Scars Of Defiance

by Angell, Lorena

  *****

  Sierra sat on the fallen tree Paul had sat her on before he left, but not before he kissed her forehead. Now, she was sitting in the freezing wind with enormous wind-driven snowflakes slamming into her face, waiting for Paul to come back. This was the first time she had been alone since Paul pulled her from the lake.

  Her mind went back to the horror stories she had heard about crosser homes in Baylend. Her conclusion was that these untrue stories were propaganda used to deter crossers from leaving Rendier. The Bronson family had been nothing but kind and gentle, putting themselves in harm’s way to help her — not to mention taking care of the six others who had escaped her attention in the basement room. It would have been so horri

  ble if they’d been captured or killed because of the heat on her head.

  The bitter wind blasted her in the face, and wet snowflakes hit her long eyelashes. She shivered even though she had two coats on. She wondered how Paul was doing with no coat.

  What a gentleman. He reminded her of her father. Paul had worried out loud to her that he feared he couldn’t protect her well enough. Nothing could be further from the truth. No one else would have done a better job.

  Just a few days ago she had decided that death was better than staying in Rendier. She had been wrong to consider death as an answer. She would never have met Paul if she had succeeded in starving herself. She wouldn’t have been able to fall so completely in love with him if she hadn’t fought for her life after crashing through the ice. She vowed at that moment that she would never again consider death as an option. One never knows what lies just around the corner.

  Where was he anyway? How long had he been gone?

  Headlights lit the trees up like daylight as a vehicle approached. She ducked her head down behind the snow-covered bush in front of her and listened as the vehicle slowed to a stop.

  Chapter 9

  Paul hiked up the road. He didn’t realize he had rolled so far down. He quickened his pace to a jog, which made his heart pump rapidly. He tucked his bare hands into his armpits to try to protect them from the wind. He thought of Sierra and hoped she was warm enough sitting all by herself on the fallen tree. He hated leaving her alone even for the few necessary minutes that were required to relocate the car. He picked up his jogging pace even more. He needed to get back to Sierra’s side, where he belonged.

  What a strange feeling. He knew that’s where he belonged, truly. He hadn’t known where he fit in or what his true purpose was until he found Sierra in the ice. And as reluctant as he was to accept this responsibility at first, he fully embraced it now, even if he was a blundering idiot about it. He’d do his best. He’d do it for her.

  He slowed his pace as he crossed over the icy Moose Creek Bridge. The bright lights of a vehicle ahead had him ducking off the road to avoid being seen. The headlights weren’t moving, though. The car had stopped. Paul moved into a better position to be able to see the car. It was pulled over near the fallen tree where he had left Sierra. The door was open, and someone quickly got in the car. The icy road made it impossible for the car to squeal its tires, but they tried it anyway. Instead, the back end fishtailed sideways for a second before grabbing the traction it needed to move.

  Paul crouched down as the car went by, then he bolted ahead to the fallen tree.

  “Sara!”

  No answer.

  “Sara, where are you?”

  Nothing.

  “Sara!” Panic like nothing he had felt before coursed through him. She had to be here somewhere. It couldn’t be possible that she was gone. It couldn’t. He should have taken her with him. That’s what she had been afraid of in the tunnel, being left alone, with the threat of being captured. “Sara!” His voice cracked as he yelled to the heavens and fell to his knees.

  A faint voice sounded somewhere ahead: “Paul, help.”

  He stood up and looked around. What he wouldn’t do for a flashlight or a lantern. “Sara?”

  The harsh wind made it incredibly difficult to hear, but not entirely. He heard the soft voice again. He moved in its direction and found himself without ground under his feet. He fell down a steep slope and landed in the freezing water of Moose Creek. He quickly scrambled back up and out of the water. Then looking around, he saw her.

  “Sara!”

  She let go of the small bush she was clinging to and waved her arm at him.

