The Beautiful Thief

Chapter Fourteen

One Week Later:

     "When is your next date with Caleb?" my mom asks.

     "I don't know, he's been acting kind of weird."

     "What do you mean?"

      "He's been kind of distracted lately. It's probably just him getting prepared fo-" I'm cut off by a loud explosive sound. "What was  that?" Shots sound down the hallway, followed by screams.

       "Hide," my mom says.

       "I know a place, come on." I grab her hand and pull her out of the room and into the hallway. We're halfway to the library when I remember something. "Wait, Jerry."

       "There's no time Adelaide, we have to go."

       "Go to the library, behind the history stacks. I'll be right there. Go," I whisper yell. She gives me a kiss on the cheek and runs down the stairs. When I get back to my room, Mary is there with Evangeline and Eric. "What are you doing up here, you should be hiding."

       "I came to see if you were okay, you need to hide." I grab Jerry out of his cage and put him in the pocket of my dress. Another scream resonates down the hall and I grab Mary's arm.

      "Follow me, keep up and be quiet." I slide off my shoes and we begin to run down the hall. We reach the library and I find my mom behind the history stacks. Eight from the bottom, twelve from the left.

      I press the block in and the wall slides open. "Get in." All five of us pile in and I hit the button to close the wall.

      "How did you know about this?" My mother asks.

      "Caleb told me about it."

       "When?"

       "Yesterday actually." I pull Jerry out of my pocket and set him on my shoulder. We're all quiet, and that's when we hear the shouting and the rounds being popped off. "Just stay quiet and calm. I'm sure it'll be over soon."

         After an hour, and hearing nothing, I open the wall and step outside. "Wait here, I'll be right back." I hit the block and the walls slide shut again. I walk silently through the stacks and to the double doors of the library.

        They're open, so I peek my head out and see no one. There are random smears of blood on the walls and floor, making me sick. My ears strain to hear anything, but come up empty. I back into the library and make my way back to the hiding spot.

       That's when I hear it, a slight gasping sound. I follow it and see a body lying on the other side of a stack. It's Greta. Not hesitating, I run over and drag her to the back as fast as possible. "Hang in there."

        I hit the block on the wall and it slides open. "Oh my lord," Mary gasps. They help me pull her in and I shut the wall. "She's bleeding." I look down and see the blood staining the fabric of her dress.

      "Get me something to soak it up, fold it into a square," I say. My mom pulls a pillow case off a pillow and folds it. I press the pillow case on Greta's wound and she groans. "Greta? Can you hear me?"

       She responds with another groan and I press a little harder on the wound so it stops bleeding. "Addie, is she gonna be okay?" Evangeline asks.

       "Of course she'll be okay." Shouts are heard outside the wall and everyone goes quiet. "Mary, come over here, and press hard on the wound. She takes my place and I press my ear against the wall. I kneel next to Mary and whisper, "If someone gets in here, you need to protect your kids. Got it?"

        "Yeah, can you get me something else to press down with, it's soaked through." I rip off a layer of my dress and fold it for her. Taking the old one, I dump it in the corner and wipe the blood on my hands on my dress.

        Eric taps me on the arm and I turn to him. "We're gonna be okay, your mama said so."

       "She's right, we're gonna be just fine. Why don't you take Evangeline over there and sit down." Eric nods and takes Evangeline to the far right corner of the room.

       "Adelaide, she's not looking too good." I look down at Greta and see she's turned a pale white. More shouts are heard, closer this time.

        "Take my mom over to your kids and stay over there okay, I'll stay here." She's does as I've told her and I press on Greta's wound. The material from my dress is already soaked through, so I tear off another piece and get rid of the old one.

        The doors slide open just as I press the second cloth on her and I turn my head. Caleb stands in the door with guards by his side. The guards pick Greta up and leave the room. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

      "It's Greta's blood, not mine. What happened?"

       "Bandits broke in. Let's get you all out of here." We follow Caleb out, and my mom and Mary agree to take the kids down to the maid's quarters. "Are you sure you're okay?"

        "Yeah, I just want to get out of these clothes. Will you take me to my room please?"

        "Sure." We walk out into the hallway, and the blood is still on the walls and floor. House maids are cleaning it up, but the image is already burned into my brain. "Let me go in first, make sure it's safe." I nod and Caleb walks in.

        "Is it okay to come in?"

        "Yeah," he calls from inside. My bed is off the frame and there are shredded curtains all over the floor. "We'll get this cleaned up as fast as possible. Go get dressed and I'll take you down to my mother. She's with the other girls, trying to get them clamed down."

        "Okay. Give me a few minutes."