Chapter 14 — Good Versus Evil

Tiredly returning home from her daily job, Wednesday evening and seeing her father seated and slumped over the rails of the chair. Ella then entered the house and violently, she slammed the door behind her. Ignoring the fact that her own father was even sitting there hanging on for his precious life.

He had been sitting there for the past nine hours or so, without having any food in his stomach since the emergency personnel had dropped him off at his house. And neither had he receives any help to take any of the medications he had brought home from the medical facility. Too weak to get up and also overcome by fainting spells, he just wasn’t in any shape to do much for himself now, and was depending on anyone of his children to assist him while he came home from the hospital. But, little did Christopher Bradshaw know, that his own daughter Ella had not forgiven him for the many years of abuse and mistreatment he and their mother had inflicted upon her as child.

And neither was he aware that the most merciful child out of all his lot of children, Philip Bradshaw, was presently in jail for a rap he wasn’t guilty of, and had no chance of ever coming out anytime soon.

Looking emaciated and scraggy, Ella’s father, still holding on to the handle of the veranda chair, called out her name repeatedly for her to come and assist him inside of the house, so he could stretched out his back, comfortably and rest. But instead, his own daughter completely disregarded every trembling call proclaiming out her name. And so she did for hours.

Realizing, his voice box was gradually shutting down each minute of his shouting, and his voice had become more and more horse. Christopher kept quiet and sat still in his mess on the chair, until night had fallen and it was completely dark. While Ella, showered, fixed herself something to eat and then went sprawling out on her father’s bed. Her father’s cry for help was deaf to her ear, and soon, she was dosing off to sleep. As her father, silently sat out in the cold air, hoping and praying for a miracle to come his way.

And certainly, a miracle came!

It was close to nine o’clock in the night when Mr. Marshall was on his way home and decided to ease his foot from off the gas pedal a little, and turn his head towards the Bradshaw’s house. Just to see, if there were any activities going on there. Even though, he wasn’t expecting anything at all to be taking place there, since he was expecting for Ella alone to be at her house; because her brother was in jail and her two younger siblings were taking up residency at his house.

But upon slowing down his vehicle and turning his head, he realize that there was a thick mass in a human shape, seated on one of the veranda chairs of the family’s house.

“Is this a bloody ghost or a real person I’m seeing here?”

Mr. Marshall said to himself.

Timid out of his wiz, he abruptly press his foot on the breaks, bringing his truck to a complete halt.

He now wanted to reverse his truck to where the entrance of the yard was positioned, but it would still be too dark for him to see what or who was seated on the veranda. And even though, he had been highly educated in the affairs of business and various kinds of rocks, he had grown up hearing numerous stories about encounters with ghost. Which to him, seem very factual at the time. And many of those stories still lingers in his memory presently.

Needless-to-say, the place was in complete darkness and reversing his truck and peering through the windscreen wouldn’t do much for him. Therefore, Mr. Marshall turned his truck across the street, allowing his headlights to focus on the chairs positioned on the veranda. And in doing so, he noticed that this figure seated on the veranda chair was no bloody ghost, but it was an actual human being. And no other than, Mr. Christopher Bradshaw himself, who was seated there in the chilled air.

Driving his car right into the yard while blowing his truck horn, Mr. Marshall was only combated with stillness and silence.

Soon, he was hopping out of his truck to further investigate, what the hell was going on. Which at the time and with all the noise he was making, Ella had not even crack a window to look, much less, open the door to see who was actually there tooting their horn that time of the night.

It was only after pounding on one of the bedroom doors, closest to the front porch of the house, numerous times, that she decided to finally get up from her bed and open the door, to inquire who it was that was actually there interrupting her sleep.

The truck lights were still on and shining brightly on the veranda, and Mr. Marshall could clearly see all that was going on around him. Ella’s father sitting there looking gaunt – frail, fragile and faintish. And he could also smell, that Christopher had pushed out his waste upon himself as well.

“Oh my God what is this happening here?”

Mr. Marshall said loudly and in a state of surprise.

Few Minutes later, Ella came to the front door leading towards the living room, with frowning face. And soon, she began asking Mr. Marshall; why was he there interrupting her sleep?

“Look at your father, Ella!” He shouted; “You didn’t know that your father was outside here in the cold, sitting in his own shit?”

