No Man Left Behind: A Veteran Inspired Charity Anthology by Elizabeth Knox (black authors fiction TXT) 📕

Knowing this couldn’t go any farther today, I helped her pack a small bag for her and Jacob. The ride back to the clubhouse, her arms were wrapped around my waist and thoughts of our future swam through my head.

I needed to find out what happened to her, and I was afraid she wouldn’t tell me. Out of fear or misplaced guilt or shame. Returning to the clubhouse, I cornered Bullet after getting Sadie settled into my room, hoping he would tell me what or whom I needed to kill.

“You need to ask her. I don’t know all the details, but I can tell you, about eight or so years ago, something dimmed the light in her eyes. She’s happier than I’ve ever seen her.” He stepped closer to me and his voice took on a menacing tone, “If you do anything to hurt that girl, I’ll cut you into pieces and no one will ever know. Do I make myself clear?”

I nodded and watched him walk away.

What did she experience that caused such a sudden change in her?

Deciding to give her time to tell me, I walked to our cabin to find her stretched out on the bed, Bear wrapped around her leg and Jacob doing his homework on the kitchen table. Vowing then and there to slay her demons and give her peace, I picked up a book and joined her on the bed.

My eyes glanced at her as she read, a genuine smile on her face.

Whoever hurt her would pay.

Whoever damaged her would die.

Whoever stood in my way would be destroyed.

For Sadie, it was worth it.

To be continued …

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Embracing My Nightmare - Prologue

Elise

Horrid screams pierced through the thick veil of sleep I was swimming in, pushing the monsters back into the recesses of my mind. I tried to fight my way through the darkness and back into the light, fearful that whatever was causing the screams was worse than the demons that chased me when I slept.

My ‘father’, Roger, had forced the pill down my throat, a strong grip on my neck as he poured the water into my mouth, making me choke as he yelled at me. His fingers dug into the tender skin of my neck as I swallowed the bitter pill and I knew I would have bruises from his brutality tomorrow. I had become good at hiding the evidence of their abuse, but I feared these injuries may be the worst ones yet, and that was saying quite a bit.

My ‘mother’, Sally, watched him, shaking her head in disgust at me while they waited for the pill to take effect. He held me to my small bed by the throat, his eyes wandering over me, making my stomach lurch as I noticed the lust in his gaze. It took little time before I was dragged into the dark world of sleep, teetering on the edge of awake and unconscious, fearful what tonight would bring.

Lately, Roger had become more brutal with his punishments and his eyes had lingered too long on my developing frame. Yesterday, he had ‘accidentally’ walked in while I was showering, and I knew deep down that he was about to subject me to a worse punishment than ever before.

My sixteenth birthday was last week, and they had locked me in my room, reminding me I wasn’t special and didn’t deserve a party or even a present to open. I had grown accustomed to their cruelty, but their words still stung my heart like a poisonous arrow. I locked my feelings away and dreamed that one day, someone would love me for the person I was and not try to change me for their own needs and desires.

They reminded me daily that they had adopted me, screamed at me that I should be more grateful that they had taken me off the streets and into their loving home. Loving home my ass. I lived every day of the last six years maneuvering through the landmines they set for me. Harsh words and hard fists had been my daily routine since I could remember. I never understood why they hated me so much and why they had adopted me if they didn’t want kids.

It was bad enough someone left me at a church when I was five years old. The pastor’s wife found me filthy, starved, and crying for someone—someone who never came back. After no one claimed me, I went into the foster system and after five years of rotating homes; Sally and Roger Hutchins adopted me. They kept the name the state assigned to me, and they never attempted to bond with me. I was always a burden to them, and I never knew why.

I could hear angry voices shouting from the other room and as hard as I tried, I couldn’t shake the tomb of sleep that had encased me. I was lucid to what was happening but couldn’t move more than a twitch. They had drugged me before, but nothing to this effect. I knew whatever was happening in the other room; I was powerless to stop it or to protect myself.

I didn’t know if I would stop what sounded like my ‘parents’ being beaten, even if I was able to. They had treated their two dogs better than they had treated me and some days, the only food I got was from the meals the school served. I learned years ago to hide a small part of my lunch, just in case they decided I was too much of a burden and starved me for days.

“Please, don’t hurt him,” my mother pleaded with the unknown person who was with them. “He’s all I’ve got in this world.”

“WHAT ABOUT HER?” the man’s voice bellowed, startling me and for the first time,