Crowam 281 (22 page)

“Not hungry?” I asked.

“I’m afraid I lost my appetite.”

“That’s a first. Maybe you should try to eat something. Who knows when we’ll eat again.”

“I said I’m not hungry.”

“Alright.”

The boys involved in the plan looked anxiously at Felix, awaiting the signal. The mood became increasingly tense with each passing second. Seconds seemed like minutes. “What are you waiting for?” I asked Felix.

“Not yet.”

“Why not?”

“Doesn’t feel right.”

“What do feelings have to do with it?”

“It just doesn’t feel right.”

“We’re running out of time, damn it.”

“I know that!”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“Gentlemen. We must make a move,” Owen said.

“Toss the tray,” I said.

“Damn it, I have to go to the bathroom,” Charles said.

“Are you serious?” I asked.

“Yes, I have to go.”

“We’re about to start a riot and you have to go to the can?”

“When a man has to go, he has to go.”

“You have impeccable timing, chief. You really do.”

Charles got up to head to the can before a commotion occurred on the other side of the cafeteria. Hannah arrived with several guards, looking disheveled. She searched the room until she laid her eyes on me. “Oh no,” I said. She pointed at me, signaling the guards.

Captain Longwood shoved Charles, pushing him out of the way. “Move along fatty. What, getting more food to stuff your face with aren’t ya, fatty.”

“Don’t call me fat,” Charles said.

“Or what. You’ll eat me?”

Charles pushed Captain Longwood. He fell to the ground, staggered. Charles climbed on top of one of the cafeteria tables. The drone of conversation within the space of the cafeteria evaporated to mere silence. “Get down from there!” Longwood yelled.

“All of you. Please listen to what I have to say!”

“I said get down from there and shut up, you fat son of a bitch!”

“No, you shut up. I’m not taking orders from you anymore. None of us are. This is our time now. All of you don’t let these tyrants degrade and ridicule us. Don’t you see what they are trying to do to us! They tell us what to do, how to think, how to view ourselves. They make us suffer like so many have suffered before us. They’re trying to take away what make us who we are. To love, to feel, to think for ourselves. They want to make us believe the world doesn’t want us, that we’re alone. That the world has forgotten about us.

“But we’re not alone. We have each other. Let us not fall into the arms of lunacy. Let us rise to free ourselves from tyranny. We must let the world know of what has transpired behind these walls, so that never again will others suffer as we did. Don’t be afraid of these monsters, for monsters can be slain. It is our time. It is our moment. Rise gentlemen, rise!”

Felix dropped the tray. A guard stood next to me. I took out the billy club tucked underneath my shirt. I swung violently; blood and teeth flew from the guard’s mouth. The cafeteria erupted in chaos. The revolt commenced.

The cafeteria erupted in violence. The boys, rallying behind Charles’s speech, attacked the guards. The guards were ferocious, but so were we, holding nothing back and unleashing our hatred towards Crowam on the guards.

At first I used my billy club, aiming for the face. One guard approached me. He swung his club. I ducked, swinging for his face. The blunt sound of my club hitting his head made my skin crawl. He fell to the ground, rolling in pain. I kept hitting his head repeatedly. For the life of me, I couldn’t stop. I just kept hitting him. His face became bloody and swollen. “Please, stop,” he said.

But I didn’t want to stop. I went for one last hit before someone gripped my hand. “I think he’s had enough, old boy, don’t you think?” Felix said. Suddenly, several guards knocked us down. My face hit the hard tile floor. Our billy clubs rolled on the floor. The guards kicked them away before we could reach for them. They kicked us to the ground, beating us with their clubs.

Charles once again climbed on the table, throwing himself on top of the guards, knocking them down. We got up, retrieved our billy clubs and beat them until they were unconscious.

“Charles, you’re my damn hero, you know that,” I said.

“I have to put all this weight to some good use.”

“Where is Owen?” Felix asked.

“I don’t know. We have to find him.”

We searched the cafeteria, bobbing in between the infighting between the guards and us. In the corner we found Owen in a chokehold from one of the guards. I snuck behind the guard. I unleashed my club on his back. He fell to his knees. I swung again, hitting the back of his head. He collapsed to the ground. Owen grabbed his neck, regaining his breath. “Owen, are you ok?” I asked.

