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There are thick smears of semen all over her body and it yanks a chunk of my heart out just thinking what she must’ve been through.

We have to change the water four times before most of the blood is washed off. It’s just horrible! I start to cry silently when I see all her wounds now that the blood is coming off.

We spend most of the day cleaning Sophia and Jack. Adam has medical training and I leave it to him to stitch the gash on Sophia’s leg. When Adam is done with Jack and Sophia, Miss Ella and I get clean sheets for the beds.

I pull Jack up gently, careful of where I’m touching him. Miss Ella slides the sheet under his back. I let him down slowly and then pick up his legs so Miss Ella can pull the sheet all the way over the mattress. I cover him with a light sheet, knowing anything heavier will just hurt.

We do the same with Sophia and then Miss Ella talks for the first time, “I’m going to go make some chicken soup. The children will need food when they wake up.” She rushes from the room and I know that she needs time to herself in the kitchen to deal with what just happened.

Adam takes hold of my hand and he pulls me against his body. We hold each other a long while before he whispers, “Go clean yourself up. I’ll take the first shift.”

I nod and leave in a hurry. I go straight to my room. I strip the clothes from my body and get under a hot shower. I let the water pelt me. I wish it could wash the horror from my soul.

I scrub myself a few times, until my skin is glowing red. I move faster and faster, an urgency to get back to them building within me.

As I dry my body, hot tears sneak out. I’m hurting for Jack and Sophia. How could those monsters be so cruel?

I dress in some shorts and a t-shirt. I never wear shoes when we’re home. I tie my wet hair in a low ponytail and then run back to the room. As I walk into the room I can feel the heat. “Adam,” I touch his shoulder, “go shower. I’ll sit with them.”

As Adam leaves the room I go to set the AC colder. Miss Ella must’ve brought clean water again. I dip a finger in the bucket and feel that it’s cool. I rinse a clean cloth and start with Sophia, wiping her down again. We’ve dealt with cases like this before. We’ve had one death where the girl was too far gone.

I start to wipe softly over Jack’s chest and then moving the sheet away, I keep wiping him down. Now that all the blood is off I can see his wounds clearly. The part that’s been beaten the worst is his legs. They even whipped his groin area! Tears well in my eyes. I remember how gorgeous they looked on Thursday night, now they’re nothing but welts and bruises.

Adam returns quickly, bringing an extra chair to the room. “I told Mama to phone Doc. We’re going to need antibiotics.”

I can only nod. Doc is our town’s general practitioner. He’s older than the huge tree we have out front. He helps us where he can and that’s all that matters.

Doc doesn’t take long to come. I hear him down the passage, “That’s four dates you owe me now, Ella.”

“I don’t owe you a damn thing, old man! If you don’t want to help these people then leave!”

They are always going at each other. Why they don’t just get together, I’ll never know.

Doc stops in the door, looking to his left where Miss Ella must be. “You know I love helping, but I’d love it even more if you were to give me the pleasure of your company.”

“Oh hush! Just go fix them children.”

Doc finally comes into the room and the smile drops from his face. “Oh! What happened to them?” He rushes to Jack’s side and quickly gets to work.

“They were beaten,” Adam answers. “Check them for diseases as well. They were raped.”

“It’s wrong,” Doc mutters as he goes about checking them. “Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.”

I’ve never seen Doc so upset, but then again, I’ve never seen two people hurt so badly before. I’m worried that they won’t pull through.

~*~

It’s been two days. Both their fevers have finally broken. They’ve been in and out of consciousness but this morning Sophia woke up and she was able to eat half a bowl of soup. Adam doesn’t take his eyes off her. I see the look of protectiveness in his eyes.

My eyes go back to Jack and that’s where they stay. It’s late afternoon when Jack opens his eyes again. I quickly rush to his side and taking his hand, I hold it in both of mine.

“Jack?” I whisper softly.

He blinks a few times and then he turns his head to me. His green eyes are dull, there is no sign of the vibrant green they once were.

I lean a little forward. “Can you hear me, Jack?”

I feel a light tug and then he pulls his hand from mine. He turns his face away from me and he closes his eyes.

