Tuesday, August 15, 2017

WFW - Two miles from town

This weeks Words for Wednesday is again hosted by our good friend River over at Drifting through life. The purpose of the words is to encourage us to write, a story, a poem, or whatever comes to mind.

If you post an entry on your blog, drop by Rivers blog at Drifting through life and let her know so everyone can read it.

I'm going to continue a story that I started last week, if you missed it you can find it here Sitting on the window sill

This week's words are:
puffing, candles, confused, fishing, supreme, almost
and/or:
eight, despicable, banner, shave, flowers, frowning

Two miles from town

Tammy found herself sitting on a small couch with her legs crossed, she was staring out of a window on the opposite wall, which was only about eight feet away, and outside this window all she could see was trees. This wasn't the house Todd had promised her, no electricity, a Coleman stove to cook on, and a lantern or candles for lights, somehow this wasn't her definition of a nice house.

Since coming here Todd had said how they didn't need anyone, he claimed they could live off the land. He told Tammy that she was nothing without him, he would have her walk with him down to the stream so she could haul water back to the trailer, but no matter how much she brought back there was never enough to bathe in. Todd hadn't had a shave and his scraggly beard gave him a look that scared her. He was supposedly fishing in this stream, but Tammy hadn't seen any fish caught yet.

Todd walked through the door and said, "I need to go into town and get some groceries Babe, want to come along?" Tammy tried to smile and answered "Sure, but Todd, this ain't what I thought it would be like." Todd smiled "Never is Tam, this place'll grow on you." She looked down towards the floor and quietly said, "It's not what you told me it was, I'm worried about Dad, I want to go home."

Todd just looked at her, the smile melted away from his face, Frowning he growled, "What do you mean you want to go home?" Then he screamed, "Hell we got it good here, nobody bothering us, after all I've done for you and now this." Confused Tammy shrank down into the little couch and tried to back away from his shouting, the spittle from his lips hit her in the face as he ranted.

"You're going to love it here Tam, I'll make damned sure of that!" Todd stormed out the door and as he placed a padlock into a hatch on the outside of the door, he growled through the window "I'm making sure that you stay inside until I get back, I can't believe you are doing this to me now!" huffing and puffing Todd jumped into his Nova and sped away throwing dirt and rocks into the air.

Tammy looked out the window on the door and didn't see any sign of Todd, she turned the knob and pushed the door, it rattled slightly but was stuck in place, she was trapped in what he had told her was "Paradise", she slid down the door and sat on the floor, she was going to have to think now...

It took a week for Tammy to come up with a good plan, a foolproof plan, at that...

Every time Todd left he always locked the door, leaving her trapped inside. All the windows were small and solid, but one behind the couch was a little loose, Tammy thought that she could squeeze through the opening if she could only get the window out, which she did.

Todd left for town and locked Tammy inside once again, "I'm going to the store to grab some things, why don't you rest up so we can have some fun when I get back" he said to her in a sickening sweet voice, Tammy smiled as he closed the door and pad locked it shut. He really thought he was some big time supreme thinker, just wait until he finds out how smart I really am, she thought. When the car drove away Tammy reached behind the couch and pulled the small pane of glass loose and dropped it to the ground.

She slipped behind the couch and stuck her legs through the window, it was a tight fit and the metal frame tore into the skin of her hips and back scratching her until she bled, she really thought she was in trouble when she found herself literally hanging out of the window with the metal frame digging in below her breasts, they were sore enough anyway and now her shirt was bunched up nearly wedging her into place, just then she heard Todd's car pulling up in front of the trailer.

Tammy placed both feet against the wall and pushed as hard as she could, with a loud rip her shirt tore loose and she fell to the ground landing on her back with her hands stretched out above her head, she could hear Todd's keys rattling as he opened the padlock.

Tammy ran around to the front and peered around the corner, as the door closed she could hear Todd calling her name as he walked down the hall towards the bedroom. She grabbed the padlock, slipped it into the hasp, and snapped it closed. Todd had even left his keys hanging in the lock.


As Tammy walked away she smiled, Todd was too big to slip through any of those windows. It may be a despicable thing to do but Tammy decided right then to forget completely about Todd and where he was located. A banner day for getting one over on hostage takers, she thought to herself, score one for the good guys, she threw his keys into the stream and grabbed herself a handful of wild flowers.

When she reached the blacktop she saw that she had a weak signal on her phone, there was a highway sign and another showing that she was only two miles from town. That little flutter she had noticed in her stomach was acting up again, it was kind of scary and comforting at the same time. She punched in her Dad's number.

Dan had been calling the sheriff's office and searching the area for Tammy almost everyday, He was about to give up hope, but decided to call them once again today to ask what they were doing to find his daughter, just as he picked up his cell phone it rang.

Hello this is Dan Hayes.....Tammy!.....

