Page 33 of Calico Descending

I slide my gaze to the left, where Bryani stands at the end of the line holding her bowl, her eyes wide with horror. I can’t let her see them do this to me. Whatever she’s done to keep this place from touching her, ruining her, will be shadowed by the sight of them removing my fingers as a warning to others. With the weight of shame bearing down on me, I nod back toward the soldier.

“Very well.” He yanks Neela forward and flattens her hand onto the counter in front of me.

Oh, God, no.

Screams echo over the hums and gasps, and I can’t bring myself to look at Neela, as she cries and wriggles in the soldier’s grasp.

“Please! I won’t do it again! I beg you! Please!” Her pleas are the cries from hell that beat against my skull, and I will myself to close my eyes, to shut them out, as he lines the blade across her flattened fingers.

But I can’t.

“Wait!” Before I can stop myself, I reach out and grab his arm. “Please.” Deep breaths can’t bat away the dizzying calm that settles over me, as if my body is acting on its own, without any direction from my head. “She didn’t steal it. I did.”

Its only reflex that encourages me to look him in the eye, and when I do, something evil shadows his stare. He gives a nod toward the kitchen leader, but it’s another soldier standing behind me who takes hold of my arm, splaying my fingers across the table beside Neela’s. Through panicked breaths, I look up to her and back down at our fingers that, in seconds, will be severed from our hands. “No, please,” I whine, knowing my protests are futile. “Please don’t do this. I’m begging you to be merciful, please.”

Hot liquids splash against my uniform, and the soldier’s grip loosens.

“Leave her alone!” Bryani cries out, and she jumps up onto the counter. In an act of sheer lunacy, she charges toward us and jumps onto the guard’s back.

A roar of shouts follow, and chunks of bread fly through the air, toward the guards, as the other girls in the Commissary launch an attack.

I spin around to see my sister, clinging to the soldier’s back, as he spins and claws at her arms.

She bites his ear, and he bellows, reaching back to grab hold of her face. She must bite his hand, because he jerks it forward, before launching it back, smacking her in the head.

I lunge toward him, taking hold of his arm before he can hit her again, and the movement knocks him off balance. He tumbles toward the floor, and on impact, Bryani releases him. I steal the opportunity to stomp my foot into his groin, and on a shriek, he cups himself, rolling over to his side.

Smiling down at my sister, I reach to help her up to her feet.

She smiles back.

A crack echoes through the Commissary, and at first, I don’t know where it comes from. I glance around, noticing the girls who cling to the other soldier, tormenting him with their clawing and kicking. Other girls go still, as if they heard it, too.

Another crack, and my gaze snaps toward Bryani, whose hand slips out of mine. She falls backward onto the white tiles, where a shadow of red has begun to crawl from beneath her body. It grows bigger and bigger, spreading farther out from her.

A force strikes the back of my head, so hard it sends a painful fizz up into my sinuses, and my vision blanches to a pale white. Pain cracks against my cheek, and I realize I’m lying on the floor. The room spins around me, but I manage to set my sights on Bryani, who lies beside me. When I reach out for her, my arm slides across a pool of wetness, and I take her hand. Tears fill her eyes, so wide with fear, and I can’t tell if it’s the white haze from before, but her face seems to be paler, more gaunt.

“Cali?” Blue lips tremble as she lies clutching my hand. “I feel cold. So cold.”

The corners of my vision are closing in on me, shrinking the scene before me to streaks of reds, whites, and blues.

“Bryani?” I feel her hand slip out of mine, and I blink hard, catching a glimpse of soldiers dragging her across the kitchen floor. “Bryani!” Clawing at the tiles, I force myself toward her, following the path of blood left behind. “Bryani, wait!”

Her feet disappear around the corner, into the corridor.

Through tears, I hoist myself forward again. “Bryani!”

They never come back when they’re dragged away.

Chapter 18

Present day

I stare off toward the corner of the room, where the nothingness hides in the shadows. Not the nothingness. The massive pain in my ass. Literally.

Lips tight to cap my frustration, I lower my gaze to my hands, resting atop my crossed legs. For the last twenty minutes, we’ve sat in silence, and every minute that passes is a threat to my sister.

Bastard hasn’t even apologized for the punishment I took on his behalf.

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