Terror had them all for a moment, and it ravaged them, and when it was finished, shock had its way with them, and left them cold and helpless. —Dean F. Wilson, 

As afternoon faded and threatened to give way to evening, Gael lounged in his living room with his feet propped up and a nature magazine balanced in his palms. Savory aromas floated his way from the kitchen, as did the sound of his mother and sister chattering lightheartedly. Ramona’s boss had chosen benevolence today and let her go home early, freeing her to help Lolita cook up a stew featuring some goose meat Gael had kept from his latest hunt. Overall, the Davenport household experienced an easy afternoon. 

Eventually, Gael got tired of the magazine, so he sat up and flopped it down on the coffee table. The sprawl of unsorted mail beside it called his attention, so he scooped the envelopes up for review. Of course, most were nothing more than desperate companies attempting to disguise their advertisements as legitimate mail. But one envelope addressed to Ramona from the government demanded his attention. That had to be important. 

Gael shot to his feet and sprinted toward the kitchen, where Ramona rolled cuts of meat through an egg and breading mixture and Lolita chopped vegetables. Buzz hovered nearby with a tray Ramona placed the meat on once she’d rolled it. Neither of the ladies noticed him in the doorway at first, so Gael cleared his throat and stepped a little closer. 

Lolita looked up with a smile. “What is it, Gael?” 

Gael shrugged, turning the envelope around so she could read it. “A letter from the government house. For Ramona.” 

“Did you open it?” Ramona asked, hardly sparing a glance from her dripping hands. 

“Didn’t figure you’d want me to.” 

“My hands are too dirty right now; go ahead.” 

So Gael slid his finger under the flap of the envelope, only for the corner to tear off immediately. The glue holding it shut made opening the letter such a chore that he finally huffed and slipped out a pocket knife. One quick slash across the top freed the letter inside. 

After Gael pried the letter out, he unfolded it and gave Ramona a curious glance. “You want me to read it?” 

“Sure.” 

“Greetings, Miss Ramona Davenport,” Gael read, “I send this letter to give you the thanks of myself and my husband for accepting our assignment to conduct espionage on Mayor Bolivar Ortega.” 

“You accepted it?!” Lolita shrieked, echoing the thoughts in Gael’s head. His gaze ascended from the page to find a stunned Ramona searching for words. 

“I had no choice!” she said, silvery eyes finding Gael’s with an accusatory edge, “They found out you signed that petition to stop the deforestation and said the only way I could stop them from taking action against you was to accept their assignment.” 

“What consequences could they possibly have in store just for signing a sheet of paper?” Gael chided, “It’s not worth it.” 

“It isn’t worth it!” Lolita agreed, “You promised me…don’t you remember?” 

Ramona hung her head. “I don’t want to do it, but they forced my hand! You know how these people are; I didn’t wanna find out what they’d do to you guys if I said no.” 

“Whatever they’d do, I’d rather endure that uncertainty than know you’re in harm’s way. Being treated as a pawn for Sebastian Aleric…sickening. What else does the letter say?” 

Gael sucked in another deep breath and resumed reading. “Furthermore, I must inform you that by accepting this assignment, you have entered a marriage contract with Mr. Ortega, a stipulation we previously omitted to make clear. Nonetheless–” 

“What?!” both ladies cried out in unison, and while Lolita covered her mouth with her hand afterward, Ramona continued. “They didn’t say anything about it…this can’t be happening!” 

“Read on…” Lolita managed before running her hands through her hair. 

“Nonetheless, the marriage contract is binding, and any breach of this agreement will bring about undesirable consequences. This letter, stamped with the seal of Steelfort, certifies that all members of the Davenport household are exempt from retaliatory action for being involved in recent rebellious activities linked to the upcoming deforestation project, so long as none breach the terms of the contract laid out below. 

-No members of the household may take further action to sway the actions of the government, including but not limited to voting, signing petitions and motions, or participating in any branch of the justice system. 

-Ramona Davenport must abstain from any intimate contact with any person except Mayor Bolivar Ortega of Newhill. 

-All firearms and ammunition possessed by members of the household must submit to their confiscation or destruction, as any hunting licenses have been revoked and any applicable positions in law enforcement or military service have been terminated.” 

“What’s next?” Lolita interrupted, features sunken with distress, “We can’t drive either, I imagine.” 

“Probably.” Gael muttered, loathing to read any further, “Why did you accept their assignment?" His heavy eyes drifted to Ramona. " Whatever they had in store for me for signing that petition couldn’t have been this bad, and it’d only be for me to bear.” 

Ramona appeared on the verge of tears. “I already told you, I didn’t know! The only reason I accepted–reluctantly–was because I didn’t even want to find out what they’d do to you. I already lost my dad; I can’t afford to lose my brother, too.” Her voice rose an octave. 

Neither Gael nor Lolita had words to reply for a while, especially at the mention of their missing family member whose absence gnawed at them all a little bit each day. 

Gael’s countenance darkened as he realized how far he fell short from being the man his father had been. He would have had some wise words and a prudent course of action to remedy their present predicament, but Gael had nothing. He could hardly think past the shock that was this news, let alone guide the others to a solution. 

He almost opened his mouth to advise Ramona simply to quit her job at the government house and refuse the assignment, since the terms of the agreement seemed worse than any consequences for turning her bosses down. But then again, there was no backing out entirely. Where before, Gael alone would have been in hot water for signing Paloma’s petition, now Ramona had been inextricably linked to the matter as well. Her initial acceptance of the assignment had sealed her fate, no matter what she did now. 

That thought only distressed Gael more. If only he’d kept his head down like everybody else, if only he hadn’t signed the petition, the government wouldn't have had that leverage to work against Ramona in the first place. If only he hadn’t written his signature on that one cursed piece of paper, his whole family wouldn’t be in this mess. 

Tossing the letter onto the table, Gael abruptly turned to the living room and snatched his jacket from off the couch. Lolita hurried after him and demanded to know where he was going. 

“Sorry.” he said, “Just need a breath of fresh air.” 

So he rushed out the door, hopped in his truck, and turned onto the street. His mind barely applied itself to his driving at all, more focused on the predicament he’d thrust the family into with just a few blots of ink. Gael’s foot pressed heavily on the gas pedal until he hurtled down the roads of Steelfort well over the speed limit. 

In no time, he left the city walls and found himself in the verdant serenity of the forest Steelfort’s government was so intent on cutting down. As the truck jounced along the bumpy dirt road, Gael took in the woodsy scent outside the open window, the sweet touch of pine that his father had so enjoyed. The earthy smells all around welcomed Gael to his second home in the woods. 

He finally pulled over and stepped out of the truck not far from a peaceful lake he’d come to every now and then to clear his thoughts when life got too complicated. In the city walls, there were too many distractions, so much strife, and trouble that weighed on the mind. But there, in the midst of God’s creation, he found a refuge for his agitated mind. 

After locking the truck, Gael trudged through the brush and headed for the lake, fervently praying as he walked. He begged God to show him what his path was to free his family of the snare around their necks and find peace again.

                                 ★★★★

Dun Dun...

Calamity looms! 😢

How would the Davenports get out of the mess?

If you were in such a situation, what would you do?

Fill the comment section with possible solutions. XD

And finally, we reached the thirtieth chapter! 🎉
It feels surreal that we have gone so far in the story.
My co-writer and I thank you all our readers for your support. Both silent and active.  God bless you all greatly ❤

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