Chapter 15 Unexpected Kindness

After days on the road, the gang finally arrived in the rich and green Amazon rainforest. Alejandro was the first to set his combat boot on the fertile land. He soon caught the attention of a Caucasian man at the dock. His feet were firmly rooted to the deck of a ship as he waved at them cheerfully.

The boat was of average size—nothing fancy. It was difficult to tell what initial color it had because the paint had faded away. It looked more like an old and dull copper boat. As old as it appeared, it was still able to sail and at that point, that was all that mattered.

Alejandro walked over to the man. Matt and the others got their bags. Fernanda shielded her eyes as she stepped out into the sun. She slowly made her way away from the door in order to give Matt and whoever was behind him a chance to get out. With her sharp eyes under the shade of her palm, she watched Alejandro talk to the man.

Alejandro turned back to the gang and spoke to the other man some more. Whatever he said prompted him to get off the ship. The man wore nothing but cargo shorts, a brown simple vest and on his silver head was straw hat. He looked at least 50.

His combat boots hit the ground as he made long strides to the others. He let out his hand to Matt who took it in a firm grip. Alejandro set his hand on Matt's shoulder.

"Matt, this is Roy Brown. He is a good friend of mine. He has agreed to take us to the evil forest." Alejandro explained with a smile.

"Thank you," Matt expressed gratitude.

Roy waved his hand dismissively. "Don’t mention it. I was happy to take a grand for my services." he honestly remarked with a smile of his own.

Matt raised his eyebrows at Alejandro surprised, and was met with a mischievous wink. Matt got the gist and made his way to the boat. The women, however, were the first on it. Adrianna strutted her way around it in her camouflage bum short and navy green vest.

Her black jacket was hanging on the bag on her back and in one of her knee-high boots was a dagger strapped to her leg. She spread her arms wide and took a deep breath of the air.

"Wow, nature is just so beautiful." she said cheerfully.

Adrianna turned only to catch Fernanda staring at her. Her face screwed up into a scowl. She rested her hands on her hips. Motioning her chin to Fernanda, she asked, "Do we have a problem?"

"What makes you think so?" Fernanda asked her back, all calm and collected.

"Because you are staring at me." Adrianna crossed her hands and smirked at Fernanda. "It's my clothes, isn't it? Yeah, I can see the prejudice in your eyes."

"I think you are mistaking prejudice for hunger, my dear." Fernanda grinned slightly and set her hand on her stomach.

Adrianna took a step closer and squinted her eyes at her. "What?"

"I am saying that I am hungry. If you recall, we missed lunch. I'm sorry my staring offended you. It's just that you have messed yourself in a way that you don't want anyone to see especially the men." Fernanda whispered at the word men.

Adrianna widened her eyes and covered her short with her jacket. She hurried down into the ship and pushed open the first door she saw. Adrianna threw her bag on the bed on hastily searched its contents. Her hand felt a box and she pulled it out.

"Of all the times to fucking start my periods." She grunted. Her neck stretched when she heard voices and feet walking on wood. The door opened slightly and she forced it shut. "I'm in here." she hissed.

Roy backed away and shot a baffled look at Alejandro. "Looks like my cabin will be used by the ladies." he remarked with a soft chuckle and led the guys to the other cabins.

****

The gang experienced smooth sailing all day and night. The peace was so soothing that it momentarily made them forget that they were on their way to what could be their impending death. Fernanda was out on the deck gazing at the nighttime sky.

She listened to the water rustling against the ship and the creatures shuffling in the trees. An owl hooted as it flew past her. She looked at it slightly amazed.

Fernanda covered her mouth to yawn when she heard footsteps approaching her from behind. They drew closer and closer, but she did not turn to look. She instead hugged herself tighter in the embrace of her light blanket.

"I can see that I am not the only one unable to sleep tonight." Matt's voice sounded and she finally turned.

"Yes, this sometimes happens." Fernanda admitted.

"You have a lot on your mind?" Matt sat down at the table.

Fernanda joined him. With a soft smile she explained, "Not really, God woke me up to pray so that's why I'm here."

