Live Another Day by Baileigh Higgins (finding audrey .txt) 📕

with him to stop as he shoved his hips between her legs. Their shadows played across the curtain, a horrifying show in black and white.

Even simulating the act made him feel dirty as he pretended to thrust at the poor girl beneath him. She acted the part well, crying and sobbing with piteous sorrow.

His heart twisted when he realized that for her, this probably wasn’t an act. How many nights has she suffered like this for real beneath the body of another man? How many?

When at last he could realistically end the farce, he rolled over and pretended to snore. After several minutes, the sentinel was gone, run back to Ke Tau with the news that his new man was a monster after all.

A small hand crept onto his shoulder, and Mpho whispered in his ear. “You are a good man, Michael. Now sleep. I will wake you before dawn.”

Exhaustion crashed over him. Before he knew it, slumber stole over his senses and dragged him to the deep.

The next day, Mpho kept her word and woke him when the light was still grey and the sun a distant dream. He rolled out of bed and washed again with the bucket of water she brought him and a sliver of soap.

She took his dirt-streaked clothes and provided him with fresh ones. They were old and stained, but he felt profound gratitude to be clean once more.

With small scissors, he trimmed his nails and beard before wolfing down a jug of water and a plate of food. It was the same food as the previous night, and this time he thought to ask.

“What meat is this?”

She eyed him solemnly. “Dog.”

His stomach rolled, but he forced it down anyway. He’d need the calories before the day was out. Before he left, he paused. “Thank you, Mpho.”

She nodded. “Goodbye, Michael.”

As he picked his way through the sprawling figures of snoring men, he wondered if he’d ever see her again.

***

An hour later, he stood outside a small suburban house with Ke Tau and the others. The gates were chained shut and the windows covered in newspaper. Waist-high grass covered the lawn.

There had been no opportunity as yet to escape, and he wondered if he’d ever get his chance. That damned son of a whore Hiran is watching me like a spider watches a fly circling his web.

At a signal from Ke Tau, they jumped over the gate and stormed the house. With a crowbar, they forced open the security gate and crashed inside.

Startled cries rose into the air as they barged their way through, Ak47’s pointed in front of them. Two men rushed into the hallway from the bedrooms, each brandishing a gun.

“Drop your weapons,” Michael cried. “Drop them!”

At the sight of so many guns, the two men tossed their own and raised their hands. The oldest, a middle-aged man with spectacles, pleaded with them. “Don’t shoot. Please, don’t shoot.”

The other, a youngster of about seventeen, stared at them with wide blue eyes. His coloring and features indicated he was likely the older man’s son.

“Get everyone out here, and we won’t hurt you,” Hiran ordered as he stepped forward. “Now.”

“You promise not to hurt us?” the older man asked, his face hopeful. “You won’t hurt my kids?”

Fuck, it’s a family, Michael realized.

He looked on in growing horror as the older man called over his shoulder, “Ruby, come out here. Now.”

A girl, barely fourteen, stepped out from a side door. Her hands were clasped in front of her and visibly trembled. She stared at them with tearful eyes.

“Is that it? No one else?” Hiran asked. “You’d better not lie to me.”

“I promise. It’s just us three.”

Next to Michael, Carlito sidled closer. His eyes shone with excitement above his hooked nose. He licked his lips with the tip of his tongue while he stared at Ruby and grinned.

“Keys?” Hiran asked.

“What?”

“The keys to the gate. Where are they?”

“O...over there.” The man pointed at a bunch of silver keys on a side stand.

Ke Tau, who up until now had hung back, stepped forward. He surveyed the three survivors in front of him with a crooked smile. “Mosi, make sure he’s telling the truth. Search the house, and bring in the truck. Lock behind you. This is going to take awhile.”

Michael sucked in a single breath. The trap was sprung. Both he and the family were now caught in Ke Tau's web.

“The rest of you, let’s play a little game,” Ke Tau said with undisguised relish.

Carlito lowered his gun and slipped his knife from its scabbard. He stepped toward the father who now realized his mistake and stepped back with hands raised. “No, please. Don’t do this. Don’t hurt us.”

Carlito flashed a wicked grin as Boipelo handed him a roll of duct tape. “Now, now. Don’t fight. You’ll just make it worse for yourself.”

The man continued to beg. “Please, do what you want with me, but let my children leave.”

“Now why would we do that?” Ke Tau asked. “Why would we let such sweet young flesh run free?”

Realization dawned in the father’s eyes. With a cry, he flung himself at Carlito. The two collided, and the older man gasped as Carlito’s thrust his knife between his ribs. He exhaled a slow breath of air, and his mouth worked as Carlito sawed deeper into his chest with the blade. Crimson blood spilled over his lips.

The boy cried out while the girl screamed, “Daddy, no!”

She flung herself forward, but Boipelo caught her and held her struggling body against his while her brother looked on in terror.

“What a pity. We could have had some fun with the father,” Ke Tau shrugged and grinned at the remaining boy and girl. “Oh, well. Guess they’ll have to do, hey Michael?”

“Guess so,” Michael replied with a shrug.

“Tie the boy to a chair. Let’s see how tough he is,” Ke Tau said.

With emotionless eyes, Hiran stripped of the teenager’s clothes until he was left cold and vulnerable in only his socks and boxers. Then he