Mosana (The Union) - Part IV
EPISODE 4
Over the next few days, we spent our time cleaning up the house and wrapping everything in plastic. We couldn’t take anything except the clothes on our backs, if we were to pass as runaway slaves. We also spent time with Edwin learning various codewords that we would need if we were to send information back in letters. For example, to say the coast was clear would be “sunny”. To say there was trouble, we would write, “cloudy”. If we were in trouble ourselves, we would write, “red sea”. North was written, “head”, South was written, “feet”, “middle” meant the border, days were called “strings”, and miles were called “baby steps”.
Mel, Meg and I finally decided what names we would change to. I decided to adopt the name ‘Sarah’, after Ed’s wife, my first family in the United States. I felt she was more than a mother to me. Because of this, Meg and Mel decided to use their mother’s names too. Meg chose Elizabeth, and Mel chose Beatrice. Their mother was called Elizabeth Beatrice Crane Marron.
On the day of our departure, Edwin saw us off. We were to be loaded into a wagon, and be driven to one of the farms near the border where we would disembark and wander along the Line before someone picked us up. Edwin could not follow us there, so Meg and I hung back a little while he and Mel said their goodbyes. As soon as they were done, we took off.
We arrived at the border just as the sun was going down the horizon. I felt my heart race faster as we edged closer to the line. To think that just ten years ago, I was here with my friends, having made it all the way from Virginia.
The moment the wagon dropped us, it sped back the way it had come. We were all alone now, standing on the Mason-Dixon line that divided Pennsylvania from Maryland. The line between slavery and freedom. You could literally put one foot in freedom and the other one in bondage.
I was still contemplating the irony of it all when we heard the horses. Two men, clad in long black coats and boots, rode up to us and stopped. They looked at us for a moment and came down their horses. Without any words being spoken, we allowed our hands to be tied up. And without being asked, we climbed in to the wagon they had brought along with their horses.
We rode for a while, and came to a stop. Before I could open my mouth to ask why, one of the men came down from his horse and opened the wagon we were in.
“We have to ditch the wagon now. You will have to walk the rest of the way. And also get dirt on you too. On your clothes, in your hair, in your nails, everywhere.”
He looked at us to make sure we understood. We did.
We had to look the part.
I tore a bit of my dress and splayed dirt on it. I watched Meg and Mel mirror my actions. I then combed the ground with my hands and got quite a bit of mud in my nails. I rubbed my face with the dirt and was distinctly reminded of the ritual a woman had to go through in Aimatu when she lost her husband. It wasn’t difficult to mess up my hair and make it look haggardly. The hair was quite difficult to keep in line anyway. When we were done, the man that had spoken to us, tied us to his saddle with a long rope, so that we were linked to each other in a straight line behind his horse. Then he sent the other man away with the wagon, while we continued on foot.
We trekked for a while before we arrived at town. It was already dark when we did, and we were taken to some sort of warehouse. I didn’t have to ask before I knew what that place was – a slave pit. It was where slaves were kept until they could be sold. My guess was that the auction ground wasn’t far off.
The man (he never told us his name) handed us to a keeper, who put us in a cell, all three of us. Before he let us go, he whispered hurriedly, “Tomorrow you will be sold. My friend and I will be here to um, influence the auction. Say your goodbyes tonight, you might not get that chance tomorrow.” Then he threw us to the keeper.
We were awoken in the night by muffled sounds of screaming. It seemed like someone was going through the cells, upsetting the slaves.
Upsetting the female slaves.
“What’s that?” Meg whispered into the darkness.
I remained silent, but my brain had answered her before she ever asked that question. I knew what that sound was. Growing up under my father’s tyranny had made it all too familiar to me. Hearing it was like déjà vu. And it wasn’t coincidence that it was only women that were screaming.
“Are they--”
“Yes,” I cut her off. “They’re…raping the women”.
“Oh God!” Mel clung to her sister.
I got up slowly. This was one of the dangers the Conductors had been trying to protect us from. They could get us across the border, but they couldn’t help what happened to us after that.
Feeling my way in the darkness, I searched the walls and ground for any kind of sharp object. A stone, a piece of wood, a nail out of place…anything. But I found nothing. The place was clean. Maybe they knew what a desperate woman could do with a stone or nail, so they cleared the whole place.
