Dreams Ltd (49 page)

Fuck the gems! If only I’d stay alive...It’s not the time to be greedy!

Jenny began wading through the tall grass.

The wide leaves were clinging to her clothes and slapping her in the face; the resentment and anger was gurgling up in Jenny’s throat - the gems were too good to leave behind, most likely they were rare and expensive - she was almost howling that she had to get out without them. But there was no choice – most likely in the morning she’ll have to face an execution or a penal servitude, and if she comes across Greg first, she may not even see the morning.

Finally, after the painfully long last thirty meters, with cut hands and legs, Jenny ended up on a deserted moonlit road - there were trees growing on the other side.

Phew! She’s pulled it off so far! It wasn’t easy, but still....

Suppressing a strong desire to scratch her itchy skin, she quickly ran across the dusty path, and almost fell into a ditch on the other side of the road, rolled on her stomach and settled there quietly. This place was in the shade - the foliage wouldn’t let the moonlight through - so Jenny could relax for a second. She rubbed her sore skin covered with grazes and grimaced - damn grass! Even her t-shirt looked a total mess now. But her appearance was not as significant as the other problem at hand - how can she get over the fence?

Having walked on this road a few times before, Jenny knew there was an old gate there, which was previously used for big trucks, but then they built new shiny gates much closer to the house and this one was abandoned. Even though the old dusty metal gate was now rusty and lopsided it still had electricity running through it twenty-four hours a day, like it was designed for the rest of the perimeter. But there was, however, one "but" that made this place different from the others, and this "but" was a chain that was holding the gate’s doors together.

A few times in the past Jenny thought that this chain was long enough to allow the doors to separate adequately in order for a human body to squeeze through the existing hole. It remained unclear why Hulk didn’t pay attention to this bit, but did it really matter now? The only important thing at this very moment was that she doesn’t find a new shorter chain here and that the gap is still wide enough.

Jenny swallowed.

She didn’t really want to go through this - if she touches the metal, she’ll roast and become a dish called “made out of Jenny”. But if she doesn’t try, then she might as well forget about ever getting out of this ranch. The rest of the perimeter had a few rows of twisted barbed wire around it, which you would not want to mess with as it carried a significant risk to one’s life.

So what would the right choice be? Should she try or not?

Either because of the long run or her fear, Jenny felt the sweat running down her back. She wiped the droplets from her temple, buried her face in her hands and halted in doubt.

What if she gets killed? What if she is not slim enough to squeeze through the gates? It was damn scary to even think about that. Jenny closed her eyes for a moment, but then aroused. She must look at the gap once again and then decide what she is going to do before the panic takes over her. She reluctantly got up from the ground and looked around - it was quiet. Wherever Greg was at the moment, he still wasn’t here which meant she’s got a chance to give the fence a closer look.

Trying to prop herself with her heels, Jenny slid down to the bottom of the ravine, and climbed up on another side of it - there was a narrow path behind the trees. On the other side of the path, there was an electric fence smelling distinctly of death.

Jenny shuddered as she saw it.

In fact, there wasn’t any unusual odour around - the air smelled of dust and pollen from the rare flowers, but her imagination was going wild, forcing Jenny’s nostrils to tremble from the non-existent electrical smell.

Trying to keep in the shade, Jenny was walking along the fence until she reached her destination - the old rusty gate. The doors were high and heavy, with cage-like bars, which could be used for animals in a zoo. There was a chain there - like a fat dead python, it sagged in the middle, holding the iron "ears” together on both sides, and the gap was exactly the same as Jenny remembered it.

With her breath bated and eyes glued to the metal that could cause an immediate death, Jenny approached the gate. Is the gap wide enough? Will it be possible to slip through it sideways and not touch it? If she inhales and goes through very carefully, it might work out.

Jenny listened to the sounds around again.

At first it seemed that there was the same silence, but after a few seconds, she heard something that made her shiver - male voices. Was this area also being patrolled?

Like a hunted animal she was shifting her gaze from the gate to the empty road behind the trees. They will be here soon - either the guards or Greg, and if she stays here, then her last chance to break free will fade away as if it never existed.

This thought forced her to make the final decision - Jenny started moving slowly and cautiously, and then froze right in front of the gate with her nose almost touching the rusty bar. She thought she must bend her legs and kneel to make sure that they won’t touch the iron. Damn, that will be hard! But she can only do it once - it may not work. This is it - life or death.

She took a deep breath, filled her lungs with as much air as possible, then breathed out and made a step forward - turned sideways, pressed her hands against her body, pulled every little bit of herself in, and began carefully squeezing through the gap.

First the iron bar went past her left eye, and now it was exactly in the centre of her face - opposite her nose. For a moment it seemed that Jenny’s hair touched the chain and her back was almost pressing against the rear rack, but judging by the fact that she was still alive, it has not yet happened. By this time the sweat was pouring like hell - running down her neck, sides, and thighs, but that was the last thing Jenny cared about. She was slowly crawling to the other side - the freedom side.

The left knee successfully passed the danger area without touching the macabre metal pipe and now it was before her right eye. Then the right ear... Hand... Right knee...

Don’t touch... please, don’t touch it, just don’t touch...

