Hear No Evil . . . (7)
PART THIRTEEN: Blue Denim and Teddy Bears
He stared stoically at the cracked sidewalk and the bag of feed split open over it. Concentrated
on the grains still pouring out the side. The other bag was still on his shoulder.
Don't look up.
His heart would not let him watch.
If I move, I'm dead. I can't just stand here, but if I do anything . . . They would hang me.
There's too many of them. One of me. So what if I'm bigger than them? Even ifthey didn't get
me, someone else would. And she'd just get what's happening to her but later. And probably much
worse. It's better I don't interfere. I'll only make it worse on her next time.
I can't save her. I'm just a slave.
A fluttering scrap of blue denim was carried into his vision by a wayward gust of wind.
Gently setting the other feed bag down, he slowly picked it up. It was a pocket . . . the back
pocket to Cassie's overalls.
The very idea . . .
His body shook with rage. She was kind to him. A little misled and even a bit
holier-than-thou . . . but that wasn't her teach their kids to treat slaves that way.
But she didn't beat him, didn't shout with a horrible look, didn't call him worthless.
He wretched his eyes upward.
They were laughing, hitting. One of them was standing to the side, bending over her face,
taunting her.
Nobody will believe you, so I suggest you keep your fucking mouth shut.
Ethan could see Cassie's underwear through the torn patch in the back . . . and even more as the
tormentors yanked at her pant leg, until it too tore. What he was witnessing seemed almost
sacrilegious. Like pissing on a cross or something.
Through the press of the three "soldiers", he saw a flash of her face. She was crying.
They stopped suddenly and stared up at Ethan, just as he realized that his throat was raw.
At first Cassie laid on the ground, also staring at Ethan as his red, angry face bellowed out
an animal battle cry. She furtively clutched the remains of her tattered clothing with one
hand and wiped her face with the other.
"Ethan, don't! They'll kill you!"
"You're goddamn right we-"
"Who the fuck do you think you are!" Paul was caught off guard by this one's boldness.
His utter lack of fear or respect. He stepped back a little as the slave stopped within an inch
his face.
"You think you're so powerful? I'll show you powerf-" Ethan cut off as he lashed his right
fist into an upward hook. Catching this officer just below and inside his ribcage.
Feeling his knuckles hit bone and the soft belly underneath, Ethan was surprised at the Officer's
wheezing and coughing.
He was caught off-guard, no chance to clench his muscles in anticipation. Had these people never
been hit before? Ethan had barely tapped him compared to some of the beatings HE had been
subjected to.
The others still had done nothing. Simply watched this scarred slave as he pushed their team
leader against a building.
Grabbing his lapels and the insignia of power they carried, Ethan felt the prongs underneath
pressing into his palms.
"You turn me in. Tell the cops. Go for it. You'll be clutching your teddy bears safe in the
volunteer station. The ones you love, care about?" He smirked cruelly. "How safe are they?"
Paul's face was of total horror and confusion.
"I've got nothing to lose. You can hunt me the rest of my life for this, but I'd escape you and
your army for a short period of time. Just long enough to find someone you care about. I'm
a savage, evil, retarded slave. Think I care about your Mommy? I care so much, I'll set her
up apermanent retirement plan," Ethan spat out.
The lapels tore as the leader yanked himself free. Pushing past Ethan and racing down the street.
His two companions, seeing their leader so humiliated and afraid, did nothing more than turn and
race after him.
Still lying in the corner, Cassie had stopped trying to cover herself. The torn pants lay
forgotten around her.
So different.
Even his voice was different, the lisp gone. His speech clear and terrible.
Like two different Ethans. He finally turned, the threat gone, to stare at Cassie.
His hand was twitching at his side as her reverted back to his original language. Would an
English speaker swear in Spanish? So his fingers twisted into a few swear words he made
when he was young . . . and also a few new ones he made up on the spot.
Then it was as if something clicked in his brain.
The switch was thrown. The monster was gone.
She unconsciously flinched at his touch as Ethan brushed her arm gently.
He frowned at her expression. "Are you hurt, Misthress?"
She shook off the chill down her spine. "Yes. But I'll heal" She took his offered hand
and Ethan pulled her up. She felt something stick her left hand as she grasped his.
Cassie calmly open Ethan's hand all the way to reveal a lapel with a pin attached . . . and the
pocket of her overalls.
Ethan's eyes brightened and he squatted down to scoop up the pant leg. Still crouching, he
directed Cassie to step into the leg and then pinned it in place . . . with the stolen officer's
insignia.
Ethan looked up at her and smiled shyly. "There'th only one pin, so I'll walk behind you. No
one see-th the rip in the back."
Cassie smiled back down at him. He was so withdrawn since she first met him, that seeing him
this way now made her completely forget about how he was in the fight. The way his eyes and
words were so cruel.
He was only defending me, she thought to herself. He would never really do those things.
No one isthat ruthless.
But in the back of her mind, no matter how much she denied it, she was afraid of him.
End of Chapter 7