“Yes. I’m ok.”

“I think it’s time to lead the way. How many were you able to find to go with you?”

“More than I bargained for. Twenty.”

“That’s more than enough. Get them out of here, Owen. Remember to get Petey.”

“Consider it done, friend.”

“Get help as soon as you can. We’ll try to hold them off.”

“What are you going to do?” Owen asked.

“We’re going to try to form a barricade and hold them off. Hopefully that can give us enough time until the cavalry arrives.”

“And what if nobody believes me?” Owen asked.

“They have to believe you. They have to.”

It was hard to tell who was winning. I saw boys get pummeled. I saw one boy, maybe thirteen, get assaulted by four guards. It was so cruel, just like this place. Cruel and harsh. There was more of us than them, yet it still seemed so unfair. From the looks of it, we were losing ground. We formed a barricade in the back of the cafeteria using tables and chairs. “Godspeed, gentlemen,” Owen said.

“Don’t forget us.”

“Never.”

Owen left with the escapees while we held the rest of the guards off. The guards held several of the boys captive, while we captured one their own. The guard’s leg was broken with a bloody lip and bruised eyes.

“Damn it, let me go,” the guard said.

“Shut up!” Felix yelled, striking him in his bad knee. He screamed in agony. The battle lines were drawn, and now each side waited to see what the other would do next.

Nightfall came. It was dark in the cafeteria with a few fluorescent lights flickering on and off. The guards on one end and us on the other. Some of the guards tried bum rushing us with the attempt to break down our fortification, but we beat them back. We huddled together, keeping watch. Our adrenaline still flowed like a high tide in the ocean. “What do we do?” Charles asked.

“We wait for now, I suppose,” I said.

“They have prisoners,” Charles said.

“We’re all prisoners until we get out of here,” I said.

“What do you think they’ll do with them?” Charles asked.

“I don’t know. Use them for leverage. I guess.”

From behind the line of guards standing at attention was Mr. Hugo. His suit was pristine and clean. His hair slicked back with remarkable precision. He evaluated the cafeteria, taking in the situation. “What a lovely insurrection we have here,” Mr. Hugo said.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I yelled.

“Ah, Mr. Hudson. You’re becoming quite a thorn on the backside. Can I assume that this little temper tantrum was your idea?”

“We all had a hand in it,” I yelled.

“I see. Well, I have to say, I am impressed. You’ve managed to make a fool out of my guards while grinding this facility to a halt. Very impressive. Nonetheless, you do realize that it is impossible for you to escape Crowam? This facility is surround by twenty-foot high walls. The front gate is locked and reinforced. My guards will not allow this to go on any further. Now, why don’t we put an end to this now? Go back to your dormitories and we can put this matter behind us. I give you my word that none of you will be punished for this, ‘uprising.’ ”

Some of the boys became restless, actually becoming influenced by his propaganda.

“Maybe he’s telling the truth?” Paul said. He was a boy in the midst of puberty, his voice crackling.

“He’s lying, don’t listen to him,” I said.

A few others joined with Paul, their nerves pressured by the circumstances. “Listen. He’s lying. He’s just playing with us. We give just an inch and we’re done for. You understand.” I went over to the guard. The guard clutched his leg. “What’s your name?” I asked.

“George,” he said.

“Alright George, why don’t you tell us what your comrades plan on doing next?”

“You appear to be familiar with Mr. Hugo. I’m sure you have a good idea.”

“What does he plan on doing?”

George laughed, pulling a box of cigarettes from his pocket. He had trouble pulling the lighter from his pants pocket. I grabbed it for him and lit the cigarette that hung loosely from his mouth. He took a long drag, blowing the smoke in the air above him. “You boys have plenty of courage, I’ll tell you that.”

“We’re not interested in compliments. We want to know what they plan on doing.”

He took another drag of his cigarette. “Well, it’s hard to say. You certainly have made a mess of things. Never seen anything like this before. Not sure what they might do. Mr. Hugo has his methods. They might wait things out to see what you might do next. If that fails, water cannons always do the trick.”

