Page 9 of Haze of Obedience

3

Zoe

Fourteen Months Later

After monthsof being at Santiago’s compound, he transfers Penelope and I into the jungle. Several more months pass, and a new normal forms. There are no luxuries except when it's your turn to eat dinner with Santiago. Otherwise, it's jungle food scraps.

Another woman, Julieta, was in the hole when Penelope and I arrived. Julieta and Penelope knew each other. She claimed to know me, but I don’t remember her.

Living in a dirt pit has its pros and cons. It's dirty and cold, but none of the men ever come down the hole, so at least it's ours.

Instead of singing inside, I now perform outdoor concerts for Santiago and his men. There aren't as many, and I have to deal with the night bugs in the jungle, but I don't ever question it. Santiago rotates between making me wear sequined outfits and sing naked. I don't have a microphone. They require me to sing loudly, so my voice is often sore, but I try to do voice exercises to keep it strong.

Even though we are in the middle of the woods, Santiago has a hair fetish which I learned about shortly after I was abducted. Every day, the three of us are taken to the river to wash and shave. They always take us separately, but today they've decided to let us go together.

Penelope and I strip down, but Julieta waits until we are in the water. The entire time, she keeps her chest toward us, until the men yell to hurry.

We all tell them we are, but they scream at Julieta to face them.

She closes her eyes, looks at the sky, then slowly turns.

"Oh my God. What did he do to you?" I blurt out.

J.T. is branded on her back, one initial on each shoulder about 6 inches long.

"Wash faster," the thug yells.

"Julieta, what happened?" Penelope asks.

"I'm not talking about it," she says.

"But—"

"Can you stop? Please," she begs.

"Okay." Penelope and I exchange a glance, and we finish cleaning up. When we get to the pit, we press Julieta further, but she refuses to discuss anything.

I sing all night, and when I climb back into the hole, it's dark. Penelope is asleep, and I think Julieta is, but then I hear her sniffle.

I crawl over to her. "Hey, are you okay?"

She rolls on her side. "I'm fine. Go to sleep."

How could Jonas do that to her?

Easy. He's a monster.

What happened that he did it?

I wait for several minutes, but she cries harder, so I slide my arm under her head and hum to her.

So many questions form in my mind, but there's an unspoken rule we've agreed to. We all have our secrets, and if someone doesn't want to talk, none of us push it. As hard as it is for me, I keep my mouth shut other than humming and stroking her hair until I think she's asleep.

Morning comes, and neither of us discusses anything. The ladder is slid into the pit and the guard yells for me to come up. When I get to the river, Vanessa Castillo, a woman I met several times over the last few years, is there. She's a new prisoner of Santiago’s and just arrived.

She refuses to shave, and I warn her to do whatever she's told. "Vanessa, don't make them angry. I did the first night I got here."

"What did they do?"