by Roman Shepp
The words of wisdom had come from his father and at the time they had worked to quell his anger. Now, though, they seemed hollow. What was the point of principles when everything else in his life had been taken from him? With Nadya and Aaminah gone there was no reason for principles. There was no reason for him to go on.
“Kill me,” he mumbled.
“What?” the woman said, looking surprised.
“Just kill me,” Saeed said.
Every word was an effort through his cracked lips. The woman regarded him with her cruel and callous stare. Saeed didn't beg. He didn't plead. It was merely a request, one which he sorely hoped she would grant. Arching an eyebrow, the woman considered for a moment and then smiled. She evidently thought she was getting close to breaking him. How arrogant she was. How wrong.
“You don't deserve such a quick release. It's clear you know something. Maybe your guilty conscience is gnawing at you. I'm not going to be the one to grant you peace. You will suffer, and you will tell me everything you know.”
It was at this point when Saeed's tears came down more strongly than before. The beatings still came. The woman used his body as a punching bag. Her screams split the air as her fists pummeled him. But again, the pain was a far-off sensation, as though his mind and body were being separated. The true pain was within his tears. His body shook as he wept from the eternal pool of sorrow that resided within his heart.
Closing his eyes, he thought about Nadya and Aaminah, trying to think of them in the prime of their lives rather than the way he last had seen them. He tried remembering the laughter they had shared rather than the howls of pain and tears upon their deaths. Yet it was so hard. It was as though the light was trying to break through a grim storm, but the clouds were too thick. Then, suddenly, he was faced with an image of Nadya before him. Her black hair flowed, and her face rippled as though she was underwater. He smiled briefly and felt a serenity wash over his heart. Her dulcet tones came with the movement of her mouth and he was sure she was speaking to him from beyond the grave.
You must carry on, Saeed. You are all that is left of our family.
“No,” Saeed muttered, shaking his head.
Yes. It is not your time yet. You still have a role to play. You still have a reason to be alive. You must do anything you can to survive. That is one of the reasons why I fell in love with you. One of the many. You can endure sorrow that no other man could suffer. It is not what I would wish for you, my husband, but that is the burden you must bear. One day we shall meet again, but not until you have fulfilled your destiny. Find a way to survive. Find a way to bear the pain. Live, my love, live until your last breath.
Saeed was about to call out again. He tried reaching out to touch her, but the vision shimmered and rippled and then was gone. All he saw was a fist coming toward him, again and again. His neck snapped back. Pain throbbed through his body, but he had been steeled by the vision of Nadya. A smile widened on his face.
“I'll do it for you. I'll do what you say,” he said.
The punches stopped. The woman torturing him thought he was talking to her. She shook her fists. They must have been hurting quite a bit by now. Saeed blinked away the tears and the sweat that blurred his vision. Blood still swam in his mouth. He tensed his arms and felt the restraints give. All the shaking and convulsing had loosened them and he could feel freedom getting closer and closer. The woman walked away, rubbing her hands. Saeed twisted his arms, pulling them away, feeling the ropes loosen.
“I'm glad you've finally come to your senses. It's for your own good.”
Saeed whispered. His voice was hoarse. “You have to come closer. Closer. I can't speak. Throat hurts.”
He hung his head and let his arms fall loose around him. The ropes still were there but he had to act weak and hope she didn't notice the ropes had loosened. The woman came toward him, looking smug and confident. Of course she wouldn't notice. She assumed she had broken him. She assumed he was helpless. He wasn't. He was the last surviving member of his family, and while he was on this Earth he had to do everything he could to make them proud of him. He still had tasks to perform. He still had the message of God to deliver. He still had to repay Tony for the kindness that man had shown him as well. There was so much to do, and Saeed was going to do it all.
Despite feeling weak with pain, Saeed still had some strength left in him. However, he acted weaker, beckoning the woman toward him until she was leaning over him with her ear to his lips. “Tell me your secrets,” she said.
