The Namesake 4 (of 5)

Note to readers. Don't read if you don't like poor grammar, this is rough.
This is a work of adult fiction. No resemblance to reality should be inferred or expected.
Copyright… are you kidding?

Edited by Amanda Lynn.

The angels were washing my face. They paused and reappeared again with a fresh wet cloth. Then I could raise my head and crack my eyes open. Kiesha was on her knees in front of me offering me a wet washcloth.

“Kiesha…” I was relieved she was here with me and we were alive. I reached to hug her but instead…

“Who else?” Kiesha asked with some irony in her voice. “And you are my mommy then?”

She was like… like she was somebody else. A stranger. Steel determination on her face. There was kind of sparkle, like a tiny moment of old Kiesha but it was suppressed.

“I’m going downstairs to help daddy,” she said pointing her index finger down and motioning me to go with her.

I managed to get up and Kiesha helped me to keep my balance. She handed me a wet washcloth and disappeared into another room. She returned with the second wet washcloth in her hand.

We managed to get to the first floor. I could go only with her help, so I wouldn’t fall.

We turned to the right and there was that bitch that was holding me when I was raped. She was lying on the floor in the puddle of blood. Her throat was slit. Her empty eyes were starring up.

I felt like I was kicked in my guts. I fell on my knees and threw up. Kiesha helped me up and then pushed me to the sink where I could clean myself. Trying not to look at the dead body I got to the stairs to the basement. In the room where Freddy my husband was interrogated there was another man in the puddle of blood. Freddy was beaten to a bloody pulp.

Kiesha helped me to sit down on the chair. She used a wet cloth to clean Freddy’s face. Then she ran to the bathroom and returned with the clean washcloth. She proceeded with cleaning Freddy’s face, hands, and chest. I was sitting and watching her.

She asked me something.

“Huh?”

“I hope dad will wake up shortly,” she said. “We need to get out of here. I’m too short to help him to come upstairs.”

“Yeah…”

“Do you understand what I'm saying?” she inquired.

“I need to help dad get upstairs,” I sighed. Freddy was still unconscious. I’ll never be able to bring him upstairs and we’ll die here.

Suddenly someone shook my shoulders furiously. “WHAT?” It made all cobwebs go away from my head. Oh, it was Kiesha.

“Don’t let emotions overwhelm you,” she commanded. “We need to get out of here. Do you understand?”

“Yes. We need to get out of here,” I agreed with her.

“You help daddy and I'll go looking for the car.”

“You look for the car and I help daddy,” I confirmed.

She was gone and I washed Freddy’s face and chest with a fresh wet cloth. He cracked his eyes open.

“Oh, Polly… Kiesha…” he started.

“Don’t worry. She’s upstairs.” Now that I was taking care of Freddy it helped me to focus on the task we all needed to complete – to get out of there.

I helped Freddy to stand up successfully. He was still unsteady but standing.

Kiesha ran into the room and dropped on her knees at the dead man. She looked through his pockets and took keys from there.

“Oh, you’re up. Keep going,” she encouraged us and disappeared in the doorway. A moment later I heard the car. Then it stopped.

Kiesha was back again and she was helping us to climb upstairs. When we reached the first-floor Freddy saw that bitch with her throat slit in the puddle of her blood. He threw up. Kiesha and I cleaned him and helped him to the backdoor.

There was a car with a passenger’s door open adherent to the porch. How did Kiesha manage to park the car this way? Freddy didn’t need to get down on the ground and then back up into the car. It was arranged like in the train station.

There was enough space for all three of us in the front. I let Freddy into the middle seat. I’d noticed the man that had raped me lying face down on the ground. He was unmistakably dead with blood all over his shirt.

“Do you know where to go?” Kiesha asked as she started the car.

“I know. I’ll drive.” I said. I worked in a real estate company. Its Maine division had this property on sale. I’d been here once before.

We exchanged places and then I noticed the car had a manual transmission.

“I can’t,” I said. ”It’s manual. I’ve never driven such before.”

