by Johan Twiss
CHAPTER 9:
Veata felt James’ grip tighten around her arm as he pulled her back behind his hulking frame. The darkness around him had disappeared, replaced by a rainbow of bright colors. Peeking around his leg, she saw Rithisak running at him with a knife in his hand.
The world seemed to slow as James raised the gun. This time his colors did not flicker dark, but stayed bright and true.
He pulled the trigger.
CLICK. CLICK. CLICK.
Nothing happened.
There was no explosion from the weapon like before, only the quiet click of the trigger.
Rithisak reached them in two more steps, preparing to plunge his dagger into James chest.
James tried to maneuver to the side, but his knee buckled as he twisted and he fell to the ground. Veata screamed, watching the sharp, shining blade arc down at James. But just before it hit, Munny’s foot kicked upward with lightning speed, striking Rithisak’s arm.
Veata gasped as the blade went flying through the air only inches from her face.
Munny slammed his other foot into the side of Rithisak’s head, sending the brothel owner sprawling across the rooftop.
Veata held James’ hand as he struggled to stand back up and Munny took a defensive position in front of them.
Now that the gun was out of ammunition, Rithisak’s men rallied with newfound courage. Though beaten and bruised, they helped Rithisak to his feet and sneered at James and Munny as their own colors flashed between black and red.
James grimaced and pulled himself to his feet, favoring his good leg as he stood. Blood trickled down his swollen cheek and he said something to Munny, but Veata did not understand his language. Munny replied to James in English before letting off a string of swear words in Khmer.
I know those words, Veata thought. Uncle only said those when things were really bad after a night of gambling.
She watched Rithisak and his men prowl forward like a pack of wild, injured dogs, and she knew things were really, really bad this time.
“I can’t fight them all myself,” Munny said to no one as he and James took a step back.
“You don’t have to,” a familiar voice called as she stepped next to Munny.
It was Chemsi.
“I won’t let him torture me anymore,” she said. “I won’t!”
Another girl, Somaly, stepped forward to join Chemsi. “He killed my sister and you all know what he did to me when I tried to run away,” she said to the other girls. “I’ll die fighting before I let him touch me again.”
A handful of girls started nodding and stepped forward to join them.
“But we have nowhere else to go!” Shukira shouted, tears forming in her eyes. “I have no one else. I have no family. I have no one and no place except here.”
Veata watched Shukira’s colors flicker between dark blue and charcoal.
“She’s scared,” Veata whispered. “So very scared.”
“We have each other!” Chemsi shouted back. “We stick together or we die.”
Most of the girls nodded, but a few hung back together by Shukira, unwilling to move.
“He’ll kill me after this! You all know he will,” Chemsi said to the remaining girls huddled by Shukira. “But it doesn’t matter. Eventually, he will kill us all! Remember Chantrea? He didn’t let her go when she got too old looking. He shot her. And when Jarani got pregnant, he had a doctor give her an abortion, but she died three days later with an infection.”
Veata saw the colors in the girls, which had been dull and a faded gray, flicker to life as Chemsi spoke. Soon bright sparks ignited in girl after girl, including Shukira and her group.
“And you all remember what he did to Kun Thea,” Chemsi continued, her voice low and mournful. “She was just a girl, younger than Veata.” Chemsi pulled Veata into a side hug and held her tight. The colorful lights of all the girls grew brighter like a flame spreading into a wildfire. “She was your friend, Shukira. And when Kun Thea got sick with the AIDS, he...he…”
Chemsi eyed Shukira, but couldn’t finish, choking on her words.
The dark fear in Shukira’s colors disappeared into a pulsing red and purple. She looked at Rithisak, her lips trembling, and hissed. “Besach.”
“Besach,” another girl repeated. “He’s a monster.”
“Besach,” Shukira said louder. “Monster. Monster. Monster.”
The other girls took up the chant, “Besach. Besach. Besach.”
Soon all of the girls’ colors were stoked in bright wonder. Even Shukira started to chant, her dark colors shining bright. Slowly they stepped forward, spreading out around Rithisak and his men.
The air buzzed with electricity as the girls continued to chant, “Besach. Besach. Besach.” The sight gave Veata goosebumps as she watched the girls close in around the men—no longer the hunted, but the hunters.
The customers seemed to sense it too, backing away even further from the girls until they were pushed against the far side of the rooftop with their backs to the edge.
“Besach! Besach! Besach!” the girls yelled louder, only a few feet away from the men.
“Shut up!” Rithisak screamed, his face a disfigured mess from the beating James had given him. He swore at them, cursed them, and called them every bad word Veata knew and a few she had never heard before.
The girls ignored him, moving closer, and closer, and closer.
“Besach! Besach! Besach!”
Rithisak’s men gathered together, and Veata saw the fear in their colors as thirty girls closed around them like a noose.
“I’ll kill you all!” Rithisak shouted. “I can always get more girls. You’re worthless. Used. I don’t need you!”
The buzzing grew louder in Veata’s ears and seemed ready to burst. Rithisak grabbed the closest girl by the hair, yanked the poor girl to the ground, and was about to kick her in the face when they swarmed.