Matt raised his eyebrows and tucked his lips into a straight line. He leaned back on his chair, and crossed his arms. "I guess I must have disturbed you, I apologize for that."

Fernanda shook her head. "No, I believe that everything happens for a reason. You can't sleep because you are worried about her, no?"

Matt dropped his brows and dullness took over his eyes. "I keep stressing about if she is okay. She is out there all alone."

"She means the world to you." Fernanda softly beckoned. Matt locked eyes with her and for a moment, the two stared into each other's eyes as the wind blew softly against Fernanda's dark hair.

"She is my world." Matt dropped his gaze and gently clumped his jaw in thought. "There was a time in my life when the whole world was against me all because of a stupid mistake." Matt looked up and got encouraged to go on when he saw that Fernanda was listening attentively. He clenched his jaw as the memories poured in.

"Stella what the fuck?" a raged man asked.

Stella who was under Matt with her legs spread; lifted her head up and peeped at the man. "Oh no, my husband." she yelped and Matt looked down at her with wide eyes in shock.

"You're married?" he couldn't believe it.

She looked back at Matt petrified and then started to scream frantically. Before Matt could understand anything, Stella pushed him off and ran to the man crying while she straightened her dress and pulled her bra strap up. Matt quickly zipped his pants and looked on perplexed.

"You dare to cheat on me in my fucking house?" the husband roared.

"Honey, it's not what it looks like." She claimed as she sobbed and pointed an accusing finger at Matt. "He was supposed to fix the sink. I was helpless." she lied through her teeth.

"What?!" Matt exclaimed in shock.

Stella jumped in fright and hid behind her husband, crying crocodile tears. Unfortunately for Matt, the husband ate the lie up and pulled Matt by the collar. "I am going to make sure that you pay for this." he hissed.

"I got sentenced to ten years in jail. No one believed that I was innocent and that included my mother. She wanted nothing to do with me because according to her, I had disgraced her enough. Mark stood by me but even he was angry with me. "

"He believed that you did it?" Fernanda asked Matt and he shook his head sideways.

"He was angry with me because I cheated on Ruth. He called me an idiot and blamed me for Ruth's miscarriage. At the time, I didn't even know that she was pregnant. Our relationship was going through a rough patch and in my weakness I sought -" Matt looked back up at Fernanda. "comfort from the wrong person." he continued.

There was a moment of silence.

"Ruth forgave me. It wasn't easy for her to do so, but she did. She even went as far as standing by me because she believed that I wasn't guilty of rape. I never understood why but I was grateful. Time in the slammer really helped me reflect and I concluded that I was lucky to have her."

Another moment of silence.

"My career in the military was ruined. Ruth visited me as often as she could and did her best to fight my case. After three years, Stella confessed to having lied. That was after the death of her husband. He crushed his car chasing after Stella and her lover. That's how I got my freedom back but my life hasn't been the same since."

"Were you offered some compensation?" Fernanda asked.

"I sued Stella, and she was ordered to compensate with a reasonable sum. The army called me back but I'm not sure I'm ready to go back just yet. The treatment they gave me still haunts me." Matt slowly explained with his fingers locked and gaze down.

"It shall be well." Fernanda empathetically added and he nodded meekly.

****

Ruth slowly opened her eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling. Unlike the horrid ceiling of rain drop stains she was forced to look at for days, that particular one was clean and freshly painted white.

The chandelier above twinkled beautifully in the lamp light. Ruth was confused as to why she was there. The last thing she remembered was blacking out in her cell after Asmodues hit her with his walking stick.

Her sore muscles ached at the slightest movement. Ruth slowly sat up with a moan. She took notice of the beautiful floral duvet that she was covered in. Ruth checked herself and realized that she was clean. Her clothes were changed and all she had on was a silk sky blue night dress.

The room contained no other furniture aside from the bed. From her position, she saw a bathroom straight ahead. She turned her gaze to a big window that gave her a dark view of the outside. The door suddenly opened and Ruth pulled the covers up to her chin in fright. Two women dressed as maids dashed in with gowns on hangers.

The first one was tall and skinny. She had a long nose and a mole on her cheek. Her dark hair was tied in a neat bun. She threw the duvet off of Ruth and pulled her to a standing position. Ruth winced at her soreness and caught a glimpse of the other maid.

