Chapter 11 — Fighting Fire with Fire

The loud occurrence of the banging sounds had Ella immediately gripping onto her chest with fear. She was seriously worried that her coldhearted father was being true to his words – fulfilling his promises of paying someone to harm her, or, even finish her off, because now, he wanted her dead.

But soon, she came to realize that such wasn’t the case at all. And it was only her younger brother, Philip, who had come home from his work and had gathered some cheese pan along the way for the catchment of clean water from the pipes and also from the rain as well. And he had carelessly thrown them down on the ground which had given off that loud banging sound around the entire sides of the hut.

Ella’s, brother, had brought home these cheese pans, some big others small, because he wanted to use them for catching water and storing it by the outside of the hut his sister had built out in the bushes for sleeping. And not only for sleeping but also the weather whatever climate conditions that might arise. Since, either of the four siblings had no intention of moving back into the family house to live permanently. Because now, it was only filled with shame, potential death and bad memories.

Walking into the hut and seeing his sister’s face and swollen lips, Philip immediately knew that something terrible had gone wrong at the house today. But, he just couldn’t believe the story coming from his sister’s mouth when he frighteningly ask;

“Ella, what’s the hell wrong with your lips… why do you have so many bruises on your face?”

“Me and that old fucker Dada, went at it today!”

Ella respond.

“What the fuck are you saying to me?” Philip questioned; “Isn’t he supposed to be in severe pain; recovering from the ass-whopping the cops had given him couple days ago?”

Suddenly, Ella began crying. And between each tear drop and her frequent snorting, she uttered; “He had beaten me badly, brother; I thought, he was going to kick out the little life I had left inside of me and then beat the shit out of Dion, as well!”

“That Devil, also came after little Dion today?”

Philip asked with a look of amazement on his face while bringing both his hands to his disfigured jawline.

“It seems like, he hadn’t learn one single thing from Corporal Banks and his men, over the past couple of weeks… prison cells must be really calling his name!”

Philip continued saying with a chuckle and a grunt displaying his disturbance of the matter.

Filled with curiosity, Philip then inquired;

“So how did you manage to get away from that fool, Ella?”

“Buckled down with pain in my belly, after he had been kicking me there like a donkey, I glance up and saw him going after Dion. And I knew then, that I had to fightback. The only thing that I could see and reach for was the wooden vase on the center table… one lick with it across the face and that did the trick… he was down and out like Mrs. Bonna’s old Buick!”

Ella said giggling in tears.

But, Philip wasn’t giggling now.

He was dead serious, because he knew with all these troubles taking place at their address, it was only a matter of time, before fingers started pointing at either one of them.

Especially, if their mother woke up and clearly remembered that it was him and Ella who had severely beaten her to a state of blackout – unconscious; landing her on the hospital ward. And for a moment he thought, just as how his father’s arrogance, cruelty and savage actions towards his own children could possible land him in prison; those same prison gates were calling his name as well.

Not because, he had a violent temper and a wicked heart as his parents inhabited. But only because, he was either defending or protecting himself or one of his siblings from those hands which constantly held the whip on their backs and were eager to cast down hurtful and dangerous blows. Just like the blows his own father had used to disfigure his handsome face.

“Ella, this is no laughing matter… did you go back and check on him to see if, he was still alive… still breathing?”

Philip asked with a terrify look upon his face.

“Why the hell, should I go back and check on that crow-bate, to see if he is still breathing, after all that he had done to me, to you, to Lillian and now attempting to do the same thing to little Dion… look at Dion, can she take any form of lick from that man’s massive hands!”

Ella lashed out asking.

Too afraid of what their future might now hold, Philip refrain from responding and kept silent for a while. But, he was too hungry and frustrated to stay on the topic, so instead he began inquiring;

“Ella, what did you cook today for dinner?”

“Pork lions and rice!”

She replied.

For a moment her brother stared at her in great disbelief before asking;

“Ella, where on this muddy and hellish ground did you get money to buy pork lions?”

“Dada ask me to take it from the refrigerator and cook it for him, so that’s what I did… I cooked it and shared it for all of us! Yours is right here waiting for you!”

Ella replied boastfully.

