Chapter 2
~1840
The house stood proud, bright, and ready for company, just like it always did. I got out of the carriage and walked up the cobble stone path to the front entry of the grand house. And it was mine, Id worked so hard to get where I was, and yet, it didnt feel as good as it should have.
Thats where an opportunity came. I was free spirited, and didnt like discrimination. So I opened my house to slaves, doing my part to help them reach freedom up north of us. There was another group coming in tonight, 6 I believe was said.
Night fell and my maid came to my library, bowing as she entered.
"Sir, theyre here, they just arrived." She said.
"Thank you Elizabeth, Ill be there in a minute." I said and took off my reading glasses. I stood up, and left the library, heading for the kitchen. There was a door in the pantry, well hidden, that led to the basement, where the railroad connected. I walked down the stairs, and was met by 4 blacks and 2 whites. Shocked to say the least, I couldnt help but wonder why white men were in the railroad.
"Have they started taking on white slaves now?" I said, making my presence known. Every one of them started to get up, to bow in my presence. "No, stop, youve all had a hard trip, rest." They did as I asked and sat back down, continuing to eat. "Can I have an answer?" I asked. One was a blonde, which was almost unheard of, and he kept his face to his food, eating all he could. The other looked up. Curly hair that hadnt been washed in what looked like weeks, strong features, and a noticeable jaw line.
"Most havent, sir." He said. "But, they take a likin to beatin us up, just cause wes different." He said.
"And whats your reason?" I asked, sitting at the table with them.
"My mama was black, my daddy was white, so peoples saw me as black." He said.
"And whats youre name?" I asked.
"Justin." He said simply. I had a feeling that he was more educated, but with time, an accent had been gained.
"And where abouts are you from?" I asked.
"Mississippi, with my friend here." He said and nodded his head at the blonde.
"And whats youre name?" I asked. He kept his head down for a minute, then brought it up.
"James, from Mississippi, like Justin said." He was educated, wasnt hard to tell. I gasped. His eyes, they were so green.
"And whats youre reason?" I asked. He let his head lower.
"Hes differnt then the rest of um." One of the black men said. I turned my head to him.
"Whys that?" I asked.
"He likes men, no women for him." He said. This man seemed to have education too. Unheard of for a black man to have education.
"Really, is that so?" I turned my head back to James. I saw him nod.
"Well it isnt something to be ashamed of, lad." I said. His head snapped up.
"You arent gonna kill me on the spot then?" He asked.
"Of course not, I dont do that stuff." I said. I stood from the table, facing everyone. "Once youve all finished eating, there are beds for you to sleep in while you stay, and new clothes, nothing fancy, but something other than what you have on right now, you must have wore those outfits since
" I stopped and looked. "Louisiana. Since I cant let you up above the basement, which I am sorry for, there is an underground river, where you can wash, soap should be on your beds, along with towels and combs. Anything else you need
" I stopped and looked at one of the women. She was pregnant, and far along from what I could tell. "How far along are you?" I asked. She knew who I was talking about, she looked up at me. "I don reckon I know, a while, since winter or round bouts." I calculated the months. "Whos the father?" I asked. The black man raised his voice.
"I am." He said firmly.
>"You do know she could give birth any day now."
"We figured as much, we was gonna ask how long we can stay here, before we must move on." He said.
"Long enough for her to give birth and keep the child healthy, thats for sure." I said. I walked up the steps, and carefully stepped from under the pantry floor. I went back to my library, picked up my glasses, and finished looking at the paperwork for captured slaves. It was horrible, why would anyone want to hurt someone, just because their skin was a different color? Or that they happened to like the same sex, it was ridiculous, and I would never give in to the rewards, no matter the amount of money. I tore the papers up, and put them in the burning fire, watching them slowly burn into ashes.
I went upstairs to bed, to sleep off the long days work. And as I drifted off, my mind stayed on the green eyed James.
The next morning I woke up and dressed. Combing my hair and washing my face could wait until later, all I wanted was some of Marthas eggs and waffles. I slowly made my way downstairs, and walked down the hall, into the kitchen.
"Morning." A deep voice said. I jumped, and looked up. James. Sitting in the kitchen. At
. I looked over at the clock on the wall
6 am.
"What are you doing up here?" I asked, yawning.
"Martha said I had a better chance of getting a good meal, me being white and all." I nodded and looked over at Martha, who stood at the stove and shrugged.
"Well, would have been helpful to know such things, considering the fact that Im not even dressed." I said with slight sarcasm. I watched James look me up and down and found myself become aroused at the thought.
"So how much education do you have?" I asked James.
"Enough to keep me alive." Came a short and sweet answer.
"How many years? Can you read and write?" I asked.
"10 years, went to college. So yes, I can read and write." James said.
"Good to know, then how come you havent come up with a way out of this?" I asked, sipping the tea that Martha had set before me.
