A/N In the UK the children are out of school for their summer holidays until the end of August. Although all my children are grown, I look after my granddaughters. I may not post on time. I do have a few chapters pre-written, but I'm finding it a little difficult to get to write as I usually do.
Trigger warning. This chapter contains the effects of the beating Izzy have endured. Honestly, this is the last time.
Chapter 11
Narrated by Shelly Cope.
It had been seven years since Izzy went missing, and they're still no leads for Charlie to follow. It seemed hopeless, but he would never give up.
Edward was now fourteen years old and in Junior High School. Esme tried to keep Edward close to home. But she was fighting a losing battle. He was still acting up at home and school. The Cullens were getting sick of being called to school by the principal. Esme almost lost her usual calm self when the principal said, "If it weren't for the fact that I taught your other two boys, I would question your parenting skills."
Esme spoke to her sister about Edward going to live with her and her husband until boot camp started during summer vacation. They home-taught their children so he wouldn't be able to get into trouble like he is now.
Esme was at a loss to know what to do. She had stuck by him and lost her other two sons, her little Izzy and Charlie's friendship. Edward had become what both the boys had said: he was a spoiled brat that blamed everyone but himself for his action.
Siobhan had introduced him to smoking pot. He smoked and would forget to do simple things like wash and change his clothes. Skipping school was a regular occurrence for him. When he was there, all the other kids called him a stoner.
They arrested Edward again this time for trespassing. Edward couldn't run as fast as the others with his problem foot and leg. Edward wouldn't tell the police who was with him, so he took the full blame again. Edward was once again in court. Esme decided this appearance would be the last time she would go through this. She had him packed and on his way to her sisters before the day was over. Then when the summer vacation started in a month, he was going to boot camp.
Esme didn't know how she would do it, but she was going to get her sweet Teddy back.
Hopefully, it wasn't too late.
Izzy
Izzy was getting thrown into the storm cellar almost as soon as she got out. She didn't care. She wouldn't forget she was Izzy, and her daddy loved her.
Harmony got frustrated with Izzy for not obeying the rules. Harmony's life was becoming difficult because of Izzy. Every time Izzy tried to run away; things got worse for Izzy; she was beaten each time.
Harmony took a leather belt to Izzy and hit her until her clothes were torn and her back was bleeding. Sparrow pulled Harmony off Izzy, telling her how she made him sick the way she treated Sky. They put unconscious Izzy in a small room with no windows or bed. She only saw a small light when someone pushed her food into the room. It was the ultimate punishment.
Izzy ate the least food; she didn't trust they wouldn't poison her. Izzy was becoming weaker and weaker. Her mother visited her a few times only leaving after hitting Izzy through frustration.
She was dragged out of her hell and thrown into another room no bigger than a supply cupboard. The building was across the compound where no one went.
One stormy evening, Sparrow and his girlfriend Saffron ran across the yard out of the rain; into an old building that would be demolished the next day. They heard a whimpering. Saffron thought it was a cat that had gotten caught somewhere. Instead of a cat, they found a barely conscience, Izzy.
This was the breaking point for Sparrow. His father, the Wolf, had gone too far this time with her punishment, especially with a kid. He would get Izzy out of this place if it meant giving up his own life.
~T&I~
Izzy
"Dad, I will check out that new area near Kansas you wanted to open up," Sparrow offered.
"That would be a great idea. Are you going alone?" Wolf asked.
"No, I thought I would take Saffron with me. It will give me time to see if she is the one, I want to dedicate my life to," Sparrow answered.
"How long are you planning on staying away? I rely on you to clean up the messes here and transport people when they need to be moved," Wolf snapped.
"You have been training others to do that job. I don't know how long I'll be away," Sparrow answered. "I'll do another job before I leave. Well, at least on my way. I'll bury Sky in the desert. She looked like someone went a little too far with the beatings."
"How did you find her?" Wolf demanded.
