Hiding in the darkness

 "Hey, hey you wake up." I heard a girl's voice but my eye's didn't want to compel, "Hey! Wake up!" The same voice said in a loud whisper. I slowly opened my eye's, the first thing I saw was bars and a dark room. Groggily I sat up and looked around I couldn't see much there was no lights that was clear. "Hey." I turn my head to look at where the voice was coming from. It was obvious a few seconds later I was in a cage or maybe a cell I could tell for sure not at first. The girl was on the other side of another set of bars to my right I crawled over to get a better look at her. "What's your name?" She asked me her english very broken but english all the same. 

        "Sara, how did you know I spoke english?" I asked her confused it was so dark in the room I could barely make out her face. 

        "Your hair it's red." She responded as she sat down against the bars. I remember putting my hand up to touch my hair than asked,

        "Where are we?" She shrugged,

        "Don't know." 

        "Are there other kids?" She nodded,

        "Yeah but they're asleep right now you'll meet them in the morning."         

        "How many are here?"I asked copying how she sat.

        "Depends on the day." I remember her shifting than asked, "Got a family?" I hesitated before answering thinking about how I was told by my cousin to never give our info to anyone, but I had nothing to lose,

        "I have a brother, but I lost him a few months back." I confessed after the words came out tears were streaming down my face the pain I felt, the guilt, the defeat all hit me at once and I just weeped and weeped and weeped. After a well past-do cry the girl patted my shoulder and stated her name,

        "I'm Cataleya, like the flower." I hiccuped and asked,

    "Is there just girls or both?"

    "Both." She said a little bit quieter. 

    "Than have you seen a boy about 4'8 seven years old same red hair and a old yellow toy car in hand?"I turned around as I asked, but she never answered me she ended up saying,

        "Get some sleep they wake us up early." She moved away from the bars and all I could see was the outline of her back. I don't remember falling asleep that night I just remember crying silently to myself.

    Bright lights flashed on the next day waking everyone up. I rubbed my eye and observed my surroundings. I was in a big cage like thing, I was able to stand up in it and take three steps left from the middle and three steps right also from the middle it was the same for front and back. I looked over at the girl next to my right she was about in her late teen years with long black hair in a ponytail, she wore a dirty white shirt and jeans I noticed she never had shoes. She had a dark skin tone that had a sickly tint. I looked to my left there was a boy sitting in the corner knees to chest I couldn't see his face but I knew it was a boy because on his short hair and clothes. Finally I took in the rest of the room, it was a big and looked like a dog pound with how the cages were lined up in two rows, the one I was in, the one across a little girl was in front of me and two boys next to her, one teen and the other a little bit younger than that boy.

    "That's Benni." Cataleya nodded to the little girl, "She's five came here with you last night." I look back at the little girl she was crying to herself silently standing at the "door" looking around. "That's Vicente." She looked over at the older boy, "He and I were brought here in the first week of the raids." The boy was sitting in down looking our way with a emotionless look. "The little boy doesn't have a name or at least I never learned it, he never talked."

    "What is that boys name?" I motion to the boy that was to the left of me. She shrugged,

    "Never go the chance to ask he is one of the quiet ones. There's a lot of those." I look back at the boy he looked back at me. Something about him would always different than the others. I walked over to him that day and asked him his name but he didn't speak so I asked him in spanish,

    "¿Como te llaman?" When didn't say anything I told him my name, "Mi llamo Sara." He smirked a little and looked away. 

        "Hey, Guera." The teen boy called to me calling me white girl it sounds like (weda) though.                                       

        "¿Qué?" I looked at him how I thought my cousin would back in the states with a blank face.        

        "How'd you learn spanish?"

        "How'd you learn english?" I countered. He nods with a lopsided smile. 

        "Need it for when white people like you show up." 

