Chapter 18
The Rat Trap
Veron banged the table, cursing that the youths are not respecting the elders and ignoring the proud history of Cassandra; instead they were running around like bunch of gorillas.
“They painted at my statue and made my head green! And made red nipples! I’m descendent of gods! How outrageous!” Veron screamed in anger, slapping her wife who was pouring him the drink, his wife wailed and ran away. Melady and Titto were sitting near Veron, disgusted at him.
“Titto! What is your opinion on this matter! Huh?” bellowed Veron. Titto was forcing a smile, his lips quivered lightly. “If they are hiding inside the urban city, they will have a route which they travel frequently. The agents are looking for their gathering ground. They are already looking for a trail, trying to track them down. If the urban landscape is their ground, their hideout will be there.”
“So, are we going to find them soon?” said Veron, angrily.
“Yes, I would look first at the abandoned buildings of some sort, presumably with a history of someone committing suicide or said to be haunted, because young people loves that,” said Titto, glimpsing at Veron. “Emperor, they are just kids and not professional activists. It’ll be easy to catch them, just please consider about their punishment, just warn them and don’t kill them.”
Veron scoffed at this and threw a glass at Titto, it shattered at Titto’s head. Melady covered her eyes with her hands.
“Who are you to order me?” said Veron, frowning. Titto sighed, bleeding from his forehead.
“We have just loosened the snake to capture the rats. How are we going to get rid of snake?” Titto muttered taking out the piece of glass from his forehead; the blood flowed from his skin.
“Oh Snake? What snake? Sorry Titto, hopefully that glass didn’t do you a brain damage,” Veron laughed hard, waved him off.
“I’ll check with the agent and come back,” said Titto, grabbing the tissue and pressed his scar, Melady looked at him with teary eyes.
After Titto left, Veron started kissing and touching Melady, where she reluctantly opened her mouth, sad and nauseated. Veron’s face got red with wine and he laughed. And there was a door knock. Melady was happy to hear the noise, she pushed Veron back, but Veron ignored her. The door just opened slowly. It was Titto. Melady seemed like she wanted to cry, feeling miserable, helplessly looking at Titto to save her.
“Titto! Who taught you the manners? I said to knock three times and wait on the hallway!” Veron screamed, grabbing the plate this time, ready to throw it at him.
“They caught one of the rats, Emperor,” said Titto.
Veron’s face eased and his eyes beamed dangerously. He stood up, his face full of blood-thirsty look.
“Oh? Where is he?” asked Veron with excitement.
“In the interrogation room, Emperor,” muttered Titto.
Veron walked toward the door, pushing Titto on the way and went out cheerfully. Titto was exhausted at his behavior, searched in his pocket and took out aspirins. He just started gnawing and grinding it. Melady saw this and poured the water on the table and went up to him.
“No, bitterness actually helps,” said Titto, murmuring with the grim face.
Melady looked at him curiously and pitifully with her big blue eye. She went up to him closer and kissed him.
“… That helps too,” muttered Titto.
In the cell, the fat interrogator was beating the kid up. The skinny guard came up to him and yelled at the kid’s ear that it is a tragic event that today’s youth doesn’t respect the grand history of the nation. The poor kid was staring at the blank space, his head spinning, unable to think.
“You… You monster,” he mumbled and the interrogator kicked him at the stomach, grabbed his neck and knocked him on the floor. The guard started banging his face against the surface. The kid gurgled without screaming. The fat interrogator came closer grabbed his arm and set it up vertically and push it down against the floor. As the heavy weight and his powerful muscle pressured the arm, the bone cracked and the blood popped out and the kid screamed.
“Help! Help! I don’t know! I don’t know!” the kid cried out.
“Now, now that’s enough, gentlemen,” said the man who just walked into the room. It was Veron; he was excited at the sight of the kid.
“Someone… someone fuck. Some some one…I can’t remember what wha..” the kid blabbered, flinching on the floor with the bubble on his mouth.
“Oh, you shouldn’t mess around with the adults, kid,” said Veron, slapping him.
“I’m… I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” the kid mumbled.
“Oh? Do you? Now tell me again, come on, from your heart,” sneered Veron.
“I’m sorry! I won’t do it again!” the kid shouted with high pitched voice.
“I can’t hear you! I can’t hear you!” yelled Veron, laughing.
“I WON’T! I WON’T DO IT AGAIN!!” The kid sobbed.
Veron smiled, took his knife and draw it near to the kid’s eye.
“Now listen to me carefully, you brat. Because I will peel your eyeball like a banana if you don’t listen! Now tell me! Where is the rest?!” Veron screeched.
At that afternoon, Jake was trying to go to the nest. Diana didn’t let him to go because she heard about the ‘Rodents’ and not long ago realized Jake was in the group.
“Please, please, please?” Jake said.
“No!” screamed Diana.
“But all the other kids are playing basketball there, can I please, please go?” Jake was lying of course, he just wanted to jump around the buildings and structures freely.