Now, Philip soon began getting a better understanding of what had transpired at the house on that day. And somehow, it had come to him that his sister had spent time in their parent’s kitchen, cooking, which ended up causing the scuffle between daughter and father.

“Ella, why didn’t you just tell him, you were unable to cook him anything, and then come back here and spend the day with Dion and Devon? You should have known by now, that once any of us are inside that house there is going to be trouble! Furthermore, I had given you more than enough money for food.”

Philip stated worryingly.

And soon, he stepped from out of the hut and began making his way towards where the family house was located; with the intention of checking to see, if his father was dead or alive. Because, he knew, if anyone should enter that house and find their father, lying on the floor with a big gash across his head and the evidence of what had caused it, still around. Then, his sister’s precious life of freedom and schooling, would be definitely over and done with for good. And possibly, his as well; depending on how well, his sister’s tongue could hold a secret.

Hastily, Philip began walking towards the family house and started calling out his father’s name. And upon reaching the backdoor of the kitchen, he paused for a moment and repeatedly called out to his father; “Dada, are you inside there?”

But, not even a whisper of an answer came from inside the house.

Cautiously, Philip made is way inside the living room, and there, he found his father lifeless body, lying on the floor.., no groaning, no sighing, no movement!

Quickly, Philip place his index finger at his father’s nostrils, hoping he would feel warm air coming from there.

Luckily, his father’s breath was still there but, extremely faint.

But what was important to him, wasn’t the fact that is father was dying or living, but, getting rid of the evidence which had knocked him unconscious to the hard concrete floors.

Spearing not another minute, Philip grab the large wooden vase and swiftly ran with it, back to the hut.

“Ella!” He shouted; “Catch this thing of fire right now, or else, dog eat your supper!”

Swiftly, Ella jumped up from the cot, took the large vase from her brother’s hands with scorn. And right away, she brought it few yards away from the hut, covered it with dry leaves, then strike a match and then set it ablaze!

Immediately, Philip ran back to the family house, entered the living room, where he began cleaning up and around the space where his father laid. Flushing all of the dirty food still left on the center table into the toilet, emptying the dishes into the concrete basin that was surrounding the standpipe and then leaving the water to continue running on the dirty dishes. Leaving not a single trace, whatsoever, that anyone had given his father any form of meal throughout the entire day.

Hurryingly, Philip stripped his father of his filthy clothing, wipe off his face with a washcloth, then dressed him in clean garment before lifting his body all by himself, and placing it in an upward position on the largest of the sofa chairs inside of the living room.

Once again, Philip was running back to the small hut where is three other sibling were. There, he quickly handed Ella all the messy clothing that he had striped from off his father’s body. And sternly, he shouted at her while hasting away towards the family house one more time.

“Burn this shit right now!”

And immediately, Ella complied; taking the stinky clothing in her hands and throwing them into the fire that was already ablaze with the huge wooden vase and dry leaves on top of it.

Trying very hard to destroy any evidence that his sister had cooked for her father, served him, and was in any form of scuffle with him earlier in the day. Philip, carefully washed all of the dishes he had placed into the sink around the standpipe, cleansing them off with bleach and soap, and then neatly replacing them into his mother’s kitchen.

Now, he was breathing easier, and felt confident that no one could point their finger at his sister, pertaining to their father’s serious injuries or even his potential death.

For a few minutes, Philip just stood in the living room, staring into his father’s face and watching the shallow breathing from his chest rising and falling, second by second and minute by minute.

“I hope you travel on to where demons beat and bite people in their asses, or in hell, where devils disfigure faces and bodies like how you have disfigured mine!”

Philip prayed quietly to himself before leaving the room.

Over exhausted, worried and hungry, Philip made his way back to the place he now finds to be his solace – his place of comfort and support. And there, he took over the cot in the tiny hut for a while. Resting his brain and wondering how all this is going to end for him and his siblings before asking his sister Ella for his dinner.

Nothing else had touched his mouth since he left from the home earlier on in the morning hours. And coming home from work to this catastrophe with his sister and father had somehow dampen his joyful spirit, with all the fiasco – the troubles that were going on there. But, he knew, nourishing his body now was a must; because, he was going to have another hard day of laboring at the crushing company tomorrow morning.

