Our Broken World

Chapter 2

The two options I have in mind are – either the Mixed got to someone or the gangs are killing that someone. Either way, we need to run. I grab Mikey's hand and pull him behind me, running as fast as I can. I feel Mikey trying to slow down, because he can't run that fast, but I don't stop. I start running even faster.

The screams are getting closer to us, but I realize I hear something else. The sounds of an engine starting. They've got cars and maybe ever motor bikes.

Things on wheels and with motors are a rarity these days. There's not much gas left at gas stations and most vehicles have broken down or have been destroyed, but there are some still useful. Like the ones behind us that are getting dangerously close to us.

My father used to be a motor racer when I was little, so I know the sound of a motor bike when I hear one. And right now, I hear more than one. My instincts immediately tell me we can't outrun them, so I know our only option is to hide.

I pull Mikey into a bush that I think is big enough for both of us. As the bikes get closer and closer, I become fully aware of the fact that we can't outrun them. So I make a plan in my head, thinking we'll hide instead, and hope they don't see us.

While we hide in the bush, we both pant nervously, and try to keep still, praying to become invisible, while a gruesome scene unfolds in front of us.

A woman runs past us screaming, but a guy on a motor bike catches up with her, grabs her by the shirt and slams her to the ground.

''No, please!'' She yells, crawling away from him on all four. She turns around, now facing him, her face full of dread and horror. She's so afraid she can barely speak. I would be, too.

She slowly backs up, but he gets off his bike and threateningly stands above her.

That's when another two guys on bikes reach them and get off.

''Do you have her, Tom?'' one of them says.

''I sure do,'' Says the one standing above the woman, in a southern accent.

He laughs and adds: ''Boys, hold her down. When we get back, I won't get another chance. Might as well have my fun with'er now.''

I realize in that moment what they're going to do. They're gonna rape her.

I don't want Mikey seeing or hearing something like that, so I cover his eyes and ears as hard as I can. Before I do that I whisper into his ear: ''Just hold on a bit. It's gonna be over soon.''

When the other two men grab her arms and legs, a car drives past them and stops. It's a small pick-up truck, like the ones farmers once used to have. Safely positioned in the back, instead of some hay or working tools, is a cage. In it are a middle-aged man and a little  girl. She can't be more than 12 years old.

The girl cries out loudly, while the man bangs on the steel bars yelling: ''Let her go! Please, she didn't do anything to you!''

The man hovering above the woman with his pants down, replies, his gaze fixated on the woman, who is wiggling and screaming beneath him. ''Maybe not, but I'm 'bout to do somethin' to her. Come on sweetheart, don't fight me.''

The driver of the car yells out to them: ''Tom, we don't have all day. Just hurry up and get it over with. We need to keep moving.''

I look over to the man behind the wheel and suddenly notice two inscriptions on the side of the truck: The Monster Slayers; and underneath that: The Gladiators.

The woman screams and I shift my attention back to her. I see 'Tom' swinging back and forth as he rapes her. He's finished before I know it, gets up and says: ''That wasn't so bad now, was it?''