I struggled to take in calming breaths while we waited for the inevitable. Mel’s whimpers weren’t helping. The men were getting close. By the volume of screaming, I wagered they were two or three cells away from us.
“Mosana, what do we do?!”
I turned to them, but I had no answer. We were sitting ducks. All we could do was wait.
I fought with myself. Think, Mosana! You didn’t just bring Flint’s sisters all the way here to be violated! Think!
But the noise was loud, and all I could think about was my mother, Lissena, and how this reminded me of her and how she always lived in fear with my father. Then it occurred to me.
Over the next few days, we spent our time cleaning up the house and wrapping everything in plastic. We couldn’t take anything except the clothes on our backs, if we were to pass as runaway slaves. We also spent time with Edwin learning various codewords that we would need if we were to send information back in letters. For example, to say the coast was clear would be “sunny”. To say there was trouble, we would write, “cloudy”. If we were in trouble ourselves, we would write, “red sea”. North was written, “head”, South was written, “feet”, “middle” meant the border, days were called “strings”, and miles were called “baby steps”.
Mel, Meg and I finally decided what names we would change to. I decided to adopt the name ‘Sarah’, after Ed’s wife, my first family in the United States. I felt she was more than a mother to me. Because of this, Meg and Mel decided to use their mother’s names too. Meg chose Elizabeth, and Mel chose Beatrice. Their mother was called Elizabeth Beatrice Crane Marron.
On the day of our departure, Edwin saw us off. We were to be loaded into a wagon, and be driven to one of the farms near the border where we would disembark and wander along the Line before someone picked us up. Edwin could not follow us there, so Meg and I hung back a little while he and Mel said their goodbyes. As soon as they were done, we took off.
We arrived at the border just as the sun was going down the horizon. I felt my heart race faster as we edged closer to the line. To think that just ten years ago, I was here with my friends, having made it all the way from Virginia.
The moment the wagon dropped us, it sped back the way it had come. We were all alone now, standing on the Mason-Dixon line that divided Pennsylvania from Maryland. The line between slavery and freedom. You could literally put one foot in freedom and the other one in bondage.
I was still contemplating the irony of it all when we heard the horses. Two men, clad in long black coats and boots, rode up to us and stopped. They looked at us for a moment and came down their horses. Without any words being spoken, we allowed our hands to be tied up. And without being asked, we climbed in to the wagon they had brought along with their horses.
We rode for a while, and came to a stop. Before I could open my mouth to ask why, one of the men came down from his horse and opened the wagon we were in.
“We have to ditch the wagon now. You will have to walk the rest of the way. And also get dirt on you too. On your clothes, in your hair, in your nails, everywhere.”
He looked at us to make sure we understood. We did.
We had to look the part.
I tore a bit of my dress and splayed dirt on it. I watched Meg and Mel mirror my actions. I then combed the ground with my hands and got quite a bit of mud in my nails. I rubbed my face with the dirt and was distinctly reminded of the ritual a woman had to go through in Aimatu when she lost her husband. It wasn’t difficult to mess up my hair and make it look haggardly. The hair was quite difficult to keep in line anyway. When we were done, the man that had spoken to us, tied us to his saddle with a long rope, so that we were linked to each other in a straight line behind his horse. Then he sent the other man away with the wagon, while we continued on foot.
We trekked for a while before we arrived at town. It was already dark when we did, and we were taken to some sort of warehouse. I didn’t have to ask before I knew what that place was – a slave pit. It was where slaves were kept until they could be sold. My guess was that the auction ground wasn’t far off.
The man (he never told us his name) handed us to a keeper, who put us in a cell, all three of us. Before he let us go, he whispered hurriedly, “Tomorrow you will be sold. My friend and I will be here to um, influence the auction. Say your goodbyes tonight, you might not get that chance tomorrow.” Then he threw us to the keeper.
We were awoken in the night by muffled sounds of screaming. It seemed like someone was going through the cells, upsetting the slaves.
Upsetting the female slaves.
“What’s that?” Meg whispered into the darkness.
I remained silent, but my brain had answered her before she ever asked that question. I knew what that sound was. Growing up under my father’s tyranny had made it all too familiar to me. Hearing it was like déjà vu. And it wasn’t coincidence that it was only women that were screaming.
