Innocence Lost
The smell of harbor water was strong. It made Ryan gag; he never did like the smell of harbors. They always smelled like dead fish to him. Even as a diver, it was a tough thing to get used to.
The boat slowed down as it approached land. In the background, the yells of fisherman could be heard; some were angry, others didn’t seem so. They were just going about their daily lives, trying to make ends meet. Unbeknownst to them, there were people in a nearby boat whose lives were going in any direction other than normal.
Outside of their room, there was shouting. The men were directing the boat over to a dock. Ryan had no idea what was waiting for him outside. It could be any number of things. “Ryan.” Harris said. He turned his head to face his friend. “Whatever happens... we need to stay together.” Harris told him. Ryan nodded.
“Agreed.” The two of them sat and waited for their unknown fates. The boat jerked to the side.
“Land ho.” someone said dreadfully. It couldn’t be determined who had said it, only that it was a man. In that instant, another man burst into the room.
“Out, two at a time.” he ordered. Starting at the front of the room, the prisoners began to leave the boat in pairs, a few minutes passing before the next pair in the order could leave. Eventually, it got to Ryan and Harris.
They stood up quietly. “Wait.” they were told. They did as they were told. Ryan stood there, but Harris listened intently.
“A car is leaving.” he whispered to Ryan. “They’re moving us in multiple cars.” Ryan nodded. He hadn’t heard any of it, but he would have to trust his friend for a while. So he believed him.
There was the sound of an unmuffled engine on the dock. The car sounded like it could use a lot of oil; it squeaked incessantly as it approached, prompting the man in front of them to cover his ears. “Out.” he ordered. They left the room and walked off the boat onto the dock.
The car that would be transporting them was old. It was a beat up, white van that, in America, would be rolling probable cause. There was nothing inconspicuous about it or the men around it. They had presumably hidden their rifles and other guns to avoid rousing suspicion, but they were still clearly questionable. Some people were always looking their way. Still, most people didn’t look. Maybe they were afraid. The man had come up behind them.
“Go over. Get in.” he ordered. Ryan refused to move.
“Make me.” He heard a click, and a round object pushed into his lower back.
“Go.” he said. Harris moved forward, pulling on Ryan to get him to move. Once at the car, they were aggressively shoved in. As of yet, no one else was in the car. Harris turned, clearly upset.
“What was that?!” he asked.
“I needed to check if they had concealed weapons. It would seem that they do.” Ryan responded. He thought for a moment. “In hindsight, that was probably a bad idea.” he said.
Harris scoffed. “You think?”
There were words exchanged outside the car, and something slammed into the side. Yelling followed soon after. “Sounds like someone made a bigger mistake than me.” Ryan commented. Harris looked at the back door of the van. It swung open, and two people were literally thrown into the back of the van. Harris and Ryan didn’t go to help them. The door slammed shut, and the two people sat together in the van, huddled close.
Ryan looked at them and realized that he was looking at a mother and her young son. She looked distressed; who wouldn’t be, if they and their child were held by human trafficking terrorists? She couldn’t have been older than thirty years old. She was attractive. The woman had brown hair, striking green eyes, a decent figure, and clearly groomed herself well. Her son, who couldn’t be older than six, was in hysterics. He was crying loudly, babbling nonsense words. His mother tried to calm him down, but to no avail.
Ryan, and by now Harris, simply observed the mother and son before them. The mother clearly was not confident about the situation. Her son could sense this, and knew that all her condolences were hollow and filled with air. They were both terrified of the unknown fates which awaited them. Would they be separated? Would they be rescued? Or would they suffer the greatest fear of all; death?
Harris was visibly struggling to keep himself from yelling at the child to shut up. His hands gripped his knees until his knuckles were white. Crying won’t help anyone, he probably thought. They needed to stay calm, or they would all be killed. Noticing Harris’ frustration, Ryan spoke up. “Hey, kid.” he said. The boy kept on crying. “Kid!” he said louder. The boy and his mother looked at Ryan. The boy was bawling. His mother was looking terrified. She seemed to be expecting harsh words. “We’re gonna be alright.” he said. That was all he said. He turned his head away, not knowing what else he could say. He heard no more crying.
