A Right Hand Woman

Old wood

‘Right, Rocha, come here and give me hand’ I said after we had sat there a while. We’d spent too much time listening to the men talk and making sure there was no one behind the wagon. I was squatting down at the back, trying to work loose a floor board. We has already decided that cutting open or untying the canvas would draw attention when the wagon caught up with the rest of the group, so an unseen escape was needed to give us more time to get away. Rocha crouched down next to me and together, we slid our fingers into the crack between the boards and waited. Finally it came, the wheels slammed over a large rock and the whole wagon shifted hard to the side. With the shift in weight and the old wood creaking loudly, we pulled the first board up an inch or so. Rocha’s hand slipped and a small pointed hunk of splinted wood drove into her hand. Before she could utter a word, I had my hand over her mouth, muffling her cry of pain. As I removed my hand from her face she looked at me with one last pleading look before swallowing her pain and putting her hands back in position

Another rock of the wagon came and the first board came free in our hands with a dull crack, opening a long slit of light no wider then four fingers. This was going to take some patience. Over about half an hour and with other women helping, we had pulled out just enough boards to create a gap large enough for us the pull ourselves through with out alerting the men up front as to what we were doing. With scratched and bloody hands, I lowered myself head first through the gap to survey the road behind and in front. With rising fear I realised that we had caught up with the lead party although still coming in last. I knew it was going to be close. I pulled myself up fast and conveyed what I had seen to the other women. ‘We’re going to have to do this quickly. Once you have slid through, grab a hand hold on the axle of the wagon and hang on till a bush or tree is coming up. Relax your body when you let go, and roll towards the edge of the road. Get to your feet as fast as you can and hide. Don’t move till I come for you’ And with that, I climbed back out. A final smile at Susanna, and I let go.

I hit the ground at a bad angle, smashing my head hard on the dirt and stones beneath. Before I could let myself think, I rolled as fast as I could to the edge of the road and down into a ditch. Thank the stars there was a ditch there as I had forgotten my own advise and not looked for cover before letting go. I got to my knees and peaked over the edge. Just as I looked, a shadow appeared beneath the wagon, held, dropped and rolled away. I let out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding. Please let this work, I prayed. I ducked back down again and waited.

After I thought enough time had past, I rose to my feet and started jogging up the road, gathering women along the way. Susanna, thankfully among them. When we reached Rocha, my heart dropped when I saw her face. She was sitting against a tree, holding her side. I ran to her and knelt down beside her. ’What happened?’ I asked when I saw the blood seeping from between her fingers. ’Landed bad’ She panted. ’Stick drove its way into me, but I’ll be alright’. I lent over her and inspected her side. Blood was pooling in the dirt under her and her colour was getting worse with every breath. ’Yes, you’ll be alright, you just need to rest a bit and get your breath back’ I whispered. ’Where are the others?’ She shook her head and laughed. ’They said they would rather be sold off then to stave to death or be killed by a wild beast out here. I wanted to slap them for being so stupid!’ She puffed out. Her hand had started to droop lower on her side. I lent down and kissed her brow, brushing the hair from her face. ‘Just rest a while, we can start moving soon enough’

It didn’t take long. Within a few short breaths, she was gone and we were on the move. There was nothing we could have done for her after death, so we left her where she was, hoping to come back one day and thank her for her help and friendship. Instead of moving back along the road, I decided our best bet would be to cut straight through the brush and forest, and get ourselves a little lost in it. Other then Susanna, the other women, being only 6 of us in all now, were not well suited to hard travel. Still bearing the wounds of their mistreatment, they wanted too many rest breaks and before long were hungry and complaining.

Thanking those stars for the hundredth time that day, I was glad of all the outdoor work I did and living off the land that was standard in my home. Time to get these women sorted out, I thought. ‘Right ladies. Lets sit a moment and decide what we want to do. I know a lot of the lands in these parts, so I have a rough idea as to where we are’. All but a woman named Adrian, who I knew from home, were hanging off my every word. I didn’t care. All I wanted was to get to my home and find my family. ‘I plan on going back to Dayan. I suggest you come with me and then move on to Kulpress to see what help can be found’ Straight away, Adrian stood up and started pacing. ‘Why would you want to go back there? Everyone is dead! I watched my own husband burning to death. There is nothing there for me anymore, there is nothing there for us anymore. I say we keep going this way until we find a town and plead for help, it’s the only chance we have’

This woman was pinching a nerve with me. ‘Do what you want. I really couldn’t give a damn. All I’m saying is that I’m going back, if you wish to follow, then feel free. I don’t have time for complains and arguments’ And with that, I stood up and walked away, not caring if anyone followed. After a few minuets of walking, footsteps sounded from behind me and a hand touched my arm. I looked over my shoulder to smile at Susanna. ‘The others decided that Adrian was right and are going to travel with her. Hate to say it, but I think they’ll be lost and on deaths door within a week’ she breathed out. ‘So be it’ I said. I couldn’t afford to feel anything for those women. All I could do was to make sure that Susanna and I made it back to Dayan, and possibly my family.