I’ve gone through!

It’s worked!

Jenny took a step away from the gate, looked at her limbs still in place and fell on the grass - on the other side of the fence.

She did it! She didn’t even notice that she was lying in the grass and laughing.

It worked! She squeezed through the hole without being noticed! Could anything be better than this? Greg didn’t find her, the patrol didn’t surface, the night had just begun and she was still alive!

Life had presented her with a lucky lottery ticket and there was justice in this world. Not willing to spend another minute by the ill-fated gate, she got up off of the ground feeling a new wave of energy after the successful implementation of the plan; briefly looked around and decided to run towards the weald, which stood, like a dark wall, a hundred meters away. The moon coated the tree crowns with silver light - this place will become her shelter until she decides where to move next. To get to the trees, she had to cross a dry grassy meadow - Jenny grimaced, knowing that her irritated skin will not be pleased with new scratches, but that’s alright. They’ll heal. The most important thing was that she was out of the ranch’s territory and from now on there was only freedom ahead.

Encouraged by her success, she bravely stepped into the grass, then took another step and then... stopped. The feeling of calamity close by suddenly loomed in her mind – a very bad, heavy and dark premonition that something terrible is about to happen.

What’s wrong? There was nobody after her, so why has this feeling come over her all of a sudden?

After standing motionless for a minute, Jenny shook her head.

What a dope she is, imagining something and ready to shit her pants for no reason.

She took a step forward - and this step was to become her last one.

The ankle burst with pain, as if someone dug their teeth into it, to chewing it in half. Her body jolted with such a force that Jenny got flew backwards, but she did not feel anything anymore. She fell on the grass, like a heavy sack. She did not see the sky or the moon; she no longer felt the dry grass poking her skin.

It took just a second for the electric current to rapidly run through her muscles, organs, blood and nervous system and go back to the ground. But not before it stopped her heart beating.

That was one of those moments when everything seems surreal - when you look at what’s happening in your life and think "No, all this is not happening to me..." and it feels like a play, written by a crazy writer.

This evening reminded me about the one when Alex went, and instead of him returning home, I received a ransom note. Just as it was then, now it seemed that no matter what I do or say - someone else is pulling the strings and calling all the shots, and all my attempts to influence the events of life, was nothing but a false illusion about my own abilities.

First there was an apologetic Greg, malicious Jenny and angry Hulk. Then the first two were gone, and there was only Hulk left, not angry anymore, but rather concerned. He apologised and quickly left the office to talk to the guards about the vacant position of the senior warden.

The rush regarding this matter was understandable, and I was patiently sitting on the sofa, waiting for his return, going through all the Tueric words in my mind that I could remember.

Later on, a maid, whose voice I didn’t recognise entered the room. She greeted me and started serving dinner on the balcony table. I was listening to the tinkling plates and cutlery, inhaling the smell of the dishes that the wind was bringing into the room. After a while the maid finished her task and went away. Once again I was left alone, wondering what this evening is going to bring when Hulk returns.

Tired from the silence, interrupted only by a monotonous clock ticking, I fell asleep, but soon woke up, from the sound of a slamming door - Hulk returned. As it turned out, not for long. We were about to have our dinner then stamping feet and men's voices burst into the room.

“Mr Conrad! We’ve found the body of one of the prisoners who tried to escape, and...”

“I got it.” Hulk replied sharply, “Let’s go.”

Jenny, instantly flashed in my mind.

The room was quiet again.

My hope for a pleasant evening was replaced with a melancholic silence, filled with anxious thoughts. Almost enchanted I was sitting alone on the balcony, on a wicker chair, feeling a warm night breeze, looking into the darkness. No, not into the darkness, but into myself, where the pictures of my friendship with Jenny were beginning to appear. Well, at least, some time ago I truly believed that it could grow into a real friendship, if things could’ve in turned out differently...

Was she really that desperate? And decided to run? Did she not remember that the fence was electrified? There was no way she would have forgotten that, so yes, she must have been desperate. I didn’t know much about the Supreme Court, but obviously it was something that Jenny wanted to avoid at all costs.

I had a heavy heart now.

I didn’t want to believe that someone, whose voice I heard just a couple of hours ago, suddenly turned from an living, breathing person into what could only be described by a hollow word - "body". Even if this person was your enemy it was somehow devastatingly wrong and I didn’t feel any relief after this news.

Yes, Jenny betrayed me not just once, but twice and yes, we were never real friends. Sometimes I’d get angry or wouldn’t understand her, but I never wished her or any other person any harm, and especially a death like this. And still, she was the first person who I could talk to, share my problems with, and since she was the first one who supported me, she became symbolic.

I was always grateful for the helping hand she gave me in the first days in Tally. The days when I was like a blind puppy, not knowing where to go or what to do. Jenny explained the rules to me gave me advice, helped me to find work at “Polo Grand” and somewhere deep inside, I’ve always regretted that the circumstances forced us to choose different ways of life. Where I’d hope for a miracle from above, trying not to compromise my own principles, she’d grab everything she could reach for, using any opportunity to get out from the dumps, to survive, to make her own life a little better. Even if at times there were dirty methods.