The soldier kneeling in front of the podium. Eyes staring at him with anger. They once felt fear of them. Now just hatred, that feeling that they once felt, no longer there.
His English is horrid. Loud and irritating. It's like scratching my eardrums. Kneeling his hands interlocked. Eyes drowned in ugly tears and mucus. Makes me recoil, more than once.
I turn my attention elsewhere. The girl, around same age as me. Tears on her beautiful face, dirt as well. And clothes that are barely, just barely covering her. Along with two bodies behind her. Both of men that tried to escape but ended up dying in the process.
She staring at me as well. That's what I'd like to think. Her pupils don't really look like she is staring straight at me. More like in my direction and beyond me. Her eyes tell a story that I can't explain or understand unless it is told.
"You will kill him..?"
The tone in my voice. Sounds sarcastic but is genuine… genuinely curious. To know if she can.
'Can she kill him? This wasn't the perpetrator of who sullied her body.'
My body skips a beat. I stare down at my hands. Pale. They have lost some color.
'What about me? How could I kill. That was the first time I have ever killed someone.'
Hands, then the begging man, now the girl that was assaulted. I look at the three of them in that order. Blood, tears and aggression. I look around worryingly.
'I'm gonna throw up.'
I try finding a house, or ruins, around this place that I can go to. I find one, a one story house that has crumpled on the front. Exposeing the inside. White House interior, burnt black, furniture can barely tell how it looks.
Making my way there, I turn and go around back. Not wanting to be seen. I soon as I am out of site from the people. My whole stomach goes inside out. No food entered my mouth, I have not ate, not even before we got here.
My vomit watery, splashes onto the ground. Making dirt fly up and splash my shoes of the wetsuit. I hold onto the side of the wall for leverage. Stopping for a second to breathe, I feel it in my chest. It aches, pumping blood faster and faster till I can just barely stand.
Again I vomit, still watery, and a horrid hue of brown. My eyes teary and red. I try gasping for air but my body doesn't let me. Water continues flowing out, leaving a taste, a bad taste in my mouth. Finally stopping, I breathe in a large gasp of air. Still holding the wall to stay standing.
My back in the direction I came from. My side facing the wall my left hand being my only thing holding me up. Pool of brown vomit lying at my feet. Kicked up dirt on the shoes of my feet. Wiping my forehead, sweat a lot my body feels like I can't bring myself to stay standing.
I turn planning to go back to the people. The escapee is there his body lying on the ground right next to him is the same soldier that tried to run. Going to his body, out in the open. I look towards the people all celebrating and now in the opposite direction which just looks like endless road riddled with burned house and endless bodies of the dead.
Turning back to the people they aren't paying attention to me. Only hugging those around, praying, laughing, crying. Except for some, those are the ones that lost it all. Family members, close friends and their sanctity.
'I need new clothes anyway. Might as well search him for anything.'
Grabbing the man by the shirt I drag him beside the building, out of sight. He has on a regular combat uniform, a button up. Opening it he has a white-tee shirt under it and a picture placed on the bottom of the collar. I grab it and pull it to my face.
Another. A picture of the soldier but not with a bullet wound inside of his forehead. Holding a child about the age of two. A girl, her teeth just barely growing in from her mouth. Hugging him, tightly. Another woman, her face light freckles and some wrinkles in her face. Still beautiful. Shes kissing him on the cheek. Smiling same with the soldier.
Shes wearing an amazing white dress and a veil. The baby girl, wearing one that could rival the beauty of the woman's dress. The man wearing a suit with a flower in the chest pocket. Behind them shows words in the foreground and with a white background. Flipping the picture. Shows words and numbers, a date.
December 12, 1933
That's the date but the words, in a language I can't understand or translate. I sit him up against the wall and take off his button up. Pulling off the wetsuit. Exposing my naked body and putting on th shirt I take his jeans as well. Large cargo pants. He has a bigger build than me so it would be hard to keep them on. Thankfully he had a belt.
Fully taking it off the wetsuit. For a short minute, I'm left in a white- tee shirt and Hanes red underwear. Putting on the cargo pants, buckling it then zipping it up. I tighten the belt around my waist till I feel it not sliding down. Then I lock it. I reach down to the bottom of the pants and roll them up as to not drag them on the ground.
I now continue searching the inside of the button up the soldier had finding some small things on the inside pockets and some cigarettes in the front pockets. Nothing useful.
'Damn nothing, this guy had literally nothing.'
Another idea shoot through me. His pockets, I never searched through it. Reaching in deep, these pants have really deep pockets. A jingling sound comes from the left pocket. A silvery necklace, appears in my hand. A necklace with a locket. Opening the locket is the same three people. The man the daughter and the woman.
'The man had a wonderful life. He had it cut short.'
Life is ungrateful to those that have experienced the tragedy of war. Whether it be the war we fight inside or the war between countries. We can't go to war and leave expecting to not come out changed or unscathed.
I put the necklace around his neck and cover him with the button up. He should at least be like this at the very least.
"HELP!!"