“And how am I supposed to know that, when I’m inside the house sleeping!” Ella shouted back; “In case you have forgotten, Sir, I have been working in the boiling sun hot all damn day; at your company. And I need my rest to do the same damn thing when tomorrow comes! So, I have no time watching what this man does around here!”

“Wasn’t he in the hospital?”

Questioned, Mr. Marshall, furiously.

“Of course he was!”

Ella responded.

For a moment, there was only silence between them and disbelief showing on Mr. Marshall’s face.

In a state of awe and astonishment, Ella’s boss had both hands on his head, and a mind filled with suspicions, before uttering another word again. But his suspicions were being pointed in the wrong direction.

“These workers at the hospital, really take one of their patients and leave him out in the cold like this without anything… no nurse, no food, no water, no help for him or nothing at all… god damn it, they all must be fired at that place!

Ella’s employer ranted angrily in the dark of the night, with only the headlights from his truck serving as a viewing aid.

“Boss-man, that’s going to be for another day, but what do you want for us to do now, because I need more sleeping!”

The teenager said in a calmer voice than she had ever spoken before since he had arrived there.

But, it was this calmness in her voice which now started having Mr. Marshall, nervous and worried. Because, he began recalling that Ella could be very dangerous and also cunning at times. Now, he nervously began hoping and seriously praying that someone else could just halt for a moment… any of the other motorists, using that stretch of road passing her house; would just stop by that address and start intervening on what was the matter there.

Mr. Marshall couldn’t find any words to answer Ella, but soon, his clever thinking allowed him to ask her, to get some clean clothing for her father to put on, while he stayed on the veranda watched him. And while Ella agreed to do such, Mr. Marshall kept running back and forth to the streets, hoping for one of the drivers to stop and stay with him there for a while.

Disappointedly, none of the drivers pasting by cared to stop for the position of being a watch guard for him.

Presumably, they had more important shit to take care of.

“Holy Moses, if only one person will just stop for a second, lord, I’ll be grateful!”

Mr. Marshalled said prayerfully looking to the heavens.

Still yet, there were no heavenly intervention taking place, and soon Ella was back on the veranda with clean clothing for her father.

The night air was cool, but Mr. Marshall was terribly sweating like a dehydrated hog, fearing that this could possibly be his last night on earth. If, Ella outsmarted him and whack him over the head with a shovel like she had done to Corporal Banks.

“We can either wash him off at the standpipe, or we could bathe him, in the bathroom way in the back of the house.”

Suggested Ella.

Trying to stay alive was extremely important now, even though giving a helping hand to someone else who was badly in need of it. Mr. Marshall strategically – fully thought out, and decided for him and Ella to give her father a bath under the standpipe, located at the side of the house. Therefore, he made the decision to remove his truck from where it was already parked and drive it closer to where the stand pipe was positioned. And most importantly, where he could directed the lights from his truck, so he could see clearly where he would be giving Mr. Bradshaw a good hose down. And even more importantly, he could watch out for Ella coming at him with the shovel or any other form of weaponry in the darkness.

But her mind was far from thinking about hurting him; at least not just yet. Because, she desperately was in need of money – that pay check coming in her hands at the end of the week and she would be in need of that salary for a very long time. Furthermore, she also needed the big strong muscles of a man to help her with the lifting up of the mattresses and placing them back on the foundation stand of the beds. Because, she and her brother had thrown them out in the yard for the sun to dry, two days ago.

Quickly removing his truck and parking the front of it towards the standpipe with the lights shinning there to its fullest capacity, the generous and softhearted man then hurried off to get Ella’s father. Who was still seated on the veranda chair hanging on to dear life, barely clad, and with a filthy hospital blanket, thrown over his body haphazardly – messily!

Rolling up his sleeves and turning the front of his cap to the nape of his neck, Mr. Marshall with a firm grip, held onto Mr. Bradshaw’s hands and slowly led him towards the standpipe at the side of the house.

“Stay in front Ella, so that I can follow your lead!”

Mr. Marshall kept on saying repeatedly; not wanting the teenager out of his sight for an unattended second. But Ella’s act of lingering behind wasn’t for causing him any harm, but the stench coming from the rear end of her father’s body, was quite unpleasant, and she quickly needed to catch some fresh air away from it. Since, she constantly had to be holding her breath periodically; not wanting to faint.

