The Enemy by Susan Bowes (best classic books of all time txt) 📖

me. I don't want to end up the same as your buddies."

"What is everyone so afraid of?"

"Nothing. Now get back to work."

"Yes sir," I sighed. I went back to the conveyer belt and stood behind Florek again. I pretending to ball him out for slacking off some more, but really told him he was right about Ellie. She was dead.

"Time to move on my friend. Let it go. Forget her," he said as he noticed my tears.

"How? To what? This existence? This isn't life. I'm still going to find her and say goodbye before I leave."

"Still thinking you can escape? I told you there's no way to get out of this prison but death."

"You're wrong. There is a way. I found a hall exiting this room. If I can hide there after work I know I can find a way out of the building besides using the front gate. It's constantly under surveillance, but the exit I found isn't. I've seen guards going through that door and they don't come back. There's got to be another exit from the factory." I paused before asking, "Do you want to come with me?"

"And end up like the others? No thank you. I'll take my chances here."

"Suit yourself, but if you change your mind you know where to find me."

"I beg you to reconsider. If your caught---, well---, I told you many times that you don't want to know why. It leads to madness."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I can't tell you."

"That's what I thought you'd say." I couldn't hide my anger as I stormed away from the belt.

*

The workers shuffled towards the exit as the bell peeled. The girl the guard pointed out to me that day passed by and he grabbed her by the arm. "Come with me little one," he said as an evil leer crossed his face. "I want you to be nice to your boss while he rides deep inside you." She didn't look up at his gross remark. She'd been raped numerous times since her capture and no longer reacted to being treated like a whore.

It had taken a while, but I'd learned how to play our captor’s many games of chance. Florek asked my sudden interest as he passed out the playing cards. I just said I was going stir crazy and needed something to pass the time. He agreed to teach me. I had learned how to wager and won most hands played.

I was soon sitting at a table playing the game with the guard I'd befriended. I'd won a lot of his currency. I told him that I'd changed my mind about the girl and paid him a significant fee to bed her. He said he'd bring her to my barracks, but I said I needed privacy. I asked him if we could stay behind at the factory. At first he said it couldn't be done, but when I gave him every cent of currency I had, he quickly stuffed the bills in his pocket and agreed. He said I could have her after today's shift.

"Here you are my friend. Get to it," he said as he shoved the girl towards me. He made no attempt to leave the room.

"Here? In front of you?" I asked in horror. I’d heard that guards sated their lusts with our woman as their friends looked on with great amusement. They often took turns raping them. Sudden anger flared inside of me, but I kept it in check.

"What's the matter? This place aint good enough for ya?"

"Well---, er, there's no where to lie down for one thing."

"Do it on the floor or on a conveyer belt then," he chuckled sardonically.

"Come on. You've been paid very handsomely. Have a heart. I need bedding of some kind. I like being on the bottom. This bony ass needs a little comfort. I won't be able to get off otherwise."

"I guess we could use the officer's lounge. There's a couch in there."

"We?"

"You didn't think you could have the whore all to yourself, did ya?"

"I was hoping---,"

“Not on your life,” he interrupted. “If you don't want to share you can just forget about the whole thing."

"I'm sorry. I guess I just didn't expect you'd want me to share. Would you mind if I went first?"

"Naw. I don’t mind at all. I like to watch. All the more exciting if you get my drift."

"I know exactly what you mean," I snickered. My hatred towards these foul beings increased by the minute. I wanted to grab him around the throat and squeeze the life from him.

The guard pushed the girl in front of us as we headed up the stairs. We passed through the glass enclosure into a different section. The officer's lounge was located there. I'd seen it before while giving production reports.

As I walked through the door I wondered how I was going to get out of this. I had no intention of harming the child, but since the guard insisted on watching I might have to go through with it. I should've known I wouldn't be left alone. That's why I asked to be first. If what I thought the guard meant while watching was accurate, he would be distracted.

We entered the lounge. The guard pushed the girl down on the couch and told me to proceed. He said he had to get back on duty soon. When I didn't procede he asked, "Now what?"

