Fire and Brimstone, PART 2
"Are you alright, Bella? It is a lot what I put you through today." Thomas seemed concerned for me. But I had been through so much more than this.
"I'm fine. But I do have a question for you."
"What?"
"How in the hell do I use these things?"
When I held up the pads I bought, which I really wouldn't call them pads, he pushed my hand down. Grunted at me and walked away. Either he didn't really know or he refused to talk about it.
Since I had to do something, I took a towel and made a grown up diaper out of it. Yes, it looked ridiculous but it worked. For a while, until it fell off too. "Damn it, I have to figure out how to do a diaper right."
"Fuck it." I tucked a pad I bought inside my grandma panties and officially called it done.
Em hadn't made it back yet and neither did the Cullens. I finally gave up and went to bed.
When I woke up Em was in the rocking chair pulled up beside the bed. He was holding Gracie's bear tightly clinched to his chest. He didn't speak a word and just stared at me. I wasn't sure what I should say to him. So, I said nothing at all. I climbed out of the bed in nothing but my slip, threw the towel down I slept on and sat on the cold wooden floor before him. My head leaned up against his leg. I felt his hand stroking my hair. We stayed just like this until day light came.
"I need to help Jimmy today." Em finally moved to get up.
"I have to get to the diner."
He only nodded before he went to leave. But I couldn't just let him go yet. I threw my arms around his neck and held on to him. It wasn't long until he reciprocated my affection by wrapping his arms around me. I gave him a light peck on the cheek before we parted ways to start our day.
We shared a bathroom between us all. Once Jimmy came out, I took a quick bath then got dressed. I hated not having a shower and the water was barely warm. I walked over to the diner to find Thomas sitting on the porch.
He was sitting with a cup of coffee and his shot gun across his lap. Rocking casually in the pine chair out front.
"Good morning Thomas."
"Bella."
"Is something wrong?"
"I'm just waiting."
"Waiting for what?"
"For them to come for us because they will."
"We never had a chance to really talk before. So, tell me something about yourself."
"People go on jawing about stuff other people already know. So I recon anything I would have to say folks wouldn't find interesting." Thomas tipped his hat to me before he took off for the barn.
"Great talk Thomas. It's just like talking to your nephew at times."
It still bothered me Em didn't really talk to me this morning. I know I shouldn't let it though. I started a pot of coffee for the customers who had already arrived. I made my rounds to the tables with the first pot.
Ellen came in with the baby. She looked exhausted. Carlisle was coming to take her back to the hospital today. I poured her a cup of coffee. I didn't want to bother her but I needed a female who knew. "Can you help me with something?"
"Sure honey, what do you need?"
"Can you tell me how to use this?" I had an extra pad in my apron pocket.
"We should do this in private."
We used the office where Thomas did his paper work for the diner. She pulled this thing out of her purse and handed it to me. I had no fucking clue how to use this contraption. Then she handed me a few safety pins. "Um..."
"It's a Nupak. A hosier sanitary belt. Haven't you used one before?"
"We don't have these where I come from."
It was no more like an old time stocking holder. My Grandpa had something similar he used. He wrapped the elastic around his calf and hooked it to the top of his socks to keep them up. Ellen made her own by taking the hose holder and sewing a strip of an old cotton diaper to it. Then you were to pin your pad in place. The worst part of it, you washed them and of course reused it again and again. This era was as dirty as the others we visited. Some day I would find somewhere who took the word sanitary to heart.
Ellen went on to explain what most women still had to use in the hills; old rags, cotton, sheep's wool, rabbit's fur or even grass to handle their menstrual flow. Coming from the big city she had the advantage of owning one of the Nupaks. Boy, wouldn't they be thrilled when they stepped into the future and had tampons. Can you imagine walking around with a wad of yard clippings in your panties?
Once I had my problem under control finally, we went back out. His damn old hat was on the table again. I poured a coffee refill for Thomas then placed it on the back of the chair where it belonged. I gave him a quick glance too before I walked off. He pretended as though he never seen me move it. But I did hear a low growl from him as I left. I moved on to the other tables to refill their cups.
Every damn time I took Thomas's ratty old Fedora off the table. When I walked back by to refill coffee cups it was in the exact spot I moved it from. I let out a long sigh and decided to handle it differently this time.
"I give up, you win. The hat stays on the table as long as you tell me why you are so damn attached to it?"
