Taken Ch. 09

"Please don't do this!" I pleaded.

"Thinking you could get away with all this again?" he demanded as he lined himself up, I pulled and thrashed but it did me little good. I closed my eyes and bit down on my lip to prevent from screaming and alerting anyone, the hot flaring pain shot up through my body and I almost couldn't breathe. The pain was so strong my vision faded as I struggled to remain conscious. Georgie bend one arm back at a painful angle. He didn't hold back, throwing his hips into mine as hard as he was able. Then suddenly he stopped and between tears I looked over my shoulder to see his eyes wide with shock and blood pouring out of the hole in his throat. He dropped to the floor and Ruth stood behind him, big kitchen knife in her hands. She dropped her knife and gasped at the sight of her 'husband' dead on the floor.

"Ruth?" she just stared down at him in horror. I grab both biceps and shake her a little.

"We need to pile the kids into the truck and get out of here. Find Maggie so she can get started under the hood. Becky is already helping the little ones get ready. I'm going to check on Emily, Where's Sarah?" Ruth looked up at me, pale but a little better.

"She's...I'll get her. You go get Emily." I nodded and hurried up the stairs to Christopher's room. If she had been successful she'd been out by now. I burst open the door but nothing could have prepared me for the sight I saw. I gasped but she didn't seem to notice the noise or the fact I'd even burst through the door. She was tied to the bed by one wrist but I could tell that the other one had simply broken free. Even though she only had one free hand she was stabbing him over and over with his hobby knife, tears, and snot were running down her face, blood splattered and smeared all over her body, but she didn't stop. I noticed his eyes were lifeless and I reached over to gently tap her shoulder.

"Emily, you can stop now. He can't hurt you anymore." She sobbed and sagged in despair. I gently took the hobby knife away from her and set it on his desk. I didn't bother with wiping fingerprints; no jury in their right mind would convict her after the things he'd done to her. I reached over and untied her left hand and sat her up. Not caring about the blood everywhere, I wrapped her in a fierce hug.

"I had to Skye...lord forgive me I had to!" she sobbed. I rocked her a little than gave her a little shake.

"You did what you had to Emily; he didn't give you any other of choice. Now let's get the kids into the truck and get out of here before Clyde wakes up." She nodded, not seeming to pay attention I only mentioned one other house member. Clyde was all that was left now. We hurried down the stairs where Ruth was already leading some of the younger kids down the hallway wearing jackets and their boots. A few had a blanket or a stuff animal. I followed them out the door, wrapping my arms around myself as the cold night breeze froze some of the blood on my dress. I pull down the hatch and one by one lift the kids into the back of the truck where there were quite a few blankets piled up.

They were either too tired or confused to protest or even understand what was happening.

"Emily, I need you to get more gas from the shed! I'm going to see what I can do to help Maggie." She nodded and ran off into the distance while Ruth climbed into the back of the truck. Maggie was tightening a bolt on the battery and nodded at me to try and start it. I turned the key over pressing down on the gas, hoping that Clyde would remain unconscious enough for us to get out of here. The first few tries it sputtered but on the third try it reared up and I slapped the steering wheel in excitement. Maggie shut the hood and climbed into the back as well. I waited for Emily than looked around in confusion.

"Where is Sarah?" I heard the click of the shotgun.

"Turn the truck off now!" she demanded. I froze as I watched her aim the gun straight at me.

"Sarah...you don't have to do this, we can get away this time." She shook her head and took a few steps closer.

"We never get a way, our job is to be good faithful wives to our husbands and it's been chaos ever since Clyde brought you home."

"He's dead," I replied. Emily gasped but said not a word.

"You little bitch!"

"It was me who stabbed him Sarah; we had to. Do you want your daughters growing up this way?" Sarah's hands wavered a little.

"This is the way to stay pure and close to God. Don't you want to go to heaven?" Sarah demanded.

"Please Sarah; you've got to remember life before

all this. Before the farm, before you were kidnapped and raped and stuck here forever." Sarah shook her head.

"Don't you talk about my husband that way!" she growled.

"Nancy! Her real name is Nancy," announced Maggie suddenly and Sarah/Nancy froze as she looked over at her sister wife. She suddenly dropped the gun and sobbed into her hands. I rushed to catch her before she collapsed on the ground.

"C'mon climb into the back with the kids; I'm going to drive us out of here." Once everyone was finally settled I threw the truck into reverse and quickly turned the car around, screaming as my headlights highlighted Clyde's form. He was leaning heavily against his arms that were propped up on his thighs.

"Wait! You can't leave this farm, God choose you to be my wife!" he shouted.

"Your God chose wrong!" I yelled in return and stomped down on the gas pedal, hitting him with a hard thud as the truck rolled over his body and I sped out of the driveway. It was so dark the only thing I could see was a few feet in front of the truck. Emily sat beside me in the truck cab and I grabbed and squeezed her hand, we were finally free.

*********

"Look Mommy!" giggled Samson, he was 2 now, learning to talk, and boy did he love to talk. He wanted to know everything. Emily ran by and swooped him up in her arms and smothered him in raspberries. He giggled and tried to get away but she repeated the attack. I smiled to myself as I watched them. He looked so much like his father, short black hair and piercing blue eyes. There was no denying who ended up being his father. But as far as Samson knew, his father had passed away and we didn't talk about him much. But because Emily resembled him more she'd become his favorite person. When we'd first been rescued I'd struggled with the choice of whether I wanted an abortion. Emily pleaded with me not to, begged me not to follow through. A poor child shouldn't' suffer for the sins of its father. I ended up not following through and it was the best choice I'd ever made. Besides having him as the best thing out of the entire situation, my parents adopted Emily so I gained a younger sister in the deal too.

We were a little early for our annual reunion. I noticed all the special agents, wearing shades and an earpiece as they guarded the entire perimeter. The staff of the restaurant had been notified ahead of time and as far as we knew everything was safe. It had been part of our agreement that we all get to see one another at least once a year so the kids could stay in each other's lives. Ruth/Ashley arrived first, looking good since she'd had the baby. He looked so much like his daddy that it scared me a little. Nancy/Sarah arrived second and she looked healthy. She was smiling, wearing capris and a tank top. Her kids ran in to the play area and started immediately playing tag. She sat down across from me and smiled. The first six months away from the farm had been the hardest. We stayed in a safe house for the first three while they tried to track down Clyde. They'd found the bodies of the others, but there was no signs of Clyde anywhere. He'd somehow managed to escape with a lethal dose of sedative and at least a couple broken bones. They searched within a 100 mile radius and found nothing. We were all given new identities, new places to live and set us up with work or school. We underwent counseling, part of helping us emerge back into society.

Emily was doing well, some nights she still had nightmares but usually I could just run in and make her up and sooth her back to sleep. Having Samson had been one of the hardest things I'd ever gone through. The horrible scars that covered me where slightly faded, some areas worse than others. Emily had many more than I. Maggie/Brittany was the last to arrive; her hair was done in slight curls as she moved down the aisle, her heels clacking across the floor. She looked good and professional. Due to some major plastic surgery the scar on her check was hardly noticeable. We all hugged one another in greeting as we sat down and watched the children play. As though they hadn't spent a year without each other.

"They still haven't found him?" Nancy had guts; she just came right out and asked what all the others were wondering. I shook my head as I watched my son climb up the stairs and scoot down the slide with the help of some of his cousins.

"Are you scared?" I smiled and looked up at Nancy.

"Let him find me, he'll be in for a world of hurt. There is no chance in hell he's taking me back or my son." And I meant it. Wherever Clyde was out there, there was no way I'd let him take me a second time.