Animals

Becca squeezed Natalie’s hand tight as the group was herded into a plain room. Cement walls enclosed them, no windows, one door. It closed behind them and a deadbolt was slid into place. It smelled of copper and old urine, making Natalie cover her mouth and nose with her free hand. Becca cringed from the stench as well, hiding her face in the teen girl's side. 

A single bulb dangled from the center of the ceiling, emitting a gentle hum as it lit the middle of the room, not quite reaching the dark corners. 

“This is it. We are all going to die,” The middle-aged woman had said feebly. Her hollow, dark eyes moved along the floor where large quantities of blood had been spilled and soaked into the pores of the concrete. “Oh God…” She whispered, throat tight with emotion as her thin hands covered the gaunt features of her pale face. Her shoulders slouched and jerked with each muffled sob as her knees buckled sending her to the ground where she accepted her fate. 

Natalie had led Becca to the far left corner of the room during the woman’s breakdown. There, they sat against the cold wall, pressed against each other for what little warmth they gave off. Natalie’s left hand rested over their intertwined fingers as she leaned her head on top of Becca’s. Becca felt an immediate calm as her eyelids fell shut. The muffled sobs of the woman being drowned out by the quick rhythm of Natalie’s heartbeat. 

Natalie wished she could say something to Becca, anything to alleviate any worry the young girl had; but she knew it would be a lie. Their surroundings were conflicting to any reassurance she could have given.

Natalie had accepted the fact she was going to die after the first week.  Just another runaway on the streets of Sade City and everyone in the city knew no one missing ever got found. Now she knows why. 

Natalie was taken, beaten into submission the first three days in a dingy basement room where she had screamed so much her throat felt like sandpaper. Then, she was blindfolded, moved, put in another blank room with the woman who had finally stopped crying. During the second week, Becca arrived. The child was shivering, streaks of tears marked her round cheeks as she was pushed into the room. Becca was only eight years old. The same age as Natalie’s sister. The one she abandoned in her selfish attempt to escape their angry, addict mother; and now, she could never go back. So, Natalie had tried to fill the void of regret of her actions by protecting Becca. Not physically, but mentally. Becca had attached to her so fast, Natalie wondered if she had family. Maybe, Becca hadn’t had someone care about her before. 

They had witnessed few people come and go from the room before this one. Each time they went out screaming and fighting. Natalie would place her hands on each side of Becca’s head, covering her ears and keeping their eyes locked. She would make a silly face, then Becca, then her again until the struggle was over. Natalie wasn’t sure if it was a reliable method but it distracted the child. Made her smile and forget just for a second where she really was. 

Two weeks in that cramped room they spent together. Natalie, filling the time by telling Becca stories or answering her many questions about the world. 

“What happens to the people that get taken away?” Becca had asked once. Natalie hadn’t prepared for that one. In fact, she wasn’t sure but it couldn’t have been for anything good. 

“They… get hurt.” Natalie responded after finally deciding to tell the truth. 

“How?”

“I don’t know,” Natalie sighed tiredly. If she had known, she probably wouldn’t have told Becca anyway. Becca stared at her as if waiting for more. “If you’re ever taken out of here, make them regret it,” Natalie said firmly as Becca raised a thin brow, staring at her quizzically with wide forest green eyes. “Make them regret ever taking you.”

Becca hadn’t responded after that, only disappeared into her own thoughts. Natalie was relieved the conversation was over. 

Days later the three were taken from the room. Natalie and Becca held hands, not wanting to get separated. Four men, masked and armed with pistols, slipped cloth bags over their heads and bound their wrists, separating the girls as they were led outside. Natalie couldn’t see but she could feel the gentle chill of the air, smell and taste the smoke floating around as one of the men puffed on a cigarette. A vehicle idled close by, red tail lights shining through the cloth over her face. Gravel crunched softly under her sneakers as an unknown person held her arm securely, the back of her shoulder bumping into his with every uncertain step. 

“Up.” The man holding her had ordered. He pulled up on her arm, guiding her into the back of the vehicle. Natalie felt the floor shift as another person got in beside her. Then, she heard Becca’s raucous cries. 

The doors were slammed shut, drowning out the noise as the vehicle jerked forward and went on. Becca had been held back, put into a different vehicle during the transfer. She had told Natalie later that she tried to fight. The bag over her head had slipped off when the guards had to pick her thrashing body off the ground. 

“I wanted to make it harder for them to hold me,” Becca explained when they were finally reunited in one of the narrow halls. “I bit one.” She smiled triumphantly. Natalie worried she had fast tracked the girl's death as she looked at the purpling bruise on her dirtied face and bloodied lip. 

