Jo: Chapter 4: The Inspector

The early morning sun shone through the dirty window waking the two sleeping girls on the third week of the fourth month. Jo and Samantha woke up as early as they always did. “Jo should we eat before he gets here?” Samantha and Jo left for the pantry to find some fruit.

It was then that the Inspector arrived, completely unnoticed by Jo or Samantha in the small dark pantry. He had entered the room just outside the pantry with Miss Ryanne.

Her past flashed colorlessly and sightlessly in her minds’ eye. Get the child! He had said. Get the child. Even now, so many years later she could still hear him saying it. Get the child.

She stayed seated in the pantry. It was dark, much like when Jo had hid in the space behind her bed. His voice echoing around her head as she sat with Samantha at her side. The Inspector was drawing ever closer to the pantry with Miss Ryanne.

“Where is she?” said a cold smooth voice outside the pantry door. The kind and gentle voice of Miss Ryanne was muffled by the door, and the two girls could not hear the reply. The cold voice spoke again, objecting to the reply. “Jo is a crucial proposition if we are to harness the power. Which means that we must keep her in this projection of life. Miss Ryanne, Jo was brought specifically to this home because I was told that you are the most efficient at helping young girls successful and compliant. But if you won’t make Jo grow up, then I will. Now, get the child.”

Jo felt as if the world had stopped spinning. She was falling into darkness. Further and further into a black abyss. It was as if her lungs refused to breath and her heart refused to beat. Time seamed to jump backwards so that Jo expected she was reliving her fathers’ last night all over again.

 

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Jo heard this man, Jason, entering her room. “Come out, come out little girl” he said in a sing-song voice. “Your precious daddy wants to see you.” He was taunting her now.

Jason began to search the room furiously. He was pointlessly knocking priceless items off of her shelves knowing full well that she could not possibly be behind them. He drew out a small orb of portable light to search the darker areas of the room. He knelt down to look under the bed, and Jo nearly fainted with fright for if Jason had shined the light a mere two inches to the left, it would have splashed upon the door behind which Jo was concealed. But at that precise moment, an angry call from Kent was shouted up the stairs. “Jason! Get me that child.”

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So this is him. Jo thought to herself. This is the man who murdered my father. This is Kent. She was dismayed at the knowledge that she could not see this for such an extensive amount of time. The cruelness concealed inside his voice. His merciless stare. But none of that mattered now. All that mattered was his not finding her.

“Samantha,” she whispered earnestly. “Samantha, I have to get out of here, I have to leave.” She was in a panic and could hardly breathe

“What " Why " Jo - Wait, what are you talking about?” Samantha stammered in her confusion.

“I have to leave this orphanage, this prison. I cannot go with that murderer. I won’t!”

“Jo, you’re not making any sense. Why would you want to leave the orphanage, and who - what murderer?” Samantha asked, shocked.

“Samantha! Don’t you understand? That man -Kent - the Inspector - he murdered my father. He brought me here so that I would live in illusion, that I would help him with something. But I won’t Samantha, I just can’t.” Jo was frantic with fear and on the verge of tears. She was at a loss for what she would do, or where she would go, even if she could get beyond the Inspectors reach.

The lights in the dim pantry brightened and for one wild moment, Jo feared that Kent and Miss Ryanne had entered that pantry at last. Sam had to cover Jo’s mouth so that no scream would escape her lips.

Instead of her hunter, as Jo had feared, the brightness had come with the only one whom Jo was sure would be able to help her out of the deep cavern she had suddenly found herself in.

“Vene!” Jo nearly leaped at him from sheer joy.

“There is no time for formalities my dear. Now that you have discovered the truth, you must follow your hearts’ instincts and flee.”

He was turning to leave and Jo panicked. “Flee? Flee to where, to what? How do I get past the Inspector and his malice? Why-”

“Jo,” Vene cut her off. “There is no time for questions. Go where your heart takes you, and with whom you heart requests.” And with that last statement he turned and left, leaving Jo even more demoralized and isolated than before.

Samantha was simply in a state of shock. “Who was that?” she inquired sounding bemused.

Jo began to explain who Vene was to her, although she had not nearly adequate enough words to convey how much he really meant to her. “He is my heart.” She stated simply. “But there are more pressing matters at hand. We must first pervade them.” She indicated the two adults outside of the pantry.

Then she paused. What else had Vene told me to do? ‘Go where your heart takes you, and with whom you heart requests.’

“Samantha” Jo said thinking very quickly at how this could play out. “Come with me.”

Confused but sure she responded “I will go with you.” Samantha offered. “Wherever you choose to flee.” Jo’s mind fell blank for a second as she had expected Samantha to flat out refuse, not flat out accept.

“Alright, here’s what we’ll do.” she said as her brain steered on track again. She conveyed her plan to Samantha and immediately they had it underway.

The two girls walked anxiously to the pantry door and composed themselves to look as calmly as possible. Jo turned the brass doorknob and pressed open the door. The girls stood dazzled by the bright sunlight that seemed to have come out of nowhere.

“Ah. Good morning Jo. And you to you Samantha. Miss Ryanne here tells me you have a promising future approaching.” The Inspectors cold greasy voice washed upon them entrancing Samantha immediately. Jo looked up at him abrasively, which was a lucky cover for if she had stayed pretending to be composed he would have known she was trying to deceive him. “Ah Jo,” he sighed. “Will you never learn to trust me as the other girls have so willingly done?”

“Sir, I do believe you know already the answer to your question!”

“That is a pity my dear, for I was just discussing with Miss Ryanne here about your coming with me to continue your studies and to be my partial companion for my travels.” It was not a request, but a demand, for which Jo was clearly aware. Even more than that, she knew that she would not be his companion, but a slave.

To both her alarm and Samantha’s, she accepted his offer. “Very well, I will go with you, but let met me first go to my room to gather my few possessions and to say my goodbyes to the other girls.” She turned on her heal to leave, practically dragging Samantha behind her when the Inspector commanded her to halt.

“You agree to this so willingly and without pause for question or refutation? This is most unlike your unique attributes Miss Josephine.” Jo’s heart was beating so loudly, she was sure that the inspector could hear it. She should have known that he could not be fooled by such an imprudent lie.

“Who knows, perhaps I shall be turned into a proper lady after all.” She responded cooly The Inspector and Miss Ryanne both looked at her very suspiciously, but dismissed her nonetheless. Once Jo and Samantha reached the hall and were finally out of the Inspectors’ sight, they broke into a run determined to reach their room before anyone noticed them fleeing, it appeared, for their very lives.

 

Author's Note

i know the grammer and words feel childish and not very well thought out, however this is simply a draft and i am planning to update the lingo soon i am simply trying to get my chapters out so i can continue