“Wait, please.” He lifts his hand.
She zaps him again.
“You will be punished for your indiscretion, as it is by God’s will.”
“What? Please, no,” he mutters in pain.
“Silence!” she says, zapping him again. “Pain is for the wicked; pleasure is for the obedient. Those who defy the Lord’s will shall be punished aptly,” she says. “Now be gone before I report this behavior to a patriarch.”
The man gets up on two feet. “Praise the Lord, have mercy,” the guy mumbles, clutching a chain around his neck before quickly taking off.
She watches him leave before scribbling something in a notebook she tucks away again as soon as I get off the ground.
“Do not try anything,” she says, pointing the Taser at me. “Get back to your hut. Now.”
“Why do you do this?”
She doesn’t reply; she just stares at me.
“What about the other girl? Did you take her too?”
I look around, but the girl is nowhere to be found.
Shit. She must’ve been caught somewhere else … or she’s still in there, too afraid to leave.
“Unlike you, she actually follows rules,” the woman says, coughing.
So she never left … damn.
I thought she’d at least be brave enough to try. Maybe she’s already given up the fight.
“Submit to the Lord, captured, and your sins will be forgiven,” the woman says.
I make a face and snort. “I don’t want to be forgiven.”
She licks her dry, cracked lips. “Suit yourself.”
She pulls out what looks like a baton. “Go. Now.”
I contemplate fighting her, but I know I’m outmatched. She has all the weapons. I have none, except this stupid sharp object I used to open the door. Wait …
I don’t think. I lunge at her with everything I have, stabbing her with the sharp edge of the camera. Straight in the chest.
She heaves and stumbles away, pushing me off her. Blood seeps through her clothes. I stop to stare for a moment, surprised by my own violence, my own hatred toward a woman I don’t know, a woman I don’t care about and don’t ever want to meet.
I look down at my bloodied hands, which are shaking relentlessly, and I feel disgusted. Horrible. And in my terror, I sink to the ground, just as the woman in front of me.
Guards come to us, some of them grabbing the woman, pulling her away. Two others clasp their hands around my waist and drag me back to the shed.
I don’t even fight them.
I don’t make a sound.
I’m stunned by my own ability to hurt someone like that by my own violence.
And as they close the door on me, I rub my stained hands on the walls and floors, desperate to clean myself of the sin I committed.
But nothing can rinse this stain from my soul.
Noah
“Patriarch …”
I lean up from my prayer and look at the man standing in the doorway.
“You’d better have good reason to interrupt my prayer,” I say.
He nods. “The capture escaped again.”
I get up from my knees, shouting, “What? I thought I told you to replace the cameras!”
“We didn’t have time. She burst past the guards,” the elder says, sighing. “And … she wounded an elder’s wife.”
I frown. Clearly, I’ve underestimated her. “Is the elder’s wife okay?”
“They’re still working on her in the infirmary.”
“Good … keep me updated,” I say, and I take a deep breath.
I will truly have my hands full with this girl.
“What about the girl? Is she subdued?”
He nods again. “Back in the cell. So what now?”
I stare at him. Has he lost it? I just told him what to do.
“Then fix the cameras like I told you,” I say.
His lips part, but no words come out. Then he nods again, and says, “Of course, Patriarch. I will send a helper to do it.”
“And put better guards on her hut. I don’t want her escaping again,” I say.
“Of course,” he says.
“That is all,” I reply, and he gets the message and leaves.
I don’t want to know how they fail to secure my captured. I only want to know how and when she finally submits.
But it appears I can’t leave it to them.
Time to take matters into my own hands.
Natalie
I can clearly hear the girl crawl around the room, but I don’t know what she’s doing or where she thinks she’s going. Maybe she’s losing her mind just as I am. Or maybe she’s ready to give in to them.
I’m sitting here in a corner, trying not to think about my bloodied hands and how much I’d love a shower right now. My mind can’t stop going back to that moment when I stabbed that lady with the sharp camera piece, and I can’t stop wondering if I killed her.
If I’m now a murderer.
A shiver runs along my spine.
Suddenly, the door creaks open, and I look up. The light creeps in, and I block my eyes to prevent it from blinding me again. A guard steps in and disappears into the same darkness that’s surrounded us for days.
Where is he? Is he coming to get me?
I brace myself against the walls, prepared to fight him off.
A squeal emanates from the left side of the room. It isn’t mine.
“You’re coming with me,” the guard growls.
“No, let go of me!” the girl says.
“Wait!” I yell. “No, wait, don’t take her!” I beg, feeling my way along the wall to try to find them.
Right then, the guard appears in the door opening, with the girl held down on his shoulder. She struggles but is no match for his strength as he carries her outside.
I run toward them, yelling, “Take me instead!”
But the door is slammed shut right in front of me.
I slam it with both hands. “No … not her. She didn’t do anything.”
I punch it a few more times, but it’s no use. I have no way of getting out, no more weapons to use, nothing to pick the locks with. I’m here in the darkness, all alone once again … and it kills me.
The thought of having to spend more time in this cell without any companion is like death itself. With her, I had at least someone to share my pain and fears with. Now I have nothing but my own thoughts. Nothing but myself to keep me company … To drive me insane.
I crawl back into my trusted little corner and curl my arms around my knees.
Suddenly, the door opens again, catching me off guard. The light casts a silhouette around a man’s body as though he’s an angel come to rescue me.
He steps into my cell without hesitation, and I inch back until my body is right up against the wall, and I can’t go any farther. Even though the darkness makes it impossible to see, I know he’s right in front of me. His cologne penetrates my nostrils, and his breath is on my skin.
I shudder, my lips quaking as he touches my cheeks.
I’m expecting punishment for hurting the woman, for breaking the camera, for not being compliant.
Instead, I’m caressed so gently that it breaks me into tiny little pieces.
Tears stream down my face as the man pets me softly. After all these hours spent here, I almost forgot what human touch felt like. My head instinctively leans into his hand, desperate for more, even though deep down, I know this isn’t right.