When Mercy Ends
Page 17
“I’ll kill you if you try this again! I don’t know how but I promise you I will. I’ll do it.”
I could see the knowledge in his eyes that I meant what I told him.
Howard was free, but I heard another scuffle break out by the edge of the yard, but there was safety in the numbers of the workers, so I walked into their house to check on Gladys and the girls. What I walked into was even worse than what I had just witnessed outside.
Horror hit me like a fire from hell as I looked at what was happening in that small room.
Gladys was tied to a straight chair and she had turned it over trying to get to her girls. Her fingers seem to be clawing the floor as she tried to pull the chair forward. Her eyes were wild, and her face was bloody.
Her two babies were tied together, both of them stripped naked while he moved between both of them. They had some kind of cloth stuffed into their mouths, but it did not stop the moans from escaping as he ravaged their innocent bodies. It was babies under him, innocent babies, with no way to escape the horrible things he was doing to them. My eyes moved around the room, trance like, not wanting to believe what I was seeing. I walked toward him pulling the rifle to my shoulder as I realized I couldn’t shoot. I couldn’t chance hitting the girls. For a still second my eyes locked with Gladys’s and without words she knew what I meant to do.
He was so intent on his evil he didn’t seem to hear me, but the butt of the rifle got his attention as I used all my strength hitting him across his head with it.
He grunted falling sideways as the blood spurted against his broken skin on his face. It was Ralph! He didn’t move as I pulled the babies away from him. They still didn’t make a sound, while silent tears flowed from eyes wide with uncomprehending horror, they were bleeding, their innocence lost forever.
My voice turned sing song as I started talking to them, these little girls I had covered in the night, and hugged when they came to me smiling telling me something while hugging my legs as I stood listening to them.
‘It’s alright girls. He won’t hurt you anymore.” I kept saying over and over as I pulled the ropes away from their broken bleeding bodies. I pulled a blanket off a chair covering them, still cooing while I untied Gladys. She crawled toward them, as they tried putting some weight on their small little legs.
“Howard?” She whispered though lips that were laid open in a brutal cut.
“He is alive!”
“Take them in the other room, put your hands over their ears.”
The three of them moved slow, but she did as I asked her to do while I stood over Ralph.
He was still stunned by the blow, laying there splayed out, his pants down around his knees. I kicked him, hard between his legs. He woke up enough to scream, a guttural sound. I kicked him again drawing viscous blood and I heard a popping sound. He tried to dodge the blows as he screamed. He tried using his hands to protect that part of him. I heard fingers break as I kept kicking what he was trying to protect with his hands. When my legs gave out on me, I used the butt of the rifle again all over his body. He wasn’t screaming anymore. I heard another shot ring out and I hoped someone had shot Lucky, but I didn’t stop the chore I had started. This man would never hurt another little girl. I would stop this evil man. I would do to him what I would do to a snake.
He was still now, and I realized my breath had left me, so I left him to walk in the room where the three of them crouched crying behind the bed. Gladys had wrapped them in another blanket, but they were wild eyed with bruises and blood all over them. She had her arms around them both as if she hoped her love could protect them from the horror they had experienced.
“It’s alright, he won’t hurt you anymore!” The terror never left their eyes, as tiny shoulders shook with sobs that ripped through their bodies while they never made a sound. All three of them had just seen hell, and they would never get over tonight. Seeing them this way made me want to hit him again. I wanted to pull them to me. I wanted to hold them to try to absorb their pain, but I looked down, at the blood on me, dirty blood, and I didn’t go to them.
Gladys’s lips were swelling now, crusted with blood, but she looked at me knowing what I had done. I never heard her voice, but she mouthed two words.
“Thank you!”
The noise in the room where Ralph lay bleeding drew me and I left them there huddled, terrified, while I walked back into the other room. Doc was leaning over Ralph, I heard him say.
“Well he is alive, but barely.”
“Good!” I said, in a voice that didn’t sound like me.
“Lucy are you alright?” He asked leaving Ralph and coming to me.
“You are covered in blood. Where are you hurt?”
“I am not hurt, Doc, but the three of them in there, they are hurt bad Doc, so bad they will never be the same. I came in here, he had them tied together, using them, oh Doc, they are just little girls! They are just little girls! How can anyone be so cruel? How Doc, how can they do it?” My face was wet, too wet to wipe dry. My mind seemed to be filled with haze, some kind of blackness filling each part of me. I could hear all the voices outside, voices raised, but I couldn’t seem to focus on what they were saying. I saw Howard come in and I saw the bloody mark around his neck. His clothes were ripped so badly his shirt was only hanging by one sleeve. He didn’t stop to look at the animal on the floor. He went past us to see about the ones he loved, the ones neither of us could save.
Doc was talking to me, taking my shoulders in his hands pulling me close to him.
“Did you do this to Ralph? Lucy did you do this?”
I finally realized what he was asking.
“Yes, and if he is not dead then I want to finish him. He is scum!