The boy’s mother held her son close to her, letting him cry much more quietly into her arms. She looked over at Harris and Ryan. Harris had calmed down, loosening his grip on himself, and Ryan had closed his eyes. Neither of them spoke. “Thank you.” she said. Ryan looked at her. “What’s your name?” she asked.
“Ryan.” he replied. He pointed his arm at Harris. “And this is Harris.” The mother nodded, cleaning up the tears on her face with her sleeve.
“I’m Nadine. My son is Joey.” she said. Ryan nodded. Harris didn’t move.
They were quiet for the rest of the ride. The only sounds that did come were grunts from hitting bumpy patches of road and landing hard on the floor. The little boy, Joey, had fallen into a mild sleep in his mother’s arms. Nadine held him tightly. Ryan and Harris sat in silence, staring into nothing.
The van screeched to a halt. Toward the front, doors opened and slammed shut. People spoke outside the van. They approached the back door and opened it casually. Their conversation halted. “Out.” one ordered. Nadine and Joey went out first, followed closely by Harris and Ryan. The men pointed their guns at the group, an AKM and an FN FAL. Not wanting to be on the receiving end of the weapons, the group did whatever the men said.
They stood in an orderly line behind the van. The two armed guards stood stock still. They were waiting. “What are we waiting for?” Ryan wondered. Deciding not to go into that trail of thought, he observed the building before him. It was two stories tall, few windows, mostly wood. It looked old, almost abandoned or condemned. No one would think to look here for criminals. It had one visible door, several holes in the ground in front, and a dozen armed men circling the area. “They don’t like visitors.” he thought grimly.
The front door swung open and a man walked out. “Greetings!” he said. Agni Narendra. “I already am familiar with you two.” he said, pulling out his pistol and pointing it nonchalantly at them. Ryan shook in his spot, trying to suppress the memory of his first encounter with this man. “You two, however, are new to me.” he said. He walked over to them. Joey ran and grabbed his mother’s leg. She put her arms around him as a shield. “No need to fear me.” he said. “As long as you do as I say.” Nadine looked at Agni coldly. “Good!” he said. “Now, it is my understanding that some of you have been frustrating to work with. Well, if you want to leave without pain, that ends now.” His voice took on a very dark tone. “You know what I mean quite well.” he said looking directly at Ryan.
His breathing speeding up and his heart racing, Ryan replied, “Kill yourself.” He hadn’t thought before speaking. Big mistake.
One of the guards came up behind him and hit the back of Ryan’s knee with the butt of his gun. Collapsing, Ryan put up his arms to defend his head. It was a good thing, too. Agni came forward and kicked Ryan in his forearms. “What was that?” he asked. Ryan knew better than to respond. “I didn’t think so.” he said. The guard behind him yanked Ryan up by the hair and had him stand. Ryan put his arms at his sides, large bruises and welts beginning to appear. “We will keep you all here for a time. I cannot say what will happen here.” Agni announced. “After all, the only rule is that the merchandise is to remain alive.” The man was getting sick enjoyment from this. “Bawa mereka masuk!” he yelled. Ryan did not know what this meant, so he didn’t move. A rifle butt hit the back of his head lightly. “In.” he heard. He did as he was told.
The group was brought in and guided down a long hallway. The building was very long, and each time they passed a room, Ryan looked in. In each room, there was someone doing something. In the first, a man was flipping through a book. In another, a man was cleaning and oiling his AKM Assault Rifle. In others, men slept.
At the end of the hallway, there was a small staircase going down. The guards behind them pushed the barrels of their guns into Harris and Ryan’s backs. “Down.” they were told. Again, they did as they were told and went down the stairs. At the base of the stairs, there was a large metal door. As they approached, a man behind them spoke. “Buka pintu. Kami memiliki lebih.” With that, the door swung open, revealing two more guards. These two had handguns. “In.” they were ordered.
The group went in, Nadine and Joey first, into a large basement type room. It was big; at least ten feet tall, with light fixtures hanging a foot below the ceiling. They were all fluorescent, casting an unnatural, painful light all around. The guards were unphased; spending hours on end in a room like this could mess with your eyes to the point where you don’t notice. On one end of the room, there were more doors, these ones all made of wood. There were three, each one about seven feet tall, made of old wood.
