After Humanity

A short story by James Lomax, currently undertaking his Duke of Edinburgh bronze award. Part six of 12

CARLOS is in for it this time! His friend Benny has just discovered he’s hiding a slave in his house, while the other enforcers are looking for three escaped slaves! How will he get out of this one?

Carlos knew persuading Benny not to report him would be as easy as winning a race on a pogo stick, but he couldn’t give up now.

The way he could see it, he had three cards to play: sympathy, bargaining and violence. He knew Benny was a nice guy. He would play to that.

He looked at Benny before he could radio the other enforcers, “I’m helping it because it is my responsibility.”

“Listen, Carlos, it is not your responsibility to harbour a fugitive. Why are you doing this?”

“I’ll tell you, but you have to promise me that you won’t tell anyone.”

“I can’t promise that.”

“I’ll see if I can change your mind,” Carlos

dug down deep. Why was he doing this? Why was he risking everything to help a slave that has no idea what’s going on? It would always look at him with those eyes, those scared eyes. So it came to him.

“Carlos told Benny everything; how he had lived in battlefields with his parents; how they threw stones to navigate minefields; how they died securing him a place on The Black Hole; how he survived in the vents, afraid; how he saw himself at the recruiting station in the face of that Gorgon.

“He poured his heart out to Benny, all the guilt he was carrying from the recent massacre and countless others, how it kept him awake at night, knowing that he was a monster, how he felt he could make up to himself by helping, saying sorry to himself by helping … himself.

Then he broke down, curled into a ball. Benny immediately sprang down to comfort him.

“Oh my gosh. I’m sorry. I don’t know how you would feel if I had betrayed you. I won’t. But we need to get this floor in. No point crying.”

Carlos sniffed a little and got up. He felt so much better now. He could tell he had hit Benny’s weak spot. A muttering of thanks, a bit more laying and the official announcing they were done passed by, until Carlos was alone again.

He fell asleep on the mattress, and dreams of Benny, Carlson and the Gorgon behind winched up by one of the brutes

filled his mind, until he was awoken by grunting noises. They came from under the false floor, so Carlos took a peek.

The Gorgon was grunting and pointing at the bullet-hole, which probably meant it was in pain. Carlos got some anaesthetic, but he was thinking of what the Gorgon had done. It had pointed at the bullet-hole, which was what Carlos had done some time earlier. Had it understood?

He was about to inject the anaesthetic, but the Gorgon swatted it away.

Carlos picked it back up. It probably didn’t know what the anaesthetic was. Just afraid of needles. He was about to inject again when the Gorgon moved its lips in a familiar way. No sound came out.

Carlos looked at it. It was like it was mouthing something, but it wasn’t doing a good job. He had no idea what it was saying, but he was curious. If it could almost speak English, just how smart was it?

Meanwhile, Benny was enjoying some coffee in his apartment. Well, it wasn’t his, it was Robert’s, but he was dead, and he had a kettle, something that Benny had always envied. But he wasn’t focusing on the kettle, he was thinking about Carlos. Benny was his best friend, for ages, having respected him and how he kept his cool in every situation. But hearing his illegal upbringing, and seeing him sobbing on the floor like that had eroded at Benny’s respect for him. He didn’t know what to do anymore.