Annamaria, ever the vigilante, peered around. Thankfully, she saw no signs of Antonio Rafael. "Go in," she urged Sandy. They slipped in quietly.
It was very Indian-inspired for the decor. Rich oranges and bold purples accented the rooms. "Don't be fooled by appearances," Sandy said bitterly. She led Annamaria down a stone staircase into the house's basement.
Annamaria pinched her nose; the acrid smell of mildew, mold, and any number of undesirable scents was abundant. "You have to LIVE with this?" she said, glad she only had to deal with the stench of men.
Sandy made no reply, only pointed to a soiled mattress. In the dim lighting, it was even harder to make out what exactly was on there.
"V," Sandy cried softly. "V, wake up."
The figure on the bed rose, and wiped its eyes. It had a mane of unruly, dirty blonde hair, and was only wearing torn breeches.
Annamaria found herself staring face-to-face with an older version of Elizabeth.
Elizabeth's mother did not attempt to cover her bare chest, she just gaped back.
Annamaria focused on her eyes. They were brown and deep- exactly like her own, Jack's, Marcella's, Elizabeth's, and Will's. But there was so much more. There was fear, embarrassment, beauty, secrecy, and something else that surprised Annamaria the most. It was lack of hope. Her eyes were muddy and quite not alight.
"Victoria," Annamaria breathed.
"Who are you?" Victoria said, groping around for a shirt, finally making sense of the surroundings.
"I'm Annamaria Castilla- I've lived on this island for eighteen years, but I've only seen you once."
"Mr. Rafael likes to keep me indoors," Victoria murmured.
Sandy was at the stairwell and she screamed in a hushed tone, "They're back!"
Annamaria and Victoria exchanged stricken looks.
"If he catches you, he'll kill you!" Victoria shrieked. Her eyes darted to a small crawlspace. "Get in there," she said, giving Annamaria a gentle shove.
Annamaria hid. She did not doubt Victoria's warning and sucked in her breath.
Heavy footsteps plodded and finally an oily voice said, "S. . . you left us."
"Oh, Mr. Rafael, I got dizzy. I had to come back here," Sandy said.
"V- what are you doing up?" Annamaria heard Antonio Rafael say.
"Sandy woke me," Victoria said and walked forward to give her master a deep kiss.
Annamaria felt ill.
"All right, my ladies," purred Antonio Rafael. "I'll leave you for now- but I'll be coming back." He went back up the stairs. Sandy caught Annamaria's eye and motioned for her to come out.
Annamaria absentmindedly tapped the wall behind her, and to her delight, a bit crumbled. Then she punched it, and a whole tiny passageway was revealed.
"Let's escape!" Annamaria said. "Me, Victoria, and you." She gestured toward Sandy.
"Me?" Sandy cried. She shook her head. "When V's gone, someone will have to take her place."
"As a slave?" Annamaria cried in disbelief.
Sandy sighed. "It's the life I'm used to," she replied. "Freedom. . . it isn't for me. I came to Mr. Rafael when I was only fifteen- I'm used to him."
Victoria hugged Sandy. "You're so brave."
Annamaria couldn't believe what she was seeing. "So. . . you DON'T want to leave?"
Sandy shrugged, her eyes teary. She sat down on the dirty bed and said, "We all have to make sacrifices. Go without me." She managed a small smile.
Annamaria said, "All right." She felt like she was sixteen again, helpless. She took Victoria's hand and slipped into the secret passage.
It was dark and slimy as they eased along. "Where are we going?" Annamaria whispered. She had noticed they were going slowly diagonal.
"We should be on the first floor by now," Victoria whispered. "It's getting a bit drier."
"But how are we supposed to get out of here?"
"Punch a hole," Victoria said. She pressed her ear to the wall. "I don't hear anything."
"Fine." Annamaria quickly smashed a fist-sized hole into the cheap crumbly wall. She kept doing it until she could squeeze out. She helped Victoria out. They whipped around and crashed right into the tall, bitchy wife Annamaria had encountered.
She uttered some curse words and screamed, "MR. RAFAEL! V IS ESCAPING WITH SOME NEGRO!"
Annamaria scrambled up, kicked the wife in the stomach, and stepped over her. She was NOT "some Negro." They were only feet away from the door. . .
The wife was gnashing at Victoria's leg. "She's biting me!" Victoria squealed in pain. She managed to bat the wife away. Annamaria pushed open the doors, and they took off running down the street.
Without pausing to look back, the girls sprinted into the now-deserted marketplace. Usually at this time, it would be full. But today was one of the hottest days of the year. Everyone was in their casa taking a siesta.
Victoria moaned. "Where is your boat?" she wailed.
"Obviously, not here." Annamaria cast her gaze around. She saw an alley and pulled Victoria into it.
"Let's catch our breath," Victoria and saw a fence at the end of the alley. "Look- a fence."
"We can climb over it," Annamaria suggested.
So they did, and found themselves on the beach, about five hundred feet away from the docks.
Annamaria groaned. Then she grabbed Victoria by the elbow and started running, kicking up sand as they went.
Then they heard more sand being kicked up. Was it Rafael? Annamaria screamed and continued until they both were on the dock.
Annamaria saw her stolen boat floating, tied to a post at the end of the dock. They kept going and leapt off the dock. . .
Victoria screeched out in horror. Antonio Rafael was standing above them, leering. Annamaria pushed the boat from the dock, trying not to panic. Rafael had ripped out a handful of Victoria's hair. He smelled it perversely. "V, you whore."
Victoria whimpered in fear. Annamaria, purely out of instinct, grabbed an orange from the crate of food and threw it at Rafael.
Time slowed. Annamaria caught a glimpse of Victoria clutching her pale cheeks and Antonio Rafael's nose being smashed by the citrus.
The women were only fifteen feet away from the dock. They saw Antonio Rafael clutching his face and the orange bobbing in the water below him.
Suddenly, Rafael let out a scream of rage and jumped into the water. Annamaria noticed with satisfaction that the bottom half of his face was covered in blood.
Victoria covered her eyes and started crying. But Annamaria was ready to take action. She carefully watched the movement of Rafael's body beneath the water. Then his head popped up and he started thrashing, screaming unintelligible things- but not for long. Annamaria had emptied her crate of rations and smashed it on Rafael's head.
It made a remarkable cracking sound. Annamaria marveled at the horrid look on his face and how the crate shattered into a million tiny pieces. Antonio Rafael's eyes rolled up in his head and he slipped beneath the water's surface again.
And by then a poor swimmer like he could not have reached them. Victoria and Annamaria were free.
Author's Note: Review review review! Tell me what you think! I need uber-feedback. Thank yas!