Their guards led them to the one furthest to the right. One of them opened the door. “In.” he ordered. As per the norm, they did as they were told. Once inside, the door shut behind them. They were presumably out of earshot.
“Dear God, I thought they would kill us!” she said. Her outburst startled her son.
“What?” he asked, growing teary eyed. Before it could grow out of hand, Ryan interjected.
“No need to worry about that. They need us, if they want their money and popularity to stay up. They aren’t going to kill us.” Seemingly satisfied, Nadine hugged Joey firmly and sat down.
Harris walked up to Ryan. “You’re right, they do need us. Do you think we could use that?” he asked. Ryan shook his head.
“Probably not.” he whispered. “They still have the other prisoners. Truthfully, if we cause trouble, we’re expendable.” Harris swallowed hard.
“Damn.” he said. Ryan concurred, and they sat down, silence engulfing their small group once again.
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Luna returned to her room after spending some time around the castle with her guards and subjects. They had provided her with fun victims to her pranks. But now it was time to get serious. She opened up her staircase and descended down to the pool. Without taking up her paper pad and quill, she laid down and cast her spell, sending her apparition into the world of Ryan.
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She appeared in the room with him and Harris, and two new people. One was clearly a “woman”, the other her son. On the other side of the room sat Harris and Ryan, sitting together in silence. “Ryan.” she said. He looked up and tapped his head.
“Glad to see you could make it.” he said. Luna nodded.
“I told you I would be back. Tell me all that has transpired.” she requested. Ryan shared with her the men, the compound, and the two new people before her. At the end, she looked down. “I see.” she thought. “Do you know how long you will be here?” she asked. Ryan shook his head.
“No. We could be here for hours, days, or weeks for all I know.” he replied. Staring into her eyes, he made a request. “Can you get this information for me?” he asked.
Luna looked down at him. “I shall get you the information you need. Anything else?” she asked. Ryan thought for a moment.
“Can you find out how many guards there are, and their armaments? We can’t hope to fight them, but the more we know, the better.” Luna nodded, and turned to go through the wooden door.
Looking around, she saw several men with death instruments hanging around, smoking, playing cards, or doing other casual activities. Again, Luna couldn’t help but display her disgust. That there could be any being so casual about causing such suffering was forever beyond her. Deciding not to dwell on this, she searched the room for Agni Narendra. He would be the one to know these things. While she searched, she counted the guards; there were seven in this room. Including Agni Narendra. Luckily, Luna’s translation spell was active. “These people will likely get us quite the profit.” he said. The men around him at the cards table gave their approval with various “ha”s and “Ya”s. Luna approached and sat to listen. “The rest will be here within a few hours. Once they are here, I will arrange for transport to Sumatra.” This was met with even more approval. “They shall rue the day that they played games with the will of God!” he shouted. His men gave several variations of “hoorah”s. With that, he left the table and went up the stairs. Frustrated with his lack of giving information, she followed.
In the hall, she followed not less than five feet behind him. Not that it mattered. Being and apparition, no one could touch her, not even Ryan. She passed right through two guards as she made her way down the hall. “Nine guards.” she thought. Looking back at each guard she passed through, she looked at their weapons. “Large weapons. I must ask him for the specifics. Different ones may present different dangers.” She continued to follow Narendra all the way outside. Once there, she looked around. There were two guards outside waiting, one was in the large, white, wheeled contraption, and one was on the roof. “Thirteen guards, all with large death instruments.” she thought. These odds were not in the favor Ryan and his friend. Narendra spoke.
“Welcome!” he said to the approaching pair of captives. “You are now-” he was cut off.
“Shut it!” one of the captives yelled. “Do you know who I am?!” he yelled. Narendra cocked his head to the side. “I am the mayor’s son! Of Darwin! You can’t hurt me. Send me home!” he mayor’s son demanded. Narendra nodded to his guard who knocked the boy to the ground. Luna flinched at the sudden aggression. “Release me!” he yelled. Narendra walked to him and sat on his heels.
“You know what?” he asked. “I will let you go back to your father.” The boy was ecstatic. The guard let him stand.
“Thank you.” he said. He turned around.
