The Priest (16 page)

Finally, the van arrived. Arias came back to
support Mauricio, and the three of them ran toward the vehicle.

“What took you so long?” Arias yelled as
soon as Leander opened the passenger’s door.

“It’s not like I steal cars every day, you
know? And, I couldn’t find the gasoline tanks you asked for.”
Leander’s face was illuminated by a faint light, and his hands were
shaking on the wheel. “Good thing the women needed someone to get
rid of the sewer waste, or they would have never taught me how to
drive.”

“Thanks for coming to my rescue,” Mauricio
murmured.

“Anytime,” Leander answered without
smiling.

Arias let Rosie inside first and then helped
Mauricio by her side. “Lower the seats down,” he instructed Rosie,
and then he climbed in beside Leander. “Go!” he commanded.

“But, what about Guen?” Rosie asked.

“Guen knew what she was doing,” Arias
answered, while giving the final okay to Leander to start the van.
The window by his side cracked.

“What the—” both Arias and Leander said at
the same time.

Mauricio gingerly touched the pieces of
broken glass now resting on his lap; he watched as a trickle of
blood dripped down from his fingers.

“Are you hurt?” Rosie took Mauricio’s hands
in hers and cleaned off the blood.

I feel… strange.

“Is he hurt?” Arias turned around and swore
at the sight.

It can’t be that bad. I’d feel way
worse.

“No, he isn’t,” Rosie answered after a
cursory inspection of his body.

It tickles where you just touched me.

“Go, don’t stop for anything,” Arias said to
Leander, who did as ordered and the van’s tires screeched on the
ground.

Why are you trembling?
“Are you
okay?” Mauricio, with great difficulty, asked Rosie.

“I’m fine,” she answered, but her shaking
body said otherwise.

He rested his head on her shoulder.
I’d
hold your hand if I only could raise mine.
He looked down at
his body, but nothing seemed wrong with it. “What—”

Another crack and the van swerved
dangerously to the right, sending all the passengers across the
seats.

“Take control of the van!” Arias shouted
above the deafening noise coming through the broken window.

“I’m trying!” Leander answered, his voice
shaking. Another loud
crack
and the van circled around on
its axis. “What’s… oh crap—” Leander didn’t see the large stone in
their path until it was under one of the tires that had not yet
been shot out. He lost control and the van went flying.

Mauricio was freefalling inside the
revolving vehicle. He hit the ceiling with his head, and then his
limbs followed. Rosie’s body tangled with his. Somebody started
screaming. The van kept rolling for what seemed hours and then
finally stopped.

I feel nauseous.

“Get out of the van. Now. Or I’ll shoot you
where you are.” A woman was staring at them upside down. Another
four were standing several steps behind the speaker, upside down as
well.

That’s strange…

“We’re trapped,” Arias said.

“Are you wounded?” the woman asked.

“My arm is broken,” Arias answered.

“And you?” The woman poked Leander with the
tip of a rifle. Leander stayed motionless. The woman poked him
again. “I guess this one is gone. Good riddance to him,” she said,
and without spending more time on Leander, moved to the side and
looked at Mauricio. “Are you dead, too?” She was still walking
upside down. “This one is trapped against the ceiling.” The woman
called someone else to help her.

Mauricio felt their hands tugging and
pulling at some parts of him, and then he fell down and the
universe rearranged itself. Now the woman was standing right.

“Mistress Layan!” she yelled in surprise
when she realized who the fourth passenger was. The women rushed to
help extract Rosie from the vehicle.

“Is she alive, Captain?” one of the four
women asked with a terrified voice.

“She’s breathing and there’s some blood on
her hands and on her shirt, but I think she's fine,” the woman with
the rifle answered, relieved. “Call her mothers, immediately,” she
commanded, and someone scurried away. “Mistress?”

Mauricio saw the woman lay the rifle down,
put Rosie on her lap, and slap her gently.

What are you doing? Put her down!

“Mistress? Can you hear me?”

Rosie stirred and opened her eyes. She
screamed and scrambled out of the woman’s embrace.

“Mistress, I’m Captain Reese. It’s okay.
You’re not in danger anymore; we just rescued you, and we have
called your mothers. They’re coming.”

