Locked Together (In Chains)

by Abbott, Michelle

  The blue door has a big iron door knocker; I take a deep breath before using it. While I’m waiting I try to think of what I’m gonna say. A woman opens the door, she looks a lot older than me. She’s frowning, I lick my dry lips and look down at my feet. “Permission to speak please ma’am.”

  “You’re not one of our slaves,” she says.

  “No ma’am. My owner needs some money, so she sent me to see if I can get any work.” I glance at her, she’s still frowning. “It’s just for one day; I can do any farm work ma’am. You don’t have to pay very much, so long as my owner gets some money.”

  “Where is your owner?”

  “She’s at home. Her brother’s got a farm, his name’s Simon Morrison, do you know him? Or my owner, her name’s Savannah?” Maybe farmers know each other, maybe they know where she is, I can feel my heart beating faster.

  “No, I don’t know them and don’t ask impertinent questions, slave. Wait there.” I hang my head; I was hoping she would’ve known her, oh well. My forehead creases, I dunno what impertinent means; I hope I haven’t ruined my chances. I wait a couple of minutes and she comes back to the door. “Go and join the other slaves, they’ll tell you what to do, I’ll sort out payment at the end of the day.” I’m about to smile at her but she shuts the door in my face.

  I spend the day milking cows, cleaning out the pig pens and feeding chickens. The chickens remind me of when I first saw Savannah; she was so sweet and kind, and hot. I grin when I remember how my dick had a life of its own; getting shocked wasn’t no fun though. The good thing about working here is that I get plenty of water to drink and they gave me a bowl of soup and bread when we stopped work for lunch. If I can get work every day until I find Savannah, I’ll be able to eat and drink and I’ll have some money to give to her. I’m not sleeping well anyway; I can get by on a couple hours sleep, that way I can still travel at night.

  The work’s done and the sun’s starting to go down. The other slaves head towards some huts that are near to the house, I guess that’s where they sleep. I’m not sure what to do, the owner hasn’t come out, have they forgot I’m here? I hang around for a few minutes but no one comes, so I head over to the house and knock at the door, a man opens it, he’s short but muscular and he looks grumpy. “What do you want?” he barks at me.

  “Erm…I spoke to a lady earlier, she said she’d pay my owner for the work I did today, Sir.”

  “Maggie,” he calls out, “we’ve got a slave at the door, claims you owe its owner money.” He storms off inside, leaving the door open. I can hear them talking, sounds like they’re having some kind of argument, but I can’t hear what they’re saying. I stay standing at the door, I’ve done the work and I want the money, I want something to give to Savannah. Eventually the woman comes to the door. She gives me a small piece of paper, I look down at it, frowning, it has some words written on it but I can’t read what it says.

  “Ma’am, you said you’d give me some money for my owner.”

  The man comes stomping to the door and shoves the woman out of the way. “What do you think that is?” he scowls at me and points to the paper in my hand. “Don’t come back here again.” I can see he’s about to slam the door, so I put my foot in the opening. I yelp as the door crunches against my foot, the man glares at me.

  “Is this money? If not, can my owner get money with it, Sir?”

  “It’s a cheque you imbecile. It’s not your concern; your owner will know what to do with it. Get off my land, or I’ll have you arrested.”

  Sheesh, he’s a miserable son of a bitch. I fold up the paper and put it in my pocket. I need to learn more things because I’ve heard two words today and I don’t know what they mean, impertinent and imbecile. I don’t want Savannah to think I’m stupid. I wish we’d had time for her to teach me to read. I’m feeling tired but I want to get to the next town before I stop, I might get lucky, the next town might be where Savannah is.