Finally, they reach the standpipe with her father, where there were pans of water laid out in buckets from previous days which Ella had used for washing hers and her other siblings clothing. And not even waiting for Mr. Marshall’s instructions or to explain to her how he wanted this process of undressing and bathing of her father to be orchestrated. Ella swiftly took one of the buckets, containing soapy water and immediately, she threw it on the top of her father’s head. Seconds later, she was again, doing the same damn thing, with another bucket of water; causing her poor father to scream and shiver in the chilly night air.

And in the process, she had even drenched the clothing of the Good Samaritan, who was willfully there, giving a helping hand.

Ella was extremely pissed, but very little of it showed on her face or came out verbally, but her action said it all. Especially when it came down to undressing her father from his stinking clothing, properly getting him wash, then dressing him for bed later on. And neither did she felt comfortable washing the private parts of the man who had beaten her and her other siblings harshly, over the years. It was like giving her water to drink and spitting into it, right in front of her face and demanding that she drank it.

Observing her, reluctance to touch anywhere around the pubic area of her father, Mr. Marshall hastily grab the piece of cloth used for soaping down her father, and did the honors – vigorously washing the private areas of the same man whose wife was dead and lacking help from any of his children.

Meanwhile, Christopher gave out frightening screams as the chilled waters, touch the thin surface of his skin. He may have been weak, but he was still pretty much alert, and he didn’t want uttering too much. Totally, fearing that his own daughter would probably beat him and finish him off, if not presently, then during the night when the stranger was gone. Because, she was strictly fed up with him being a nuisance to her.

Few moments later, the lathering was completely done, the water hose was turned on, washing all the soap suds from head to toe from Mr. Bradshaw’s body.

Less than ten minutes, Christopher Bradshaw’s body was being fully dried and brought back to the living room where he was asked to be seated on one of the sofa chairs. There, Ella rested her father’s clothing into Mr. Marshall’s hands, and straight up told him, to get her father dressed. He could have rejected the command, if he wanted to, but he knew, if he had done so, Ella would have returned to bed, leaving her father sitting in the living room, utterly naked and cold.

At last, Mr. Bradshaw was fully dressed in warm bed clothing, and it was the very first time that Mr. Marshall had seen a crack of smile on Ella’s face since he had arrived there that night. Causing Mr. Marshall to wonder; what the hell was she up to now?

But, he would soon find out.

“I need for you to help me with getting those mattresses on the outside, back on the inside and then onto the bed frames.”

Ells said with a sense of boldness, as though, she was conversing with one of her friends from school and not her boss.

Thinking that she was about to take him in the back of the yard and whack him to death, Mr. Marshall alarming declared that such could stay for another day, or in the morning when it was daybreak! But Ella was very adamant that he assisted her right then and there, with the taking up of the mattresses.

“Where is your friend going to sleep, if we don’t take them up right now?”

Ella ask whimsically trying hard to disassociate herself from having any form of relations or connection with her own father.

Stilled filled with fear, that something terrible was going to happen between himself and Ella, that she had secretly plotted to do him in, Mr. Marshall then suggested that she allowed her father to sleep on the same bed with her.

“Why can’t he sleep on the same bed that you are sleeping on now for the night, or, you sleep in the living room while your father sleeps on the bed?”

Mr. Marshall asked analytically.

“I must sleep, on the same bed, with this man?” Ella questioned vexingly; “I would rather to follow in my sister Lillian’s footsteps, rather than, having this man lying on the same beside me!”

Her comment had Mr. Marshall shrinking within himself and even more terrified of her. And soon, he began patting down himself and remarking to her that his clothing were totally sopping with water, and he need to get home now, so he could get out of them.

Just Ella was about to utter more convincing words to him as to why he should assister her in transferring the mattresses inside the house, he then began retracing his steps backwards. Trying hard to get out of the house without being detected that he was doing so; so he could get to his vehicle quickly, onto safer territory and then somehow make a run for it.

But just as Mr. Marshall had reached the center of the veranda and decided to run off to his waiting vehicle, there came someone else, loudly honking the horn to their vehicle while driving up to the doorsteps of the Bradshaw’s house. Like a haunted soul, hurryingly chasing after the rapture to heaven.

Frightened out of his wiz, Mr. Marshall quickly turned around with hands above his eyelids, shielding the bright lights from his eyes, hoping to make-out who it was, basking into the people’s yard that hour of the night.

