Chapter 11
Josh finally fell asleep around 3:40 a.m. Saturday morning, and when he did, he tossed and turned while having another dream.
Josh's dream, he and Jenny were able to get a wagon and took a ride into the forest.
Josh stopped the wagon by the lake where there was a sandy beach.
Josh got down out of the wagon then assisted Jenny out like a gentleman.
He then removed a blanket and picnic basket from the back of the wagon, and they walked hand in hand to the sandy beach.
Josh laid the blanket out in the sand and placed the picnic basket on one corner. Josh held Jenny's hands and gazed into her eyes, and then their lips met. They kissing soon turned passionate, and he slowly lowered her to the blanket. Josh got on top of Jenny, and they passionately kissed on the blanket.
Josh was suddenly pulled off Jenny, and he was now staring into the eyes of cowboys Steve, Tony, Mark, Jesse, Bart, and Ray.
Marshall Fisher walked over and glared at Josh. "She's my girl now," he yelled and punched Josh in his stomach. "Take him away, and I'll be along a little while later," Marshall Fisher told his cowboys.
Steve and Tony each grabbed one of Josh's arms and walked him over to another wagon. They threw Josh in the back then Steve and Tony got inside with Josh while Mark and Ray climbed up and sat in the driver's seat.
"No!" Jenny screamed out while the wagon drove away.
Josh turned around and saw cowboys Bart and Jesse forcing Jenny down on the blanket while Marshall Fisher had his pants down around his ankles, and he was raping her.
Josh tried to get out of the back of the wagon to help Jenny, but Steve and Tony's grips were too strong.
He listened in horror to the screams of Jenny while the Marshall was raping her.
A little while later, the wagon stopped at the Marshall's Office. Steve and Tony grabbed one of Josh's arms and dragged him out of the wagon.
Mark and Ray rushed on the front porch and opened the door to the Marshall's Office.
Steve and Tony escorted Josh into the Marshall's Office and rushed him over to one of the jail cells.
They threw him inside the cell, where he hit the floor with a thud. Steve slammed the door shut and walked away.
Josh sat down on the bunk in his jail cell, and the screams of Jenny being raped filled the air.
Then he heard the faint would sound of a bell ringing.
The bell-ringing got louder.
Josh looked around the cell for the source of the bell ringing.
"Get your ass out of bed!" Maggie's nagging voice filled the air.
Josh looked around for Maggie, and she was nowhere to be found.
Then he felt an invisible slap across his cheek.
Back to Josh's reality in Paradise, it was now 5:00 a.m., and Josh opened up his eyes and saw Maggie standing over him while he lay in bed.
"Get your lazy ass out of bed!" she yelled while she rang the bell in his ear.
Josh jumped up in a panic and looked dazed and a little confused while he stared at Maggie.
She chuckled while she walked to the door and left his room.
Josh got out of bed and grabbed his towel and toothpaste and toothbrush, and left his room.
He walked down the hall and found two other people were waiting in line for their fifteen-minute turn in the bathroom.
"Ah, man," he said under his breath while he stood in line.
Forty-five minutes later, and Josh rushed his bath was out of the bathroom and dressed in some fresh clothes.
He left the hotel and rushed down Paradise Lane to the Dining Hall.
Josh entered the Dining Hall after being checked in by Abby.
While Josh walked through the maze of tables, he saw table four and noticed that Jenny was not seated at the table. He got concerned while he continued through the labyrinth and walked to his table.
He sat down next to James. "Good morning."
"Good morning to you, good sir," James replied.
Josh glanced over at the doorway, hoping to see Jenny enter the room.
Walt walked up with two plates of scrambled eggs and bacon and placed them in front of Josh and James.
Kimmy walked up with two glasses of homemade apple juice and set them in front of Josh and James.
"What are your plans for today?" James asked while he scooped up some eggs with his fork.
"I don't know. Maybe take a train ride," Josh replied while he glanced over at the door for Jenny.
"I'm off duty from the General Store at noon, if you can wait until then, I would love to tag along," James said then took a sip of milk.
"Ah sure," Josh replied while he glanced over in the area of Jenny's table and saw her empty seat.
"Great, meet me outside the General Store at high noon," James replied, then munched on a slice of bacon.
