Beautiful Warrior

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I've been on my own for almost a year now, traveling from town to town and found myself along the border to Mexico. I set up camp for the night and start a fire. Laying on my bedroll, I had just dozed off when I feel someone grab me up and I start to fight back. "What are you doing out here?" a woman asks. "Just passing through. Didn't know anyone owned this land." I tell her and she looks at me. Walking up closer, she shines the flashlight on me and sees the scars on my throat and the side of my face. "Anyone with you?" she asks. "No. Been on my own for a year now." I tell her. "Are you hiding?" she asks and I nod. She grips my chin and looks closer at my scars. "Who?" she asks. "My ex. Liked to torture me." I tell her. She looks at the man to her left and asks "What's your name?" I pull away from her and say "Maleah." She motions to the guy next to her and says "That's Pablo and I'm Adelita. You don't need to be out here alone." she tells me. "Don't have anyone to turn to." I tell her. "You do now. Get your things." she says and tells Pablo to put out the fire. "Thank you." I tell her and she nods.

We get to her compound and she leads me into one of the houses. "Minnie, this is Maleah. She's staying with us." she tells the girl. "Hola." she says and she sees my scars and I see hers. "Your room is right next to Minnie's. She can show you where everything is." she tells me and I nod. "Thanks again." I tell her and Minnie leads me to the room. Opening the door, she shows me where the bathroom is and the kitchen and gets me a towel to take a shower. "What happened?" she asks and motions to my neck and face. "My ex hurt me." I tell her. "I got caught in a fire when my parents died." she tells me. "Guess we're both warriors." I tell her and she smiles softly and nods.

I get a shower and head to bed. The next morning, I get up and dressed and head out to the kitchen and see one of the ladies at the stove cooking and see Adelita sitting at the table rubbing her stomach. "Can I help?" I ask. "I got it. Sit." the woman told me. I sit at the table and she puts a plate in front of me and Adelita. "Thank you." I tell her and she pats my shoulder. "I have some things to do today. You can help me to earn your keep here." she tells me. "Whatever you need." I tell her and she nods.

After eating, we head out and we see some men pull up in a truck and I tense. "They won't hurt you." she tells me but I don't relax. "Just stay close." she tells me and I nod. The guys get out of the truck and one of them walks up to Adelita and kisses her softly before putting his hand on her stomach and I figure this is her baby's father. "Who's this?" he asks. "This is Maleah. She's staying with us for a while." Adelita says. "Angel." he says and holds out his hand and I shake it. "This is EZ, Coco and Gilly." he tells me and I say "Nice to meet you guys." and they nod. Angel and Adelita move to the side to talk and the one Angel said was Gilly walks over. "You're new to the camp?" he asks. "Yeah. Adelita found me last night. Giving me a place to lay low for a while." I tell him. "You hiding?" he asks and I look down at my feet. He sees the scars "Who from?" he asks. I just shake my head but don't look at him and he doesn't push me anymore.

Angel and Adelita come back over and the guys head out. Once in the truck, Gilly asks "She tell you anything about the new girl?" Angel nods and says "Said she's been on her own about a year now, hiding from her ex. Said she heard her say that her ex liked to torture her." Angel says. "Shit. That how she got her scars?" Gilly asks and Angel nods. "Adelita said she almost died. Left the hospital as soon as she could and been on the run since. She's scared he's going to finish the job if he finds her." Angel says and they all get quiet. "Adelita got enough heat on her to hide her too." Coco says and Gilly looks at him, not knowing what else to say.