Abducted

Abducted-Chpt. 3-Sadie's Fever, My Birthday, and I Explode

                           Chapter 3

     I realized Sadie was broiling with the heat of her fever just before I woke up. I was dreaming that I was swimming in cool water. All of a sudden the water was hotter than the dead of summer in Georgia. I pulled myself out of sleep and looked at Sadie. She was red, red, red, and extremely warm. I checked my watch. It was one in the morning. The handkerchief I put on Sadie's head was dry and hard.

    'That isn't good.' I thought. It shouldn't have dried up in two hours. Her fever was high. Sadie moaned. I grabbed the hand kerchief, dipped it again and placed it on Sadie's forehead. It became hot almost instantly. I picked up Sadie and carefully carried her bridal style over to the table I had made. I carefully took off Sadie's jeans and her sweater. I moved the plate, which had emptied yet again during the night. I was dumbfounded.  

    Sadie lay in her pajama shorts and shirt. I grabbed both handkerchiefs and folded them. I dipped one and placed it on Sadie's head. I grabbed the bucket from the stall and set it right next to Sadie. Then I dipped the other handkerchief and replaced the first one that was already warm. Sadie woke and threw up into the bucket, and lay back down and passed out.

     I continued exchanging the handkerchiefs until eight in the morning, when Mike walked in with soggy cereal and some fruit. He looked shocked. I asked him if they had anything to reduce Sadie's fever.

     "I'll see what we have," he smirked and slipped out of the barn. Five minutes later Jeff walked in with a small pill bottle. He threw it, succeeded in hitting the back of my head, and walked back out. I heard the wooden board slide into place. I looked at the bottle. I shook one pill into my hand. I moved next to Sadie and woke her.

     "What is it, Melody?"

     "I need you to take this pill."

     "No, I don't want to," she pouted.

     "Sadie it will bring down your fever and make you feel better."

     "No!"

I grabbed the origami cup and filled it with water. I pried open Sadie's mouth, poured in the water and dropped in the pill. I held Sadie's mouth closed until Sadie finally swallowed the pill. She relaxed. I swapped the cloths. I kept switching them. An hour later I looked at Sadie, who hadn't yet fallen back asleep. Her face was very relaxed..

     "Are you feeling better?"

     "Yes."

     "Now, aren't you glad I made you take the pill?"

     "Yes."

     "Can you sit up?"

     "Yea, and I think I'm well enough to eat some more. I'm hungry!."

     I laughed. "I'm sure you are!"

     I grabbed the fruit. The cereal looked like mush, and couldn't tell what kind it was. Into the bucket it went. I divided up the fruit, giving Sadie more to help her get her strength back. I bit the strawberry. It was my favorite snack. Then I remembered. Today was my birthday, birthday party, and golden birthday. A tear dripped down my face.

     "What's wrong, Melody?"

     "Oh, nothing."

     "There's something, don't try to hide it."

     This kid was good. Persistent, which was annoying, but good. "Fine, today is my birthday. I'm thirteen."

     "Aww." She curled up next to me. "Happy Birthday, Melody."

     "Thanks, Sadie. You know, strawberries are my favorite snack to eat, especially on my birthday."

     "Well we're lucky we got these strawberries, huh!"

     "Yep!"

     We finished the fruit. I replaced the half full bucket in the hole of the straw toilet.

     "What's in there?"

     I jumped. I didn't hear Sadie approach.

     "I made us a toilet seat for our bucket. So we can sit on it when we use the bathroom."

     "Wow, neat!"

     "I know, and it's better than having to squat over it."

     "Yeah."

     "I also made use a table slash sickbed."

     "Sickbed?"

     "It's where you slept when you had that super high fever."

     "Oh, okay."

     "Then we have our bed."

     "It's very comfortable. You did a great job. Now I have to pee. I haven't gone since Thursday night."

     "Okay."

     I checked my watch. Five thirty. Jeff brought food to us at six yesterday. We should get our food soon. But I wasn't very hungry. I was still worried about Sadie. I made her my top priority the second I heard the men outside the window. I figured she got sick from all the stress of the events. But the fever was high, too high for just the stress. I decided to stop thinking about it now and take care of Sadie.

     Sadie pranced up to me "What do you want to do?"

     "Oh, I don't know. What do you want want to do?"

     Sadie sniffed. "I want to go home." and burst into tears.

     "Oh, Sadie. Don't cry."

     "I want my mommy!" she clung to me.

     I picked her up, and she sobbed into my shoulder. We spent the next forty-five minutes like that. Sadie cried so hard, there was a huge wet stain on my shoulder. When Matt walked in with our evening meal, he saw me on the barn floor, cradling a sobbing Sadie. He set down the food and grabbed the bucket. He walked out and did what I knew was dumping the bucket. He came back in, chucked the bucket into the stall, and walked in front of us. He took a deep breath. I thought he would calmly ask what was wrong. He began screaming at us.

"What the hell is the kid doing crying!?" he roared.

I exploded. "She wants her mother. Haven't you noticed she won't leave my side? She suffering from separation anxiety, she's sick, and she'd be sad as hell if she's separated from me!" I charged Matt. He fell backwards, crushing the cage. We struggled. He pushed me onto the floor, tied my hands. He grabbed Sadie, who freaked out, squealed for me, and was bound. He hit her, slapped me, and pulled Sadie and the squashed cage out of the barn. I could hear her crying for me to help her. I want to, but I couldn't. Ten seconds later, I heard the door of the house slam shut. I ambled over to the straw bed, threw myself onto the bed and cried. I judged it to be about six thirty, and I was already exhausted. Sadie was in the house, and I had no idea what was happening to her. I twisted and turned. I shut my eyes and declared this the worst birthday of my life. I squeezed out two more tears, then passed out.