Sitting up on the side of the cot with Dion and Devon at his feet, Ella handed her brother his bowl of pork lion and white rice which she had saved for him. Which he presumed he would eat, wash his skin off and then go stretch out his back on the cot his sister had made for him at the opposite corner of the hut. And for Philip, such tasks were successfully accomplish less than an hour later.

All four siblings were inside the hut resting and relaxing. And just as Philip was about to close his eyes, enter into a deep sleep, frantic screaming came from the family house; causing him to jolt from his state of rest.

“Ella, what the fuck was that?”

Philip sat up asking.

But the look on Ella’s face, said it all… she was completely clueless.

“Stay here, Dion and Devon!”

Ella shouted to the two younger ones while she and her brother bolted from the hut to investigate the matter.

And upon reaching the side of the house with much caution, Philip and Ella saw the same large vehicle which only a couple a days ago had brought home their father from the hospital.

But this time, however, they were bringing home their mother, and were in the process of returning to the hospital with their dying father once again.

Ms. Nella was wholeheartedly screaming on the top of her larynx – her voice box. And the look on her face was a combination of worry, shock and despair. Her hopes of coming home to see her common-law husband in partially good health was now only met with great disappointment. Since, it seemed like he was more close to deaths door than partaking with anything of the living.

Seeing Ella and Philip, standing in the yard with hands folded across their chest, the team of medical workers shouted out to them inquiring; “Could any of you tell us what has happened to him why he is out like this?”

Both sibling shook their heads, claiming they knew nothing about their father’s condition.

Philip then decided to speak.

“I’ve been at work all day today, and from what he told us the night after you guys arrived with him here; was that his nurse was coming here to stay with him, so we should not have any concerns about him.”

“So you’re not living inside this house?”

One of the men from the medical team inquired.

“Not at all Sir!” Philip responded politely; “My siblings and I are living at the foot of the hill on the other side of the property.”

Ms. Nella then came to the veranda and stare into Philip’s eyes, as if, she was recalling something about that day when she was beaten by her own children to a point near to death’s door. But soon, her thoughts shifted and her hands went all over Christopher’s face, trying to comfort him. Meanwhile, the medical team kept on telling her to get out of their way; so they could carry out their job and get her husband to the hospital as quickly as possible. But, Ms. Nella was stubborn, and refuse from leaving Christopher’s side. And so; she held onto the medical team gurney, until she found herself back into the vehicle which she had exited just a few minutes ago, and then on her way back to the hospital once again.

It was now, the last of day-brake and the pink clouds far west in the heavens were just on their verge to becoming black and undetected, removing all evidence of daylight from the presence of the earth.

Gazing upon each other, suspiciously, Ella and Philip, with index fingers, wipe the sweat from their foreheads and together, they began making their way back to the hut at the foot of the hill as soon as the ambulance drove off the Bradshaw’s property.

They were both worried and their only prayer now, was that their mother wouldn’t remember that they were the ones who had given her that fine ass whopping, sailing her off to the hospital for five nights and four days. As though, it was her vacation spot.

Nonetheless, the time was now pitch black and all the perplexities of the day had taken a strong hold on Ella, Philip, and also Dion and Devon. And together they cuddled up in the tiny hut, praying that the weather would be gracious onto them so they could have a peaceful night’s rest. And they wouldn’t have to seek refuge in their parent’s house during the middle of the night.

Meanwhile, their mother who had accompanied their father in the back of the ambulance, received the shock of her life when doctors and other staff at the hospital, adamantly told her, she wasn’t welcome to be there at the hospital with her common-law husband. Because, she was only there, creating drama in the fairly quiet surroundings and obstructing them from carrying out their duties in peace; with her asking them numerous questions that they were unable to answer to immediately.

And the ultimate reason for them discharging her from the facility was for her to go home and finish her recuperating there. Instead, of being on the hospital ward where she was constantly disrupting the tranquility and serenity of the other patients.

Screaming at one of the doctors, Ms. Nella asked;

“Doctor, I don’t have money, so how do you expect me to find my way home in this darkness, at this time of the night… do you know the hell where I’m living?”