Natalie lifted her head and glanced down at Becca. Her eyes were open, staring at the humming bulb intently. She could only wonder what the child was thinking. 

Time seemed frozen as the 3 waited in the room. Natalie kept her eyes trained on the light under the door, watching as shadows passed. She didn’t notice Becca doing the same.  

           Two feet stopped in front of the door and the lock slid out of place. Becca stirred, sitting up as she pressed herself tighter to Natalie, her small hands holding onto Natalie’s wrist in a death grip. Becca could feel both their heart beats matching tempo as the door swung open on rusted hinges. 

Two men, dressed in plain dark blue uniforms entered. They wore their sleeves rolled to the elbow, black latex gloves covering their hands. One was broad shouldered, square jawed with short black hair. He stepped into the room casually, crooked nose lifted with pompous authority. His dark eyes crinkled at the corners when they landed on the two girls from his wolfish grin. 

The other man, lean with pointed features and light eyes, stood at the door. His shoulders slouched slightly, blonde brows knit in unease as his eyes avoided his coworker. His right hand rested over the gun attached to his belt, hoping no one would make a break for the door. 

“You, get up.” The dark eyed guard said roughly, staring directly at Natalie. He planted his boots a couple feet in front of the girls, looming over them with his left hand held out impatiently. 

Natalie stared up at him, slack jawed and bleary eyed. Words wouldn’t free themselves from the dry fear choking her. She gave Becca’s forearm a final, gentle squeeze before the guard's patience ran thin. 

“I said get the fuck up.” He growled, reaching down, grabbing a handful of Natalie’s dirty blonde hair. She screamed out in pain as she was yanked forward, hands clawing at his bare arm. It only made his grip tighter as he pulled roughly. Natalie could feel her hair being ripped from the scalp. It felt like fire. 

Becca released her hold on Natalie, springing to her feet as she pounded tiny fists into the man’s side and back. Screaming for him to stop hurting her friend. 

                    “Please, I don’t want to die!” Natalie said with such desperation her voice was no longer the soft and soothing one Becca recognized. 

The man clenched his jaw as he used his free hand to shove Becca away with such ease it sent her back to the floor; but she immediately crawled back to her feet and continued her rampage. 

Natalie was pulled forward and released, falling to her hands and knees in the middle of the room where she cradled her head in her arms. 

The man reared back with his right hand and hit Becca across her face, hard. Her head snapped to the side as she stumbled backward, yet again falling to the floor. This time, she couldn’t get back up fast enough. Vision blurred by tears and the daze after being hit she stayed on the floor where the man looked down at her. His boot pressed against her chest, pinning her against the wall as Becca struggled under the weight. Her little fingers clawing into the black leather boots and pants tucked tightly within them. 

“Get her out of here.” The man snapped his fingers, pointing at Natalie with the same hand. The other guard at the door moved from his post towards Natalie as she cowered away from him. 

He took the gun from his side and aimed it at her. Telling Natalie to move as he flicked the gun towards the open door. Natalie stared down the barrel, eyes flicking to Becca. She didn’t want Becca to see her blood spilled, she had seen enough. So, Natalie shakily pushed herself to her feet, swallowing down the lump in her throat. 

Becca’s eyes locked onto Natalie as she watched the teen girl step towards the door. Her hands slipped off the man’s leg, reaching out as if she could grab Natalie and hold her back. The man watched with amusement as Becca’s fighting weakened. 

“Natalie, don’t go!” Becca wailed. Natalie didn’t dare turn around, she couldn’t face the fact she was abandoning another sister, blood related or not. Her hesitation was met with a harsh shove and the barrel of the gun pressed between her shoulder blades. Natalie stepped out of the room and out of sight. 

The guard pinning Becca finally released his hold, regarding her with a smug look as she stared out the room, silent tears running down her rosy cheeks. He turned and headed for the door, long strides getting him halfway across the room before he heard quick steps coming up behind him. He faced Becca again as she ran up, fists in a fury against his stomach and side. He stumbled back in surprise, gloved hands reaching down and trapping both her wrists. She kicked, landing a painful shot into his knee. The man sucked in a sharp breath and lifted her off her feet by her arms, tossing her aside to the hard floor. 

She landed on her tailbone and elbows, crying out as it felt like skin split against her bone. Satisfied, the man watched her for a moment longer and then was out of the door. Then, there was only the buzzing of the light and the panicked breathing of the woman cowered in the corner. Becca lay on the cold floor, jolting with sobs through gritted teeth. She was angry, terribly sad, and alone. Natalie was gone. 

