Walking the Ruins

The fire and ice of anger

Anna, Rose, Kevin and I are sitting on the hard, stony ground, in a row, a wall behind our backs. Our captors have formed a half circle around us, their weapons ready. Most of them are sitting, too. The only one standing is Emma. She keeps throwing glances along the alley towards the bunker, apparently waiting for Jan.

"Carl!" Anna, beside me, interrupts the brooding silence between us. Her gaze is directed at her brother, her eyes wet with tears. He scowls while he scans the scenery around us but never looks at Anna. His hands hold a dagger, handle close to his body.

"Please," she says, an appeal that tugs at my heart. "Talk to me."

He finally looks at her. "Why are you with them?" With the last, angry word, he glances in my direction and points the tip of his dagger at me, as if singling me out as the representative of evil.

I feel tempted to spit on the ground before me in order to complement the image, but I just watch him, raising my eyebrows by a few millimeters.

"They're good people," Anna says. "They took care of me. And they want to help."

"We don't need no help," he replies, his words now softer.

"Yes, you do," says Anna. "We do. We can't go on living in the Reduit. The world out here is wonderful, and it gives life. The Reduit's a dead end."

It takes me a moment to remember that the Reduit is their name for the bunker they live in.

"And..." Anna says this single word in a grave voice, which makes me look at her in wonder. She opens her mouth, closes it again, just to open it once more. "What Jan does to the villagers... it is a crime. An abomination. It has to stop."

No one replies. One of the men takes a noisy breath. He's the one with the mustache—Emma's secret boyfriend. He sits beside Emma, who is staring at Anna, eyes wide open.

Robert, the doctor, is the first one to find words. "Wait till Jan hears this." He grins in obvious anticipation.

"You all know it," Anna appeals and gets up. "What Jan does is wrong. He deprives the villagers of a real life. And us, too."

"Enough!" shouts Robert and gets up as well. He approaches Anna, holding the shaft of his spear like a stick, raising it to strike her.

"Robert! Stop!" Emma's voice is shrill. "Sit down, both of you! And shut the hell up. Everyone!" She points the pistol first at Robert, then at us.

Robert and Anna both sit down again.

"Let's see what Jan will say about this," Robert mutters.

And then we wait for Jan, in a silence heavy enough to stifle our breathing.

It must be mid-afternoon when he arrives—alone. When he reaches our group, he stops. He plants his feet apart and holds his gun with both hands. 

His gaze scans our group, and he smiles. "Well," he says, "what an interesting catch. Welcome, everyone."

He steps closer, stopping right in front of me. "Leona, so good to see you! I'm happy to have you back." His voice oozes fake-friendliness.

I stare up at him, studying the hair growing out of his nostrils, but I remain seated.

He moves on to Anna. "Get up!" he says gruffly.

She rises, keeping her eyes on his.

Once she stands, Jan moves the rifle to his left hand, then gives her a backhand slap. The force of the blow carries her off her feet and into the wall behind her.