Freedom Train

April 14, 1963 Part 3

April 14, 1963 Part 3

Annabeth fell to her knees in despair. This couldn't be happening. This was not how this day was supposed to end. There was no way that this would be the way that they lost her best friend.

She was supposed to start a family and grow old. She was supposed to always be there to tell Annabeth that it was okay to have your head in the clouds as long as she came down long enough to breathe in some fresh air every now and then.

The fighting stopped immediately, the shock clear on the faces of the witnesses from both sides of the scuffle. The gunshot echoed in the air, the sound hanging there- waiting for the gruesome realization to set in. It was only seconds before the first scream rang out, but until then it felt like time stood still. Annabeth knew, in that extended moment, that life would never be the same for any of them again.

Annabeth raised her eyes to the men who had disrupted their peaceful day. They all looked guilty, their eyes showing mixtures of shock and regret. But only one man gripped a smoking rifle- Only one man had pulled the trigger that had ended an innocent life-

Annabeth's father. Reginald Washington.

Another father, a loving soul, howled in pain as he dropped to the ground beside his baby girl.

Samuel Pritchard picked up Lizzie's lifeless body, gripping her tight in his large arms as he settled the girl in his lap. A deep magenta began to stain his Sunday best, but the man was oblivious as he began to rock his daughter, his only child, wails of agony escaping from his mouth as his tears coursed down his face to land on hers.

Ronny Washington stood frozen, looking down at the woman he loved. In that moment, his world crashed around him. His thoughts dark, his eyes misty with emotion, he turned toward the man who had made his life a living hell since the first time he stood up to him. Liz was gone forever, and his father had made it so.

Ronny dove toward Reginald, who appeared as stunned as the rest of the group, and knocked him to the ground. Ronny mounted him, throwing punch after punch at the man. Reginald lay still and took the beating, not trying once to fight back. Then, Ronny lifted his hands to his father's throat and began to squeeze- trying to steal the life from him just as Reginald stole the life from the sweetest girl in the entire state of Alabama.

"That's enough, Son," Sheriff Dean Keller said as he tried to pull Ronny off Reginald.

Ronny fought back against the Sheriff, fighting to keep his hands tightly around Reginald, wanting to watch the life drain from his eyes.

"I said that's enough," the Sheriff repeated once more, successfully prying Ron away.

The Sheriff pulled Reginald to his feet and pulled his arms behind his back, clasping his wrists into a pair of cuffs, whispering words in his ear that were unheard to the rest of the group. Ronny charged toward his father again, but Bobby came behind him and wrapped his arms tight around the boy's middle. Seconds later, the two of them dropped to the ground and Ronny began to shudder with rage and sadness as the emotion over took his body and he began to cry.

Terry and Henry stood side by side, their mouths slack in horror at the scene before them.

Poor, sweet Elizabeth Pritchard. She'd done nothing to deserve such a fate. She was probably one of the nicest women they had ever met. If they hadn't have been there, she would be alive at that moment, sharing pie with her boyfriend and smiling at her Daddy over a glass of wine during Easter supper.

"We need to go," Henry whispered to his friend, following Terry's gaze toward Annabeth and Sandy, who sat on the lawn- covered in the blood of their best friend- gripping on to each other as if they would disappear upon release.

"I can't leave her," Terry whispered, stepping forward.

Henry reached out, gripping his friends arm and pulling his back to his side.

"They'll be cops here soon," Henry said. "More than just the sheriff. They'll find a way to pin this on us. We never should've been here in the first place."

Terry pulled his arm from Henry's grasp and crossed the lawn toward Annabeth. Henry sighed, taking a few steps forward so he stood behind him. Terry knelt to the ground beside the girls, placing a gentle hand on Annabeth's shoulder. She slowly lifted her head, and two sets of eyes turned their way, all four swollen and pouring emotion.

"You need to go," Annabeth said. "This wasn't your fault," she added quickly. "But you can't be here."

Terry nodded and leaned forward, kissing the top of her head gently, not caring who saw him. Sandy looked up toward Henry, her expression blank, before the girls turned back to each other and continued to cry.

***Four hours later***

Sandy, Annabeth and Bobby sat in Bobby's truck, parked outside of the Gaston hotel. Bobby had rented the room by phone, after learning that their hotel near Audumnly set their things outside when they didn't come back after the accident. Bobby chose the Gaston because they were closer to Birmingham and because they had friends there. Besides, the girls were in no position to make any sort of decision in the moment.

The three of them sat in silence, the truck turned off- Lizzie's blood still splattered on their clothes. It was awful, watching them wheel Lizzie away, draping her body in a stark white sheet as Papa Pritchard followed behind the officers, a ghost of the confident man he once was.

The images of the day stained Annabeth's eyes. Every time she closed them, she saw Lizzie's lifeless body lying on the green grass, or the look on Papa Pritchard's face as they took his baby away. How would they get over this day?

"We should check in and head up. Change." Bobby whispered into the stillness.

Neither girl made an effort to move. Bobby reached out, grinding his hands on the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles turned white.

"I need to get out of these clothes and pay the coming weeks rent," Bobby said.

His father had slipped some money into his pocket as they said their sorrowful good-byes. It was a good thing, seeing as Bobby was worried on how they would survive before the craziness of the last few days.

Annabeth and Sandy continued to sit silently, stoic, as they stared blindly out of the windshield. Bobby sighed and told them their room number before he climbed from the car, softly closing the door behind him before he headed inside. He didn't have the right words to say- He never would. So it was best to leave them without saying anything more.

It was another hour before the silence in the truck was broken. Sandy reached beside her and linked her hand with Annabeth's.

"It's not your fault," Annabeth said, as if she read her friend's mind. "It's my fault. If I would have never gotten myself involved with Terry...If I had just been the person my parents wanted..."

"But I called you," Sandy interjected. "I started a fight with my Daddy and I called you to me. You couldn't stop those boys from following. You couldn't have predicted what would happen as a result of my big mouth."

"Neither could you, Sandy. You stood up for yourself and you needed my help. They only wanted to make sure you weren't hurt. Lizzie wouldn't blame you for this."

"Lizzie wouldn't blame any of us, for any of it," Sandy said. "It wasn't in her nature. She..."

Fresh tears began to spill down Sandy's face. Annabeth wrapped her arms around Sandy's arm, her eyes pooling with her own sadness. This loss would hurt for far longer than either of them knew. There would always be a piece of Annabeth and Sandy that would be missing now that Lizzie was gone.

"We can't stay in this truck forever," Sandy exhaled a short time later.

"We won't," Annabeth sighed through her tears. "But just a few more minutes?"

Sandy nodded lightly.

What was a few minutes in the grand scheme of things? It wouldn't change anything, and nothing would ever bring their friend back.

***