Luna dove and covered her ears when she heard the loudest noise of her life. She hit the dirt with enough force to almost knock the breath out of her. Looking up, she saw a smaller death instrument in Narendra’s hand, smoke coming out of the end. Then she looked forward toward the boy. What she saw disturbed her immensely. The boy, who must have been around sixteen, was on the ground. Blood poured out of a large hole in his back. It came out rapidly, pooling beneath him in an even circle-like format. Blood flew from his mouth as he coughed. Looking back, still on his stomach, he tried to speak. Blood continued to come instead of words. “Prepare to meet your father.” Narendra said with sickening enjoyment.
“Odd.” Luna thought. “He seems to do this for enjoyment. I cannot detect any dedication to some nonsensical cause.” Not realizing what was happening, Luna got a first row seat to the execution of the boy by a bullet to the brain. She flew back several feet. “Ahhh!” she yelled. No one could hear her. They were all looking at the boy, whose head was in pieces on the ground. Bits of skull were scattered on the ground around where his head once was. Pink matter was spread over a smaller area, and blood gushed from the neck with no head. Luna looked away, barely able to keep herself from vomiting.
The boy was very much dead. Narendra walked up to the other person. “How about you? Anything special about you?” he asked. The person shook their head.
“I’ll do whatever you say.” they replied. Narendra gave a disturbing smile and walked back into the building. Luna followed, hesitant about going into the same building as this madman. Wouldn’t you be?
They made their way to one of the rooms along the hallway. Inside, it was noticeably larger than most of the other rooms. Narendra sat down. “That’s all of the items.” he said. Luna scrunched her face at him. “Now, let’s see...” He pulled out several papers, prompting Luna to move forward and read over his shoulder. They were written in a language she did not know, and her translation spell couldn’t change writing. Luckily, this didn’t matter. “We will be moving them in approximately ten days... a boat will stop by to pick them all up at the harbor.” This was the information Luna needed. But she didn’t leave just yet. “Wait,” Narendra said with confusion. Luna simply continued watching. “they’re only expecting five? We collected the others for nothing?” he said with a hint of anger. He threw the papers onto his desk and pinched his nose, closing his eyes. He heaved out a sigh. “I guess I better hope they’re willing to take more. Or that more representatives show up at the auction.” With that, he quickly turned around and walked at a brisk pace down the hallway.
Luna felt unsure. Of anything. The man had just discovered that many of his prisoners were likely expendable.
“What will he do?” she wondered. She watched with severe anxiety as the man went down the stairs to the majority of his men. He stopped at the base of the stairs. Any noise in the room ceased.
“I have new information.” he announced. Everyone listened intently. “As long as we have at least... seven or eight, people, we will have enough to send to auction. Any others are expendable.” he said. He was met with murmurs from some, cheers from others. He walked over to one of the doors. Luna quickly realized it was Ryan's. Panicking, she stepped forward as if to interfere. Before she could get there, Narendra stopped. “The two older male prisoners in this cell are to remain alive. I don’t care what they do.” he said. Luna stopped, stunned to hear this, but was overcome with joy. “The other two are entirely expendable.” he said. Her heart sank like a rock.
She walked through Narendra, and through the door. There was an expectant Ryan awaiting her return. He tapped his head. “What did you learn?” he asked. Luna looked at him with a mixture of resignation and determination, if there is such a thing.
“There are thirteen heavily armed guards, including their leader, Narendra.” she told him. She hesitated to tell him the rest.
“Anything else?” he asked. She sat down before him, settling her hoof over his shoulder to make it seem more genuine.
“You and Harris are not considered expendable. This I heard from their leader.” She looked deep into Ryan’s eyes. They were a dark shade of hazel, glassy looking and reddish in the whites. The next statement came with great difficulty.
“Those two,” she said, looking to Nadine and Joey. “are expendable. As is anyone else not within the range of the seven... most valuable.” She shuddered at her last two words. To sell another intelligent being...
Ryan bit his lower lip. What made him and Harris so valuable? These men couldn’t know anything about them. Harris and Ryan weren’t strikingly anything, really. They looked like two average boys. Ryan didn’t know about Harris’ skill set, but he knew that he had a fairly impressive skill set. Again, though, these men couldn’t possibly know about that.
Ryan looked back up at Luna, tears of a lack of understanding beginning to form. “And, when will they move us?” he asked. Luna responded matter-of-factly.