He raped those little girls, using both of them and making their Mother watch. They are so little so innocent, and he hurt them so badly, so yes I did it and I would do it all over again!”
“Be quiet Lucy, the sheriff is coming, be quiet. You don’t know who did it. Do you understand me? Listen to me! It was a fight, you are not sure what happened, there was someone else in here, they ran out. You don’t know what happened. Do you hear me?”
“Doc…”
“Lucy, stop. Do you love me?” He asked pulling my face close to his.
“You know I do.”
“Then do what I ask you to do. Please Lucy, please.”
I didn’t answer him as he pushed me back into the room where Howard and Gladys were still holding the little girls. They looked up as he took the gun from me, the one I didn’t know I was still holding.
“Howard do something with this gun. Put it where it can’t be found for a little while.” Howard didn’t say anything as he took the gun from Doc carrying it out of the room.
“Gladys, I need something for her to put on.” She didn’t say anything either, she just walked toward a small chest pulling a faded robe out, handing it to Doc.
“Take off your clothes Lucy.”
“Doc I can’t take my clothes off!”
He didn’t wait but he reached down and jerked at the coat pulling it away, then the robe and gown toward my head.
“Doc, I am naked under this gown!”
“Hush girl,” he said as he kept pulling at my clothes. “I delivered your babies. I have seen most of you anyway, but none of that matters now. We have to get these bloody clothes off you!” He said as he swept my clothes over my head leaving me standing there naked. I tried using my hands to cover myself, but he pulled them away from my breast and pushed them into the sleeves of the robe. Two little girls seeing me naked before them. “The girls!” I whispered, still concerned with innocence they would never know again.
“Turn your face away girl. Turn your face to the wall. We have to get Miss Lucy’s clothes changed.”
We have to get some of this blood off you!”
“Yes, it is
dirty blood, dirty blood. We need to get it off!” I whispered.
Gladys found her voice. “I’ll get you a pan of water.” She said as she left her little girls to help Doc cover up my crime.
“Is Billy and Markus alright?” I asked, scared to hear the answer but needing to know.
“Yes, they are fine, a little bruised but they will be fine.”
“I heard another shot.”
“Yes, Lucky got shot.”
“Good,” I said remembering what I had hoped for. “I hope he is dead!”
“He is not, but his legs are shattered pretty bad. It looks like one of his buddies shot him. He was trying to shoot Billy and missed Billy hitting Lucky.”
That got my attention fast. “Are you sure Billy is alright?”
“Yes, he is fine. He and Markus are holding guns on the ones that didn’t manage to run away. They are waiting on the sheriff.”
“You mean they are waiting until the sheriff stashes his sheets?”
“Could be Lucy, but if so, he wasn’t one of those that had the sheets pulled away exposing who they are.”
The three of them dressed me and wiped most of the blood away as Doc talked.
“Now remember what I said. There was another man, there was a fight. The other man ran out. You don’t know who he was, he was covered in the sheets. Do you understand me Lucy? That is what you are going to say happened.”
Gladys walked closer to me putting her arms around my shivering shoulders pulling me close to her as I leaned in to the warmth of her.
“Yes Doc that is exactly what happened. I ought to know, I had to watch. I had to watch what happened to my little girls and that is what happened. Miss Lucy, I am going to stay with my girls, but you go on out there and remember that is what happened.”
Doc took my arm leading me out on the porch. The black cloud that had moved over the moon earlier had brought in rain that was falling hard on the men standing in the front of that small porch. Billy’s eyes locked with mine, but I did not run to him. He was standing still in the driving rain with a rifle pointed at five men standing with wet sheets plastered to their bodies. Even in my darkened haze I knew it could be a distraction that might allow some of them to get away. Lucky was on the wet ground, water puddling around him mixing with his blood. He was moaning while begging to be moved to the dry porch. Several of the workers stood close while a silence fell across the yard, making Lucky’s moans appear loud. I watched as the sheriff finally came, listening to the questions he was asking each one. I stayed silent while Doc kept a gentle but firm grip on my arm as he called out to the sheriff.
“When you get through out here, there in more in the house. It’s a mess. Looks like two of them got into a fight over Howard’s two little girls, but there is no hurry, he is not going anywhere.”
“What do you mean Doc?”
“There must have been a bad fight in there. I am not sure he will make it.” His voice seemed to echo against the rain.
“This man and his family did nothing wrong. He was with his wife and two little girls. I want all of you to think about the two little girls. I want you to think about the pure evil that will let someone abuse children in that way. He hurt them bad, he tied them up and used both of them. I guess he couldn’t decide which one he wanted. It must have been two evil bastards because one of them has almost killed the other one fighting looks like they were fighting over the girls. That is what has happened on this late- night ride these boys took.” His voice grew louder filled with rage and disgust.
“I want all of you to listen to me, hear me well because there should be a price that each of these riders should pay. They came in the dark, wearing covering so no one would know their names, hiding like the cowards they are. They pulled a good man from his home. A man that has not caused any trouble for anyone. A man who’s only fault tis the color of his skin. They tied up his wife and little girls, and pulled him outside, throwing a rope over that very tree there. It was only by God’s grace that anyone got to him in time.