In a state of eagerness to get her out of the emergency area and the hospital building at large, the doctor reached into his pocket, and pulled from it whatever money he had and placed it into the hands of Nella Bradshaw. Who without any gratitude, received it from the doctor’s hands and then started heading out of the premises of the medical facility; blurting out all sorts of profanities.

There were now many serious troubles boiling on the heart and soul of Ella Bradshaw; her husband was laid up into the hospital bed, unable to go back to work anytime soon, several of her children and her, were on very bad speaking terms. Plus, the burial of one of her daughters were supposed to take place within the next two days.

Now, she was heavy with shame, guilt and worry!

All her monkeys were standing firm on her back and she was ready to fight off even the devil!

But, would any light ever come to the end of her tunnel, easing her of her many difficulties and dilemma?

Placing one foot before the other, Ms. Nella slowly began walking – making her way towards the community of Duckens Field, where she has been living for many years. While, desperately hoping for a ride to come along and take her home. Or else, she would be ending up, covering over three miles by foot before reaching her destination.

Thankfully, a taxi driver who frequently drove on the street where she has being living, recognized her in the darkness, stopped at her feet and offered to squeeze her into his car. And that was amongst the other five passengers who were already uncomfortable inside his vehicle, anxiously wanting to reach to their dwelling place.

And all during that long ride home, Ms. Nella had nothing good to say about her own children. And she began pouring out her heart, making remarks several times about how she wanted all of them out of her damn house for good.

Causing one of the passengers to take the lid off her tongue, and began intervening; inquiring if, she wasn’t the one who had carried her children for nine months in her belly and given birth to them?

“Not because I carried them for nine months in my gut, I must make them do as they please around me!”

Ms. Nella fired back at the passenger.

“Woman, they are only children… they are growing and they are learning, and they are going to make mistakes!”

The passenger advised harshly.

“Lady, was I speaking to you… why the fuck have you taken on my story and I wasn’t chatting to you?”

Ms. Nella rudely responded to the passenger seated one seat away from her.

But the stranger wasn’t backing down from her fellow passenger rude remarks, and furiously she blurted back at her;

“That’s why the almighty god, shouldn’t waste his time, saying he’s blessing some of you women with children!”

It wasn’t a comment Ms. Nella cared to hear, especially, from a complete stranger’s mouth. Therefore, she stretched forth her hand across the passenger seated next to her, and then slap the lady in the head who was intervening in her utterances.

Everyone in the vehicle came to a complete moment of shock and astonishment, including the driver, who knew somewhat about her violent behavior at times. But still, couldn’t believe that she would act like this… actually hitting another passenger inside of his car.

As the hands swiftly flew back and forth, slapping at each other, the cab driver came to a sudden stop. And soon, he was out of his car, holding the handle of the passenger’s door at the rear, and telling both women to get the fuck out of his car and continue their fighting in the middle of streets, so the cops could come and lock their asses up for the night. Or, a truck could come and run over them while they are in the middle of their scuffle.

The cab driver was playing or shamming either!

“Get the fuck out my car and create your drama and your bloodshed someplace else!”

The taxi driver said sternly and repeatedly.

Realizing that the cab driver was not playing any games with either of them, Ms. Nella began crying… seriously weeping that she was just being discharge from the hospital, still not feeling well, and how she was unable to finish her journey home by foot.

“Both of you, get your sorry asses out of me vehicle, and stop your disrespecting of my property… you think I can come into your damn houses and behave the way how you’re behaving inside of my car?”

The cab driver continued fiercely with eyes gazing with anger.

“Forgive me driver; I didn’t mean to dishonor or disrespect your bread and butter!”

The other rowing passenger apologized.

“Put me in the trunk of your car and I will finish my journey there!”

The rowing passenger continued with pity showing on her face.

“You’re not getting in the trunk of this car tonight, so you can take your big self and brake all my eggs. Because, if you do, you will have to fork out the money and pay me for every single one of them!”

Another passenger blurted out angrily and annoyingly.

