Hi Guys,

Well, I don't know where to begin... I'm pretty sure everyone has heard about the Corona Virus and whats going on so I'm not going to focus on that. Its in the news, its in the papers, it is everywhere and I think we need something different to keep our minds busy in the wake of such a horrible worldwide event.

I am going to keep posting my story to give you all something to look forward to and will try and be more regular in my updates. I've started on the third story in the Saga (would tell you the title but that's a huge Spoiler lol) and am currently writing the 8th chapter so I'm very happy with my progress so far.

I was going to upload a couple of days ago but I've been sick with something since last Friday and its really given me a knock-around but I'm starting to feel better and had the energy to get the laptop out and update so here I am.

I have always enjoyed writing for this fandom and I'm sure over the coming weeks we are going to need the support of each other to help keep each other sane. I want to encourage you all to try and do something kind for someone each day, be it a smile if you still are allowed to go out in society or ringing up a friend or just posting a kind comment to someones post. Be the light in someone's darkness, kindness always comes back to you. Not only will you make someone's day, it will make yourself feel good to. I struggle with social anxiety, I hate being in crowds (like in shopping centers) but I force myself to find at least one person to smile to. That's all it takes and you may never know what effect a simple gesture such as a smile could have on a person. Keep smiling folks, even in the face of everything that's happening around us. We have to be strong, we have to be courageous. We have to help each other, we need to look out for each other.

Anyway, I hope you guys take encouragement from my words. I need them as much as any person (I'm dealing with a lot at the moment, I can't even go visit my grandmother in the nursing home because they closed it to all visitors and they didn't even have the audacity to let us know!) and I need to focus on something else so I'm going to continue to write my stories so you all can enjoy them.

This chapter is slightly shorter then the others (I apologize for that, sorry) but I hope you all enjoy it anyway. It's probably not my best chapter *shrugs* (I have high expectations for my work) and I'm not satisfied with it but I couldn't figure out anyway to make it any better so I just left it the way it was...

Chapter 5.0

'When I arrived at their house, I thought that I would actually live in the house but Howard said I wasn't going to be living in the house with them. I didn't mind when he said that on the way there, but when I saw the place that I was supposed to sleep in, I didn't like it at all. There was a shed where the foster kids were to sleep, out near the horse barn. It just looked like an ordinary shed on the outside but inside it was a different matter.' She fiddled with her blanket as she spoke. 'It was bare, except for beds and some of them were nothing but a mat and a blanket on the floor. It was disgusting in there, mice left their mark on everything and at night they would crawl over you, biting at you. I got quite good at catching them and killing them, the other kids didn't, they were too scared of them.'

'So, did you tell them about the mice?'

'Yes, I did but they wouldn't do anything about them. Mice were the least of our problems, I could get rid of them, I couldn't get rid of the rest of them.' She paused for a moment then continued. 'Howard and Ruth forced us to work from sun up till after dark. The two older girls, Tilly and Fiona worked in the house for Ruth. I never set a foot inside the house, so I don't know what happened to them when they'd work in there but they would be so tired when they returned to the shed they'd be asleep before their head hit their bed. The rest of us, myself, Cindy, Rachel, Jenny, James and Bobby were put to work around the place. I didn't mind the work, like cleaning up after the horses and fixing fences because I'm old enough to do it, where Bobby is just five. He couldn't do what Howard wanted, even though he did try.'

'So, there's eight of you children? I thought there were nine. There's a girl missing according to their files, a Cynthia. Did you see her?'

'I'm afraid not. You would need to talk to Fiona about her, I don't really know what happened except that she tried to run away, they caught her and she didn't come back.'

'I see.' She continued writing down notes, frowning. 'I'll just interrupt you again for a moment with another question. Do you think that the children still in their care are safe?'

'Definitely not. I wanted to help the rest of them get away, but I couldn't. Only Cindy and I got away, Cindy is coming here with Jack's granddaughter.'

'I see.' She mused. 'Did Howard ever lay his hand on you and the others?'

'Yes, a kid got beaten everyday. Howard has a very bad temper, and when he was drinking his tether was even shorter. The slightest thing would cause him to fly into a rage, it was worse when he'd been drinking and then he'd come into the shed and take it out on a kid that he picked. I would take the beatings more often than not so that the other kids didn't get hit. I could handle it, but the younger kids didn't deserve it. He'd take a kid out to the barn and hit with whatever was on hand. A lead-rope, whip, his hand. It wasn't little slaps either, it was good hard whacks. The night Cindy and I escaped he was going to hit her with a horse whip, one of those old racing ones. He'd been drinking too, and heavily so when I tried to stop him he started swinging punches and I swang them back. He knocked me down and I landed on an exposed brick, that's how I got that gash in my side. Cindy got in and held him off till I got back up again and I knocked him out and we tied him up and locked him in a stall then took off. Fiona stole us food from the house and we grabbed our things and left. As far as I know, he was still out cold when we ran.'

Rebecca nodded as she continued writing notes. 'Jessie, the doctor said your injuries weren't from just one beating. How many times did he beat you?'

'To be honest, I lost count. Him and his three boys. He didn't try and stop them from beating the girls, he encouraged it. I taught them to leave Cindy and the other kids alone but I did get roughed up for my troubles. It was worth it though so they'd leave the other kids alone.'

'Did he or his boys try to hurt you in any other way?'

'He didn't, but it was on the boys minds. They soon dropped that caper when I hit them over the head with a lump of wood. They didn't try touching me after that.'

'Right.' She turned to the police officers standing behind her. 'I am concerned about the other children, I think an unexpected visit is in order.'

'Jessie, look what I've got you.' Cindy exclaimed excitedly as she came into the room, then quickly became quiet as she saw the police officers. She looked down, not looking them in the eye as she approached the girls bed. 'I brought you flowers.'

'Oh, thank you Cindy, they're beautiful.' Jessie took them, smelling the fragrant blossoms. 'Mmm.'

'You must be Cindy, aren't you?' Rebecca asked as the girl nodded. 'We were just about to leave, but we wanted to talk to you.'

'About that bad man that hurt Jessie?' She asked timidly, still not looking up at them.

'Yes, Jessie was saying that he hits you children and makes you work hard. She also said that you had to live in a shed with rats and mice. Is that true?'

Cindy nodded. 'He would hit me all the time before Jessie showed up, but she wouldn't let him after she arrived. She tried to stop him from hitting the other kids too. Are you going to take the other kids away from him?'

'We're going to go visit them and decide on what to do Cindy.'

'Well you better make sure you get the other kids away from them. They don't have Jessie to look after them any more. Fiona tried her best, but she's always working in the house and they don't have anyone else looking out for them.'

'What about the phone Cindy?' Jessie interrupted. 'Where's the phone?'

'I've got it.' She handed it to her. 'Lou was looking after it but she said I should give it back to you so you could give it to the police.'

Jessie nodded then looked at Rebecca, handing her the phone. 'There's pictures of the living quarters and such on there, videos and voice recordings too of Ruth and Howard talking. I think you'll find it quite helpful in your inquiries, those people have fooled the department for way too long.'

'Alright, thank you Jessie. You have been a very big help. You too Cindy. We'll need to talk to you more later, but we'll leave you alone with Jessie for now.' She looked over at Jack and Lisa as she and the police officers headed out. 'We'll be in touch with you soon as we have an idea of where we go next.'