Not long after Jack woke up, Miss Ella comes in with two bowls of soup.

Sophia sits close to Adam, letting him feed her. She even allows him to hold her hand. It’s obvious she feels safe with him. I wonder what happened between them on Thursday night.

I take Jack’s bowl of soup and move closer to his bed. “Jack, would you like to eat something?” I sit down next to him. “It’s Miss Ella’s famous recipe.”

Jack moves fast, much faster than I thought he could with all his injuries. He slaps the bowl from my hands and it crashes to the floor, hot soup hitting my leg. Jack sits dangerously close to me. I’m aware of the fact that he can hurt me.

His chest rises and falls with the hard breaths he’s sucking in through clenched teeth. His eyes burn on mine, and I see the challenge. He thinks he’s defying me. He thinks I’ll punish him.

“You’re free, Jack,” I whisper softly. “You’re no longer a slave. You can stay here until you’re better and then leave, or you can stay and work here. You have a choice.”

He pushes me away and I see the pain on his face as he stumbles out of bed. He uses the wall to keep himself upright.

“Jack, you shouldn’t be out of bed.” He’s naked and he doesn’t seem to care.

He ignores me as he stumbles out of the room and down the passage. I can see his muscles straining to keep him upright. Tears well in my eyes. I just want to hold him and make it all better, but I know there is nothing I can do. Jack has to heal on his own.

Sophia limps past me and she grabs hold of Jack’s arm. He swings back and for a moment I fear that he might strike at her. His eyes roam over her and then finally it looks like he actually sees her.

“Come rest, Jack. Eat something, get clothes and then you can leave.” She shakes her head at him. “Not like this. You won’t make it like this.”

She takes his hand and pulls his arm around her shoulders. I get out of the way, letting her help him back to the room. Once he’s back in bed she takes her bowl of soup, or what’s left of it and goes to sit by Jack. I watch as she feeds him.

  I’m glad I placed them in the same room. They can help each other heal.

“We will go get you some clothes today.” I look at Adam as I say this so he’ll know to get their sizes.

Exhausted from the past two days, I leave them to eat with Adam watching over them.

I walk out back and slowly make my way to the sandy beach that’s on the east side of the property. I love the surroundings here. Everything is so peaceful and green. The trees are old and huge, housing many different species of birds.

The manor was built in 1934 and it has settled in well with the nature around it. It has eight hundred and twenty acres of farmland, mature forests, restored wetlands and sandy beaches that stretch out around the lake.

The manor is huge with eight bedrooms and six bathrooms, big enough to house eighteen people if we place three in a room. Only Miss Ella and myself stay in the manor with the slaves that have been saved. Adam, Tristan and the other men all share the four guest cottages out back. Each cottage has two rooms.

It’s heaven here. Everything about
The Sanctuary
gives me an inner peace and I hope it will do the same for Jack and Sophia.

~*~

Chapter Seven

Jack~

Every part of my body throbs with an aching pain. It hurts so much that I can’t sleep. I don’t dare put on any of the clothes Master and Mistress Ryland brought earlier in the evening, it will hurt my raw skin too much.

Sophia managed to put on a light dress. She’s currently sitting on the side of the bed, staring at me. She tilts her head, thinking hard on something.

Growing up with Sophia, I know everything about her. I know she’s lost much more of herself over the years than I have, and that’s saying a lot, seeing as there’s nothing left of me.

I wait, knowing she’s about to speak her mind.

She brings her feet up onto the mattress and folds her arms around her shins, resting her chin on her knees. She keeps her eyes on something outside the window, when she says, “It feels different here. Master and Mistress Ryland seem nice.” She looks at me and smiles. I don’t know how she manages to smile. I just want to die! “I think we’ll be happy here.”

I turn my back to her and grumble, “In order to be happy I actually have to care about life.” I’m done caring. I cared about David and those feeling were used to control me. Caring for someone only makes you vulnerable. I’ll never place myself in such a position again.

I hear someone come into the room and I don’t even bother to see who it is. Something is placed on the table between the two beds and then a soft voice says, “What’s this I hear of you wasting my soup, Son.”

