Much later I pulled on clean trousers wincing at the fresh pain that would turn into bruises on my thigh and throat. My husband walked out of the bathroom drying his hair. "Take yourself to the sanatorium. Have those wounds seen too before they turn to bruises."

"I will before my walk." I said quietly.

He picked up the rest of his clothes and walked out of the room. I watched him leave I lamented the lack of breakfast knowing my next meal was dinner.

Annabell walked in as I picked up my shirt. "Thank you, Tia."

I smiled at her. "It's alright. You came to us to be safe. I can keep him from hurting you for now. Do you need something?" She nodded coming closer and putting her head on my shoulder. I knew Annabell was not much older than I had been when I came here, so I felt the need to protect her. "What do you need then?" I asked quietly.

"Tomorrow at the time of punishment they are going to kill you. They know it was you who has been passing notes. You said you might be able to get us out.... is it true?" She asked in a whisper.

I nodded. "They are planning on attacking the police that come for them. I told the police it's a trap but they are doing it anyway. That's our time. The men will be gone and you can gather anyone that will come to the garage. I'll get the keys." I said in the same low whisper.

Annabell nodded standing. "I had better get to the children." She said then left me alone in the room.

The rest of the day was taken up with a visit to the healer, then to the garden until sundown weeding. I never got my walk because the pain my husband had written into my skin left me stiff. Then we all gathered in the dining hall for the meal at the evening bell. After the silent meal, I picked up my daughter from the moses basket stand next to my chair and carried her to bed.

I tucked her into her cot as two arms came around my waist. I jumped slightly from the sudden contact. "Tia.. I need to go to the storage unit tonight. I will come back to your bed but I will take Annabell as my wife tomorrow." I straightened as he spoke and stroked his hand.

"I hear I will be killed tomorrow." His arms tightened on me as I spoke.

"They will not kill you. Not after we take care of the problem. Besides you are my first wife, I'm not going to let them get that far." He said running his hand over my skin under my shirt. I suppressed my repulsion. "If only I had time to enjoy you before I have to leave." He kissed my neck and squeezed my breast hard. I bit my lip to not cry out at the pain. "Ahh well, when I come back."

With those words, he pulled his hand out of my shirt and stepped back. I turned looking up at him. "Luck be with you knife of the people." He smiled at my words and left the room.

I took a shuddering breath to steady my nerves and hurried to the cot. I picked up my daughter and placed her back in the moses basket. Next, I ran to my husband's office. I grabbed three books full of papers belonging to the cars. I tucked them in the basket under my daughter.

Leaving the room I crept down the stairs and out the back of the house to the large garage near to the small house. When I opened the door to the garage I was surprised by the group of women and children waiting for me. It was larger than I thought it would be.

I disabled the other cars in the garage. Then I grabbed three sets of keys and handed one to another woman. "Take Gloria, I'll take Rose. Who will take Pepper?" Another woman walked forward and took the keys I offered. "We are on our own here ladies. Before the police put a hold on the account I moved money into three different accounts. The cards are in the glove box. use them if necessary."

They all nodded as we unlocked the cars and the children were loaded in by the other woman. The two that would be driving I pulled aside. "Follow me to the road then we meet at the coast. From there we will set ourselves up. We can do this!" The other two nodded.

We all got in the cars and I turned my sidelights on so the headlights would stay off. I lead the three cars out of the garage and through the rough train of the compound. Our planned route was to head for the gap in the fence. It was there because the forest and undergrowth were both too thick for anyone to come in that way. My black Volvo crashed through the thorny bushes we had cultivated here with ease.

I weaved through the woods as fast as I dared go with the small illumination of the sidelights. I found myself swerving to miss trees that were looming out of the near pitch black. I looked at the speedo and eased off a bit when I saw the needle on twenty. 

I watched the small lights of the other two cars behind following in my wake of flattened bushes. The trees felt like they went on forever until we finally pulled onto the road. The other black Volvos followed me down it until it spilt. We each went our way in the hopes of not being found if the men were able to follow us.

I drove through the night and long into the morning. When the sun sat at its peak I stopped the car in a car park at the edge of a beach. Another black Volvo pulled up next to mine. The driver got out and we watched the children and women we had liberated go down to the beach.

"Tia... how much did you take from the account?" I smiled at the question from the other driver.

"I cleaned them out. They won't know until the police are done with it." She chuckled as the last car pulled up. "We need to be free of them and each person will have a decision to make."

