Always: You'll Never Walk Alone (9 page)

Chapter Twelve

The whole of the next week was taken up with the same routine. We would drive to different towns and villages, Shepton Mallet, Glastonbury, Podimore, Ilminster, Chedington, Chard, Taunton, Tiverton, Honiton, places I’d never heard of before setting out on this journey. Dropping me outside of the town they’d return a few hours later, usually in a hurry. I’d jump into the cart and we’d gallop along for a few miles before stopping to rest and eat. Ceec was a very good hunter, and most days we’d have fresh rabbit, chicken, (I never asked where that came from!), and one morning I woke up to find a whole lamb in the back of the cart. I was eating better than I ever had before and it didn’t take long to regain the weight I’d lost when I’d been sick. From time to time, I’d check the sacks and usually find different versions of the same items, silver, jewellery, and crystal.

It was late on a Sunday afternoon when Annie announced we were approaching Exeter. I saw the town in the distance; it was the biggest town I’d seen since we left Salisbury. A thrill of fear ran through me. This was the town we’d been heading towards when I’d been arrested. The Chisholms lived here, would they and Mr. Mortimer be here? If I could get through here safely then Cornwall couldn’t be far away. “Hold on Sarah, I’m almost there”. Ceec pulled the horse up and he and Annie turned to me. “Stephen this town is too big t’ drive all the way froo ‘n then come back, so we want you t’ stay wiv us this time. You don’t have t’ do anyfing, just wait wiv the cart. We’ll go in when it’s dark so no one will see you.”

I didn’t want to take the risk, but what choice did I have? If I kept the coat up around my head and stayed in the dark, no one would recognize me, and after we left Exeter I should be safe from there on. We pulled over to the side of the road and found a sheltered place to rest. Ceec set a fire and Annie cooked the last of the lamb. I’d never eaten lamb before this week, but I intended to eat a lot more in the future. Mutton would never taste the same. We finished our supper, then rested until dark. When the moon climbed three quarters of the way into the sky Ceec said, “Time t’ go, time t’ go.”

With my heart beating loudly in my chest, I climbed into the cart, followed by Ceec and Annie. With a snap of the reins, we were on our way. We passed a few outlying cottages and then we were in the town. We drove through the twisting streets, right, then left, then right. Ceec obviously knew where he was going and confidently guided the horse this way and that. We pulled up in a narrow alley. Ceec and Annie took one of the sacks and disappeared into the dark. I sat silently with the coat pulled up around my head, just my eyes peering out over the collar.

I don’t know how long I’d been sitting there before Ceec and Annie finally materialized out of the dark. The sack was full and Ceec buried it under the hay in the back of the cart. Without a word, he took the reins and set the cart into motion. We drove for about another fifteen minutes before pulling up again at the side of an unlit building. They took the other sack and I was alone again.

I heard a clock start to strike midnight. As the bell struck twelve, I heard voices coming towards me. At first, I thought it must be Ceec and Annie but as they got closer I could make out two men talking. I held my breath and ducked my head further into the coat, praying they’d pass without noticing me.

Their voices got louder as they came closer, until they were not more than ten feet away from the cart. I could hear my heart pounding and felt sure they must be able to hear it as well. And then, they stopped…

Ceec and Annie were coming from the opposite direction and hadn’t seen them. The men were watching as the strange couple came closer. “What are you two doing at this time of night? Who are you?”

Ceec and Annie stopped five feet in front of them. “And who wants t’ know? There’s no law ‘gainst walking at night is there?”

“I’ll ask the questions here, and I make the laws. Now who are you and what are you doing? And what’s in that sack?”

“Sack? I don’t see no sack”!

“The sack that’s hanging over your shoulder.”

Annie did a three hundred and sixty degree turn, keeping the sack over her shoulder. “I don’t see no sack.” ‘Ave you bin drinkin’?”

“Show me what’s in that sack.” He lunged towards her.

“Now see ‘ere, you want t’ give me a kiss, you’ll ‘ave t’ be much more polite, ‘n you’ll ‘ave t’ ask me ‘usband ‘ere.” She pointed to Ceec.

“You wanna kiss the wife? Kiss the wife? Well I dunno. She’s a ‘spectable woman, ‘spectable.”

The man was getting angry, and his partner joined him as he made another lunge for the sack.

“STEPHEN, COME ON”!

I‘d been sitting, paralysed, watching the proceedings. But, Annie’s shout brought me alert. I snapped the reins and headed towards them. Ceec and Annie neatly sidestepped around the two men and jumped into the cart.

“COME ON, MOVE.”

I snapped the reins again and the horse broke into a gallop, narrowly missing the two men. We turned onto a main street, with the two men giving chase. I heard shouts and a whistle behind but kept on going as fast as I could.

“TURN RIGHT, TURN RIGHT”! Ceec shouted.

