Animals

Day Unknown Part 2

Day Unknown

It didn't take long for the door to open again, but this time the person who entered made me wonder if I was actually going crazy.

"Evanoff?" I breathed, the stout man hunkering into the room.

"Hello." He glanced over his shoulder towards the door like he expected someone to burst in any second.

"What are you doing here?"

"SHE need fixing."

"You're working for Lester again?" Betrayal bubbled up in my throat. I had let this man live under the pretense that he wouldn't help anymore, but he came running back the second he could. He looked like he had more to say, but I couldn't think about anything other than his broken promise. "Why did you come back?"

"I have no choice."

"You always have a choice. Don't you care what you're doing to these people?"

"I do not care about American government. I finish here, I get money, and I go back to Russia."

"How can you not care what happens? It's not just criminals and killers who live here. It's children and families, people who've done nothing to deserve this."

"I have family, too. Hungry children, sick children. My family need money." He fell silent, and his words sunk into my body. Of course, he had a good reason for doing this. How could I have thought he didn't? I started this to protect my family and friends, and so did he. I couldn't blame him for it.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, my heart going out to his suffering family back home.

He crept closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I tell you information, you get me money."

I blinked up at him, the droplets still hitting the top of my head. "Huh?"

"Lester not paying. You paying, and I give help."

A loud crash from outside the door interrupted our conversation. Evanoff jumped like he'd been the target of a bullet and I stiffened in my chair. The hallway filled with yells and gunshots but it sounded far away. Evanoff, like a scared mouse, skittered out the door and in the opposite direction of the commotion.

I yelled for him to come back and help me, but he conveniently forgot English. The door to my room swayed open, not latching properly from Evanoff's haste. A few people ran by the door, barely sparing me a glance despite my calls. I yanked at the cuffs on my wrist, the metal biting into my skin. The pain was almost enough to distract me from the water droplets.

I closed my eyes, trying to hold back the terrified tears welling on my lids. What if there was a rival group attacking the Anarchists? I wouldn't survive that. They'd see someone potentially important and take me hostage.

Somewhere down the hall, my name was called. It was echoed and snippy, but I could swear I heard it. It sounded like Mitch's voice, so I called to him.

"Mitch?!"

The sounds of heavy boots stomping the floor echoed reverberated down the hall. A body moved in front of the doorway and it took my eyes a moment to adjust to see his face.

The second I realized Mitch running towards me, I couldn't hold my tears any longer. I wasn't scared anymore. If he was here, I was safe.

Mitch looked horrified at the machine over my head, but he didn't look at it too long before rushing to me. He unclasped the belts at my ankles. Before he could stand, I lurched forward and pressed my head against his chest. My arms were still bound behind me, but I needed to feel a familiar person against me—prove to myself that this was real.