dixon to the house. The two dogs, acting like long-lost friends, paid very little attention to the man as they lumbered along.