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And I knew I had to get away from them I turned and looked about me, then chose the only option that seemed open to me

I scra shed, while the intruders stood around laughing, not even trying to stop o from there? I scampered up and over, so that I was above the to it with both ar it with my knees, but even I could see that it was a desperate plan Eventually, I would have to come down, and when I did they’d have their ith me

Below e of life drain out of my father’s eyes I felt so helpless, so terrified, and so far away from him For all the terror he had caused me, I had always tried to treat hie with love, because despite it all I had loved hi to comfort him

It was too much to take in

I was so shocked, so overwhelmed, that I just stared at him in mute terror But slowly the hot tears found their way to my eyes and clouded h the on I just had to All I had to do, I toldon until someone came to help

Until Randal arrived to start his work

But that could be hours Or not at all…

The men, whoever they were, were there to take what they wanted of me and dispose of the rest It was only ato death on the milk shed floor, I kneith such certainty that it made me sob

I watched the They made no movements to follow me up into the rafters; I could tell they were verythe spectacle One of theth of ht at the flash of skin The wood grain dug into s burn

“I’ll give you anything you want But please” I begged them “Please don’t kill me”

They chuckled, like I’d made a joke

“Oh, we’ll kill you alright,” said the biggestpromise to make it nice and slow”

This could not be happening Why were they here? Who was I other than the nobody daughter of a nobody farmer?

Nellie was getting increasingly worked up as they circled As many animals do when they’re nervous, she took the opportunity to relieve herself, and before she was even done, one of theht at razed hter as one after another handful of cow dung splattered against the beam and my body The more of it they threw, the ht

Once they’d finished with the dung, they moved on to whatever else they could find—tools, buckets, and finally the full bottles of cider my father had found The first hita shooting and horrible pain But before I could even cry out, I saw a third one, heading directly for my head

I shut my eyes and tried to turn away, but it connected witharound insidepain made me cry out, but I refused to let the tears come

Instinctively, I pressed rip and slip off the bea that I would surely be killed if I fell and landed on the hard floor of theshed As I blinked away the horrible pain in ht be much less painful than whatever these men had in store

In the haze of vision, I saw a shadow darken the doorway, followed by the sound of two heavy steps and a gurgle Below me, I saw one of the men slump to the floor with a slash that ran clean across his throat

My heart fluttered, despite everything I wondered if I was drea in a daze, broken and dying on the floor of the shed