"My father left this shitty world with very few possessions to his name. He always told me you can tell a lot about a man by the hat he wears and the quality of shine he brews. He loved this damn old thing. It, my attitude and integrity were the only things my old man ever gave me. His hat was placed on the table while he ate. So, I figure it's where it belongs."
"You're a good man Thomas. I love your hat." I gave him a squeeze on the shoulder as I passed by. It would never be moved or brought up by me again.
The rest of the day passed by quickly. Daniel wasn't out of the woods yet on his condition. But he was still stable. Tomorrow would be a long day with Gracie's service. The diner would be closed and it they would hold it at the house.
"Hey Bella, can I get some sandwiches to take back with me?" Jimmy startled me a little when he came into the kitchen.
"Take them where?"
"I gotta go back to the stills. Emmett is watching them until then."
"Sure, I 'll make you guys some sandwiches. I think I will go back with you."
It was a very long walk through the hills to get there. A dress and low heels just wasn't the proper apparel for it either.
Emmett seemed surprised to see me as well. He kept his distance from me and stayed busy. He was doing it for reason I couldn't determine yet. Only this time, I had no idea how to close the growing gap between us or why it was even there.
They carried bucket after bucket of water from the stream to pour in the stills. Mud was packed around it to keep the steam inside the large steel drums. A mason jar was placed on the ground and it took forever to fill it up with the trickle of liquor that came out of it. I don't think those jars were properly sterlize first either before filling them up.
I stayed out of their way and just watched them. It was a long tedious task to brew the liquor. Once they built up enough inside the still, it was a matter of just making sure the jars were replaced when full. I could handle that part of it. So I sat on the ground and kept replacing the jars.
"I'm gonna go check on the other stills. Are you good Emmett?" Jimmy took on this job daily. They made two dollars a jar. It might not sound like much when you considered the work they put into it. But in reality, it was once of the highest paying jobs around. There was no over head or taxes to pay on it.
Emmett kept busy after Jimmy left. I think mostly to stay away from me. "Are you going to keep ignoring me Em?"
"I'm not ignoring you. I'm just busy."
He wanted no part of talking about what happened to him. Or what would happen if Daniel passed away. I kept doing my job of filling up the jar until it got to be dark. Then I had enough of the silence between us. Em laid on the ground staring up at the sky.
"I had a dream last night while I laid in bed as I waited for you. The whole world stood still around me as the moon turned red and blood was gushing from it. A bright light shinned down on me from up above with a sign in sky; I have come to set you free. It was dark but I could still see it. With a voice whispering the words repeatedly; come to me. Fire and brimstone came falling down on my head, I died. Hell is coming for us Em. I feel this might be our last chance to leave here still whole and together. I won't survive if something happens to you. You've become my best friend and my world."
"If I had a chance to be a human man again. I only wish I could have a good woman like you to be by my side. You have shown me unselfish real love does truly exist in this world. Even for a monster like me. But I am not going to leave here until those bastards who killed Gracie are six feet under. There is no more discussing it. Just lay here with me and enjoy living in the moment we're in right now. We have to embrace what we have been given instead of longing for what we don't or may not ever have."
"That's what I said to you when you were in the bath tub out cold. You remember it don't you?" Now I was kind of panicking he might remember everything I said to him.
"Some of it. I was coherent then everything went back to being black around me. I don't know how long it kept going on. A white light shined so bright calling my name for me to come to it. Then it turned to fire and it came down around me from the sky. In between that, I would see flashes of my human life. Like mini clips playing over and over in my head."
"Just like in my dream." Was it truly impossible for Em and I to be in another place together while being here? Hell, I didn't believe in time travel until now either. But I was completely awake when he was out and I didn't have my dream until he was awake.
"Yeah, it sounds like it. When I could finally rise up out of the tub and move around; I heard you screaming my name. Begging me not to leave you."
Son of bitch, Em didn't hear me saying it, he felt me praying for it. When he woke up I was having a private conversation with the man up stairs. For now, I would keep it to myself.
Em took my hand and held on to it in his. He told me what he knew about each shinning star. When one started to flicker and then seemed to be headed in our direction like in my dream; I squeezed his hand tighter.
"It's just a falling star Bella, you should make a wish on it."
"I don't need to. My wish already came true, you're here with me."