Moments later, the lights from the vehicle were turned off and a tall figure emerged from it, vigorously slamming the door behind him. And then confidently, he began walking towards the entrance of the house as if he was the owner of it.

It was soon to be realized, that it was Corporal Banks who had come to pay the Bradshaw’s house a visit once again.

Filled with fear and panic, Ella stood still staring at the officer, while looking like an over boiled lobster, with both hands covering her mouth and her eyes bulging wide open.

But, why was Corporal Banks there, and at that hour of the night?

Was his abrupt presences, was for being generous to the Bradshaw family once again, or, was he there this time around, for something much more sinister, menacing, and evil?

One thing was for damn sure, Mr. Marshall’s heart was over elated, seeing another human being – another actual person, entering the property of the Bradshaw’s residence. And who certainly; was not related to the Bradshaw’s family in any form or fashion.

The Good Samaritan now had his hands clasp and thanking Moses and all the other heavenly hosts who had somehow miraculously answered his prayers; by sending help at the house of the Bradshaw family.

Suspiciously, staring in wonderment at the big red truck, facing the standpipe at that time of the night, Corporal Banks frankly stated that he had only stopped there to see what was going on after noticing the lights. Because he had seen the truck lights, shining towards the standpipe, and he was quite damn certain, no one was living at this house who owns a truck or any other vehicle, other than a bloody squawking bicycle.

Mr. Marshall was practically flabbergasted seeing the officer whom he had just visited two days ago in the hospital, standing in front of him now. And so surprisingly and excitingly, he asked;

“When did they release you?”

“It was only this morning, they decided on kicking my ass out of there, claiming that I was well enough to be back on the streets; doing my goodly deeds. But, I’ll be resting at my home for a while before signing up for any duties.”

Corporal Banks answered while his eyes fixated steadily on Ella’s face, who still had her hands covering her mouth and eyes bulging wide.

“Well, I’m glad to learn, you’re back on the streets once again with all of us, hardworking people!”

Mr. Marshall commented with a smile on his face as he extend his hand to the police officer, shaking it.

“Ella, do you still want those mattresses to be put inside the house?”

Ella’s boss then asked while winking at the corporal with a smile.

In a childish and innocent manner, the young girl nodded her head. And it was in that moment, Mr. Marshall happily turned to the corporal, asking for his assistance in the lifting up of the mattresses and bringing them to wherever Ella wanted them to. Because, he now knew, it would be difficult for her to try anything dangerous… harming him while Corporal Banks was there in his presences.

Without any hesitancy, Corporal Banks ask;

“Where are they?”

Moving her hands from her mouth, Ella responded;

“They are in the backyard, Sir!”

“Don’t Sir me now, you can ‘Sir’ me later, because you weren’t Siring me, the other day when…!”

Corporal Banks stated friskily, but abruptly stopped speaking, soon after realizing, Mr. Marshall could be a witness to his statement.

“Come on; take me to them!”

The Corporal then said.

Hastily, Ella went through the living room, the kitchen and then into the back bedroom, where she opened the door to the back of the house. Soon, she was guiding both men to where the mattresses were laying on the ground on pieces of old zinc in the backyard.

“This one is for my brothers, so it goes on the left, and the other one is for me and my sister, so it goes on the right.”

Ella explained, as both men were attempting to lift up the first piece of bedding from off the ground.

Mr. Marshall with his face turning towards Ella’s, who was standing more to the backend of the corporal, then mumbled while staring fixedly into the officer’s eyes as he leaned over towards him;

“You just keep an eye out, for that stallion standing behind you!”

But, the corporal totally ignored his comment and proceeded to lifting the mattress at the count of three.

Having the mattresses on their wooden stands, Ella thanked both men for assisting her with such, as they made their way back to the living room area of the house, talking. Meanwhile, she grab sheets from her parent’s room and used them for covering both mattresses belonging to her and her other siblings.

Mr. Marshall was now very thankful that all that needed to be done at the Bradshaw’s house was now accomplished, and he was free to go home to his wife unharmed and with a joyful conscience.

Ella’s father, Christopher who had already fallen into a deep sleep was now being assisted by the officer into the bedroom, located in the back of the house. And soon, he was being placed on his sons’ bed, just as how Ella had suggested for him to do. And as he laid the man, breathing heavily and snoring, down on the bed, and who was plotting on killing him only two months ago. The corporal wondered, if he was ever going to make it through the night.