        "Shut it Vicente." Cataleya says hearing the footsteps coming. He did but not without giving Cataleya a dirty look. I go sit down in the middle of the floor as a sound of heel clicked against the floor got closer. When she got into sight I saw a woman in a lab clock, her hair pushed back and wearing glasses. In her hand was a digital clipboard, it was made of glass and the handle was white on it was pictures and writing next to them. She stopped every few cages and held it up. She came to Benni's cage first then mine it was like she was confirming everyone after she was done with mine she continued down the endless idle.

    "That's Josephina, she goes over everyone's states and confirms who's healthy or not." Cataleya explained.

    "Why does it matter?" I asked. Her expression got dark as she spoke,

    "You'll see soon enough."

    I remember how the hours went by there was terror in the air filled with screams and agonizing sounds. People walking by with all types of things and every once in awhile a child or two every few hours but I don't remember seeing most of them coming back. When night fell they let us out one by one with a person holding a gun guiding us. When it was my turn the man didn't look at me just held his hand to the scanner and unlocked the door motioning me with the tip of the gun to start moving than gave me a little push and we walked down the idle to the a doorway and then turned right and walked down a curved hallway with many doors with a tiny window in them. I look back at the man behind me he wasn't Mexican either that much was obvious.

    "Excuse me." I said in a small voice he looked down at me and grunted, "I was just wondering if my brother was here." I asked he didn't answer. "Please he is my only family I just want to know if he's here weather he's is alive or dead." I almost started crying at the thought of him being dead but with all the screaming and scars I've seen on people throughout that day it was possible.

    "What is his name?"

        "Sammy." He looked at me again.

        "A last name." I shook my head. He sighed then motioned to keep moving. When we turned another corner there was another door that led to the dining room. The man left me at the door while I was to continue to the line of children to get food. I was behind the quiet boy that was next to my left. I was told to grab a tray and to make sure that I ate up. When I was given the food it was just rice and beans with two tortilla's. The people serving it was also children but they were the older ones roughly 16-18 years of age. When I was out of line I followed the boy looking out for a little red headed boy,

    "¿Puedo sentarme contigo?" I asked if I could sit with him. I will never forget how he responded with half a smile and a chuckle as he said,

    "Relax chica, I'm not from mexico either I am just mexican born in america." I nod and waited for him to tell me a yes or no I was getting antsy wishing he would answer so I could eat finally. When he looked up with a confused look. "Aren't you going to sit down? We don't get much time to eat." I ended with a 'oh' face and quickly sat down scoping the room again but came up empty again.

    "I... I'm Sara." I said in a small voice after talking a bit of food. He nodded putting a spoonful of rice in his mouth,

    "I remember, I'm Richard." I looked up and smiled a little,

    "It's nice to meet you." He was going to say something but then a tray hit the table indicating that Vicente and Cataleya were here as well, Cataleya sat next to me on my left and Vicente across from her next to Richard.

        "So finally speaking great name, age and where from."

        "Richard, 15, California, America."

    "How'd you get swept into all this compadre?" Vicenta asked next. 

        "Deportation." He said around more food. 

        "Y tu?" He looked at me as did they all. I swallowed the food I was eat and answered,

    "There was no other choice." I took another bite of my food as they waited for more but I never gave it to them even to this day.

        "How old are you Sara?" Vicente asked,

        "14 almost, 15." I said looking around the room again to see if he was walking in or in line. "Have you seen a little red headed boy at all asked them?" Cataleya didn't answer and Vicente shook his head as did Richard. I sighed wanting to cry but pushed it down with a rip of a tortilla and shoved the piece in my mouth. 

        "Terrible things are happening here isn't there?" I finally asked. They all nodded. "What are they doing to all those kids they took?" They didn't want to answer or more like they couldn't. I looked at them closely and for the first time I noticed the scars and scratches on their arms, chest line and the side of their necks. 

        "If anyone hears about my brother even if he is... gone I would like to know." I say finishing my food. They all nod. We made small talk as they finished their food I learned about them before they got here but Richard didn't say much. When it was time to go back to our "areas" We were taken by tables I didn't see the guard that brought me here but I hope I get to see him and he has information about Sammy. We got locked in and after the rest of the kids were put away the lights went out. It was cold that night but there was a blanket was folded in the back left corner. I wrapped it around my body and leaned against the back wall.

