Chapter 15
Samuel paused in mid motion. What if he WAS in there? He asked himself. Richard would have the advantage. He would hear Samuel coming. The door clearly would not be silent, judging on how heavy it appeared. Samuel wished he had thought about bringing his Remington. At least he would have surprise on his side.
He contemplated going back to his home for it. But seeming as Richard lived in town and Samuel did not, it was time he could not waste.
So instead he found an abandoned iron axle that was lying on the ground near a broken wagon. He picked up swiftly and headed back for the secret door. The door that led to the unknown and hopefully to am unharmed Rebecca.
Pulling on the rope, he eased the door open as quietly as possibly. Samuel surprised himself with a strength he did not realize her processed. He went onto the dark pit that was a stairwell, slowly closing the door behind him, so not to let Richard hear his presence.
Once the heavy door was closed, Samuel was engulfed in pitch blackness. He could not even see a hand out in front of him. Cautiously he descended the stairs, keeping the axel raised with his right hand and his left was helping guide him down the unlit pathway.
The stairs winded around and around, making Samuel slightly dizzy. HE was not sure how much farther they would go down. The dark abyss smelled like mold and dampness. His nostrils flared to the poignant smell. All of his senses had heightened to the point where he could smell and hear every minuscule little thing.
Finally a small dim light came into view as he took his last steps from the winding stairs. Looking around quickly, he saw a tiny room to the right of the stairs. Inside only held canned food and barrels, possibly water. This was clearly a storm cellar of sorts, as it was about 10 feet underground.
With the iron axle held tightly in his hands, (much like one would hold a baseball bat) he entered the other half of the cellar. The candle light was getting brighter as he stepped closer. Samuel hesitated when he saw a large bed in the center of this other room.
Stepping closer, his heart stopped. There on the bed was Rebecca face down, with arms and feet tied tightly to the posts. Long black messy curls had broken free of their restraints and cascaded around her body in which was covered from head to toe in blood.
Samuel’s heart broke in a million pieces. He wanted to desperately to run to her. He wanted to save her and take her in his arms. The fact that she was not moving and her breathing looked shallow worried him beyond belief.
He had to ensure Richard was not somewhere hiding and about to attack. He slowly crept into the room to where Rebecca lye. Checking all possible hiding spots while controlling the urge to run to her, was easy feat. Finally after determining Richard was not here, he ran to her side.
“Rebecca!” Running to her, he first untied her hands and then moved quickly to her feet. “Rebecca, Honey, please be ok. Please wake up. It’s me, Sam” Tears fell down his cheeks at the sight of her bloody body laying there unconscious. He slowly flipped her over to reveal bruises and cuts on her face. Her eyes and lips were all swollen from the severe blows to the face.
Samuel cradled Rebecca in his arms gently, trying not to disturb her open wounds on her back and prayed that she would wake up.
“Come on Angel; show me your beautiful eyes. Please wake up.” Samuel could not control the sobs that had taken over him. He stroked her bloodied hair away from her face. Samuel kissed the top of her head ever so gently while still rocking. “Rebecca, I have you now. No one will ever hurt you again. I am sorry this happened. I love you. Please wake up. I need you to WAKE UP! REBECCA!” Samuel’s emotion had no control. He was angry, sad, terrified, anxious, worried all at once.
With tears rolling down Samuel’s face, Rebecca started to stir. Quickly he wiped the tears and smiled lovingly down at her. Rebecca felt something holding her and before her eyes opened, her heart was racing with panic again.
“Rebecca honey, it’s ok. It’s Sam. I won’t hurt you. You are safe now.” Samuel spoke tenderly while gently smoothing and tucking a free stand of heair behind her ear. Slowly Rebecca started to open her eyes. She was positive she was dreaming again. What a pleasant dream it was. Samuel was here with her. He was holding her again. Rebecca swore he said he loved her. It had to be a dream.
With her eyes now opened, she realized this was not a dream. He was actually here. And judging by the concern he had looking at her, she looked as bad as she felt.
“Oh Samuel, Richard… Where is he? You should not have come. He will kill you. Go Samuel. You must.” Rebecca was speaking rushed. He could see the fear in her eyes. She truly believed that Richard would kill him. That thought had never exactly escaped Samuel. HE was surprised Richard was not down there already. That meant they had to move fast. He could come down into the cellar any moment.
“Sweetheart, I am not leaving you here. Not ever. But we must hurry. I need to get you out of here and get you to see Dr. Collins. These lashes do not look good.” Samuel tried to say matter of fact but his emotions were again coming to the surface. She was brutally beaten by this man and she was worried that Richard would kill him. She did not care of herself. The only one that needed caring for.
“Samuel. Please. You must go now. I cannot walk. I cannot feel my legs. I will only hinder you. Please think of Adelaide. She needs her Daddy. Sam, go now.” Her voice was weak. Her eyes were sad. Samuel’s heart was breaking more and more by the second.
“Rebecca. Listen to me. We need to go now. Together. I am not leaving you. We do not have time to discuss this.” He stated sternly. He did not want to be harsh with her but right now, it was the only way she would listen.