“In about ten days.” Ryan nodded his head lightly. He thought about his and Harris’ position. And the position of Nadine and Joey.
“Okay. That’s all I’ll ask for for now. Thank you.” he said. Luna stood up and stepped back.
“I will watch over you from my home. If it looks like you need help, I will come. You can also ask, and I shall appear before you.”
Ryan watched as the dark navy winged-horned horse before him began to dissipate into the air. She left his world most gracefully; it was as if she was made of silvery dust, being swished away by the wind, and carried up into the sky. Of course, he couldn’t see the sky, but he could imagine.
He turned to Harris. “I got a theory.” he said. Harris looked up at him without a word, expecting Ryan to say his piece. “We’re going to be moved again in ten days.” Harris nodded doubtfully and put his head back down. Joey snored peacefully with his mother off to the side.
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Luna wasted no time getting a move on. By now, it was after noon. She didn’t want to arouse her sister’s suspicion by staying in her room all day. She only hoped that Ryan didn’t need her.
She slowed her step. “I have taken his name to heart.” she said to herself. She couldn’t argue it; she acknowledged him as an intelligent, emotional life form. He was like her. This got her to thinking about the possibility of her being in this position. She shuddered violently at the thought. “I would never want to be in such a position.” she concluded. She looked to the sky out her window with resolute determination. “I will bring this colt home.”
She left her chambers, bringing her guard along with her. He seemed to have little on his mind, no real concerns. Luna preferred it when he felt awkward. She positioned herself in front of him. Initially, this received a confused look from Starstep, her guard. He paid it little mind at first, but after a few minutes of walking, he found his eyes wandering to her back end frequently. Luna was waiting for this. Even better, some of her sister’s guards were nearby.
“Enjoying the view? she asked in a pretendedly indifferent tone. Starstep’s face became darker. He swallowed.
“She won’t win this time!” he decided. “Ummm... yes?” He probably could have answered more assuredly. Luna was prepared for this, unfortunately. She made sure to walk close to her sister’s guards.
“I am sure thou would surely enjoy so see me perform the dance which you so willingly performed for me.” she said. Looking to his right, Starstep’s face went extremely dark as he saw the day guards snickering at him for his lack of subtlety. He stammered, clueless of what to do next. Luna stuck her tongue out and made a licking motion, making her sister’s guards burst out laughing. Starstep stood stock still. “Come.” Luna ordered. Starstep was all too eager to escape this area.
Once outside, Luna went to her private garden with her guard. The whole way, he was silent. Not a single word. In the garden was a pond. Luna laid down next to it. Starstep stayed back a ways. Feeling cheery about her accomplishment, but also bad for the embarrassment she caused him, she invited Starstep over. “Come. Sit next to me.” He did so. He stayed silent. “Come now, dear Starstep, please do not be mad. It is all fun and games.” she told him. Starstep only slightly untensed. “Those two guards? They suffered the same fate. Celestia told me about it. They are just better at hiding it than you, I guess.” A scowl plastered itself on Starstep’s face. “You know I mean you no harm.” she said. Starstep sighed.
“I know, princess. Sometimes, it just gets a bit rough with the other guys. We rarely let each other live this kind of stuff down.” he explained. “Words get exchanged, and when insults start, fights can break out. If you have ever noticed me with an injury, those would be why.” She felt terrible about this. Not only that she was an indirect cause of such injuries, but that she never asked him about them when she noticed them. She realized that she was never particularly concerned about Starstep’s well being. Feeling even worse, Luna sat on her hind end, the way he was sitting.
“If it helps, I can reduce my antics.” she said sincerely. “It would not bother me.” Starstep sighed again.
“No, no, those are fine. I can laugh about those later. And they’re a part of the routine. Missing them would be weird, and maybe even a little disappointing.” He turned to face her. “But, if you would please flaunt what you do to me less often, that would be helpful. Fewer fights among the guards, and, stuff.” He looked startled, like he made an interesting discovery. “Your highness.” No interesting discoveries here. Luna smiled, and unexpectedly pulled Starstep in for a hug.
“Okay. So you forgive me?” she asked. Starstep decided to embrace the hug, since she wasn’t trying anything. Then he saw an opportunity.
