Childhood of the Dead (4 page)

The boy said yes.

“Then, it's all arranged. The one with a loose tongue stays here on the top floor!”

“And where do we put the others?” asked Caramel.

“In the corral. That's the only place for animals.”

Big Purple left, pushing Smokey and Dito, the police chief again dried off his face and hairy arms with his handkerchief before lighting another cigarette.

III

While Dr. Mauro went to his office, Caramel took Manguito to a dark room, opened the door and shoved him inside. Big Purple led the boys down several flights of stairs and now pushed Smokey who refused to go ahead.

“Straight ahead, or I finish you off right here and now.”

The boy panicked, Dito tried encourage him. Without another word, But Big Purple kicked Dito. The boy fell down. Big Purple caught him by the jacket and pulled him into a cell.

“Open this, Grandpa!” he said to the old man who came by with the keys.

And he shouted to the men behind the bars:

“Two young cockerels to be plucked!”

With the door shut, Dito leaned against a wall and Smokey dragged himself into a corner. For some moments the inmates remained still, staring at Big Purple and at the old jailer. Smokey was crying. A tough-looking guy, his belly exposed, yelled, “We don't want no crying in this pigsty. That's just what we need now!”

A prisoner, blind in one eye, laughed and clapped his dirty hands. “This looks like a maternity ward!”

And the one with crutches and a large moustache put his two cents in. “We got to find out what Big Purple's game is. These two little angels didn't get here by chance!”

“What do you mean?” asked the man with his gut hanging out.

The man with cruches grimaced, while man blind in one eye crouched next to Dito. He touched the boy with his finger, as if he didn't believe Dito knew he was there. “What are you up to? Why did you end up in this chicken coop?”

Dito didn't want to talk. Bare-belly also approached the newcomer. “Let's open the book. It's not going to be you who'll beat me in here.” He nudged Dito with his foot.

“They caught us with narcotics,” said Dito.

“How funny. So innocent and already in jail,” said the one- eyed man.

“Tell this story straight!” the man with crutches said in a mocking tone.

Dito didn't know what to say. He'd already been in many jams. He was fifteen and had ten years in the streets. In all this time he'd never had a moment like this. He mulled over a way to escape, imagined the difficulties Manguito would be having, and heard the laughter and provocations from other prisoners. A kind of profound torpor overtook him and, slowly, he felt as if he were dying. He remembered Pichote and envied him for having died while running, on that cool clear morning. Some simple gunshots, coming from nowhere and Pichote stumbling, falling never to get up again. Why wouldn't the same thing happen to him? Why should he have to face all these dumbasses and still give explanations to the police chief? Ah, how he'd like to escape from it all, to run free again in the streets and reach that two-story building, go in without being seen and surprise Deborah. Ah, he really would like that!

When he paid attention to the prisoners again the big bellied one was stroking his back. “Poor thing. Got a beating. It wasn't easy.” He got close to Dito's head. Picked up one of his hands, and tried to make the boy stroke him. Dito pulled his hand away and there was general laughter.

“Tomorrow or the day after he will be used to it,” said the one-eyed man.

“I'm the first one to go with this little doll,” warned Bare-belly, who behaved like the cell's sheriff.

“Then, it's my turn,” shouted a big black man, whom Dito hadn't seen until then.

The man had only shorts on, hairy legs and a large metal chain around his neck.

“Okay, I'll be third,” said the blind man.

“If there is any left over, I want some too,” said the guy on crutches.

The one who looked like an Indian wasn't interested in having Dito. His interest was in Smokey. “He will suck me whenever I want and he can take care of the cell. Anyone can shit as he pleases, ‘cause this Little Monkey will take care of the cleaning up.”

Smokey had never been so frightened. He saw those men around Dito and felt sorry for his buddy. Once in a while Dito had an angry outburst, standing up, fretting and fuming, trying to punch and kick: the group opened up, the men found it all funny. Bare-belly simply said that's the way he liked a cockerel.

“If he didn't protest, it wouldn't be fun.”

“But I'm going first,” said the big black man again.

“We'll draw straws,” Bare-belly said.

The Indian was out of this dispute. He pulled Smokey's thin arm and opened his own pants.

“Come on, Little Monkey. Start playing there. Don't let the dove get away.”