We exchanged places again.

“You’ll tell me where to turn. Ok?” Kiesha asked.

“Sure thing I will,” I agreed.

“Right,” I directed her when we came to the paved road. I couldn’t understand how Kiesha managed to drive. We never taught her. And she was never in those boyish things like cars or any other machinery. Add to this manual transmission and she was too short to drive. She was standing her butt pressed into the seat’s edge and legs trying to reach the pedals.

We came to the main road and I directed her, “Right again.”

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“To the camp.”

As the road was better now Kiesha didn’t speed up. She had a worried look.

The road ended at the camp parking. There were ambulances and police cruisers.

“Stop at ambulances,” I asked her.

Freddy and I were immediately secured on the gurneys and put in ambulances. The last thing I saw was some police officers approaching Kiesha.

The next time I met Kiesha again was in the hospital. Freddy and I were placed in the same room separated by a hospital curtain. I couldn’t see him but I was aware of what had happened to him. He was taken to X-ray first and then immediately to surgery.

I was questioned by one of the doctors and then was taken to X-ray. Then there was an OB/GYN doc who questioned me some more and after I broke into hysterics I was sedated.

Later, though I wasn’t sure how much later, there was a female police officer in my room and she gave me some papers to sign. My younger brother Harold was assigned Kiesha’s official guardian. They both didn’t get along but there was no other way at the moment. I hoped Harry was mature enough to take care of my girl.

I didn’t see Kiesha again after. Harry had taken her to his place. I was taken to MRI-scan when Harry and Kiesha left. Freddy meantime was in surgery. I asked the nurse and doc about Kiesha. They had no info. Doc said he’ll ask authorities about her.

The next day wasn’t much better. Doctors found that Freddy’s rib was broken in several pieces. One splinter was dangerously near his heart. That meant another surgery ASAP.

I thought I was good but at noon I felt dizzy and cold and then hot and then I passed out. After I’d been raped that bitch had stuck some broomstick in me what made me scream in pain. The man who’d raped me tore that stick away and then raped me again. He offered to dispose of me because I was as good as a used condom. Another man said he’d need me later. In the hospital, I was washed outside and inside. But there were wounds deep inside and some mud. I was sedated after I was washed. The sedative worked. The muscles that were subtracted before now were relieved. Some cavities with the mud opened as well some inner wounds opened too. The doctor said it was sepsis. Not the worst case but anyway I’d passed out for didn’t know how long.

I was attached to IV and had a tube in my throat when I’d woken up. There were suction cups with wires on my chest. I couldn’t talk nor could I drink with that tube in my throat. Thank God, it was removed. I was feeling much better, good enough to walk. The first thing I asked was about Kiesha. Doc didn’t know much, only that she was with Harry and that Harry was calling every day.

The next thing I’d asked was about Freddy and doc said he was much better too. He said I could visit with him after a while. After the IV and wires were disconnected I was given a robe and slippers and I was allowed to stand up. First I wasn’t sure about it but apparently, it wasn’t so hard. Then there was a nurse with a wheelchair and she was about to give me a ride.

Freddy’s room was on the same floor but another wing. My room and his room were guarded. There were police officers at the door. We didn’t need to use an elevator. Freddy looked bad. He looked worse than I’d expected. His face was still bruised. His right eye was under a bandage. His chest was bandaged and there was a tube connected to the side of his chest. The bed's head was raised and Freddy was reclining.

He smiled as he saw me entering his room.

“Hey…”

“Hey. I’m glad you can walk. Not like me…” he said motioning his right hand over his body to show his immobility.

“I was the same not so long ago,” I replied.

“D’you know where Kiesha is?”

“With Harry at his place.”

“I’m worried about her,” Freddy whispered. “I saw as she shot that thug in the basement. Three shots directly at the back of his head. Then she said something as if she didn’t know me. I don’t remember much as we escaped.”