“Well, a ‘dance’ would be nice...” he said. Laughter could be heard echoing through the palace as the lunar princess stammered her response, not having expected such a statement from her guard.
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Ryan’s life wasn’t exactly consisting of pranks and forgiveness right now. He was in some guy’s basement, counting the days until he was sold to some random terrorist cell. It had been two days since he had contact with Luna, and he was feeling forlorn. None of them spoke much, but Harris had talked to Joey in order to keep him from panicking. He alway liked to ask questions. “What are those things those people are carrying?” was one such question. Harris had responded with great caution, not wanting to pannick the kid.
“Those are guns. They are very dangerous when in the hands of those who don’t understand them.” Luckily, Joey accepted this answer, and left it at that.
Today, though, not a word had been uttered. It was around noon. Voices could be heard outside the door, sometimes laughing, other times angry, and then sometimes just casual. Right now, there were some angry voices, and they were right outside the door.
Hearing this, Nadine took Joey and brought him to the other side of the room. Harris and Ryan did likewise. A few minutes after they sat down, the door burst open. “Coem dengan saya wanita!” a man yelled. He was followed by two other men. Nadine put her arms around Joey in a tight grip as the men approached. Harris and Ryan just tensed as they approached. They grabbed Nadine.
“NO!!” she screamed.
Joey yelled out, “Let my mommy go!” One of the guards shoved Joey away. Harris quickly moved to catch the child.
Ryan moved forward to stop the men from grabbing Nadine. “Luna did say that I and Harris aren’t expendable.” he thought. “I hope to God she was right.” Before the man who yelled out could respond, Ryan sent a roundhouse kick flying in a small arc into the side of his knee. Collapsing the man, he followed it with a solid forward elbow strike to his throat. Clutching his crushed larynx, he crumbled to the ground, where he lay still.
The other two guards had not expected this. While they were still stunned, Ryan moved in quickly and crushed the next one’s larynx with a bear claw to the throat. He, too, collapsed, unable to yell out through his closed throat.
The last one yelled out to his comrades in the other room. “Datang ke sini dan membantu saya!” he yelled. There was loud movement and shouting outside the room, whose door was still open. Ryan could clearly see three men running towards the room. He had to make a choice; engage the last one, or move to defend Nadine.
“Not very good odds either way.” he thought. He decided to move Nadine back.
Keeping himself between her and the man, Ryan pushed her back to the wall. Three men burst into the room. The one who was already here shouted some command. “Meraihnya!” he yelled. The men moved forward to grab Nadine. As much as Ryan wanted to defend her, he knew that he had no chance of stopping all of these men. When they came before him, one stepped up to him, close enough that their noses were touching. “Move.” he said.
Ryan was resolute. “Make me.” This response was met with an unwelcome uppercut to his jaw, gnashing his teeth together. Dazed from the strike, he was thrown off to the side where Joey and Harris sat.
Joey cried out. “Stop!” His mother screamed in her peril.
While the men pulled her out, Harris, still holding onto Joey, pulled Ryan up. The door slammed shut. Ryan’s ears were ringing, he couldn’t hear Harris speaking to him. His hearing eventually returned. “They took her away!” he yelled.
Covering his left ear, Ryan responded, “I know.” he looked to the door. He could clearly hear a large struggle. He swallowed. “Cover his ears.” he ordered Harris. Understanding, Harris put his hands firmly over Joey’s ears. Joey tried to remove them.
Ryan mouthed, “Don’t.” He stopped trying.
It was unbearable for Ryan and Harris to have to hear what was going on outside. There was immense laughter from a group of men; sick bastards. Crying could be heard, too. After close to twenty five minutes, the noise stopped. Harris looked to Ryan. “Are they sending her back?” he asked. He and Ryan flinched as a loud bang resounded throughout the basement.
Shaking, with teary eyes, Ryan said, “They just did.” Harris fell back with a defeated look, releasing Joey. He had no idea what was happening. He looked up at Ryan, tears flowing freely, gasping for air as he cried.
“I wan my mahhhmmy!!!!” he said. Ryan got on his knees and hugged the boy close.
“Shhhh.” he said. The child continued to cry. Harris trembled against the wall. “They just sent her home. She’s alright now.” Managing to slightly stifle his cries, the boy looked up at Ryan. His dark blue eyes shimmered in the fluorescent lighting.
