The man steps forward and removes his hat. “It is my duty to inform you that your parents were involved in a road accident. They are both dead.” His delivery is robotic and devoid of any emotion.
I feel Duscha reach out and squeeze my hand tightly. I turn to look at my brother. He is only six and I can see that he doesn’t understand. He stares at me with large, frightened eyes. My hands clench into fists. It is impossible that my parents are dead. I refuse to believe them. I know instinctively not to trust these people.
“They are not dead. I just spoke to them last night,” I say fiercely.
“I know it’s difficult to accept, but they are dead,” the woman confirms.
I break free from Duscha’s grip. “No. I don’t believe you.”
“Nevertheless, you must come with us,” the woman says.
Dushca stands.
I try to grab my brother and run back upstairs, but the man catches me by the arm, and pulls me away from Pavel. Pavel starts crying.
“Leave us alone,” I scream, and kick wildly at the man’s shins.
He does not let go. He just looks angry and irritated. “It’s no use resisting. Your parents are gone and you must come with us.”
“Why? Why must we go with you?” I ask defiantly. I remember Mama told me when I was only Pavel’s age that if anything ever happened to my parents, then I must take my brother (he was only a baby then) and go to my grandmother’s house. She made me learn the address by heart, then she showed me how to lift the loose floorboard in her bedroom and access the blue box hidden underneath. Inside was money and our papers. “If anybody at all comes here and tries to take you, or your brother away, you must immediately call Uncle Oksana. He will know what to do,” she said. I nodded and she made me memorize his number.
“You must come with us now,” the man barks, holding me sideways so that my kicks and flailing were useless.
“I want to call my uncle,” I say as ferociously as I can.
“There is no time for that now. You can call him later,” the woman says. Her face cracks into a smile. It just makes her look like a crocodile.
“I want to call him now,” I insist stubbornly. “Mama wanted me to.”
The woman looks at the man and raises her eyebrows.
“Duscha, help us,” I say, but she just sobs helplessly. When I see her crying so pitifully, I suddenly become very frightened. Our parents are not here, and these horrible people are going to take us away, and Duscha, always smiling, happy, Duscha, is crying like her heart is breaking. “Please, Duscha. Please, help us. Do something.”
Duscha falls to her knees, clasps her hands in a prayer position, and looks up at them. “Please don’t take the boys, they need to go to school. Let the boy call his uncle. I can take care of them here until he gets here,” she begs, her voice shaking with fear.
“These two children have been designated as children of the enemies of the people, and by resisting their removal you are acting against the state’s wishes. Instead of worrying about them you should start making preparations to leave immediately as this house and everything in it now belongs to the government.” The woman’s voice is sharp and Duscha flinches as if she has been struck.
“I don’t want to go,” I yell.
“Look how they are dressed,” Duscha cries desperately. “Please, have some pity. It’s freezing cold outside. At least let me get some warm clothes for them,” Duscha pleads.
“There is no time. They must come with us now,” the man repeats stonily.
Duscha takes off her warm woolen shawl and, with tears running down her face, wraps it around Pavel’s shoulder. Pavel uses that opportunity to fling his hands and legs around her body and cling tightly to her.
The man looks at the woman. “Hurry up and get him. We’re wasting time here.”
The woman takes two steps forward and roughly pries Pavel away from Duscha. She rips the shawl off his body, throws it to the ground, and she drags my screaming brother towards the front door.
I try to fight the man holding me with all my might, but he is big and too strong. Without warning, he lifts his hand and punches me on the side of the head. The blow is so hard, my head swims. I actually see stars. For a second I even go deaf. My body becomes limp, and he drags me down the steps.
There is a long, black car parked outside.
I know instinctively that we must never get into the car. With every ounce of energy I have, I start struggling and screaming as loudly as I can for the neighbors. But the street remains deserted. Not one curtain twitches. Not one person opens their door to investigate what is happening in the Smirnov household.
Why the children are screaming?
Why there is a big black car parked outside?
Why two strangers are dragging the children away?
“Help, help. We are being kidnapped,” I yell.
Suddenly, I feel a sharp pain on my upper arm. When I jerk my head towards the pain I see a needle sticking out of my arm.
The world goes black very quickly.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Star
Before the hour is up I hear the sound of a motorbike roaring to the front. Minutes later there is a quiet knock, and when I open it Celine is standing outside.
She looks at me strangely. I know my eyes are swollen and red.
“Your new phone has arrived. A woman who can teach you how to use it is also here.”
I follow her downstairs where a young Italian girl smiles at me and proceeds to show me how to use the phone. It is very different from mine and I have never heard of the brand before, but she is a good teacher, the interface is easy, and soon I am using it confidently.
“That’s it. If you have any problems don’t hesitate to call me,” she says standing up.
“I’m sorry you had to come out at this time of the night.”
She grins broadly. “I wish more people would call me out at this time of the night. I’m getting paid almost a week’s wages for this, so believe me when I tell you, it is no hardship at all.”
At my blank expression, she explains that she works for a high-end phone shop in Bond street. Her boss called her while she was getting ready for bed and sent a courier to pick her up and take her to the shop where he gave her the phone. Her task was to deliver it and teach me how to use it.
The big guy that Nikolai had called Semyon is waiting for her in the hallway. After she leaves I go upstairs. In my room, I go into my bathroom, lock the door, and text Nigel.
Me: I’m going to bed now, Nigel. Please do NOT text or call me unless I text you whenever I can. I don’t want Nikolai to hurt you. I love you. No matter what. I’ll text you tomorrow.
Nigel: Are you all right?
Me: Yes, I’m fine.
Nigel: I heard a loud bang. Did he hit you?
Me: No.
Nigel: So what was the noise?
Me: He broke my phone.
Nigel: WTF!!!!
Me: It’s all right. It’s all sorted now.
Nigel: Whose phone are you using?
Me: He got me another one.
Nigel: He must be nuts.
Me: Just don’t call or text me. I’ll contact you when the coast is clear.
Nigel: Now I’m really worried about you. What if he hurts you?
Me: He won’t.
Nigel: How do you know that?
Me: The only person who can hurt me is you.
Nigel: We’ll get through this. I promise.
Me: I’m tired. I’m going to bed. I’ll call you tomorrow.
Nigel: I’ll be waiting for your text tomorrow. I love you so much it hurts.
I close my eyes and then I say what I always say: Me too.
His reply appears on the screen and it just makes me so sad I want to cry: Goodnight my darling. I’ll dream of you.
I crawl into bed. The sheets are silky soft against my skin. It takes me a long time to fall asleep and when I do, I don’t dream of Nigel. I toss and turn with night
mares of a man with silver eyes full of pain.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Nikolai
When I wake up it is nearly night, my brother is huddled against me, and the car is travelling on a lonely road. I try to stretch, but can’t move my hands. I look down and see that they are tied with ropes.
The man and woman are sitting in the front.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
The woman turns her head around. “If you don’t shut up, I’ll have to tape both your mouths,” she warns.
No one speaks again. My brother holds me close to him as we drive through swathes of countryside until we come upon a high wall. It is studded with sharp pieces of broken glass and the top of it is strung with barbed wire. The car stops at a set of big, black gates. The man gets out and rings a bell. After a while, an elderly man comes to unlock the big padlocks on the gates.