I pulled to the left. “NO, RIGHT, RIGHT”!

I pulled on the opposite rein and the horse pulled back to the right, the cart rattling behind.

I don’t know how it happened, but the next thing I knew the horse was on the ground, the cart tipped and I found myself flying through the air. Landing on the hard ground, I felt the wind forced from my lungs.

“Come on Stephen. Don’t just lay there, we have t’ run.”

I couldn’t breath. “STEPHEN, COME ON.”

I rolled onto my side and tried to stand. Ceec and Annie were thirty feet away. “STEPHEN.”

I heard running behind me, still I couldn’t get the breath into my body.

“STEPHEN.”

The horse was whinnying in distress and tried to stand, but his front leg was twisted underneath him and I knew he wouldn’t be standing anymore.

“STEPHEN.”

I crawled over to the horse to comfort him. His eyes were wild with fear, his mouth foaming.

“STEPHEN.”

My body shuddered as a burst of air filled my lungs. I put my arms around the horse’s neck and laid my head against his, my mouth against his ear. He tried to stand up again.

“Al… alright boy. T… Take it easy. It’ll be okay.”

“STEPHEN.”

I could just see them in the distance. Annie calling, and Ceec pulling her arm. “STEPHEN…”

The two men reached me. One of them grabbed my arm. “Gotcha”!

I hung on, to the horse, but he twisted my elbow and pulled me away. “Now what do we have here?”

And then I knew what the whistle I’d heard had been. He was a policeman.

A small crowd had formed, drawn by the noise and the shouting. The horse, in panic, was desperately trying to get up, but the weight of the cart and his twisted leg made it impossible, and he screamed in pain and fear.

“Let me get to the horse. He needs me.”

“That horse is beyond help. It’s the knacker’s yard for him son.”

I struggled to get away, but his grip was too strong. “There’s nothing you can do son. You’ll have to come with me. I’ll send someone for the horse.” And he pulled me away.

“Just a minute. Let me see that boy.” The voice came from behind the policeman. He turned around, pulling me with him.

“That boy’s an escaped criminal.”

Staring down at me, with a look of malevolence and triumph was Mr. Mortimer.

Chapter Thirteen

I spent the next three days alone in the jail, seeing nobody except the constable who brought meals to me twice a day. I heard no word of Ceec and Annie, the horse, or Mr. Mortimer. I tried asking the jailer but he either didn’t know or wouldn’t say what was going to happen to me. On the third day, I was taken from my cell, chained hand and foot, and transported to a prison outside Exeter.

The massive doors were topped with spikes. A jail guard opened them and I was ushered inside. I shuffled along in the chains, which chafed at my ankles. We came to a second door, which led to the inside of the jail proper. The guard unlocked the door. We stepped inside and he slammed it behind us, shutting out the light to the corridor we’d entered. The smell of decay was overpowering. I heard moans, and maniacal screams bounced off the walls. The guard pushed me ahead and I stumbled into the wall. He grabbed my hair, pulled me upright then pushed me forward again. I almost fell, but managed to retain my balance and continued shuffling along ‘til we reached the end. He unlocked another door and we stepped through. The moans and yells were louder. The smell overpowering! We went through two more doors and two more corridors before finally entering the office belonging to the prison warden. Once more, I was pushed forward. I fell, grabbing the edge of the massive desk. Before I knew what had happened I felt an excruciating pain in my fingers. I’d been hit with a leather paddle. I cried out as the guard pulled me away from the desk and the warden screamed, “QUIET!”

Tears sprung to my eyes and my fingers throbbed. The warden stared at me impassively, “You will be a prisoner here for the next ten years. If you’re smart you’ll do exactly what you’re told to do. You will not question. You will not argue. You will not discuss. You have no rights. I am in absolute charge of your life as long as you are here. If I’m not around, you will do whatever the guards tell you. Do not think for yourself. If you are not told to do something, do not do it. Is that clear?”

“Yes sir, but...”

The fist hit me on the side of my head. “DID I TELL YOU TO SPEAK?”

The guard pulled me back to my feet.

“You are not getting off to a very good start. Now because this is your first day I’ll be lenient. You are here for ten years. If you try to escape again it will be fifteen. Do you understand?”

I nodded my head, “Yes sir.”

“That’s better. Take him to his cell.” He waved dismissively. The guard grabbed my neck and pushed me out.

We went along more corridors, passing locked cells. Incoherent moans and shouts came from behind them. Finally, we came to an open door. The guard ordered me to stop and face the wall. I did as he said, and I felt him unlock my chains before pushing me inside and slamming the door behind me.

I sat down on the cold hard floor, blood was dripping from my ear, my fingers were so swollen I couldn’t bend them, and my ankles were rubbed raw. I tried to think. I failed.

