C4 antho - Chamber Four
C4 antho - Chamber Four C4 antho - Chamber Four
~224~ The Chamber Four Fiction Anthology realized what was happening, as soon as they figured out that the kids had been rounded up. “Malmoud―that old man―he was the one. He was the one who did it. Did you go in the tent? Did you see what was in there? Christ, I never should have let you go with him. Somebody―I don’t know who, must’ve been one of the IRC workers―somebody put out a dispatch, I don’t even know who to. That plane that landed, it was two human rights defenders, Americans. None of us knew what to do. We were yelling, we were all scared, panicked. That’s when I got to the tent and saw you on the ground. I picked you up, ran you back to the Jeep. Christ, I never even knew I was that strong.” It wasn’t until she was on a plane, flying out of Nairobi, that Betsy cried. Then one morning Betsy woke up, stepped down from bed, and her legs gave out beneath her. Her bones pulled her straight to the hardwood floor. First her elbow smacked, then her hip thudded. A wavering cry escaped her throat and for a second she couldn’t figure out what it was. When she realized it had been her cry, a cold rush of fear coursed through her entire body. Her fingertips tingled. She soldier-crawled her way to the bathroom, sat against the tub, looked at her feet. Her vision was blurry. It took a few seconds before things came into focus. Sunlight poured in through the small window next to the toilet, formed slanted columns, illuminated bits of dust that twirled and danced in the air. The skin of her toes had turned black. It looked like her skin had shrunk over the bones in her foot. Her toenails were a wan pink. The cuticles had turned orange, like they’d been stained with iodine. The bridge of her foot was beet-red, covered in open sores that glistened white in the sunlight.
Helping Hands ~225~ Betsy’s heart pounded as she inspected her feet. She thought of words like gangrene, necrotic, fetid. She looked at her hands. Her palms were covered in sores. The skin on her fingers was so black it was shiny, almost blue. How had I not noticed that? How could I have not noticed that my hands turned black? She was too tired to do anything. She was too tired to crawl back into the bedroom, to lift herself up to the phone, too tired to dial the numbers, to explain who she was, where she was, what was wrong. Betsy felt fuzzy warmth swirl behind her eyes. She was tired. She shut her eyes and fell asleep. Paul will find me, she thought. Paul will find me and Paul will help. * * * * She was in a white bed. The bed’s frame was metal and painted white. The white sheets were tucked tightly over her body, but her body was not there. Her arms were tucked beneath the sheets but her arms were not there. Her legs and feet did not push against the sheet. She was flat. She was back in the Sahara, surrounded by the lunar sands. The sky was black. There were no stars. There was moonlight on everything but there was no moon. At the foot of the bed was a giant mosquito. It was perched on the ornate footboard, all six of its massive, pipecleaner legs holding the footboard like a buzzard holds the branch of a tree. Its legs bent out at its sides at severe angles. Its body expanded and contracted as it took in and released air. The mosquito tilted its head as it looked at Betsy. Its sucker hung straight down like a vacuum cleaner attachment.
- Page 173 and 174: On Castles ~173~ century. I went to
- Page 175 and 176: On Castles ~175~ medical profession
- Page 177 and 178: On Castles ~177~ “No, I’m conce
- Page 179 and 180: On Castles ~179~ People would vote
- Page 181 and 182: On Castles ~181~ “I’m going to
- Page 183 and 184: On Castles ~183~ enjoy, being that
- Page 185 and 186: On Castles ~185~ surrounded by the
- Page 187 and 188: On Castles ~187~ laugh inadvertentl
- Page 189 and 190: On Castles ~189~ need to stop insti
- Page 191 and 192: Black Night Ranch _______________ b
- Page 193 and 194: Black Night Ranch ~193~ James Carl
- Page 195 and 196: Black Night Ranch ~195~ meant James
- Page 197 and 198: Black Night Ranch ~197~ “I didn
- Page 199 and 200: Black Night Ranch ~199~ “I think
- Page 201 and 202: Black Night Ranch ~201~ “I can re
- Page 203 and 204: Black Night Ranch ~203~ molded them
- Page 205 and 206: Black Night Ranch ~205~ “I don’
- Page 207 and 208: Black Night Ranch ~207~ “Yes!”