"Sure," Josh replied while he looked a little concerned for Jenny's whereabouts.
Josh and James continued to eat breakfast with some idle chitchat.
After breakfast, Josh walked with James to the General Store. After James went inside to report for work, Josh walked down Paradise Lane.
Josh walked down the street and went to Doc Holloway's Office. He saw the "Closed" sign in the door window but still peeked inside in search of Jenny.
He stepped off the porch and looked concerned while he walked down Paradise Lane.
Josh walked up and down Paradise Lane a few times.
He then walked up and down Blaine and Fisher's Lanes and was soon utterly bored after he saw all the sights he could see in Paradise.
He walked back to this hotel room and relaxed until it was time to meet with James.
At high noon, Josh walked over to the General Store, where James was already waiting on the porch.
They walked down Paradise Lane and headed to the train station.
Josh and James waited at the dock of the train station, where eight other town folks were waiting for a ride.
The train whistle was heard, and a puff of black smoke was visible while the train rolled down the tracks and headed to the train station.
Everybody at the dock stood in line for the Paradise Express.
The train stopped, and everybody started boarding the passenger car.
Cowboy Doug sat in the rear of the passenger car and kept a watchful eye on the passengers.
Josh and James sat down on the left side of the passenger car.
The train whistle blew, and the Paradise Express pulled away from the station.
Josh watched while the train rolled out of Paradise and headed toward Fisher's mansion.
Josh eyed Fisher's mansion while the Paradise Express rolled down the tracks.
"What brought you to Paradise?" Josh curiously asked James while the train started to roll down the tracks and headed through the grassy field.
James glanced out the window. "Well, I worked for a major aerospace program for thirty years. And then our politicians in Washington canceled the government program we worked on, and I was out of work for a year. Then my wife died of cancer, and I moped around for another couple more years feeling sorry for myself. Then I found out about Paradise and figured I could start a new life here," James replied.
"Some Paradise," Josh quietly said in a sarcastic tone.
"I know, but we can't leave, so we have to tolerate it and pretend we love it," James quietly replied.
"I know," Josh quietly responded but still looked determined to find a safe way out of his hell hole.
"How did you get the easy duty working at the General Store?"
"I worked the gardens at first, and when Mickey, an old man, died of old age, Marshall Fisher put me in there. I guess I got lucky," James replied.
Josh and James remained quiet and looked out the window while the Paradise Express rolled down the tracks through the forest.
Josh and James remained quiet and looked out the window while the train rolled down the tracks through the desert.
The Paradise Express rolled around the bend, and Josh and James saw four Indians that made a camp near the cave in the mountains.
"What are those Indians doing there?" Josh curiously asked James.
"Marshall Fisher pays them in whiskey to guard the cave for anybody trying to escape," James replied while he looked out the window and saw the Indians passing around the whiskey bottle.
Josh and James continued to stare out the window while the Paradise Express rolled down the tracks with the mountains to the left.
"Paradise sure is a beautiful place," Josh said while he looked at the mountains. "Except for the criminals," he muttered under his breath.
They both looked at the windows and saw the Indian camp.
Josh's eyes lit up. "There's Sara," he told James.
James looked and saw Sara sitting outside Chief Merijildo's teepee. "It looks like the Chief has another wife," James replied.
"Another wife?"
"A little while back, another young girl named Diana was taken away by the Indians when she asked Marshall Fisher if she could go home," James replied.
"I wondered what happened when a guy asked the Marshall if he could go home," Josh curiously asked.
"He's the pleasure property of some of the cowboys that like guys," James replied.
Josh stared at the Indian camp while the Paradise Express rolled down the tracks and felt so sorry for Sara.
Josh and James were both quiet during the rest of the ride back to Paradise.
After the train ride, Josh and James went back to their hotel rooms and relaxed.
Josh paced back and forth in his room, as he was so bored without a life of television or DVD movies.
To kill some time, Josh left his hotel room after twenty minutes of boredom and pacing. He walked up and down all the streets where there were numerous other couples also walking to fight the boredom.
After walking the streets numerous times, it was time for lunch, and Josh met James back at the Dining Hall, where they were served ham sandwiches and milk. While he ate his sandwich, Josh looked around the room in search of Jenny, and she was nowhere to be found. He was concerned but knew he couldn't ask anybody in fear that the cowboys would take him to Marshall Fisher.