  Paul watched in horror as she began floating downstream. As he chased her alongside the creek, she frantically reached for anything she could grab. Paul knew what lay ahead: certain death. He had to reach her before she hit the steep descent into the canyon.

  He crashed into the water as he caught up with her and grabbed her arm. Her heavy water-soaked clothes and gravity worked against him. The stream seemed to have a mind of its own with dark plans to separate them. He lost his grasp on her, and she floated away.

  In his mind’s eye, he could imagine her plunging over the rim of the canyon. The river would be frozen over except for where the falls constantly splashed. If she went over, the current would take her downstream under the ice, and she wouldn’t be able to surface!

  Adrenaline coursed through his veins, giving him almost superhuman strength. He rushed toward her, running as fast as he could until he caught her by the arm of her coat. He readjusted his grip and pulled her toward him. The bank of the creek at that spot was too steep to climb. They would have to go upstream to a better area in order to get out. He pulled and she pushed with her one good foot till they reached a better part of the bank to exit. Together they slammed their bodies down on the snowy bank in utter exhaustion. Their wet clothes immediately turned crispy as the water began to freeze.

  “Paul,” she whispered. Her teeth chattered uncontrollably.

  He turned his head to her. They were both breathing with difficulty and basically dying on the bank of Moose Creek. He pushed himself up using sheer will to survive.

  “Come on. Got-t-go.” He pulled her upright, and she threw her arms around him.

  “I knew you’d f-find me.”

  He kissed her forehead and cheeks. “We need to get to the c-cabin.”

  “T-take your co-coat.”

  “No. Keep h-it. Ge-hit on my b-back, I’ll care-he you.” She did so, and he began moving forward. They weren’t going to die of hypothermia! He’d get her to the cabin and they’d be okay. He just needed to keep moving. He lumbered slowly upstream along the bank until he found a good place to climb up the hill in the direction of the cabin. He couldn’t tell how far away from the main highway they were, but he knew if he headed to the left, he’d find the little road leading to the cabin.

  He eventually found the road about a hundred yards north of the highway turnoff. At least there weren’t any tracks, car or human, for that distance. With Sierra on his back, he made a single set of footprints in the snow, which he felt was a good thing in case anyone found them, although the pace at which the snow fell would undoubtedly cover his single footprints in a hurry. He picked up his pace as much as he could with frozen stiff jeans and numb feet. Frostbite quickly became an issue in his mind.

  A couple of times, he walked right off the road and stumbled to the ground. The blinding snowstorm had him so disoriented that he started to wonder if he had gotten turned around somewhere along the way. Sheer will powered his legs and mind to continue forward. When he finally saw the outline of the cabin in front of him, he nearly collapsed with joy.

  Now came the hard part: staying awake.

  He needed to make a fire, warm some soup, and keep Sierra alert all at the same time. He checked his watch and discovered that they had been in the harsh elements for nearly an hour and a half. He knew his father would die if he ever found out what the faulty escape car had put them through.

  He leaned to the side to let Sierra down. Their clothing had frozen together in places and made a cracking sound as it broke apart. She sat down on the wood floor as he fumbled with his numb fingers to find the hidden key i
n the rafters. He couldn’t tell if he was touching it or not. He swept his hand along the beam to knock the key off and hoping at the same time, it wouldn’t fall between the cracks of the porch.

  Clink.

  He had found it. He bent down to pick it up but couldn’t seem to do so. His fingers wouldn’t squeeze hard enough to hold the key and it kept falling. Sierra came to his rescue and picked it up for him. He inserted the key in the lock and turned the stiff knob. Then he helped her inside.

  The immediate warmth amazed Paul. Simply having the wind off them made such a huge difference. Sierra sat on the couch, and he stood frozen in his shoes.

  “Don’t fall as-sleep. I’ll make f-fire.” He moved slowly and deliberately toward the door. He did not want to go outside again, but what choice did he really have? He pulled the door open.

  “Wait!” She exclaimed through chattering teeth. He turned around. “Stove or oven?”

