Grey Is The Color Of Lust

Prologue

Alabama 1895

Tali trudged across the pond, climbing up over the edge of the engraved ditch. She was tired. Cold. Hungry and just about everything else in the book. Her clothes hung off her in the most unflattering way, the crisp Alabama air blowing past her. She was sick of running; that was for sure.

She pulled herself up, struggling to catch her breath. She hadn’t eaten in days but her resolve to save herself had thankfully kept that fact from her mind. But now that she was safe…it was all she thought of. That and the fact that she was shivering. It was fall and though the air was warm, she had been swimming for hours, her body cold and weak. She finally managed to maneuver herself onto the green grass, sighing with relief. 

She caught her breath for a moment before struggling to her feet, pushing herself despite the fatigue obvious on her face. She needed shelter…camouflage. Sleeping out in the open wouldn’t help her in the least. She was sure that she was be found again and questioned…just like the others.

She shivered even harder at the thought. She had no answers to give and she knew that wouldn’t be what they wanted to hear.
She sighed. There was no justice in this world and she was sure that there never would be. Her legs shook and her vision grew blurry with every step she took. Her body screamed for her to stop but she pushed on, refusing to succumb to her failing limbs.

Her teeth chattered and the hunger growing stronger in the pit of her stomach nearly crippled her. All of her adrenalin fueled strength was gone and left behind was nothing but her frail bodily weakness. She took another step, and then another before her knees buckled and she fell. She huffed, sucking in hard, ragged breaths. She knew she couldn’t stop, that if she did she would be found but her body did not have the resolve that her mind had.

She looked up, the sun descended in the sky, the world’s coloring going from vibrant color to a dark misty quality. Fear struck her quick, she had never been so helpless before. She tried to stand once more but failed miserably, this time her whole body collapsing as she hit the ground, cushioned by the softness of the grass.

The grass was cool against her wet skin and she fell prey to it. She couldn’t possibly move. She was just too tired, her energy gone. She gripped handfuls of the grass in her fists, her eyes fluttering shut. The cold, icy grips of exhausted slumber hitting her in waves…until the sound of horse hooves and drunken slurs filled her ears.
She gasped, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. Adrenaline rushed through her veins but even with it she struggled to move, her body crawling at a slow pace.

Her efforts were for naught. A large group of white men, riding on horses rounded the corner, torches in hand and men cuffed and led on a chain. As they rounded the bend in the road they spotted her, several of them moving toward her. She wanted to fight but she just couldn’t.
She knew she was caught.

One of them hopped off his horse and walked toward her, bending down to examine her.
“She looks like she hasn’t eaten in weeks.” The man mumbled with disgust as he kicked her in the side, flipping her over roughly. 
She didn’t even flinch, she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her do so.

One of the men on the horses peered over his horse’s head, his lip twitching in amusement. “She’s right pretty though, chief. Look at her good.”
The man standing over her scoffed but did as asked, snatching her chin in his hands and tilting her head this way and that, truly examining her. “Well I’ll be damned.” He said as if pleased with what he saw. “Beneath all the skinniness, and dirt, I do believe we have our run away negra. Tali, right?” 

His words caused those around to chuckle. “You thought you could get away from us, gal? There ain’t enough land to get away from what you stole. And until one of you confesses, we get to have some fun with you.”

“With a little bread and water in her, she’ll be real nice to play with, boss.”

He suddenly stood, beckoning for the cuffs and chains that hung loosely on each of the horse saddles.
He snapped them onto her wrist, the cuffs clicking as they locked around her delicate skin.
She was too tired to protest, too weak to fight and as she drifted off, darkness consuming her all she could think of was the fact that she had been caught by the very think she had been running from.

*Comment, like and share! Finally reworked the plotline! So here you go! Leo's story!! She'll completely butt heads with Leo but don't worry he'll love it, lol. Besides opposites attract, right?*