"What's that?" Annabell asked as she walked up to us.

I sighed looking at the children running on the sand. "If they look for us they will look for women with children. I won't force the issue but if they want to be free..." I looked back at the two women I didn't know and Annabell. "It's going to be very hard on every one of us, but it doesn't need to be hard on them." I pointed at the children.

The women nodded looking grave. "So what next?" Gloria's driver asked.

"I have an idea but... it's crazy and none of you need to help me. There are more cults like the one we just left, full of women like us. The police will chew them up and spit them out like they did to me. We could help them. We could get them and their children out." The others nodded. "Then we will use two of the accounts for that, the third will be for anyone that just wants out."

"How will we start?" Annabell asked.

"We find a solicitor and tell them what the plan is. They will advise us on the law. They may even tell us how to keep ourselves secret." The others nodded. "I'll find us somewhere to sleep. Stay here until I've booked us in. We might have to double up rooms."

Annabell smiled. "We will take the kids to get clothes."

I nodded and walked away from the cars to a hotel with the new bank card burning a hole in my pocket. The woman behind the desk stood as I walked up to it. "Hello, how can I help you?"

"I need rooms. Eight, if you have them." The woman smiled and pulled Eight keys from their hooks and put them on the desk.

"What's the name?" She asked tapping away at the keyboard.

I took my card out and smiled at the name of the account I'd picked. "Knights of the round." The woman frowned as I handed the card over. "We are going to be a women's organisation. We are starting up and might need to be here a while."

The woman looked out the door and I followed her eyes. The group of women and children gathered around the cars that showed scars of the ordeal to get us free. The black paint showed the deep scratches of the bushes and trees as bright white scars. Some of the children flinched when someone waved an arm making the fact they were beaten painfully clear.

"By chance do you help women in trouble?" I turned back at her question.

"That's the plan. Is there someone in trouble?" The woman nodded. "I looked at the keys and picked room ten. "If you send her to room ten then she may move on to a happier life. We have all escaped our past, we will take her with us to pastures new."

That made the woman smile. "If you can have cards made I will hand them out to these people." I nodded taking all the keys and walking out of the hotel.

I saw the group going into a charity shop and walked that way. We will get clothes and have a rest. Then we will find a solicitor and start to rescue all the people we can! I thought walking into the charity shop. Annabell walked up with my daughter in her arms. "Did you get them?"

I nodded watching the racks being decimated by the woman, as they got everything that was in a useful size. The only good thing about our role was we had to make and mend everything. So we will have new clothes before the end of the day.

"We will rest then I will find a solicitor. I'll leave you in charge of these people while I get the ball rolling. I left my pills so I will arrange for a doctor to come to us and check over everyone." She nodded as I headed to the till to pay.

***15 years and nine cults later***

I drove up the bumpy driveway to the small holiday home I'd come to look at. I stopped at the top of the driveway and got out of my beautiful older model black Volvo. There was an overwhelming sense of peace here. The trees surrounded the house and the undergrowth came right up to the house. The house itself looked rundown. 

"Miss Frost?" I looked at the woman who stood to one side of the house with her clipboard. She was dressed smartly and looked like what she was. An estate agent.

"Yes." I said closing the car door.

"This place is a lovely place to stay in the summer months...." She started.

"How much land does it have with it?" I asked interrupting her. She came closer to me and showed me the map on her clipboard. The house sat in the middle and it was a reasonable size of woodland with a black line around it to mark its boundary. I pointed at the land around it. "What about this?"

"That land is for sale too. So is this and this." She said pointing at two large areas on the map.

That would be a start. I could buy more as it comes up. "I'll take it."

The woman blinked at me in surprise. "The house... but you haven't seen it yet."

"All of it. I'll take all of it."

I watched her swallow hard and then smile widely. "Alright, Miss Frost... if you come to the office we will talk to the owners to see what they want. Then you can put in your offer."

"Just accept what they want. I want to move in as soon as possible." She looked shocked staring at the map in her hands and I opened the door to my car. "I'll meet you at your office. I need to go and get my dog from the vet." Those words made her jump and pull out her phone.

I got in the car and started her. "Don't worry my dear we will pathe this drive for you. This will be a good place to rest for us both. I owe you a lot and in time I will repay my debt to you." I said as I turned the old black Volvo around and drove back down the bumpy driveway.