Rosie looked at the woman, and it was clear
in her eyes that she was horrified. The captain mistook Rosie’s
behavior and leaned in to comfort her. “Don’t touch me,” she
screamed.

At hearing Rosie’s distress, Mauricio
commanded his body to react, and after a moment of struggling, he
was able to escape from one of the broken windows. With great
effort, he hauled his body out of the van and then dragged himself
to Rosie, using only his arms.
I sure could use my legs right
now.

Both Rosie and the captain saw him, and for
a moment, silence reigned. The captain went for the rifle, but
Rosie slapped away the woman’s hands, sending the arm to the
ground, and ran toward Mauricio.

“Shoot him,” the woman ordered the group of
hesitant guards.

Rosie heard the command and impulsively
covered Mauricio with her body.

No! Don’t!
He tried to move her, but
he didn’t have any strength left.

At the same time, the captain saw what was
happening and let out a string of swear words. “Stop! Do not shoot.
I repeat, do not shoot!” The woman stood up and faced the guards,
who were aiming at the bodies on the ground. “Mistress, please
stand up. We are here to defend you. Let us do our job,” she spoke
slowly.

Mauricio saw how, while the captain was
talking to Rosie, she was silently commanding her guards to come
closer and, with a hand gesture, was positioning them in a
semicircle. “Rosie, you must get out of here,” he whispered to her,
but his voice was so low he didn’t know if she could hear him.
You must save yourself and our baby.

“You are in shock; please move away. This
slave is a fugitive. You must listen to me for your own sake, or
this man is going to harm you,” Captain Reese said in the sweetest
voice, as if she was talking to a small child.

Rosie didn’t acknowledge the captain’s
words, instead she whispered to Mauricio, “I’m not going anywhere
and I won’t let her take you.”

“She’s going to kill—”
I want you and the
baby to live.

“Mistress Layan, please, listen to me. It’s
done… You’re safe now,
with us
.” The captain stressed the
last two words. “A doctor will check you as soon as we get back to
the building.” She took a small step toward Rosie, while accepting
a gun from a guard.

“Don’t come any closer,” Rosie called back
without looking at her, and then her mouth was pressed to
Mauricio’s ear again. “I’ll find a way out of this. I promise.”

“How? Go away, now.” Mauricio moved and his
mouth was aligned with hers. His heart slammed against his chest
and he felt dizzy.

The captain looked back and forth between
Rosie and Mauricio, her eyes becoming wider as she took the whole
scene in. “Mistress? What are you doing? Are you okay?”

“Leave us alone. Go back to the farm,” Rosie
said, her hands splayed on Mauricio in a protective gesture.

“I can’t do that. I’m sorry. You need to let
me do my job, so step away from the slave, like the good pure breed
you are.” Captain Reese started to walk toward Rosie, and the rest
of the women moved along, corralling her and Mauricio inside the
ring.

“Rosie… you should go…”
Whatever you
intend to do, the captain isn’t going to let me live anyway, but
you don’t need to suffer because of me.
Mauricio tugged at her
arm. The effort of staying conscious was consuming all of his
energy, and thinking and talking at the same time was already a
chore.

“No, I shouldn’t. I got it—don’t worry; they
are not going to shoot at me.” Rosie put one hand on his arm to
reassure him. “If you want him, you have to go through me,” she
said to the guards.

Mauricio felt her shivering. “Rosie…” he
tried to say something, but he was losing his grip on reality.

“This is not happening,” Captain Reese said,
dangerously moving her gun from one hand to the other. “Why would
you care if anything happened to a slave?”

“You wouldn’t understand,” Rosie answered
the rhetoric question.

“No, obviously, I wouldn’t.” All of a
sudden, Captain Reese retraced her steps and went to haul Arias out
of the vehicle. “But, I can play your game,” she yelled and angrily
pulled at the man’s arms while he screamed in pain. She said
something back to Arias and then pulled some more. She was
satisfied only when his body was completely out on the ground where
Rosie could see what she planned to do.

“No!” Rosie yelled as soon as the captain
pointed the gun at Arias’ back.