“Really?” Ryan met his stare with his own.
“Yes.” Looking down, staring into the mind and soul of the child before, he knew what the next question was. Worse, he knew the answer.
“When do I *sniff* go home?” he asked. The question still stabbed Ryan through the heart. Taking in a deep breath, he closed his eyes.
“Soon, kid,” he told him. “soon.”
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Luna couldn’t really tell what was happening. She could hear the screams, and the laughter, but she was unsure of what was occurring. A loud bang resounded through the room. She watched with a tightly clenched jaw as Ryan and Harris did their best to keep the boy calm. “I must learn what has occurred.” she decided. Closing her eyes, she projected herself into the world of Ryan.
She stood before Ryan. While she came, he must have handed the boy off to Harris to take care of. She stood tall before the sunken figure of Ryan on the floor. “What has occurred?” she asked. Ryan made a startled noise that went unnoticed by his cellmates. He tapped his head.
“They took Nadine.” he explained.
“I know this. What did they do?” she asked. Ryan shook his head.
“I will not say. If you don’t already know, it’s best that you never know.” Luna became quickly frustrated by this answer.
“What is so terrible that-” she didn’t get to finish before a thought roared its way through his head.
“I’M NOT SAYING IT!” He mentally screamed. Luna fell back.
“Fine. But, eventually, I want to know.” she said. Ryan grunted. Harris looked at him, confused, then looked back down at the child in his arms.
“You’re not gonna.” he responded. She gave up on the endeavor.
“Is there anything I can do?” she asked. She might as well offer.
“No. You should leave while you have your innocence.” he said. Taking this to heart, she got up to leave. “One more thing,” he said. She looked at him. “don’t watch the events of the next few days.” he said. Luna gave him a perturbed look. “Just don’t.” reluctantly, she nodded her obedience, and disintegrated into the nonexistent winds of the basement.
Once back in her body, she went upstairs and sat on her bed. “Why wouldn’t he want me to watch the next few days?” she wondered. The question gnawed at her brain like a rat at wires. “A couple is two... so I’ll assume a few is three.” she concluded. There was a knock at her door. “Enter.” she commanded. Starstep walked in.
“I thought I heard you come up early. May I inquire as to why?” he asked. Luna looked over to him.
“My subject of study requested some private time.” she explained. Starstep gave a knowing nod. He had no idea.
“Do you think he wants THAT kind of private time?” she asked. Starstep shrugged.
“Sure, I mean, it is normal. Most guys like some ‘private time’ on occasion.” Luna cocked a half smile.
“Your occasions are quite frequent, I would observe.” Starstep looked terrified.
“I-I-I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She was genuinely surprised; she wasn’t being even remotely serious. There was a learning opportunity here!
“Come here.” she ordered. With the trepidation of a mine sweeper, her guard walked forward and sat next to her on the bed. “Why do so many males do... that?” she asked. Starstep stammered his response.
“I-i-it feels.... g-good?” he said. Luan looked at him innocently.
“And?” she went on.
He was in shock. “N-no other reason, really, your highness.” She was disappointed with this answer.
“Well, I’m sure that your ‘highness’ needs some attending to, so you may take the rest of the day off.” A stupid smile came across Starstep’s face, which he quickly doused with some seriousness.
“Thank you, your highness!” He sprinted out. Luna chuckled.
“Always fun.”
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It had been a day since Nadine was taken out of the cell. Ryan and Harris sat on either side of Joey, giving him the false sense of security that he needed. With his mother gone, he needed someone to take care of him. While he slept the previous night, Ryan and Harris discussed this. “I’ll keep him safe from physical harm.” Ryan had said. “I’ll try to keep him from emotional stress.” Harris responded. Concluding their roles, they went to sleep.
Now, at ten in the morning, they were all awake. The men could be heard talking outside. Who knew what they were planning.
Angi Narendra’s voice sounded out through the basement. Through the door, it couldn’t be determined what he was saying. Like it mattered. None of the prisoners spoke his language anyway. He yelled his orders at the men, who could be heard scrambling outside. Someone approached the door. Ryan got himself in front of Joey. “Get ready.” Harris said. The door opened, and in waltzed Narendra.
