Theirs To Take(7)

Several men stood around the camp, all with weapons over their shoulders, all dressed in camouflage and looking to me like soldiers. The girls whimpered, each of them holding hands with the one they were bound to. It was the first time I got a good look at them in daylight and my impression of the night before had been correct — all of the women were attractive and young. The oldest was perhaps twenty-three, twenty-four. At not quite twenty-one yet, I was probably one of the youngest.

I looked at the two men who had rescued us from the cattle truck, who had then re-captured us. They were the ones in charge of the thirty or so soldiers who stood armed all around. They spoke in hushed tones with one of the soldiers who, after a few moments, nodded and walked off. Golden Eyes and Obsidian then turned their attention to us.

“Ladies,” Obsidian said. “Follow me.”

We did, following in a group to the clearing at the center of the circle of tents.

“Line up. Give me a nice straight row,” he said.

The women began to move, me along with them, while two soldiers brought over a heavy-looking tree stump, placing it near Obsidian. Golden Eyes followed, carrying an ax at his side. All of us stared, open-mouthed. My mind raced, conjuring up the worst possible scenario, making me wonder if this was to be my punishment. If by “making an example” they meant to kill me in some brutal, barbaric fashion.#p#分页标题#e#

Lara squeezed my hand as if she could hear my thoughts while a quiet, panicked murmuring broke out among the women.

Golden Eyes stopped and turned to us. Placing thumb and forefinger into his mouth, he called us to attention with a loud whistle.

“Thank you, brother,” Obsidian said.

I’d been right, they were brothers.

“Like hens, they can’t stop clucking,” he added.

I glared at him, at the callousness of his joke when he could clearly see our terror.

“Get on with it, Syn,” Golden Eyes said.

Syn. Was that his name? What kind of a name was Syn?

“My brother’s never been the most patient of men,” Syn said, his tone flippant.

“You two.” He pointed to the two women farthest from me to my left. “Come here.”

It took him asking twice before the terrified women moved toward him.

“Kneel.”

The girls knelt without a word.

He pointed to the tree stump. “Put your bound arms here, my brother will cut the chain.”

My eyes grew wide as I realized how he meant to use the ax and we all watched while the two women raised trembling arms and set them down upon the stump.

“Take them as wide as you can but don’t move,” Golden Eyes said, checking the chain.

“I second that last part. Don’t move,” Syn said, grinning.

The terrified women did as they were told, and Syn gestured to two soldiers who stood nearby, giving them the command to hold onto the kneeling women’s arms so they couldn’t move. Golden Eyes raised the ax high and brought it down with a loud thunk onto the stump breaking the chain in one swift strike. The women screamed, and not just the ones who knelt with their arms on the stump. An inch or two in the wrong direction, and one of them would have lost a hand.

“Next,” Syn said, gesturing for the women to return to the line, both rubbing their now free wrists.

They repeated this with each of the women and every time the ax came down, the ground rattled beneath our feet. When it was our turn, Lara and I knelt before the men and set our arms on the block of wood. I looked up at the brothers, at Golden Eyes holding the ax, taking Lara’s arm a little farther from mine so the chain was taut.

Syn leaned down, brushing a strand of hair from my face, his cruel grin belying the gentleness of the gesture. “I haven’t forgotten what I promised, in case you were wondering.”

He straightened and nodded to the men who gripped our arms tightly. His brother measured out where the ax would fall. I glanced over at Lara who squeezed her eyes shut, and looked up in time to see Golden Eyes draw the ax over his head. His gaze was fixed on where he intended to strike, and when he brought the ax down, I couldn’t help a small scream at the impact as the ax broke the chain that bound us.

“You, back in the line,” Syn said to Lara as we rose to our feet. He took hold of my arm when I tried to follow her.

I looked at him, but when Lara reached out to squeeze my hand, I turned to her. Her eyes were wide, and I knew if she didn’t go back into the line, she too would be punished.

“Go,” I mouthed.

She squeezed harder before turning to take her place among the others. The one called Syn held on to me and I watched as one of the soldiers approached, carrying a handful of long, thin branches. I looked at the bundle, confused, then glanced at Syn. He met my gaze for a moment before turning his attention back to the women.