-Mikhael-
I am really trapped. They won’t let me forget that. I’m always surrounded by
dogs. They are proud to remind me of that. I see the way they look at me. I
don’t belong here. But they won’t let me go.
I went down to the vending machine in the hall. I can’t stay here. I have to get
Mom and get out. I frowned to myself. But how?
Suddenly, two fingers tapped me on the shoulder. I froze. Oh no. Don’t tell me…
Against my judgment, I looked behind me. One of the dogs stood inches away. He
had no emotion on his face. But then he grinned.
“Hey buddy,” he said. My back broke out in sweat. The next thing I knew, I was
being dragged away.
----------
I got pushed into a corner near the stairs. I turned to see five of them. They
looked like they wanted to stab me.
“Uh… hi, fellow,” I said. I nervously chuckled. They stared at me.
“Um…” I said. What was this? What did they want from me? One of them patted me
on the shoulder.
“You aren’t a rat, are you?” he asked.
“No?” I asked.
“Well, are you an idiot?” he asked.
“No!” I shouted. He drew back his hand. He and his pals started grinning.
“Good,” he said. Another dog cocked his head to the side.
“Isn’t he Kvasha’s boy?” he asked. The others stared at me. The first dog leaned
in close to my face. I couldn’t back away. His eyes lit up.
“Oh yeah!” he said. “It is!” The dogs began laughing. I looked around for an
escape. They had me surrounded. The lead dog grabbed me by the shoulder. Damn,
he’s got a grip on him. I let out a small gasp. I stared up at him. They were
all grinning at me.
“Listen here,” the leader said. “We’re watching you. Just because you’re
marrying the boss’ daughter doesn’t mean we’ll go easy on you. Your otets was a
rat. He tried to kill himself but we showed him what happened to rats.” The dogs
chuckled. One rubbed his fist.
“Yes,” another dog said. The leader leaned in close to my ear. He only said one
thing. It was enough to make my blood run cold.
“You try to run or get in our way; we might have to take a little trip to a
mountainside.”
And then, they left. I just stood there. They really did it. They actually
threatened me. What did they do to my dad? I shivered as I shook my head. I
can’t escape them, can I? They have me trapped, don’t they?
No!
I won’t let this happen! I’m getting my Mom and we’re getting away from these
people! I’m going to do it if it’s the last thing I do!
I looked down the hall where the thugs were and sighed. If only it were that
easy.