She was short and chubby with rosy cheeks. Her curly auburn hair dropped to her shoulders. The skinny maid scolded the other one in Portuguese, and she squirmed before walking over to them.

Ruth's night dress was forcefully pulled off her body by the skinny maid. Ruth put her hands over her breasts while the two women studied her frame.

Ruth's collar bone was unhealthily pronounced, and her ribs were protruding through her sides. Her already small thighs had thinned down too. Goose bumps ran through her bruised body due to the cold.

A long yellow puffy dress was dropped down her body. The chubby maid fixed a diamond necklace on her neck while the other one combed her tangled hair. Ruth was made to sit down in silence as they did her makeup.

The skinny maid rested her hands on a Ruth's shoulders and lowered her mouth to her ear. Ruth's skin crawled at her warm breath. "Our lord will be pleased with how beautiful you look tonight." she snickered.

The maid straightened her back and glanced over to the other one who stood away nervously. The skinny maid pointed at the perfume and the other quickly gave it to her.

Spraying Ruth with it, she continued, "You might be wondering why we haven't given you any underwear." she turned Ruth's shoulders and beamed at her timid eyes. "Our lord will likely want to have his way with you after dinner so you have to be ready for him."

Ruth clutched the dress and took in silent short breaths. He will rape me again? She stressed

The skinny maid snickered loudly at Ruth's fear. "Oh don't worry, he won't be rough with you this time." she backed away and set the cap back on the perfume bottle. "You are with child so be rest assured that nothing will happen to you."

Ruth's world turned black and white. She looked at the maid with eyes wide and her mouth agape. Her heart raced as she processed everything. A warm tear fell down her chick.

"You are ruining your makeup." the maid hissed and carefully tapped it away. "Why are you so sad anyway? Bearing our lord's new body is an honor of its highest form." she smirked after she was done fixing Ruth's makeup. "Come on, let's go."

Ruth was led down a hall with the skinny maid leading the way with the other one silently walking behind. Ruth was taken up the stairs. She was then led into an even brighter room.

The room was large. A round table adorned by white candles stood at the center. Ruth's attention fell on Asmodues. He was the only one in the room. He grinned freakishly at her.

Ruth was made to sit down opposite him. She kept her shoulders low and head down. Both maids bowed to Asmodues and left the room. He picked his wine glass up and sniffed it. His eyes were on Ruth as he took a long sip.

How can I be pregnant for this disgusting creature? Ruth bit her lip in despair.

The skinny maid returned with a silver tray covered by a silver bowl. The other one walked in with another bowl. They set them on the table and backed away to Asmodues' pleasure.

"Well, then, why don't we get straight to dinner? I don't want you missing your hours of sleep now that you are carrying my body and all." Asmodues’ husky voice filled up the room to which Ruth secretly cringed.

At that, the maids lifted off the covers. Ruth gasped and covered her mouth in astonishment. On her plate was a raw human hand glazed in blood. The bone at the end was still sticking out. Ruth's stomach churned in disgust. Her face screwed up into a cringe, and she swallowed hard.

Ruth heard a crunch and faced up horrified. She gagged at the sight of Asmodues savagely eating a finger. Ruth paled at the crushing sound of the bones in Asmodues’ mouth. Asmodues swallowed and licked the blood off his lips before biting out another finger.

"Hurry up and eat." he commanded Ruth with a mouthful. "Bring me some more." he ordered and the skinny maid walked out.

She returned with another plate and set it before Asmodues. The lid was pulled off to a hairless male head. "Oh, yummy!" he exclaimed, elated.

Ruth had enough and pushed her chair back. She ran for the door only for her hair to be pulled back by the skinny maid. Ruth held her attacker's hands and shrieked at the stinging pain.

Asmodues tore the maid off Ruth and slammed her head into the wall. Ruth and the other maid watched in terror as he brutally hit her face against the wall over and over again. Asmodues did not stop at her skull cracking. Every slam gave the white wall a fresh spread of red.

