Fearful Passion

Chapter Seven

The next morning, two men came in and roughly woke up Joshua which in turn woke up Caroline. They yanked him up and pulled him out of the tent. Caroline tried to follow, but they wouldn’t allow her to leave the tent. They sat Joshua down in front of Michael and released him. He seemed to loom over Joshua as though trying to intimidate him.

“You will take Chris, Craig, and Shane with you to your ship. Don’t try anything funny or these men will kill you and your men aboard your ship. Then, you can only guess what we’ll do to your pretty little wife. Get the goods and be back here by nightfall. If you’re not back by then, well, let’s just hope you’re back shall we?” Michael said.

“I will be back. You can bet on that,” Joshua replied.

The men hoisted him up off the chair and shoved him toward four horses and a wagon awaiting them. They all mounted and then started off back towards the docks, Joshua in the middle of them to dissuade any attempts of escape. Caroline was peering out of the tent flaps, but wasn’t allowed to come out. Michael saw her and smiled. She quickly ducked back inside and scooted to the far wall away from him. He never entered though. Later, the woman who had come in to administer to Caroline’s wounds came again with a tray of food and water. She hadn’t eaten since yesterday and even then it was very little. Her stomach had been making loud protests all morning.

As soon as the woman left, she ravenously began eating and managed to gulp down a bit of the water in between mouthfuls. Soon she was happily sedated and shuffled up to the tent flaps to peer out. Her guard was still sitting beside the opening and glanced at her when she poked her head out. She looked up at him and smiled.

“Is there any way I might could go behind those trees and use the ladies room?” Caroline asked sweetly.

The man moved his arm in a swift motion to allow her to go. He stood up and followed her to the trees. She began to squat down and looked back at him.

“Are you really going to watch me actually pee?” she asked him.

The man huffed and turned around. Caroline acted like she was going to squat and then took off sprinting through the woods. Unfortunately, Michael was returning from one of his escapades and she ran right into him. He grabbed her arm forcefully and jerked her around and walked back with her. Her arm was starting to hurt and she could feel the blood leaving it because his grip was so tight. When they reached his tent, he released her arm and she quickly rubbed her other up and down it to return the blood flow. He pulled a chair away from the table and pointed at it.

“Sit,” he said.

Caroline obediently sat and continued to rub her arm. Michael took another chair and sat it across from her.
“Where do you think you were going?” he asked her.

“Just for a nice little stroll,” Caroline retorted.

He reached back and hit her face, “Answer me correctly.”

Caroline slowly sat back up, her eyes watering, “I was trying to get away.”

“Did you and your husband decide all this last night? Once he was away he’d get away from my men and you were to run off and meet him somewhere? Is that how it was supposed to happen?” Michael asked.

“No,” Caroline replied. “We didn’t plan anything last night. I just saw an opportunity to run away and jumped it.”

Michael hit her again and this time Caroline fell out of her chair to the floor, “Stop lying!”

Caroline sat up crying, “I’m not. I swear.”

“You’re very bold for a woman. It seems we’re going to have to teach you some manners. Who knows if your husband will even come back, even if he does he may thank us for this or else he’s going to have a hard time trying to tame you,” he said.

“What do you mean? What are you going to do? You promised you wouldn’t lay a hand on me until Joshua got back. You gave your word,” Caroline said holding the side of her face.

“Ah, but the word of a bandit doesn’t mean much, my dear. Keith,” Michael called to outside the tent.

The man entered and stood awaiting orders.

“Take her to her tent. I’ll be in to deal shortly,” he said.

“What the,” Caroline started as Keith came towards her. She tried to fight and keep him away, but finally he became angry and hit her knocking her out. Then, he lifted her up over his shoulder and took her to the tent.

****

Joshua rode along with the men back towards the docks. He didn’t try to escape in any way. He knew that these men knew these woods a lot better than he did. So he quietly rode along until he could smell the salt air. They pulled to the side of the road and dismounted their horses. Then, Joshua led them to his ship. They walked up the gangplank onto the deck and Byron walked up to meet them. He looked curiously at Joshua’s companions and then back at Joshua. Joshua’s eyes darted to the men and back to Byron and then to Byron’s pistol at his side.