Tasha was gone with Caravel for a grocery shopping. Diana was mad at Tasha recently because Tasha was interested in shooting, Alvin was saying that he does not want Tasha to become gunslinger but he was half amused at the fact she was doing well.
“I said do your chores first Jake. Cut the grass or it will breed all sorts of insects. I want you to do that first and then you may go,” said Diana.
“That would take hours, Diana,” complained Jake. But eventually he gave up convincing Diana, took out the land mower and start cutting the grass.
Jake still remembers the first time he made a jump at the ‘Rodents,’ one of them with the earphone, playing loud rock music, ran toward the end of the building and jumped. Jake ran too, jumping across the building. He tried not to look down and successfully he stepped to the next building.
Jake realized that Diana was cooking, he peeked into the kitchen and in the next moment he was running away to meet them. Today, Tasha said she might visit them too. Jake was excited; the cloud started forming and thunder roared, but it didn’t bothered much about it.
“It’s not even raining!” Jake shouted and started jumping; he howled and ran, heading toward the nest.
On the way, the rain started dropping. Jake heard the angry soldiers screaming at pedestrians. Down in the street, there was a man with shabby clothes who was being examined by the soldiers. Other pedestrians do not seem to care, but afraid, they continued to walk.
Agent Paul stared at Veron’s soldiers who were screaming at him. Paul was patrolling the region, but the luck ran out this time.
“Didn’t you hear me?” shrieked one of the soldiers. “Give me your identification!”
Paul observed those reddish faces bellowing at him. He thought about reaching for his gun, but as there were three of them, his chance of winning was low. Paul took out the wallet and hand them the identification card. The guard looked at him, matching his face with pictures and looked at him suspiciously.
“Mr. Gruen, from Carian city?” said one of the soldiers.
“Yeah” said Paul, coldly. He continued to examine the id; other soldier watched it over the man’s shoulder.
“We are looking for a certain rebels called ‘Rodents.’ They jump around between urban buildings. Do you know anything about this? It is provoking and unthinkable act which should be punished!” shouted the ma
n.
Paul realized they are looking for the kids who drew graffiti on walls, threw rotten eggs at soldiers and painted red nipples on the statue of the dictator on the square.
“I do not know them,” said Paul.
“Does it make you sweat? Mr Gruen?” The guard smiled cunningly, showing his white teeth.
Paul wanted to say ‘It’s a rain, you moron,’ but he didn’t.
The other man flipped the black notes which had the pictures of the wanted men, but he had to stop because he was hit by a soft object. He took off his hat in rage, spitting on the ground. It was the egg, a rotten scent fumed from it.
They saw the dark figure jumping across the building. They started blowing whistle and ran to capture him. But Jake was fast; he disappeared from their sight easily. Paul sighed in relief and walked away quickly. Jake easily escaped; he can’t wait to tell others that he saved someone today!
Jake hurrahed, “Now everyone in the city will see! What the people would have to say we will say! Now the…” but as he stepped his foot in front of their hideout, he stopped there coldly and did not enter.
The blood was coming out from the door.
Veron was glad when he heard the news the youth have been shot, discussing with Titto about displaying their head at the square. Titto refused so Veron started beating him with a metal plate. Later Titto ordered the officers to take the corpses and display it on a public square.
Jake didn’t believe what just happened. Jake remembered how he became the member of the ‘Rodents,’ which he could never forget. When Jake first met them, two of them approached Jake. One of them was much taller than other, wearing big shirts with large jeans, short one, carrying a skateboard, came near him too. Jake was bit nervous so he held up the wrench. And the tall one said “Oh, it is that orphan.” The short one shouted, “Come on orphan, we’ll show you what the cool kids do for fun! We heard some rumors about what happened at your orphanage!” And then the tall one said, “It is pretty hardcore, man!” They told him that they are in the club called the ‘Rodents’ the group of young people who wants to run across the forest of the urban city for fun. Jake went to the place called nest where group of people joined together with colored paint spray and bunch of eggs in the corners.
They ran in the urban landscape, as if they are released from the chains in the broken heart of the city. Amongst the grey rustic landscape, there were colorful clothes jumping around. Jake was still hearing their laughter, which replayed and replayed inside his memory. He could still hear them screaming. “Push it! Push it! Jake, don’t let that maggot take you!” They were running and tagging each other, laughing.
Jake was at the pond, just watching reflection of the moon on the water. He didn’t recall how many hours had passed. Tear didn’t flow; he was just sitting there absentminded, as if there was a huge hole in his heart. Now all of them are dead; soaked with blood and the rain washed away their red blood.
“You…” there was a sudden voice from his back. Jake looked back slowly, like some dying old man. It was Tasha, she looked furious; her hand was soaked with blood. From her look, he realized that she went to the nest and searched through the corpses to look for Jake. Jake ignored her, just turned around.
Tasha suddenly ran toward him tackled him on a puddle and started punching him.
Jake could taste the blood inside his mouth and his whole face numbed and wringed, but didn’t even bother to stop her. After a while, she stopped and started shaking; her tears dropped to Jake’s face. Jake was just lying there in the cold muddy ground while Tasha cried on his chest.