I glance over my shoulder, but the movement only causes me pain. I watch as an elderly lady pulls a chair closer to the bed I’m on.

“My mama always said; waste not, want not,” she goes on talking. Her eyes are a vibrant blue and her hair grey with a purple tinge to it. “Now I’ve brought you another bowl of soup and you’ll eat every last drop. I’ve also brought you some pills for the pain.”

The painkillers get my attention. I struggle into a sitting position, my eyes never leaving the woman. Trust no one and expect anything.

“I’m Miss Ella and that’s what you’ll call me. Don’t even try to call me Miss E, I’m nobody’s missy. My mama gave me the name Ella and I expect you to use it.” She scoops a bit of soup up and then blows on the broth before she brings it to my lips. The action reminds me of Momma. She used to do that too, so I wouldn’t burn my mouth.

I take a few bites before Miss Ella asks, “What’s your name, Son?”

I don’t answer her. I don’t want to be here and I don’t want to get friendly with anyone.

Sophia clears her throat, “His name is Jack.”

Miss Ella smiles at Sophia. “Thank you, dear, and you are?”

“I’m Sophia.”

Miss Ella feeds me until the bowl is empty and my stomach full. I want to cry with relief when she places the painkillers in my mouth. I quickly swallow them down with some water.

“My room is the one right by the stairs. If the pain gets to be too much come wake me.” She gathers the dishes and then gives me and Sophia each a pointed look. “You need to eat all your food so your bodies can heal. There’s a lot of work to be done. Everyone works here to earn their keep.” An icy ripple spreads down my spine. Miss Ella looks at Sophia. “As soon as you’re up to it you can help me in the kitchen.” And then she looks at me. “River says you’ve been born with a green thumb. That’s a good thing because no one around here likes to garden, and I’m too old to be playing with flowers. We can do with some color around here, so as soon as you’re better you can fix the gardens up nicely.”

She looks pleased with herself. “Now get a good night’s rest and I’ll see you in the morning.”

I can go on gardening here? Miss Ella said nothing about sex. Come to think of it neither did Mistress and Master Ryland. That doesn’t mean anything! As soon as we’re better they’ll put us to work. After all, Miss Ella said we have to earn our keep.

I wake up in the dead of the night, my body and sheets soaked with sweat. The pain is like a fire, devouring every inch of me. The pain eats at me and I can’t keep the whimper in, “Sophia.” She doesn’t stir and I call a little louder, “Sophia.”

The light flashes on and I blink so my eyes can adjust to the sudden light. Mistress Ryland comes to the bed, a look of concern clouding her face. She’s still dressed in the shorts and shirt from earlier, her clothes now creased. I’ve never seen a Mistress who cared so little about her appearance. She’s not even wearing make up!

A flash of hot pain tears through my legs, bringing hopeless tears to my eyes.

“Do you need something, Jack?” she whispers. Her cool hand rests on my forehead for a few seconds.

“Painkillers,” I groan so softly I can hardly hear myself.

She pours some water into a glass and takes two pills out of a box. She places the pills in my mouth and then holds the glass to my lips so I can drink. I take a few sips. The pain is making me hot and thirsty.

Mistress Ryland rinses a cloth in a bucket and then presses it to my forehead, and then my cheeks and neck. I notice that she works gently as she wipes my body down. The cloth is nice and cool, and together with the painkillers it eases the relentless pain until I drift off to sleep.

~*~

Chapter Eight

River~

It’s been five days since Jack and Sophia were brought here. Sophia started helping in the kitchen yesterday. She’s healing nicely. She seems to have taken a liking to Miss Ella and I’m grateful for that.

A lot of the people we rescue cling to Miss Ella. They see her as a mother figure. She plays a big part in their recovery.

Jack should be up and about soon. He’s eating on his own and last night he slept right through, without having to wake for painkillers.

I walk to the kitchen and find Sophia busy peeling potatoes. “If you’re not careful Miss Ella will have you only peeling potatoes. She hates to do that.”

Sophia smiles her brilliant smile. Even with all the welts and wounds she’s still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. “I don’t mind,” she says softly.

“Hush, child,” Miss Ella says. “You know my old hands don’t want to peel and grate anything anymore.”