A scream breaks through from the people. Making me jump to my feet and rush over to see what's happening. The crowd is blocking. But a small glimpse I'm able to see right past them to see the soldier up holding a gun to the head of a young girl. Around five, white jet black hair, can't really tell from where I'm standing but dark brown eyes. Wearing a white shirt, with gray faded overalls.
I rush over, pushing past the crowd to make my way in front of them. Men and women all crowding around making it difficult to get past. I have a hard time trying to make it past them. I try to stay standing and push hard past them.
A man is the only thing in front of me blocking me from getting passage to them. A big fat guy with a white, collar, shirt tightly, tucked into his gray jeans.
A woman grabs my arm holding it tightly. Looking the exact same as the little girl. Just taller older and more wrinkles in her face. Wearing the same thing as the girl, presumably holding her son just shorter than her. Begging me with teary eyes.
"Please, save her, my little girl please."
I give her a nod. A nod as reassuring as possible.
"I will ma'am."
I grab the man by the shoulder. He pushes me back his face has anger on it. He's red and… and scared. He doesn't show it but I can just faintly see it. I try grabbing him and slowly pulling him backwards he doesn't look back only staring straight at him. Only one time he looks back at me. He looks ready to die for her.
"You need to move back. I can handle it."
He grabs my collar stretching it. About ready to pull the tee off of my back. He doesn't let up off of me. His red face staring right through my eyes.
A gun shot goes off. The soldier that's holding the girl hostage shot into the air. That's when he finally let me go. The woman with the boy came up and pulled him away.
He starts rushing through a sentence that I can't understand. Holding the girl tighter and tighter. She crying bad. Just about the same way he was crying mere minutes ago. Pushing the gun against her head. The girl no older than ten.
"Ok… ok, man keep calm ok, I will listen to you."
Again he's rushing through his sentence. This time he picks up the gun and waves it to the people around. Behind me a few shrieks and some screams. The soldier starts sweating, a lot.
"The people yeah… yeah what's wrong with the people?"
My hands stretched in front of me, showing I'm unarmed and not dangerous to calm him more. He continues speak in a language that I don't understand. Yelling at the top of his lungs of what he demands but I don't understand.
"English please, I… I don't understand you."
"He saying to, "tell the people to back up"."
The girl, that was r*ped still there. Translating for me. Telling me what he just said.
"You want the people to leave, right?"
He gives a nod, a fast nod. Pushing it once again, against the small girl temple.
Turning I signal for the people to leave. Waving my hand back. The crowd slowly dispersed people started hiding behind ruined houses and wall that were tall enough to block them.
Only four people stayed behind. The mother, the supposed father and the son. Along with the defiled girl. She stays kneeling there in the same spot.
He pushes the gun against her temple again and screams something at her. He holds her should in a death grip his knuckles turning white.
"Shut up. He's talking to the girl."
I turn my attention away from the soldier. Paying attention to the little girl. I wave my hands to get her attention.
"Hey, hey, you understand me?"
She looks up at me and nods he head her face covered in tears. Red eyes she tries wiping it but he squeaks her tighter.
"Ill get you out of here okay… so breathe in and out.. okay. In and out follow me."
I take a deep breathe in:
"In."
She fllowins me taking a deep breathe in slowly stopping her loud gasps and screams:
"Out"
Again she follows me. Each time I did the I lifted my arms up and down. Depending on whether I said in or out.
"Continue doing that okay?"
She nods her head and takes deep breaths.
"Hey… hey man I'm here tell me what you want."
He starts saying words but he doesn't get through the full sentence before he's cut off but the two yells of the mother and father.
"NO!"
They yell in unison. One in anger, the father. The other in sadness. I start hearing her crying. The man stifling his. I can hear him holding it back.
"What did he say? Come on."
Looking down at the defiled girl. She finally speaks after a while.
"He's going to take the girl and he's not coming back… neither is she."
I turn my attention back to the man. He slowly sidestepping.
"No.. no don't take her."
Nearly rushing up to grab her, he pushes the gun further up against her head. For a while she has stopped breathing in and out, once again screaming, crying.
"Hey. Hey slow down just let her go and take me. Okay, look unarmed."
I lift up my shirt and spin around slowly showing I'm not dangerous now putting my hands in the air.
He lifts his gun to my face, finally letting go of the little girl. She runs straight to me and expresses me giving a hug as tight as she can. Bending down, I hug her back and push her to her mother.
She follows my instructions and runs to her family. My hands in the air. Slowly he makes his way to me. Stopping just far enough away. Yelling something in my face. Over and again.
"Turn. That's what he said."
She answered one last time, before a gun shot goes off. A sharp feeling scratches right past my lower temple. Blood splatter across my face. A dead stare right in front of me. The man has a bullet wound in his head.
He drops he gun and falls forward his head slamming against my shirt, leaving a red mark of blood, going down, right before hitting the ground with a large thud. Behind him from where we previously came from is Don a rifle in hand. He put down the soldier.
Not only did he kill him but apparently he killed the other and the one in front of me, with a smile on his face. A great big smile. He killed him with glee…