  I pass more fields, it’s getting dark but I can see some street lights and I head towards them. I’m in a tiny, little place, there are only a few houses, one shop which is closed, and a building with a cross on it. After a few seconds there are only fields again. I want to keep going but there will be no streetlights, it’ll be too dark to see, I’m gonna have to sleep the night in this little place. I turn around and head back. I stop at the building with the cross on it. The windows are dirty, I wipe my hand over the glass to try to clear a spot, it’s dark and I can’t see anything but I think it’s empty. I turn the handle of the big wooden door, I’m shocked when it opens, I thought it would be locked. I open it a little way and stand there, listening, I can’t hear any noises. I push the door fully open and it creaks, loudly. I cringe and freeze, someone might have heard that, I hold my breath and wait, but no one comes, so I go inside and close the door behind me. It makes another loud creak but I’m not bothered because no one heard it the first time.

  It’s dark, so I wait a few minutes for my eyes to get used to it, then I look around. It’s a big room and there are lots of wooden benches, it looks like there’s a table at the front, I take a closer look. There are candles on the table and more candles on little metal stands, along with a box of matches. I light a match and use it to light some of the big candles on the table; I can see a bit better now. There’s a big cross on the wall and a model of some guy with long hair is stuck to it. This will be a good place to sleep; I curl up on one of the benches. Just as I close my eyes I hear the sound of a door opening and then closing. Shit. I crouch down between the benches, my heart feels like it’s gonna thump right out of my chest. I hear footsteps, my muscles tense, ready to make a run for it. The footsteps stop, I hold my breath, and then I hear them again, coming closer. They stop right in front of me. Male feet, wearing black shoes. I slowly look up into the face of an old man, his hair is grey and he’s wearing something that looks like a long black dress. I swallow. “Don’t be afraid,” he says. “I’m not going to report you. Do you know where you are?” I shake my head. “You’re safe here,” he says, “this is a church.” I guess that’s another word I don’t know. “What are you doing here? Where have you escaped from?” Shit, he’s gonna call the Pound, my eyes flick towards the door. “Please don’t run, I’m not going to report you,” he says again. I dunno if I should believe him, but what choice have I got? There’s nowhere else to go and I don’t wanna walk in the dark because I might end up going around in circles.

  “I just wanted somewhere to sleep,” I tell him. “I’m trying to find my girlfri…my owner.”

  He stares at me and I think again about running for the door. He’s old, I’ll be faster, I can make it. “Don’t look so nervous, child. Come with me.” He walks towards the table with the candles on it. I look towards the door, then back to him. He’s standing by the table, waiting for me; I get up and go over to him. He points to the cross with the man stuck to it. “Have you heard of Jesus?” I shake my head. “He’s the son of God,” he says, “and people come here, to this church, to worship God.” I guess this God guy must be someone special, maybe he’s the owner of the town. He ain’t gonna like a slave sleeping in his church. “A church is a sanctuary, you’re safe here.” I dunno what sanctuary means, but I know safe, my muscles start to relax. “You should pray, ask for his help.”

  “What’s pray?” I ask, frowning.

  “It’s how you talk to God,” he says. “Kneel, place your hands together, close your eyes and ask for his help.”

  I think this guy may be a bit funny in the head, I can’t see this God guy anywhere, unless he’s hiding, but I don’t wanna piss him off because he is letting me sleep here. So I kneel and put my hands together like he told me to. “Hi God, Sir…”

  “You don’t have to speak out loud,” he tells me. “Say it silently in your head. God will hear, he knows your thoughts.”

  Is this guy making a fool of me? I sigh, close my eyes and talk silently in my head. Hi God, Sir. I don’t know if you wanna listen to a slave
, but the old man who looks after the model of your son, told me to speak to you. If you know people’s thoughts then I guess you can get in people’s heads. Will you please tell Savannah that I’m sorry, I never meant the things I said to her and that I’m trying to find her? Will you tell her that I love her? Please. He said I should ask for your help, so I’m asking. Will you please tell me where Savannah is, I need the name of the town? Thank you, Sir. I wait, I don’t know how he’s gonna answer me, will he speak in my head, or out loud? I wait, and I wait. Nothing. I’m gonna tell the old man it didn’t work, course it didn’t work, nothing is ever that easy for me. I open my eyes and look around for him, but he’s gone. Oh well. I get up and lie back down on one of the benches; I’m fed up, and tired.

  CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

  Savannah

  It’s a beautiful sunny day and I’m stuck inside the caravan. It wouldn’t be so bad if I had a book to read, or my laptop. It seems like forever since I worked on my story, I don’t even know if I want to continue it, maybe I’ll start a new one, although with the experiences I’ve had recently, it will end up being dark and depressing. All I have to do all day is think, and all I can think about is Kayden. He should have been here by now. He could be hurt, or worse, he could be dead. He may be back at the Pound. I don’t understand why he sent me away, if someone from the Pound was coming, like he seemed to think, we’d have stood a better chance together. I should never have left him.

  A knock at the door startles me. If it were Kaci, Clay or Trent, they’d just come in, they wouldn’t knock. I’m too scared to breathe, have slave security found me? The door isn’t locked; I don’t think it has a lock, whoever it is can walk right in. I glance around to see if there is anything I can push up against the door, there are only the beds, but they’re built in. Whoever it is, they knock again. “Savannah, are you in there?”

  It’s Simon. I laugh, more out of pure relief than anything else and rush to open the door. I smile, then throw my arms around him, I’m so sick of sitting here alone. He squeezes me and then holds me at arm’s length and looks me up and down. “You need feeding up, and a shower.” He pulls me back into his arms, he smells of soap. “Come to the house with me. No one from the Compound has been looking for you. Let me fix you breakfast while you have a shower.” I can’t spend my whole life in hiding, with only my depressing thoughts for company and I’ve missed Simon, so I let him lead me home.

  In the bathroom, I strip off my dirty clothes and put them in the hamper. I can hear the clatter of pots and pans coming from the kitchen. I’m hungry for some real food. I step under the jet of warm water and I notice a bottle of strawberry scented shower gel, he must have got that just for me, it’s not a scent Simon would use. I flip the cap and slather the gel over my body; it smells of summer, strawberries and cream. I close my eyes and let the water wash over me. “Savannah.”

  Hearing Simon call me, I turn off the water. I’ve spent far too long in the shower, my skin is wrinkly. “I’ll be down in a minute,” I call out to him. I dry myself off with a big, fluffy towel and head to my bedroom in search of some clean clothes. I open the wardrobe door and frown. Has someone else been staying here? There are dresses, tops and a pair of jeans that I don’t recognise.

  “Oh, I forgot to mention, “Simon calls up, “I got you some new clothes.”

  He’s being so kind, I almost want to cry. Prior to my time in the Pound, I’d never wear dresses because I don’t like my white, flabby legs, but after wearing Pound scrubs for so long, I welcome something pretty and feminine. I pull out a purple coloured dress and hold it up against me. It’s long and comes down to the middle of my calf; it’s covered in a flower design with a wide plain purple waistband. I slip it on and examine myself in the mirror, turning from side to side. I like it. I’m about to leave the room when my gaze falls on Kayden’s little bear. I pick it up and stroke its threadbare tummy.

  The aroma of bananas hits me as I reach the kitchen door; Simon places a plate of banana pancakes on the kitchen table, along with maple syrup and a mug of fresh coffee. I take a sip of coffee, and sigh, I’ve missed this. Simon joins me at the table. “Eat up before it gets cold,” he says. He doesn’t need to tell me twice. I close my eyes as I savour the taste of the fluffy banana pancake.

  I stare at my empty plate in amazement. I can’t believe I ate it all that quickly, I used to be a slow eater. I gulp down the rest of my coffee. “I’ve got the day off and I want to take you out somewhere fun, to take your mind off things,” Simon says as he refills my mug. “Let’s go to London. I know you’re worried that you’re a fugitive and I want you to feel comfortable. There’s so many people and tourists in London, no one will notice you, you won’t stand out. An artist has turned the fountain in Trafalgar Square into the world’s biggest chocolate fountain, would you like to go and see it?”

  “Real chocolate?” I ask.

  Simon smiles and shakes his head. “Unfortunately, no. It just looks real.”

