Carnage
Page 19
“Destroy! Leave us! Now!” Enthrall bellowed.
“NO! Somebody has to stop her from leaving us! How can you just let her go?” he demanded.
“Do you think I want her to leave? Do you? I love her as much as you do, as much as any of us do! But this is a matter of her going back to where she belongs, or risk losing everything we’ve worked for. Our entire community and everyone in it. There is no choice! It’s the best fix for the problem, Destroy.”
Destroy stood there seething. And Carnage…he was lost, crushed, standing there watching his Carolena, his life, preparing to leave him. The only thing holding him together was her promise that she’d return once it was safe to do so — as long as he behaved. And he was hell bent on behaving, because the one thing he’d have, the only thing that mattered, was his Carolena. He’d behave, and he’d wait, and she’d come back. She’d promised.
Destroy, distraught at what he considered his only friend leaving him, snarled at Carnage, “You aren’t even fighting for her! She’ll never come back to you! She should have been mine!” and took to the air.
Carnage was growling, a low, constant growl. Carolena hurried over to him, “Carnage, love, don’t pay any attention to Destroy. He’s upset, so he’s lashing out.”
Carnage didn’t look down at her; he was staring at the place in the sky that Destroy had disappeared into. Carolena patted his chest, then reached up and grasped his jaw, forcing his eyes down to hers.
“I will be back, Carnage. I promise you. If it’s the last thing I do, I’m coming back to you. Please wait for me,” she begged on a sob.
He nodded, his own eyes filling with tears as he swept her up in his arms, burying his face in her neck, burrowing his nose into her hair, filling his lungs with the scent that was uniquely her.
Finally she wriggled a bit to let him know to put her down. She turned and faced Enthrall, “So, do you need to wipe my memory or something?”
In spite of the sadness permeating the group gathered there, he laughed, though sadly, “No. If I could do that, I’d have done it to begin with, and you’d be off living your life already.”
She said, “I thought I was doing just that.” Then, “So, now what?”
“So now, I take you to Bobby’s house. If the animals haven’t carried them away by now, we bury their bodies, and leave you there. If no one comes for you in a day or two, you start walking. When you get to town, you tell them the story about Bobby and his brothers keeping you there, just as it was in the beginning. Only you tell them that they turned on one another, fighting over you. Bobby was killed by his brothers; then, they fought, killing each other.”
“But, wait, aren’t they still alive? Won’t you have to kill them?” she asked, not wanting anyone to die because of her, not even them.
Carnage looked at Enthrall over her head; Enthrall looked at Carolena, “No, they are not. They have paid for their crimes against one of our own. Their bodies have surely decayed enough to prevent any type of proper investigation. We’ll dig a shallow grave if they are able to be found. You say you did the best you could to bury their bodies. You did not try to go to town because you were afraid to walk through the swamps alone. If you have to walk to town, when you arrive, tell them your food was gone. You had no choice but to finally head to town. You shouldn’t have to walk alone, though. I’ll go into town, I’ll mention to one of the men in the saloon that I’d heard Bobby speaking about his new lady the last time he was in there. That will make them start thinking — they’ll go there to look for you.”
Carolena, her brow wrinkled, surprised at learning that they’d been dead for some time now, just nodded, “Okay.”
“It’s time, Carolena. We must go,” Enthrall told her.
She nodded, Seth and Serena, and even Anton hugging her about the legs and waist, Serena crying openly, “I don’t want you to go.”
Seth had glassy eyes, but was managing to hold back his tears, his mouth set firm. Anton smiled sadly at her, “You coming back?” he asked quietly.
“Yes,” she told him. “I’m going to be back — I just don’t know when,” she answered.
She hugged the children and looked around, trying to find Deaumanique'. A little red-skinned girl with long black hair and piercing black eyes with red pinpoint pupils waved sadly from the shelter of her mother’s skirts. She realized that the child must be Deaumanique'. She must be very upset to have had her skin turn red. She waved goodbye to the child and turned to Carnage. He let out a mournful wail, crushing her to him, his chest heaving as he tried to deal with her walking away from him.
“I love you, Carnage. Don’t ever forget that,” she told him, tears streaming down her face.
It took every ounce of strength she had, that Enthrall had, to break Carnage’s hold on her. Once out of his arms, she turned and locked eyes with him as Enthrall took her in his own arms and ghosted her away. The last thing she saw and heard of her husband was his pain-filled roar and him dropping to his knees as she disappeared.
<<<<<<<>>>>>>>
Suddenly she was standing in front of Bobby’s shack. The stench filled her nostrils at once. Enthrall said quietly, “You realize that you may never be able to find your way back to us? It may never be safe, and even if it is one day, I keep a glamour around the swamp to keep humans away. You are human. And I will be strengthening that glamour as soon as I return.”
“I know,” she answered, her voice breaking.
Enthrall kissed her forehead and said, “Do not look toward the cabin. I’ll take care of the bodies. Just give me a moment.”
