Love's Journal by Kathy Forbes

Author:Kathy Forbes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pentian
Published: 2019-06-10T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

Trapped

About fourteen years had passed when Nelton and Max returned from Africa. Together, Max and Nelton had traveled to the farthest region of the continent. The villagers who had survived the massacre had moved to the deepest terrain imaginable. They moved so far into the bush that even for them it was sometimes hard to return if they did not pay attention to the ways in and out. The new chief of the village had sworn to the people that this was never going to occur again. So he took the remaining survivors as far away from harm as he thought possible. He had chosen a select few to come and go while the majority never left the land.

During the massacre, a handful of people had managed to get away. Four boys had gone swimming and were returning from the river when smoke appeared above the village. They were too far away to know what was happening, so they tossed rocks about until the cries became loud enough to hear. When they heard the screams, they crawled to the village edge. They sat and watched until their vision blurred.

They cried as they watched the bodies be piled up and kicked about. One boy recognized his father standing, ankles chained. His sister lay at their father’s feet. Her tiny five-year-old neck was twisted. He had never seen his father cry. His father’s eye caught a glimpse of him. He gestured and moved his lips to send a quick, urgent message: Leave. That was the last time he saw a member of his family.

Max sat and listened to the stories. When the slave traders arrived, they built a barrier around the village using dry old wood and brush. The traders waited for the sun to get as high in the sky as possible with the hopes that everyone had returned from their daily outings. The sun made the fire so much more intense. They were describing white devils. Once the barrier was in place, they set it aflame. The smoke overtook the village. The strongest men came out first and were knocked to the ground, breathless. The smallest children and the old were trampled on as they fell to the ground and suffocated. There was pushing and shoving. Soon after, gunshots could be heard, and powder could be smelled in the air.

The villagers had never seen a white person or guns. Nelton and Sarah were supposed to be the first white people to visit their village. They were going with medication to help. They were going to spread the word of God.

The survivors noticed during the massacre that there were those there who resembled themselves. The language they spoke even seemed familiar. Theirs was a peaceful, passive village. They did not fight among themselves nor did they fight with others. The slave traders used the fact that these were not a fighting people to their advantage.

The four boys told Max and Nelton that they ran and hid in the bush. They wanted to help but did not dare look back.

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