Observing the hopelessness on the faces of his passengers, and also thinking of his financial losses, the cab driver, angrily slammed the door to his car, plopped himself around the steering wheel and soon began speeding away from the spot. And for the rest of the cab ride to Duckenfield and even beyond, the warring parties kept their mouths shut, until, they had reached their destination.

Presuming, however, that Ms. Nella would encourage some form of an argument at the front of her gate when he stopped there, and possibly, causing great damage to his car, the cab driver decided, she would be the last person for him to drop off at her stop. And so he did, but not before asking her for his cab fare, two towns away from where she was living and he would be letting her off.

And as soon as her feet were touching the asphalt in front of her yard gate, the cab driver swiftly sped away cursing, not even waiting for her to close the door to his car.

“Never again, will I pick up a terrorizing, frustrating, disgusting bitch like you!”

The cab driver vexingly blurted out while gazing in his rearview mirrors, trying to see, if, any stones were coming at his vehicle.

It was close to midnight when the cab driver had executed his last stop at the Bradshaw residence. And instead of going to her bed and getting some well needed rest, Ms. Nella went about searching the entire house; each bedroom, hoping that her children were inside one of them or someplace in the house, so she could antagonize them. Waking them up from their deep sleep and putting them out to sleep in the night air.

Thankfully though, they had decided to satisfy themselves with sleeping inside the hut at the foot of the hill, and would only go by their mother’s house, if they really needed to.

Nonetheless, trouble was brewing and Ms. Nella had no intention of going to rest her weary body, until she had caused some chaos or catastrophe in the middle of the night.

And in the midnight hours, she made herself a bottle torch, lit it, and began sweeping through the bushes, hoping to find where Ella had built her hut or where her children were laying their heads to sleep at nights.

But as Philip always instruct his sister Ella, “Sleep with one eye cock and watching!” he also heeded that advice for himself as well.

Furthermore, the better part of the night was already gone for him and he was wide awake and just resting on his back, thinking about all the things he wanted to accomplish from the crushing company in the upcoming year or so.

Suddenly, Phillip could overhear rattling sounds sweeping through the bushes. At first, he thought it was some form of stray animals like a dog or cat, lurking about the dry leaves, piling all over the ground. Then shortly afterwards, he began seeing glimpses of light which were shimmering in more than one direction outdoor.

There were a lot of imperfection in the walling of the hut, and Philip could easily see through the holes and make out an animal figure differently from that of a human being. And he was quite certain that the light that he was seeing wasn’t a natural one like that from the moon or the sun. And he also knew, cats and dogs, don’t walk with bottle torches.

Down on hands and knees, Philip carefully watch the movement of the lights as they came closer and closer to the hut. Soon, he could recognize who was holding onto the bottle torch as his mother, and knew that she wasn’t there for peace offering or anything good.

Like a hawk, he watched her movements, and just as she started sprinkling on the hut some of the flammable liquid from one of the bottles in her hands, and said in a quiet and hateful tone of voice;

“Burn you bitches burn… I want to see your ashes burning tonight!”

Philip jumped to his feet and shouted at her;

“Hey, if you ignite a single leaf outside there, I’ll make sure, your fucking ass, turn black Bar-B-Q in it!”

Ms. Nella jumped to the comment of the voice.

Immediately, Ella woke up, after hearing her brother’s vexing voice in her sleep.

“What is it?”

She asked while rubbing away sleep from her face.

“What is it?” Philip retorted.

“It’s your fucking mother who is outside there, trying to catch the hut ablaze and set us a roast like jerk pigs, inside here!”

Philip continued to respond loudly.

Ella, soon began screaming, waking Dion and Devon.

“You see, Philip, if you had only allow me to express myself at the standpipe the other day, this wouldn’t come back to haunt us!”

Ella lashed out sobbingly.

Ms. Nella was standing still, still quite in a state of shock, unable to believe that she was caught in the act of larceny in the middle of the night and the potential murder of her own children.

She knew how cold and dreadful her son hands could be, and now she wasn’t sure, if she should continue throwing the fire torch onto the hut or run for her life.

“Who was going to hear her screams or run to aid her at this hour of the night?”

Were Ms. Nella’s thoughts.

She also was aware of the fact that if, she made it back to the house, and lock the doors behind her, either one of them wouldn’t be able to get inside the house and attack her, beating the shit out of her.

