chapter five

When Shannon came to she found herself in the dark dungeon again. As she blinked to get used to the light she suddenly realised that she was not alone. That new girl was here too. Shannon slowly sat up and leaned against the wall. She was now used to the dark and she could see the other girl with her head in her hands, but she couldn’t tell if she was crying or sleeping. She must have been crying because as Shannon moved to get more comfortable she lifted her head in her direction. She looked relived that Shannon was moving.

 

            “I thought … I thought that you were … were dead. I … I was s…so sc…scared.” She managed to stammer.

 

            “Oh, don’t worry about me!” Shannon laughed a nervous little laugh. “I am … well used to it. You shaking! Are you all right?” the girl nodded. But clearly she wasn’t, she was shaking all over. “Poor girl” Shannon said to herself. Out loud she said “Are you scared?” The girl nodded again.

 

            “I trusted him!” She started crying again. “I though he loved me. Mum and dad were right! Why didn’t I listen to them?”

 

            “I’m so sorry!” Shannon felt sorry for this poor girl. She moved closer to her. “I’m Shannon, by the way!”

 

            “I’m Judith ...  How … how long have you been here?”

 

            “Twelve years!”

 

            “What? Really?” Was the shocked reply.

 

            “Yes.” Shannon told her story, of how she was kidnapped when a child and how she had been here ever sense. Judith was shocked and abhorred. Is this what lay ahead of her? But this girl, Shannon, was not from here, surely! That defiantly was not an Australian accent.

 

            “Please … please don’t m … mind me asking, but your accent, I mean, its … its different … I mean, you are not from here are you?”

 

            “I know I have been here foe twelve years but I have no idea where in the world I am. I was born in Northern Ireland, in Europe.”

            “Europe?” Judith was shocked! “Why this is Australia! Northern Ireland. Ah that’s where I have heard your accent before! Rachel is Irish I think!”

 

            “Australia?!” Now Shannon was shocked! “Wow! I didn’t expect that!” They sat in silence for a few minutes then Shannon spoke again. “How did you get here?” Judith sighed.

 

            “I met Rodney. He was so handsome and he always made me laugh. We got to know each other and I really began to like him a lot. My parents and brother didn’t like him, said he was fishy. I didn’t listen to them and continued seeing him. Then he asked me to marry him! I said yes and my parents were mad. They forbad me to marry him, but yesterday we decided to run away together and get married. But he tricked me. He took me here. And I hate him. I should have listened to my parents. I should have.” Tears were rolling again and Shannon put her arm around Judith to comfort her.

 

            Before they could do anything the door burst open and a very angry Peggy and Rodney pushed in and started shouting. Peggy pointed at Shannon and yelled “This is your entire fault, you ugly cow!” Judith drew a sharp breath. Shannon sat unmoved. “Tommy is dead, is dead I say and it is your entire fault. You killed him, you killed him, you killed him” she yelled. “You will die for what you did, you ungrateful brat you will stay here till you die, you won’t see light, you won’t eat food or drink water. You will die here, you will die.”

 

            Shannon just stared at the angry woman. Judith trembling trying to plead for Shannon. “Please mam, please, how did she kill him, you can’t kill her, it wouldn’t be right. Please.” The irate woman looked at her in shock, not expecting anything. “Rod …”

 

            “Shut your trap,” Rodney snapped. “Get up you, we are going to leave her hear to die and there’s nothing you can do or say that will change our minds. Now move.” He grabbed her and dragged her out of the room, slammed the door and locked it.

 

            Shannon felt sorry for Judith. She knew what was up in front of her, and it was not pleasant. Shannon shivered. So this was what it is like to be near death. But the mention of death made her sit straight up. Death. She remembered what she had heard in Sunday school all those years ago. It was something to do with being ready to die. How was it that one was to get ready to die? She remembered something to do with sin, and how if you had sin you couldn’t get to heaven, and if you didn’t get to heaven you would go to hell. Somehow she felt that going to hell would be worse than what she was going through right now. So how was it you could get rid of your sin? Trying to remember some verses she had learnt as a child she suddenly remembered a verse in John chapter three verse sixteen, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believith on him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.” That was what she had to do. She had to believe on Him. On God. Believe on Him and have everlasting life. She prayed, “Dear God in Heaven, I come to you as I draw near to death. Lord, I wish I knew of you way before now. I wish I had remembered. But dear Lord please forgive me for my sins. Lord, I believe on you. I remember when I was young, the Sunday school teacher saying that you died on the Cross for sinners. Lord, I believe that you did. Lord, I wish I had a Bible to read all about you before I die. But you know that I don’t. Dear God, please remember Judith. Lord save her from this. Dear Lord remember Bobby, and Hope, and Chelsea, and mum and dad, wherever they are and whatever they are doing, whether the remember me or not. Dear Heavenly Father, help me now. For I ask it in the Name and on Thee I do trust, for Jesus sake, Amen.” Her head hurt, her back hurt, every bone in her body hurt and it was thinking of God and what He has done for sinners that Shannon slipped into unconsciousness.

