Several hours later the sky finally darkens. Carrying the jar with acid in one hand and the knife in another, I proceed toward the village. I soon see the small familiar shacks and can make out voices up ahead of me. I conceal myself in the brush as guards walk past.
Shielding myself behind the houses and occasional piles of rubbish, I walk toward the shack where they hold my mother. I swallow hard, trying to fight my increasing anxiety. I know Samuel will kill them all should I fail.
Luckily, the street is empty. I guess Samuel ordered all the servants to remain inside their houses tonight. I wonder where he and his guards are staying. Maybe they’re spending the night inside Dimitri’s mansion.
I stop short, still several yards away from the holding shack. I watch the guards, feeling adrenaline shooting through my veins. These guards must have come from Central Settlement. They’re wearing different uniforms. I tightly wrap my fingers around the knife’s handle. My heart pounds so heavily inside my chest that I worry the guards may actually hear it.
I suddenly realize I can’t do it. I can’t kill these guards. It’s impossible for me. But what I can or can’t do doesn’t matter at the moment. All that really matters now is what I must do.
I glance along the street. Nobody is around. It’s now or never.
I take a few quiet steps toward the guards. They still don’t notice me coming out of the shadows. They appear sleepy, eyes half-closed.
“Hey,” I say softly.
They both turn my direction. The same instant I splash the acid into their faces. The guards let out anguished cries, rubbing at their eyes. They can’t use their rifles, disoriented and startled by the intense pain. The skin begins to melt off their faces. I stand unmoving for a moment longer, watching in shock, and then stab the nearest guard in the throat. He slumps down as I turn to the second guard. He crouches on the ground, still rubbing furiously at his eyes as he calls for help. Terror paralyzes me for a split second. I realize somebody may hear him and then more guards will come.
I slide the blade repeatedly into his back and side. I don’t fully comprehend what I’m doing. I just attack him out of desperation, doing what I think I must. The guard sprawls over onto the ground. My hand itches and burns. Shaking, I clinch my teeth in pain. Some of the acid must have spilled onto my skin as I was tossing it. But no time to worry about it now, I try the door of the shack. It’s locked. I look at the guards but realize I can’t search them for the keys. They’re covered in the acid and I might get burned even more.
So I take several steps backward and sprint toward the door. I hit it with my shoulder, putting all my weight into the motion. The door crashes open and I fall into the darkness, landing on my hands and knees.
“Kora!” Tanya wraps her arms around my neck, kneeling beside me. “I knew you’d come to rescue us!”
She laughs excitedly, but I’m not paying the little girl any mind. My mother sits in the corner of the shack, her face bruised and swollen.
“Momma, are you all right?” I sob, scrambling back to my feet. She stares at me in terror. This is not the same woman I spoke with last night. This is the old broken version of my mother who has no fight left in her.
“What are you doing here?” she whispers. “You must leave! Samuel will kill you if you’re found.”
I grab her arm, pulling her up. She shakes her head, shivering and pleading for me to leave.
“Please, come with me!” I beg, feeling my eyes begin to sting.
“You must leave now!” my mother demands, pushing me away.
I realize she won’t be escaping with me. I’ve killed the guards and the door is wide open, but my mother is too scared to walk through it. My legs give and I drop to my knees in front of her.
“I can’t survive without you,” I say.
“Of course you can,” my mother smiles. “You’re much stronger and braver than I ever was. You must try to do what I couldn’t. Leave now, go and forget me.”
“How can I?” I breathe out. My voice cracks and I can’t speak.
My mother sighs. “It’s too late for me, Kora. I’m too tired and broken. I don’t have the will to fight and be on the run.”
I have a flashback of Amethyst crying inside the cage and pleading for me to leave her behind. I feel like screaming.
I reach for my mother but she again pushes me away.
While I’m trying to persuade my mother to escape, Tanya struggles with her relatives as well. Her mother, a young scared-looking woman, protectively hugs her other daughters who are hardly older than Tanya. Her father stands beside them, a lost expression on his hollow face. They all remain silent, watching Tanya and me as if we’re dangerous animals. Tanya begs them to leave but nobody listens. She grabs her sister’s arm, pulling her toward the open door. The little girl slaps her hand away and hugs her mother.
“I’m not escaping,” Tanya’s sister cries. “I’m a good servant.”
“Samuel will kill you all!” Tanya exclaims.
I close my eyes, unable to comprehend everything. Why won’t they escape? What’s wrong with these people? What’s wrong with all of us?
I recall Gabriel’s words. He said nobody truly has freedom. We all do as we’ve been taught. Years of obedience can overcome any desire to be free or even a fear of death. We’re all slaves to something.
I feel