Not more than 10 minutes later, Enthrall was walking back to her, calling to her, “I’ve moved two of the bodies. The third is missing. I’ll bury them in the woods just inside the tree line; then, I’ll dig them back up and make it look like an animal has done it.” He held up a hand and popped his sharpened nails out, “These clawing at the dirt should do it.”
She had turned to watch him after he told her that the bodies had been moved. “I brought a chair out here for you to sit. Ill take care of the bodies out back, now.”
A little later and he was back, “Okay, all done. The pile of cans and jars in the garbage pile at the back of the house will make anyone believe that you’d been surviving on the little bit that was left here.”
Carolena merely sat, watching Enthrall.
“Carolena? You alright?” Enthrall asked.
She nodded slowly, her eyes filling with tears.
Enthrall said nothing, just watched her, not knowing what to say, what to do.
Then she spoke, “I’ve never been happy, ‘til now. ‘Til Carnage and you and your people. And now, because a man who has resented me all my life decides he has to save face, I have to leave you all behind.”
He felt such sorrow, watching her crumbling under the stress of leaving all she loved, “It’ll be okay, Carolena.”
“No!” she shouted. “No, it won’t,” she sobbed. “You’ve just finished confirming what I already suspected. Even if I’m able to come back, I may never be able to make my way back here again. This is goodbye. If my father never allows me to leave his control again, I’ll never see any of you.” She sobbed for a moment or two, trying to catch her breath, “It’s even safer if I never return, even if I can.”
“I didn’t say you couldn’t, Carolena, just that it would be difficult,” Enthrall said.
She nodded, but didn’t meet his eyes. Staring off into the distance she said quietly, “Just go. Go back to Whispers.”
Enthrall took a step toward her, but she turned her head even further away, so he stopped. He watched her for only a moment more before he turned and walked toward the edge of the swamps.
She called after him when he was nearest the edge, “Take care of Carnage. Don’t let him lose himself. Make him live.”
Enthrall turned to look at her one last time, “I promise.” Then he was gone, disappearing before her eyes as she watched him.
<<<<<<<>>>>>>>
He stepped into the saloon and took a seat at the bar, listening to all the conversations around him. Determining who to drop his bit of information to. Finally, he found what he’d waited for. Two young men, sitting at a table in the corner, talking about what they’d do with the money they’d get, if only they’d be lucky enough to find the missing girl.
One of them stood, approaching the bar, and Enthrall struck up a conversation with the bartender. “You know, if I were looking for a missing girl, I think I’d start at the last place she was seen.”
The bartender glanced up to see if Enthrall was speaking to him. He’d seen Enthrall come in from time to time, kept to himself, but always tipped well. “Well, yes, I would, too,” he answered. “But that there’s the problem. She wasn’t seen no where last. Just disappeared from the boarding house. No trace.”
“Really? Well, I’d heard that Bobby had come to pick her up early one morning. I hear that the lady from the boarding house knows it and just doesn’t want to say because she doesn’t want to be held responsible if Bobby has hurt the girl,” Enthrall said, leading them easily.
The young man never said a word, but paid for the two beers he’d ordered and went back to his table, talking in hushed tones to his friend. Not two minutes later, they stood and hurried out the door.
Enthrall breathed deeply, his bait cast and taken. He laid a few coins more than was needed on the bar top to pay for his drink and turned to leave, saying under his breath, “Be safe, Carolena. Be well.”
He walked out of the saloon and instead of walking back out of town as he usually did, he went around the back of the saloon, looked around to be sure he was alone, and ghosted back home.
Chapter 22
Carolena sat on one of the wooden stumps that Bobby and his brothers had placed in the yard around their fire pit as a chair. It had been a couple of hours since Enthrall had left her there. She’d cried, sobbed, and raged at having to leave her home and her husband. But she knew if she didn’t go to her father, he’d stop at nothing to find her. And she couldn’t have the people she’d come to love in danger because of her father’s pride. She’d vowed to herself that she’d be back and soon. But first, she had to do this. She thought about the bodies buried out back. It was unsettling being here with only dead bodies. She wondered when they’d had time to kill the brothers, then all of a sudden she knew; it was the evening they left her alone when she was napping. The same day that Murder had come to protect her from Destroy. The same day that both Enthrall and Carnage had come home covered in blood. They’d been out avenging her, making sure that she’d never be threatened by the brothers again. She smiled sadly, knowing that they loved her that much, to ensure her safety by any means necessary, and that she’d have to give up that love in order to protect them. Life wasn’t fair, and it was most certainly cruel.
She paused in her thoughts, thinking she heard something. But when she listened, there was nothing there. She got up, going inside to get one of the old tin cups, so she could scoop some rainwater out of the catch basin they had out front. She grabbed the cup from the table top inside and walked back out the open door, straight into the chest of a young man who was as startled as she was.
Carolena bounced off his chest, “Oh!!! I’m sorry, I didn’t know anyone was here!”
“No ma’am, I’m sorry! Begging your pardon. Are you Carolena?” the young man asked.
“Yes, I am. How did you know my name?” she asked, feigning ignorance.
“Everybody knows your name. The whole town’s looking for you. Your daddy has everybody out and about — even offering a reward for the ones that finds you,” he explained.
