Disappearance: A broken Wing

Fight Back

"What's his name?" the doctor asked.

"Alex," Hito answered before I could even open my mouth.

"No," I snapped, my voice trembling but firm. "His name is Baxton Zayden Smalls."

Hito smirked like I was a child throwing a tantrum. "Funny, you think that." He walked over, snatched my baby out of my arms, and said with cold finality, "His name is Alex."

"Give me back my baby!" I screamed.

"I believe this is my baby," Hito said with a dark grin as he turned to leave.

Something inside me broke. Rage overtook every ounce of fear I had. I staggered off the bed, grabbed the glass bottle from the table, and slammed it into Hito's head with every ounce of strength left in me.

Hito stumbled, but instead of backing down, he handed the baby to Leo, turned back to me, and drove his elbow straight into my face. Stars exploded in my vision. I fell backward, but Hito wasn't done. He pounced on me, his fists raining down like I was nothing but a punching bag. My body was so broken I couldn't even raise my arms to fight back. The room went red, the sound of my baby's cries echoing in my ears, and then—darkness.

When I opened my eyes, I was lying on cold dirt. I couldn't move my fingers without pain. Slowly, I realized where I was. The stables.

"How are you feeling?" a soft voice asked. I turned my head and saw a woman crouching beside me.

"I'm in so much pain," I croaked. "How long was I asleep?"

"Three days. They really did a number on you."

"My baby—have you seen my baby?" I asked, panic creeping into my chest.

She looked away. "No, I'm sorry."

"What about Baxton?"

She shook her head again. "No one's seen or heard from him either."

A hole formed in my chest. Great. I'd lost my child—and maybe the first guy I'd ever loved, too.

The barn doors slammed open, and four men stormed in with guns. "You ladies know the drill. GET TO WORK."

"What do we have to do?" I asked the woman beside me.

"Hand-pick the fields. Grab a bucket."

I grabbed a rusty bucket and followed the others into the scorching fields. My body screamed with pain, every bruise and broken spot protesting each movement.

"Move it, lady," one of the guards barked behind me.

"I'm going as fast as I can. I'm in pain—"

"I don't care." The guard slammed the butt of his gun into my back, knocking the air out of me. I swallowed the pain and kept picking.

Hours later, the guards collected the food we'd gathered, leaving us with scraps. We crawled back into the stables like broken animals. Baxton was right—the stables were hell.

Days blurred together. Sleep. Farm. Eat. And whenever the guards were bored, we became their toys. I hadn't seen Hito or my baby since that day. Hope was slipping through my fingers like sand.

The next morning, I was in the fields again when I heard shouting.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

I turned and froze. A guard was roughing up a small figure. Sally. I hadn't seen her in so long that for a moment, I'd almost forgotten she was still here. Rage flared inside me.

I ran, shoving the guard off her. "Leave her alone!"

The guard raised his hand to strike me, but a familiar voice stopped him.

"Kara, Kara, Kara... you always have to cause trouble, don't you?"

I spun around. Hito was walking into the field, smiling like a predator.

"Leave her alone," I said, standing in front of Sally.

"Fine." Hito stepped closer—and pulled out a gun.

My heart froze.

"Kara, I want you to kill Sally."

"What? No! I will never pull that trigger."

"I thought you might say that," he said, waving his hand. "Bring him out."

Leo walked forward, holding Baxton—my baby. A gun pressed against his tiny, perfect head.

"Would you really kill your son?" I shouted at Hito, horrified.

"Kara," he said coldly, "I will kill anyone I please. Take the gun, kill Sally, and I won't tell Leo to kill your son."

The weight of the gun was cold and heavy when I took it. My hands trembled so hard I thought I'd drop it. Memories of the last time he forced me to do this clawed into my brain—Mealy.

I looked at Sally. Just a child. Her big eyes were brimming with tears. She didn't deserve this.

"Kara, pull the trigger," Hito ordered.

Tears streamed down my face. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think.

"Leo," Hito said calmly, "aim closer."

Leo adjusted the gun, pressing it harder to my baby's face.

"Pull the trigger, Kara."

I took a deep, shaking breath.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

BANG.