Page 181 of Everything Under the Sun

The smell of more cigarette smoke became evident on the air; the men in the kitchen were helping themselves to our stash. I heard the clinking of glass again. “Cheers!” someone said as they downed the whiskey they’d found underneath the sink.

“You’re from Paducah?” I asked.

Please go away…please just go away and leave us alone…

“For now,” Kade said, scratching his beard. “We’ve been there for about a year; got quite a setup. You’ll like it there.”

I felt my intestines tie up in one big knot. My first instinct was to go into defiance mode again, tell them I wasn’t going anywhere with them, but I fought to keep a cool head instead.

“Well, this is our home,” I said civilly, never regretting the overtime Atticus and I spent in the cabin more than I did in this moment. “We’re doing well here. I appreciate the offer, but we’re going to stay.”

“It wasn’t an offer, little lady,” Driggs said, lowered his head and looked right at me. “The two of you are coming with us whether you like it or not.”

I tensed, digging my fingertips into Atticus’ shoulders. Wake up now…please wake up, Atticus. I can’t stop what’s about to happen…I can’t stop them from taking us away—Atticus please! Wake up!

I looked at the men.

“But you said…y-you basically said that people are treated equally there,” I stuttered, “that your leader isn’t a tyrant; you said that women could do what they wanted.”

Kade’s dark smile caught my attention and I turned immediately toward him.

“No, dear,” he began. “You misunderstood. Only those who prove themselves are rewarded with perks such as equality and freedom.”

I dug my fingertips deeper into Atticus. Please wake up! You have to wake up! On the inside I was screaming, on the outside I was calm, emotionless.

Driggs got up from the couch and stretched his arms high into the air; his face distorted with a lion’s yawn.

Kade pulled his backpack around onto one shoulder, reached inside. I glimpsed something plastic, thin and white, the ends poking from the top of his fist. After shouldering the backpack again, he came toward me.

I shook my head and covered Atticus’ body with my own again.

“We’re not going anywhere with you,” I said, panic rising up in my voice.

Driggs came toward us then.

“No! No!” I screamed as Kade ripped me away from Atticus, forcing my hands behind my back. “LEAVE US ALONE! PLEASE! PLEASE JUST LEAVE US!” I thrashed in Kade’s strong grip, kicked my feet behind me, but hit only air. Soon I felt the hard strip of plastic tighten around my wrists, binding me. There was a ziiip sound as Kade pulled the strip into place where it locked.

I struggled against my bonds, tried desperately to wriggle my wrists free from the zip-tie.

“LEAVE HIM ALONE!” I roared, my voice choked with emotion.

Driggs turned Atticus onto his stomach, pulled his limp arms behind his back and tightened a zip-tie around his wrists too.

Atticus stirred, and I saw his eyelids crack open.

“Good,” said Driggs, seeing them too. “I won’t have to carry you out of here, after all.”

ATTICUS

My eyes found Thais’, and it was all the sobering I needed to wake me fully to the rest of the world.

“Let her go! You fucking let her go or I’ll kill you!” I thrashed, my arms secured painfully behind my back. I got to my knees, then to my feet, and I went toward the dark-haired man and Thais like a raging bull.

“DON’T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HER!” I thundered, I could actually feel my eyes blazing in my head.

There was a swift crack! to the back of my legs and I crumpled to my knees; another crack! sounded as the red-haired man who’d introduced himself as ‘Driggs’ just before he knocked me out, struck me then in the back with Thais’ staff.

Thais sobbed, and fell to her knees, too. “Please don’t hurt him! I’ll do anything you want, go anywhere with you freely, just please don’t hurt him!”

---