Page 46 of A Fire in Their Hearts

I shake my head in reply. He shakes his in return and the next moment I’m being half carried as we continue our battle against the storm, against the cruelty and injustice that has gathered the three of us together on this strange island from such different parts of the world.

The air is alive with flying objects; branches, soil and small stones whip past our heads like shot.

At any moment one of us could be seriously injured.

The trees are bent like old men and even above the noise of the wind we clearly hear the cracking of trunks splitting apart.

I move my legs to walk but it almost seems as if my feet aren’t touching the earth and have no grip to push me forward.

It’s like swimming in a loch when you can just touch the bottom with your toes, only it’s not enough to get you through the water.

I can’t move without Joseph, but the strain is wearing him down and eventually we’re forced to stop. Gently, he lets me slither to the ground then collapses to his knees next to me. Calum catches up.

‘How far?’ he shouts.

Joseph points. ‘Up there.’

I look to where he’s indicating but don’t see any entrance to a cave. I can hardly open my eyes to see anything.

‘I’ll take her.’

Joseph nods and Calum helps him up before taking hold of me around the waist once more.

We stagger, weave and stumble over the rocks as we go higher and higher until Joseph stops to study the immediate area around us.

I suddenly worry that we’re lost, but he heads off again and we follow close behind.

A few moments later everything goes dark as we step into another world, one of such calmness that it’s difficult to believe this exists.

Outside the hurricane howls as if it’s angry we’ve got away, like the sea off Orkney which so wanted our souls.

We collapse on to the floor. I’m so utterly exhausted I’m crying, then I realise we’re all crying. Then there’s nothing.

*?*?*

I don’t understand where I am. I hear sounds, the crackle of flames, before opening my eyes to see colours dancing on the rocks above .

.?. orange, red and yellow flicker amongst the shadows and shapes.

They’re so beautiful. There’s something else .

.?. voices talking quietly. I try to move, but my body won’t respond. All I can manage is a groan.

‘Violet, you’re safe,’ says Calum, laying a hand gently upon my shoulder.

‘We’re in the cave that Joseph spoke of, out of the storm, and no one will hunt for us until daylight at the earliest. We did it.

We’ve escaped Drummond and the plantation.

In the morning we’ve not far to go to reach the forest.’

I turn my head to see Joseph sitting close by on the other side of me. There’s a fire somewhere, but I can’t see it. I hold out a hand.

‘Thank you, Joseph.’

He stares for a long while then takes my hand and squeezes it. ‘We’re not safe yet,’ he says. ‘We have to leave at first light.’

‘You made a fire?’

‘Only slaves know of this cave, its whereabouts passed on in secret to those who can be trusted. Over the years it’s been stocked with wood and flint and other items. This is a safe place for a short while.’

I’m so weak I can’t even get up by myself. ‘Calum, help me sit.’

Once I’m up I see that the cave is big and a fire burns brightly beyond our feet, the smoke floating upwards to disappear through cracks in the rock. Calum goes to somewhere behind me and comes back moments later with a wooden ladle containing water.

‘Here, drink this and I’ll get you another one. The rain runs down and fills a hollow. We’ve plenty of water but no food.’

It’s only as I drink that I realise how desperately thirsty I am. After consuming four ladles I feel some strength returning to my muscles. ‘Well, we’re used to being starved. I don’t think one day without food will hurt us.’

We lie for a while listening to the storm become ever angrier. Calum throws small pieces of wood on the fire. It crackles, sending sparks floating upwards, where they disappear above us.

‘Rory once said that everyone on the plantation had their own story and it was for each person to tell it,’ I say. ‘I would like to hear your story, Joseph, if you’re willing to tell it.’

He looks at me in silence without replying, thinking perhaps about his story.

‘It’s not a long one or unusual,’ he says at last. ‘My parents were slaves on a plantation in the Saint Peter area and they were allowed to marry by the owner. Compared to Drummond he was at least sane, although a poor gambler. When I was eight he had to sell several slaves to pay a debt and I was taken away to a different plantation.’

‘You never saw your parents again?’ I ask.