Quickly Em got up and moved far away from me. "Jimmy is coming, we should head back now."
It was another silent moment shared between us on the walk back. Even with the moon shining so brightly, I couldn't really see where I was going. My shoe got caught on a patch of weeds. It was instinct to throw my hands out in front me to brace the fall. But they never reached the ground.
Em caught me with just one hand. He made sure I had my footing before he let go. "I'll never let you fall Bella."
It didn't take long after to make it back to the diner. I went to our room to get my things to go to the bathroom. When I lit the kerosene lantern by the bed, the black dress with butterflies was stretched out across the bed.
"You will look pretty in it Bella."
"How did you know?"
Em closed the door behind him and sat down on the bed. Something was weighing badly on him. "You wouldn't believe me, even if I told you."
"Of course I'd believe you, Em."
"I feel what you feel."
"So, you did hear what I said then."
"I mean, I literary feel what you do. Today I felt the fear you had. The happiness the dress brought you when you held it up to yourself. For some reason, embarrassment too."
"Were you following us today?"
"No. I seen glimpse of you in the general store with the dress. You twirled around."
"You seen it? How?"
"Since I woke up, there is this a connection between me and you I can't explain. You're in my head and I can't shut you out."
"Do you have special vampire powers now like Alice and Jasper?"
"No. I only feel what you do and see you, no one else. I thought I was losing my mind at first."
"It's impossible Em."
"It is but I still felt it. By the time I found you today; you and Thomas were already across the bridge."
"Prove it to me, what did I feel tonight when we were laying under the stars?"
His body gently pressed mine up against the wall. As he held my arms tightly above my head. "Desire."
Before I could answer Emmett back a knock came on the door. Someone had shitty timing.
"Is Bella here?"
Em stepped back as he let Ellen in. It must have been rough for him to see her this closely.
"Hey Ellen, I'm here."
"I wasn't sure if you needed a dress for tomorrow or not."
"I have one, Emmett bought it for me."
She casually glanced over at Em and smiled. "That's a good name, it's my father's name too." The longer she looked at him, the smile disappeared from her face.
"Do I know you, have we met before?"
"I don't think so." Was all Em said before he left.
"There is something so familiar about him." Time could never truly separate a mother's love or bond with her child. So I changed the subject.
"Did you need something else Ellen?"
"I will do your hair if you want." She reached out to me. I wasn't sure why but I would here for her. Even If it was only to do girly things I didn't care for so much.
"Thanks."
This was another era of fashion I didn't completely understand. She gathered up a bunch of strips of cotton diapers. Back then...I meant now, everything had a multiple purpose and nothing went wasted. The only thing I hoped, they hadn't been used for something else already. But the stains on it said it had been.
After I took my bath, Ellen weaved the pieces of cloth through my hair. The ends were tied together to hold it in place after she twisted the hair up. This was supposed to give to it bounce and a pin curl once it dried. I guess it was better than sleeping on hard ass curlers. That shit would make it's appearance in time soon enough.
We went and made a cup of tea after she was done. It was just general conversation to keep her mind off what she was facing tomorrow. With Daniel still in the hospital, everything was for her to do and handle.
Ellen was getting tired and Annie had been a sleep for bit. Jimmy took them home. I cleaned up the kitchen and went to leave.
Thomas and Em were out on the front porch. Em knew I could hear what they were saying.
"Are you gonna make an honest woman outta Bella?"
"We don't have that kind of relationship."
"You sleep in the same room with her, so you do have that kinda relationship."
"It's complicated Thomas. Everything about us is."
"Love is always complicated son."
"Who said I love her?"
"Well, you do, don't ya?"
"I'm turning in, good night." Em wasn't about to answer his question. He headed back to the house. I followed behind him until I reached our bedroom too.
The humid night almost had my hair dry already. I sat on the bed and untwisted each of the rolls. The heat took a toal on my body as well. I grabbed the soap to run another bath. After I pinned my hair up so it wouldn't get wet.
It almost felt good slipping into the warm water. I leaned my head back to rest against the tub. I would soak until I was pruny.
A large shadow cast down on the tub. Em was leaning up against the door just watching.
"I'm taking a bath."
"I see that."
"I'm naked Em."
"I am aware of it."
Since nothing budged him, I went on to get cleaned up. If it didn't bother him, it wouldn't bother me either. When I stood up out of the water, I didn't scramble to get a towel on or hide myself like normally. He never pretended to look away from me either.
