Turn the Page: Pt. 07

It was only as the cab pulled out of the city, heading for the remote address that Terri had received that she realized in all the rush she had left her bra behind in the women's bedroom. Thankfully she at least had her laptop and notes, she had carried them all with her to meet the historian that morning.

"You sure this is where you want to go?" the cab driver asked.

'This' was the middle of nowhere. They had pulled up beside a small lane, a locked gate preventing them driving any further. In the distance a small building could be seen, its roof poking up from the canopy provided by the small stunted tree's surrounding it. The area was right on the edge of one of Louisiana's many swamps.

"You sure" he asked again.

"Yes, this is the place, the address I was given" Terri answered.

He handed her contact details for a couple of local cab companies before wishing her luck. As the cab turned around and left, Terri wondered how sure she was.

She was definitely not dressed for clambering over rickety gates that was for sure. The white deep v neck, short sleeved top coupled with a brown suede mini skirt and heels had looked great in the city. Now picking her way down the track Terri reasoned that sneakers would have been a more sensible option.

She pulled her clothes into shape and ran her fingers through her hair, straightening herself up a little before turning the corner of the track that led to a house, hopefully. She felt a little rumpled from her time with Tanisha and Chantelle but still felt she looked presentable.

Around the corner, the house was clearly visible now. It had seen better days. Moss covering the bottom two feet of the wooden structure, a thin weave of ivy taking root across a lot of the rest of it. The ivy had even grown to almost totally obscure two of the three windows on the front of the building.

There was a small porch at the front door and sitting on a chair there was an older black man. He was dressed entirely in denim aside from a red baseball cap perched on his head. His age was hard to judge but Terri felt he was certainly north of seventy. A long grey white beard touched off his chest, a fringe of short white hair encircled the bottom of his cap. Terri had a suspicion that if he removed the cap, she'd find he was bald beneath it. He was heavy set; a substantial beer gut stretched the lower buttons of his denim shirt.

At first glance he looked like a black Santa, retired to the countryside. Only thing is he didn't seem to be friendly as a Santa would be.

"Help ye?" was the greeting offered.

"Hi, are you Demetrius Ploughman?" Terri asked as sweetly as she could.

"Mebbe."

"Umm well I texted you earlier. I'm Terri Murphy. Mr. Hickman gave me your number. The historian" she added lamely.

"You the reporter then?"

Terri had a flashback to Los Angeles and Fagin.

"Ah no, no. I'm not a reporter, no way. No, I'm doing research for a book."

Demetrius indicated a chair on the porch beside him and Terri took a seat.

"What sort of book?" he asked.

"It's about pirates and smugglers basically" she said hoping he'd show some interest.

"Lot of books like that" he said, half turning from her, as if the conversation was over.

"Well, this is different. It's more like a blog." He raised an eyebrow at that so Terri hurried to clarify. "Like a diary. It's about what I see and do as I retrace pirates and smugglers, specifically African American one's in this case, and my impressions on my search."

"So, what do you need from me?" As he asked, he bent down beside him to retrieve a small wooden plate. On it were fishing lures. Terri recognized them from her time living with her grandfather. Demetrius started to work on one, repairing it as they talked. In spite of his age and thick, gnarled black fingers, he performed the delicate work deftly and with a long-earned skill.

"Mr. Hickman indicated that your family history might be of interest to me. He said that you had spoken often of it. He said you might be able to give me what I need."

He paused in his work and gave Terri a low flat stare. She was already uncomfortable with the humidity, now his gaze brought fresh pinpricks of sweat to her brow.

"You insinuating my family was involved in criminal activities?" he said quietly, a hint of anger in his voice.

"Umm no, I mean I am just repeating what he told me" she stuttered nervously.

He laughed loudly, suddenly fitting the image of a jolly Santa.

"It's ok, it's ok. Yeah, my family, back generations smuggled, ran blockades, all that stuff."

"Could you tell me about it?" Terri asked excitedly.

For over an hour the old man reminisced, Terri furiously taking notes as he spoke. His family were descended from escaped slaves, their path to freedom leading them to hide out in the swamplands. Gradually, over time, they built up their own small community. They had dealt with traders from Britain, Spain and France, Mexico even. Anyone wishing to run either contraband merchandise or high value items past custom's men at the ports.