And it was at the forefront of her knowledge that Ella was swift as a tiger and she could pounce upon her body and pull her straight to the ground like a damn hungry lion, hunting for raw meat.

“The fire will fix them!”

Ms. Nella thought to herself. But she was dead wrong.

She was in a catch-22, a fiasco, and a predicament that she couldn’t get herself out of at this moment. And it would only take a miracle or the mighty hands of a god to get her out of this situation and safe her life this time around.

Believing that burning down the hut would bring some detriment to the children she so badly despise, Ms. Nella threw one of the bottle torch she had in her hands, at the hut her children were now calling their home; causing it to turn into an inferno – setting it ablaze. And then she took off running towards her house; hoping to reach the kitchen door and quickly bolt it before any of them could get to her.

Immediately, grabbing Dion and Devon by their little armpits, Ella physically threw them out of the hut, sending their little bodies flying between trees and then rolling down the other side of the hill, away from the roaring fire and to safer ground. The only danger, she presumed that they could possibly encounter were a couple of crocking frogs mating, searching for food, or trying to find a cool resting place before the sun hit one hundred.

Philip made a dash for his mother, but quickly changed his mind halfway into the chase, and then return to the hut to put out the fire while sadly weeping away at the detriment – the harm that he was facing with his own damn parents. He honestly didn’t want to put his hands on his mother in a violent way ever again. Even though, she was making life for him and his three other siblings, extremely difficult.

And as he hurryingly threw cheese pan after cheese pan of water from the larger container onto the hut, trying his hardest to save whatever little preciousness they possessed. Philip heart became weaker and weaker, and the heavy tears, they kept on gliding down his face continuously like a fire hydrant.

Ella on the other hand, she kept on running nonstop towards her mother’s big concrete house, desperately trying to destroy every possible entrance way, leading into the house. Frantically hoping, she could enter inside and attack the woman who had carried her for nine months in her womb.

Spearing nothing on the surface of the ground, she was throwing them into the doors and windows one after the other, frogs and all!

The surroundings were damp and the night dew could be felt not only on the leaves, but also on the glass windows and the oil pain on the doors. The moon was gone hiding before the break of dawn and in the pitch blackness of the early dawn, stood at full attention, scaring just about anyone with its thickness.

Hands tired from hurling and throwing rocks for hours, Ella used her shoulders to press against the kitchen door, forcefully. And immediately it gave way, granting her access to the inside of the house. But the doors to her mother’s bedroom was locked and she knew, that’s where her mother was hiding. And she made several attempts to get at least one door open, but the door couldn’t and wouldn’t budge.

But was Ms. Ella hiding in her bedroom or someplace else within the house?

Cussing, swearing, venting and ranting, Ella tried getting inside her mother’s bedroom, but every pushing, banging, and knocking against the door, only left her soar and in pain. Especially, on the muscular parts on her shoulders which she had much faith in, that they would do the job of getting one of those bedroom doors open.

An interfering sound of some sort was now coming from the back bedroom, where Ella and her siblings were accustomed to sleeping.

Thinking that it was her brother, Ella ask shouting;

“Philip, did you manage to get the fire out and save everything?”

But there was no response.

Suddenly, Ella felt the heat or a sensation of someone else close to her body. And since, her brother hadn’t answered her question when she had called his name, asking him, her initial question, she knew for sure that the presence around her wasn’t that of her brother and needed to be quite careful.

However, her trying to be cautious, was of now effect. And soon a hard blow came to her head, slightly knocking her off her balance.

Determine, Ella got hold of herself, and whatever that dark mass that was in front of her and breathing very heavily, Ella wouldn’t stop beating into it with all her might, until, the voice holla out at her; “Please, Ella, have mercy on me, I’m the one who had brought you here!”

But, Ms. Ella cry for mercy was way past late!

Because, Ella’s pinnacle of madness, pain and dreadfulness, was way past compassion, sympathy or empathy. And not to mention, having a touch of sleep deprivation.

Now, she wasn’t sure if her mother was dead or alive. All she knew now was that she had smash and crash into her mother’s flesh numerous times, and the smell of blood was all over her hands.

