When Night Falls (Complete)

75

Now Dami sits in a cage with her family. There's little room in the cramped enclosure for the four, but they make do. They have been made to sit in the dark with little to no source of lighting. Even their feet have been shackled together like animals.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. " Dami's father manages, his voice laced with anguish. He sends his arms around Dami and Verona to provide some form of warmth, to create the illusion that things will be alright. But Dami knows, just by sitting in that cage, that things will never be alright.

"Who are those people, dad?" Verona asks. "Why are they doing this?"

Their father doesn't answer. He squeezes both their hands in the darkness, while their mother silently weeps besides them. Dami can hear her sniffle. She can hear her trying to suppress the sobs. And yet, their mother tells them she's fine.

The family of four are finally granted some form of lighting. The rectangular enclosure around the cage comes loose, and the world outside comes to view. They're in a yard of some kind, possibly in the Verdonni estate. Located behind the mansion, the grassy field stretches on for miles to come. There are oak trees in the mix, along with shrubs and wildflowers to better the scenery.

The sunrays infiltrate Dami's eyes to the point of blinding them, although temporarily. Her hair tousles under the chilling wind, conjuring goosebumps down her skin. There are butterflies and the sound of crickets chirping despite the fact that the frigid season of autumn is upon them. But it was never as cold that year. Verona had once pointed this out to Dami.

"Global warming. It means we're all going to die because humans are selfish." Was Dami's response. And there's truth in that statement. It is within human nature to act in the interest of oneself. Malice, greed, enmity. There's a certain evil that resides in every being, some more potent than others. It seems to be the case with Bruno and the rest of the Verdonni family.

"You can't get this kind of view anywhere else." Comes a voice behind the caged family. Bruno and his entourage make their way over. He has with him Rand and a couple other men Dami has never once seen before. But with the way they look at her, they must be as bad as Bruno and Rand themselves. They eye her family like they're a sight native to zoos.

"I told you we should have separated them. Now they're all embracing like a swarm of insects." States the underboss with a hand over his mouth, as though he would puke from the sight any second now.

"Paolo . . ." Says her father. He grabs hold of the bars, desperate. "Please, let my family go. Your issues are with me and me alone. Leave my family out of this."

Seven pulls the cigar away from his mouth and laughs. He squats down to his level, puffs a smoke, and blows it in his face. "Animals don't beg for mercy, Marcello."

This insult, however, isn't nearly as degrading as the one Poalo serves shortly after. "I want the bitch to myself."

"Are you ever not in heat?" Six asks.

To which Paolo smiles and says, "She would look better carved open, no?"

Their father clutches the bars until his knuckles turn white. "YOU FUCKING BASTARD!"

"Look what you did. You made it mad." Five says to Paolo. The rest of the men all laugh.

"Enough with the chatter now." Bruno steps up to the cage. "Let's get down to business."

Dami doesn't yet know what the business consists of, until a couple of men walk up with two mutts on a leash. The pit bulls bark and thrash around in their confines, ready for a chance to unleash the energy currently pent up. Their eyes are engulfed in malice with bare fangs coated in saliva so thick, it comes off as an adjunct to their gums. It takes a great deal of strength just to keep them under control. Dami sinks back against the cage, overcome with so much fear, it nearly suffocates her windpipe.