I carefully closed the door behind me, without making much noise.
There were boxes piled high; I vacillated between looking for food, and investigating my surroundings.
I strained to hear a conversation drifting from an open door at the end of the hall. I stealthily walked down the lit corridor, to its source. From the slit of the half way opened doorway, I could make out a girl and a guy sitting on a long table. There was an open bag of cookies, and bottles of fruit punch on the table.
I slammed the door open, and walked directly to the table, intent on grabbing some cookies and punch. They looked up to me startled, and with choreographed synchronicity, they each pointed a gun to at me.
I was faster.
I grabbed a punch bottle and started drinking it, oblivious to them for the time being. I did not ask for permission to grab a cookie - I simply did. I took four of them and sat down on an empty chair in front of them. I was too hungry and grumpy to care at this time.
I burped.
-“Pardon me. I just happened to stop by looking for gas for my car, which is broken down about fifty-four miles east. Please go on about your business, I was looking for food, and plan to be on my way soon.” I said apologetically.
I looked innocently at both, and could not help noticing that the girl’s hands shook while pointing the gun. She was about mid-twenty; although she was pretty, her face was disfigured by a scar running vertically along her right cheek.
-“Relax! I’m just trying to find a place to rest and freshen up, as I intend to seek the gas station attendant tomorrow. Besides, I was told there was a gang of no good people roaming around here, and I saw a dirty bunch gathering at the pool hall on Main. I did not want to run into them.” I said with a soothing tone, while attempting to placate the woman pointing the gun shakily at my head.
-“I’m Jim. Listen, I’m going to go bring something to eat here, so you too can talk this over. I’m glad you didn’t run into those people. I’ll be back in a bit.” Jim said as he put his gun away, and walked out of the room.
-“I’m Sylvia. I was lucky to find shelter here as well after I escaped from the camp. There are several of us here, and in other parts of the city. We hide in the mall, the library, the hospital, schools. We hide from the bad guys, and wait.” She said after putting away her gun as well.
-“Who are the bad guys?" I asked, although I assumed it was the golf cart gang.
-“Those guys you saw riding the golf carts kidnapped me, when I too stumbled into this hell town. They ganged raped me, and beat me, and then expected me to cook for them during the day. There were other women held captive by them too. I was lucky I escaped when they were too drunk to notice. They are the bad guys. Although the people hiding here and elsewhere would say that the bad guys are the ones in authority. They refused to get a chip implanted on the right hand, without that chip one can’t buy or sell anything now. Every move, every correspondence is surveilled. Our rights have been eroded.” She said.
I gathered the cookie crumbs off the table to eat these as well and bid my time. These were stale chocolate chip cookies. Why was it that what she said echoed an article I had read in the Sunday 'Los Angeles Times' on abuse of women in the Congo, where they were brutally beaten, gang raped by thirty of forty men, and made to cook for the enemy soldiers?
This must be some freaky nightmare. What else could I expect, when Coty mentioned that one of the women of her temple had contributed her story to the group as testimony of evil on earth. She said that her father had raped her, and the baby that had been a product of that rape was eaten alive by her own father, and he happened to be a Satanic worshiper. I had to stop visiting Coty, if those visits lead to this type of nightmares. I felt shivers down my spine.
To be continued….
