Read Living in Darkness (Bloodbreeders) Online
Authors: Robin Renee Ray
“That is the first time that I have seen you laugh,” Rebecca observed.
“You are a strong woman; I believe you will do well in Cuba.”
“I hope so. If this is what my future is, then I best get used to it. Was
it hard for you? I mean, did it take long to accept what you are?” I asked.
“My story is a long one, and there are many tales to tell.” she paused,
and then looked up at me. “It is hard for everyone in the beginning. After so
much time, you forget what you once were, and you live anew.”
My heart went out to her. She gave the impression she was invincible,
but right now she seemed sad and vulnerable. I walked over and gave her a big
Texas hug. “I have already learned so much from you. I hope we can become real
friends.”
“I would like that as well. Okay, enough before I cry,” she laughed. “We
must be on our way. Don’t want to keep old
Capie
waiting.” For the first time since all this started, I felt like I had a
friend, a true friend.
We left on foot, carrying bags and several boxes of what I assumed were
supplies, along with three goats. We walked along the beach about twenty
minutes until we came to a bend, which led to a large dock. Parked at the dock
was a rusty old steamboat, and I thought to myself,
Well, I guess that’ll be home for the next week or so
.
One by one, we passed along our
belongings to one of
Capie’s
crew, who seemed to be
more than a little afraid of us, wide-eyed, sweating on the forehead, all with
the shaky hand kind of fear was definitely apparent.
After everything was loaded, including us,
Capie
called out, “Let’s get this ole bitch out to sea boys.” He looked over at
Rebecca and myself, and with a small bow of the head, quietly added, “Pardon my
words, ladies.” We just smiled, because I think both of us had probably said
worse things than what we had just heard. Still, it was nice to see a fellow be
a gentleman for a change.
Men were running in every direction, doing all kinds of things. The
commotion normally would have been distracting, but not tonight. All I could do
was stand and watch the shore as it slowly disappeared. I won’t lie, I was
somewhat afraid, first time being on a boat and all, but the breeze in my face
and the night sky helped make it all very worthwhile. The air was so fresh, I
found myself closing my eyes taking in several deep breaths before leaning my
head back to notice that the stars were so graphical compacted, I couldn’t even
make out the Big Dipper. The water was very calm, and black as coal. It all
made me forget, for the time being, what had happened to get me here. And for
that small moment, I was grateful. Hours passed with me standing on that very
spot, before Rebecca eventually came over and stood by me.
“Renee, why don’t you come inside? Let me show you where you will stay
when the sun rises.”
“I was going to ask if you had ever seen anything so beautiful before,”
I said to her, smiling. “But I know you said you’ve done this many times
before. You are a good woman, Rebecca.”
“Come, before we both tear up again.” She smiled back, taking my hand.
I followed her down two different levels, and the deeper we went, the
louder it became. I wasn’t sure how these boats worked, but I just assumed that
the sound must have been some kind of motor. We kept walking until she stopped
in front of an oval-shaped, metal door and began turning the wheel that was in
the center. After a few spins, it opened. She stepped through first, and then I
did the same, having to bend down to avoid hitting my head. The room we were in
was not that small, but with all of the crates in it, there wasn’t much room
left. Pushed into a far corner were a small, square table and four metal chairs.
As far as I could tell, the only place to sleep was either bunched up on the
floor, or on top of one of the long crates. Just the thought made me miss the
wonderfully large bed I had slept in at the beach house.
“The captain has asked that we stay below deck until his crew has
retired for the night,” Rebecca explained. “He thinks it will be best for his
men.”
“Yeah, I could see the fear on their faces when we were loading our
things from the dock.”
“He also asked that we stay in our own area down here. Not to be
looking in the other rooms, and such,” she continued.
“Sure, anything,” I said. “He’s doing us a great favor, and I am
thankful.”
The ride wasn’t much to talk about, everyone going about their own
business. When I could, I stayed up on deck, thinking about the things I left
behind, and the things I was about to experience. Cuba was going to be so
different from anything I had ever known. I didn’t know the land, the language,
and to be quite frank, I was horrified to meet the people. I wasn’t that innocent
young woman back on my family’s farm anymore, and
I better
get used to that thought.
All I truly
wanted was to wake up to the smell of my mother cooking in the kitchen, and me
finding all of this to be a very nasty nightmare.
The third night out Omar, and Ronny, got into a fight down in the area
we slept in. When I came in, Omar had Ronny by the throat, saying, “I’ll do as
I damn well please, and no little man like you is going to stop me.”
“What’s going on?” I asked. “Omar, let go, you’re hurting him.”
I must have been standing a little too close to Omar, because his free
hand came at me so fast, I only saw it seconds before it slammed into the side
of my face. I flew backwards, knocking over several crates as I landed.
“Omar, what are you doing? Put him down, now.” I heard Rebecca demand.
“This isn’t over, mama’s boy. It’s not over by a long shot,” Omar spat
the words into Ronny’s face. He released his grip, and Ronny slumped to his
knees, holding his throat, coughing like he could hardly breathe.
“Omar, you fool,” Rebecca yelled when she saw me trying to push myself
up. “You could have really hurt her.” She came and kneeled beside me. “Are you
okay? Can you stand, child?”
“I think so,” I replied, spitting blood to the floor.
“Damn it, Omar, did you have to hit her in the face?
Look
what you have done
,
she is already swelling
. Did
he knock out any of your teeth, Renee?” she asked, examining my mouth.
“No, I don’t think so,” I said. “Don’t worry, Rebecca, I’m fine.”
She walked over to Omar and backhanded him so hard that it echoed.
“What were you thinking?” she asked disgustedly, backhanding him again.