Twenty-nine girls, in Twenty-nine red dresses, attacked like an angry nest of hornets.
Veata stayed behind James watching the scene unfold. Munny and James took a few steps forward, trying to help in the fight, but Rithisak and his men were nearly invisible behind the fray of red surrounding them. The girls kicked, bit, scratched, punched, and stomped on the men. They yelled curses and screamed at the top of their lungs, letting all their pent-up anger and pain pour from their souls.
The men tried to fight back, striking a few girls with their blows. But the punishment was not new to them. They’d been hit before. It would not stop their furious assault.
Within a few minutes, all five men lay on the ground—motionless.
Chemsi stood over Rithisak, breathing hard. “You kidnapped me. Took me from my home. Beat me. Raped me. Drugged me. Mr. James may lose his color if he kills you. But I can’t find mine until you’re gone.”
Veata stepped toward Chemsi, but Chemsi held up her hand. “No, Veata,” she said, shaking her head. “Stay back. We have to do this.”
Like a military general, Chemsi gave orders to the other girls. They lifted the men one by one into the air and threw them over the side of the roof into the waters below.
Rithisak was the last to be lifted, his eyes going in and out of consciousness. A dozen girls worked together to support his bulk as they carried him to the edge. With each step, Chemsi spoke, her voice growing louder.
“This is for Chantrea!” Chemsi called out.
Step.
“This is for Jarani!”
Step.
“This is for Somaly and her sister!”
Step.
“This is for Kun Thea!”
The group stopped at the edge of the building and Chemsi whispered in Rithisak’s ear. “You should have taken Mr. James’ option A.”
With a nod of her head, the girls hefted the brothel owner over the edge of the building. His body hit the water with a splash and Veata watched his faint colors disappear from view.
CHAPTER 10:
“You want to run that b
y me again?” James asked. “Did you say we have twenty-four kilometers to go? As in the numbers two-four?”
Munny nodded. “Yes, I say twenty-four. Is my accent hard to understand? Sometime English numbers hard for me to speak. I forget to—”
James waved his hand. “No! I understood you clearly! But Munny, twenty-four kilometers? If my math’s right, that’s like fifteen miles. I thought you said this place was close? Fifteen miles is not close! Close is a quick walk around the block. Close means we get there before nightfall.”
“But it is close. It only just outside city.”
James sighed.
“I repeat. Fifteen miles is not close, especially when you’re walking through a war zone with no food, water, and a leg that’s ready to snap off!”
James paused, grimacing as he squatted against a tree to rest. They’d been walking, or in his case limping, for the last two hours. He knew if he sat down he might not be able to get up again, but at this point he didn’t care. He hurt too much to continue and the shade from the tree brought welcome relief from the broiling sun.
James rubbed his swollen knee and felt the pain extend up his leg, into his back and down into his foot. His face felt like it had gone through a meat grinder and his whole body seemed to be covered in tender bruises that hurt whenever he moved.
“Don’t worry. We get there James. We rest now. Good time to rest.”
Munny spoke to Chemsi and she relayed the message to the rest of the girls. James watched the two working together. When Munny had told Chemsi about a place he’d heard of that took in girls like them, a place called the Mongoose House, Chemsi had rallied the girls behind the idea. Filled with excitement, they’d all agreed to go, even Shukira.
Since then, Chemsi and Munny had worked together like a tag-team, leading the group through the muddy disaster zone that was now Phnom Penh.
Unable to keep up, James had relegated himself to the back of the pack, dragging his injured knee behind him like a walking zombie.
The night on the rooftop had been a restless one with little sleep. But by morning, the flood waters had receded, leaving a scene of absolute carnage in its wake. Cars were smashed into buildings, debris was strewn in every direction, and mud was everywhere.
Then there was the smell—the smell of mud, the smell of rot and decay, the smell of dead animals and people.
James leaned his head back against the trunk of the tree and closed his eyes, trying to push the putrid smells and images from his mind. The tree was one of the few he’d seen in the city that hadn’t been uprooted by the flood. Its strong limbs were still outstretched with green leaves, providing an almost other-worldly image amidst the chaos.
They’d come across a number of survivors rummaging through the streets and had stopped to help pull a few people from the mud-filled first floors of buildings. On one street corner a crowd had gathered around an old man sitting on the hood of a demolished car. He had a small battery-powered radio that played the voice of a news reporter.
Munny translated for James, and they learned that the storm had produced two known twisters, like tornados, in different parts of the city. The powerful rains and the rare hail storm had overwhelmed the new dam, just as James suspected. The dam’s failure caused the Mekong River to flood half of the city.
It’s a war zone, James thought. The place looks like a war zone.
He took deep breaths and rubbed his swollen knee.
My adrenaline is gone. There’s no way I can make this walk. Yesterday, I felt like Superman fighting those guys on the roof, but now I just feel broken and older than ever.
The sound of a helicopter beat in the sky, and James looked up, watching it flying low across the city skyline in their direction. There was no use trying to wave it down. They’d seen a few helicopters flying overhead, but they were filming the disaster, not stopping to help people.
They’d seen a few emergency vehicles on the streets, but they were immediately overwhelmed with survivors seeking help, many carrying their dead and injured loved ones with them.