Saeed grinned. What he had to do next was something only an animal would do. With his hands loose, he pushed himself up and thrust his head forward before the woman could react. Then she screamed as all the pain that Saeed had endured was repaid. His teeth sank into her flesh, and as she tried yanking herself free he pulled back with all his strength. There was an unnatural ripping noise as Saeed took away a chunk of her ear. It flapped in his mouth before he quickly spat it out.
The woman reeled back, her face white. Blood spewed from the open wound on the side of her head as she fell to the floor. Her hand went up to her ear, not believing it really had happened. The look on her face as she saw the torn remnant of her ear on the floor was one of utter shock. Writhing on the floor, she cried out in anguish, leaving a trail of blood as she pushed herself away from Saeed toward the table.
The blood on Saeed's face was now not only his own, but he was unable to tell the difference. He strode over, his legs wobbling as he did so, and grabbed the gun. The woman's eyes were wide with fright as she saw her life flash before her eyes, but Saeed was not going to kill her today. He was not going to be as much of a monster as them. But he was going to scare them and make them pay for everything they had done, and he was going to rescue his friends. With the gun in one aching hand he flung open the door only to find that people were waiting for him, guns pointed at him instead.
Chapter Fifteen
Tony and Jane had been waiting to go out for their ominous test. Neither of them knew what the test entailed but Tony was sure it would not be anything pleasant. He was loathe to leave Saeed and Groot alone with these people but there was no other choice. A loud scream sounded in the back of the shop. A woman's scream. Tony's first thought was for Saeed. What had he done? The people around him looked at each other, and in an instant, they ran toward the back. For a moment time stood still as Tony took stock of the situation. There still were a dozen people in this room, so he still was as helpless as before. But if Saeed was fighting back, then he had to find some way to fight back as well.
Wasting no time, he followed the group to the back, walking between the rows of shelves, when a gunshot sounded. He increased his pace. Jane was hot on his heels. The other people seemed to be confused without Arnold's direct leadership of whether to follow Tony and Jane or remain at their designated posts. Groot was barking loudly too. Tony took this as encouragement. More gunshots rang out. Tony was afraid Saeed would be filled with bullet holes by now, but when he approached he saw Saeed still was holding his own. A few of Arnold's men were lying on the floor. Whether they were dead or not Tony didn't know. They were clad in armor, but that didn't mean bullets couldn’t find their way to their flesh. Saeed took cover in the doorway, ducking in and out, firing off a few shots, then returning to safety.
Tony and Jane wasted no time. Jane already was leaping onto a man, wrestling him back and bringing him to the floor. Tony was impressed with her fighting style and the way she used the man's strength against him. Tony felt unsure if he actually could win a fight as he never really had been in one. The only training he'd had was what he had seen in movies, but when it happened it was too fast for him to think anyway. He hauled a man back and wrestled his gun away from him, struggling to the limits of his might, but he had the right momentum to twist the man's hands around into an unnatural position.
The man howled in pain as his grip loosened and Tony managed to grab the gun. As he did so his fingers hit the trigger and the gun fired, s
ending a bullet into one of the women standing near him. She went down, shocked. By now, though, Tony and Jane had been noticed and some of the people turned to face them. Tony's hands were shaking. He never had held a gun before. It felt heavy in his hand, the metal was cold, but he didn't have time to think. In that split second, he knew he needed to act to protect his friends. He couldn't stand in front of the bullets to stop them. The only way was to fire himself.
Closing his eyes, he pulled the trigger and felt his hand jerk with the recoil. His bullets flew around wildly. When he opened his eyes, he saw many pockmarks in the walls and more people on the floor. Saeed used the distraction to emerge from the room and barrel into the men. Jane also was fighting valiantly. The odds were evening out, but their disturbance finally had brought the others running from the front of the store. Arnold was lying on the floor, unconscious. Without their leader to rally them there was nobody to bark orders.