    I woke up to shouting than a girl's face appeared at the front of my cage. I jumped back she was breathing heavily, her eyes wide and hair crazy there was something about her skin that was off. She was about to say something but there was footsteps coming closer in a fast pace. Her eyes her face showed pure horror. Within seconds she was gone.

    "Sara... Sara..." I hear Richard say my name. I got close to the bars.

    "What?"

    "What's going on?" He asked obviously woken up from the feet and not the screams like I was.

    "A girl was escaping." I whispered.

    "Really!" He whisper back moving closer to the bars so I could see him better. I nodded.

    "Do you think she'll make it?" He shrugged.

    "Sleep we don't know how tomorrow will be." I nod and leaned against the corner closer to him and he did the same.    

    "Sara, despertarse." A guard was a my cage knocking on my cage loudly waking me up. I sat up and looked at the man who was my escort yesterday. He opened the door and told me to start walking. I stood up and walked out the cage and to the left. We walked down the hallway then turn left again after entering through some doors walking down the same hall from the day before but this time we passed the eating area. We reached a open door and the man shoved me in. Inside there was a table with straps and a counter with lot of different bottles and tools, the walls a pale old white and bright lights over head. The whole room gave me a shiver down my spin I took a step back right into the man who pushed me forward causing me to fall. I hear a voice behind me, a woman's voice telling him that was enough. I felt her hand gently wrap around my arm she helped me get up. She told me sorry for his roughness. Than ushered me to the table. 

        "Just lay back and relax Sara it won't hurt, I promise." She hushed in a sweet voice but the look in her eyes said whole another story.

      The pain was behind anything I have ever experienced. To this day I can still feel it the shocking, the needles, the knives. I screamed so loud I knew it could be heard from a mile away. The sick part was that they didn't stop they just stuck something in my mouth and continued to cut my arms, legs, stomach and back for god knows what. The pain lasted for eternity it seemed after a while I just stopped screaming but the tears never faded. Later that night I was sent back to my cage in a new shirt and jeans. I don't remember how I got back to the cage or how I was cleaned of all blood but the next morning I was clean.

    "Sara... Sara." Cataleya whispered my name that morning I was already up but I wasn't in a talking mood. I was sat at the back of the cage my knees to my chest tear stained my cheeks and the bandages that covered everything else. "Sara, you'll be okay they won't do it again for another week or two." That didn't comfort me at all. My eyes widened as I look at her. Realizing what she said didn't ease my fear she said.

    "It doesn't hurt that much after awhile and soon they will dial it down." I bared my head in my arms and cried again silently.

    Cataleya was right they didn't come to my cage again that week unless it was for dinner time which was the only time we could eat but even than I couldn't really do. The only reason I did eat was because the man that escorted me every night told me they kill those that were unhealthy and I didn't want to die; I couldn't not until I found Sammy. He was the only reason I why I fought to survive.

    "Does it really get better?" I asked them one night at dinner they didn't say anything they at first but Cataleya reassured me it does, but Richard shook his head and to be honest I believe him. The next time they took me to the white room I screamed and fought back but that just made them angry to the point where they had sedated me. I woke up to them shooting something in my back shoulders with a needle whatever was in the vial hurt so much as it went into my skin. I screamed and started to thrash around in pain but they had strapped me down. By the time I was back in my cage that night I couldn't move if I did it would just be pain, excruciating pain along my shoulders and back I wasn't even able to walk for three maybe four days I couldn't tell there were no windows and I wasn't able to go eat so it was brought to me. The day I showed signs I could move around again I was forced to go to dinner with everyone else which wasn't so bad since Cataleya and them did their best to comfort me I asked them what happens to them when they go back but they didn't want to talk about it and I understood why I could see it in their eye's the pain and horror that I feel. I think a month passed since I arrived and I was in the room twice. Cataleya went back three times she would always come back with silent tears as did the other two but it was like it never happened the next day.