  He pointed to the kitchen area.

  She stood and hobbled over to the electric oven and turned on every burner and broiler and propped the oven door open. She looked to him and smiled with her hands outstretched toward the heat already filling the room.

  “You’re a genius!” he said. He closed the door and grabbed two chairs from the table and took them over by the stove.

  She was already undoing her coat zipper and removing her arms. Paul knew that for both their sakes, they needed to be out of those clothes immediately. He turned away and walked to the bedroom to grab some blankets. By the time he made it back to the kitchen, Sierra had managed to get out of her two coats and pull the shoe and sock off of her good foot, and she was finishing unwrapping the splint on her injured foot.

  “I can’t – get my – snap un-done.” She smiled, pointing to her waist. A severe shiver wracked through her body at the same time.

  Paul reached with his numb fingers but couldn’t get enough of a grip to pull the snap apart. He looked at her, admittedly shocked at his own lack of strength.

  She shrugged her shoulders and grabbed the hem of his stiff shirt and pulled it up over his head. His arms followed naturally, and he was rid of his shirt. His own uncontrollable tremors shot through his body, making him move with jerked motions. He bent over and tugged at the frozen laces on his shoes. It was no good, so he kicked his shoes off one foot at a time. He slid his fingers into his socks to inch them off his numb feet. They were so stiff they held their shape once on the floor.

  Paul and Sierra both began laughing at the sight of the socks. Laughter lightened the mood. He helped her remove her shirt, draping a blanket across her front for modesty, and then he set back to work on the snap. His fingers were regaining feeling a bit, but with that came incredible burning and pain. Finally her snap released.

  She stood on one leg, held on to her blanket with one hand and placed the other on the countertop nearby to steady herself while he peeled her jeans off of her. Frozen blue jeans were quite amazing. Sierra was sure the pants would be able to stand by themselves once they were off her.

  Paul worked her hurt leg out of her jeans while she balanced on her good leg. His eyes zoomed in on the bruises down her upper leg. He had seen them before, the first night when he’d removed her other frozen clothing, but they didn’t look much different. He pulled the pants down to her knee on her good leg and helped her sit back on the chair to remove them the rest of the way.

  “You’ll warm faster if you take off your underwear too,” he said. “I’m not going to do that for you, sorry.” He smiled and turned around.

  Her cheeks flushed with heat. She wiggled herself around until she was able to get her panties off and unclasp her bra to remove it. Then she thought back to the first morning when she awoke in his bed. She was still wearing her bra and panties. He had undressed her, but he hadn’t taken everything off. Such a gentleman. Now, she watched his back as he removed his pants and underwear, completely baring his body. He reached forward and grabbed the blanket and flung it around his back, covering his perfect form. He turned around and saw her face.

  “Watching me undress?”

  “How could I n-not? It’s a girl’s duty to notice a man.”

  Paul noticed her emphasis on the word “man,” and his heart sped up a notch. Instead of sitting down beside her, he opened a cupboard and pulled out a coffee pot. He took the bucket next to the stove and stepped outside to fill it with snow for water. His feet were so numb he didn’t even feel the cold of the snow. He brought the bucket back inside and began the melting process. As the water melted, he poured it into the coffee pot until he had enough to brew a batch. He scooped some granules from the can and set it on the stove.

  “We haven’t eaten anything today, and then we go and use all our available energy to keep our bodies warm.”

  He cuddled with Sierra while they waited for the coffee to percolate. After about an hour of warm liquid in their tummies and breathing in the steam, their shaking bodies were better under control.

  “How did you end up in the creek?” Paul asked as he filled her coffee mug again.

  “A car stopped by the road. Someone got out, and it scared me, so I ran and fell into the water.” She smiled at him. “And then you found me.”

  “I thought the car picked you up. It scared me. I thought I’d lost you.”

  Sierra leaned her head on his shoulder. The thought of losing him scared her too.

