Heidi and the Lord - Chapter 140

A guard walked past her cell at the middle of the night, making rounds across all the cells that held the slaves in the slave establishment, one guard taking another’s turn in regular intervals time. The night today was moonless and starless, clouds coating the sky heavily until there was nothing but darkness to offer from the heavens. A little amount of light that torched on the walls spilled across the side bars of the cells that held the slaves inside which diminished after a certain length. She clutched the sharp object in her hand tight and securely, waiting and counting the movements of the guardsmen that passed her cell.

Before returning back from the black market, when Heidi had fallen down on the staged platform, her hand had touched a black pin which she had picked without the guards knowledge due to the hustle that had been created. Opening her palm, she looked at the pin with little butterflies and flowers. It was a simple clip and she wondered if one of the slaves had dropped it before getting sold to their masters and mistresses. Like promised by the head guard, slaves were handed over to their owners and though Heidi couldn’t see it, she had kept her ears and eyes wide open at the words. Heidi had never reached her turn to be properly sold due to which no one came to take her away from the slave establishment.

Running her thumb over the clip she held, Heidi hid it quickly when she heard the footsteps of a guard approach again. Slaves weren’t supposed to hold any sort of object or thing. The clothes were given by the establishment and that is all they needed there to survive. Knowing well that if someone caught her with it, things wouldn’t go down well and she would only be interrogated in terms of the guardsmen, and it was wise not to go through it. Though the establishment seemed so not nice to the outside world which didn’t matter to the society as the only reason they would be interested were the slaves they could use for their needs; the underlying life of the slaves was ruled by the guardsmen rules. In the prison like slave establishment which was built decades ago, the guardsmen were their masters until they were sold.

By the time morning came, Heidi hadn’t been able to find an ounce of sleep for her body to rest. Going to the underground hall, she stood in line like the rest, waiting for her turn to get the food on her plate. As the line moved, Heidi found the guardsman she had met yesterday, the same man who had let the woman die after claiming that she was nothing more than a slave. Unlike the rest of the guards, he seemed tired today, a little dull too and this made her wonder if the woman had actually mattered to him. But thoughts as such didn’t matter as the slave had committed suicide. A life had been lost and there was none to mourn, not even the guardsman who now lined the slaves with an iron rod in his hand.

Receiving the food on her plate, Heidi went on to sit in one of the empty space when out of nowhere the head of the building arrived at the entrance, marching to where she was, he pulled her by her hair. Heidi yelped in pain, screaming at her hair being pulled forcefully as she was dragged out of the hall by the guardsman.

She didn’t know why he was furious at her and suddenly her cheek echoed in pain while the sound was absorbed by the walls around them.

“You think you could get by without being caught, slut?!”

She screamed again as he dragged her out with force, his bulky hands needed little effort as the girl was weak, “Please stop! I don’t know what you’re talking about!” her words fell on deaf ears.

They passed through slaves and guards and none came to her aid. The man shoved her into the room and she fell with her hands and knees on the ground. Scooting away quickly she looked at him wide eyed, not understanding why he was so angry with her. Suddenly a gun was thrown in front of her on the ground making her flinch. Unsure and worried, she looked at the gun before looking back up at him.

“Where are the bullets?” he demanded.

“W-what?”

“The God damned bullets! WHERE IS IT?!” he shouted at her, enraged at the missing bullets that weren’t there anymore in it. Going to sit in front of her, he clutched her neck, “Tell it to me right now or I will squeeze this little neck of yours. TELL ME!” One of the slaves had set her up which was very common for the slaves to do to each other out of anger, jealousy or simple joy that brought to bring down a slave and now Heidi faced the ire of the head guard.

“I-I don’t know. I didn’t even come h-here!” she struggled, prying his hands off her neck and her leg kneed him close between his legs out of defense which only infuriated the guardsmen.

“First you steal the bullets and now you lie,” the man stood up furious, pulling out the belt that had been buckled around his pant, “I will show you your place, you lying bitch,” he folded one end of the belt in his hand, releasing it on her, Heidi screamed at the sting the leather caused on her skin. Raising his hand for the second time, a guard knocked the door, driving his attention away from her, “What?!” the head guard barked at his guardsman.

“Sir, Mr. Wilford is here,” Heidi who had closed her eyes to ready herself from the lash of the belt opened her eyes at the familiar name.