“Are they--”
“Yes,” I cut her off. “They’re…raping the women”.
“Oh God!” Mel clung to her sister.
I got up slowly. This was one of the dangers the Conductors had been trying to protect us from. They could get us across the border, but they couldn’t help what happened to us after that.
Feeling my way in the darkness, I searched the walls and ground for any kind of sharp object. A stone, a piece of wood, a nail out of place…anything. But I found nothing. The place was clean. Maybe they knew what a desperate woman could do with a stone or nail, so they cleared the whole place.
I struggled to take in calming breaths while we waited for the inevitable. Mel’s whimpers weren’t helping. The men were getting close. By the volume of screaming, I wagered they were two or three cells away from us.
“Mosana, what do we do?!”
I turned to them, but I had no answer. We were sitting ducks. All we could do was wait.
I fought with myself. Think, Mosana! You didn’t just bring Flint’s sisters all the way here to be violated! Think!
But the noise was loud, and all I could think about was my mother, Lissena, and how this reminded me of her and how she always lived in fear with my father. Then it occurred to me.
What would Mama do?
Of course! It wasn’t every time my tyrant father wanted to that he had his way with my mother. There were times she was able to talk her way out of his grasp. It was one of the times she was truly happy; when she was able to have a little win over my father. Usually, she distracted him with what he loved the most – a gourd of local wine, or with her menses. The men of Aimatu were forbidden from lying with a woman while she was on her period. It was a sacrilege to the gods, and was believed to make a man impotent.
That was my only lesson in men affairs that I learned from my mother. Love and Fear –she told me that these were the two things she found could control my father, and she used them as often as she could. When she couldn’t use her menses to get away, she tried to use drink. Sometimes she succeeded. Other times, well…
As I remembered my mother’s words, the men got closer. But what could I use to distract these men? I didn’t even know them. I didn’t know what they loved or feared. And from the looks of things, they weren’t interested in a discussion.
They were in the cell next to us. One moment we heard the woman screaming, the next we heard a loud crack. And then…
Silence.
I could think up a pretty good reason why that woman was no longer protesting.
We held our breaths as the men left her cell and came to ours. My eyes followed the growing light of their lanterns underneath our door and came to rest on one of the men as the door was unlocked.
One man whistled. “Well, hello ladies.”
He called for his friends and two other men appeared behind him. “A feast, gentlemen, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Aye. We all get one each, no sharing,” another said and laughed.
I stood defiantly, hatred tasting bitter on my tongue. I was prepared to die for my virtue, but were Meg and Mel prepared to do the same? One look at them told me that they would let the men have their way, and I would never be able to forgive myself. At the moment, they were hunched up against the wall in the corner, Meg holding Mel. If only I had a nail…
One of them was talking. “Now, ladies. This doesn’t have to go so bad. We’re just gonna pick one of you for ourselves, have a little fun and be on our way. What do you say?”
“I say get lost!” I spat, with venom in my voice. I knew this would only infuriate the men the more, but I couldn’t help it. Why did the universe have to be so biased?!
“Now, now, there’s no need for that. But since you want it the hard way, I can’t say no to a lady.”
I saw the change in his countenance the same moment I saw him lunge. I instinctively went to block Meg and Mel, and used all my weight to push the man away from them. In doing so, he grabbed me and my knees immediately found his point of weakness. He stumbled a little and hit the wall, holding his groin.
I don’t know why, but I started talking. Now that I’d riled him up, I knew he wouldn’t let go.
“You better leave us alone. You don’t know who you’re messing with.”
“Oh yeah? And who might you be, the queen of England?!” The man was already coming for me again. By now, the other two men had grabbed Meg and Mel and were holding them to themselves. I was between them and the first man I had pushed to the wall.
“Worse,” I said. “We belong to very important people.”
“Right. And I’m the President’s bodyguard,” he laughed.