"Ive tried, word always seems to get around that Im wrong, or something. I never knew who spread the rumor." I was about to answer when the chimes rang at the front door.
"Damn," I muttered and grabbed James arm. "Its to late to get you below, so," I looked around. "Up the back stairs, youll stay up there." I said and pulled James with me up the stairs. Martha watched us, and then slowly made her way down the hall and to the front room. I pulled James into my bedroom and shut the door, locking it behind me. My robe had come untied on the way up the stairs, letting the fabric slip off my shoulders, leaving a gap trailing down the front of my body. I had no time to think, before I could utter a sound, James lips were pressed against mine. Shocked, to say the least, I tried to pull away, but James backed me against the door and trapped me with his hands on either side of me. Finally, I gave into temptation and kissed him back, knowing that it was wrong. His hands slipped into the robe, pushing it off my shoulders completely and letting it fall to the floor. I sighed and put as much passion into the kiss as I possible could, my hands finding their way over his body, his hair, his face. I finally gained control and started moving him backwards, towards my bed. He fell back, pulling me onto of him, never once breaking the kiss. My mouth moved from his lips to his neck, to his jaw, to his cheek, then back to his lips, while his hands worked my body in a way Id never thought possible.
His excitement equaled mine, and I pushed my hips into his, forgetting responsibility, honor, pride, and differences of any kind, just focusing on the body beneath mine. I pulled his shirt overhead, then undid his trousers, wanting to feel his skin.
"Oh god," he managed so sputter out as I kissed his neck, leaving a mark that would need womens cover later. He wrapped his arms around me, rolling us over, so he was on top, and separated my legs, pulling them over his shoulders. I grabbed at the silk sheets as his lips trailed across my skin, and waited for the pain that I knew was sure to come. And it did. He entered me softly, trying to be as slow as possible, but with all the excitement we had worked up, it was anything but slow.
I moaned a painfilled moan as he pumped himself inside me at first. Then my moans turned into whimpers, wanting release so badly I could taste it. My back arched, making my head dig into the bed, and my mouth hung open in a silent cry. His face, buried deep in my neck, kissing, biting, moaning, and whimpering into my skin as he sped up quickly.
The bed shook, banging against the wall, and I whimpered once more before releasing all over my chest and stomach. I came as he filled himself within me, biting my lip to keep from screaming in joy. He slowly pulled himself out of me and fell onto the bed, trembling at the sudden rush of pleasure that probably filled his body. His arm wrapped around me and I wrapped myself deep within his arms, falling into a peaceful sleep.
It became almost a routine. For the next 5 months, we lived in peace, and spent every moment totally and completely in love. But then trouble struck. Reports of my slave keeping ran around town, and soon there were cops at the door, asking to search, and trying to find any evidence of secret passageways. They searched weekly, for almost 2 months, and it was getting more difficult to keep up with everything that was going on. But I always found peace in Jamess arms, he would hold me as we slept, and would awaken me in the morning with a kiss.
And thats how they found us. Forcing their way into my house, into my private life, they found it all, forced James to tell them where the passageways were, beating him, torturing him, until I couldnt take it anymore. I didnt want to do it, but I couldnt stand the sight of James being tortured. So I screamed something I never thought Id say. I screamed for mercy if they would let him go. It would have worked, if Justin hadnt come up from the basement, through the kitchen, to find us being beat. Hed left the passageway open, free entry for anyone. He saw immediately shot, and James cried.
It was all over, they found the passageways, and not much than a week later, we were shot, all lined up on a wall. The last words out of my mouth, I remember clearly were "Long Live Freedom". And with that, all my freedom was taken away.
~Present
"Joshua, it will be okay, I promise." James said softly, rubbing my back as we sat on the window seat of the master bedroom, where we had spent many nights proclaiming our love.
"I just cant forget. Its too painful. James, I would just like to know where Im buried, I never even found out. I know its not with my family, Ive checked." I said and sighed, letting a tear roll down my face
"Maybe they can help." James nodded towards Joey and Chris, snuggled up on the bed together, in perfect bliss.
"They cant help, theyd freak, why would they want to help us?" I asked.
"Well, Chris already knows something. He has some sort of gift that senses us. Thats a plus. I dont think theyd freak, and look at the day and age now, wed probably go down as heroes, or at least you will, and then it will all be alright."James hugged me from behind and lay his head on my shoulder. I could close my eyes and still remember my fields, my house in brand new condition, my family, my life.
"Dont think about it, it will only hurt more."James said quietly, looking out across the over grown fields. I bit my lip, wondering if there was a chance to get the answers to the questions that I had had for years. "Sleep on it, how about that, its not like we have a time limit or anything."James said and kissed my neck softly.
"Well you do have a point, we do have forever." I felt nod in agreement. "Well give it a try, tomorrow, and see what happens."