Note to Reader: This is a build up chapter, with focus mainly on story. Please understand that I will try to submit further chapters as I go along. Thank you. All characters are 18 years of age or older.
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Living in the country wilderness was a life far removed from that recognizable on the faces of most city folk. I had never known anything other than the outdoors and hoped it would stay that way for as long as I lived. The only criticism that one might have been able to draw was that being isolated from civilization helped to breed ignorance in a global society that was continually changing. For instance, I, for one, had only seen African Americans on TV and the family as a whole was pretty fond of Mr Dibbs. He seemed to be very charismatic and sincere.
As for my family, we were otherwise pretty much extroverted and not particularly clued up on what was going on anywhere else; it just didn't seem important.
I was the only daughter in a family of four, a pretty compact unit altogether. Although the nearest church was 30 miles North in an uphill town called Deep Dale, we prayed to our Jesus on a regular basis each day in some shape or form. Nothing could test our resolve or shake our faith I figured.
Then one day, while we were all outside the house rejoicing in the sun shine we saw three strangers appear from the distance. We thought they were crazy to be walking down the road, since the nearest town along that way was 40 odd miles south. Did they walk all the way by foot?
My dad confronted them with a wave and a 'ho there!' and they peeled off the road and headed towards us. My father's wave kind of died when he noticed that the three dark men were all carrying guns.
'Abilene, guys, head back into the house.' Dad ordered.
We did as we were told. I wanted to stay but my father's word could not be questioned. After a while, I heard a gunshot and feared the worst. We all peered out of the window and saw my dad stumble in with his back to us and arms up in the air; he was retreating ever backwards. It seemed like he had had played their bluff and they had just demonstrated that their barrels were not empty.
The intruders came in with guns raised and politely asked us to sit down. I kept thinking that although they were African American, they were not the kind of folk Sidney Poitier would approve of. One stood by the door and another by us while their boss paced up and down the house making sure no one else was lurking.
'There are only four of us.' My father told him.
The gunman by us wore a cowboy hat that he adjusted before he squatted down to meet my father's eyes. The sounds of quick, heavy footsteps and opening and closing doors could be heard. Moments later the big group leader emerged satisfied and threw the doorman with a scar on his face a hammer. He caught it and made his way out to the porch. The boss swivelled to face us with his breath a little short.
'You have a ... small family, Mr ...?'
'Bill.' My father replied.
'You know, my father was an accountant for the LLC. He used to say -- the only way to be sure of anything is to see for your self.' The man explained.
'I can't argue with that I suppose.' Bill countered.
The sound of nails banging on wooden frames came from outside. My brother pressed against me as it drew closer.
'What in the hell are you doing?'
'Taking out the light.' The man gestured with an elaborate wave of his arms.
In the next hour, everything happened rapidly. They boarded up the house and put us in my brother's room near the back of the house. As the light source diminished and we sat in darkness, there was a feeling that escape was not an option to consider and that our new friends were in no hurry to leave. In fact, they had come with the intention to play a game of will and endurance.
They did not harm us but warned that it would be foolish to attempt escape against three powerful and heavily armed men. My father was shooting from the hip when it came to ideas for a turn around but my mum would just dissolve them all. His determination was commendable and we all felt safe in the knowledge that he would find a way to resolve the situation somehow. The time seemed to accelerate and before we knew it, the hour on my wrist watch read 4am. The first night was a sleepless. Apart from being fed and ignored another day came and went. It was almost as if they were waiting for us to grow tired and weak. After that maybe they would talk and an arrangement could be mutually understood between both parties concerned.
I sat and observed what little activity was in play and tried to keep my father from saying anything that might get us all killed. Every now and again, the man with the hat would look in on us and bring us food and then in the afternoons he would change shifts with the guy who had the scar. We tried talking to them but they told us there would be an announcement in due time. In their favor, they did feed us and although they seemed intimidating, they were becoming less aggressive as time went on. I wondered how they would deal with our food reserves which would last a few weeks maybe. After that, they would have to go out into the forest and hunt or drive for many miles before reaching the nearest diner. But I didn't think they would stay for long. How could they? We weren't rich and we didn't have anything they wanted. Not that I could fathom anyway.
I sat slumped against the wooden wall, holding my brother, Josh in an embrace. He was my 18 year old twin brother though he often acted younger. I stroked his spikey blonde hair and mullet. He normally hated me touching his hair and would growl at me 'stop it Alice!' or try and catch me in the ribs with one of his Manu Chao karate chops. He got these silly fighting techniques from Manu Chao, a character in a low budget TV action series Josh loved. There was the MC claw that had a raking action and the MC grizzly grope which entailed an aggressive grabbing action; I had been a victim of all of them. Still, I didn't miss them right now though, as he was letting me run my fingers through his hair however much I wanted.
I looked around the dim room. All the windows of the house were boarded up and light found narrow gaps around the edges. My mother, Abilene, lay on the bed while my father, Bill, stood by the door with his hands on his hips. He seemed to be in the same state of frustration since day one. Being the man of the house was not easy.
'Abilene, I've just about had enough of this bullshit!' He ranted.
'Bill! Don't curse in front of the kids.'
'Sorry sweet heart.' He said pressing his head against the wall and grinding his fists in frustration. 'I just wish I knew what to do.'
'We all do. But the way your chasing your tail isn't helping.'
My father fell silent and then continued parading around the room as before. My mother's words to him were like those high energy drinks that pumped you up for all of 10 seconds and then left you feeling even more depressed then ever before.
Josh lifted up his head and looked into my blue eyes.
'Alice, so help me, if they so much as lay a hand on you, I'm gonna need you to close those pretty little eyes for me ok.'
'When I open my eyes, I'm gonna see you lying on the floor in a pool of blood is all.' I hissed pulling at his hair affectionately. He yelped and retreated into my bosom.
I was always the realist. Always saying what I felt. Everyone in the family was thick skinned, though Josh had his wimpy days. Sometimes Bill wondered who the girl in the house was; me or Josh. I have to admit, I much preferred the masculine side of my personality and I think Josh secretly preferred the feminine side. I'm not sure if it mattered that we were twins and I came out first. I don't know. He often spoke bravely but his words were usually hollow. Still, if he was a coward he was still my brother whom I loved to bits.
Most of my recent recurring dreams involved some sort of heroism or another. In one of the episodes, he would smash down the door with one kick and tell our captors to leave and that he was only going to ask them once. They would see the anger in his eyes, the menacing pose of his MC claw, and scurry away like they knew what was good for them. I admit they had been gentlemen so far. We were being fed well. If we needed medical attention or to use the toilet they would escort us and help us where necessary. We weren't even tied up. But it had been several days since we last saw daylight and we were all feeling the effects.