As I brushed my body against Em's to walk out the door, I thought it was fair turn a bout to let him know what I seen. My wet hand slid down the front of his shirt to his pants.
"You have a hard on. I am aware of it."
Thomas looked more embarrassed than I did when he seen me walking naked down the hallway. He quickly covered his face. "Bella." It was all he said to me about it. It didn't make me hurry along either.
Before I stepped inside our bedroom, I looked back. Em had just his head stuck out of the bathroom watching. I only smiled before I closed the door.
Turning back the covers on the bed, I put my slip on before I crawled in it. Thankfully it was a light period and gone already. I wouldn't have to worry about sleeping on a towel again tonight.
The bed moved slightly when he laid down on it beside me. I kept moving my butt around until I felt him touching my skin. He never tried to get any closer to me. So, I didn't him.
It was almost ten when I woke up. Em was gone already. I threw my new dress on and slipped on my Mary Janes. I tousled my hair around and clipped it back with bobby pins at the nape of my neck on one side. Letting a few of the pin curls drape around my face. Most women here had very short hair or still wore it up in a bun of some type during the day.
Alice was waiting for me to do my face. I didn't want to at first but she acted like I hurt her feelings. So, I reluctantly agreed to it. It didn't take long before she was done. She gave me a small hand held mirror. My skin had a dewy appearance and my lips were a deep dark red.
"Thanks Alice. Have you seen Em?"
"He went for a walk in the lilies."
"Where's that at?"
"Over the hill behind of the house."
"Thanks."
He was setting alone with a pile of assorted flowers in front of him. "Hey."
"Hey."
"What are you doing out here?"
"These are her favorite flower." He held up a white lily.
"Gracie?"
"My mom. When I was little she used to take us kids on walks through the hills to pick wild flowers. She would always pick a single white lily and tuck it behind her ear."
It was a human memory Em was either coping with or just found out about since being here. Either way, it seemed to be upsetting him.
He tore the stem at the bottom of the lily and tucked it in my hair where I had it pinned up. "You look very beautiful today."
"Thanks. But we have to go. It's time for Gracie's service."
"I guess, I can't put it off any longer."
Em gathered up all the flowers he picked in to one big bouquet. We walked as slowly as we could to get to the house. A line had formed outside of the house already by the time we arrived.
They made a complete circle through the house to pay their last respects. Then exited back outside again. Only the family remained inside.
All the furniture had been pushed up against the wall except for a few chairs setting in front of the tiny little casket. On top of it was a black and white picture of Gracie. Her bear, Carl, set next to it.
Em must have made sure he was returned to go on the journey with Gracie. I could tell it was killing Em on the inside to be here and see her. He kept stalling to move forward when the line did.
Locking my arm in his. "I'm here. We will get through it together. Just like always."
Em only nodded at me as we stepped forward. A few purple flowers were laid down by him on top of the casket. We greeted Thomas and Jimmy to give our condolence.
The next person was the hardest for Em to face, his mother. "Those are Gracie's favorite flowers. She always picks those on our walks."
Em held out the remaining flowers for Ellen. "I'm sorry for loss Ma'am." He was practically dragging me out the door behind him as quickly as he moved to get outside.
Everyone was gathered around the house waiting for them to carry the casket out. They put it in the back of Thomas's truck. Ellen rode with him. We hitched a ride with Jimmy.
The spot they picked out for her was near the rest of her family in the hills. It was under a huge oak tree. The same little purple flowers grew wild around it. They almost lead a path to the lilies where Em and I were at earlier.
It was breaking his heart as they carried his sister to her final resting spot down the hill. It was breaking mine, to watch him go through it.
There wasn't as many people here as there were at the house. They began singing a song I wasn't familiar with, including Em. He seemed to know the words by heart.
"Come walk with me through the pines in the morning sun. The birds are singing in the pines in the morning sun. Come stand with me, my darling one, among the trembling pines. We feel his presence all around fire in the sky."
It was when the words were sang; all around fire in the sky. I felt nausea and with a sickening headache. There were only certain words registering with me after that from the song; I do no sleepin'. I got poison, I just might bite you. Shine like diamonds. Only fangs and sweet beguiling. Not a drop of venom wasted.
Em whispered it to me "Bella, are you okay?"
