Thief of My Heart (Watty Awards Finalist 2012)

Chapter 15

Dressed once again in her younger brother's britches and shirt, she sat on a tree stump near the water's edge and laced  up her ankle boots.  She was folding the ill fitting dress that had been her mother's when she heard the rustle of foot steps in the thicket of trees behind her.  

"Did you get impatient and have to come looking for me?"  

No sooner had the words left her mouth than the sickening odor of her family's murderer, wafted on the breeze to burn her nostrils.  She recognized it immediately.  If she lived to be a hundred she would never be able to erase the memory of that odious stench.   Her body stiffened and goose bumps formed over her entire body. She turned slowly to face the monster who had altered her life forever.  It was the creepy circus man.  "I was gettin' a might impatient at that, missy.  But now I've found you again, ain't nobody takin' you from me this time."

The sound of his voice brought back the memories of that horrible day crashing into her mind as if they had just happened.  They threatened to send her into a full blown panic.  But this time was different. She was different. She wouldn't let fear get the better of her this time.  She wasn't going to be a helpless victim.   She wasn't going to let him hurt her or the people she loved.  Joshua.  He came into her mind and she knew that she would die before she would let this maniacal beast hurt him.  Oh, how she loved him.  She knew that now.  Joshua's deep resonating voice filled her head now, Got the rifle with you?   OH, LORD!  Where was the rifle?  She had propped it against a tree while she'd changed. Her eyes went to it.  

"You lookin' for this?"   He grabbed the rifle and tossed into the creek just as she made a move towards it.  She froze in her tracks.  There was another voice suddenly in her head, Run, scream, yell!  She heeded that voice and made a run for it.

She sprinted towards the tree thicket that lead to their campsite.  "JOSHUA!"  she yelled at the top of her lungs.  She expected to run into him coming to her aid.  But instead something grabbed her around the ankles and brought her down face first onto the hard rocky ground.  The impact knocked the breath from her lungs.  She was jerked backwards by her feet.  The shirt she wore slid upwards under her breasts exposing her tender belly to the scraping rocks and twigs beneath her.  Oh, God, please help me.  Not again, Lord, please.  She pleaded silently with her maker as the evil villain pulled her backwards toward him.   The good Lord heard her pleas, because she heard a voice again clearly in her head saying,  Fight, Evie, fight. She flipped over onto her back and began kicking him.  The heel of her boot met solidly with the underside of his chin, stunning him momentarily and knocking him backwards onto the ground.   She seized the opportunity  to  scramble to her feet and run.  "JOSHUA!"  Where was he?  Why wasn't he coming to her rescue?  She broke through the trees and into the clearing where their camp was.  He caught up to her and grabbed her from behind, just like he had that first day.  His arm clamped hard around her midriff and a knife was held to her throat.   Where was Joshua? Her eyes scanned the campsite.  He wasn't there.  She had left him standing by his horse.  Rusty still stood there, but Joshua was gone.   Oh, God, please don't let him be dead, she prayed.  He was probably hiding.  Waiting for the chance to shoot this son of a bitch in the head.  Please, be careful, Joshua.  

"Now, you and me is gonna have ourselves a little party."  She gagged as the rotten smell of his breath passed her nose.  He still wore the same ridiculous clothes from  a week ago.  They were now slick and shiny with filth.  He reeked of soured flesh and b.o. He dug the tip of his menacing knife blade into the soft skin of her throat. She felt the burning sting as the sharp blade made a slight scratch on her throat.   "You keep fightin' me like that and I'll make sure you have a  nice fat scar on that pretty face of yours that will be there 'til your dyin' day.  You understand, me girlie?  When I say I need you unblemished,  I'm talkin' about your woman parts not your face.  I'll still get a good price from you even if your face is cut up.  Long as your cherry ain't been popped."