Look at his neck, look at the cut the rope made! His wife’s face is cut and bruised, and his little girls were used so bad. Just little girls, one is nine and the other is eleven. How many of you have little girls? What would you do to protect them? That is what happened here tonight.” His voice broke again, and I saw his face was hard, but his face was wet with tears.
“Doc, no one was supposed to hurt the girls.” Lucky called out from the ground.
“Oh really, I guess all of you thought it was alright to kill their Daddy, that wasn’t supposed to hurt them. So, it was only supposed to be a friendly hanging? No rough stuff, just a friendly hanging. Are you sure you are even human? Is any of that sorry bunch covered over there human?”
It was silent for a few seconds, only the sound of the rain hitting the ground before Lucky spoke,
“Doc, my legs are hurting really bad. Will you get me patched up and we can talk about this later.”
“I seem to remember Miss Lucy told you that you wouldn’t be treated at her hospital if you caused any trouble. Well it sure looks like you have caused some trouble. Have the sheriff load you up and take you into the next town. They will fix your legs there.”
“Hell Doc you see my legs are in bad shape. I need a doctor now. You took an oath.”
“You are right I did take an oath. I have always tried to honor that oath, no matter what my feelings were, but Miss Lucy is like a daughter to me. You knew that when you come here, and that oath means a lot to me, but my family comes first, even before my oath. So, I will leave it up to Miss Lucy. If she agrees, then I’ll patch you up, if she doesn’t agree then you just go on in to the next town. Maybe it will give you something to think about before you take your next night ride.”
“Miss Lucy, please, you can see I am in bad shape. Please Miss Lucy.” He whined.
I stood looking at the pain and chaos all around, knowing it didn’t. have to be. The silence was deep, the only sound was the wind and the hammering rain as I answered him.
“We will let Howard decide. We will do what he sees fit to do.”
Lucky exhaled so hard it seemed I could feel it even though he was several feet away from him.
“No, no!” He moaned.
“Yes, your treatment is in the hands of the man you tried to hang. The man that has two broken children inside.”
“You can’t do that! That is not right!”
I stepped off the porch walking toward him, no one moved or said a word. I stopped looking down at him lying in the mud. The cold rain pelting down harder now, wetting the faded robe into my skin but I had so much pain in my soul I did not feel the bite of it.
“I will never understand how a bully can justify all the bad things he does to others, and how loud he can cry when the tables turn. It is not so much fun when you are on the losing end, is it? Yes, it is all up to Howard.”
“We will get you loaded up as soon as I can get to you. I have to get these men to jail.” The sheriff said, not seeming to have much hope Howard would agree to treatment.
“Here you two guys get him out of the rain.” He moaned but didn’t say anything else as they picked him up carrying him toward the sheriff’s car. I heard Doc tell the sheriff to have someone get the body out of the cabin and to clean the blood off the floor.
Billy walked to me, opening his coat pulling me in to his warmth, giving me some of his strength as he wiped tears, I didn’t know I was crying off my face.
Jenny came out of her house, eyes huge with fright, going to Doc.
“I was so scared and worried for all of you. I stayed in the house like you asked me to do, but I was so worried.”
“It’s alright love. I don’t want you upset. We have to think about the baby. You go on back now, everything will be alright.”
“Alright but come to me as soon as you can.”
“Let me help you. I will be alright to help. Look at poor Lucy, she needs to rest. I can go help. I want to help.”
“Alright. Billy why don’t you take Lucy home.?”
“No.” I broke in. I want to help with the girls too. We owe them that.”
He didn’t argue, maybe he was too tired for any more words, but he went back into the house to tell them what we all needed to do.
They brought the little girls out in the cold rain, with a blanket covering them as they walked huddled together. We followed them while I remembered the promise, I had made to Howard about there not being any trouble with them living here. As we walked by the house Megan was in, I realized she had not come out to see what was happening, but I saw the curtain fall as we walked by.
Doc thought it best to have Howard and Gladys hold them close on the table until the Ether took them into sleep. They fought the soaked cloth, but finally closed their eyes to the fearful pain. When they were finally under Doc asked Howard and Gladys to wait in another room until he checked them for something so horrible it should not be. We all cried as we propped their innocent little legs for his examination, but they were asleep, not seeing our tears as Doc stitched them up from the evil Ralph had done them.
Howard meet Doc as he came to let them know what he had done.
“It’s done. You both can go in to be with them as they wake up. It is a hard thing to tell you, but they were both torn. I stitched them up, but they will be sore. Gladys, I think it best if you keep an eye on the stitching instead of me putting them through a man looking at them after what they have been through. The stitches should dissolve without me removing them but keep a close watch for any redness. If that happens, let me know as soon as possible. I don’t think he did any damage inside them, at least we can be thankful for that. It is going to take time for them to heal, both inside and out, but we are all here for you and God knows we are so sorry it happened. You can take them home if you want to or all of you can stay here tonight.”