Josh and James ate lunch with idle chitchat.
After lunch, Josh walked over to the Paradise Saloon, where it was packed, as some folks choose to drink and play poker to kill the boredom.
Josh stood at the bar and drank a few beers at twenty-five cents a mug and listened to Ralph, the day shift piano player, while he played old western songs on the old standup piano.
After spending thirty minutes in the noisy saloon, Josh left and walked up and down the streets of Paradise again.
Josh walked down the alley behind the Paradise House and saw four outhouses reserved for the whores.
One of the outhouse doors opened, and Linda stepped outside.
"Josh!" she said the second she saw Josh walking near the outhouses.
"I was worried about you," Josh said while he rushed over to her.
Linda got closer to Josh. "I'm alive but hate every moment those stinking cowboys climb on top of my naked body," she quietly told him.
"Why did he pick you to work there?" Josh curiously asked.
Linda hesitated to respond and looked a little ashamed. "He must have found out that I was arrested for prostitution five years ago. At that time, I was desperate for money and worked as an escort for six months until I got busted," she replied.
"This place is a huge lie," Josh quietly replied.
"I know, but we can't escape. You saw what happened to those two guys that tried," Linda replied, and her eyes welled up, thinking she would spend the rest of her life as a whore.
Josh opened his mouth to respond but closed it when he saw Casey the madam from the Paradise House of Pleasure walk over, and she looked pissed.
"Get back to work, Linda," Casey said in a raised tone to indicate she was displeased with her whore chatting with a non-cowboy.
"Yes ma-am," Linda politely replied and rushed over to the Paradise House.
Casey got in Josh's face while Linda rushed over to the back door of the Paradise House of Pleasure and went inside. "Only the cowboys or special guests are allowed to fraternize with my whores. If I catch you again, I'll have Marshall Fisher deal with you," Casey said while he continuously poked Josh in his chest with the middle finger of her right hand to intimidate him.
"Yes ma-am," Josh responded and rushed away, fearful she might deck him.
Casey glared at Josh while he rushed down the back alley and then turned down a side street and disappeared.
Casey strutted over to the back door of the Paradise House of Pleasure and went inside to supervise her whores.
Josh walked down the alley and headed to Fisher's Lane and went back inside his hotel.
Josh paced back and forth in his small room for most of the night.
Paradise is boring! He screamed inside his mind while he paced back and forth from wall to wall in his room.
Meanwhile, back at the Indian camp, Sara and Diana sat inside the Chief's teepee.
"Did he get you pregnant?" Sara quietly asked her while she stared at the pouchy belly.
"Yeah, I vomited for days after he has his nasty way with me," Diana quietly replied while her eyes welled up.
"I wonder what he'll do with me when he finds out I can't bear children," Sara said and looked worried.
Diana looked at Sara, and Sara could see it in Diana's eyes that the Chief would probably kill her. She wanted to scream, but her eyes welled up instead.
It seemed like time stood still for Josh while he waited until it was time for dinner for something to help pass the time.
Josh joined James for their standard steak, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and a glass of milk dinner.
While Josh ate, he kept on eying the door and the tables for Jenny, but she still didn't return from Marshall Fisher's mansion.
After dinner, Josh and James took a stroll over to the saloon, which was packed again.
Josh and James watched while some of the guys played poker and listened to Bernie, the night shift piano player, while he played old western songs on the old standup piano.
After an hour of drinking numerous mugs of beer, Josh and James had a pretty good buzz, and they decided to take a train ride.
They walked down Paradise Lane and headed to the train station.
A little while later, Josh and James sat in the passenger car, where another couple joined them for an evening ride.
Cowboy Doug sat in the back, and he slouched in his seat, tipped his hat over his eyes when the train whistle blew, and it slowly moved away from the station.
The Paradise Express soon rolled down the tracks and headed close to Marshall Fisher's mansion.
Josh's eyes lit up when, from the large living room windows, he saw Jenny slow dancing with Marshall Fisher in the living room of the mansion where the band played. Josh looked depressed since he was really falling in love with Jenny.
After the train ride, Josh and James headed back to their hotel rooms and retired for the night. Since Saturday was so dull for Josh, he didn't have any trouble falling fast asleep.