‘Not them or my two younger sisters. A few years later I was sold to Master Drummond.’

‘He seems to hate you,’ says Calum.

‘He hates everyone,’ says Joseph, ‘but yes, he enjoys hurting me more than most others. That’s why I can’t go on. If I don’t escape, I want to die trying.’

Calum and I look at one another, each knowing the other so well that our thoughts are like words on a page that can be read and understood clearly.

In this wish to escape or die trying, he is the same as Joseph.

Each of them has come to a point where living on the plantation is no longer an option.

The choice is freedom or death. Calum reaches over and gently strokes my hair.

It’s long again now. He knows. I’m not strong like them and don’t want to die if we don’t make it . .?. even though I feel I should.

*?*?*

‘Calum! Violet! Wake up!’

I’m instantly awake at the sound of fear in Joseph’s voice. We’ve slept too long.

‘What’s wrong?’ says Calum.

‘Dogs. I can hear dogs in the distance.’

Quickly we go to the entrance to a world filled with bright light, the smell of moist earth and freshness .?.?. and the sound of dogs. There’s no sign of anyone. The hurricane has largely passed on during the night.

‘Surely even bloodhounds can’t follow someone after the storm we’ve had?’ I ask.

‘They don’t have to,’ says Joseph. ‘They know which direction we would have taken and they’ve come here directly without having to go around the plantations.’

‘How far to the forest?’ asks Calum.

‘Perhaps a mile.’

‘Which direction?’

‘We need to go higher and then head north.’

Calum turns to me and I know what he’s going to say. I can’t let him speak the words, because if he doesn’t, I can pretend it’s not going to happen.

‘No, Calum.’

‘Violet, what I said to you before we left was meant. This is my way out, and yours.’

‘Please no.’

‘We can’t all escape. You know I have to do this.’ He turns to Joseph. ‘I’ll head back down and then south. I’ll make sure they follow me.’

‘They’ll capture you,’ he says.

‘Not alive. Take Violet to safety. Live your lives as best you can.’

Calum takes me in his arms. ‘I love you, Violet. One day we’ll meet in Heaven. I shall say hello to your father and we’ll be waiting for you.’

‘Oh, Calum.’ I can’t say any more, for what words are there that can be spoken in these last moments together?

‘Give me a few minutes’ head start.’

The two men shake hands and then my darling boy is gone. We watch from the entrance as he quickly moves down the rocks that proved so difficult last night. The dogs are closer and I can hear the voices of men shouting, although not what’s being said.

‘Violet, we need to leave. Stay close to me.’

We set off. For once I’m glad of withes, which provide something sturdy to hang on to, but there is a rough path so it’s not a climb as such and we soon reach the top. Calum is quite some distance away and we can make out the tiny figures of five men with two dogs following him, as he intended.

‘He may yet escape,’ says Joseph.

Now that we’re on more even terrain we soon leave behind the area with the cave.

The wind has died away to gusts, which cause us little problem, and the forest grows ever larger in our eyes until it’s less than half a mile ahead.

Hope is finally creeping into my heart when the sound of a musket being fired reaches us.

We look towards its source and see two men over on our right, the second one aiming at us and obviously about to fire.

‘Run!’ shouts Joseph.

He sprints away, immediately pulling ahead of me, and I follow as fast as I can, all caution gone.

I hear a second shot, but this also misses.

The men are too far away to catch us. With every step Joseph pulls further ahead, but we’ll make it.

The forest is so close I can smell it, smell our freedom.

Then I see Joseph slow down and stop and I don’t understand why until I’ve caught up with him.

Three armed figures have appeared from behind a large rock directly in front of us. Crying, Joseph slips to the ground and I sink to my knees beside him. The sudden certainty of defeat is crushing. How could we have come so close to freedom? Why does God not let us reach it?

‘Violet .?.?. Joseph. You really have caused a lot of trouble, and your master is very upset,’ says McKinnon.

‘I knew you would end up coming over this high ground and couldn’t see any point tiring myself out running around the countryside, chasing some dog’s arse.

All I had to do was wait for you to come to me. And here you are.’