“Who is he mother and what does he want?” I ask.
“I made a deal with the devil, Amy. No one can know. Not even you. They told me they’d take you away from me if I told.” She pauses and a small smile pulls on her lips. “Things will be different now,” she says quietly. She abruptly pulls me to my feet and drags me to the kitchen. Her small frame seems to have superhuman strength.
“Mother! Stop! What are you doing?”
She grips both of my wrists and drags my body across the floor with my feet dragging behind me. She moves quickly towards the kitchen counter and then lets go of my wrists, slamming my body to the tile floor. As I gather my bearings, she opens three different bottles of pills and dumps them into a pile onto the counter and then grabs a handful. I scurry backwards and press myself against the wall. My chest is heaving as I gasp for breath. I feel like I might pass out.
“It will be painless Amy. We’ll go together and we won’t have to live in fear anymore.”
“No. We can run, we can go get help.”
“You can’t hide from the devil, Amy.”
“The ranch next door. We can go there. The boy. He’s nice. He’ll help,” I beg.
She turns to me with a crazy look in her eyes that I’ve never seen before. She takes two quick steps toward me and grabs a fistful of my hair so hard that I flinch and cry out.
“The boy!” She spits into my face. “Do you know what boys do Amy? He’ll have his friends hold you down. He’ll stick his dirty penis in your mouth and spit his seed down your throat until you choke. They’ll take turns using your body in ways you can’t even imagine. They’ll hurt you and make you bleed. Your screams will not be heard. They’ll laugh. You’ll be a dirty whore like me Amy!”
“No!” I cry shaking my head. “Not everyone is evil mother. You’re wrong. He’s a nice boy. He’ll help us.”
“It’s time Amy,” she says softly and walks toward me with a handful of her drugs.
“No, please. You’re just not feeling well and you need to see a doctor. You’re just sick. We’ll get help.”
“Stop fighting me Amy!” she screams as I kick at her. She tries to hold me down to stuff the pills into my mouth. I hear them scatter and bounce on the tile. “This is the only way. You’re dirty and no good boy will ever want you.”
“You’re wrong.” I kick out and hit her leg which knocks her to the floor. She comes at me again, throwing her body onto mine. We struggle until I’m finally able to shake out of her hold and stagger to my feet, backing away from her.
“I’m leaving, mother. I’ll be back with help. I love you,” I cry and then I turn and run and I don’t look back. I run down the trail in the dark with the dim light from the moon and the stars streaming through the trees guiding me. I run as fast as I can, gasping for breath. The fence is about a mile away. It takes me about ten minutes to get there. I listen for noise. For footsteps. For screaming. It’s silent.
I come to an abrupt stop in front of the break in the fence. The branches of the elm wave slightly with the wind. The leaves make whispering sounds, like angel’s voices urging me to go on. To be strong. To be free. I can hardly catch my breath. Adrenaline is surging through my veins. It’s surreal. It’s only a fence, but I know when I walk through to the other side, it will be a whole new world for me. I’m scared of what’s on the other side, but more terrified of what I know is on this side.
I climb through the fence and stand completely still, feeling the breeze tickle my skin. I listen to the sounds of crickets and the wind whistling through the trees, and far off in the distance, echoes of animals calling out for their young. I look around me and see the ranch in full view now. I see acres and acres of trees and rolling hills. The moon casts a warm glow on the mountains in the distance, creating a beautiful silhouette against the sky. The bright stars in the dark sky act as little nightlights.
I’m not sure how to get to the main house, so I run towards the trees where I’ve seen Dillon take the horses, and I follow the trail. The trees are thick and block the light. I trip and fall over branches and my legs start to burn from the scratches. My throat is dry and hurts as I try to pull the cold air into my lungs to breathe. It feels like I’m on the trail for hours. I run some, I walk some, and I collapse to the ground from exhaustion several times, but I continue to push myself. I have to get help. It’s so dark, I’m freezing and completely worn. I finally see faint lights up ahead, and as I approach, I hear voices. I hear laughing, a sound foreign to my ears. I wrap my arms around myself and slow my pace. The path comes to an end and I stop. A beautiful two-story white sided farm house with soft, inviting light spilling from the windows appears. A big porch wraps around the house with two wooden rocking chairs facing the trail. Off in the distance, there is a barn, and not too far from the barn, I see flames. It’s a large fire with people surrounding it. Some are dancing to the music coming from inside the barn. Some are just sitting by the fire and some are gathered in groups talking and laughing. There must be twenty people. My senses are overwhelmed. I’m so tired, I can’t think straight. My feet are continuing to walk towards the fire while my head is still trying to figure out if this is really happening, or if it’s a nightmare.