I shouldn’t complain, James scolded himself. I’m one of the lucky ones. I’m still alive.
He squeezed his eyes tighter. He was thankful to be alive.
But I can’t keep up this pace.
“Munny,” he called, waving his friend over.
Friend? James thought. He wondered at the word. He’d only known Munny for a single day, but a bond had been forged between them and James trusted the man. He trusted him with his life.
Yes, he’s my friend. Maybe my only friend.
“What is it?” Munny asked. “You okay? No heart attackers, right? I learn CPR on internet. I push chest hard and make beat.”
Munny put his hands together and mimicked giving CPR in the air. “Internet say to push to American song, Staying Alive. It good song by Bee Gees. You know the song?”
Munny started singing the song as he pumped his hands together in the air. James rolled his eyes and let out a painful chuckle. Even laughing hurt.
“Yes, I know the song, and no, I’m not having a heart attack. And it’s attack, not attacker. But I can’t walk any further. I’m so dehydrated that I’m not sweating anymore, and my leg is too injured to keep moving. I want you guys to go without me. You and Chemsi keep leading these girls to the Mongoose House. You need to get them there before dark. I worry it won’t be safe here when night comes.”
Images of Hurricane Katrina and other disasters flashed through James’ mind. He’d seen and heard about the looting and problems that came after disasters. He worried what might happen to them if they got caught in the city another night.
“No way, Jose,” Munny said, accenting the J incorrectly. “You come with us. You not safe by yourself. We no leave you here.”
“I’m slowing you way down. You need to go ahead without me. These girls are more important than I am.”
Munny shook his head. “No way, Jo-”
“Don’t say it,” James cut him off. “It’s pronounced Ho-zay, not Joe-say. And where did you learn that phrase anyway? Never mind. Don’t tell me. Just get the girls and go. You’re burning up daylight.”
This time Munny gave James a confused look. “How do you burn the daylight? I not understand.”
“Just go!” James shouted. “Leave me here and get them to safety!”
James was yelling, though he wasn’t sure why. He knew Munny didn’t deserve to be screamed at, but he was tired of arguing. He’d made up his mind and he was not moving from this tree until emergency help came to lift his broken self off the ground.
If help comes at all.
He closed his eyes and started to cry.
I’m going to die here, he thought. But at least I did something good before I go.
A small hand rested on top of his and he opened his eyes to find the little girl, Veata, smiling at him.
She tilted her head and spoke a few words in Khmer. Taking both of his hands in hers, she pulled, trying to get him to stand. Her face went red and she grunted, straining to pull up his massive frame.
“What did she say?” James asked Munny, unwilling to move as the girl struggled.
“She says you come with us. If you don’t move then she stay, too.”
The girl stopped pulling and spoke a few more words.
“She says your colors are dim. And she not leave you alone. She help you walk.”
There she is with the colors again, James thought.
He remembered the way she’d talked about his colors on the roof and how he’d seen swirling golden lights emanating from her body. But he chalked that up to hallucinations from the stress of the situation—a psychotic break in reality.
Either way, he knew this little girl was special. There was something about her words that rang true—a simple wisdom he couldn’t deny.
Veata tugged on his arms again and grunted, her face turning red.
James shook his hands free from Veata’s grip. “Quit it, now. I can’t move. I m
ight be able to hobble on my good leg for a bit, but my body’s overheating. I’m not sweating anymore and I need water—we all need water.”
Munny pursed his lips and looked up at the sky for a few minutes. He turned back to James and smiled. “Okay, James. We rest twenty minutes. If I no get you water by then, we leave you like you ask. But if water come, then so do you. Deal?”
James rested his head back against the tree, letting his full exhaustion set in.
“Is it deal?” Munny asked again.
“Fine. It’s a deal. But where are you going to find clean water in this place? It’s all a giant mud pit. Your best bet is to get outside the city, get help and get to the safe house. Then send someone back for me.”
Munny shook his head. “Twenty minutes. Just wait.”
The minutes passed away—five, ten, fifteen. James felt his energy draining like a sieve. His head bobbed to the left and to the right. He wanted to go to sleep and not wake up. But each time he nodded off, Veata pinched his arm and pulled on his beard.
“Veata, let me sleep,” James groaned with his eyes still closed. “I just need some rest. I just need a long, peaceful rest.”
James felt the girl pinch him again before tugging on his white beard. James didn’t respond this time. He was too exhausted and sleep was coming. He was slipping into the gentle void when something wet hit his cheek just below his eye.
His muddled mind stirred back to consciousness.
Did she just spit on me?
“Veata. Don’t do that. Don’t spit on people.”
Another wet drop hit his face, then another, and another.
His eyes fluttered open and through the openings in the tree branches, he saw gray clouds rolling across the sky. Within minutes, a steady drizzle fell to the ground.
Munny walked into view, holding a bucket he’d found somewhere in the debris. “See! I told you I get water. Monsoon rain come like clockwork. It good water to drink. We fill buckets and drink. Then you feel better.”
Veata squeezed James’ hand again and smiled before dashing out from under the tree to play in the rain.