Mr. Marshall was the first to leave from the premises where one of his employee was living. And as he made his way to his truck, after shaking the hands of the corporal, and thanking him for his help with the mattresses, Ella then shouted at him;

“Please, Mr. Marshall, tell Dion and Devon, I say hello, and that I will see them soon!”

“I will do that Ella, I will do that!”

Mr. Marshall answered happily as he eagerly placed himself around the steering wheel of his truck. And seconds later, the man with the golden heart, began reversing his truck towards the entrance of the Bradshaw’s property.

In a jiffy, he then started tooting at the horn of his truck once out on the main street, leading him towards the direction of his home. While Ells stood there shouting; “See you tomorrow at work!”

The perfect opportunity which Corporal Banks wanted was here… being alone with Ella.

Her father was in the back room and Mr. Marshall was now on his way home to be with his family.

Glancing over at Ella, Corporal Banks asked;

“So where will you be sleeping tonight?”

“In my parent’s bedroom!”

She answered with her eyes open wide in wonderment about his inquires.

Before Ella could inhale – take another breath, she felt a stinging sensation across her face.

Understandably, she didn’t have to ask him why he was doing this to her. Since, she already knew how badly, she had beaten him with her mother’s wooden handle shovel. But what he would do to her next, was extremely far from what she was expecting from a man like him… a man who is supposed to be an upholder of the law. And slapping handcuffs on her and throwing her ass in jail wasn’t at all in the picture.

The Corporal, began dragging Ella by the hair, which there wasn’t much of it; managing to bring her into the bedroom belonging to her parent. And there, the corporal demand that she stripped… stripped out of the bright orange T-shirt she was wearing, making her look like a boiled lobster, and even out of her underwear as well.

Ella was clueless about what he was about to do to her next!

Being out of her clothing, Corporal Banks pushed Ella unto the bed and jumped on top of her like he was hastily jumping onto the top of a motorbike to ride it away in an Olympic race. Soon, his mouth was all over her lips, sucking at them forcefully and heartily, while one hand started reaching into her opened crotch, where he began inserting one finger inside of her, then another. He then began getting deeper and deeper inside of her with his fingers, as though, he was about to dismantle her virgin womb, from where God had permanently positioned. As they went about popping at her cherry – tearing away at her hymen in two parts.

Her agony was tremendous, but very little sound came indicating such, could emerge from her mouth, because the force of his mouth was firmly placed over hers in a stifling manner. And every shifting for an escape would be combated with a tighter grip.

Moments later, his fingers were been drawn from between her legs while her body pulled at them like a vacuum. And now his manhood took over the place of his fingers, ramming, stroking and shoving into her virgin cunt, repeatedly. Just like the shovel, she was now using to make her daily bread. On and on he went, pushing, striking and thrusting her with his massive strong dick, until what seems to be hateful, revengeful and violence sexual interactions, were now more filled with passionate scrams. While, he was about to let loose his little swimmers inside of her; not caring an ounce, if any of them would attach themselves to her youthful ovaries or not.

And as those little swimmers came rushing down, like mad ants in the Amazon Jungle during rainy seasons, Corporal Banks screamed out; “Ella, I love you!” as his sweaty body kept on jolting repeatedly on the top of her. As though, he was being electrocuted with a touch of steady current.

Her beautiful cunt was now soaking wet, quite mushy and vibrating away like a rapid heartrate. As if, the Corporal’s plank was still actively inside of her performing… carrying out its sexually charged motions.

She could have easily put up a fight with him, now that he had finished giving her this awful sexual experience. Because, she was fit and full of strength in that sense. And then, make a run for it.

But, Corporal Banks was a figure of authority in the community, someone she actually looked-up to, and a man of the law who had helped both her and her family in their moments of troubles. But even more importantly, she presumed, he was keeping the secret of her killing her mother, just like how she had tried killing him less than two weeks ago. And for him this was the best sex he had ever had in his entire life, and there was no way he planned on giving it up, at least not yet. He seriously, intended on keep coming back to her for more of it.

Side by side, they both lay on the bed, analyzing their own thoughts after the act had been done with. And both very fearful to make their confessions known to each other.

Ella, in a fit of rage had killed her own mother, wrongfully sent her brother to jail and ultimately, to prison cells for a very long time. While, Corporal Banks, an enforcer of the law whom many persons respected and admired, was secretly carrying out the opposite… forcefully banging an under ager.

