"Chris Lawson - Empathy" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lawson Chris)

Magazine fiction
Empathy
Issue 8 of Cosmos, April 2006
by Chris Lawson




Illustration: Mark Evans
One night, Jules is confronted by unpleasant strangers with guns. She doesn't like them at all.
The people come when I watch TV in my bedroom. I like Benny Hinn on the TV. Benny Hinn talks
about love and Jesus and shepherds. Next comes I Love Lucy and I like it even better even though it has
no colour.

Two people come in here while Benny Hinn sings a nice song about an old rock. I do not know the
people. One woman and one man. They have white skin.

The man has red hair and the woman has black hair. They make noise. They smell scared. They do not
look like the other people here. They wear cloth over their faces. I do not know them.

They speak so fast I cannot understand. They grab me. They hurt my arm. I say nothing. I go where they
want. Scared animals are dangerous. They take me to the Big Door. I don't want to go with them any
more. I don't want to go through the Big Door even if they do hurt me. Only people with bald faces go
through the Big Door. I stop and squirm. They smell more angry.

The man shouts at the woman, not at me like I expect. He grabs me hard and the woman wraps me tight
in a blanket until I cannot move my arms. Now I am scaredest. I scream.

The man picks me up. I cannot stop him. The woman opens the Big Door and we all go through. I should
not go through the Big Door. It is only for baldface people. We go anyway. I scream all the way.

They take me out into the dark. The moon shines. I see the moon from inside and on TV, but not like
this. It scares me more.

They put me in a white van. Raoul is already in the back. Raoul is tied up. Raoul has a bruise on his eye
and a cut lip. He sits up. It is not easy for him. He is tied up and he groans when he moves. He is hurt
bad, but I see him and it makes me calm. I stop my screams.
He says to me, "All OK, Jules. All OK." He says the calming words and he makes the calming sound.
"Shush-shush-shush-shush." Usually he strokes my head when he says the calming sound, but he is all
tied up and he cannot do that.

The white man puts his head in the doors and shouts at Raoul. "Shut up!" he says.

He takes out a gun. I see guns on TV. I know what they do. I get scared again and scream.

The white man shakes the gun at Raoul. He shouts at Raoul some more. "Look what you done!" He
thinks I am scared of Raoul, but Raoul gives me food and talks to me. I am scared of the new man, not
Raoul.

The white woman pushes the white man away. She gets in the back of the van with us.