Behind Closed Doors

Untitled Part 5

The next few days passed in a blur. Very little sleep and only meager amounts of food came our way. Heaven forbid someone be doing something wrong when one of the men came into the room. They would scream and yell. Many times I would see them grab one of the girls and throw them against the wall or fling them to the floor. Many times, I had to look away. I could hardly stand watching them beat these girls like they did, but I dared not interfere, lest I become the next target. I didn't think I could handle it, until one day about a week later.

The young girl with the corn silk hair and electric eyes had become my companion. Her name was Star, and we comforted each other as best we could. I loved her like she was my own sister, and just as her name foretold, she was a star in a black sky for me.

It was towards the end of the day, at least what I assumed to be, when the burly man made his rounds to our little room. He overlooked us yet again, receiving a sigh of relief as he turned his back, but he reached for an especially young girl. She couldn't have been more than nine or ten. Her auburn red hair strung about her face, hiding her freckles and her minty green eyes from view. She squealed when he touched her and tried to pull away. Kicking and screaming, she cried and begged him to let go of her. The man got pissed and slammed her up against the wall, knocking the breath out of her tiny chest, and he pressed hard against her. Gripping her throat and tightening slowly, we watched her gasp for the air she could no longer draw in, and her face turned a deep red, almost matching her hair. We watched as her eyes rolled dramatically back and she flailed about frantically, trying to break free so that she could breathe again.

All of a sudden, Star jumped to her feet and screamed at the man. I can't remember what she said, it was all a blur to me. One minute she was sitting quietly with her head down beside me, and the second she was standing, trembling, seething above me. Her small pink lips quivered in anger as she yelled at him, and his head turned, startled, to stare at her. His eyes widened, then, almost as if they were missiles zeroing in on a target, narrowed, with her the main target. His hand loosened around the younger girl's throat, and finally let go. She dropped to the ground, legs crumpling unceremoniously from beneath her, and her hands caught her little body just seconds before she landed on her face and he started our direction.

I couldn't help but just stare for a moment at the large bear of a man headed our direction. His beard covered most of his face and made him look ugly and dirty.

"You little midget!" he swore quietly. "I outta knock your pretty little head clean off your fucking body!"

At that moment, I don't know what overcame me, but I jumped to my feet as well and stepped in front of Star. Maybe her outburst had given me courage. He looked at me as though I was crazy, something he'd not quite seen before. I doubt many girls fought against these men. You knew just by looking that you didnt stand a chance against them. In a split second, he threw me against the wall so hard that the room began to spin, and blood dribbled down the nape of my neck. It took momentous effort to raise my head enough through the groggy fog that was filling my brain, to see Star stand up to the beast again.