Ada pants in the darkness unable to catch her breath. Unable to tear away from the tree. She cries and tries to sit to soothe her aching legs but feels as if she will twist her shoulders from their sockets. Angry she pushes her spirit into the tree. The tree responds by pulling harder. Ada stops the flow by force, gritting her teeth. She bites her own arm, welcoming the pain anything to keep from drowning in the tree.
The door opens. Light pours into the room. Ada cringes, forcing herself to look away from the petrified bodies. She resists the urge to plant her forehead against the tree, afraid it will latch onto her again. She focuses on keeping her spirit separate from the tree.
Malachai walks in with a plate of food and a tall glass of water. Ice clinks against the sides and sweat drips off the outside of the glass. Ada swallows her tears so glad to see the food and the savory glass of water. A glass of water has never looked better to her in her life.
Another robed man comes in and sets a small wooden table down near the base of the tree. Malachai sets down the plate and the water on the table. He pulls a fork and knife out of his pocket and sets it on the plate next to the roast and potatoes. Steam rises off the vegetables and Ada’s stomach betrays her by growling out loud. She doesn’t care though, let them know she is hungry. A tear of relief rolls down her cheek. She licks her lips.
Malachai stands looking at her with a smile on his face. “It is a wonderful tree, isn’t it? A marvel. Oh my, look how fast the fruit is growing.” His eyes twinkle truly surprised. “I have never seen them get so big so fast.”
Ada looks at the fruit on the tree. They don’t look any bigger than the ones the men had plucked after they brought her in here.
“Mere hours.” He is lying. It has to have been days. A week since they brought her here. Her stomach tells her it has been at least a week, and her dry mouth tells her it has been a month. “You are special, aren’t you?” He rubs his hands together like a fat kid looking at his very own cake.
Another man in a robe walks in carrying a stool. He sets it down beside the table. Malachai sits at the table and begins cutting the meat. He takes a bite and moans. Then he washes the bite down with a swig from the cold glass. Ada’s eyes nearly fly out. He is torturing her. He wants her to believe the meal isn’t for her. She wants to curse for the first time in her life.
The other men in the room stand in the shadows and begin to chant. The tree starts tugging at her soul harder. Ada pulls back from the tree and glares at Malachai. She grinds her teeth together. He takes another bite and smiles with a cheek full of meat.
Crack! Something tears into her back. Ada tries to scream but her throat is so dry she can only croak. The chanting continues. Malachai chews his food watching her with gleaming eyes. The man behind her draws back the whip again. Crack!
Ada loses the strength in her legs to stand and her knees bash into the tree. The whipping is relentless, but she watches desperately as Malachai swallows bite after bite. The glass is down to just ice. Is he only going to give her a bite of the food? A single piece of ice?
Malachai stands and Ada straightens ignoring the next crack of the whip waiting for him to walk over and place one of those dwindling cubes of ice onto her desperately dry tongue. He brushes his hands on his robes and grabs the glass from the table. The wonderful clinking of the ice on the glass. Then he tosses the ice from the glass on the ground and gathers his plate. "I'm sorry to inform you dear but I will be away for some time. I really hope to find you still holding on when I return. Though I doubt it. So, this is goodbye then. It was lovely to know you." He brushes his hand along her cheek. Then he walks out of the room and leaves her there with her two abusers.
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Ada watches the ice roll through the dirt with astonishment. He can’t be this heartless. Can’t be. No one is. The whip cracks again and Ada manages a feeble scream. She is falling again. Falling away from this horrible place. Falling into the embrace of the only comfort here. The tree tugs at her. She doesn’t resist it. She feels it draining her, but it is better than the pain.
Men in hoods begin to pick the fruit from the tree around her but soon they fade like phantoms from the corners of her eyes. The pain dulls, and she grows harder and stiller. They can’t reach her in here. She is safe here. Some place far away. Some place deep within.
The cries of the other women gather around her in the darkness. They know what she is going through out there. They were there too. She is not alone. They are here with her. She can stay. She can stay forever here. The tree will protect her. It will avenge her.
Her tender heart is broken. Betrayed. Her innocence is tarnished. Now she knows hate. Rage and sorrow swirl around her. The spirits of the other girls rally to her now. They know this stage. It will pass. They promise her. Soon it will all be over. Let go. Stay with us.
Goodbye, Hunter. Goodbye. The words are so bitter in her throat. The whipping has stopped up there. The chanting has stopped. Ada can stay here. She just has to pour herself the rest of the way in and she will never have to see the men again. Never get to kiss Hunter again. She growls at this thought.
Hunter was good to her. He was sweet and generous to her. He made her laugh. He would be furious to see her this way. He would kill these men. I’m going to die here. She hates the hooded men. She growls again. Hunter can’t find her here. He will never know what happened to her. He will think she abandoned him.
Her anger swells in her chest. She shoves back from the tree. Wrath fills her lungs to bursting. She stands on shaking legs. She will kill them then. The tree tries to pull her back in, but she pulls back hard. She reaches down into the heart of the tree and pulls with all the strength she has left.
Strength is restored to her legs. The pain in her back begins to fade. The fog over her eyes clears. A couple of the hooded men are left in the room, plucking the fruits. Ada keeps pulling. The tree is afraid now. She pulls and pulls until she can feel not only her own essence flowing back into her but the essence of the dead girls. Her wounds begin to stitch back together. Her hands begin to burn against the trunk. It is resisting her but her will is stronger now with every passing moment.
The handfuls of fruits that remain on the tree begin to wither and one of the hooded men pauses his hand half raised. The fruit wrinkles up like a raisin.
The tree is desperate now. It begs her to let it go. Let the girls stay. Ada’s throat begins to heal. She shakes her head and pulls at the girls, each and every one. They are coming with her. “New deal.” She says aloud to the tree. “You come with me.”
The tree ponders this. The men in hoods turn suddenly to the sound of her voice. Alarm registers on their shadowed faces. Ada knows they will attack.
“I will give you the vengeance you want.”
It stops resisting and a jolt of vigorous power flows into her like a raging river. Her hands break free from the withered tree as limbs begin to fall all around them. Then all is quiet and a single woman glows in the dark across from the two hooded men.