"Yeah." As quickly as the feeling came over me, it left too.
From the hill top I seen him out of the corner of my eye. He was dressed in brown plaid suit. Dark glasses cover his eyes with a light brown Fedora he sported on top of his head. But still no shoes on. Once Em nodded at his presences, Jasper put his hands behind his back and walked away casually.
"Where did he get a suit from?"
"You don't want to know Bella."
"Probably not."
The service ended with the Carlisle saying a prayer for Gracie's safe passage to the promise land. He was a born leader, a doctor and a man to preach the good word. It was a shame that option wasn't there for him anymore.
As each family member passed by the tiny pine casket they picked up a handful of dirt. Letting the unsettled earth filter through their fingers as it was strung out on the top of it. Then the rest of the mourners went after them.
Emmett was the last one in line to do it. I went to let go of his hand. He just squeezed mine tighter in his. I stayed by his side until we passed by her and it was over. But it still wasn't over for him yet.
Each era had their own way of dealing with death. Once the service was over, they had what they called, a send off for Gracie. It was held in a barn where everyone from the hills came together to celebrate life.
Music was being played as some danced to it. While others sat around wherever they could and ate or socialized. There were so many different foods available. It was traditional for all to bring something to these. Thomas provided the liquor. Cases of the shine was setting around for those who wanted it.
One person, however, wasn't taking part in this celebration nor wanted anything to do with it. Em was off sitting under a tree alone.
"You should go back inside and enjoy yourself Bella. I don't really want to be here."
"Then let's get out of here."
"And go where?"
"Where ever you take me to, big boy."
We borrowed Jimmy's car and just started driving with no particular location in mind. At first, I made many attempts to get Em to tell me about the clips of his human life he seen. Once he decided to open up to me, it was old times between us. The tension eased away.
"We came fishing here every Sunday after church."
The scenery was perfect. The water was crystal clear with no pollution. Giant boulders were at the edge of it to sit down on. You could see the fish swimming by you as though they weren't afraid.
Em grabbed a long branch and tore off the dead leaves from it. Then used his knife to whittle it down. In the car he found some line and hooks. Probably from when Jimmy went. But I didn't know what to do with it when he handed it to me.
His knife was plunged in the ground until he found a a fat worm to bait the hook with. I just shrugged my shoulders at him. It was a rarity I went with Charlie, let alone, knew how to use a sapling as a fishing pole.
"Come here and I will show you how."
Em put his hand over mine. Pulled my arm back over my head then cast the line out. With his body so close to me, the hair on the back of neck rose up when his lips gave me a kiss before walking away.
He made one for himself too. We sat for a couple of hours just talking and laughing. Until my pole started moving. "You caught one Bella." He pulled the line in for us to see about a three inch fish on the end of it.
The fish was so small, after Em took it off the hook he put it back into the water. It swam quickly back to the life it had before being pulled out. We once had a life too before we came here.
The next place he took me to was a secluded cabin. It was hard to see it because of all the weeds and vines had grown up covering it.
"When I was about ten, I was messing around one day and knocked the lantern over. It set the cabin floor on fire when it broke, the kerosene went everywhere. Man, my mom beat my ass." Even though it was bad thing happened, Em smiled when he told me the story.
"Come on." Em held his hand out for me and I took it. "There used to a patch of strawberries and blackberries back here. My sisters liked the strawberries so my mom made pies from them. But she would always make this small blackberry pie, just for me."
The berries were large, juicy and sweet. I started picking some of them. Em helped until we had filled up ten mason jars we found in Jimmy's car. We carried them back as though they were our treasures.
"Thank you, Bella."
"For what?"
"For making this a good day after all."
We just kept driving. I played with the radio and I didn't know a single song it played. But I tried to sing along with him.
"I've got something better for you to play with, if you want to?" This was Em's playful I missed seeing for a while.
"Oh really, and just what might that be?"
When he took my hand and pulled it across the car to his side, I thought I knew the direction this was headed in. But, I didn't have a damn clue.
All though I busted up laughing when he put my hand on the steering wheel. "Damn, I love man who lets me play with his horn." I couldn't resist pushing it several times as we drove around.
The car came to an halt when we passed over another long wooden bridge. Em got out and so did I. He seemed to be looking around on the ground for something.
