Aneesah is cuffed to the ceiling, her head hung down low. Jurian has his army uniform on, his hat on too. Melecio is just standing on the side, his arms folded and his back against the cold brick wall.
Jurian doesn’t look at me. He raises his hand with the barbed wire and stands back. I know what he’s about to do. Aneesah clenches her teeth. Her long flowery dress all ripped, her skin covered in blood and scars. Her eyes are ones made out of fear. She’s practically hanging on the handcuffs.
“Jurian! Stop it!” I cry.
Jurian doesn’t move.
“Jurian!”
He drops his hand with the barbed wire and glances in my direction. His eyes return to Aneesah and then back to me.
“I’m busy at the minute,” he says coldly. “Can’t you see?”
“It’s enough… stop it…”
“You signed up for this, didn’t you?” Jurian says. He drops the barbed wire down on the ground and steps towards me. “It’s for your sake, Blanca. For your–”
I slap him.
“Hey!” Melecio shouts. “Now, don’t resort to violen–”
“This,” I point at Aneesah’s hanging body, “is violence.”
“That’s different,” Melecio says.
“I don’t see the difference,” I hiss.
Melecio sighs, a long, defeated sigh. “Felix! Come and take her away. I thought there shouldn’t be any disturbances?”
Felix is down the stairs in an instant. He coldly glances at Aneesah and grabs me from behind, his arms circled around my shoulders. I can’t pull myself free. He pulls me away as I scream and fight for him to let me go. I cry out to Jurian. But he’s poker faced. His eyes are cold. I’m taken to my room in the hideout.
“Let me go!”
“I will now,” Felix says. He steps out of my room and closes the door. I can hear the sound of the lock. I try to open the door but with no avail. I growl. I go to my bed and cover my ears with the blanket, hugging on to it. Aneesah and her bloody body come into my mind… it’s a matter of minutes until I hear her scream again. Now I know that I cannot run away from it.
¶
I have calmed down a bit. Aneesah’s screams had ceased. They got quieter and quieter until they were gone altogether. Is she okay? Of course she’s not. I scream for her into my pillow.
Jurian enters the room. He quietly sits down on the corner of the bed.
“I got some information out of her,” he whispers. “I’m sorry if I hurt you in any way.”
I don’t talk to him. This reminds me of his love confession. But this time it is far more serious.
“You can stay here if you don’t want to go home with me,” he says quietly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He leaves as quietly as he entered. The sound of the exit door is very distinctive. I stand up as soon as it comes to my ears. I go around every room, scanning for any trace of anybody left. I’m on my own and I’m glad. I head to the interrogation room. It’s open, much to my surprise. Even if it was closed I would probably have tried to open it.
The lights are on. They’re very dim but light enough for me to see the stairs. They’re tattooed with bloody footprints. I feel sick in the stomach. I never knew Jurian would do something like this.
YOU ARE READING
Shards
Dragoste"Three gunshots. All aimed at me, all ricocheting with no miss. Broken glass. Screams - silence. I gazed at the long legs and closed my teary eyes. One more glimpse. It was all over. The only remaining sound was the music of the insects with a bac...