Rendezvouses had happened at sea, small boats paddling back to land through the dark waters under light from just the moon and stars. Goods then taken to hideouts located deep in the most unnavigable parts of the swamps, stored until in time, they could be moved on to where they would fetch the highest prices.

Demetrius stood up; he was going to fetch an old photo album to show Terri some images of his family. He looked at Terri, her head was lowered as she typed away on her laptop.

"Guessing you'd like something cool to drink huh?" he asked as he headed inside.

"Yes please, if it's not too much trouble" she called after him. Terri ran a hand down her own neck, feeling it slick with sweat from the heat of the early afternoon. She then noticed that her thin top was sticking to her skin, the damp sweat making it almost see through in places, especially her breasts. Without her bra her nipple piercings were clearly visible now. Embarrassed she pulled the top out, plucking at it so it hung slightly looser.

He returned with two bottles of cold beer and a photo album. Terri pressed the bottle to the back of her neck for a time, then she took a couple of long gulps. As Demetrius talked through the album, Terri took a few pictures of images in it with her phone after she'd asked his permission. Finally, both the album and the beer were finished.

Demetrius checked a small cell phone that buzzed slightly beside him, he then took a look at his watch.

"Before you head back to the city, do you want to look at one of the old smuggling cache hideouts? It's not much to look at but it's no more than ten minutes from here."

Terri looked at her watch, it wasn't even 3pm yet, she had plenty of time and a few more images would be useful.

"Sure" she agreed with a smile.

Thankfully it didn't require any real walking to get to this place. Demetrius led her to a small boat, tied up about 50 yards from his home on the edge of the swamp. Terri climbed into the boar gingerly, her heels making her feel like she would topple overboard at any moment. Once she was safely seated, Demetrius cast off. He took his place at the back of the boat where a small outboard engine grudging kicked into life and then they were moving slowly into the swamp.

It quickly became apparent to Terri how easy it would be for people to hide small stashes of merchandise in this landscape. Five minutes after entering the swamp and she had no idea what direction was back home, the trail twisting and turning on itself, each stand of foliage appearing a twin to the next. Demetrius seemed to be supremely confident in his path however and she allowed herself to share in this confidence, looking forward to seeing a real-life smugglers den.

Another five minutes and he cut the engine. Silently the boat drifted towards a stand of trees, the branches hanging down into the water like a living curtain. As they passed through the dense bank of leaves Terri could see a low bank of dry land in front of them, a small island really, hidden from view. The boat ground out on the low bank, the old man pushing past Terri and hopping onto the land. He took the line of rope that was fastened to the prow of the small boat and used it to secure the craft to a peg that had been driven deep into the ground years past judging by the weathered appearance of the wood.

He offered his hand to Terri and she gratefully accepted, awkwardly climbing onto the ground beside him. The 'island' was maybe fifty feet wide and 100 feet across, aside from the tree's growing along the banks of it though, Terri couldn't see anything that resembled a structure to store goods.

"Well come on if you are coming" Demetrius said and walked towards the center of the island. When Terri followed, she could see him kicking loose a net, a camouflage net. Beneath it was a small wooden trap door, a simple strand of knotted twine keeping it shut.

He pulled the trap up and looking down she could see an old roughly hewn ladder leading down, the drop was just nine feet she estimated. Terri took a quick picture of the entrance and stepped back.

"Don't want to go on down?" Demetrius asked.

"It doesn't look that safe" she said worriedly.

"I go down now and again, if it can take my weight", he patted his gut fondly, "then a bitty thing like you got no worries."

She wasn't any more convinced but once he started down the ladder, she decided she might as well follow. Terri found a small tunnel at the base of the shallow shaft. It was only five feet high, her height, but wearing the heels she had to duck down as she walked along it. The walls, ceilings and floor had been reinforced with planks of wood and support beams. It reminded her of a mining shaft more than anything else. The tunnel was only ten or twelve yards long. After leaving the light coming from the shaft, Terri had used the torch on her phone to light her path.