"We heard her whimpering. Then the smell. I thought it was a problem with the drains. No one checked on Sky. If they had, we would've known what state she was in. There was at least a week's worth of food if you could call it that. Pigs got fed better. I've moved her. My bags are in the car I'm ready to leave now," Sparrow said.
Sparrow knew by the way his dad looked at him he had intended to make her disappear along with the building when it got demolished.
I'll instruct someone to tell Harmony. I wouldn't imagine it would make her grieve. Harmony is becoming too tiresome for me, too needy. She wanted to be exclusive. But as you know, that is not how things work here. I was hoping to take Sky as part of my inner circle. A shame she was so strong-willed," Wolf answered. "Well, son, don't be away too long."
Sparrow nodded his head, acknowledging he heard the threat. Then he left the room, knowing his father would watch on the monitor. He took some chloroform to the room where Izzy was. He had to make sure that she looked like she was dead. Once Izzy was asleep. Sparrow wrapped her in an old curtain. Making sure his father could see he had her dead body, Sparrow placed her in the trunk. He drove away before anyone could check his car.
He stopped in the desert to bury a manikin he found in an old outbuilding and made sure that he used the curtain he put around Izzy.
He went towards Kansas. They were stopping a few hours into the journey. He went to a second-hand car lot and traded his car for another one. They went to Target to buy clothes and new luggage. Then took their clothes and bags to a goodwill store leaving them there. Sparrow knew his dad would have a few tracking devices in the car and their clothes to monitor them.
Sparrow turned the car to go towards their goal New York. He no longer wanted to be a part of the commune. He headed to the original commune and hoped Auntie Flora and Uncle River would know what to do.
Sparrow and Saffron shared the driving, only stopping for bathroom breaks and buying food. They tried to get Izzy to drink, but she only wanted to sleep. Sparrow just hoped that Auntie Flora could heal Izzy. It had been almost two weeks since they left changing directions to try and keep one step ahead. They were glad to be driving up toward the place Sparrow once called home.
~T&I~
As Sparrow pulled into the commune, he parked outside the tiny house where he spent many hours having school lessons and playing with his best friend, Luna.
The front door opened and out walked a familiar face.
"Is that you, Sparrow? It's been so long since I last saw you. Who have you brought with you? Pop, come and help," Flora shouted.
Looking into the back of the car, she saw a young lady with a small child wrapped in a blanket.
"Auntie Flora, this is my fiancée Saffron," Sparrow introduced.
"Is this your child? Is it a boy or girl? How old?" Flora was asking.
"Auntie Flora, she's not our daughter. We need help with her. Can we come in?" Sparrow asked.
"Of course, come in, come in. Bring the child with you," Flora invited.
"Dad had her locked in a room. I don't know how long she was there. But she smells and is covered in sores. I told dad she had died to get her from that hell hole," Sparrow growled. "He was going to demolish the building she was in. I think he intended to bury her alive in the rubble."
"Let's put her in a bedroom, and you can tell me all about what has been happening," River added.
Sparrow followed Auntie Flora through the house until they reached what Sparrow remembered as Moonbeams' room. Laying her down and taking off her shoes, he tucked the blankets around her. She looked so much younger than he knew she was.
"Now, Sparrow, tell me what has happened to that poor little thing," River demanded.
Sighing, Sparrow explained that Sky's mother insisted that someone rescue Sky and bring her to the commune. Harmony, her mother claimed her husband beat both her and Sky. He went on to tell them how they had snatched her from the street thinking they had saved her. Only now they had witnessed how her mother treated her, it was clear it wasn't Sky's father who was the abuser.
Izzy refused to answer to the name Sky. She would only answer to Izzy.
The Wolf had gotten so frustrated that she wouldn't back down that he had resorted to locking her into a small room with no human contact. He knew the goal was his father wanted to make Sky one of his inner circle.