“Do you have any guns?” Felix asked.

“Guns? No, Mr. Hugo was never fond of firearms. He thinks they are too crude, unless under certain circumstances, of course. He believes oppression of the mind is far more effective than oppression against the body.” George finished his cigarette. He pulled out another cigarette, the last one. I helped light it for him.

“You kids sure have guts to pull something like this.”

“What are our chances?” Felix asked.

“Not very good, I’m afraid. As I said, Mr. Hugo has his methods. Us guards, we’re at the very least indifferent in regards to you boys. Most of us, well, we think you’re just a bother.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Most of the guards think you’re a bunch bad children up to no good. A burden on society. They relish the idea of straightening you boys out.”

“Is that how you feel, George?” Charles asked.

“I have nothing against you boys. I really don’t. I have two of them myself at home.”

“Then why do this?” Felix asked.

“After the war, this was the only job I could find. When you have mouths to feed, you have to take what you can get.”

“Do you know what goes around here? With Mr. Hugo’s experiments!

“I’ve heard rumors, all of us have. But Mr. Hugo is a private man. I’ve had strong inclinations on what goes on here. But I choose to ignore them for the sake of the job.”

“You stood around and did nothing while countless lives were destroyed!”

“There was nothing I could do! I swear on it. I was powerless.”

“Swear on your children,” Felix said.

“Please, I’m telling you the truth.”

“Then swear on your children!” Felix yelled.

“You boys are crazy. You have no idea what you’re doing. You’re going to get yourselves killed. Just do as Mr. Hugo says.”

“I bet you would like that huh?” I said. “You’ll be able to keep your job.”

All of us were becoming restless behind the barricade. The stalemate got us thinking, second-guessing ourselves. We debated about what to do with George. He didn’t seem like a bad fellow. Just someone caught in bad situation. A cog in a wheel, so to speak. Some of the boys debated on what to do with him.

“Let’s kill him.”

“That will show ’em.”

“We need to show we mean business.”

The chorus of ideas clouded my mind. They were both confusing and agitating to me. “Would all of you shut up? We’re not killing anybody!” I said.

“Yes, gentlemen. Let us compose ourselves. If we kill him, we’ll be no better than they are,” Felix said.

“I agree. We must remain calm,” Charles said.

“He would kill anyone of us if he had the chance.” One boy yelled.

It felt like a mutiny within a mutiny. The infighting began to divide us. “We can’t kill him. Besides, we can use him as leverage. He can be of use to us,” Charles said.

“We must not let our emotions get the best of us,” Felix said.

“Oh, boys?” Mr. Hugo yelled. “If I’m not mistaken, I believe you have one of our guards. George, is it?”

“Say something,” I said to George.

“Yes sir. I’m here,” George said.

“Are you alright? Are you injured?” Mr. Hugo asked.

“I have a broken leg and some bruises. But I’m ok, sir.”

“What ruffians we have here.”

“We learned from your guards,” I replied.

Mr. Hugo motioned his fingers, and like an obedient guard, Captain Longwood brought out their captives. “It seems we have a little predicament. You have one of our guards and I have two of your ‘comrades in arms.’ Now, why don’t we make a trade? You give us George and I’ll release your friends. How does this arrangement sound? As I promised before, no harm will come to you.”

“He’s lying,” I said.

“We all know that. But if we don’t release George, those boys are dead.”

“And if we release him, we’re all dead,” I said.

“What if we don’t cooperate?” I yelled back at Mr. Hugo.

“Ah yes, once again Mr. Hudson, you must make a choice. There are consequences for all the choices we make.” He looked at his watch. “You have one minute to decide.”

The boys were undecided, some wanting to release him, others wanting to kill him. We were bewildered, torn and divided under the harshest of circumstances. “We have to decide,” Charles said.

“You decide, Felix,” I said.

Felix grimaced. “I don’t think I’m up to it. It’s up to you, Jake.”

“Oh brother,” I said.

The minute seemed to last an eternity. Time stood still, just like in the dungeons below, where Joshua lectured me on its longevity. A minute passed. “Time is up, Mr. Hudson. Have you made your decision?”