“Nothin.” The second man said, belligerently.
“Bullshit, what did you do?” Bart asked, his voice now nasty and he squeezed the man’s leg viciously, eliciting another scream. Bart kept pressure on the wound and the man thrashed around screaming.
“We killed them, we killed them. Okay? Jesus, stop.” He cried, weeping now, once Bart let go.
“What did you do to the women and children?” Bart whispered closely to the man’s ear, his hand still on the man’s leg, beginning to apply pressure.
“Raped and killed.” The man cried, and Bart grabbed onto the man’s leg with both hands and squeezed hard. Quinn could see the veins popping out from his neck. He laid a hand over Bart’s hands, the injured man now howling mindlessly.
When Bart let go, he smiled viciously at Quinn.
“I could do this all night.” Bart snarled.
“Yep, and he deserves it, but you’re going to scare the girls.” Quinn said, reminding Bart of his granddaughters, who would surely hear the man’s cries of pain. Bart seemed to come back to himself and grinned ruefully.
“Yeah, forgot about them. Sorry. What shall we do with this piece of shit?” Bart grunted, sitting on the ground.
“Go get the tractor, we’ll take them down the road, west of here. If the asshole is still alive, you can finish playing with him and then we’ll leave the two shitbags to rot.” Quinn said dispassionately, causing the injured man to groan in terror.
“Good idea Marine.” Bart sniggered. He got up to his feet and left Quinn.
“Please, please, don’t let him touch me again.” The man panted. Quinn detected the scent of urine; the man had pissed himself.
“Is that what those women and children said when you raped and murdered them?” Quinn asked conversationally and the man began to cry. A vicious smile crossed Quinn’s face. He’d help Bart with a little torture of his own.
Ӝ
Topeka, KS
Ian wasn’t sure what time it was, his body screamed for release. Behind him, he felt Megan move and shift. There was little room in the culvert, and they’d laid there for hours. Their escape had been a success, they’d moved across the field while all eyes were on Anthony and the fight. Ian heard it but didn’t dare look back. He and Megan made it to the slight gully then went to their bellies. They moved as fast as they could along the low terrain, weeds, bushes and saplings covered their retreat.
They made it to the culvert which was roughly three hundred feet from the bus. There was heavy weed overgrowth in front of the culvert and Ian had gently pushed the grasses aside. Megan belly crawled, backwards, into the culvert and Ian followed after her, going in feet first. There was barely any room inside and he could feel the rounded walls squeeze him. He was careful not to kick Megan in her face. He held his water bottle in front of him, not wanting to damage the bottle. That would be all the clean drinking water he had until they made it to his home.
Though muffled, the sound of the altercation still raged on. Other voices interjected and after about ten minutes, things quieted down. After another ten minutes, Ian heard the sound of the tillers starting up and work began on the field. The guards had not noticed their absence. His heart had been thundering and he’d felt like weeping.
“I think we’re safe, at least for now.” He’d whispered and it echoed in the close confinement. He’d felt Megan squeeze his booted foot. The culvert had been dry, for a long time. He detected no scent of moisture or mildew. They’d laid there the rest of the day, catnapping. They didn’t have food, because it would have been a death penalty, had they got caught before their escape. The day had dragged on, but then the sound of the tillers had stopped and twenty minutes later the bus had started up and then left. They didn’t move for a long time.
“I think we should get out of here, now. If they realize we’re gone, they’ll be back.” Ian said and began the slow painful crawl out of the culvert. Coming out, the sky was tinging lavender. It would be dark in another hour or so.
He bent and helped Megan out, she handed him her bottle. She smiled at him and wiped at tears, her face filthy and streaked with dirt.
“I didn’t think we could do it.” She said, looking around the empty field.
He grabbed her hand and began pulling her along, an urgency inside him. They moved to the road, where it would be easier to walk or run.
“I hoped we could. With that many people, the guards had become complacent. Once they get back, someone might notice. But, if we’re lucky, it might be a while.” Ian said and began to run, a slow jogging pace.
“Tilly will have to report us missing, otherwise, she’ll be implicated.” Megan said, keeping pace beside him.
“I know, but I think she’ll buy us a little time. All we need to do is get to a place and find some clothing that isn’t this bright freaking yellow. We’re like goddamned beacons out here.” He puffed. They stopped talking, saving their breath for the run. There were fields all around them, and it was a half hour before they saw a house in the distance. They cut across the field to get to it. Both panting heavily. When they got to the house, they slowed. Both knew this would be dangerous.
“Hello?” He called from the edge of the property, roughly thirty feet from the house. He waited, trying to get his breathing under control. He couldn’t hear much, but the beating of his heart. He sucked in a deep breath and held it, then blew it out. He wiped at the sweat,
