Alliance

Chapter Fifty-Six

Terrance turned to Ben and I. "Get Olivia and Asher. Go to the church, there is an attic. Stay there until the minister gets you."

Ben opened his mouth to speak but Terrance gave him a dark look. "Go!"

Both of us shot out of our seats and made our way around the tables. The music still played a lively tune as the dancers circled the floor. Luck was on our side as Olivia and Asher were still on our side of the dance floor.

I grabbed Olivia's wrist. "Liv," I said over the noise of the dance floor.

She turned to me, her face beat red from dancing and too much wine. "Mel!" she pulled me close, hugging my neck, "You have come to dance with me!"

"No!" I pushed myself away, holding both of her wrists. "We need to go."

The urgency in my voice snapped Olivia out of whatever wine induced trance she was in. Ben got Asher and the two of them walked past us to the church. Grabbing Olivia's hand, we followed.

The church was like any old white church with a high steeple with a bell at the top. We made our way to the minister who really wasn't a minister. The town had claimed him as one because he spent so much time in the church reading the bible. He must have seen the lights or saw Terrance's face as he rolled toward the band.

The minister took us inside, bypassing all the pews to reach the front. In each corner were two doors. One leading to the minister's office and the other to the attic. "Go up here," the minister said, "Roll up the ladder when you are at the top and place the board on the floor. You will see what I mean. I will come and get you. Stay quiet."

He opened the door to reveal a tiny storage room. A ladder made of two ropes with pieces of wood that made up the steps. Asher went first and then Olivia. Ben and I managed to fit in the storage room before the minister closed the door. We heard the lock fall into place on the other side.

"Go ahead," Ben said in the darkness.

I reached for the ladder in the darkness. It swung as Olivia climbed when we reached the top it stopped. I climbed as quickly as I dared.

Asher pulled me out of the little hole and into the attic. The entire attic was dark but for one spot near the front of the church where the steeple was. There was a wooden vent that allowed light between the boards.

Ben climbed up into the attic. He and Asher pulled the ladder up and covered the hole with a board.

"Come on," I whispered to Olivia, we made our way to the vent. The vent was more like a window with five wooden panels that slanted diagonally down so rainwater would stay outside the building. A breeze cooled my face when I sat before it.

The window was large enough so we all could easily see down the slants to the street. The music stopped playing, the people huddled in small circles, their attention down the road we couldn't see. But we could hear the many motorbikes drawing closer and closer.

The bikes sped through the tables, chairs, and the small group of people. Shouts of screams echoed. A few of the small children in the town started to cry.

In the middle of the cleared dance floor, in the midst of the chaos, sat Terrance in his chair. His head high. He sat unflinching as the motorbikes raced by him.

The bikes began to slow and stopped. Engines silenced one by one until only the crying children could be heard.

A bike stopped at the edge of the dance floor. The rider facing Terrance. "It is good to see you old friend," the biker said. He swung a leg off his bike and took off his helmet.