Sparrow explained he told his father that he had found her dead. He told him he was going to Kansas and would bury her in the desert on his way. Once his dad knows she's not dead, he will send someone to find her and them. He will send someone to her hometown to look for her, either taking her back or killing her. Sparrow admitted he didn't know what to do. He hated having to obey his father's orders and commands. She had spent most of the past seven-year either being beaten or locked away.
"Wait a minute. How old is the girl? You said her past seven years. Because I know little about children as Meme does, but she only looks about ten. She is so small," River demanded.
"I think she's thirteen or fourteen," Sparrow answered.
"Your father has gone too far this time, Sparrow. We all had the same values and ideas when setting up this commune. Your father hasn't formed another commune. He has formed a cult," River replied.
Before anyone could continue the conversation, they jumped at an earth-shattering scream.
Rushing through to the bedroom. Izzy was in a corner, rocking herself as she curled into herself.
Flora put the light on and strolled towards Izzy.
"Hi honey, my name is Flora, but you can call me Meme. Sparrow has brought you here to keep you safe. No one here will hurt you," Flora whispered.
Izzy continued to scream. "Izzy, it's me. I've brought you to my Auntie Flora and Uncle River. We are near New York. No one will find you here, I promise," Sparrow promised.
Izzy looked up and threw her arms around his neck and cried.
"Bring her through to the sitting room, so we can get the little one something to eat," Flora said.
Picking her up, Sparrow carried her to the sitting room, where he placed her in front of the fire.
Izzy curled up in front of the fire like a kitten and went to sleep.
"Let me get you all something to eat. I'll make soup; it won't take too long. Have you both eaten?" Flora asked.
"Not, unless you can count chips and candy," Sparrow said.
"You will never grow into a strong young man if you don't eat," Flora laughed.
"Stop teasing him, Meme. Now, do you want to stay at Blossom's house for now? They are away visiting Serenity. I don't think they will be back for at least a month. They have taken Willow with them. Even though she was worried about her storehouse," River chuckled.
"We would love to if you're sure she won't mind," Sparrow answered.
"You and Blossom were joined at the hip until your dad took you away?" River answered. "You know your way over. I'll see you in half an hour for your food."
"Has the child got any fresh clothes?" Flora asked.
"We brought Izzy in what she is wearing and a change of clothes. I didn't think about nightwear. We dumped our car and clothes. Dad has been known to put trackers in things when he doesn't trust you," Sparrow answered. "I was going to buy more things tomorrow. I just wanted to get here."
"I'll have to see if we can find her something to wear. River, can you go across to the storehouse to see if there are any nightclothes she can wear tonight? We will sort the clothes issue out tomorrow. Could you get some of that balm I made last autumn for the sores Echo got on his hands after harvesting?" Flora instructed. "I'm going to run a bath, and then I can sort all her sores out. Her skin had come off when you took her clothes off, the poor little thing. I could kill Eagle for doing this to her. Changing his name to Wolf doesn't make him any less of a tyrant."
"I'll come back over in about fifteen minutes to help you bath her. She's let me hold her in the car, so I think she should be okay with me helping you," Saffron said.
"Thank you. I'll start supper, then run a bath," Flora replied.
Flora heard the door open and close. But when Pop never came through to the kitchen, she went to see what he was doing. But what she found was an empty room; Izzy had gone.
~T&I~
Izzy knows from what she had heard that when you went to the other commune, you never came back. Izzy was going to leave on her terms. She had pretended to be asleep in front of the fire and waited until she was alone.
Unlike the other commune, there was a town close to this one. Izzy thought she might be able to get there without being seen. She would go to the police precinct and tell them who she was and where she was from. Then ask them to call her daddy.
Izzy knew they used tracker dogs; she had been chased down and bitten by them before. There was a stream she had seen when they drove into the commune. Izzy would walk through the water. She remembered her daddy once said dogs wouldn't be able to follow a person's scent through water.
Sneaking between the houses, she gets closer to her goal, so she wouldn't be seen. She could hear Meme shouting for Pops.