"I've never done it with anyone watching before. I'm just a little uncomfortable about it."

"You better get used to me watching if you want her again. If she's anything like I'm expecting, you'll be back for more."

"Alright," I sighed. I sat down next to the girl. I unbuttoned her blouse and gently caressed her small breasts with my hands; then leaned over and kissed her on the lips while I moved one hand down between her thighs. I moved my lips down her body as I peeked up at the guard. He'd unfastened his pants and they'd slid down his legs. He was stoking himself.

"Come on. I haven't got all night," he said in anticipation.

"Alright. But I'm finding this a little difficult with you staring at me."

"Just get on with it."

Though I hadn't wanted to hurt the child, I didn't have much of a choice but to continue. I peeled her clothing off and pushed my hand between her legs. She gasped, but didn't try to stop me. I continued to perform this unspeakable intrusion upon her body and moved my fingers gently back and forth. I dared another quick glance at the guard. He'd become very excited and was in the process of pleasing himself. I waited. His breathing got rapid and he closed his eyes as he neared his peek.

This was my only chance. I suddenly leapt from the couch and swung my fist as hard as I could. He wasn't expecting the blow and went down heavily. I reached for his weapon. He pulled me to the floor and we wrestled. The weapon fired. He was still. I rolled off of him and he still didn't move. I felt his pulse. The man was dead. I’d never fought with our enemy face to face before, but the satisfaction I felt at his demise was most exuberant.

I got up and stuffed the gun in the waistband of my trousers then went back to the girl. I covered her nakedness as fast as I could and pulled her towards the door. When we exited the glass enclosure I stopped and strained my ears for footfalls. I heard none. The lounge must have been soundproofed. I cautiously moved down the stairs and we exited the conveyer room. I ran down the hallway with the girl in tow. She didn't resist. We reached the end of the corridor and ran through the exit to the stairwell. We descended in silence.

When we reached the bottom I pulled the girl down another long hallway. There was a set of double doors at the end. I pushed against them and they opened easily. I felt for a light switch and soon the room was flooded with light. What I saw before me was shocking. Along each wall were our dead. They were naked and stacked nearly to the ceiling. My stomach retched.

There was a long conveyer in this room also. Perhaps it led to the outside to carry our dead to a burial plot. I continued towards the end of the conveyer, but it did not lead to the outside world. It lead to another room with a great oven. Did they cremate our kind before disposing of us I wondered.

There was another belt that led from the oven. My assumption about cremation was wrong. The bodies were dumped upon the belt intact having been cooked. My stomach heaved again as I watched the conveyor carry the bodies towards a chopping saw slicing the remains into pieces. Bile rose to my throat, but I managed not to vomit. After dismemberment the bodies were dumped onto another conveyer leading from the room.

I had no choice but to follow the conveyor as it passed through another opening. I walked through the exit and stopped dead in my tracks. An overwhelming horror stood before me. This is what Florek had kept from me. I could understand his fear now. This is what made him break. I could not contain the vomit as it spewed from my mouth. My second had been right about our enemy. These beings were vile. They had turned into cannibals.

I flopped down on the floor and started to laugh and cry simultaneously as I watched my species being stuffed into cans that had later passed through my own hands; inspecting them with such indifference. I had never been interested in the labels before, but now knowing how to interpret and write their language I and could not help but read them. Some of them read Foodsource, some read King Marketing, while others read Greater Pacific and Atlantic Food Sorce. I assumed they were grocery stores. I damned the day I crashed on planet Earth.

I stood and went over to the girl. I sat her down on the floor then sat next to her as she stared straight ahead not comprenhending the horrific sight before her eyes. I thanked God that my wife and child could not see the tragedy that had befallen our species. I prayed that they would never know. How I longed to hold them in my arms, but that could never be. Florek was right. There was no escape from this wicked world.

I said a soft farewell to Ellie, my wife and my son. I regretted that I'd never see my child grow to adulthood. Tears flowed down my cheeks as I put the gun to the back of the girl's head and fired. She slumped over onto my lap. I then put the weapon in my mouth and pulled the trigger. I was free of this prison at last.