Feeling empowered, victorious… as though she had won her battle, Ella began fumbling through the dark, trying to find her way back to the exterior of the house; so she could go in search for Dion and her baby brother Devon.

Standing in the backyard, trying to recollect her mental faculties and her sense of direction. Ella broke down and started crying as she began placing one foot nervously before the other, in the cold and thickness of the midnight hours, in search of her younger siblings.

Oddly enough, the place where she had anticipated that they would have landed, they weren’t there, or anyplace close by it. And repeatedly Ella called out their names and had gotten now answers.

But where could they have possibly gone in the dungeon darkness of the dawn of night without any form of light being around them?

Gradually, on all fours, the only female teenager, in the Bradshaw family, made her way up to where in the hut stood, partially burned and soaking wet, and where her brother Philip laid in the hut on his back, acrimoniously crying his heart out.

“I can’t understand, why our own mother and father hate us this much… despise us, as though, we have purposefully brought a curse upon them? No one else that I know is going through, what we are going through! And we didn’t ask them to bring us here!”

Philip wept as the tears kept on dripping heavily from his face.

“Why didn’t they just throw us over Garden Bridge on the date of our birth while they were bringing us home from the hospital; so we could then become nourishment to gators under the bridge; instead of raising us this far to perish us like this?”

Came the words uttering from Philip’s mouth as numerous streams of water came dripping from his face onto his shirt and eventually on his forearm.

Since it was still dark, there wasn’t much that could be done when it came down to searching and finding Dion and Devon. Therefore, the two elder brother and sister, cuddled against each other until they had fallen back asleep and until the break of day.

It was the crowing of the horny rooster around the community who was always jumping all the hens around the place which had gotten the attention of Philip and Ella. Causing them to soon open their eyes from their sleep and then started stretching.

Once again, Philip and his sister tied ropes around themselves… around their waists, and on both hands and knees, they went down into the tunnel which their parents had dogged over a month ago. Hoping that they would find their younger brother and sister there. But to their amazement, they were nowhere in sight; as if, they had never existed!

This time around, there were no signs of footprints or handprints carved in the damped mud and the calling out of their names which went on for hours and repeatedly; followed with no answers.

A moment of exhaustion had taken over the strength of the two elder brother and sister of the Bradshaw’s house, who were down in the muddy trenches. Soon, they managed to climb up the steep hill, changed out of their muddy clothing and then wash themselves off before fixing themselves something to eat.

Philip was ready to get the professionals involve for his younger brother and sister’s sake. But, he was shaking in his boots… so damn afraid of what would be the potential outcome of his sister, Ella, pertaining to the violent beating of their mother when the police started making their inquiries.

Someone will be questioning them for sure; that one of them inside the yard must have heard something… screaming, noises, shouting or any form of sound indicating that there was trouble around the property. Since, they were all there in the yard when their mother had returned home from the hospital that evening.

Beating their mother to a state of unconsciousness the very first time around, the two siblings were extremely lucky; because no one suspected them of carrying out such a merciless action.

However, it surely didn’t seem as though, they were going to be that fortunate this time around.

Reflecting on the entire situation, Philip encouraged his sister to go by the police station and report the matter of Dion and Devon gone missing while he would head on to work. And if, the cops should started interrogating her about the possibility of their mother, Ms. Nella, taking the children off to someplace unknown to them. She should then inform the officers of the strange character who was trying to catch their hut on fire last night. But, they were unable to recognize who that person was because the time was very dark. And with that information, the police would then presumed that it was such a person who probably had taken away little Dion and Devon from them.

Would this fabricated conspiracy workout for them, leaving the two elder brother and sister, free and clear from any wrong doing when it boiled down to their mother’s mysterious demise?

“A complete stranger, being on the property of the family and trying to catch our dwelling place on fire, was enough information to have the police force looking in a different direction.”

Philip thought.

But would Philip be dead wrong?”

Her hair comb into a ponytail, a white T-shirt with part of the bottom burnt and a short jeans skirt to her knees, Ella was now ready to make her way to the police station with the intention of reporting two of her siblings missing. Her brother Philip hadn’t left the house as yet, for work, and shouting out a nervous goodbye to him, Ella swiftly began walking past the side of the concrete house leading towards the front gate of the yard.