“Why didn’t you do anything?” Becca spoke up minutes later, voice cracking from emotion. The woman in the corner glanced up from her lap to the girl that stared at her with a mix of despise and plead. 

“You’re too young to understand.” The woman stated. Becca glared, turned away, and slowly stood. Her eyes searched the room, floating up to the dangling bulb. It swayed slightly, just out of reach. 

Becca jumped, fingertips grazing the smooth glass. It swung softly back and forth from the touch, black and white wires holding it in place. She kept jumping up, trying to grab the light and yank it down but she wasn’t tall enough. 

The woman watched Becca struggling, figuring out what the child was trying to do. 

“Don’t be stupid,” The woman warned. “You’re going to make things harder for yourself if you piss them off.” 

“I don’t care.” Becca responded, grunting as she jumped up and missed her target again. The woman fell silent before she stood on wobbly legs and stepped to the center of the room. Becca stepped back warily, green eyes studying the woman as she reached up and stopped the bulb from swinging. 

“What are you going to do with it?” 

“I’m going to hurt them when they come back.” Becca answered, looking at the woman’s hand around the bulb with hope. The woman unscrewed the light, basking the room in darkness as she handed it to Becca reluctantly. 

        The door swung open, squeaking its rusted tune until it stood against the opposite wall. Fluorescent lighting fell through the doorway like a landing strip to the back wall. Becca lay with her back to the light, curled with her knees to her stomach, arms tucked against her chest. The woman was sitting up in her corner, eyes following the same two guards that had taken Natalie. 

The dark eyed guard held his left hand up, stopping the other at the door as the corner of his mouth twitched into a smirk.

“What happened to the light?” The blonde guard asked his counterpart, glancing up at the empty socket. 

“Must have burnt out. Now, shut up, will you?” He replied arguably in a harsh whisper, eyes locked onto the girl. 

The blonde guard opened his mouth to say more, decided against it as his coworker crept towards the sleeping, unsuspecting girl. He knew by the way the woman stared at him that something was wrong.

The dark eyed guard stood over Becca, toes of his boots almost touching her back. He leaned over her, studying her pale face and dark brown hair matted with sweat and dirt. 

Her breathing had quickened, eyelids fluttered ever so slightly. His grin grew as he crouched, leaning his tanned face close to her ear. 

“I know you’re awake.” 

Becca’s hands uncurled from her chest where she gripped the aluminum end of the broken bulb in her right hand. Jagged pieces of thin glass clung loosely to their base. Their eyes met for a quick second, the guard’s growing wider as the glass came towards his face. 

He jolted backward, arms windmilling as he was thrown off balance and to the floor. He quickly held his arms over his face as Becca swung out wildly with her makeshift weapon. The shards of glass cut his exposed forearms, thin lines of red forming where she had sliced him. It stung but it didn’t hurt him enough to stop him. He lunged out with his right leg, hitting Becca in the stomach where she stumbled backwards. 

The woman amidst the sudden fight shot up to her feet and ran towards the open door. The guard there was too busy watching his coworker, hands fumbling for his gun in panic. She was inches from the door when the guard pulled his weapon, noticing the woman coming straight towards him. 

A single shot hit her in the head, her body stopping and crumbling to the floor. Blood pooled around her body as the guard stared at the now dead woman, horrified. The gun in his hands shook, the rest of him frozen. 

Becca had lunged again as the other guard tried to get to his feet, plunging the glass into the back of his shoulder where it chipped off and stayed. He yelled out in pain, eyes shining with rage at the child who had bested him. 

Becca glanced at her weapon, the glass was short, most of it lay on the floor where it had fallen from the silver knob in her hand. Her index and thumb bled profusely from where her hand had slipped too low and caught the short pieces. For now, the pain didn’t seem to bother her. The consistent ringing in her ears did. The shot was deafening, startling her to drop her now useless weapon and head for the door. 

The guard at the door had snapped out of it and now faced Becca with wide eyes as she ran towards him. He took aim, quickly lowering his weapon and stepped aside as she flew past him and into the hallway. When he faced the room again, he saw his coworkers' angry face approaching. 

“What the fuck are you doing? Grab her!” He yelled, voice ragged and deep with loathe. The blonde guard stammered, slipping his gun into its place on his hip and reached for the radio on the opposite side. He brought it to his lips, pressing the button on the side and told whoever was on the other end that one had escaped. Then, he followed his coworker. 

Becca turned left, finding herself in a long hallway with rows of similar doors. She ran towards the end where the hall came to a stop and branched right and left. She hesitated, spun left again just as a bullet hit the wall in front of her. White and grey pieces of concrete burst from the wall where the bullet embedded itself. 