"This is the exact spot I had my first kiss at. I thought I would never wash my lips again." The boyish smile Em had on his face lit me up inside. It was an innocent kind of love. What I was about to do, wasn't however.
"Really Em, maybe I can top it so you won't every wash your lips?"
"I don't know Bella, you would have to work pretty hard at it. The best way to approach it is naked."
"Then naked it is."
Em was surprised by me not hesitating to take off my dress, slip and bra off. I stripped down to my panties and wasn't worried it was broad daylight outside. Or who drove by and seen me.
"You don't have to do this Bella."
"You're right, I don't have to. I want to."
My tongue darted in and out of his mouth quickly. I sucked on his bottom lip before I let go of him. I was ready for whatever did or did not happen between us. I threw myself out there for him to take.
He put me over his shoulder and walked down the hill away from the bridge. He sat me down under a shade tree. A little moan escaped me when he caressed my breast and flicked my nipple with his thumb. I returned his affection by doing the same. Rubbing my hands over his bare twisted steel chest encased in silk to the touch.
At first, I was reserved and held back. I was afraid I would be a disappointment to him. You wouldn't exactly call me a sexy woman or even with a profound confidence of my body. So I let him lead me to ecstasy.
But the longer I was with Em, he made me feel at ease somehow. Just the way he looked at me made me feel so desirable and wanted. It was something new for me with a man.
"This is your last chance to run from me girl."
"I'm not going anywhere."
Em was trying his best to be gentle and sweet with me. I wouldn't expect anything else from him. It changed suddenly without so much as a warning.
His arm wrapped around the small of my back, pressing me into his hard muscled up body like a vise. With his free hand he cupped my backside, lifting me higher and easing me on his hard cock.
Only it was just enough to grind the ridge of his dick between my thighs suggestively. For a brief moment neither one of us made a single moment. We starred into each others eyes as we had a private, silent, conversation of acceptance and approval between us.
The grass felt cool to my back when Em laid me down on it. His lips lingered at my breast and made their way down the length of my body, trailing licks and kisses as he went. When he reached the soft flesh of my abdomen, his lips gave it an electrical sensation charge. His hands spread my legs wide to accommodate his broad shoulders to get between them.
While his fingers made their presence known inside me. I couldn't help but to arch my back and beg him to replace them with his cock. But he wasn't ready yet nor was feeling it because he continued on.
A low pleasurable groan escaped Em as his tongue moved through my very moist folds. The vibration I felt from it, made my cum flow like honey in his mouth. He lapped up the last drop of it, then went back for more.
He wouldn't stop sucking and licking my clit until I begged. "Oh god, please Em." For the sweet torture flamed higher as he darted his tongue in and out of my aching pussy.
It had to come to an end, it was time for him to be where I wanted. I scooted my pussy away from his wet face. He knew what I wanted from him next. As he crawled on top on me.
The movements Em made inside me were slow at first after he entered my passageway. The tunnel of love, I've only given to him.
Later they became harder and faster. Until it was clear we were both close to reaching it together. His hand grabbed my hip as he pounded me even harder.
In a comfortable silence we laid together, just holding on to the moment we were in. Nothing else was on my mind except, how good I felt.
"We need to get back Bella." It wasn't something I wanted to do but I got dressed anyway.
"Well, you did it girl."
"Did what? Had sex finally?"
"No, I'll never wash these lips again."
Em fired up the car and we headed back to the diner. He put his arm around me and I leaned my head on his shoulder. We just enjoyed the ride.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
There was even no talking to Em about leaving here. After trying for days, I surrendered to the fact it would happen when it was supposed to. I was along for this ride with him where ever it took us to. He had one mission on his mind; destroying the gangster income revenue and seeking revenge for his sister's death.
The great depression was coming at them with a vengeance. The country was already in a bad way. People were losing their homes and farms without a source of income to support themselves. It was nothing to see town folks sitting along the road side stretched out for miles. They were just waiting for something good to come their way because they had nothing left but hope.
From the bootleggers perspective; life had never been better for them. Once they started shifting the liquor across county lines, the money started pouring in. That didn't mean the runs they went on to deliver it wasn't rough though. The gangsters kept coming at them day and night; the shiners just kept on brewing more.
Thomas, Jimmy and Em hammered out two more three hundred gallon submarine stills. They were the biggest in the county. They hid those fuckers so deep in the woods, the gangsters couldn't find them. The demand had surpassed the supply they could keep up with in only a short period of time. They brewed around the clock.
