4- Dreadful Journey

"You look much better today" Rony placed his hand on Loise face and smiled. "you too," she replied. "No matter how far we think we are from Caspalina, we still got things to do. We have to fix the mess and get Leo out of the hell." Loise held Rony's hand and started shaking.

"For the past three days we were on the run for your life Loise, now that we are in a secluded cabin I'd expect you to tell me everything about you. The more you're honest with me, the closer we can get to Caspalina and get Leo out of jail" Rony demanded. It sounded more like a warning that time.

Her look of soul-deep sorrow touched him, and he recalled what he felt as a youth to find his father and mother dead and his family hunted and forced him out of their own home. She burst out crying and he held her hands and hugged her tight. "I moved to Caspalina twelve years ago. I guess for the same reason like any other University graduate. Caspalina wasn't my dream place to stay at, but my sister made me pursue her." she paused and took a deep breath. All the crying had left her exhausted. "How come I never seen you in town?" Rony's curiosity was awakened.

"Ha! funny how you think you know everyone in town. You only know the once who revolve around your shop. What do you know about the secrets of Caspalina and the law enforcements?" she asked Rony. "Never mind, maybe its because you're from there. People choose to stay blind and deaf to the dark side of the town."

"I'm getting confused," Rony muttered.

"My sister used to work in one of the mining companies your friend works. I used to always wonder why they won't allow her to be on her phone. She was the only female out of twenty seven guys too. Maybe I disregarded the manipulation technique of the company and believed it to be a work protocol and never opposed it a single day. One night, I baked a cake and headed to her place. I saw an unusual disturbance around the neighborhood. It was officer Martin and chief officer Lance together questioning my sister. I didn't want to interrupt their investigation, or whatever you want to call it. I just passed through them and walked inside." her flashback was vivid that she looked like she was reliving the moment. 'I can work that thing!' "officer Martin laughed looking down at my butts. It ain't hard to tell if a cop is corrupted. After a few more questionnaires, they left the apartment and my sister locked the door. The next day, officer Martin and chief officer Lance came to my front door at an ungodly hour. I'd say maybe around ten at night. When I opened the door, I immediately knew it was to no good. And the first thing they asked me was if I have seen my sister. I really thought they were joking for a minute" she cried again.

"The two officers pulled me out from my place and drove me to a hospital. This hospital is nothing like the one I am used to back home, where the reception counter is more plastic than the purified water dispenser. Here there is no openness, no space, nothing shines or has the smell of disinfectant. Instead the way in is down a long hallway so narrow that if a wheelchair or trolley were to come from the other way I'd have to dip into a side room to let it go by. It was very narrow that if you are claustrophobic, you'd necessarily take some pills. I had no courage to ask to why I was there, but I was praying that I won't see my sister in one of the beds." she had an extremely vivid memory of flashback.

"Officer Martin got closer to me, and we stopped walking" Loise added. "He said, I'm going to ask you to identify the body of your sister's boyfriend, Raymond. Three bodies were brought to the morgue and are waiting for identification for an autopsy. The disappearance of your sister already raised a red flag to us, so we would kindly ask you to lead us the way. Hell you were with her last night. The night Raymond was murdered, officer Martin was sarcastic" she stopped again.

"Raymond was among the three dead bodies that were laying on top of the table. It was a little hard to identify him as he had several gashes on his face. Raymond's death was very tragic and gruesome. And yet the two officers blamed my sister for his death and chose to incarcerate me for conspiring with her to murder him. No proper trial, no courtroom, no lawyer I was thrown to jail. My sister is not a killer, neither am I! She is not capable of taking any one's life and that's something I know for fact and it won't ever change." her voice was cracking.

"She didn't kill Raymond, but I started believing that she killed her boyfriend after I started spending twenty-three hours in solitude and be able to see the sun one hour a day. Every good thing in the world comes with price. My main reason of moving to Caspalina was to build up my resume and work with bigger companies. My dad used to tell me to never get comfortable in a setting that makes me feel weary. Caspalina drained me along the years, but I was hoping for a better future. There were days I used to think of settling down here. The majority of the people who live in Caspalina are average or poor. The inhabitants started to think that the outsiders, like myself were taking advantage of them. They already think that the government don't see them as people as the government tried their nuclear power plants here, but they failed." she stopped and Rony's eyes were watery this time empathizing with her.

"Often times, the people used to protest by saying that they are not guinea-pigs and they won't let the outsiders to get in. They have had a metaphor 'Caspalina drags people in, hard to leave'. People never stopped coming to Caspalina regardless, and I have never seen anyone making it to the top once they leave. The thing is, the community is very tight. Everyone is like family. From the law enforcement to the lowest laborer. They have a strong bond that if someone passed a verdict, the law enforcements won't bother to frame you up and cease you from breathing. I know you're part of the Caspalina family. You know everyone by heart, but you have never seen me in your life and yet I have lived in the same city for twelve years" Loise starred dead into Rony's eyes.

Every muscle of Rony's pale and terrified face began to quiver. His eyes still shifted from side to side but with a downward look not rising to Loise's face, and his sobs were audible. More than anything she feared incase the confusion Rony felt might overwhelm him and betray her as soon as she is done with her story. But he decided to stay anyway.

"I can see innocence and confusion through your watery eyes. You are in dilemma. You don't know if you want to stay with me or go back to your shop in Caspalina. You're giving me the same look you gave me the moment I walked to your your shop, right before you noticed my bruise." Loise starred at him longer this time. "Where is your sister?" Rony asked.

