Page 57 of Backwoods
“I warned you, this place is evil,” she said. Using the rifle barrel, she nudged the hat, coat, and whip into a dark chasm in the floor. She took Nick by the arm, her fingers cold with clammy sweat.
“Get your gun and let’s get out of here,” she said.
37
Amiya was so hungry she could have devoured the chicken soup in three minutes flat, but she forced herself to slow down and savor each spoonful. She didn’t know when she might eat again and needed to enjoy this meal.
Eating slow also gave her more time with Ossie. Miss Lula hadn’t yet returned; it sounded as if she were haranguing the workers in the kitchen.
Amiya caught Ossie looking at her from the corner of his eye. She crossed her legs, took a sip of water, and in what she hoped was a casual tone, asked: “Who is Tanya?”
Ossie gave her such a look of shock that she might have tossed her glass of cold water in his face.
“How do you know about my mama?” he asked in a taut whisper. He glanced over his shoulder at the kitchen doors.
With a nod, Amiya indicated the name tattooed on Ossie’s exposed forearm. “I thought it might have been your girlfriend or daughter, but to hear it’s your mother, that says a lot to me about what kind of young man you are, Ossie. You cherish your mother.”
It was as if she had depressed a trigger in his heart, releasing an outpouring of pent-up emotion. He came to the table and knelt next to her. Tears swam in his eyes. His breath was hot.
“Don’t let him mark you,” Ossie said. “You won’t ever get out of here if he does.”
“How do I get out before that happens?” Amiya closed her hand over his, squeezed. “Please, Ossie. I’ll do whatever I can to help you, too. My boyfriend is here—they have him outside. We’ll both help you, I promise.”
“They’re gonna make him a field hand.” Ossie sneered at the term. “They said I was too pretty for a man to be working outside.”
“None of us want to be here,” she said. “I thought about just running out the front door.”
“No.” Ossie shook his head. “The helpers out there would run you down like it was nothing. They’re a lot faster than they look. Stronger, too.”
Amiya thought about Miss Lula, how the woman had pinned her underwater in the bathtub. A shiver passed through her.
“Things here aren’t what they seem to be, you gotta know that,” Ossie said. “At night, it’s all different. You have to see it to believe it.”
“I want to get out of here before it gets dark.”
“You need to wait, ’cause you ain’t gonna get past the helpers.” He glanced over his shoulder again, hunched closer to her. “Listen, the master’s gonna want to see you before the Overseer marks you. The master has keys on him, I’ve seen them, and he keeps a gun. No one can really get close to him.”
“But I could.” Her heart knocked, and she felt dizzy at the prospect of what may lie ahead.
“You gotta be careful. The rumor is, the last mistress tried to take his gun, too. She’s not here anymore, but I don’t think that means she went home.”
Amiya remembered Miss Lula’s warning:He turned her over to the Overseer for punishment. We never saw her again.
“If I can get ahold of these keys, and the firearm, then what do I do?” she asked.
Ossie started to answer when the kitchen doors crashed open with a boom like a thunderclap.
“Get away from the lady!” Miss Lula shouted.
Amiya was so startled that she dropped her spoon, the silverware clattering into her bowl of soup. Miss Lula stormed like an enraged elephant across the dining room, feet pounding the floorboards. Ossie snapped upright and put his hands at his sides like a soldier standing at attention.
“You.” Miss Lula put her long, thick finger in Ossie’s face. Ossie cringed as if he expected a blow. “Pick up these dishes and get back into the kitchen.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Ossie nodded crisply and stepped toward the table. He avoided Amiya’s gaze as he reached for her bowl.
“But I wasn’t finished eating,” Amiya said.
“You’ll eat again later, lady,” Miss Lula said. “The master always insists on a big dinner with his mistress before he takes her to his bedroom for the night.” Miss Lula grinned. “He’s always been such a romantic.”