“Don’t! You’ll damage the meat!” She heard one of the guards yell out behind her. Their footsteps grew closer as they gained on her. Becca panted heavily, felt her heart beating in her throat as she came to an opening at the end of the hall. 

There stood a man wearing a bloodied white apron, cigarette burning between two red fingers. The left and right walls held rectangle windows viewing into rooms that matched the man's appearance. Becca didn’t slow down to try and see what was in those rooms, she couldn't. Not with the bloodied man dropping his cigarette and lunging at her as she passed. 

The hallway was back, this time shorter and ending at a small opening where a stairwell went up or down in the corner. She went up, using the black painted handrails to propel herself up each step. Tears began to blur her vision as she slowed. Legs aching for rest. The past month she had been doing nothing but pacing, sitting, and waiting. 

The stairs ended, putting her in another small opening. This time one with a large, metal door. She went for it, one hand wrapping the flat handle. Then both hands, pulling, yanking. The door wouldn’t budge. Echoing footsteps came up the stairs, closing in. Becca squeezed her eyes shut as she yelled in frustration, using all her strength to pull the door off its hinges. To no avail. 

Tears flooded her eyes, rolling down her cheeks as she grunted through gritted teeth not letting up on the door. Her muscles burned, screaming at her to stop but her mind wouldn’t let her. Not until she felt hands enclosing her wrists, peeling her fingers from the handle. Becca ragdolled, kicking and screaming as the two guards wrestled her down. One holding her ankles, the other her arms. Finally, she began to tire and stilled, panting while she stared up at the grey ceiling into the fluorescent light that buzzed above. 

“Thought you had us there, huh?” The dark eyed guard laughed maniacally,  breathlessly as his face covered the ceiling. All three of them turned their heads towards the door as a short electronic beep came from it. The deadbolt within the mechanics of the door slid back and it opened. 

The dark eyed guard slid out of view, scooting himself closer to the stairwell to make room for the opening door. There, towering over them was another man, dressed in all black. Behind him, one in a suit. 

The new man looked slowly from one guard to the other, icy blue eyes emotionless as he did. Then, he turned around, whispered something to the man in the suit before turning back to the three as the suited man stepped away.

“This the one that escaped?” 

“Yessir.” The blonde guard answered timely, worried eyes staring up at him as he clung to the still girl's legs. The tension in the air dropped as the man let out a short chuckle. The dark eyed guard’s lips twitched into a nervous smile as he started to laugh too. 

“Why are you laughing?” The man turned his attention to the dark eyed guard, his lips now drawn in a tight line. “You let a child almost escape,” He scoffed. “What happened there?” The man pointed at the guard's bloody uniform where the piece of glass still sat lodged in his flesh. The guard stammered as he formulated his response. 

“She stabbed me!” He finally spat out, grimacing down at Becca as his grip tightened around her wrists. 

“How’d she get the weapon?” 

“A light bulb.” The blonde one said, the man looking at him to say more. “She used a broken bulb.” 

One of the man’s thick, blonde brows raised in surprise. 

Becca lolled her head to the right, staring out into the brightly lit hall between the man’s legs as they were talking. She wondered how close she was to seeing the sky again. Or if she ever would see it again. 

“You two, get back to work. I’ll handle it from here.” The man said. Both guards looked at each other, hesitant if they should actually go. After a second, they decided to listen. Becca was released from their holds and slowly sat up, pushing herself against the guardrail of the staircase to distance from the new man. Her fingers interlaced as she held her knees close to her chest. He could see the blood that marked them and the terrified look in the wild green of her eyes. He smiled.

“I sent those two away, they won’t hurt you anymore,” He spoke softly as if coaxing a stray dog. “How old are you?” His eyes sparked with a friendliness Becca hadn’t seen since she first met Natalie. 

“Eight.” 

“My daughter is the same age,” He lied. “Kids shouldn’t be in this kind of place.” He glanced away with a frown, eyes rolling around the room before he said more. “Do you want to get out of here?”

“Yes!” Becca answered, body sitting upright as she was given a lifeline. Then, she shrank back down. “But my friend, she’s still here…”

“What’s her name?”

Becca regarded him for a moment before saying the teenager's name.

“Tell you what,” The man smiled gently. “If you trust me and you do as told, I will take you to Natalie.” 

Becca paused, mulling over his words as she analyzed his face in search of deceit. In a matter of seconds she agreed. The man couldn’t help but grin at her reaction of frantic nodding.

“Now, the question is, are you prepared to do anything to see her again?” He asked, reading the desperation on her face. 

“Yes.” Becca answered, unknowing to what she was agreeing to do.