Love Torn

10. Death of a Soul

My body shakes with fear as I take another step toward the death trap. I don’t know the next move to even play, or the next word to even speak. It’s the hardest thing I’ve tried to do in my life, because if I make the wrong move…everyone gets affected by it.

I preach my feet to a holding stop as Athinia and Keri still try to move forward. They look at me, as I glare straight ahead; watching the other women as they take their first few steps into the baleful room.

“No. Please.” I beg, trying to keep a steady grasp on Athinia and Keri as well. “You don’t understand. This isn’t where we were supposed to go.” The two Guards keeping everyone corralled in this little hallway seem to be annoyed with me, far worse than they should be.

“Where is it you are meaning to be then?” The cocky tall Guard, with a beard in which could give him the impression of Saint Nicholas says to me. I swallow down hard and look down to Athinia and Keri.

"I-I have kids who will work hard. It would be a wast-waste to kill them off right…here and then. Give them a chance.” I stutter a bit, from making it all up on the spot. I look back ahead to the many other people walking around me and heading into the dark foggy room. They seem to not be very observant at all, for the sign hanging above is pretty self-explanatory. 

I hear the two Guards conversing something in a language I don’t understand and before I knew it, Athinia, Keri and I were being brought back; past the many women piling into the death trap and being thrown into a side room, away from the end of our lives.

“Prove you can work and we will spare your lives.” The Guards says, before slamming the cellar door shut and locking it afterwards. The only thing leaving my sanity hanging with me is the little square window in the top of the door, giving me a clear view that we’re not the only ones left alive in this world.

“What happens next?” Athinia asks, looking up into my tear filled eyes. I don’t want to start crying, but how couldn’t you? My life was torn from me, leaving me confused on the next path to take. I look at her, moving my hand up to her forehead and brushing away the hair in her eyes.

“I don’t know what happens next?” I tell her truthfully, since I’ve lost myself in this screw up of a world. “Everything’s going to be…alright though.” I lie to her, but she needed to hear it. She needs something to hang onto, not knowing the life awaiting her. Not knowing of the torturous things coming, the things no one can stop now. They have already taken control of our world, of our hearts and of our tears. “Come here.” I motion to both Keri and Athinia, who look more frightened then I do. I take a seat on the hard bed behind us and watch as they both nestle down by my side, closing their eyes gingerly as they doze off. As for me it’s harder. My mind wanders about Calix as well as Mrs. Rateno and where they both had gone. Are they safe? Dead?

My eyes begin to water as I think about the last option and I shake my thoughts away fast. They can’t be dead, but then again Athinia, Keri and I almost were back there…if it wasn’t for my brave act. Maybe Mrs. Rateno never thought about what laid ahead though and walked into the trap as easy as a mouse or what if Calix was forced to do something he never admitted to. Something in which killed him in the end, something in which will kill us all if we aren’t strong.         

I take a deep breath and lie back on the hard bed, adjusting Athinia and Keri to either of my sides. I look up to the hard stone ceiling and notice the coldness found in each little crack of stone. The coldness that doesn’t give anyone hopes, but more fear about their future. There is no way out, no way back to the days we all shared before in the meadow. The days when I found out Calix had feelings for me and that those feelings we thought were too strong to keep us apart from each other. But what happened now is something of pure irony and I hate that thought. Only a couple hours ago, I was worrying about my hair and what Calix would think about it when we had woken up. Nothing of the sorts that we were going to be split apart and heartless for the rest of our lives, left to die here alone with no hope of showing love to that person again. No hopes of living a peaceful life with that person, with dreams of starting a family and being there through the hard times we faced, but always knowing the right paths to keep ourselves on…