Izzy didn't realize how sore the bottom of her feet was until she tried to run. Struggling, she made it to the stream. Jumping in and began to wade upstream. She was weaker and more tired than she realized. But she decided she would rather die her way than whatever those people wanted to do to her.
Stumbling, she fell into the water and just laid and let the water take her.
She never saw the two small boys fishing as she floated by them.
"Pa, come. Their someone in the water," Dylan shouted as he jumped into the water.
"Dylan, get out of the water. You can't hold them. They are bigger than you," Sonny yelled. "Pa, come; Dylan broke the rules and gone in the water."
A man came running down the slight embankment and waded into the water.
"Dylan, why did you get in? This person might be the height as you, but they could have dragged you under," Sandy chastised. "Run and tell Meme we found someone in the stream."
"Okay, Pa," Sonny yelled as he took off running.
"Son, can you get out?" Sandy asked while holding Izzy up.
"I think so, Pa. I'm sorry I broke the rules. But their face was in the water. They shouldn't be in the stream, anyway. Those are the rules," Dylan said.
"I know, son. But they could be dead, and that wouldn't be a nice thing for you to have touched," Sandy explained.
Sandy heard people running towards them.
"Can you help Dylan out, please?" Sandy requested.
Pops and Sparrow both took a hand each and pulled him out of the water, as Saffron pulled a blanket around him, rubbing him so he didn't get cold.
"Dylan, what were you thinking?" Petal asked as she pulled him into her arms.
"Ma, you're embarrassing me. I'm ten now. I'm not a baby," Dylan huffed.
"You will always be my baby," Petal chuckled. "Where did they come from?"
"She's with us. We are staying here for a while," Saffron explained.
"Do you have another blanket?" Sparrow asked.
"Yes, Meme sent a couple. Let's get her back and into a warm bath," Saffron offered.
"Thanks for helping Sandy. She ran away while she was on her own," Sparrow explained. "Another victim of your father, Sparrow. How old is she? Nine or ten," Sandy growled.
"Look, Sandy, I'm not my dad's keeper. It's not my fault what he's done. I'm as innocent as she is. We've come here until I can figure out how to make the three of us disappear from him for good," Sparrow replied as he walked away, cradling Izzy against his chest.
"Sandy, leave it for now. I don't want you arguing in front of the kids. You can't take it out on him for what his dad's done. You were his best friend when you were a kid. His dad took him from his mother. He had no choice," Petal growled.
Sparrow stormed towards Flora and River's house. He thought it would be a couple of days before this started with Sandy. He blamed everyone for his sister going missing. Sparrow knew she never went with his father.
~T&I~
Once Izzy had a bath and had some balm on her sores, she dressed in loose-fitting nightclothes. They tried to get her to eat some dinner, it smelled wonderful.
"Right, little one. That wasn't a good idea what you did; you could have died. Sparrow has done everything to keep you alive, so please don't do anything like that again. We will never hurt you here. I think we had better explain things to you, and then you might not be as frightened," River said. "To begin with, you are in Bethel, New York."
"Little one, we haven't always lived like this or called each other what you must think are crazy names. In August 1969, there was a music festival called Woodstock. Most people that went there were called hippies. While we were there, a few of us decided we didn't want to live in a world of war, so we made this commune. It's on my father's land, and I would have inherited it. My name was Elizabeth, and I was an elementary school teacher," Flora remembered. "But mostly I'm called Meme now."
"My name was David or Dave, as everyone called me. I was from New Jersey. I was at college studying law. My father was a lawyer, and they expected me to join his practice. But I never wanted to be a lawyer, nor did I believe in the Vietnam war, so I moved around so the government couldn't find me to serve me papers to make me go to Vietnam," River added. "I met Flora at the festival, and we hit it off straight away."