“Yeah… I’ve noticed it. Determination, resignation… Don’t know how to name it. She saved us. But… Doc said she did exhibit retrograde amnesia. It’s well expressed but not threatening.”

I was about to say that I wasn’t sure we had the same Kiesha as before. But I couldn’t. There was a lump in my throat that didn’t allow me to speak. I cried. Freddy cried too. A while later we calmed down. Good that we calmed.

We had guests.

“Hello. I’m special agent Rose Dossett and this is my partner special agent Brian Malone. We are assigned to your case,” the female agent said.

“I didn’t know there is such thing as our case,” Freddy started.

“Kidnapping is always the case,” agent Dossett interrupted him.

“If there is a case, then why were none of us interrogated?” Freddy inquired.

“First. You were not in the state to be questioned. Second. Ms. Schwab, you know that the property where you were kept belongs to a company where you’re employed?” Agent Malone asked.

“Yes, I know,” I replied. “I’ve been there once before so I knew what direction to go from there.”

“Did you know there’re surveillance webcams installed all over the property?”

“No, I didn’t. We had such a discussion a few months ago but the question was left open. I hadn’t noticed any there nor that was I looking for them then.”

“Your company’s security department had installed micro cams with motion detectors. Cameras transfer data by the web to the security server in Boston’s office. This is the second reason we didn’t question you,” agent Malone stated. “We have seen everything that happened there.”

“We still don’t know why you were abducted,” the female agent said.

“We don’t know either,” Freddy replied. “There was no single question I could answer one way or another except that ‘I don’t know what are you talking about’. But they didn’t ask too much. I think they enjoyed tormenting us. Just so…”

“As we don’t know what’s going on we need to move your daughter to another place. She’s qualified as a key witness and she needs special protection. We need your signatures to move on,” agent Malone said.

He gave us a bunch of sheets to sign.

We signed all the papers special agents had given us. As Kiesha now was said a key witness we didn’t know when we’d see our girl again.

In less than a week our lives were turned upside down. I still remembered getting Kiesha ready for summer, Camp Somerset in Maine. She wanted to take Edwin with her and I chided she’s already big and other girls will tease her. She relented. She’s such a kid then. Edwin’s her stuffed hare. Yes, he’s the hare, not some rabbit. She was nervous to stay away from the family.

The last weekend at the camp was a family weekend. Freddy and I had a room assigned in the main building. We were about to spend the last two days of the camp together before leaving on Sunday. We were not far from the camp hiking the trail around the North Pond. We were abducted by those three thugs there. I remembered Kiesha crying, and as that bitch slapped her and put duct tape over her mouth. It was the last time I’d seen my girl. The next time it was that steel cold and determined Kiesha who saved Freddy and me.

After special agents left the day proceeded as usual. I was washed inside and then I took a shower. An IV was attached to me for some more antibiotics. Then I visited with Freddy and we had our meal together. Before bed, I have been washed again with a special solution. My vitals were taken and later doc announced it was good to go home tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Freddy too could go home. He needed a wheelchair but anything was better than staying in the hospital.

The night was restless. Maybe it was because I went to bed without sedatives. I was turning in my bed. I had a bad feeling something would happen. Thank God I was wrong. At least I thought I was.

After the early morning shower and another washing, I went to Freddy’s room. He was already up. As we were waiting for breakfast Kiesha and Harry were let in.

Kiesha didn’t change much from the last time I’d seen her. Yes, she hugged Freddy and me but it seemed like she didn’t know what else to do. Harry instead was overly emotional. He managed to say they were attacked tonight and Kiesha saved him and disarmed the thugs. Later another thug tried to kill her but everything ended well. On their way to the hospital, their car was attacked again. Only near the hospital, the incident was resolved.

After Harry had finished his story Kiesha excused herself and left the room. Maybe ten minutes later she came back. She hugged Harry and said, “I guess you will not be left alone here.”

Then she turned to me and smiled sheepishly.

“Would it be courteous to ask for a doll for me?” she asked. ”Otherwise I’ll forget who I am.”