He could clearly see Ryan putting himself physically between him and the child. “Ambil dua.” he said. Two very large men approached Ryan and Joey. As one went to grab Ryan, he twisted away and went for a roundhouse punch, something not taught in Isshinryu, to the side of the man’s head. The other man intercepted.
“No, no, no” he said. Ryan’s face quickly met with the man’s fist. His ears were ringing once again. Everything was muffled as he observed the man who punched him grabbing Joey and dragging him out of the room. It took Ryan a moment to realize that he was following close after.
Ryan couldn’t tell where Joey was taken. He was taken to a room with a single chair in the center, underneath an incandescent light fixture. He was thrown in the chair. Looking up, recovering from his daze, he saw Narendra standing before him. “I was going to have you killed.” he said. Ryan just looked at him. “But then I thought, ‘I have come to know this one. I should keep him, if for nothing but a keepsake.’” Ryan sat up and shot an angry stare at Narendra. “See, it’s those faces,” he began, moving towards Ryan. “that get you this.” he said. He uppercutted Ryan in the stomach, knocking his breath out. “You killed two of my men.” he said. He uppercutted Ryan in the face, just to the right of his nose. He made sure not to break the bones, though. “I like my men alive.” he said. Ryan spat at the floor in his direction.
“I bet you do.” He was punched again. Narendra held his fist.
“This is clearly ineffective. Brutality almost always is.” he said. Ryan was looking down at the floor; he couldn’t see what Narendra was doing. “I prefer ‘special tactics.’” Ryan felt a liquid splash across his right forearm. Soon after, an intense burning sensation coated it like oil. “Drain cleaner.” Narendra said matter-of-factly. Ryan yelled out in pain. Picking up another bottle, Narendra spilled something else on his arm. Instant relief. “Drain cleaner is a strong base.” he said. Ryan looked at his arm; chemical burns covered it like craters cover the moon. Patchy. “It must be counteracted with an acid. Still, this is not my favorite, either.” Ryan’s expression was one of both terror and determination. “I’ll deal with it, for the kid.” Narendra pulled out a knife. “Tempatkan dia di perutnya.” The other man took Ryan and threw him to the floor. Narendra sat on top of his lower back. “What country you from? Heh, one of my favorite lines ever.” he said. Ryan gritted his teeth and bared them.
“America.” Narendra’s expression brightened like he just found buried treasure. Without a word, he dug the tip of the knife into Ryan’s upper back. Shocked, Ryan grunted, teeth still bared and gritting, at the sudden jolt of pain. It went on for ten minutes. “Done! Now, your back says, ‘USA’. I can probably sell you for twice as much now!” he said gleefully.
“Screw you.” Ryan said. Narendra made a clicking noise with his teeth. Again without warning, he slashed across Ryan’s back nine times. Unable to hold it in, Ryan yelled out in pain.
“Tempatkan dia di kursi.” he said. Ryan was thrown back on the chair and punched twice in the mouth. “Do you know why I am doing this?” Narendra asked. Ryan spat blood at him.
“Cuz’ you’re sick?” he responded. Narendra sighed.
“I am going to break you. I had hoped not to do this, but you’ve forced my hand.” He made a motion with his hand. Another man came in the room, gripping Joey by the hair. Narendra got behind Ryan and threw him onto his knees. Ryan closed his eyes, not wanting to see what was about to happen. He heard a sliding of metal, and something clacked to the floor. Someone held his arm up and pointed it forward. “You know this position.” Narendra said darkly. Ryan’s eyes shot open; a familiar handgun was in his hand. “Do it.” he was ordered. Ryan was frozen. “Or,” he started. “we will give your friend anthrax and send him home.” Ryan looked to his left at the person... no, the creature next to him.
“You sick fuck.”
Narendra smiled sinisterly. “Make your choice.” he said. Joey looked to Ryan.
“What’s happening, mister?” he asked. Ryan silently looked to the floor. “The boy will get it too.”
Rya began to cry. He was helpless. Joey was helpless. Harris was helpless. If they were sent home with anthrax, they could infect and kill dozens of people.
“Joey,” Ryan said through sobs. Joey began to cry. “mommy is home.” he said. Joey ran forward, escaping his captor. He made no move to stop Joey. They embraced. “I’m sending you home.”