“Oh, thank goodness! I’ve been so frightened. I didn’t know my way back and wasn’t sure what to do. I’ve been alone here for, oh, I don’t even know how long.” She offered a token sniffle and tipped her forehead toward the young man’s chest. “I was so scared. They, they hurt me. Then they fought. I did the best I could. I mean I couldn’t just leave them here in front of the house. They’d attract wild animals, so I took them around back.”
“Took who around back?” the other man asked.
“Bobby and both of his brothers. They fought. And now I’m here all alone. I can hear the animals out there at night, but I just couldn’t make myself go back there and see them,” Carolena said, sniffling.
The man closest to her, the one her forehead now rested against, patted her shoulders, “It’s okay now, Miss. We found you. You’re going to be safe and good as new in no time. My name is Frank; this here is my friend, Mark. We’re going to get you back to town and to your Pa. Everything is going to be just fine.”
Carolena nodded, not looking up at either man, mumbled, “Thank you.”
“I’ll go check around back,” Mark said.
Frank nodded, still standing there, soothing the young woman they’d found. Before Mark went around back of the little shack, he exchanged a triumphant smile with Frank — their payday had arrived. They’d be rewarded handsomely for finding this girl.
Carnage watched from the trees, fighting his instinct to rip apart the man now touching his Carolena. He had to be strong — he had to endure. But he also had to make sure she was safe, and no one would try to hurt her before she made it to her father. If someone tried, he planned to bury them right underneath Bobby’s brothers. He shifted in the tree and focused on the men who’d “found” his love. They seemed to be okay. They were checking her for injuries and didn’t seem to be taking advantage. He’d follow them as far as the cover of trees would allow to make sure before he’d finally be forced to return to his home. He’d wait in his home for his mate to return, and that’s all he planned on doing until she returned to him. As he watched and waited, movement across the way caught his eye; he peered closer and smiled. Enthrall. Enthrall was doing exactly the same thing he was, watching over Carolena.
As both deadly creatures of the night watched, Carolena was given fresh water. The first man, Frank, checked her to make sure she was okay, and then they started on their trek toward town. Carnage felt much better about the men with her when he heard one say, “You’ll be fine, Miss. If you get tired, let me know, and we’ll rest for a bit. Stay between myself and Mark, that way you won’t step on snakes or walk into spiders or nothing. There are some scary things out here in these swamps. You have to be careful.”
Carolena looked around at the surrounding areas, “Yes, I’m sure there are. I’ll be very careful.”
Carnage followed until the lack of trees prevented him from going any further. When he was stopped, shrouded by heavy shrubbery, straining to catch even the slightest little glimpse of Carolena, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned, knowing exactly who’d be standing there. Enthrall. Enthrall had followed him as he’d followed Carolena. “I’ve got it from here — I’ll watch over her until she’s with her father.”
Carnage nodded, and Enthrall ghosted away.
<<<<<<<>>>>>>>
“They’ve found her, Mr. Ashlar!”
Abraham Ashlar sat at a table in the town’s saloon calmly eating his lunch. He placed his fork and knife on the outer edges of his plate, removing the napkin from the neck of his buttoned shirt as he sat back to regard the small group of people who were assembling before him. He wasn’t particularly excited, but the gentleman sitting across from him was.
“Is she well?” Abraham asked in a droll tone.
“She seems very tired, and a little shaky, but she’s walking on her own, sir,” one man answered.
Abraham turned to the gentleman seated with him, who had not stopped eating and was still busily shoveling steak into his mouth. “If she has been violated, you are still responsible for her. This does not nullify our agreement, Norris.”
Norris stopped chewing only momentarily, “No, sir. It does not. She’ll still service me. Still perform the duties a good wife should. Maybe even better than if she’d had no experience at all. Does not change a thing.” He promptly shoved another piece of meat into his still masticating mouth and returned his full attention to his meal.
Abraham stood, “Show me,” he said to the small group of people assembled at his table awaiting his response.
He followed them out of the doors of the saloon and onto the small wooden banquette that lined the main street of the little town. There they waited for the two men and one small woman to make their way up the street to them. Once Carolena reached the banquette her father stood on, watching her approach, she looked up at him, making no move to go to him, no move to show affection at all. “Father,” she said by way of greeting.
“Carolena,” he answered, looking her over from head to toe. His nose lifted in disgust, “You’re dirty.”
“Yes, sir. I am. I’ve been taken against my will and kept in the swamps. There was no place to bathe, and no where to go for help when I was left alone. I apologize for my appearance,” she said.
“Yes, well, perhaps you could rectify it. Go to the rooms I’ve secured, make yourself presentable, and try not to make a nuisance of yourself. We have four days before the train returns for us. Do not forget your place,” he said as he turned to go back inside.
Carolena was not surprised at his lack of concern for her. He’d never been concerned for her. He was obsessed with his work, his money, his holdings and his reputation — what others thought of him. She had a thought, “Father!” she called out. He stopped and turned back to her, one eyebrow raised.