"There were four couples. River's friend Jeff and his girlfriend Sandy. They became Indio and Autumn. It was their son that just pulled you out of the water. Then, Scott and Lori became Marley and Rainbow, they have both passed away. Dale and Beth became Quinn and Daisy. Quinn past three years ago, and Daisy went to live with her daughter in Virginia. But their daughter Willow still lives here. She's a child trapped in an adult's body and wouldn't be able to cope away from here. She is currently with her sister Cloud and her husband, Echo, visiting her cousin in New York," Flora continued.
"We had been here about ten years, and we had built some houses, our animals were doing well, and our crops had taken. A guy called Jake Black turned up with a woman called Vicky. We never felt easy around her more than him. He called himself Eagle, and she called herself Janis; she liked a singer named Janis Joplin," River explained.
"He was here about five years when they had twins. Robin never lived two hours, but Sparrow here was so small they named him after a small bird. While pregnant, Janis took drugs, even though we told her not to," Flora sighed. "Eagle caused problems, trying to become a leader. There wasn't a leader, just a council. We were always peaceful."
"There was a big argument, and he left. Taking with him half our storage, causing us to struggle that winter," River reminisced. "We heard he had formed a commune, but the more we heard about it, the more it sounded like a cult."
"He left me behind but sent someone to get me. I had to leave even though I didn't want to go," Sparrow added. "He used me to portray himself as a caring family man."
"He started calling himself The Wolf. He encourages people to join him promising them a peaceful life. Once they have fallen for all his lies and given their money and possessions to him and the commune, they realize they can't leave," River stated.
"We want to get you back to your dad, but we know he would have checked to see if we have buried you and find out we haven't, and he will go looking for you," Sparrow informed.
"But he knows better than to come here or send anyone. But if we must hide you somewhere, it will be for maybe a day, and someone will stay with you. He will go to your hometown, and it won't be safe for anyone there," Flora added. "You could be here for two weeks or two months or even a couple of years. But you will go home as soon as it's safe."
"I know you don't like the name Sky and, to be honest, I don't blame you. But we can't call you Izzy. With Willow being childlike, she doesn't know how to lie, and if anyone asks her if Izzy is here, she will say yes. We will have to think of a name that you like that we can call you. Now, what is your full name?" River asked.
"Isabella Marie Swan," Izzy replied with a scratchy voice.
"I would think the name Izzy came from the beginning of your name. So, it will have to be something to do with Bella. Dad will guess that Bella is you," Sparrow said. "How about Bells? He will think you are called Bluebell. But Bells could be short for Bella. What do you say?"
"Yes, I like that. Will everyone call me that?" Izzy asked.
"Yes, that's what your name will be until you go home to your dad," Flora said.
"Well, Bells. You will come and live with us, and we will tell Willow that you are our family," River instructed.
"I teach all the kids from the commune here in the morning. What schooling have you had?" Flora asked.
"I had almost finished first grade when they took me. I've tried to read books, but I had them taken from me. My kindergarten teacher was teaching me to play the guitar," Izzy informed. "I like to draw and sing, but they would lock me in the storm cellar if I sang."
"I only teach English, math, and a little history and Geography. I will teach you how to cook. Some animals need attending. You will find a job that fits you," Flora said. "When the sheep are sheared, it's busy. I'll show you how we make the fleeces into wool. I will teach you to knit and use the loom."
"Serenity can play the guitar. I'm sure she will continue to teach you. She is still obsessed with Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. Don't forget Simon and Garfunkel," River chuckled.
"Come on, let's have you to bed. You must rest. We are up at six to milk the cows, then breakfast and school start. We will keep the nightlight on until you stop having nightmares," Flora said as she put her hand out for Bells.
"Good night, Bells. See you tomorrow," Sparrow called.
Thanks always to my dear friend Kellie (Klcivinski) for pre-reading through the chapter.
Also, a big thank you to Donna (EdwardsFirstKiss) for all her hard work editing the chapter. The time and patience she takes reading through mixed-up tenses and mistakes because of my dyslexia.
Also, for CoppertopJ, for all your help with this story.
Any mistakes are all mine.