“I’m serious!” I shouted. I was stalling for time, because I was trying to remember a name. But the fear in my brain wouldn’t let me. During the week of preparing for the mission, we had had long talks with Edwin about the situation of things here. It’d been ten years since we left bondage and I wanted to be prepared for anything. In one of our talks, Edwin had mentioned some rich and powerful people who sponsored the slave trade, and who the Society believed were likely sponsors of fugitive slave hunters too. Then, when Edwin had talked about them, I didn’t pay much attention to who they were as to what they did, and their roles in the slave trade. Now, with fear crippling my senses, I tried to remember just one of those names to save ourselves.
“I mean it,” I continued. “The people we belong to wouldn’t be pleased to see that you’ve treated us this way.”
“Well, I don’t care about that now, do I? So, stop your yapping!” He suddenly reached for me and grabbed me by the neck.
“The Flounders!” I screamed. I suddenly remembered Edwin mentioning a powerful man named Andrew Flounder, who was well known in these parts.
The grip on my neck loosened, and I knew I had found an opening. I decided to drive my knife in deeper. “The Flounders would have your head if you have your way with us. He doesn’t like damaged goods.”
“Liar!” he hissed.
“Wouldn’t you like to bet?” I hissed back.
There were a few seconds of silence, with occasional sniffles from Meg or Mel; I couldn’t tell.
“I don’t believe her, Burt. She’s lying.”
I seized the opportunity. “Ah, Burt, is it? Now I know your name. Now I know exactly what to tell my master if something were to happen to us.”
The man eyed me, with his hand still on my neck. Then something shifted in his eyes, and his grip hardened.
“You’re lying,” he said, almost as if he was telling me, rather than asking me. “Why would the Flounders have their slaves delivered to a slave pit, when they could already have them by now?”
The answer came to me immediately. “Because we ran away!” I choked. “The Flounders will not be taken for fools, so I’m sure that’s why we’re here. They’ll come for us tomorrow at the auction, you’ll see! But they want us to be paraded and mocked first before they hang us! It’s how they do things.” I finally squeezed out.
I saw the man digesting my story, and added one more lie. “You wouldn’t want to be the one to deprive Andrew Flounder the pleasure of dealing with his runaway slaves now, would you? I can almost see you hanging from that noose in my place – ah!”
With a slap, the man pushed me from himself. I went as far as I could away from him and stared him down.
“Let’s go,” he spoke to his colleagues.
“But –”
“It’s my name she knows, not yours, you idiot. You might want to die for a piece of cunt, but not I. Now let’s go!”
The other men released Meg and Mel and I ran to them immediately. We held each other and watched the rapists shut the door and lock it from the outside. I had never been so happy to be locked in a room in all my life. We were safe.
For now.
“Who are the Flounders?” Mel asked, once she had calmed down.
“Just some people Edwin mentioned,” I answered.
Of course! It wasn’t every time my tyrant father wanted to that he had his way with my mother. There were times she was able to talk her way out of his grasp. It was one of the times she was truly happy; when she was able to have a little win over my father. Usually, she distracted him with what he loved the most – a gourd of local wine, or with her menses. The men of Aimatu were forbidden from lying with a woman while she was on her period. It was a sacrilege to the gods, and was believed to make a man impotent.
That was my only lesson in men affairs that I learned from my mother. Love and Fear –she told me that these were the two things she found could control my father, and she used them as often as she could. When she couldn’t use her menses to get away, she tried to use drink. Sometimes she succeeded. Other times, well…
As I remembered my mother’s words, the men got closer. But what could I use to distract these men? I didn’t even know them. I didn’t know what they loved or feared. And from the looks of things, they weren’t interested in a discussion.
They were in the cell next to us. One moment we heard the woman screaming, the next we heard a loud crack. And then…
Silence.
I could think up a pretty good reason why that woman was no longer protesting.
We held our breaths as the men left her cell and came to ours. My eyes followed the growing light of their lanterns underneath our door and came to rest on one of the men as the door was unlocked.
One man whistled. “Well, hello ladies.”
He called for his friends and two other men appeared behind him. “A feast, gentlemen, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Aye. We all get one each, no sharing,” another said and laughed.
I stood defiantly, hatred tasting bitter on my tongue. I was prepared to die for my virtue, but were Meg and Mel prepared to do the same? One look at them told me that they would let the men have their way, and I would never be able to forgive myself. At the moment, they were hunched up against the wall in the corner, Meg holding Mel. If only I had a nail…
One of them was talking. “Now, ladies. This doesn’t have to go so bad. We’re just gonna pick one of you for ourselves, have a little fun and be on our way. What do you say?”
