Silence

Chapter Three

Hours pass, eventually the strain and pain start to numb. I pull once more but my arm goes limp. The tips of my fingers are blue, I close my hand into a fist to warm them. The street ahead of me is covered in ice so there are no cars left driving. A family of CL migrants walks by, a mother, a father, an older son and a youngest daughter. The girl looks about six with straight blonde hair. She stares at me as she walks, whispering something to the mother. 

She shakes her head. "No Lily! We don't affiliate with this kind." She says, obviously as much for me as it was for the girl. The girl continues to look at me and when our eyes lock she frowns. I motion with my head for her to keep going and she nods slowly with her head down, before picking up her pace. 

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Trampling like the sound of a dozen horses galloping sounds and vibrates the walls slightly, a feeling of relief washes over me. I'm done. About a hundred kids come running out of the front door. I'm about to clean myself up and make it look like it wasn't too harsh on me when pain hits me. A flash of whiteish-grey flies down across my face hitting my foot. I look down and see the blood from the icicle puncture quickly turn the snow around me red. The tears stop as soon as they start. I turn my head towards the front door and see Mathew running out with a bunch of his friends. He looks at me and points in shock. They don't laugh, they don't cry, they don't react, they just glance and keep walking. The teacher and principle come out soon after talking. I can only hear every few words or so clearly.

"Yes and she... funny how... tied up... locked." They make their way over to me. Mr. Endely shakes his head as he looks at me, weak, cold, tired, dirty. The teacher cuts the ropes free from my wrists and I immediately take a step forward only to realize that my foot wouldn't allow it. I close my eyes and force myself not to wince. 

"Well from the looks of it you're not in shape for the night shift." Mr. Endely states. 

"She's fine. Once she washes that foot off she'll be good as new." The teacher insists. Mr. Endely reaches into his pocket and pulls out a box of cigarettes. He throws them on the ground about twelve feet in front of me.

"Fetch." I stare at the cigarettes. "I said, fetch." I take a step forward with my left foot, proud of myself for holding together. I have step-half slide my right foot closer to the box, snow piles onto my cut and I want to sigh at the feeling of the snow in my wound. I take another step. Then another. Left. Right. Left. On the eighth step my foot gives out and I collapse with my arm cradling my head at my knees hiding the pain scared across my face. "Assign another laborer for the night shift. She can't do it." I hear the crunch of footsteps nearing me. I lift my head, making me dizzy. I feel something grab my arm firmly. I look up at the teacher who pulls me up. 

"Don't think you've just gotten the easy way out for acting all in distress. You're doing the night shift." His eyes narrow on me and our eyes meet. I nod. He drags me back into the building showing me the way to the infirmary. The infirmary is the one building I haven't yet been in at this school. The room is gray all the way down the the tile floor. He pushes down on my arms, forcing me into a chair near the sink and washes cool water over my gash. He grabs a towel off a rack and rubs it on my foot aggressively. Once my foot is dry he wraps a cloth bandage twice around my foot and quickly pushes it off the bench he is sitting on. "Go." He growls at me. I stand up and walk away, willing myself to stand straight. Only when I know I'm out of his sight do I start limping. I grab the mop and bucket behind the school doors and start cleaning up the 11-12 room. I hear the doors slam shut and know I'm alone. For a second I think to sit down and take a rest but remember that the school's security cameras, though aren't usually being live monitored, are always recording. 

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I finish picking up the last piece of trash and look up at the clock which reads 11:37. Carefully making sure the cameras can't see me, I snatch my jacket off the teacher's desk and begin to walk to the door. I welcome the cool winter's breeze as I fling the door open. The night sky is clear and lit with the countless stars and near-full moon. I wrap 140's jacket around me but don't place my arms in the oversized holes. The brick building behind me is no ideal resting place but I need to sit down after the long day and it beats going back to the Punans. I press my back against the building and slide down the wall into a sitting position with my knees slightly bent. My eyes heave and begin to flutter, I can feel sleep creeping up on me. 

I savor this moment, I feel happy, calm, safe. The feelings only last for mere seconds before they vanish into thin air. I can hear rustling in the grass near me and voices. I'm almost positive it's Mathew and his gang, I ready myself but decide it's better if they think I'm asleep. The rustling stops but the voices only grow louder and louder until I can feel the breath of their whispers on my cheek. Now so close, I can hear that their voices don't seem all that familiar, and that Mathew's is not in the mix. 

"Just do it!" One says.

"Shut up Pip you ain't no Nike!" Another one responds. I can feel their eyes burning holes right through me. I feel so defenseless sitting here, blind, tired, and incapable of putting up a fair fight. "But Jo, he is right." I hear the person nearest to me shift slightly.

"Oh get up!" This time a girl's voice says. "I said get up!" Gravel is kicked towards me and something as scratchy as burlap is thrown over my head. I feel three pairs of hands lift me up and toss me into something hard. The voices continue but aren't close enough for me to hear even as I strain for a word, a sentence, anything that will help me make sense of the situation. Nothing. Feeling defeated, I let sleep creep upon me, swallowing me into the darkness of a new nightmare.