Red Snow

Another day passed, their whisper conversations had become more and more frequent. I, of course, kept trying to listen in.

"Today?" Eddie whispered.

"No, we don't have enough people to pull this off." James replied, his voice slightly quivering, "But who? We can't trust anyone, not since…" I was waiting for him to finish his sentence, but he never did.

Eavesdropping on their conversation gave me an icky feeling, but I was too invested to stop. The feeling only got stronger as I kept listening, I wanted it to go away, but my curiosity was steadily overtaking all my feelings of guilt.

Just then the all-to-familiar creak of the rusty old latch trapping us in here unbolted and the loud rattling of the door began. I mentally prepared myself for the ear-shattering screams that had been plaguing my nightmares for days.

But then I heard the whispers again, "It's now or never…"

Silently, Eddie nodded in agreement and I saw a resolute look I had never seen before on him. He was never very serious, I don't think I had ever seen anything other than a smile on his face.

Time had stopped for a moment, I was frozen. I could see myself, but I wasn't me. I couldn't move, I couldn't stop them and the loud thumping in my chest began to drown out all other sounds and I could only stand by while I watched James and Eddie propel themselves silently from the spot by the dark green door where they were crouching.

They were going towards the opening door. For a moment, they looked free, bathed in the blinding light that my darkness adjusted eyes couldn't handle. I wish that was my last memory of them so that at least in my memories, they could have stayed clean.

My eyes had always adjusted quickly to changes in light, I had never thought of it to be anything other than a useless skill I was born with, but now I regretted it.

In a matter of moments, my eyes were fully adjusted, and the first thing I saw was the battered, bloody body of my two friends. Eddie was on the ground curled up in a fetal position, both his hands shielding his head from the never-ending barrages of attacks. James was hunched over Eddie, trying his best to protect him from as many attacks as he could. Their clothing was a ragged and dirty white before but now it had been stained blood red. James clutched his left eye and I could see his hand trembling. The two bodies lay in the frozen wonderland of the Northern regions, cradled by a bed of snow, slowly turning a repulsive deep red.

And because of my useless skill, I got a front seat view of what happened, beginning to end. While the other boys couldn't see anything, I saw every kick, heard every insult, and watched as my friends got beaten to death.

I tried to move, but I couldn't. I could not get my body to move, no matter he much I yelled at myself to move, no matter how badly I wanted t punch myself for not doing anything, my body would not move. I could only watch, terrified, while the pair of siblings slowly climbed the stairs to Heaven.

The clean, spotless image of the two boys now seemed like an illusion. A desert mirage showed a thirsty traveler desperate for water, then once they finally drag their exhaust ridden body to the water, they find out it was all just an illusion. The lifeless corpses of two young children now lie on the roadside, left for the wolves. The older one was still protecting the younger, even in death, determined to protect him for as long as he was still able to.

The insults the guards barked out still fresh in my mind, playing on repeat. The blaring voices of those guards, as well as the cry voices of my now deceased companions, became the new fuel to keep the blaze that slowly consumed my sanity burning.

That night, for the first time in a long time, I cried myself to sleep. I had never felt so powerless in my life. I hadn't cried so much when my dad left, or when my grandma passed away in the hands of the night guards, or even when my mother, who I had been closest to all my life, was beaten half to death by the mean wrinkle covered lady who she worked for.

The pure powerlessness I felt couldn't be compared. I had only known Eddie and James for a matter of days, but being trapped inside a truck, not knowing where you're going or what the men who took you to want with you made you get a lot closer to the people in the same predicament as you.

All the other boys were in similar states, all but one.