“I say get lost!” I spat, with venom in my voice. I knew this would only infuriate the men the more, but I couldn’t help it. Why did the universe have to be so biased?!
“Now, now, there’s no need for that. But since you want it the hard way, I can’t say no to a lady.”
I saw the change in his countenance the same moment I saw him lunge. I instinctively went to block Meg and Mel, and used all my weight to push the man away from them. In doing so, he grabbed me and my knees immediately found his point of weakness. He stumbled a little and hit the wall, holding his groin.
I don’t know why, but I started talking. Now that I’d riled him up, I knew he wouldn’t let go.
“You better leave us alone. You don’t know who you’re messing with.”
“Oh yeah? And who might you be, the queen of England?!” The man was already coming for me again. By now, the other two men had grabbed Meg and Mel and were holding them to themselves. I was between them and the first man I had pushed to the wall.
“Worse,” I said. “We belong to very important people.”
“Right. And I’m the President’s bodyguard,” he laughed.
“I’m serious!” I shouted. I was stalling for time, because I was trying to remember a name. But the fear in my brain wouldn’t let me. During the week of preparing for the mission, we had had long talks with Edwin about the situation of things here. It’d been ten years since we left bondage and I wanted to be prepared for anything. In one of our talks, Edwin had mentioned some rich and powerful people who sponsored the slave trade, and who the Society believed were likely sponsors of fugitive slave hunters too. Then, when Edwin had talked about them, I didn’t pay much attention to who they were as to what they did, and their roles in the slave trade. Now, with fear crippling my senses, I tried to remember just one of those names to save ourselves.
“I mean it,” I continued. “The people we belong to wouldn’t be pleased to see that you’ve treated us this way.”
“Well, I don’t care about that now, do I? So, stop your yapping!” He suddenly reached for me and grabbed me by the neck.
“The Flounders!” I screamed. I suddenly remembered Edwin mentioning a powerful man named Andrew Flounder, who was well known in these parts.
The grip on my neck loosened, and I knew I had found an opening. I decided to drive my knife in deeper. “The Flounders would have your head if you have your way with us. He doesn’t like damaged goods.”
“Liar!” he hissed.
“Wouldn’t you like to bet?” I hissed back.
There were a few seconds of silence, with occasional sniffles from Meg or Mel; I couldn’t tell.
“I don’t believe her, Burt. She’s lying.”
I seized the opportunity. “Ah, Burt, is it? Now I know your name. Now I know exactly what to tell my master if something were to happen to us.”
The man eyed me, with his hand still on my neck. Then something shifted in his eyes, and his grip hardened.
“You’re lying,” he said, almost as if he was telling me, rather than asking me. “Why would the Flounders have their slaves delivered to a slave pit, when they could already have them by now?”
The answer came to me immediately. “Because we ran away!” I choked. “The Flounders will not be taken for fools, so I’m sure that’s why we’re here. They’ll come for us tomorrow at the auction, you’ll see! But they want us to be paraded and mocked first before they hang us! It’s how they do things.” I finally squeezed out.
I saw the man digesting my story, and added one more lie. “You wouldn’t want to be the one to deprive Andrew Flounder the pleasure of dealing with his runaway slaves now, would you? I can almost see you hanging from that noose in my place – ah!”
With a slap, the man pushed me from himself. I went as far as I could away from him and stared him down.
“Let’s go,” he spoke to his colleagues.
“But –”
“It’s my name she knows, not yours, you idiot. You might want to die for a piece of cunt, but not I. Now let’s go!”
The other men released Meg and Mel and I ran to them immediately. We held each other and watched the rapists shut the door and lock it from the outside. I had never been so happy to be locked in a room in all my life. We were safe.
For now.
“Who are the Flounders?” Mel asked, once she had calmed down.
“Just some people Edwin mentioned,” I answered.
“Whoever they are, they saved us.”
------------------------------------------------------------
Hey you!
This one is a bit long; you're welcome, do enjoy!
Mosana has a penchant for getting in trouble, wouldn't you agree? :-D
Till next Sunday,
xoxo,
Ava.
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