Silent Lair

 From Chapter 3:

The crisp cold air blasted his face as he walked along the road. The leaves were starting to change colors and it made the town more beautiful. There were very few people outside due to the cold weather. The wind whistled through the branches of the trees and made them shake. Antonio loved Autumn because it felt like he was the only person alive in the world and he enjoyed taking Johnny to the park to jump in the leaves and skip rocks on the water.

As he walked along the road in silence he thought about what America looked like. He had heard that America had rolling green hills and huge buildings that rose hundreds of feet in the air. He had also heard that the water was more pure then in Mexico and that food melted in your mouth as soon as it touched your lips. His mouth watered at the thought of all the wonderful food he could eat. Antonio stopped at a park and went to sit under a tree.

He gazed at the area around him. There were only a few trees in the park and the rest of the park had overgrown weeds and grass up to a person's knees. Antonio leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes. He opened the bag his mom had given him and pulled out an apple. Antonio decided to travel until he reached Illinois. He had heard that jobs were more plentiful there and it was close to Canada.

Antonio finished the apple and got up. He closed the bag that had the food in it and continued on his way. The sun was coming up and warmed him a little. Antonio walked all day and in the evening he found a field overrun with weeds. He put his bag down and went to sleep.

Antonio was up well before dawn. He ate the rest of his lunch and tossed the bag in a trashcan that he found by a well. Antonio was nervous about what laid ahead of him on his journey to America. He knew it was very dangerous and that it would take all his resourcefulness to succeed in getting safely into America without getting caught. Tears came to his eyes as he thought of Johnny waking up and not seeing him sitting on the couch that evening. Johnny would be heart broken.

From chapter 13

Padre turned back to Maria and removed the chains that kept her on the bed. Then he grabbed her by her hair and dragged her over to the corner. He picked up his belt and raised it above her head. Maria screamed as the belt hit her back. Padre continued hitting her until the blood ran down her back and then picked her up by her throat and slammed her against the wall. He started choking her. She struggled, clawing at his hands. Padre smiled as her face started turning blue and her eyes began to roll back in her head. He was cutting off her oxygen.
Suddenly Padre was thrown across the room. Maria fell to the floor gasping for air. Padre jumped to his feet and turned towards Rico who was breathing hard and glaring at him. Padre smirked and pulled out a knife. Rico leaned over Maria and ran his hands over her body to feel for broken bones. Maria screamed and Rico whirled around in time to see the flash of the knife. It slashed his arm.
Rico grimaced and punched Padre in his mouth once again. The smile slid from Padre's face as he again raised the knife. Rico grabbed his wrist and twisted it causing Padre to drop the knife. Rico kicked the knife away and wrapped his hands around Padre's throat. He started squeezing as hard as he could, slowly cutting off the oxygen to Padre's brain. Padre struggled in Rico's grasp but Rico's hands were like a vice grip.
Padre's eyes rolled into the back of his head. His face turned blue and his body grew limp. Rico continued to squeeze Padre's throat and then released him. Rico leaned over Padre and felt for a pulse. Then he listened for a heartbeat. Rico grabbed the knife and quickly slit Padre's throat for good measure. Then he dropped the knife and carefully carried Maria out of the bedroom and outside.
"Maria I'm so sorry. I didn't think Padre would rape you or hit you. I thought he would just kidnap you so Mama would care about me more. She's very worried about you. I couldn't bear listening to her cry so I came to find you and Padre. I'm sorry I hit you. I really am."
"Rico do you really hate Antonio and Mama? Do you hate me?"
"I don't hate Mama or you Maria. I do hate Antonio but that is because he is the oldest in the family and he always gets more attention then I do. Antonio was always the smart one in the family. I do have a problem with drugs Maria but I can't stop. I'm addicted. Don't worry I'll take you to the hospital."
Rico gently laid Maria in the back seat of the car and drove nine miles to the hospital. He put a blanket on her and carried her inside. The waiting room was empty. Rico made Maria sit in a chair and went to the front desk where he explained that Maria had been kidnapped and raped. The secretary quickly went to get a doctor and took Maria into a room. Rico sat in the chair as the doctor examined her and did some tests on her. Then he put some medicine on her wounds and told them he'd be back in a few minutes with the test results.
While they waited Rico went out to the parking lot and went home to get some clothes for her. He arrived back in her room fifteen minutes later. A few minutes after he had returned the doctor came in. He smiled at Maria and sat down in the other chair. His face was grim.
"The good news is that your injuries should heal well. I've got to do an operation on your ribs and you won't be able to do anything but rest for a couple of weeks. The bad news is that the pregnancy test I did on you came back positive. Your four weeks pregnant."