  “Oh that’s a shame, but yes, I’d like to go.”

  It took a couple of hours to get here, after we left the countryside there was so much traffic, but I enjoyed the scenery. It was like seeing it for the first time after spending so long in the drab surroundings of the Pound and being cooped up in the caravan. Simon parks his car in the parking lot of his office building and we walk to Trafalgar Square. He’s right, I feel anonymous in London, no one is paying any attention to me. There are lots of tourists taking photos.

  I gasp as we approach the fountain, it looks just like chocolate. I dip my hand into it, it’s strange because it feels like regular water. I notice people around me are frowning at a couple playing around, splashing each other with the chocolate water. It makes me smile; it’s a hot day and a fun way to cool down, why would anyone be annoyed about that? The woman turns around and I get a good look at her face. I freeze, it’s Bailey. She hasn’t noticed me; she’s having too much fun with the guy she’s with. It’s a couple of minutes before I get a good look at the guy, but once I see his face, I recognise Reece. My eyes scan the crowds looking for Kayden, I can’t see him.

  Reece and Bailey have stopped splashing each other, they’re sitting down at the fountain, he has his arm around her and she’s resting her head on his shoulder. Are they an item now? I frown, I knew Reece liked her but she always seemed to hate slaves.

  I jump as Simon places his hand on my shoulder. “Everything okay?” he asks.

  I keep my eyes on Reece and Bailey as I answer him. “I don’t know. I’ve just seen the guard and the slave Reece, but I can’t see Kayden anywhere.”

  Simon is quiet for a minute, then he turns me around to face him. “Are you telling me that the guard you kidnapped is here, with the slave, willingly?”

  I glance back at Bailey and Reece. “Well they certainly look contented.”

  Simon follows my line of sight. “The redhead, is that her?” he asks. I nod my head.

  Simon gets his phone out of his pocket. “What are you doing?” I ask, putting my hand on his arm. “Please don’t call slave security, Kayden might be here.”

  “I’m not calling anyone,” he says, holding his phone up, “I’m recording a video.”

  “Why?” I frown at him.

  He films for a little longer and then puts his phone back in his pocket. “I did some things I regret and I want to make it up to you.”

  “How will taking a video of those two make anything up to me.”

  He places his arm around my shoulder and pulls me close to him. “I’ve got something in mind; well see how it pans out.” He smiles down at me. “Shall we find somewhere to have lunch?” he asks.

  I stare at Bailey and Reece some more and I start heading towards them before my brain has chance to realise what my legs are doing. I stand in front of them. At first they’re too wrapped up in each other to notice me, but then Reece looks up, his mouth falls open and he nudges Bailey. I don’t waste time with pleasantries. “Where’s Kayden?” I ask t
hem.

  Reece frowns. “I thought he was with you.”

  I shake my head. “He’s not with me, when did you last see him?”

  Bailey gets to her feet. If that bitch is thinking of starting something, she’s picked the wrong damn day. Reece stands up too. “Answer me, when did you last see him?” I scowl at them.

  Reece shrugs his shoulders. “The night you left the hotel. He went out somewhere and that was the last time we saw him.”

  My lungs are suddenly struggling to take in air and my legs are wobbling. “Slave security must have caught him,” I say as I reach out for Reece’s shoulder to steady myself.

  “No one’s caught him,” Bailey says. “They haven’t been looking for any of you.”

  I frown at her. “How would you know that?”

  “I work there,” she rolls her eyes at me. “I went back into work the next day, told them I’d managed to escape.”

  I jump as I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn to see Simon standing beside me. “We should go Savannah,” he says.

  I hold up my hand. “Give a minute.” I turn back to Bailey. “They must have asked who kidnapped you and where we were.”

  Bailey’s gaze flicks from Simon, to me. “They did but the chips aren’t activated so they can’t track you. They don’t want bad publicity; they don’t want anyone knowing how lax their security is. As far as everyone is concerned, you three are still locked up in there.” She reaches for Reece’s hand. “Come on, let’s go.”