Feeling revived and refresh; an air of youthfulness in his body, the corporal got up from the bed and began getting himself dress to now make his way to his own quarters – his place of dwelling. And before exiting the room of Ella’s parent’s house, he glanced over at the young girl, still completely naked, and warningly stated to her;

“If you catch a belly, don’t you ever, call my fucking name, you got that!”

Ella being quite startled to the words the corporal had just spoken to her, immediately sat up in the middle of the bed, and with a shock look on her face, she burst out asking;

“Then, it’s whose name am I supposed to fucking call, God?”

“Yes! Call his name and let the entire community knows that he is the one who has pop a seed inside your belly!”

The corporal replied before exiting the door and slamming it shut behind him.

For a moment, Ella remain seated on the bed with her thoughts; wondering why the corporal had passionately said out loud to her, that he loved her during the moment of them having sex. And before leaving her house, he was rudely demanding that she kept quiet about carrying his unborn child, if she should ever gotten in that way of a fetal expectancy.

But time would allow her to understand two things. First, telling her that he loved her in his moment of sweet ejaculation was only the sex talking. And secondly, he had made an oath to serve and protect the citizens on his community, especially those who were elderly and a minors. And he having sex with her, was falsifying on such an oath. Which would eventually cause him to look bad in the eyes of his colleagues, the entire community where he was serving, and then ultimately causes him to lose his job.

However, unable to figure what was real or unreal to her or the answers to her questions, Ella got up from the bed and went to wash her skin off in the shower, got dress for bed and then she went off sleeping peacefully.

The timing of her biological clock was now off and her usual custom of getting up out of bed early and following through with whatever tasks she needed to carry out for the day was pointless. Since the following morning she was still fast asleep when it was her time to be at work. It was only the banging of Mr. Marshall’s heavy hands on her window plane, just like the night before, which had allowed her to open up her eyes in wonderment. And his calls were many before she actually did respond to him.

But as soon as Ella had gotten out of the bed, opened the front door to the house for Mr. Marshall, who barely said good morning to her, he stepped straight inside the house with a basket filled with food in his hands, asking;

“Ella, where is your father… how was is night?”

Not wanting to be rude, Ella responded;

“You will find him in the backroom on Philip’s bed.”

Hastily, the tall husky looking man who was never without his cap, entered the back bedroom, and greeted Mr. Bradshaw who already was awaken, with a friendly good morning.

“Brought you some food here, Christopher!”

Mr. Marshall said with a smile.

Ignoring the kind gesture being presented to him, Mr. Bradshaw suddenly exclaimed;

“Help me to the bathroom, please… I badly need to past out some piss!”

Resting the large basket on the foot of the bed, Mr. Marshall aided weak and broken man to the restroom and when he was finish there, back to this bed. While, Mr. Marshall kept on pouring out questions to him, asking him about how he had slept during the night. And as they made their way back to the side of the bed, the discharged patient seems to be walking much stronger than few minutes ago and in the previous day.

Was Mr. Bradshaw, capable of moving about far much more than he was pretending?

Nonetheless, Mr. Marshall opened the beautiful basket of delights which he had brought for the ailing man while naming out each and every piece of item in the basket, he had so generously decided to share with him.

“You can start with the crackers and the cheese or with the crackers and a thin of the sardines, so you can start taking your medication now.” Mr. Marshall advised.

“I think you’re! But let me rinse out yesterday’s hunger from my mouth, before I start filling it with today’s blessings!”

Christopher said while getting up from the bed and making his way towards the kitchen to fetch the water for gargling out his mouth.

The strength of the man was nothing but pure astonishment to Mr. Marshall, but he said not a word to him about it. Anticipating that Ella’s father was faking his condition in the hopes that his daughter would be merciful upon him and spare his life in her act of terror. But then again, who knows? A good shower, a good night’s rest and now some good food in one’s present, can perk-up any human spirit from their moment of sadness and gloom.

Returning to the bedroom, Christopher requested for Mr. Marshall to go back on the veranda and get his medication which he had left on the top of the chair where he was seated. But instead, the Good Samaritan, began calling out Ella’s name repeatedly, requiring her to bring him the pills belonging to her father. But the only response he had gotten was the loud echoing of his voice. Ella Bradshaw was nowhere to be found around her house. The experience she had had during the night was weighing heavily on her mind, and she just felt, if she made it to work and soon began digging into the pebbles of stones, her thoughts would evaporate from her mind, shortly.

