hamburger

there were two old men who had a long history of child abduction, sexual torture and murder and they had successfully captured another child. i was the child, but i couldn't handle being helpless so i became one of the two rescuers on the hunt for the child. the men had meticulously mapped the route to their torture chamber in a confusing labyrinth of tunnels left over from the resistance fighters in WWII and dragged the child behind them with a rope tied around her waist. the child pretended to have difficulty keeping up but really she was leaving a trail by scuffing her feet in the untouched layer of fine dust on the ground, dragging her hands against the soot on the walls and tipping over rocks whenever she could.

the powerful me found the entrance to the underground in the middle of an overgrown forest. i spotted the child's trail and dropped softly to the ground from above. the air was cool. the ground had given away above the tunnels in hundreds of places and formed thin pillars of light. i knew if the men got too far ahead of me i would lose them in the deeper earth and eventual darkness. i motioned for my partner to follow and we ran as quickly and silently as forest people. though i carried two rifles, three pistols and a large knife, i felt as light as a feather. within a short time i could hear the fragmented leftover echos of human speech. i slowed my pace and moved more carefully. i motioned for my partner to circle around behind them. the child protested and whimpered as the men laughed and described the atrocities they were about to visit upon her. i moved myself into a hidden position and saw them sliding some slabs of concrete to uncover a deeper passageway under the floor. i knew if they went further they would be lost to me. i stepped out into the light. both looked up at me with wide eyes. the tip of a fine thread of spittle from the mouth of the 'leader' touched the toe of his dirty boot as he cracked a grey-toothed smile. he saw i was alone and dangled the child by the rope on her waist over the small hole to taunt me. she was swinging slightly. i looked into her eyes and said, 'kick'. she understood and immediately began to pump her legs like she was on a swing in a playground. as she reached the top of the arc farthest from the hole, i pulled a pistol from my hip, fired a shot and sliced the rope clean through. she tumbled forward and then scrambled to her feet and ran toward me. i moved her immediately toward my partner so he could gather her up and bring her to safety. he called over his shoulder, 'don't hurt them, shandra'. the men laughed and repeated the phrase in a mocking, high-pitched, sing-song manner.

i shot them both into piles of hamburger.