The maid was no longer screaming and her body was limp but that still didn't stop Asmodues. It was clear that it didn't matter to him that she was dead. The joy of smashing her head to a juicy and meaty pulp was all too glorious for him. When he was done, he tossed her aside like she was nothing.

Asmodues shifted his soulless gaze to Ruth. He did nothing to wipe off the blood on his face. The mere sight of him knocked the air out of Ruth’s lungs. She desperately took two steps back with her hand on her chest. He went to her at a speed of a bullet and forced her down on the chair.

Asmodues picked up the hand on her plate and pulled her head back by her hair. Ruth screamed but the hand was forced into her mouth. Seeing that, the surviving maid ran out of the room in fright.

Ruth felt a finger down her throat and her body did what it was expected to do naturally. Her vomit sprayed onto the hand on got onto Asmodues. He threw the hand across the room and slapped Ruth off her chair. Ruth coughed at the burning sensation in her throat.

"Look at what you have made me do?!" Asmodues thundered. "I have commanded everyone not to hurt you because you are carrying something that's of utmost importance to me but here I am hitting you again!" he complained, but she cried on the floor.

Asmodues kicked the table over and everything fell to the floor. The hairless head rolled to Ruth, but she moved away appalled by it. She screamed at the feeling of Asmodues’ strong hands pulling her off the floor. His dark eyes stared deep into her sunken gray eyes.

"Whether you like it or not, you will eat human flesh and drink human blood as long as you are carrying my body!" he threw her back to the floor.

Asmodues furiously stormed out and banged the door closed. Ruth got up and ran to the window. She was devastated to see that it was not only closed shut but at least four floors high. Ruth hit on it with everything she had.

"Can somebody help me? Please!" she cried.

Ruth hit on the window until her hands felt heavy. She hopelessly slid them down the window and got on her knees in despair. Her tears poured out profusely.

****

"I really hope that Ruth is okay." Matt sighed.

"Would you like me to pray for her?" Fernanda asked Matt.

Matt looked at her uncertain. He still wasn't into God and everything in relation to Christianity was a blur to him. Matt definitely wasn't the type to pray away his problems. He didn't even remember the last time he said a sincere prayer to God about anything or anyone.

Fernanda let out her hand to him, "Come on," she encouraged.

Matt reluctantly set his hand on Fernanda's, and she immediately closed her eyes.

“Dear Lord, Abba Father, God of love. I come before you this night with a humble heart only seeking your mercy for my sister Ruth. Oh God, you alone know how much pain she is currently going through and Lord I believe that you want to set her free.”

The door suddenly opened slowly and Ruth held her breath. The maid who ran away earlier walked in with her eyes fixed on Ruth.

“Dear Lord, you told us, in your word; ask and you shall be given. Father, I ask that you please give Ruth whatever she needs right now.”

The maid looked out the door and puzzled Ruth. She got in and quietly closed the door behind her. Ruth eyed a table knife and dived for it. With a shaky grip, she fiercely pointed it at the maid who stood away quiet.

“You alone know exactly what she needs therefore may she receive your grace in the name of Jesus. Amen.”

The maid approached Ruth with her hands up in surrender but Ruth wasn't buying it. She slashed her knife at the maid, and she took a step back. The maid put her finger to her mouth in a bid to keep Ruth from screaming.

She pointed one finger up and slowly sank the other hand into her apron pocket. Ruth was taken aback to see her pull out a plastic with muffins in it. The maid slowly dropped to her knees and set the plastic on the floor. She reached out for her back and Ruth took another swing at her.

"Hey! What are you doing?" she impatiently demanded.

The maid put her finger to her mouth and brought her hand back with a bottle of crystal clear water. Ruth dropped her knife at the sight of it. She swallowed at her dry throat.

The maid set the bottle on the floor and got up with her hands up. With small steps back, she made her way to the door. Ruth looked at her open it and peep outside. The maid then turned to Ruth and nodded her head. Ruth picked up the muffins and hungrily ate them. She desperately twisted the water bottle open and downed it to her content.

"Thank you," she emotionally said and the maid smiled faintly at her.

****

"Do you truly believe that your prayer will help Ruth?" Matt asked Fernanda.

"I believe in God." Fernanda simply answered.