Chapter Nine
Chris glanced up at the night sky. The moon beamed down on him and shinned on the trees giving him some light to see his way. Sweat still poured from his face and he could feel the pain shooting through his side. He didn't know how much longer he could go on without passing out. Chris stopped and leaned against a tree. He tried to catch his breath. The cool air was getting to him, and his wound was still bleeding, but he had to force himself to keep moving. The thought of Dawn being held hostage or even what they were doing to her made him angry. It also was the motivation he needed even though his body was at the point of quitting. Chris walked a few more feet, then fell to his knees, but he wanted to keep going. There was no time for standing still. The pain was becoming more intense and Chris moaned out before sliding down the tree, to the ground and laid there in pain, not able to move. His wound had opened more and he could feel his blood soaking into his clothes. He needed a doctor, but there was no one around, especially anyone who would have medical training. A small child walked out from the bushes and stood over him. Chris struggled against the pain to stand, but the pain was overwhelming. Chris looked at the boy, who moved closer and saw the blood that was soaked into Chris' shirt. “Help me,” he said before passing out.
#
Dawn was back in bed after having dinner. She tried to relax and ease the tension she was suffering from. The door to her room was opened making her think it was Juanita, but it was Michael. Shutting the door, he walked over to her and sat on the bed. She felt uneasy with him wearing only a robe and readied herself for anything that might happened.
“You are so beautiful and I love you so much,” Michael said.
Dawn stared at him strangely and wondered who he was talking to. She noticed by his look and smell that he had been drinking. How much? She didn't know.
“I want to show you how much I love you, Maria,” he said gently stroking Dawn's hair.
She stared to ask who Maria was, but he leaned in and kissed her to her surprise, then removed his robe. Seeing his naked body, Dawn quickly pushed him away, but Michael was persistent as he reached for her nightgown to remove it.
“No!”
Struggling desperately, Dawn still found herself at his mercy. Her nightgown was torn away as she screamed. Being held down, she felt his lips on her body, the wetness of his mouth on her neck and breasts. She tried to use her nails to claw at him when he entered her, but received a few hard smacks across the face and her arms held above her head as Michael moaned and groaned slobbering on her face. Dawn cried, her tears flowed down as he pounded himself in her. “Help me! Somebody help...” Her arms were released, but her mouth was covered and Michael put is other hand around her throat and squeezed tightly His thrusts became harder and the pain shot through her, but he didn't care that he was hurting her. She was his property and the more she resisted, the more he would have to teach her. He wanted her to know that he would be the only man she would be with for the rest of her life. Dawn gasped for air, feeling the pain of his violation of her and she found it difficult to breath. She just wanted it to be over and finally she stopped struggling. With one last grunt, Michael released himself in her, then laid there on top of her a moment before wrapping his hand around her soaked face. “You will love me! I will continue to do this to you until you tell me!”
Dawn cried loudly as Michael got off the bed and put his robe back on and left the room.
She wanted to die rather than go through the abuse. She didn't love him and she would never love him. The only man she wanted to love was dead. He died trying to protect her. He had done a lot for her and she gave him such a hard time, when they could have had so much time together. With all that she'd been through so far, she realized that the stuck up queen who believed she deserved all the attention and all the sweet words was dead. She no longer existed and this new woman was ready to care about the problems of others and truly live in the moments of her life Juanita rushed into the room after a few minutes after Michael had left. She sat by Dawn's side and held her comforting her as Dawn cried in her arms. “Shhh. It'll be okay, Ma'am. It'll be okay.”
“Why... I just want to die. I want to die!”
Juanita held her close, gently rocking Dawn in her arms. She knew the reason why he was doing it from the moment she saw her. Juanita knew that Michael would kill her if she ever told Dawn the whole story.
#
Chris moaned softly before opening his eyes. His body felt weak and immobile. He needed to keep going. He had to get to Dawn.
“Lay still. You need to rest.”
Chris looked over to see the face of a woman. She had a lovely smile, but he noticed a sadness to her expression. “I have to get Dawn. I have to find her.” Trying to sit up, the room spun around and the pain sent him collapsing back onto the cot. The woman reached over and grabbed a damp cloth. She gently wiped his forehead and said, “You have a fever and I need to get it down, so you have to rest.” Looking over at the boy, who stood in the doorway, she smiled.
“Julio, come here,” she said softly. The young dark haired body slowly walked over looking at the man. “Was he by himself?” Julio looked up at the woman and nodded.
A few hours later, Chris woke up. He felt better, at least better than he did before. He sat up a lot easier without collapsing. Wiping his forehead, he stood up feeling a little dizzy, but it passed.
“You're awake now. Good.”
Chris looked at the woman and the child, then around the small shack. “Come. You need to eat,” she said.
Chris walked over to the small table and sat down. “I don't remember how I got here or when my wound was attended to, but thank you,” he said looking down at his side.
She placed a plate of food in front of him, then continued what she was doing. Chris took the fork and poked around the unfamiliar food before tasting it.
“You should thank my son,” she said. “He found you and against my better judgment, I brought you here.”
Chris looked at the small boy who smiled at him while eating. “Well, thank you anyway.” She placed a plate on the table and sat down. Julio slowly ate while staring at the man.
“Who are you? You're not from around here,” she asked.
“Chris Westbrook. I'm an federal agent with the F.B.I.,” he answered.
She looked at him strangely. She'd heard of the organization before, but not being in Columbia. “You people don't come here, so why are you here? And who is this Dawn?,” she asked.
Putting down his fork, Chis smiled. “I was assigned to protect her, but Michael Rodriguez has her now and he's somewhere around here,” he explained. “Now that's a name that brings hatred,” she remarked.
“Do you know him?,” he sharply asked.
“My husband, Victor Sanchez, used to be Mayor of Cora, A small town ten miles from Bogota,” she said. “We were happy until Michael and his cartel came. He had my husband killed and placed a man name Hernandez in charge. A handful of us escaped, but we've been torn away from our families, who we know are suffering at his hands.”
“I'm so sorry, Mrs. Sanchez.”
“Call me Margurite,” she said.
“I need to find him. He's holding her and only God knows what she's going through,” he told her.
Margurite stood up and walked over to the window. “You know, Chris Westbrook. Our lives have been torn apart,” she said.
“Margurite, I just need to be pointed in the right direction. That's all,” he said.
She turned around looking at his handsome face. Margurite thought about her husband and his dream of making a better life for his family and the people of Cora. “Tomorrow we'll go see someone. We'll talk to him and see what happens then,” she told him.