Em went with Jimmy for each delivery he made. There were several times they came back with bullet holes in the windows. They tried to still convenience me they were perfectly safe. I personally been on the other side of the bullets, so I wasn't buying it for a minute. Although I knew it wouldn't do any good to say anything because they were going to do it anyway.
"We should be back late tonight."
"You guys be careful. I lo... bye Em, be safe." With a quick kiss goodbye I watched them drive away once again to god knows what.
Carlisle was having a pretend cup of coffee while reading a book when I went into the diner. "Are you busy?"
"I've always got time for you Bella, sit down."
"I need to talk to someone. I'm sure you won't believe what I am about to tell you."
The thing I loved the most about Carlisle was he never passed judgement on you. He spent most of his time trying have others not pass judgement on him. He listened until I was completely done rambling on.
"Interesting, Emmett had an actual dream?"
"I'm not sure if it was a dream, vision or something else. What do you think the fire and brimstone means?"
"Johnathan Edwards was referred to as the brimstone preacher. During the Great Awakening in 1730s he delivered the Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God sermon. I sat quietly from a distance when he gave it and listened to every word of it. Many of the audience burst out weeping, some cried out in anguish or even fainted from the power of his sermon. There has never been another like it since."
In the stack of books Carlisle had, I wasn't surprised he carried a bible with him. "I believe Revelation 19:20, KJV 20:10 and 21:8, is what you are asking about Bella."
(Revelation 19:20, KJV)."And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone."
(Revelation 20:10, KJV) "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
(Revelation 21:8, KJV) "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whore-mongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."
"This is great Carlisle, but I don't understand what it's true meaning is."
"They said, If thou desist not, Oh Lut. Thou wilt assuredly be cast out. He said, I do detest your doings. They again begged him, Oh my Lord, deliver me and my family from such things as they do. So he delivered him and his family, all except for an old woman who lingered behind. But the rest were destroyed. It rained down on them a shower of brimstone: and evil was the shower on those who were admonished. Those who did not believe in him, did not get his mercy."
"Again, I really am not getting it."
"Bella, those who did not heed his warning continued the evilness of turning humans into vampires. He detested their doings. Make them an abomination and cast to eternal damnation. Therefore, their second death was fire and brimstone."
All the questions I had for Carlisle would have to wait when Ellen came in with Annie.
"Good morning, Doctor Cullen. I appreciate you giving us a ride to the hospital."
"No problem, it's my pleasure. Bella, perhaps, we can continue this conversation later."
"I'd like that. Thanks, Carlisle."
Most of the day passed by quickly. I felt as though I fit in here. Why? I have no clue. But out of all the places we had been so far, this felt more like home.
"This is for you and Emmett." Thomas set a stack of money down on the counter. It was a bunch of one dollar bills. Those simple ones would be hundreds where I came from.
"I can't take this."
"You've both earned it. It's his cut. You should take it and start a home somewhere. Settle down and have some kids."
We argued about it but I lost. Thomas insisted I take the money. "I got some business to take care of. Will you be alright here until I get back?"
"It's been slow today. I will be fine."
"I should be back before dark to help you close up."
There were only three or four customers the rest of the day. But only one kind of bothered me. The others were regulars that came in daily.
"Where's Thomas this evening?"
"I don't know."
The man was rude with his ogling and comments he made. I continued to ignore him while I peeled apples for pie. It was getting late and he was the last customer left. It took him over an hour to drink his cup of coffee. It was starting to worry me as he just hung back and waited until the diner was empty. With everyone gone, I was on my own.
"It's time for me to close up."
"Well, I am all for that. Let's take this party some where else."
"You need to leave."
"You're a feisty one. I'm just looking for a little moonshine and a little love."
I shook my head and ignored it again. He wasn't even worth a response back.
"Hey bitch, I'm talking to you."
He was trying to pull me over the counter. The only thing in my reach was the small knife I was cutting apples with. I aimed for his face but missed when he moved. The knife went blade deep into his shoulder.
"You cut me."
A back hand across the face was what I got next in return. Followed with my head being banged off the wooden counter a couple of times. It stopped as suddenly as it started.