He stood there taking the punishment, never once raising a hand to stop her. “You
could have ruined everything. Did you ever stop to think what would happen if
we failed?”
I didn’t have a clue what they were talking about, but I did notice
that Omar was now looking in my direction.
“Later,” Rebecca said smoothing her hands down the front of her blouse.
“Now get out of here before I do more than hit you.” Omar just continued to
stand there, looking at me. “Now,” she screamed, as he looked at each of us one
at a time.
“Fine, I will go,” Omar complied. Then through clenched teeth, pointing
at Ronny, said. “But keep that boy away from me, or I will kill him.” Before he
left, he threw a look at me that said he would do the same to me if given the
chance.
When Omar was gone, Rebecca turned to Ronny and me. “Come, both of you,
sit at the table,” she said. “Let me get a better look at you, Renee.” I got to
my feet, and shakily made my way to the table. When I sat down, she asked
again, “Are you sure you are okay? Let me see your teeth.” It seemed like an
odd request, but I obliged, baring my teeth like a growling dog. “Very good,
none have been broken. You are very lucky, Renee, he could have broken your
neck. Looks like you are only going to have a black eye, but it should be
healed by the time we reach Cuba.”
Why
should that matter?
I thought to myself.
I was in worse shape than this when she found me
.
She seemed more concerned about my appearance than about
the situation that had just occurred.
While she continued to inspect me, she asked Ronny. “What started this?
What did you do to upset him like that?” Ronny looked to me, and then put his
head down. “Well? I’m waiting,” she said impatiently. “So, tell me what
happened between you and Omar,” she asked again, clearly getting annoyed at his
lack of answers.
“I would rather not discuss this in front of Lady Renee,” he said
reluctantly.
“I can go back up on deck,” I said. “I don’t mind.”
“Yes, maybe that would be best,”
Rebecca
replied without hesitation. “Just stay clear of Omar until he calms down.”
“I think I’ll be keeping my distance no matter what,” I said. Before I
could get up to leave, Ronny grabbed my hand.
“Thank you for trying to help me. It was very brave of you.” I
acknowledged his appreciation with “You’re welcome,” and headed out the door.
Although I told Rebecca I didn’t mind leaving, curiosity got the better
of me. I had to know what had started that fight. I tried to eavesdrop, but the
boats noises were much too loud. I had to get so close that I could feel the
cold metal against my cheek before I could make out anything they were saying
and then I was having a hard time understanding. I was able to hear bits and
pieces of the conversation, but nothing complete. I heard something about Omar
wanting to feed, and not from a goat.
So,
that’s what caused the fight
,
I thought. Then, I heard Ronny say clear as day, “He wants her.”
Her? As in, me?
I was thrown off enough
that I missed what was said next, something about spoiled goods, that Omar knew
that. My mind must have been playing tricks on me, because none of what I heard
made sense. I was going to try to hear some more, when someone behind me cleared
their throat. I spun around, startled.
“Oh, God, Marcos, you scared me.”
“My apologies,” he said. “What are you doing out here?”
“Oh,” I replied looking back at the door, trying to seem inconspicuous.
“I was just going up on deck, that’s all.” I knew
good
and well he could tell that I had been eavesdropping, but to my surprise he
didn’t say anything about it.
“What happened to your face?” he asked, genuinely concerned. “Looks
like you’ve been hit with a bat.”
“Close, I tried to step in between Ronny and Omar, and Omar knocked me
on my butt,” I said, adding a little humor to the situation.
“What were they fighting about?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “I walked in and found them at it. Omar had
Ronny by the throat. I guess if you want to know why, you’ll have to ask them.”
“Well, I will let you go on up now, I’ve kept you long enough,” he said
then reached for my shoulder. “Would you like for me to come with you?”
“No, thanks,” I said. “I’ll be fine. The fresh air will do me good.”
As I went up, Marcos went into the room I had left. Surely Rebecca will
fill me in on what happened when she gets a chance, I thought. I stood on deck
until I could see the horizon start to change, before I decided to go back
down. By that point, everything appeared to be normal, because the three men
were playing cards at the table, laughing. Rebecca was lying atop one of the
crates, and waved me over.
As I got closer, she said, “You already look better. Sorry you had to
see the boys like that. Next time, stay out of it.” Then she whispered, with a
little wink, “You know how men can get when one is jealous of the other.” I
just gave her a little nod of agreement, but never fully believed it had
anything to do with jealousy.
Chapter 9
The nights passed without any more trouble. It was like nothing had
ever happened, and I was glad. We fed every other night, and being we were down
to our last goat, I knew we must be getting close. As if reading my mind,
Rebecca said, “We will arrive in Cuba tomorrow night.” as Ronny sliced through
the last animal’s throat, with Marcos holding it still.
“I can’t wait,” I said. “I don’t think I can take much more of this
boat.”
“I know what you mean,” Marcos chimed in. “I hate these damn things.”
Ronny
gave a sigh of relief
when he finished
with the goat. He laced his fingers behind his head, and leaned back in his
chair. “Ah, only one more night, then we’ll all be sleeping in soft beds.”
“With soft women by our sides,” Omar added, with a smirk. By then, we
were all laughing, basking in the anticipation of our arrival.
The next night, I was up on deck as soon as I awoke. I was anxious to
see
this
new land that was going to become my new
home. At first, I saw nothing. Then I heard one of the crew yell out, “Land Ho!”
I spun around fast, and sure enough, there it was. A light flickering in the
distance and within moments I could make out the shape of the land.
I went down to tell the others, but the door was locked. I knocked, and
spoke through the closed door, “Hello? We are almost there. I can see land.” I
heard the door unlock, and Rebecca came out.