And before she could even set foot on the sidewalk, mysteriously, a black pick-up truck stopped at her feet; bringing her to a state of utter shock.

“What has gone missing from around your house?”

Came the voice while rolling down the tinted window to his vehicle.

Holding onto her throat, as though, someone was about to strangle her to death, Ella stood there, speechless for a while.

Minutes later, she recognize the driver’s face to be that of Corporal Banks.

Still astonished about the question he had just posed to her, Ella stood there gazing into his eyes with a look of puzzlement on her face, before anxiously uttering a word.

“What has gone missing… what has gone missing… haw… what has gone missing is my little brother and sister!”

Ella responded with much uneasiness showing all over her.

“Open the backdoor!”

Corporal Banks commanded while his eyes traveled from Ella’s face to where the end of her jeans skirt rested little above her knees.

Stretching her hand, then pressing the silvery looking handle for opening the back door to the pick-up truck, Ella was flabbergasted to witness Dion and Devon fast asleep on the backseat of Corporal Banks truck.

“How comes they are inside your truck?”

Ella lashed out asking with sparks in her eyes.

“I was just on my way to the police station to report them missing!”

She continued with one hand pressing against her chest and the other carefully touching the head of Devon who was much closer to her.

“Thank god, you guys are safe!”

Ella went on declaring.

Realizing, Corporal Banks, still had his head turned towards the backseat of his truck, admiring her, Ella briskly ask;

“Where the hell have you found them?”

“Do you really want to know?”

Corporal Banks ask, with a big chuckle on his face which allowed his shoulders to move up and down simultaneously.

“Of course, I do want to know… I was looking for them last night after someone try catching our hut on fire and I had to hastily throw them out of the hut for their own safety. But after my brother and I were done putting out the blaze and I went searching for them, they were nowhere to be found. And this morning, we both crawled into the tunnel over there looking for them and they were nowhere around there either!”

Ella explained.

Seeming, as though, he was taking his time to mentally calculate the coincidence under which he had come into contact with these Bradshaw children, Corporal Banks began relating his story of last night.

“I was coming from the bar last night… early this morning for that matter… dead tired! And from around ten feet away, I saw the two little figures crossing the street; I couldn’t believe my eyes! And to me, they seem to be clueless about where they were going! Quickly I stop the vehicle and ask them where they were going; and the little girl answered me saying, she was going back to bed! Causing me to laugh! I then told myself that probably they were sleep walking, and I just didn’t want to disturb your father from his rest or the entire household; because I knew of your father just returning home from the hospital. So I got out of the truck, lifted them up and place them on the backseat, and they had been sleeping their ever since.”

The man of the law informed Ella.

“I also know, the family would start searching for them as soon as morning came, and not finding them anywhere in the yard, one of you in the house would have come to the police station and then report them missing!”

Corporal Banks concluded.

Generous as always, Corporal Banks lifted the hand breaks to his truck before stepping out of his vehicle. And soon, he was by Ella’s side and began lifting Devon from off the backseat of his truck, placing him above his shoulder and then carrying him towards the veranda.

He already knew how the house was situated and decided that he would take the sleeping child to the back bedroom in the house. But realizing that the front door was lock from inside, he yelled out to Ella to come and open the front door for him. But frighten about what the policeman will see once he entered that back room; Ella froze.

The entire physical system of Ella was completely shut-down and unable to respond to the officer’s request.

Seeing her reaction, in sighted Corporal Banks suspicion right away, that something terrible was wrong there at the Bradshaw house.

Ella, remained standing like the statue of liberty, not even blinking and eye lid. Corporal Banks quickly pushed out one of the window planes, forced his hand through the space and then open the door with Devon still resting on his shoulder.

Nothing seemed abnormal to Corporal Banks when he first entered the house, but as he began walking around and looking, he realized that there was the stench of raw blood inside the house, and things seemed to be shuffled – out of place of bit.

But, what Corporal Banks would further witness that hour of the morning, would have him just like Ella was, completely in a state of stiffness, holding his breath for minutes and also for dear life.