Page 81 of The Ranger
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
SCARLETT
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The door bangs open, and my head flicks up.I’m dizzy, and bright light burns my eyes.
Holding my arm in front, I try to scramble to my feet, but it’s difficult.My limbs are cold and aching, and I’m not that mobile being so close to giving birth.
I’m hungry, dehydrated and scared out of my wits.
Two men walk in, talking a foreign language.
It sounds Asian, but I don’t know.
Staying crouched, even though I’m in absolute pain, I tremble and wonder if talking to them is a bad move or my only chance.
One of them heads my way, yelling something at me.
“Please let me go.I’m pregnant.”I whimper.
He tosses a paper bag at me, and it plops on the floor beside me.I smell it before I can work out what it is.It’s fast food of some kind.
I almost vomit.
Suddenly, a kind of self-preservation kicks in, and I climb to my feet, and start screaming at them.
“I need real food.Water.I am eight months pregnant, you fucking monsters.Let me go!”
One of the men laughs and lifts his gun, pointing it at my head.I freeze.Enjoying this, he lowers it to my belly.
Oh, my fucking god.
I cover my baby, as if that would help, and scramble back against a wall, sobbing.
The gun drops.
Shuddering, I watch them talk to one another rapidly, laughing, and then their conversation turns angry.I still can’t understand them, so I stay pressed against the wall and hope they leave me alone again.
The gun wavers and points my way, then they fight, and it drops.
Oh, my god.