 



 

Dale, Jack and Bobby where now in the forest that was a few villages away from their village. They had spent the whole day looking in all the crooks and carneys in the village and those surrounding it. But it was all to no asset. No one had seen anything and there was no trace of either boy or girl. All the Christians on the village where praying for the safe return of Judith, and the police had sent out a search party. But even though the police seemed to think that there was no need for Dale, Jack and Bobby to go out looking for her, Dale could not rest as he felt that he should know where his sister would more than likely be.

 

But Dale was starting to get frustrated now. All day they had searched to no avail and now they had ended up in the Dean Forest. “This is so useless. I should know where she would go. She would never come here!”

 

“But we better look anyway, to give you the satisfaction that you didn’t miss anywhere.” Stated Jack and Dale knew he was right. Bobby and Jack felt sorry for their friend. They didn’t think that Judith deserved her brother’s compassion and his want to search for her. She had treated him like dirt ever sense she had met the Rodney guy, whoever he was. Although he had his doubts about Judith and what she deserved he also knew that nothing would stop Dale looking for her. They admired Dale for that.

 

They continued through the forest. When they came out the other end, they came across a massive house. Neither had ever seen it before.

 

“That’s why,” Bobby pointed to the stumps of trees. “It has been hidden by those trees!”

 

“Shall we go and have a look?” asked Dale.

 

“Why not, won’t do any harm.” The boys walked down the path. Bobby nudged Dale and signed to him to be quite. He had a sneaky feeling that this could be more than they had bargained for. Jack pointed to the trees and they ran to them so they would not be seen. Soon after they heard footsteps coming up the path. The boys held their breath. As the figure passed they relaxed. Dale ventured a peak and the person who passed. It was a man, in jeans and a black jacket with the collar up. He couldn’t see any of the man’s features. Something about him was familiar though, but he couldn’t quite tell what it was. The man went into the house and closed the door. Dale told Bobby and Jack what he had seen.

 

“Let’s creep up and look in a window at the other side of the house.” Suggested Bobby.

 

“Ok, but be quiet. We don’t want to be caught.” Jack whispered.

 

They crept around the other side of the house. One of the ground floor windows was open. They crept to the open window and peeped in. They heard voices and quickly ducked again so they wouldn’t be seen. Due to the sudden movement Bobby lost his footing and a gasp was caught in his throat. As quickly as lightening the boys moved behind a hedge. They heard a voice getting louder, as they guessed someone was coming to the window to see what the noise was.

 

“See, I told you ma, it’s only the wind tossing something.” A male voice was heard to say. Dale and the boys whispered together.

“I know that voice. But I can’t quite figure who it is!” Dale whispered.

 

“Sorry about back then! My fault” Bobby apologised.

 

“Never worry,” Dale smiled! “Look they have drawn the curtains. Let’s go to the window again and see what we can hear. There’s something weird going on and that’s a fact!” Bobby nodded and they made their way to the open window, very quietly. The voices got louder as the boy got nearer.

 

“Are you sure no one knows where you live?” It was a woman speaking.

 

“Yes Ma!” The young man sounded cross. “How many times do you want me to say it?”

 

“And you’re sure no one followed you here tonight?”

 

“MA!”

 

“Ok, ok! Calm down Rodney!”

 

The boys looked at each other in total shock! That was Rodney! That was why the young man looked familiar. In shock they listened again.

 

“Stop worrying about it. Nobody saw me. No one will even guess what has happened. I will get Judith to write a note to her parents saying that we got married and have moved away and not to worry. That will mean that her parents won’t be looking for her and we will be safe! Ha, what a gullible girl she is!” Rodney was laughing, while outside the window Dale look furious and shaking his head. Rodney was continuing, “Now where is she?” the boys heard him walk across the room and then call “Judith! Come here at once!” Bobby put his hand on Dales arm to get his attention and pointed to the bush that the boys had hid behind before. When Judith came in Rodney told her to write the note. There was a pause, and then …

 

“No! No I will not write it.” Judith was being brave.

 

“What? How dare you disobey me! For that you can go into the cellar down stairs. There are rats and mice down there. And don’t get your hopes up, that other brat is not going to be in the same one!”

 

They moved noiselessly behind the bush. “That brute!” Dale declared, in a whisper. “I knew he was no good, I should have stopped her.”

 

“Stop beating yourself up about it,” Jack told him. “She wasn’t going to listen to you anyway was she? Now we need to get the police.”

 

“We haven’t got time. We have got to get her out, you and us.” Bobby said.

 

“However will we be able to do that without being caught? We can’t right well just go in there and say, hey that’s my sister let her go or I will get the police!” Dale said, annoyed.

 

“And that’s not how I was thinking to get her out either.” Bobby said.

 

“How were you then?” Jack asked.

 

“We wait till dark, it won’t be long. Then we will find a way to get to the cellar. We will get Judith out, and then we will go to the police. We can’t leave her there.”

 

“You make it sound so simple!” Jack half laughed, shaking his head. So the two boys sat behind the bush and waited until it was pitch dark.