The Freaks

chapter five

Then, without a warning, he raised the gun to Leo's head—

And pulled the trigger.

Dara screamed as he fell backwards, blood from his head sprayed everywhere: the ground, the wall behind us, even Dara and us. It was everywhere.

My heart was pounding and all I could do was watch the blood drain from Leo's head, creating a small pool around him, expanding larger and larger the longer we watched.

Dara was crying so much now that she didn't let the Soldier take her blood. Gravel Voice got so angry she cut Dara's arm with the knife and let the blood from that drop onto the device.

"Ah!" Gravel Voice exclaimed loudly over her crying. "Twenty as well. Perfect."

Dara's screaming was cut short as she shot her in the head too.

I felt some of her warm blood splatter against my face but I still made no sound. It's like all the screaming I wanted to do was just in my head, overwhelming me and making me dizzy.

I just wanted everything to end. I wanted this all to be a bad dream.

But it happened, right in front of my eyes.

As Gravel Voice came closer to Zaire, it took everything in me not to shove her to the ground and kill her like she did my friends. But Scar Face was standing just behind her, the same little, wicked smile playing across his lips, like he found enjoyment in what he was doing to us. They made me sick to my stomach.

"Your turn, young man," she said, kneeling in front of Zaire. Her smile was pulled as taut as the hair behind her head. She tilted his face up with a grip to his chin and stared at him for a moment.

Which gave Zaire the perfect amount of time to wrench his face from her grasp and bite down hard against her hand.

Gravel Voice screamed and shot up from the floor, falling to the ground a moment later as Zaire knocked his shoulder into hers, blood dripping from his chin.

"Run and hide!" he shouted at me before he took off straight for Scar Face, who was just watching the scene unfold before him with wide eyes.

Gravel Voice composed herself and pointed the gun at my head as I was just about to rise from the ground. "Stay right where you are before I put a bullet through your skull as well," she said loudly, looking over at Scar Face and Zaire who were pretty much wrestling by now.

Scar Face punched Zaire in the face, watching as he was falling to the ground, hands trying to clutch at his bleeding nose, but didn't do anything as Zaire kicked him hard in the groin, twice. The Soldier doubled over in pain with a loud grunt, curses spewing from between his lips.

Gravel Voice's head kept whipping from me to Zaire and back again, deciding where she should have her gun pointed. She gave up deciding and kept it on me, her finger poised on the trigger.

A groan tore from Scar Face's throat as he stood up again, pulling his gun from the ground. "I've had enough of this!" he shouted, reloading his weapon as Zaire scrambled around on the floor, his hands still clasped with the restraints. Zaire's back hit the wall and his eyes went wide as he looked over at me.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, speaking only to me despite the two Soldiers before us.

My mouth opened, ready to reply, but I didn't get enough time as the male Soldier clicked a few bullets into place and shot Zaire twice in the chest without a moment of hesitation.

The world shifted and went a different colour as I watched Zaire's body go limp against the wall, the red of his blood soaking up his gray T-shirt. A scream tore through my throat and I would have felt it if I wasn't suddenly numb.

I lurched forward to try and get to him, but one of the Soldiers pulled me backwards and held me down until I stopped struggling under his or her weight.

Tears were streaming down my cheeks and my throat felt so raw and everything was hurting so much that I didn't even feel Scar Face prick my finger and take my blood. His smile faded as he read the device, showing it to Gravel Voice who must still be holding onto me, the cold metal of the gun pressed against the back of my head.

"Sixteen," Scar Face said, shaking his head.

"Help me get him up," Gravel Voice replied. Their voices sounded miles away, and I had a sense of them yanking me harshly to my feet, but I still couldn't feel anything.

I gave one last look at Zaire's still form before they dragged me away with them, out of the house and to whatever was waiting for me in this harsh world they were slowly taking away from us.

* * *

I shoot up from my bed and heave great, racking breaths.

I blink into the darkness until the familiar surroundings come back to me at once. I'm still in the Ghetto. I'm no longer in my old house with my friends. I touch the wall next to me to stop my mind from feeling disorientated. The cool stone is a great contrast to my hot skin.

My trousers are soaked with sweat and my skin burns as I lean my back against the wall behind me. I press my hands against my eyes and it takes me a moment to realize I'm crying, silent tears streaming down my cheeks.

God, my nightmares haven't been this bad since they first brought me to the prison. The whole time at the house was just one continuous nightmare that it started to blur into one. I must've triggered the memory when I spoke of them to Serena.

I mumble my friends' names into the darkness surrounding me, consuming me as I blink away the image of their bodies covered in blood, no matter how much it has already haunted and burned into my mind.

When my breathing finally slows down, I let myself lie back down onto the mattress, my head sinking into the pillow slowly. My laboured breathing is the only thing I tell myself to focus on as I stare up at the cracked ceiling. I don't sleep. I can't sleep, no matter how much exhaustion is eating away at my mind.

I force myself to keep my eyes open, too afraid of what I'll see if I close them again.