As the weight of the stranger's words settled upon me, I felt an instinctual urge to flee. "You sure you're not Beatrice Taylor? Because you look an awful lot like your mother." The words hung in the air like a challenge, and I knew I had to act swiftly. I turned and ran, dashing towards the sanctuary of my room. The door slammed shut behind me, and I leaned against it, panting, as I fumbled for the lock. The satisfying clicks of the mechanism engaging was a fleeting comfort, as the door was immediately subjected to a barrage of insistent banging.
I crouched on the floor and brought my knees to my face. Nothing good had ever happened when people asked for me and related it to my parents. They had sold me multiple times before to different people and different places. I was scared.
I heard muffled voices outside, I guessed Wu had woken up from where I tucked him in and I considered unlocking the door to meet him but I decided against it. 'It's me they want, they won't touch Wu', I reassured myself. I put my ears against the door to try and make out the conversation going on at the other side of the room. The conversation outside my door continued, with Wu's voice growing more agitated by the second. I pressed my ear against the door, desperate to glean some information from the exchange. But then, without warning, Wu's voice fell silent. The sudden stillness was oppressive, and I felt my heart racing with anticipation.
I did not hear anything for a while until, "get her to open the door, we don't want no trouble." I assumed one of the men was talking to Wu. Their footsteps got closer and I backed away from the door, I wondered what they could've done to make Wu stop insisting that they leave.
" Betty," Wu started softly, it sounded like he was right in front of my room door and I thought about what would happen if I just hurriedly opened the door, dragged him in and locked the door back but I knew there was no way I would be fast enough to do that, I wondered what else I could do when I heard Wu talk, "Betty, my child, whatever you do, do not open this door. Call the police, chi..."
"Old man!" one of the men exclaimed and I heard a loud thud, it sounded like a body hit the floor. I dreaded that body being Wu's and I felt a chill run down my spine., I quickly unlocked the door and was met with one man kicking Wu's old body on the floor and the other man with a gun in his hand just watching the scene. The man with the gun sighted me and pointed the gun in Wu's direction. I ran to Wu's side.
"Leave him alone", I yelled, tears welled up in my eyes as I hugged Wu tightly. The man had stopped kicking Wu and had taken a few steps backwards. I shake in fear, holding Wu's almost unconscious body in my arms, "What do you want from me?"
"Your mom owes our boss so we have come to collect," the man with the gun says. "Now, I don't want no trouble. I don't need the sound of gunshot this peaceful evening, so come with us gently."
I should've called the police while I was in the room. How could I have been so stupid as to overlook an important thought. But then again, I was also a criminal and the police had never been my first choice for anything.
The other guy also had a gun out, pointed at me. I looked at the both of them and then looked at Wu, he looked so weak that my heart broke. Of course, my parents had sold me again even though I was no longer in their lives. I didn't want to cry but I didn't know what else to do. I was really scared. I didn't want to go with them. My parents had never sold me to decent places, I didn't want to relieve my past, I thought I'd left the past in the past when Wu took me in. It had just been two years, just two years. They had given me two years of peace only to take it back so coldly.
"If I come with you, would you leave him alone?" I asked and they both put down their guns, tucking it into their pants. I gave Wu a kiss on his forehead and set him down gently, then I stood up, staring at the men. The one who was hitting Wu started getting closer to me and I instinctively took some steps backwards.
Wu looked at me weakly and tried to move, he could only manage a weak, 'Betty, no, please. Please don't take her. Please don't take her from me.' He was already in tears.
I burst into tears and slowly backed away from the big man approaching me. I wondered where all the neighbors were. Didn't they know what was happening? I was scared. The guy had already reached me. He towered over me and I closed my eyes, expecting to feel the impact of his blow to make me black out. That was how it always was whenever someone came to collect me after my parents had sold me for loose change to satisfy their unending cravings. I didn't feel the blow come though, I slowly opened my eyes, thinking maybe they'd changed their minds and were actually not going to take me away anymore. I looked up at the guy only to feel a needle pierce my neck. It hurt and I let out a loud yelp. I heard Wu scream but his scream was weak, he wasn't bleeding but he was old and he had been beaten up earlier. I tried to look in his direction but my eyes felt heavy. I really tried my best not to close it, I tried everything, I tried thinking of the cramped closet space I was always scared of in an attempt to stay awake but it was to no avail. I felt my consciousness seeping and getting farther until all I saw was black and I couldn't hear anything anymore. Not Wu screaming, not my crying.
Everything was silent.