- Page 209 and 210: Black Night Ranch ~209~ panting in
- Page 211 and 212: Black Night Ranch ~211~ them. Dog w
- Page 213 and 214: The Eskimo Keeps Her Promise ______
- Page 215 and 216: The Eskimo Keeps Her Promise ~215~
- Page 217 and 218: Helping Hands ~217~ the Internation
- Page 219 and 220: Helping Hands ~219~ with the backs
- Page 221 and 222: Helping Hands ~221~ Betsy angled he
- Page 223: Helping Hands ~223~ Betsy emerged f
- Page 227 and 228: Helping Hands ~227~ * * * * “I’
- Page 229 and 230: The Next Thing on Benefit ~229~ whe
- Page 231 and 232: The Next Thing on Benefit ~231~ Oka
- Page 233 and 234: The Next Thing on Benefit ~233~ sho
- Page 235 and 236: The Next Thing on Benefit ~235~ She
- Page 237 and 238: The Next Thing on Benefit ~237~ “
- Page 239 and 240: The Next Thing on Benefit ~239~ “
- Page 241 and 242: The Next Thing on Benefit ~241~ fee
- Page 243 and 244: The Next Thing on Benefit ~243~ “
- Page 245 and 246: The Next Thing on Benefit ~245~ the
- Page 247 and 248: The Next Thing on Benefit ~247~ and
- Page 249 and 250: The Next Thing on Benefit ~249~ “
- Page 251 and 252: The Next Thing on Benefit ~251~ sla
- Page 253 and 254: The Next Thing on Benefit ~253~ “
- Page 255 and 256: The Next Thing on Benefit ~255~ “
- Page 257 and 258: The Next Thing on Benefit ~257~ tur
- Page 259 and 260: The Next Thing on Benefit ~259~ Sha
- Page 261 and 262: The Night Dentist ~261~ warmth that
- Page 263 and 264: Pool ~263~ really. She walked back
- Page 265 and 266: Pool ~265~ She put her hand on his
- Page 267 and 268: Pool ~267~ hatching eggs and the wo
- Page 269 and 270: Pool ~269~ Jon said, “Yeah, Darla
- Page 271 and 272: Pool ~271~ He said, “Right. I’l
- Page 273 and 274: Everything Is Breakable with a Big
~224~ The <strong>Chamber</strong> <strong>Four</strong> Fiction Anthology<br />
realized what was happening, as soon as they figured out that<br />
the kids had been rounded up.<br />
“Malmoud―that old man―he was the one. He was the<br />
one who did it. Did you go in the tent? Did you see what was<br />
in there? Christ, I never should have let you go with him.<br />
Somebody―I don’t know who, must’ve been one of the IRC<br />
workers―somebody put out a dispatch, I don’t even know<br />
who to. That plane that landed, it was two human rights defenders,<br />
Americans. None of us knew what to do. We were<br />
yelling, we were all scared, panicked. That’s when I got to the<br />
tent and saw you on the ground. I picked you up, ran you<br />
back to the Jeep. Christ, I never even knew I was that<br />
strong.”<br />
It wasn’t until she was on a plane, flying out of Nairobi,<br />
that Betsy cried.<br />
Then one morning Betsy woke up, stepped down from<br />
bed, and her legs gave out beneath her. Her bones pulled her<br />
straight to the hardwood floor. First her elbow smacked,<br />
then her hip thudded. A wavering cry escaped her throat and<br />
for a second she couldn’t figure out what it was. When she<br />
realized it had been her cry, a cold rush of fear coursed<br />
through her entire body. Her fingertips tingled.<br />
She soldier-crawled her way to the bathroom, sat against<br />
the tub, looked at her feet. Her vision was blurry. It took a<br />
few seconds before things came into focus.<br />
Sunlight poured in through the small window next to the<br />
toilet, formed slanted columns, illuminated bits of dust that<br />
twirled and danced in the air.<br />
The skin of her toes had turned black. It looked like her<br />
skin had shrunk over the bones in her foot. Her toenails were<br />
a wan pink. The cuticles had turned orange, like they’d been<br />
stained with iodine. The bridge of her foot was beet-red, covered<br />
in open sores that glistened white in the sunlight.