The Journey

Chapter Eleven: Sweet Dreams

August's POV

I been carryin Julie since I got her in my arms. I learned the lil girls name is Lucky. She ain't causin me no trouble and is quite as kept.

I think we half way thea'. I looked at the marks on the trees and prayed we was close. I don't know how much Julie had left befo' she dies in my arms.

She was cold and her chest rose and feel lightly. She was sleepin with her face still as stone. I know she's in a great deal of pain, I can feel it. The sun was beatin down on me like an old whip.

I hope Dianna hasn't seen I'm gone yet. It's very early, I can tell cause the grass is still wet from the night. The later the day the drier it gets. I don't know if drier is a word, or if I just made that up.

Focus August. We don't have time for senseless things like that.

Lucky looked up at me and held onto my pants.

"What? You scared?" She moved her head up and down., meanin yes.

"Why?".

"I neva been out hea' befa'". She was a pretty lil thing. Tall as my ribs maybe shorta', with these eyes. They looked so familiar.

"You a get used to it". She looked at me again with worried all over her face.

She be aight, Long as she do as told.

My arms started to hurt a while back, not cause Julie's heavy. She's light as a bird, but I think I hurt myself in that tussle with those men in the woods.

I ain't gone put her down till we get back to the farm though. The sun was bakin' me up and the dryness in my throat just piled on. No salvia to spare, my lips cracked like old wall paint.

I can see the large fences from here I can just reach out.

Ruby's POV

I began to run out of lies to Dianna. She neva wakes up this early.

"Ruby where you say August was again. I need him to play me a song". She was drunk as all hell, it's not even 9 o'clock and a bottle of wine had disappeared into her stomach.

"Mrs. Dianna, ma'am..... Uh... August... He's uh.... He's is in the outhouse! I believe he has some kind of stomach issue". She looked at me befo' rollin' on ha side. She might as well live on that couch for God's sake.

"Tell him ta hurry on na".

"Yes ma'am". I looked at January as he walked inta the house with buckets of water.

"Pour em out on the floor. Thank ya so much". Dianna thought it would be a grand idea to throw an event for all her drunken friends at the last hour of the night. Vomit and wine was everywhere. We all been cleaning since 2 this morning. Red wine was a evil bitch and it stained everythin.

Sleep was callin me from my room. But there laid all this horrible smell in the air and I refuse to sleep with it layin in my nose.

Jackson sat on the steps watchin me sadly. Boi ain't been right since August left. He a wake up early crying fa Julie. Hurts ma heart knowin I can't do anythin.

I picked him up, kissing his fo'head gently hummin a song I always sing as he rested on ma chest. I rememba I used to sing ta ma baby like this, had to give her away for reasons that make me cry to just think of it. She was precious. Looked just like one of those glass angels the men sell in the market place for people who collect em.

He played wit the neck of ma shirt as I walked into the dinin room to look out the tall winda's as I usually do early in the mornin.

Birds pecked at the ground in pairs without a worry in the world. Lookin passed them I noticed in the distance two figures over by the fence. I placed my seein' glass over ma good eye wit a gasp.