38 comments:

  1. Ah hah! I'll bet there are twists ahead!

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    1. Hey Sharon, Twists in the road are always possible ;)

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  2. I guess he wasn't the "catch" she first thought him to be.
    Good job Jimmy!

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    1. Hello Pat, That does appear to be what happened.

      Thank you Sir, I appreciate it.

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  3. I don't like the sound of that flutter! Great story, Jimmy!

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    1. Thank you Bijoux, That little detail didn't slip by you I see.

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  4. Forget COMPLETELY? Dang! Who's more cold-blooded, Todd or Tammy?

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    1. Hey Val, That is pretty cold blooded if I do say so myself.

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  5. I am glad Tammy got away and to find she was so close to town too! I recognise Todd's behaviour, classic abuser, sweet talk first, then isolation and the abuse comes soon enough after that. But I do think Tammy should tell her dad and the Sheriff, so Todd can be...I don't know...helped? arrested? something that makes him change his ways? although that last one probably won't happen. They never change, just become more guarded about it.

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    1. Hello River, Even though this is a complete work of fiction some of the facts are sadly the same as ones being played out everyday, an abuser remains an abuser and the victims don't recognize it until it's too late in a lot of cases.

      You are 100% right in that they only become more guarded about their actions...

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  6. I am very glad Tammy got away - but am echoing Bijoux and River. That flutter sounds ominous to me, and she should tell the sheriff where to find Todd. If my suspicions are correct she really doesn't want to go through life as the murderer of her child's father...

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    1. Hello EC, I suppose the plot thickens as they say, having Tammy become a murderer wouldn't be a good thing for a child who will be wondering who their father is...I'm going to have to put my thinking cap on now ha ha.

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  7. Please... don't leave it there, Jimmy. We have to know more.

    'Walked away....' crikey, if that was me I'd had have raced like a madwoman to get away.

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    1. Hi Valerie, "if that was me I'd had have raced like a madwoman to get away." If that were me I would be running also, I guess Tammy will have to let us know a little bit more now.

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  8. And guess what Dad...she's bringing home a new member of the family. This is great Jimmy Your girl has a nasty stread but I imagine Todd will manage to escape. The mean ones always do and the story will continue.

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    1. Hey Delores, The story does lead us to think a new addition to the family may be coming, now sure about Todd though ;)

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  9. This is a really good story, Jimmy!You're quite talented! Clever woman, who despite her suffering, we know she'll send someone back to have him arrested. Looking forward to next Wednesday! Hugs...

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    1. Thank you RO, I do appreciate your kind comments, I will try my best to do you proud.

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  10. Great story, Jimmy. I admire you bloggers who try this challenge.

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    1. Hello Jean, Thank you Mam, this is becoming a fun challenge, I look forward to it every week now, before I did copy the words to see if I could do anything with them with no results, then one week it clicked.

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  11. Turn about is fair play, I say. Let him get a taste of his own unfairness. Very well done.

    Have a fabulous day. ☺

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    1. Thank You Sandee, It appears Todd has a lot to think about right now ;)

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  12. You're an excellent writer, and this is a compelling story.

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    1. Thank you Sir, I am happy you are enjoying it Stephen.

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  13. I am so happy that she escaped and managed to lock the maniac in the cabin. Oh if only more victims of domestic violence were able to escape in such a manner. You had me on the edge of my seat Jimmy. Another good job.

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    1. Hi Annie, I agree if only more victims of domestic violence were able to escape from these maniacs this would be a blessing indeed.

      Thank you Mam I appreciate it.

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  14. That is a great story, and I'm glad she got away. Tammy deserves to be happy.

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    1. Thank you Denise, I am glad you are enjoying the story, Tammy is in a better situation now.

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  15. Wow, you really had me glued to the page. I too though hope she tells the sheriff and Todd gets to do some serious jail time with some big stinky studs who think he is kind of cute. Please continue this.

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    1. Hey Patti, You all have me thinking for sure, and I appreciate all of your suggestions too, just may have to use some of them ;)

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  16. Good story, Jimmy!!

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  17. This is so so awesome!!! I love that you are doing this challenge.

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    1. Hi Jen, Thank you this is a great challenge and I am really having fun with it.

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  18. A great use of the theme and words, well done and such a delight to read. Greetings.

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    1. Thank you Sir, I am happy that you enjoyed reading it.

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  19. Great job, Jimmy. I think if I were her, I would've stolen the creeps Nova to get outta there as quickly as possilbe. The heck with walking!

    Hmm, methinks that "flutter" is going to need a name...

    I did a post with these words on River's Friday post. Better late than never. :)

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    1. Thank you Susan, I almost had her take the Nova but changed my mind obviously ha ha.

      Going over to Rivers to read yours now.

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Thanks for stopping by, jump in and tell me what you think, or just say Hi, I really appreciate your comments.