“Awww isn’t this sweet. Aren’t you a regular knight in shining armor? You think you are gonna get out of here alive? Cause you ain’t. I knew you would try to save this toffer. You could not resist.” Richard had come down into the cellar without anyone hearing as they were both engrossed in each other. Samuel quickly but gently laid Rebecca back down on the bed. He knew that hurt her, as she winced with pain once her open wounds on her back touched the mattress. But he could not have her where she was for both their protection.
Samuel stepped closer to Richard. He had his fists clenched with his stance wide. He felt the rage shoot through his entire body. Richard would pay for what he did to Rebecca.
“Crass, Back the hell off. I swear I will kill you right here. No one would even find your rotting corpse. Let us go and you might live.” Samuel said with such disgust and hatred in his voice. Rebecca knew that Samuel meant what he said but she had personally seen the wicked side of Richard.
Richard replied with an evil laugh that would frighten even the toughest of men.
“You think I am scared of you? If you believe that then you are as stupid as this Bushel Bubby tart.” Richard continued to laugh. This only infuriated Samuel even more. Samuel closed the space between them. With stealth like motion, Samuel took Richard by his shirt and slammed him hard against the wall.
“You watch what you say! I have had enough of your bull shit. I thought I could let you just go to jail. But I realize now, that is not enough. You are going to die from my hand. You do not deserve the privilege of breathing.” Samuel hissed. His eyes were not the beautiful grey they usually were. They were darkened with fury; almost black.
Samuel wasted no time. He pulled back his fist and plowed it into Richard’s gut. Richard winced in pain, but barely reacted. This gave Samuel the fire he needed. He started punching Richard repeatedly with both fists in to his stomach and ribs, as if Richard was merely a punching bag. Rebecca heard the snap of ribs from where she was laying. This made Richard finally clutch his left side and scream out in agony.
Still grasping his side, Richard was hunched over and Samuel was pounding on his face. With every punch it caused more blood to stray out all over the room. Richard’s nose had snapped under a right hook and three teeth knocked out from the force of a left hook.
Once Richard had fallen to the floor, Samuel continued to wind back and kick him with all his strength. HE kicked his ribs again and again, enjoying the satisfaction of hearing the sound of yet another rib snap.
Samuel could not stop. All he saw was red. He did not hear Rebecca screaming. He did not notice that Richard was no longer crying out with agony. All he saw was the pain this man had caused to Rebecca.
Suddenly, someone was pulling on his waist, attempting to pull Samuel away from the soon to be death Richard. These arms were wrapped up and around Samuel’s armpits, trying to restrain Samuel from killing this bastard. He was not worth it.
Samuel struggled free from the tightening hold. Still not registering, someone was there. HE continued to kick the half conscious Richard.
All of a sudden, Samuel heard an ear piercing scream. He turned to see Rebecca attempting to get off the bed.
“ENOUGH!!! SAMUEL ENOUGH. YOU ARE KILLING HIM. YOU ARE JUST AS BAD AS HIM” Rebecca was screaming at the top of her lungs. She was not screaming because Richard might die. She was screaming because Samuel might kill him and then go to jail.
Samuel stopped dead in his tracks. His fists still clenched tightly. His eyes started to return to their normal color of grey instead of the black. HE looked at the body curled on the floor. The face was unrecognizable. Blood smeared all over. Eyes were swollen shut. Lips were both spilt wide open. Nose his clearly broken in more than one spot.
Then Samuel finally saw another figure standing Beside Rebecca. Samuel was shocked that he had no control over himself. He had never done that ever in life. Samuel shook his head and turned away from both Rebecca and Edward. He was ashamed that Rebecca had to see this barbaric side of him. One of which he had not even realized he possessed. She would probably be scared of him now. Even if he did this for her and what Richard had done to her.
Edward walked over to where Samuel half sat against the wall with his head in his hands.
“Sam we have get Rebecca out of here. Her injuries look really severe. And we’ll someone to look after this piece of shit too. Good job, You found her.” Edward said to Samuel to bring his to reality. There was no time to wallow over what had just happened. Any man would have done the same thing Samuel had done. No man ever wants to find the woman he is in love with, captured, beaten up and god only knows what else.
With the reality check, Samuel ran over to Rebecca’s side. He hugged her as gently as he could.
“I am sorry honey. I lost my mind. After seeing what he did to you, I lost it. I am so sorry sweetheart. Lets go and get you all looked after.” Samuel spoke softly. His touch still had the same affect on Rebecca. HE heart was racing and palms were sweaty. Oh how she loved this man. And he loved her too. She had heard his say it before she opened her eyes. Although she thought it was a dream then, she knew differently now.
“Ok Sam, Lets get out of this horrible place. I cannot stand being down here.” Rebecca rubbed Samuel’s face reassuringly. With just a look, Samuel knew that she had forgiven him.
With Rebecca cradled in his arms he spoke quietly so only she could hear him. “I love you Rebecca. You and Adelaide are my world. I have loved you since the day I met you, sitting stubbornly on your trucks.” He kissed the top of her head and then let her go. Now no longer in his embrace, she felt cold but loved for the first time in her entire life.