Stepping from the small tunnel she found herself in a medium sized room, maybe thirty feet by forty feet. There wasn't a whole lot in there, a small wooden chair, its back half broken, some empty wooden crates in a corner, what looked like old bird cages further back, maybe some more crates in the center of the room, a tarpaulin covering them.

Demetrius had lit some battery powered lamps that he must have kept down there. They were enough to light up the majority of the room, chasing the shadows into the far corners. Terri took the opportunity to take some more pictures at this point.

"What was kept here? Alcohol during prohibition maybe?"

He shook his head, "No, this was actually dug out in the 1960's, used because its location had to be near the edge of the swamp. Needed to be close to visit."

Terri inspected the few items in the room, pulling back the tarp to reveal a cage, maybe three feet high, three feet wide and six feet long. It was just wooden bars, top and sides. The base had a few old sacks covering it, like a rough blanket. Then she had an inkling what this was used for.

"Animals, your family smuggled animals here!"

He smiled and gave a small clap of applause.

"That's right, we did. Here, let me show you something and I'll tell you a secret then about why my family did this for generations."

Terri cursed her stupidity for not bringing her laptop with her for notes. Demetrius pulled out a pin and swung the cage top open. He offered a hand to boost her into it.

"I'm not going in there" Terri protested.

"Well, the thing to see is under the covers on the floor and I am too old to go climbing in. Well suit yourself" Demetrius answered and he began to close the cage lid.

"Fine, fine, I'll get in" Terri said, "I hope I don't completely ruin my clothes climbing down ladders and into cages"

Once again, he offered her a boost. Once inside Terri scuffed a sack aside with her foot, just wooden bars under it.

"Nothing here" she said.

"Lord help me from those with no faith" Demetrius exclaimed loudly grinning, "Back corner, best get down and pull it loose with your hands.

Muttering to herself about wearing hiking clothes next time, Terri got on her hands and knees to inspect the corner he had pointed to. No sooner was she below the rim of the cage, then Demetrius closed it, slipping a locking bar into place.

"What the fuck? Let me out, this isn't funny! I'm not enjoying this joke, come on or I'll scream" Terri shrieked at him. She couldn't stand in the confines of the cage so instead she grasped at the wooden bars lining it, shaking them. They were too well made, they held firm.

Demetrius settled back on the broken chair. He pulled a packet of cigarettes from his pocket, taking a moment to light one before responding to Terri who had continued to rail at him all that time.

"So, I said I'd tell you a secret. Well hush up and listen."

Terri went quiet. At this point what else was she to do, besides if she pissed him off, he could just leave her here to die.

"My Grammy told me the secret way back, guess I was no more than nine at the time. See two families that hid out and then lived out here, well they had gifts you might say. Not everyone in the family had it, not every generation saw it. But enough got it to help the family. Ploughman's, well we had a gift of insight, other family, the Shepard's, well they had the third eye."

She had no idea what he was talking about, it seemed like some sort of strange superstition rather than a family secret regarding the smuggling trade.

"So, insight, that's a handy tool for a smuggler. See lot of groups took up smuggling. Some smuggled drugs, some booze, some smuggled people, others smuggled stuff out and not in. But all had their own specialty. Now we didn't, we adapted, we changed with the times. Know why?"

Terri, miserable, shook her head.

"Ploughman's, well one of them with the gift of insight, they knew what a person wanted, even if the person didn't. So, they knew what would sell best, what was needed and they traded in that, traded in meeting people's needs and desires."

Demetrius indicated the room about them.

"For a while, that was birds, snakes... all manner of creatures, so that's why we built here, close enough to feed them before they was moved on."

There was a creak from down the shaft, a small torch light gleamed. Moments later another old black man stepped in the room. Like Demetrius, he favored denim for clothing although he had a red bandana on his head instead of a baseball cap. He was taller and thinner than Demetrius as well, he also seemed a bit frailer, moving slowly into the room.

Demetrius smiled a greeting and then jerked a thumb at the new arrival.

"This here is Lionel Shepard, family friend. Lionel's family had the third eye like I said, glimpses of the future. Useful for a smuggler looking to avoid the law."

