Page 15 of The Devil's Den

“Get away from him!” Aida throws her fists onto his back, while the other man yanks her away.

“Agnelo!” he calls. “Get your damn kid out of here.”

Another set of footsteps descends until we see him, the man who brought me here.

“Didn’t I tell you to get the hell upstairs?” Agnelo yanks her by her hair, dragging her up the stairs.

“Matteo, no! Please, Daddy, don’t hurt him!” she screams, her voice growing distant, but I can still hear her calling for me, even as the door bangs shut.

* * *

They put a blindfold and a bag over my head once they threw me inside a black car with four doors. I tried to remember everything I could about it right before they did, like the big scratch on the passenger side door.

Once the ride ended, someone grabbed me and brought me inside this building, where more men waited.

They all have guns—big ones, small ones. Some are even on the ground. Are they going to shoot me? I breathe out really hard and my arms go prickly, but I’m trying really hard to be brave.

My heart races as a man drags me to a chair, pushing me onto it, while another eats a sandwich while standing in front of me. The way he bites and chews, it’s so gross. He eats like a gorilla. He wipes his mouth on his sleeve, throwing the wrapper on the floor before he pulls over a chair and places it backward in front of me.

“So, kid,” he says, plopping down on it, scratching the side of his light brown hair. “You ready to become a man?”

“Wha—ahh, what do you mean?”

“You see this, right here?” He reaches for a gun beside his foot. “You ever shoot one of these?” The weapon flips in his hand and he almost drops it, causing me to jerk back with a pant. “Don’t worry.” He laughs, his body shaking. “I ain’t gonna shoot you with it.” Suddenly his face turns serious. “Not yet. Not unless you give me a reason. Do you wanna give me a reason?”

I shake my head very fast, my heartbeats hitting me from the inside, like I’m being punched over and over.

“Good boy.”

“Will you let me go?” I whisper so low, but in this big place, it sounds louder.

He mocks with a snicker. “Let you go? Like out of here?”

I nod and he laughs some more. “No way, kid. You work for the boss now. That’s why you’re here.” He glares. “To prove yourself.”

“How do I do that?”

“I’m Stan, and I’m gonna teach you. When I’m through with you, you’ll be able to fire one of these bad boys in your sleep.”

“B-but I don’t want to use a gun. They’re dangerous. They can hurt people.”

“Ain’t he cute?” He looks over at the men behind me before firing a stare at me. “That’s the point. To learn to hurt people. To become a weapon yourself. And with me as your teacher, you will be. When I’m done with you, your own mama won’t recognize you.”

“My mama is dead.” I scowl.

“Well, if she came back to life.” He chuckles, and I want to punch him in his eye.

“Stand up.” He pushes the gun toward me, like he actually wants me to get it.

I jerk away, forcing myself into the back of the chair. “Please. I don’t want to.”

“Fine.” He shrugs, and for a moment I think he really is fine with it. That is until he gets up, coming over to me, the gun digging in between my eyes as I gasp wide-eyed, holding my breath. “You ready to die, then? Because that’s your only way out of this. Death. You can join your mommy and your daddy.” His mouth lifts at the corner and my stomach stirs the more he pushes that thing into my head, my chest flying up and down with quick exhales.

“Three. Two. On—”

“Okay!” I jump. “I’ll take it.” My body trembles, tears burning my eyes, but I still get off the chair, my fingers on the gun before I hold it in both hands.

“What do I do now?” I frown, the thing feeling like it weighs a million pounds.

---