“These men need to see our wares. They’re interested in a trade,” Joshua said.

“Sure thing, Captain. If you will follow me,” Byron said motioning for them to follow.

Joshua began to follow him, but the man closest to him grabbed his arm to stop him, “We can wait up here. If your man wouldn’t mind bringing a few barrels up.”

“Byron, would you mind?” Joshua asked.

“I’ll be back in a moment,” Byron said and then turned to go down the few stairs to the cargo area.

A few minutes later, he returned heaving a barrel on his back. He quickly deposited it at their feet. Then, he motioned to another crew member to bring him a crowbar to pry the lid off. The man quickly grabbed it and headed towards Byron. Once all eyes were focused on the barrel, the man brought back the crowbar and slung it to meet with one of the foreigner’s head. There was a sickening crack and then the man hit the ground. The other two quickly whirled around to face their opponents, pulling out their weapons ready to fight. The whole crew appeared surrounding them and Joshua moved towards Byron. The two men finally dropped what was in their hands and stood solemn. They knew it would be a losing battle for them if they tried against all these men. Two of the crew brought forth rope and tied them up and threw them down the cargo hold. The dead one they just threw over the side of their ship.

“Would you care to explain, Captain?” Byron asked.

“These men work for a man who stopped us on the road and raided our carriage. They’re also keeping a hold on Caroline until I bring back all of our goods on this ship. If I’m not back by nightfall, then she will be considered his. We have to go back and get her. I’m not leaving this town until she is leaving with us,” Joshua shouted. “Who is with me?”

“We’ve all seen how you look at that woman. Aye, we’ll help you save her,” Byron replied.

The rest of the men shouted in agreement. Soon preparations were being put into order to head back to Michael’s camp. Before long, everything was organized and the two remaining men that brought Joshua were hoisted out of the cargo hold.

“You will take us back to the camp and if you try to run, I’ll kill you personally,” Joshua threatened.

Both of the men silently obeyed and stood solemn awaiting further orders. Byron had acquired a cart and loaded up a few barrels onto it and then they were on their way. Joshua wanted to hasten to the camp, but Byron made him slow down. If they returned too soon, then Michael would know things hadn’t gone well. They were already one man short of the original three that brought Joshua. They’d have to be careful.

****

Caroline came to inside her tent. Her head was pulsing, but nothing seemed to be broken, just a little tender. She started when she realized Michael was sitting in the shadows of her tent. He just watched her, never saying a word. Caroline stared back with as much contempt as she could muster.

“What are you doing in here?” Caroline asked.

“I told you that you needed to be punished. You’re too bold a woman. Women are not suppose to be so outspoken against a man. They are suppose to be humble and obedient to every man’s will,” Michael said.

“Are you sure that giant didn’t knock you on the head too?” Caroline asked. “I don’t think you’ve been out in the world too much. Women have come a long way since the time of the dinosaurs.”

“There it is again. Such strong hatred toward men,” he replied.

“Not toward men, toward you. What do you expect after you kidnap me and my husband and then send him off saying if he doesn’t return by dark that you’ll have me? That will never happen whether he returns or not, but he will return,” she said.

“I could have you right this instant whether you liked it or not. Maybe it would tame your soul a bit too to be overcome by a man. Maybe your husband just wasn’t the man to take control in matters. I would be doing him a favor,” Michael said.

He stood up from his seat and walked towards her. Caroline stood her ground. Michael rubbed his hand down the side of her cheek and raked his thumb across her lower lip. He moved in to kiss her, but she jerked her head back. He grabbed the back of her head and took a grip on the hair in his hand.

“If you bite me, I will hurt you badly,” Michael threatened.

Then, his lips were ravaging hers and Caroline felt her stomach lurch. She instinctively started to bite down, but his grip on her hair jerked her and she cried out. Michael took this chance to insert his tongue into her mouth and toy with her own tongue. Caroline went still and didn’t move. She thought of Joshua and prayed that he would come back. Even if he did though, he wouldn’t be able to save her from this.