  “Now I know how you felt being in Slater Lake. I’ve never been so cold in my entire life.” Paul turned his head to hers and kissed the top of it. “I wonder what our temperatures are.”

  “Very cold.”

  “Yeah. I’ll hang up our clothes so they can dry and see if there’s anything for us to wear in the mean time.”

  Hours later, they lay down on the thick rug in front of the fireplace with full tummies and warmed souls. Paul had pulled the sheets off of a bed, and they were both wearing toga-style gowns. They hadn’t completely warmed up yet, but the crackling fireplace and each other’s company were helping.

  “Can we sleep right here tonight?” She asked.

  “You bet.” He rolled over to her and snuggled up against her back. Body heat was the most wonderful thing in the world. Or perhaps it was only Sierra’s body heat.

  “What’s going to happen to us, Paul?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Will someone find us here? Or will we need to walk out to the road?”

  “There’s a phone. If I don’t hear from them, I’ll call after a couple of days.”

  “A couple of … days? Whatever will we do with our time here, all alone, in this cabin?” she asked playfully.

  Paul hugged her and tried to ignore the growing desire inside him.

  “Paul, tell me more about your family.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Your grandma is intriguing. What’s her history?” Sierra turned on her side to see Paul’s face. She loved watching his expressions as he spoke.

  “Well, I grew up on my Grandma’s stories. She would tell them to me at bedtime, but they never put me to sleep. They were always too exciting. She was born in Slaterville, before this part of Rendier was annexed to Baylend. She was one of the first women in her day to work with King Louis and his security task force. Her position dealt with finding threats to the throne. She viewed the army general as a threat, but King Louis wouldn’t hear of it.”

  “Let me guess. Alexandar Rawlings was the general?”

  “You know that part. He had climbed the ranks of leadership to where he advised King Louis on strategic plans. He convinced him that selling the top portion of Rendier would be in the best interests of the country. He persuaded the king to make that decision, and in doing so, King Louis lost many devoted countrymen. Alexandar worked against the king further and began to win the people over to his side. He executed a grass-roots campaign and covertly turned the country against their ruler, so when King Louis gave out the order to have Alexandar removed, the people rose up and
ousted King Louis from power, putting Alexandar in his place.

  “Alexandar even held a popular vote to pacify the reluctant citizens. That’s when his true dictatorship emerged. He padded the vote to his favor and presented a humble façade to the people in his acceptance speech. He tried to appear like a leader who wanted the best for the country, and he kept that image for a little while.”

  “If he had to pad the vote, it meant he wasn’t the popular vote.”

  “Right. The ones who didn’t want him to become the ruler began fleeing the country. And that’s where my grandma comes in. Once the king was removed from the palace, Alexandar filled all the political positions with his own men. My grandma lost her job but felt glad to be alive. She was aware that Alexandar suspected she didn’t like him and that he knew of her capabilities. She believed he would be capable of murder if it would secure his position, and she was right.

  “Pretty soon, Alexandar closed the border, but that didn’t stop people from fleeing. It just became more difficult. His true colors started to show, and the people now wanted him removed from power, but it was too late. It was like being lured into a spider’s web and thinking it’s safe, then finding out you’re stuck and in danger. Alexandar began televising executions of traitors and expatriates. He formed a team to root out rebel groups and bring them to justice. That was probably the time frame during which he began the Montgomery hunt you spoke of. My grandfather, Paul Bronson, whom I was named after, was one of the victims of the dissident raids. He was murdered.”

  “I’m sorry, Paul. I didn’t know. I hadn’t even thought about your grandfather.”

  “You don’t need to be sorry Sara. He died before my parents married. My grandma was the target, but he took the bullet. She immediately took her situation to the capital of Baylend and was responsible for getting the new laws put into place for Slaterville and Northtown. Up to that point, this was kind of a neutral zone. People didn’t really belong to Baylend, but at the same time they didn’t belong to Rendier either. She raised awareness of our situation and how the government of Rendier was killing new Baylend citizens.