Mauricio started trembling.
I don’t want
anybody else to suffer.

“Now, let’s see if we understand each
other,” the captain said, looking coldly at Rosie. A ringtone
echoed in the night.

“Captain, Bruna, the President’s publicist,
wants to talk to you.” One of the guards interrupted her and,
ignoring her incinerating glare, offered the woman the cell
phone.

The captain snatched it from the guard’s
hands and whispered angry words at the caller. Using the same
irritated tone, she briefly explained that she had the fugitives
and the President’s daughter, who didn’t want to cooperate. The
captain stared at the night sky while the other person took her
time to comment. The expression on her face betrayed a whole array
of different feelings. Anger was replaced first by shock, then
astonishment, and finally, incredulity.

“What you are suggesting can’t possibly
work,” the captain said after a long pause. She looked around as if
worried that someone was eavesdropping to her conversation. “And,
pray tell me, how do you think I am going to explain it to the
President?” the woman said between clenched teeth. “This is a
nightmare,” she added, while abruptly closing the cell phone.
Arias, still under the gun’s aim, moaned in pain. Without
announcing her intentions, the captain hit him hard in the head
with the butt of her gun. Arias lay still.

Mauricio shook with tremors and
automatically reached for Rosie, seeking her warmth, but then
belatedly realized he wasn’t supposed to do that and put his arm
back to his side.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to put you in any more
trouble…

“Hang in there,” she said and, without a
second thought, took his hand in hers.

He shook his head, but left his hand where
it was, closing his eyes to imagine a happier situation.
You
make me feel I’m worth something.
“Thank you.”

The captain’s harsh voice brought him back.
“Well, I tried my best not to let things reach this point.” She
looked at the gun and then changed aim. The weapon was now pointing
at Rosie, who was wrapped around Mauricio.

Mauricio tried to straighten his head and
saw from the look in her eyes that the captain was furiously
thinking.
What did the publicist suggest you to do?
He
didn’t like the way the captain was acting; the woman was mumbling
words while her gun was still targeting Rosie. In the distance, he
heard the sound of another car coming, and he saw her investigate
the new arrival.

The woman looked less composed than she had
been before the phone call. She finally lowered her gun and began
to pace back and forth, repeating the same sentence several times.
“It could work. If I do it right, it could work.” The captain wiped
the sweat from her temples and looked at Rosie still protecting the
slave. She shuddered in revulsion and resolution dawned on her face
like a mask. She breathed slowly and then went back to Arias’ side,
raised his limp hand and pressed her gun into it. Then she directed
Arias’ armed hand until it aimed at Rosie. “If you are not well,
you need help. I’ll put you down,” she said, her voice as cold as
ice, then pressed her hand on Arias’ fingers and steadied her
stance.

All at once, people started screaming. The
four guards were looking horrified at their captain. But one voice
was louder than the others.

“No! She’s pregnant. The President’s
daughter is expecting a child!” Mauricio shouted while Rosie was
pressing down on his chest. The four guards gasped and two of them
instinctively ran toward their captain to stop her.

“What?” the captain said, stunned that her
own subordinates were revolting against her orders. Then a cruel
smile lit her face and she raised one hand to put a halt to their
betrayal. “Idiots! Don’t you see that it’s just perfect? Imagine
the tragedy. I can read the news already. ‘Tarin’s facility
attacked by slaves. Pregnant Rosie Layan dies. Ginecea is shocked
by the senseless violence and forces the mourning President to pass
the laws to limit slaves’ rights.’ It couldn’t work better.” She
resumed the stance and added as an afterthought, “And clearly we
are in need of better legislation to deal with these animals.”

Mauricio squeezed Rosie’s hand. “I’m so
sorry.”

“I’m not,” she said, easily counteracting
his feeble attempt to put her out of harm’s way.

“Rosie… ” He wanted to say many things, but
words escaped him. He bent his head toward hers to inhale her
scent.
My little rose without thorns.

“Mauricio…”

“Bruna is right. Your mothers are better off
without you. You are an abomination,” the captain said.

“I’m ready,” Mauricio whispered, facing the
woman.
But she’s not
. He channeled all his strength toward
his hands to push Rosie away.