Away We Go

We were crouched under the small rusty metal plate. I heard footsteps near our hiding place. I guess Grace heard them too, because she started to cry a little louder this time.

‘’Shh… it’s okay Gray, we’re safe here’’, I whispered into her little ear to calm her down.

She was only 10 and she has been through so much, I was amazed that she was still here with me, this far away and so close to the goal. Thomp, thomp, thomp. The footsteps were getting louder and louder. I tucked Grace and myself further into the corner, trying to make the less noise possible.

‘’Come out, come out, wherever you are…’’ a ghastly and deep voice rang across the room.

More footsteps.

An old lady’s high-pitched scream, puffing for air.

A gunshot, then nothing.

To be honest, I was terrified to death- let me tell you that. But I couldn’t show my distress, it would only worsen things for my precious little sister.  We were all hiding from him. From them. It was dark and damp. We could all hear the droplets of liquid that fell from the pipe. Every three seconds, one more fell to the concrete and rigid ground.

I don’t remember how many folks were hiding down here. At least twenty in the beginning. We all thought we were safe, that they wouldn’t come all the way down here. What do you know? They actually did. How many were we after the first few gunshots? Already 10? Grace and I got lucky and managed to hide in a shadowy corner, protected by the metallic plate above our heads.

‘’This is for your own good… Trust me, just come out. It’ll be quick,’’ again, that horrendous sound. I risked to take a glimpse at the man through a small crack. He was very big- at least six feet. He wore a suit- I couldn’t really tell its color. He was shielded from head to toe. We recognized them by their gasmask that they seemed to have sewn to their mouth and nose. In his hands was a large gun, engraved ‘’LIVE’’.

A tiny cry from a baby. Maybe just a few months old. The most innocent sound… The man walked and squatted next to what seemed like a small container.

‘’No! No, please! Spare the ba-‘’

I looked away as the terrible sound of two shootings rang in my ears once again. I turned around and saw Grace. My beautiful little sister. What had I done to her? Her long hair was messy and all tangled up. She had obscure circles under what used to be her stunning brown eyes. They now seemed gray and empty of life. That light she used to have vanished away. Her face and body had lost a lot of fat and I could only see skin and bones. She had her small hand over her mouth, retaining her from screaming. I nodded and put a finger to my mouth ‘’You’re being good, keep the silence’’, my gesture meant.

Thomp, thomp, thomp.

Did I make any sound? Did he hear me?  I knew it- I should have stood up and run away, he probably would have missed me in this shadowy area. But instead, I curled up against my sister and held her tight. I wanted to tell her. Tell her that I loved her and that she was one strong young lady. Tell her that everything was going to be alright, and that we were going to get out of this safe and sound. But I couldn’t. One single word spoken too loud would reveal my location.

Two more footsteps.

‘’There you are,’’ the man shouted, his hideous mask right in front of us.

‘’Grace, run, I lo-‘’ but she was gone too soon. It was already too late. He had raised his weapon and fired away. She disappeared, forever. Everything I had left had just gone away, just like that. How can a life be so easily stolen?  My dear sister that I loved and took care of for 10 years. I’m sorry, mom, dad.  I don’t know what I looked like when I turned around to the man. Insane? I felt the hot metal tip against my temple. Through the mask I could see in his eyes- solitude, rage, culpability, cruelty. I made sure he saw mine too- they were filled with pain, lost, wrath.  ‘’This is going to get back at you, one day’’ I thought. He seemed to have gotten my message, because I saw him frown behind the equipment. Maybe eyes do tell a lot after all.

I took every last bit of courage I had left and spit to him ‘’I pity you, you broken piece of-‘’

A gunshot, then an empty and vast infinity of darkness.