Thomas had pulled the guy off me then punched him in the throat with a pair of brass knuckles on his fist. The man had blood spewing from his mouth before he collapsed to the floor at my feet. I thought he was dead or wished he was anyway because his larynx was crushed.
After wiping the blood from the brass knuckles. Thomas shoved them back in his pocket. "Bella, are you okay?"
I couldn't catch my breath to answer him. I was shaking as I stepped over the guy's limp body. Thomas wet a napkin with the glass of water on the counter and held it up to my mouth. With what I witnessed I didn't even realize I was bleeding too.
"You go on and I'll clean this up." I still couldn't get my muscles to work with my brain to make myself move.
"Go on now. This is no place for a lady to be." I hated to tell Thomas I had seen some bad shit for only living such a few short years. A lot worse shit than this.
Only I should have never left the diner because they were waiting for me outside. "Thomas." I had no where to go. They had me up against the building and there were four of them. It was the special deputy the gangsters hired.
"Where is the liquor?"
"I don't know."
"Where are they hiding the stills and the money?"
"I don't know."
"Get off her." Thomas interrupted them. He fought back but with a blow to the back of the head with a gun, he fell to the ground. They held him down and with a gun in his face, he still wouldn't back down from them.
"This is the last fucking time I am going to ask you. Where are you hiding it?"
"Go to hell." Thomas spit on him while refusing to give up any information.
"Kill him."
All I could see as they were dragging me to the car was they held Thomas down while they slit his throat with a knife from ear to ear. I kept screaming Emmett's name but he never came as I got thrown into the back seat of the car.
"The dumb hillbilly thought he could out do me. The rest will follow my orders now he's gone. Where is your boyfriend? He's the last one I have to deal with."
"You will pay the price for what you did to Thomas. Trust me, you got no idea what kind of hell you just unleashed."
He grabbed me by my hair. "I'm not going to ask again. Where is he?"
"I don't know."
"Well, it doesn't matter. I will find him eventually. Once he is disposed of, the rest of those stupid mother fucking hillbillies will work for free if told to."
It was back to the dirty streets of Chicago. The run down boarding house was worse than the one Emmett and I stayed in. He shoved a gun in my back as he lead me inside. "Don't try anything."
Other people seen what was taking place but never tried to help me. Most would go back inside their rooms and lock the doors. If they didn't find me soon, I dreaded what he had in store for me.
His room was pristine with crystal bottles of booze setting on top of the dresser. Everything looked new on the bed; linens, fancy pillows and bed spread. It didn't fit with the room because the walls had holes in them and missing spots of paint.
"Get yourself clean up and put this on."
A white linen night gown was unwrapped from a plain brown paper package and laid out on the bed.
"No."
"You act as though that was a request. You will do it."
"No, I won't."
"If you tell me no again; you will not like the results."
"You might as well go ahead and kill me because I'm not doing it. Em will come for me and when he does, he will kill all of you."
"I want him to come. It's why I took you. But he won't get past my guys posted outside and if he should, I will kill him myself. I'm only keeping you alive until then. So how we do this, doesn't matter to me. I like it rough."
Thrashing sounds were coming from the hallway. Judging from their screams and the bullets they fired to try to stop him; Em was already here. The gangster wouldn't have to go looking for the fight he wanted so badly. With a revolver ready to shot to kill he waited for the door to open. Only I knew that wouldn't stop my vampire from tearing his head off.
The door came loose from the hinges as it flew across the room hitting the wall. Shots were fired around me as I held my hand over my ears because they were already ringing. When I opened my eyes and looked up, it wasn't the one I expected to come to rescue me.
Bullet after bullet taken in the chest. It didn't even make Jasper stumble or as much as flinch.
I hope you enjoyed reading me!
I will post the last part sometime over the weekend. Then we can time jump to the next location lol.
****Fire and Brimstone, Lawless, TRACK1
When Emmett and Bella were having their talk under the stars. Some of the song is included.
****Fire in the Blood, Lawless, TRACK7
The song they sang at Gracie's service. Yes, those are part of the actual lyrics, no sleepin', fangs, bites and venom.
I got them from the movie Lawless. If you haven't seen it, it is awesome. Thomas Hardy stars in it about bootleggers of illegal shine. It's based off a true story.
The fire and brimstone references Carlisle made are from the bible and other facts of history. PART 3 of this is called; Lily of the Valley. I bet some of you can guess where I am going with it ; )
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