To the Land of Green

Chapter Nine

"What do you mean?" I say turning around. Eman is holding a gun and pointing it behind Nando's head.
"Eman, what are you doing?!" Manoy says.
"What am I doing? Doing what we should've done after meeting them, Manoy." he says. "Boys, tie them up."

I try to get away, but someone out of nowhere grabs me and ties my hands together behind my back.
"You took his offer?! How could you do that, Eman! He killed your family, all of our family!" Manoy says.

"No, Alvarez didn't. Before we left he told me my sister was alive. I didn't believe him at first but then one day I was hunting for food and they found me. They had my sister's necklace! They said she's alive and that I will only be able to see her if I take their offer. You have to understand, my sister could be alive!"
"That's why we were ambushed?!" Nando says turning to face him.
"Don't, Nando. Before I can't control myself and shoot you myself." Eman says.
"It doesn't matter now 'cause what I will feel is worse than death itself. Your betrayal is worse than death. You were our brother, man," Nando says.
"You," Eman says to the man behind him. "Come and hold him. Make sure you guys don't let them go, especially her." He points at me. We walk. We have no choice but to follow his orders. We can't do anything since we're not only tied and outnumbered but they have covered our eyes with a piece of cloth.
"How did you communicate with him?" Manoy asks Eman.

"Through clues. Every time we leave, I would leave clues for them to follow," Eman says, answering the question in a monotone voice.
"Traitor. No wonder why you always insisted on being with us rather than being with Fredo when we are separated," Manoy says, then spats on the ground.

After a moment of silence, Nando decides to speak. "When will you see your sister?" Nando asks.
"As soon as we get there. They will let me see her," Eman replies.
"Hey, you okay?" I ask Nando.

"Yes. I, I mean no," he says with a stutter. "The memories that I thought I left behind are going to haunt me again. You know what I mean. We were treated worse than their dogs. There would be six to each jail cell and they would only give us a loaf of bread and a pitcher of water once a day, or sometimes we only get a loaf of bread and a pitcher of water for two days," Nando says. "Nando." I want to hug him and tell him it will be alright, but with my hands tied, I can't. "We will get through this," I tell him.

"I hope so," he says.
In our world, everything went downhill, but at least we had food to eat. Every household we stayed in for the past two years had food and beverages. I know stealing is not good but in order to survive, my siblings and I had to stay at people's houses and eat their food. I guess even if we are facing a great war in our area at least we are luckier than they are. One thing I noticed is that we have more resources than them. If this had happened in our world, my siblings and I would be able to help them but that was before the Francos started assassinating my family.
With nothing to say, I reminisce about what happened to us earlier. I still can't believe how José can figure out when someone is near us. He is so much like Rosalinda. I never had that ability.

That is why when we found Ractro, Juan and Rosalinda decided to give Ractro to me and be under my care. When it comes to staying alert, I am always at loss but one thing for sure is that when I have to take care of something or someone I always do my best to keep them protected from any harm.

We have been walking for two days straight now with only a banana and a small amount of water being fed to us. I still can't figure out where Eman is taking us. I am nervous, I admit. I don't know this Alvarez man and don't know what his capabilities are.
"We are here," says Eman.

Slowly, we enter a place and yelling can be heard. I hear catcalls from men and women. Sounds of chickens and horses can be heard. It smells like dirty water here and I smell bread being baked. Someone must be baking.
"Tell Alvarez we are here," Eman says. The man must have left to tell Alvarez we are here since heavy footsteps can be heard slowly fading away. Then, a man comes back and announces, "Come in."

We start walking forward but then I slip. "Ouch." The shin of my leg is scraped. "At least tell me if we're walking up the stairs," I say to the man, angrily.
Hearing no reply, we continue walking and, after what seems like an eternity, we finally come to a complete stop.

"You may go and meet Alvarez. I will take it from here," the man from earlier says "I thought I had to take them to their cells," Eman says to the man.
"No, I got it from here."
"But Alvarez said--"

"Alvarez said to meet him and I will take care of them myself," the man says.
"I--Fine," Eman hesitates. He begins to walk past me then stops. "I am sorry," he whispers to Manoy then continues walking.
I hear the jingling of keys and the sound of a gate being opened. The smell here is awful, it smells like it has not been cleaned for years. The smell of dead rats and insects is all around me. It's wet and dirty here. Where is this place?
Then, out of nowhere, I am thrown onto the ground. I try getting back up but the man who is currently holding me pushes me down. I then feel his hands untying the ropes that were around me and he whispers, "Bienvenida."
As soon as my hands are freed, I pull down the piece of clothing that was covering my eyes.
I squint from the brightness. I can see a shadow of a man going outside a cell door with other people.
"Wait! Nando, Manoy!" I yell. "No, don't leave me here alone!"

My eyesight is still not good. While we were traveling we were only allowed to remove our masks when we needed to relieve ourselves, hence why the surroundings are still too bright. I try standing and grabbing the bars, but fall, to my dismay.