Lionel nodded a greeting to Terri, no real expression on his face despite the unusual circumstance. He took a seat on one of the crates in the corner, content to remain silent and in the shadows it seemed, as Demetrius continued to talk.

"So, I had insight too, not as strong as I used to, but I still got it. And you come to my door, looking. And what do you say to me? 'You might be able to give me what I need' is what you say. Well, I know what you need, you asked so don't go complaining when you get given it."

"I didn't ask to get thrown in here" Terri yelled.

Demetrius dropped the butt of the cigarette to the floor and crushed it beneath his boot.

"Mebbe you didn't, but that's what it is now though. So, you gonna do what's expected of you or not?" he said evenly.

He shifted slightly on the seat, his hand delving inside his pants, finally pulling out his cock. Looking back at the cage he simply said, "Strip".

She stripped, down to her panties at least and that seemed sufficient for the evil old man as he jerked steadily on his black cock watching the young white woman twist and shift in the tight confinement of the cage to remove her top and skirt. When Terri had complied with his order, he rose from the seat and stepped up to the bars of the cage.

"Push that sweet body against the bars, I want to see you tight against them."

Again, what to do except obey. Terri sidled forward, pushing against the bars, they were wide enough that a good part of each of her full breasts poked through the bars. Demetrius continued to fondle his own black shaft and balls as he looked on.

"Did you bring them?" he snarled towards Lionel who Terri had forgotten about, so silent and still he had remained.

Lionel padded forward, a small box in one hand. Demetrius dropped into a squat and reached through the bars, gripping her left breast tightly. Terri squirmed but he held tight. She could feel her body reacting to the rough treatment, to his cock, bobbing on the other side of the bars. Her nipples hardened as her excitement grew.

Then Lionel was beside the cage, something gleamed in his hand and Terri let out another yelp of pain as she felt Lionel pulling on her nipple. The sensation of her piercing being pulled out was obvious to her, as was the subsequent sensation of something replacing it. Demetrius released her left breast and immediately seized her right one. Again, Lionel bent down to replace her piercing.

When Demetrius finally released her, Terri threw herself to the back of the cage, angry and scared. She looked down at her nipples, the silver barbell piercings were now gone, in their place were two round rings, silver but the bead sealing each of them had a black spade engraved in it.

"See" Demetrius crowed, "what you needed. Now to pay for them."

What happened next would stay with her, not because it was pleasurable or memorable in a good way. It stayed with Terri for years after as a reminder that somethings can come with a cost.

Demetrius shoved his black cock through the bars of the cage, the implication clear. He wasn't especially large, compared to many black dicks she had seen over the last two years. It was about seven inches long and not particularly wide in its girth. A shock of unkempt white pubic hair surrounded it like a halo, but there was nothing angelic about the man wielding it.

She sidled over the cock poking through the bars and reluctantly opened her mouth to suck it inside. It tasted foul, from his earlier jerking there was a sliver of precum leaking from the tip and it had a bitter taste to it. Still, she closed her lips around the shaft and began to slurp along its length. Demetrius curled one arm through a bar on top of the cage, he clasped the back of Terri's head and held it still, enjoying the control over the far younger woman.

His black cock didn't reach full hardness, not the steel like rigidity that the others who fucked her had employed. It was fully erect but there was a hint of... floppiness to it as well. Despite her best efforts, and Terri was trying hard to get him off so he would leave her alone, it remained like this.

After a while he released her head, pulling back from the wooden cage.

"Hands and knees, back your ass up to the bars" he commanded.

It was awkward, not the best position to fuck in. But Demetrius wasn't interested in what was best, the act of fucking her through the cage seemed most important to him rather than how good it might feel for either of them. Once Terri had positioned herself as best she could, he stooped against the bars again, arms thrusting between them, first to pull her panties to one side and then to secure a firm hold on her hips.

He drove himself forward and in a single thrust entered her. His gut and the position didn't allow him to penetrate her fully but he seemed satisfied as he moved forwards and back with his hips, short stabbing thrusts. Terri's pussy wasn't as wet as it could have been but again, he scarcely seemed to register it.