Trustworthy help

32. Smart ass.

Time after time I repeat what happened in my head. Anything that could give me any sort of clue. It's morning now, showing a very dirty window at the top of the wall. I was right about the water container, and the heating system. I look at the sticker on the metal. Something something 1987. I sigh. I look up at the door at the top of the stairs. I haven't heard anything for a while. With tired eyes I quietly get up to the stairs, but when I set foot on the first step, the door bursts open. One of the man quickly makes his way down the steps. He grabs my throat as he slams me into the wall behind me. I flinch at the impact. 'The fuck do you want?' I ask. Now closer and in the light, I can see the black beard and darker skin. I narrow my eyes. Arabic. People I came across in Iraq looked like him. The second he lets me go, I head bump him hard, making his hood fall off as he moves back. Seems I was right. 'You from Iraq?' I ask. He looks at me, pissed. 'Can you speak English?' I ask. He roughly grabs me by my neck and pushes me up the stairs.

Two other men stand at the ready, chair in front of them. I get put in the chair. 'You want intel? A permit to stay?' I ask. They stay quiet. 'Do any of you Iraqis speak English?!' I ask frustrated. The man in the middle steps forward and kneels forward while playing with a knife in his hand. 'I do.' He says with a bad accent. 'Alright so talk. The fuck do you want from me.' I snap. He chuckles before looking up. He has terrible burns on his face. 'You from army, Yeah?' He asks as he points the knife at me. 'I don't know.' I say plainly.

he stands up and slaps me across my face

'answers me!' I look up at him, not phased. 'If I was, fella, you'd know I'd be trained for bullshit like this.' I say as I start to swing my legs, trying to look as calm as I can. 'Nice improvise though.' I say before looking away and whistling. He grabs my face and cuts into my lip 'quit the sound bastard!' He says. I flinch and the stinging pain. He lets me go. 'You, answer me.' He says. I raise one eyebrow as I lick the blood off of my lip. 'What would I know that could help you?' I ask. Again, a slap across my face, making the hit cheek burn and tingle in pain. 'You were there? Yes?' He asks as he leans closer. I push him back with my foot 'gotta be more specific.' I say. He rages with anger but stays in place 'Iraq. 6 8.' He says. I keep my expression calm as I remember my deployment. It's where I got shot and nearly died. Before I met corpse. 'Where would I have been in Iraq?' I ask. 'The valley, close by small river.' He answers.

'I don't know about any rivers. Does Iraq have rivers? I wouldn't expect that, it's so dry there-'

again I get slapped hard. 'You could just tell me to shut up, you know.' I say as I move my jaw. 'Hitting more fun.' He says. I shrug 'I would hit you too to be fair.' I say. 'I want name, of commander for bombing.' I raise my eyebrow 'what commander?' I ask. Now he looses his temper and stands up, grabbing my throat and pushing the chair back so the only thing that's holding me up is him. 'Name of commander!' He orders. 'I don't.... know...' I struggle to speak as He squeezes my throat shut. He lets go, dropping me on the floor. I hit my head on the floor. The other two put me back in place. 'Tick tock.' He says as he taps his wrist. 'What?' I ask confused. 'Time is running. Better answer.' He says. 'I don't know any commander.' I say back. I mean I do, but he doesn't have to know that. He says something in another language, making the other guy grab me and lock me back into the basement.

Another night spend in complete darkness. I talk to myself as I pretend to clean my weapon, in my mind I take it apart and I say every step out loud. I need to keep my mind busy so I don't go nuts in the dark. Again my mind interrupts itself by letting corpse pop up. He must me worried, scared. His anxiety is bad enough as it is. It's been 24 hours by know.

I hope he's okay.