I stared at the wall.

Sometime later, a slot was opened in the door and a plate pushed through. I stared at the wall.

The plate was taken. The dim light disappeared… the cell was dark. I stared at the wall. The slot opened, a plate was pushed through. I stared at the wall.

The plate was taken. I stared at the wall.

The dim light returned. Time passed, the door opened.

“GET UP.”

I stared at the wall. Rough hands grabbed me and dragged me out. I was taken along corridors, where we were joined by other prisoners, and then assembled outside in some sort of yard.

“PICK UP YOUR TOOLS.” The guard ordered.

The prisoners went to a pile of tools leaning against a wall and picked one each.

I stared at the wall.

My legs gave way, as I felt something hard hit me behind my knees.

“PICK UP A TOOL.”

I crawled over to the pile of tools, and picked one up.

“NOW GET MOVING.”

I followed the other prisoners as we were manacled together, and led out of the yard. We walked in single file, one guard in front, one behind, and two on either side. After we’d gone about two miles, we were ordered to stop. The guards unlocked the manacles, so we were released from each other but our legs were still chained.

For the next four hours we worked, cutting, breaking, clearing, interspersed with the curses of the guards, and the beatings if anyone was deemed not to be working at one hundred percent. By the time we were allowed to take a break, my hands were bleeding, my ankles were bleeding, my mind was blank. I didn’t feel pain… I didn’t feel.

We were given food. I don’t know whether I ate or not, and then we went back to work. It rained for most of the afternoon, and the wind bit into my skin. Just as it started to get dark, we were lined up, manacled together and marched back to the prison. Once back in my cell, I sat and stared at the wall. The sounds of despair vibrated through the walls, echoing the darkness in my soul.

A dim light replaced the dark and the guard was back at my cell door.

“GET UP.”

I must have obeyed, because the next thing I knew I was back in the yard picking up a tool, and being herded back out onto the road. It was still raining and within minutes, I, along with the rest of the prisoners, was soaked. The man in front of me said something and was rewarded with a punch in the kidneys. “NO TALKING.” The guard glared at me, but then turned away without another word. The day followed the same routine as the day before, but the rain slowed everyone down, which produced more cursing and beatings from the guards. The next three days were the same. March to the work area. Work ‘til lunch. Work ‘til it started to get dark. Return to the prison. It rained every day.

At the end of the third day, the guards manacled us together once more and marched us back to the prison. We’d only gone about a mile when the prisoner in front of me fell. I thought he’d slipped on the muddy road, and I stooped to help him. I fell beside him as I felt a thick boot smash into my ribs.

“I think he’s sick.” I said looking up.

“WHO SAID YOU COULD TALK. GET UP.”

I did as I was told, but the other prisoner didn’t move, in spite of the shouts and kicks from the guards. Finally, the guards unlocked his manacles and dragged him to the side of the road, then ordered the rest of us to continue on to the jail.

I hadn’t been in my cell long before it was opened again and I was ordered out. I followed the guard, but this time in a different direction to normal. We reached a flight of stairs, and I was ordered down. The stairs went down a long way. When we finally reached the bottom we were far below ground. I was led along another corridor and then ordered to stop at a heavy door. The guard opened it and pushed me inside. Two other guards were already there and they grabbed my wrists and chained me against a wall. My face pressed into the stone my arms pulled to their limit, above my head. I tried to ask what I had done but was immediately ordered to SHUT UP.

The first strike was so shocking, so unexpected, so agonizing that my breath was taken away. I couldn’t even make a sound.

“You were told not to speak, not to do anything without permission. Then you go and kill another prisoner. What had he ever done to you?”

“I, I…”

“You’re doing it again. Did I tell you to speak?”

“THEN SHUT UP!”

The leather cut into my back again. Then it continued. I’d never felt such pain. Somebody was screaming, calling out to God, begging for release, then, calling out for Sarah... That’s when I realized I was the one screaming.

I felt the guard’s foul breath on my face. “God won’t help you here and Sarah can’t help you now.”

At the sound of her name, even from the evil mouth of the guard, something got through to my brain. “You know Sarah?”

“Course we know Sarah. We had her here. Most obliging girl, insatiable she was. The warden had her first. Can’t even start to tell you what he did with her, course he likes it rough. After that we all had her. Couldn’t get enough of us. Then when we finished we gave her to the prisoners as a special treat. Trouble is those prisoners don’t have the breeding we do. Don’t know how to treat a lady… But she enjoyed it… at least at the start.”

“NOOOOO, oooooo.” I heard that voice again.

“Oh yeah, pity about those prisoners tho’. Been too long away from such delicate flesh… She lasted a week.”

The guards were all laughing now. I struggled against the restraints screaming. The beating continued, the laughing, the screaming, “SARAH, SARAH, SARAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah”…