As I stumbled out of Sister Yu's office, the oppressive atmosphere seemed to cling to my skin. It wasn't just the fear that lingered; it was something darker. Patrols were already whistling, and everyone craned their necks to peer out the windows, curious about the commotion outside.
"What's going on?" I asked Uncle Scar, who had a grim look on his face.
"I heard someone tried to escape while disposing of bodies. They caught him and are making an example of him," Uncle Scar whispered, pulling me to a back window.
Peering through the broken iron-barred window, I saw a horrifying scene unfold on the ground below. Two naked men, bound to wooden stakes, were surrounded by a group of henchmen armed with electric batons, steel pipes, and AK-47s. They took turns torturing the men, starting by pulling out their fingernails, then cutting their tongues and burning their hair. They poured oil on their heads and set it alight, laughing as the flames roared.
When the men were sufficiently burnt, they doused them with filthy water to extinguish the fire. The final humiliation came when they mutilated the men's genitals, throwing the severed parts to nearby dogs.
"Fuck your mother! If you have the guts, kill me outright! Fuck your mother… ah!!" The men screamed as their bodies were torn apart, blood pooling on the ground.
The extreme humiliation and pain must have been unbearable. My fists clenched, and I breathed heavily, filled with a desire to kill these beasts.
The henchmen ignored the pleas, continuing their torture. They used a steel knife to slice open the charred scalps, then...
"Zzzz!"
The sound of tearing flesh filled the air, like skinning a rabbit. The cold, professional expressions of the torturers made it clear this was a routine for them.
Eventually, the two men died in agony, their bodies broken and bloodied. My heart ached with theirs. Such brutality rivaled the worst atrocities. There was no law, no justice, no morality here—only cruelty and inhumanity.
The gruesome scene left us trembling, unable to speak. Some of the new girls were paralyzed with fear, forgetting even how to cry. Even Big Head, who usually reveled in torment, was stunned, frozen at the window.
"Why are you all standing around? Get back to work!" Sister Yu's sharp voice snapped us back to reality.
I helped a young man who was retching on the floor and quickly returned to my workstation. Dragon Sister was visibly shaken, her hands trembling as she typed gibberish on her keyboard. Tears streamed down my face as I worked, unsure how much longer I could endure this.
"Scar, Little Bottle, come with me."
Brother Meng burst in, carrying an AK, and called us out.
Uncle Scar and I exchanged a glance, then silently followed him downstairs to where the two tortured men lay.
The smell of blood was overwhelming, and the sight of their mutilated bodies made my legs nearly give out. If not for Uncle Scar's steadying hand, I might have collapsed.
"Put the bodies on the cart and take them to the back hill to bury them," Brother Meng barked, smoking a cigarette.
I stood there, dazed, unable to process how to handle the corpses. The brutality was beyond words.
"Little Bottle, get the bags. I'll move the bodies," Uncle Scar instructed, handing me a burlap sack before bending down to lift one of the mutilated bodies.
I stood like a statue, clutching the bag, until both bodies were inside. We loaded them onto a two-wheeled cart typically used for bricks or manure back home, now a ghastly hearse.
Pushing the blood-stained cart, we followed Brother Meng's henchmen up the hill. My mind reeled from the day's horrors, struggling to comprehend how anyone could be so inhuman.
After a grueling climb up a 500-meter slope, we reached the reeking back hill. The stench of decay hung heavy in the air.