Freedom Train

December 27, 1962 Cont.

Chapter 6: December 27, 1962 Cont.

Terry was waiting for Annabeth when she arrived behind the barn late that night. He jumped to his feet when he heard her approaching, his face relaxing only once he realized it was her.

"Hey," she greeted with a small smile. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

Terry shook his head.

"I only got here a few minutes ago."

Annabeth nodded and sat on the ground against the back of the milk crates so that she could stretch out her legs since there wasn't any snow on the ground. He sat beside her a moment later.

"So, when you're not protesting, marching or otherwise engaged with your cause, what is it you find yourself doing?" Annabeth asked, determined to learn all she could about him.

Terry shrugged.

"To be honest, there's not much more that I do. Other than spend time with my family. They live in Birmingham, which is why I came back to Alabama. I was supposed to travel over to Mississippi for a sit in, but it got canceled at the last second. So, I came home instead, surprised Mama for Christmas."

Annabeth smiled at him.

"I'm real glad you did," she responded seriously, thinking of what would have happened to her had he not come along to save her.

"Me too," he responded, his eyes traveling over her face with a soft smile on his lips.

"Tell me about your family," Annabeth requested.

"Well, my Mama and Daddy are great people. Inspirations, even..."

Terry continued to talk about his mother and father, his two brothers and one sister. Seemed to Annabeth like he had a lot of support, saw a lot of laughter and was blessed with an amazing family. His Mama was a maid for a decent white family in Birmingham. They treated her nice and she had grown quite fond of the children in the home. His Daddy worked over at the factory in the mail room. Terrence was proud of his parents for standing in the face of adversity and taking care of their family anyway, in any way they could. And he spoke with such admiration for his baby brother, Jamal and his younger sister, Sasha.

"What about your older brother?" Annabeth asked gently, when she realized that after thirty minutes of talking about his family that he rarely spoke of Jackson.

"Jackson was murdered a few years ago," Terry spoke sadly, trying to keep control over the emotion in his voice.

Annabeth reached out and touched his arm sympathetically. He forced a smile her way and she let her hand fall to the side.

"I'm so sorry. What happened, if you don't mind me asking?"

Terry was silent for a minute as he pulled his legs up and rested his arms over the top of his knees. Annabeth thought maybe she had pried too much, but then he spoke on it.

"There was a lot of speculation, a lot of gossip. But no one really knows for sure what happened. He was 18, young and full of life. By the time they found his body there was almost nothing left to identify. The rats had gotten to him. The police didn't even attempt to find his killer. What's another dead nigger to them?" he said, his voice laced in resentment.

"That's just horrible, Terry. I'm so sorry."

He nodded his head and once again turned his eyes toward Annabeth's.

"It's the way of it here, Annabeth. It's what we're fighting so hard to change."

She nodded, her admiration for his strength and resilience growing more with each second they spent together.