“No,” Hans said. “They killed him?”
“Owen, I’m really sorry. I tried to stop them. We had sort of worked everything out but then the woman’s husband showed up. I’m so sorry, honey. I really am sorry, I wish I could come over there right now and hug you, baby.”
Hans and Petra began talking heatedly in Dutch.
“Is he definitely dead?” Owen asked quietly.
“I’m sorry,” Heather said.
Owen looked at her furiously and then buried his head back in the hoodie again. His whole body began to shake.
“I’m so sorry, Owen.”
“Shut up, Heather!” Owen said. “Just shut up, OK? Shut your stupid mouth!”
Heather nodded. It was OK for him to let this out. Olivia too. They would be dealing with this for years. If they weren’t all murdered in the morning. Her pulse was racing. Where in the name of God was that penknife? Had she lost it? How could she have lost it? She had buried it here just as they were leaving. She needed to find it— Was it by the iron hoop or—
Over to the—
There it was. Thank you, God.
She grabbed the knife and despite having almost no leverage began sawing at the bonds on her wrist. The rope was thick but the knife was incredibly sharp, and once she had a good angle, it began slicing through the hemp.
Olivia was looking at her. She had stopped crying now. Owen was making little beeping noises from inside his hood. The Dutch couple continued their heated talk.
She sawed. Felt the friction. Sawed more. She ignored the flies, the mosquitoes, the oven heat, the fact that Tom, her rock, her savior, was dead.
She looked outside through a gap in the plank walls. It was quieter. The crowd seemed to be dispersing now and returning to the big main farmhouse or the smaller satellite houses.
Heather sawed at the rope as the sweat poured down her forehead. Her fingers were burning from the friction, and little whiffs of smoke were coming from the fibers. She took a break and put down the knife and unscrewed the cap on the water bottle—not an easy thing to do with tied hands. The water was lukewarm but good. Only half a bottle left. Save the rest.
Another check outside. No obvious movement. Couple of voices from the main yard. Lights still on at the house. Smart thing to do might be to wait until the wee hours. When everyone was quiet, they could make a clean break without pursuit. Or maybe it would be better just to friggin’ go as soon as they could in case someone decided to separate them or put a guard on the shed or Jacko or Danny came for Olivia…
Cross that bridge when they—
She picked up the knife. She held it between finger and thumb. She sawed, sweated, sawed.
Suddenly the blade went through one of the main strands.
She sawed harder, and another strand popped almost with a twang.
She cut the final strand and she was through!
She shook her wrists and the rope fell off her. She slackened the noose at her neck. In another thirty seconds, she was completely free. If she stood, she might be visible from outside. Best to keep low. She crawled to Olivia and removed the ropes around her neck, then did the same for Owen. “Dad didn’t want to come here. We made him! It’s our fault!” Owen said.
“No, it’s their fault. They killed him.”
She tried to hug Owen but he wouldn’t let her. “Don’t friggin’ touch me, Heather!” he wailed, pushing her away.
She attempted to untie the rope at Hans’s neck. “Do not do that! We do not want any trouble,” Hans said.
“We’re all in trouble,” Heather replied.
“You are in trouble. If we associate ourselves with you, we also will be in trouble.”
Heather turned to Petra. “What about you?”
“I—I don’t know,” she said.
“Just let me loosen the rope at your neck. I can see it’s choking you.”
Petra looked at Hans, who said something to her fast in Dutch.
“It is better if we are not helped by you,” she said.
“OK,” Heather said. She knelt in front of Owen, unscrewed the top from the water bottle. “You’re going to take another drink of this if I have to force it down your throat, OK?”
He didn’t answer.
“OK?”
“He’s behind his wall,” Olivia said.
“His what? Oh, yes, that,” Heather said.
“You don’t really understand about his wall, do you? You don’t know anything about us,” Olivia said. “Owen! Owen! It’s me, Olivia. Come out and take a drink.”
Owen stirred and grabbed the bottle. He took a little drink and then a bigger one.
“Well done,” Heather said and crawled back to Olivia. She began sawing at the ropes around Olivia’s wrists but Olivia stopped her.
“What are you doing?” Olivia asked.
“I’m cutting you loose and then we’re going to get out of here,” Heather said.
“No,” Olivia said. “I—I don’t think so. You’ll just get us in more trouble.”
Owen nodded. “She doesn’t know what she’s doing. Dad might know what to do, but she doesn’t.”
“Come on, guys!”
“No! Don’t touch me!” Olivia said and began to hyperventilate.
Owen and Olivia were looking at her the way they often looked at her: with contempt. This time, of course, through a veil of grief, terror, tears.
Heather closed her eyes. She hadn’t wanted to be their stepmother. What she’d wanted was to have a roof over her head and be comfortable and have nice things and maybe see a bit of the world. What she’d wanted was Tom. She was far too young for motherhood. She had literally never thought about it. She was exactly the wrong age to be Olivia and Owen’s mom. When she attempted to play with them, she wasn’t like one of those cool mothers who goof around and make everyone feel at ease. No, she was like one of those older kids on the periphery of the playground who are too lame to make friends with people their own age.
You couldn’t say she hadn’t tried.
She had tried.
If the kids didn’t want to come, well, she could escape by herself.
Easily.
Yes.
That acknowledged, Heather nodded, opened her eyes, and squatted down in front of Olivia, who was still in a panic. “Take deep breaths, honey. That’s it. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Big breaths. Good. Doing better?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Now, listen to me, Olivia. If we stay here, they are going to kill us,” she said, enunciating every word.
Olivia took thirty seconds to think about it. A little sob went through her like a wave. She nodded and held up her hands. Heather sawed through the rope until Olivia was free. “They hurt,” Olivia said.
“Rub them until you get the circulation going again. They’ll start to feel better soon,” Heather assured her. She looked back up at the house. The lights were off now. The only light on in the whole farm was the arc light directly in front of the shed. Not good.
She forced a determined look onto her face, crawled to Owen, and began sawing at his bonds.
“How are we going to escape?” Owen asked her.
“I don’t know…yet. But we’ll think of something.”
“What are you thinking of doing?” Petra asked.