Michael’s hand moved down her neck to the strap on her dress. Slowly he slid it down and Caroline froze. She quickly jumped away from him, but he still had her hair tight in his hand. Her body moved away from him, but then fell to the ground. Instantly he was on top of her and staring into her face. Caroline whimpered as her sore head hit the ground hard. Michael tore her dress down to her waist exposing her breasts. Caroline tried to cover herself but he grabbed her hands and held them away as he lowered his mouth to her nipple. Caroline screamed for him to stop but he just became rougher. Then, he ripped the rest of her dress and tossed it away from her. She lay naked before him and tears were streaming down her eyes. He ran his hand down the front of her stomach until it met with her soft curls below. Then, he roughly began to probe, exploring her. She lay very still and stared at the ceiling trying to imagine herself in another place. She squeezed her eyes against the pain as he inserted his fingers inside of her and cried out. He was not being gentle in the slightest. Then, he grabbed her hand and placed it on the bulge in his pants.

“Feel that? That’s what’s really going to feel good. You’ll be begging me for more once I’m finished.”

Caroline doubted that very seriously, but was too numb to object. She closed her eyes and prayed to god that this man had no diseases and would at least be somewhat careful with her. She knew he probably would not though.

“Please don’t,” Caroline cried. “I’m a virgin.”

“Your husband said you were newlyweds, but he hasn’t even had time to consummate anything yet? Poor devil. All the better for me though,” he said. “Don’t worry, I’ll take my time.”

Caroline heard him take his pants off and braced herself for the worst. Once again his weight came upon her and felt him fumbling below. She felt him press the tip to her. She squeezed her eyes as tight as possible.
****

Joshua heard Caroline scream out as they began to surround the camp. He quickly left the men and ran towards the tent. When he burst into the flaps, he saw Caroline lying naked underneath the bulk of Michael and he immediately rammed into him and knocked him off of her. It was easy to take him, since Joshua had caught him off guard. Joshua immediately pulled a dagger from his side and held the man’s head back as he slit his throat, Michael not even having a chance to yell for help. Then, Joshua reached down and stabbed him repeatedly. Only when he heard Caroline’s whimpers, did he stop and look back at her. She was still lying naked but had rolled into a ball and he could hear her heavy sobs. He crawled over to her and touched her shoulder; Caroline screamed again and balled herself up even more. Joshua gathered her into his arms and held her tightly, rocking her back and forth.

“It’s me, Caroline. It’s Joshua. He’s dead. Michael’s dead. You’re safe.”

She opened her eyes and looked at him and then flung her arms around him and cried her heart out. When her body had stopped shaking and her sobs had softened, he reached for her dress and used it as a blanket around her and picked her up in his arms. Then, he held her close and stepped out of the tent. His men had already unarmed the rest of the men and had them in a group in the middle of the camp. Joshua stood tall cradling Caroline’s head on his shoulder.

“Michael is dead. I should kill every last one of you for allowing this to happen. The women are free to go if they chose. For the rest of you, consider yourselves lucky my men do not castrate you and leave you to die. I suggest you respect these women a lot more and find yourselves a good place to live, far, far away from here. Byron, let’s go,” Joshua said and started towards the cart.

He carefully placed Caroline in the cart and climbed up beside her. The rest of the crew kept their weapons aimed on the small group until they were out of sight. Byron drove the cart and Joshua held tightly to Caroline as the small group headed back to the ship. When they got back to the ship, Joshua carried her down below and laid her carefully on the bed. He thought she was asleep and so he turned to go, but he felt a hand stop him. He turned around and saw her eyes open watching him.

“I knew you’d come back,” she whispered.

He knelt down beside the bed and brushed her hair out of her face and rubbed her cheek, “Of course, I did. I wouldn’t leave you there. Get you some sleep, my darling. I’ll be right outside,” Joshua said. He leaned in close and kissed her forehead, “I love you.”

Caroline was already fast asleep by the time he reached the door. He stood there staring at her and hating Michael for what he had done to such a serene angel. He’d make it up to her though. No matter what it took, he’d make it up to her.