Chapter 1. The Depression Takes its Toll
It was already snowing, an early winter making life on the street that much more
difficult. Marie barely had time to celebrate graduating from high school before tragedy
struck her family. Her father, barely forty, died from black lung disease, his body
ravaged by the fast-moving ailment. Too many years underground digging coal in the
Appalachian hills had taken its toll on his youthful body, in its prime. The depression
had already struck the country, making life very difficult for families with one
breadwinner working. Life was now almost impossible for Marie`s family. Her mother,
Brenda, now a widow, was all alone with her nineteen-year-old daughter Marie.
With the little money they had, Marie and her mother moved to Boston where a relative,
Camilla, agreed to provide temporary housing until the women could find jobs. But the bad
luck continued, and Brenda was only able to find a part-time menial cleaning job for a
rich man in the Bankers Hill part of town. Marie was unable to find even a menial job, as
most employers figured she would leave at the first chance of a better job. But they never
let her out of sight without first propositioning her, her youthful body a valuable asset
to barter for.
Then tragedy struck again. The relatives Marie and her mother were staying with had to
leave town when Camilla`s mother had a heart attack. Marie and Brenda were left in the
small, cramped apartment for the balance of the month. They were soon evicted, of course,
for Brenda`s pay was not even sufficient to cover the monthly rent.
They had been on the street for two weeks now, living in one of the Homerville`s that
were sprouting up all over the cities and towns, places where families could pitch a tent,
or build a shanty to keep them somewhat dry from the rain and the snow that was coming.
Crime was rampant, your possessions gone before you even realized it. Theft of meager food
rations was enough to warrant violent attacks, dangerous enough for a family but more than
hazardous for two females alone without protection.
Brenda was off at work one day while Marie napped on the floor of the tent they called
home. It was raining outside, the rows of tents looking deserted as those within tried to
stay dry and warm. It happened so fast that Marie didn`t even have time to scream. The
tent flap was thrown back, and Marie was startled from sleep when two men appeared, the
look on their faces surprised, since they hadn`t expected anyone to be inside. They were
quicker than she was. The shorter one quickly jumped on Marie and pinned her to the
ground, his dirty hand sealing her mouth before she could scream.
"Shit, I thought you said no one was here." The taller one scrambled inside the
tent, closing the flap, tying it tight.
"It was so quiet, I thought both of them were gone. What do you expect me to do,
stand out in the fuckin` rain all morning watching? We`re leaving this dump today anyway,
what`s the difference? Let`s tie the bitch up and grab everything they have. No one will
see us in the goddamn rain." He was shorter than his partner was, but muscular and
wiry, able to move quickly in cramped places, great for robbing homes and tents. His
partner was tall, almost too tall, always having to duck even to get through doorways. His
size was always a lucky deterrent when they were caught, letting them go a smarter move
than trying to subdue a much bigger opponent. They had been robbing tents and shanties for
almost a week now, their anonymity gone. If they didn`t leave soon, they would be caught,
and the thought of jail in this lousy town was not very appealing.
He threw his partner over some rope and a dirty red bandana. "Gag the bitch, don`t
want her alerting anyone."
"Just calm down and you won`t get hurt," he whispered to Marie. "I don`t
want to hurt you, but I will if I have to. I`m just going to tie you up. Your momma will
let you loose when she gets home. I`m going to take my hand off your mouth and put this
gag on you. If you make a sound, I`ll cut you," a knife suddenly appearing in his
hand, glistening in the candlelight in the tent.
Marie was scared. Her mother would not be home for at least four hours. Marie was afraid
of what they might do to her, too many cases of rape occurred in the camp already, and no
one ever was prosecuted for them. The girls just usually left the camp, too embarrassed to
stay, afraid of becoming pregnant. When the knife pricked her neck, Marie`s body tensed
and went still. She felt the hand remove from her mouth, quickly replaced by the red
bandana, the smell and taste of the foul cloth assaulted her senses. She looked around,
the other man throwing their meager belongings into a cloth sack. He turned around,
catching her watching him.
"Blindfold her."
Darkness came quickly, another rag thrown over her eyes, the smell of oil filling her
nose. The man finally got off her and Marie was able to breathe again. She heard the faint
voices of the men whispering, but was not able to make out what they were saying. She
found her wrists pulled forward, thick ropes tied around them tightly, binding them
together.
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