Read Online Dark Friends by Mark Butler - Free Book Online Page B

detail, rousing old emotions as she wrote. She discussed the laundry room, the kitchens, the patio and...the abuse. As she wrote, other girls were filing into the compartment, preparing to rest. Amelia paid them no mind. One counselor got close to Amelia, trying to see what she was writing, but he could hardly read himself, so he assumed it was just a teenage girl keeping her journal. He knew he should confiscate it, but the girl was Amelia, so he checked himself. She continued writing, describing every job she had done at Lisson, however small or brief. Using similar terminology, Amelia thought wryly, she discussed her first rape. She wrote of the third floor, of the...pain. Amelia wrote for hours, nearly filling her notebook. When the lights were turned off, she wrote in perfect darkness, her mind seeing the paper as clearly as if she used her eyes. She knew she would spell everything correctly and stay in the lines. It was well past midnight when she stopped. She had made it all the way to the present day and her fingers hurt tremendously. She left her work unsigned as she tried to fall asleep, ignoring the insistent throbbing of her hand and wrist.
                                                                                        Chapter 13
                  The following morning, Ellis assembled all of the counselors at 5 am. They stood at rigid attention in neat ranks. Ellis walked amongst them, inspecting their uniforms. He didn't need to; they were pristine.
                  “Today there will be an adoptive couple here.” He let this sink in for a moment, then continued, “There are powers that be, powers that we must submit to.”
                  “Sir?” Gene asked.
                  “I'm glad you asked, Gene” Ellis said immediately, causing a ripple of laughter, “The adoptive couple have a list of every orphan here and they can demand to see anyone at anytime. So, there will be no hitting the kids, no yelling, nothing to draw attention to ourselves. If we appear abusive, this couple will phone my boss. Then, heads will roll.”
                  “So what do we do? Just...nothing?” Gene asked again. The counselors were confused, they had never had to work under such stringent conditions.
                  “Just tell the kids what to do, keep them in line. Above all, let's just keep these people happy and get them the hell out of here without incident. Dismissed.” Ellis answered, dissolving the meeting. He watched the counselors go to their respective assignments, waking the kids up and getting them ready. This is the day, Ellis thought, the day where I pull a curtain over the world's eyes.
                                                                          Chapter 14
                  A small knot of pain flared in Steven McCree's lower back, prompting him to ease his luxury sedan into an abandoned gas station lot.
                  “Thank goodness we stopped, I need to move around” Catina said, climbing out of the passenger door. She held her arms over her head and arched her back deeply, taking a huge breath. Her lips lifted into a grin as she watched her husband, Steven, get out of the car and try to touch his toes. His attempt proved unsuccessful.
                  “We're almost there, babe, less than an hour to go.” Steven said, slowly lifting himself to an upright position.
                  “I know. I'll be fine.”
                  “Me too.” He responded, though he felt like his veins and joints were filled with silver after their five-hour car ride. Not that the ride had been unpleasant, he thought, they had driven across the beautiful American countryside and seen amber waves of grain and even some purple