"You don't see the law enforcement during the day, do you?" Loise asked, and he shook his head no. "Everything is done in the dark. Imprisonment, killing, setting up people, I mean everything. I have never seen my sister since. I was in solitary longer than I thought I would. At least I expected my father to show up. At least any family member but nobody did. There used to be days I used to blame my family for not showing up. I lost total contact with my people. I didn't know if they think I was dead. I was better off dead this time." Her soul was immensely injured. "Officer Martin used to take me inside his office during my one hour break. He repeatedly tried to lure me to have sex with him so my solitary hours can lessen and I could have more time to see the sun and be outside the cell and hang at the compound." Rony couldn't help but pity her as well; his eyes were circled with black and puffy, and started crying.

"I slowly started deteriorating. My life became more miserable and meaningless the more I stayed longer at the solitary. After a period of great distress and cruel oppression by the officers, I couldn't refuse his demand. That was the time I officially died. At every intercourse I felt heaviness sink to the pit of my stomach, and regret trickling through me. I was another female who got kidnapped and sold for sex slavery. The government didn't know anything about what was going down in Caspalina, but the law enforcement were part of the multi-billion industry of sex-slavery around the world..." "Neither did the people" Rony cut her off.

"If the people didn't know anything about us, why didn't my neighbors tried ask my whereabouts? The people I have known for over a decade!" she was aggressive this time.

"It was a dreadful journey. Sometimes I wish I was dead!" Rony held her hands and hugged her tight. "Why do you think Raymond was killed?" Rony asked.

"Raymond's contract was ending and the people thought he made a lot of profit out of Caspalina. But that was not the reason he was killed. The reason he got killed was because he knew too much about the law enforcement through officer Martin's wife. And the night of my sister's disappearance, he witnessed Officer Martin and Trevor beating up my sister brutally and blindfolding her and he recorded them. Not only that, he uploaded it on internet and tried to contact the local authorities and the FBI as well. Very few people have watched the video before it was taken down for policy violation and misleading content. The only way they could clean their hands were by killing him and framing my sister and incarcerating me for conspiring his death."

"How'd make it out of it? And how does Raymond got an access through Officer Martin's wife?" Rony asked.

"Hmm," Loise cleared her throat. "I thought the only possible way out from the dirt was getting closer to Officer Martin. Whatever he demanded I did it, and I was getting a little mercy. I slowly started to detect his weak point. He started locking me up in his office than the cell, and I felt like gradually he can let the door open and so I can bust. Officer Martin lost his custody to his three year old daughter a few years ago. His wife has cheated on him with Raymond and often times he thinks that his daughter is not really his. Officer Martin had a personal hate on Raymond, and for anyone who keeps their head above the radar, it's not really hard to find out the real killer. That's the time Officer Martin started having so much hate on the 'outsiders'," she paused.

"I have gained so much access throughout the seven months Officer Martin got intimate with me. I started digging up deep through his weak point and I became the first person he started venting on. Often times, he would spend all night with me in his office but my hands were always in cuffs against the table. He raped me several times and I had nobody I could cry to. One night he brought a bottle of scotch and put it on the table. He started acting like he was in love with me and at the same time he seemed like he had a personal deep graved hatred. And whenever he had a bad day he would cry to me that he regrets his actions and he tells me that loves me." she paced up and down a few times in silence, but her eyes glittered feverishly and her lips quivered as she began speaking.

"The night I escaped was the night I was born again. During the night, there were no bodyguards, no police officers just the surveillance camera. The whole facility is ran by eleven police officers. I didn't know why exactly Officer Martin brought ecstasy but I'm pretty sure he was plotting on harming me that night. Perhaps killing me. I gained an access to the ecstasy drugs when he turned around to bring two glasses. The heat of my anger over Officer Martin has vanished and was replaced by fear. When he poured some liquor into my glass, he quickly grabbed my hands and started kissing my neck. No matter how hard I tried to play it out, his eyes were intimidating. He started kissing me all around and started undressing me. The office was dark and too quiet. Any move we made could be heard from the end of the hallway. He took a sharp shot of the scotch, half of an ordinary glass and started pouring another one. I was already naked this time" the memory of that night gave her discomfort.

"When he poured a second round, he started tripping and somehow grabbed my hand and he started losing his balance and then he pulled me towards him and we fell into the floor. I got up quickly, but he was moaning. This was the time for me I finally declare my escape and I managed to put the ecstasy into his glass and I helped him get up. Cold fear spiraled through my body, but when he had the second shot of scotch it didn't take him time to completely doze off. I immediately took the keys and ran through the hallway. It wasn't hard for me to find the exit and I finally busted out. The smell of freedom relaxed my muscles and yet I was too scared. I went straight his house, and stole his car. It was already close to midnight and nobody was there to oppose me when I got outside his house. I didn't want to raise suspicion during the night because the law enforcements are hot during that time, so I decided to drive to some abandoned buildings in Long-mown drive and slept in the car. The morning you saw me in your shop to get the car fixed from overheating was the day I finally managed to escape Caspalina. I didn't trust anybody in this town, and whenever you tried to approach me and started asking me about my bruises, I thought you were another Caspalina inhabitant who would put another female in a harsh situation, I never thought you'd absorb the heat on you and risk your friend for me" A long pause.

"Caspalina, as you know have one main road that leads into the interstate. And throughout the way, there were highway troopers, cops and civilians at every mile and it was hard for me to escape. It was not like I had so many options that time, and the only thing I could do was trust someone, and it happened to be you. Throughout the years, I have learnt how to identify who is good and evil by their look. And whenever you noticed my bruises, I knew you were different from the rest of vicious animals in the town. After I passed you the paper that morning, I didn't expect you to show up the same night and I was delighted"

Rony's eyes filled with tears now as I think how Loise pressed him close to her, speechless and trembling with delight, taking in every syllable that she spoke, while Rony seized her free hand and kissed it and expressed his pride and affection in a big silence. He gazed up at her, unable to shake the feeling that was racing through his blood.