For a moment Tony was filled with pity at the bodies on the floor. There was no need for all this violence, but it was the only way things could have ended. Jane elbowed a woman in the face and then grabbed her arm as she leaned down, pulling the woman over her back and slamming her onto the floor. Jane then fell on her and jabbed the side of her hand against the woman's throat. The woman gurgled and clutched her throat. It was messy hand-to-hand combat. Saeed held the gun by the barrel and was using it like a hammer. Evidently it was out of bullets, but that hadn't negated its usefulness. He fought like a man possessed, not ready to give up, not ready to surrender. Tony felt himself galvanized.
“I'm going to get Groot!” he called out to Jane.
She nodded at him. She and Saeed seemed to have things under control, but Tony could hear the others coming toward them. Before Tony made his way back to Groot, however, he saw the baseball bat lying next to Arnold. Tony pushed his shoulder into the back of the man now fighting with Jane. He held an assault rifle but must have been too scared to use it in such close quarters. Tony reached out a hand and smiled as he gripped the handle, pulling the bat toward him. He yelled to Saeed, who just had whacked his enemy with the butt of his gun. The man staggered back, holding his nose. Saeed looked over to Tony, who threw him the gun.
“There's a few bullets left,” Tony said.
Saeed used one immediately. The man he was fighting fell to the ground. Tony turned his back and ran, ducking behind the shelves. He called out to Jane and Saeed, warning them about the onrushing enemy. The last thing he saw was Saeed shooting the man Jane was fighting, and then Jane picking up the assault rifle. The next thing he heard was a spray of bullets spewing out of the gun, and cries of anguish as bullets ripped flesh apart. A hot shower of blood sprayed everywhere. Tony only just managed to avoid feeling the crimson rain. Groot barked loudly. It was amazing to him that the three of them had the upper hand in the battle, but it just proved to him that people like Arnold wouldn't be able to get what they wanted in the world.
Only a few people were left with Groot and they turned when they heard Tony approach. He had kept himself low, crouching as he ran, but extended himself to his full height when he came up to the front of the store, raising his baseball bat. He swung it with every ounce of his strength and felt the crack of bone and teeth as it hit the man in front of him. The other two came toward him. Tony placed two hands on the baseball bat and jabbed the bloodied end into a man’s face, breaking his nose.
Then he took a blow to the face himself. The pain stung, and he had to shake it off, leaving an opening for the woman to raise her gun. For a moment Tony hesitated. He'd always been taught it was wrong to hit women, but in this situation, he thought he could make an exception. Before the woman could fire he brought the bat up against the gun, pointing it to the ceiling. The shot was fired and pinged against the ceiling. Dust fell like snow. Tony pulled the bat back and shoved it into her stomach, then swung it around against the side of her neck. She fell to the floor. Tony kicked the gun away, harmlessly.
Smiling, he crouched down to untie Groot. The dog barked loudly. “It's going to be okay,” Tony said, “we're getting you out of here.”
He quickly checked Groot to ensure the dog was unharmed. The dog stretched his neck and seemed to be looking behind Tony, who suddenly bristled, feeling something was wrong. He turned around and saw the small girl holding a gun, pointing it directly at him. But soon it was pointed at the pit bull, who walked and stood in between Tony and Lily, growling. Tony's face went white.
“Just hold off. You don't have to do this, okay? Just put the gun down. I'm putting the bat down, alright?” Tony said, trying to keep his voice as even as possible as he lowered his bat to the floor and held up his hands.
Wanting to grab Groot and bring the dog back, but too afraid to make any movement, Tony stayed still. His eyes darted beyond the girl. The sounds of fighting still were present, so he knew Saeed and Jane were being kept busy. Lily's hands trembled and her eyes watered.