However, Mr. Marshall left the room and went about gathering up the paper bag of medication on the veranda for Ella’s father. And upon his return to the room, Mr. Marshall was utterly shocked to see how well the man was eating. Because, now, he had his mouth stuffed with sardine and crackers while reaching for the bag in his hand with around four different kinds of medication inside of it for him to swallow.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

“Christopher Bradshaw muffled as tiny pieces of crackers came flying form the corner of his mouth.

“Last night you gave me a shower, and today you bring me food; which none of my own children haven’t even consider doing for me!” Mr. Bradshaw expressed shaking his head sadly.

“You just keep in mind that anything you want on this property; it is yours!”

Mr. Bradshaw continued, still shaking his head while looking dead straight into Mr. Marshall’s eyes.

Neither accepting nor rejecting, Ella’s father thoughtful gesture, Mr. Marshall ease himself up from the side of the bed, indicating to the patient, that he was now ready to go off to his place of work. But, it was in that moment that Mr. Marshall decided to unveil the truth, the harsh dilemma that his son wasn’t anywhere around the community, but instead, he was in the hands of the police.

“Your son Philip, is not here assisting you, Sir! Only, because, the law enforcement squad has dragged him off to jail, claiming that he was the one responsible for attacking and beating one of their own; close to the point of unrecognizable flesh and features!”

Upon hearing such a dreadful and frightening news, Christopher Bradshaw, immediately stop eating, threw away his bag of pills, and laid out stiff on his back with eyes bulging wide; and gazing up at the cracked concrete ceilings. And for all of the short duration of time, which Mr. Marshall stood there and kept on asking him, if he would be alright during his absences; the heartbroken man spoke or answered not another word.

Nevertheless, duty was calling and Mr. Marshal knew, if he stayed around the Bradshaw’ house any longer for the morning, he would end up missing out on much incoming daily businesses. Therefore, he presumed that Christopher was still in his right mind and just a bit startled about the bad news. So, in a hurry to get to his work, he patted the man on the shoulder and kept stepping through the front. Seconds later, he was seated about his steering wheel of his truck and completely driving off the Bradshaw’s property. Few minutes or so afterwards, he was pulling up and parking his truck into its usual parking spot, alongside the company’s cemented and dusty building.

Ella had already made her way over the ten footed fence while all the men stood by watching her. Since they knew that such a thing wasn’t and wouldn’t be permitted by the owner of the company. She also had started shoveling up gravels prepared from the day before and placing them in their designated heaps. Her muscles were now already pumping hot and her body sweating, like hogs in the mid-summer heatwaves.

Observing, her being dedicated to her tasks, Mr. Marshall shouted at her and indicated for her to come over to where he was standing. Which she did, somewhat reluctantly; fearing she was going to be reprimanded by her boss. But, Mr. Marshall, made no mention to her, pertaining to her leaping over the ten footed fence surrounding the property of his company, but something else more important he uttered to her.

“Ella, I would like for you, to return to the house and give an eye on your father during your break time, okay!” Mr. Marshall said with concern showing on his face; “Because, he had started eating well little before I left the house, but, hearing the news that your brother Philip, was behind bars, he collapsed onto the bed into what seems like a state of shock!”

Totally forgetting that she was talking with her boss, Ella bellowed out, loud enough for the ears of her other co-workers to hear what she was about to say, even though, her utterances weren’t meant with any purposeful intentions.

“Why the fuck is he being astounded and astonish now… when he was turning his son’s face into a scary Halloween costume, he wasn’t falling out and being astonish back then, right!”

Ella expressed angrily.

Moments after her angry outburst and uproar, she started hissing her teeth repeatedly while walking away from her boss and then back towards the pile of gray colored gravels, lay waiting there for her.

In that moment, Ella had her own deep sets of burden bearing which, she absolutely couldn’t tell anyone about! Uncertain of what Corporal Banks would do with her if she did!

However, not caring much about the suggestion her boss had made to her, pertaining to seeing her father on her brake time; brake time came and went, and Ella totally ignored the preposition made by her boss. Fully well, knowing that regardless of the condition her father might have been in, he wouldn’t be seeing her face until her work shift was completely over that Thursday evening, and she had decided on heading back home.