Chapter 10

We spend another couple of hours on a forced march before they finally let us stop. I think this is Coop's way of showing us that our needs don't matter. All in all, I am able to use this time to come up with, what I hope, is a plan to keep these ladies safe.

To their credit, when we do stop, the brutes give us some water and a quick bite to eat. From the murderous look on Gwen's face the food they are feeding us came from the Kindred stores.

I am not sure what kind of time frame Annie needed for her escape. So I figure I would make sure they were keeping ME in their sights. With my crazy hair it should not be too hard. One green haired trouble

maker coming up.

"So, how long do you think it will take the Knight Protectors to catch up?" I ask Gwen in a Nice Clear Loud Voice.

"Maybe a few hours. It depends on how well these animals covered their tracks." Gwen says back in the same kind of voice. Good girl, she is playing along.

"Well, I do not know about you, but I am tired of all this poor treatment." I keep it going.

"Don't talk so loud," sweet young Margaret warns us. She is 3 people down from us. She doesn't understand what we are trying to do. All she can see is the woman behind me trying to shy away from us.

"I think the Knights could be out there Right Now," Gwen says as she spots one of the brutes coming over to us. I can see her tracking him with her eyes, so I am not surprise when he comes up behind me.

"Hey, quiet down! Coop said there's to be no talking!" Tough Boy bellows at us.

"But how can we formulate our overly complicated escape plan if we can not talk. A meaningful dialog is needed in order to allow for the creative process. If you persons keep interrupting our dialog, we will not be able to bring our captivity to its swift and inevitable conclusion." I would have given him more, but he took a swing at me. So much for dialog, I shrugged to myself.

Why do I bring out the violence in these men, I thought as I ducked the blow. He tries again. He is slow, but strong. No doubt, if I was dumb enough to just stand there and let the blow connect he would smash my jaw. On the up side of my dancing about, we now have the attention of most of the women and all the men. I dance around him some more, just for good measure, dodging his fists as he throws punch after punch.

Gwen starts yelling at him, making all kinds of a racket. You go girl!, I cheer silently at her.

Then, when I feel I have everyone's attention, I let him have a glancing blow so that I can fall down. I might even get a bruise from it. I keep up my dodge by rolling around on the ground, as he starts to kick me, now that I am down. It is around now I start to think these brutes were not going to survive much longer, if I have anything to do about it.

Gwen gets her courage up and jumps on his back and starts pummeling him with her hands. By now we are making a nice spectacle.

In the end, with all the commotion, Coop shows up and starts yelling again.

"You stupid cows! What the hell do you think you are doing! Mase, you fucking whore son, get your ass out of there." It was like they did not have a nonviolent response to the world around them. He cuffs Mase on the back of the head.

Coop decides because we have been too noisy, our break will be cut short. He tears Gwen off of Mase's back and starts yelling we need to move now. I get a couple of murderous looks for the men and sad knowing looks from the women.

To my surprise they merely get us up and moving. There is no head count, no sneaking around this time. We are made to move fast. Poor Margaret is having a hard time keeping the pace. I wish I was closer so I could help. As it is, the two women on either side of her are able to keep her upright and moving.

These guys are frightened, I can smell it coming off them in waves. Of what, the Kindred? The kindred did not know about them and right now were not so much frightened as upset. And lost.

In the middle of all this, Annie is able to slip away. I think the bruise was worth it if she can make it back to her Protectors.