“You don't want to do this. Groot is just an innocent dog,” Tony said, trying to plead with her, trying to reason with her, and yet he knew her mind must be twisted. It wasn't only adults who had suffered. He had no idea where the girl's parents were or what she had seen. It was difficult enough to deal with the changing nature of the world as an adult, he didn't know how a child would cope.
Suddenly the gunfire stopped. Tony looked up to see Jane and Saeed hauling the leader toward them. The rest of the army had been subdued. Tony felt a quiet sense of relief inside, but he couldn't look past Lily.
“Daddy told me I had to fight the enemy, for my country,” Lily said in a small voice.
“Kill them! Kill them all! You're the last soldier standing. You're our only hope!” Arnold yelled at the top of his voice.
Jane glared at him. Lily steadied herself and put her other hand on the gun. It looked too big for her. It was unnatural to see someone so small wielding a gun and Tony was filled with so much regret, pity, and shame. What had happened to them as a nation to fall this far? Had their minds become so twisted that seeing a child with a weapon was a natural thing? Lily should have been in school, learning about the world, developing her own personality, not being fashioned into a soldier. This was far too adult a thing for her to experience.
“Don't do this, Lily. You're not a soldier. You're just a kid, and we're not the enemy. Whatever that man told you, it's not true. We're not at war and you don't have to fight. Look at him. Does Groot look like an enemy to you?”
Lily shook her head and lowered her weapon. Tony could see the conflict etched on her face. Her father yelled at her again and this time Jane put a gun to his head. Tony couldn't imagine what it was like being raised by a man like that, being brought up to see the world as a battlefield. Her young mind had been twisted by Arnold and it was a sad thing that she had not been allowed to be a child.
“I always wanted a dog,” she said in a trembling voice.
Tony exhaled slowly as he stepped forward and took the gun from her hands. He was about to leave her when he felt her hands wrap around him in a tight hug. Her small body shook, and tears streamed down her face. Tony looked over at Arnold, who wore an expression of shame. Tony marched over to him, standing over him.
“It's over. You should rethink your choices. The country isn't at war. We should be working together, not fighting one another. Think about the world you want your child to grow up in. Do you want her to be filled with paranoia and mistrust?”
“What are you going to do with me?” he asked. Tony glanced at Saeed and Jane.
“I wish I could do plenty to you. I wish I could show you to the authorities and make you pay for what you've done here, but I can't do that. I'm not the arbiter of what's right and what's wrong. I'm just one man trying to make my way through this crazy world and I don't need to be threatened by people like you. There's no time for fighting here. We must focus on survival. So, I'm going to take back what you stole from us and we’re going to leave.
“Still, you need to seriousl
y look at yourself. This isn't a command center. It's a department store. You're not the leader of a great army. These people are scared and they're just flocking to you because they think you know what you're doing. You promised them stability in a time of chaos. Maybe that's what they need right now but it's not going to see them through long-term.
“I wish I could do more with you, but I don't want to take you with us. I just have to hope that by showing you mercy here I can prove to you that we're not the enemy and you don't have to hunt people down and treat them like they're guilty just based on the color of their skin or by the way they act. You're scared, I get it, but that's no reason to act like this.”
Arnold looked entirely humbled. He pressed his lips together and nodded softly. Tony pulled Lily away from him and directed her to her father. She wrapped her arms around him and the two of them hugged. Tony looked the man directly in his eyes and hoped he would change his behavior. Although he wasn't sure if it was even possible. Still, Tony had done as much as he could do. He, Jane, Saeed, and Groot left the building behind. Tony tried to stop his pounding heart, but he was locked in that moment where Lily had been standing in front of him. His body was caked in sweat and his hands were shaking. He tried to hide them, but Jane noticed.
“It's okay now,” she said.
“Is it?” Tony asked. “Things could have gone so differently.”
“But they didn't.”
“If I hadn't have gotten through to her...” he trailed off and looked down at Groot. The dog was acting as though nothing bad had happened at all. Tony wished it was so easy for him to do the same.