Smokey was horrified and tried to resist.

“Stop being silly. Do as I say, or I throw you in the group over there.”

The other five or six prisoners that didn't participate in either activity just laughed. A blondish youth, with a distant air, was the only one who didn't find anything funny. When he was thrown in that jail, two months earlier, he had gone through a similar sacrifice: first Bare-belly, then the Indian, the one- eyed man, and the black man, who had been transferred from Gallery B. With time, he was available to all who sought him. In his first week he tried to react against it. But besides ending up subjected to it, he would still get beaten. The mark on his face was from the bite the black man had given him. He had no more hope of recovering from this. He no longer knew why he ended up there. He didn't even make an effort to remember. Daily, he tried to find ways of killing himself, but always someone would intervene. Most of them wanted him to stay there. Anyone who wanted him could pull him by the hair, and he would just stoop over. The others would stand up in front, so the guard couldn't see. He believed they would try to do the same to the boy who had just arrived. He was fighting, giving punches and kicks in the air, but the men with lewd eyes and just laughed. The Indian was keeping Smokey's hand inside his pants, squeezing his arm.

“Rub it as I wish or I'll break your bones, Little Monkey!”

Smokey began to make light movements with his fingers, while tears dripped onto his thin chest.

IV

It was beginning to get dark when the police chief called for Caramel.

“Bring the little muggers here. Let's keep all three in the car. If one doesn't deliver, another will just have to.”

Caramel left the office calling for Big Purple. He opened offices, went down stairs, until he reached the holding pens. Grandpa showed up with the key ring. When he pushed the barred doors open, he said in mockery.

“The party is over. The cockerels will fly!”

Bare-belly protested. “That's not fair! How can you do this, now, when I'm winning the game?”

The Indian straightened his pants, giving Smokey a push; Caramel noticed the filth in Smokey's hand, and told him to go under the shower. He himself opened the faucet, the water fell strongly.

“Grandpa! Ask Big Purple to send some shorts for our little friends!”

Big Purple showed up with shorts and tee-shirts.

“Take it. It's on the house!

Dito rushed to dress himself, Smokey did the same. Dito had the feeling that this was a great opportunity, maybe the only one he might get. If he returned to jail he would be finished. He had to run away, even if he weren't able to take his friends with him. At any rate, in prison he wouldn't be of any use to them.

“Shoes are upstairs!” said Caramel again when he saw them dressed.

The two boys followed the corridor to the office. Dito's left eye was swollen. Dr. Mauro asked Caramel to get some ice to put over the eye. Dito was surprised by such consideration. He couldn'figure out what might have happened. He wanted to ask about Manguito but refrained from it. At least the police had some plan; that's why all this attention was being wasted on them.

Dr. Mauro got off the phone and addressed them.

“Got the picture now? That's where you will stay for some time, if your little friend isn't telling the truth.”

Caramel came back with the ice and Big Purple with Manguito. Smokey looked at him as if to ask what had happened. But no one said a word. Manguito was pale and distant.

“Let's begin by Bra's, ‘cause it's further away,” said the police chief to Big Purple, who'd already picked up the car keys. “Bring the car to the back patio; I don't want anyone seeing us.”

They went down some dark stairs, until they saw a VW bus backing up. The side doors were opened and the boys were shoved inside. This was the opportunity Dito had waited for.

“We have to run away at all costs, guys. If I can I'll run away with you. If not, it's every man for himself.”

Dito's words left Smokey disappointed.

“I dunno nothing about this city.”

“Then I run away with you both,” Dito said.

He knew now, more than ever, that it would be impossible for him to leave his friends behind. They wouldn't know where to go, and they'd be easily captured again, perhaps by policemen still worse than Dr. Mauro and his aides. The engine was started and the car left.

“Our chance will come when they stop. That's when we'll escape. I'll kick the one who comes first and you run away.”

Inside the VW bus they couldn't see where they were. In some instances the engine pulled with strength as if climbing a hill, at other times it ran easily and the roar diminished. Dito didn't know what else to say. It was important for him to concentrate and to believe in his exploit. If it went wrong, he'd be skinned alive.

The VW bus stopped. The engine was turned off. Dito told Manguito and Smokey to be glued to the door, and he got in position. When the outside latches were turned and the door opened, he didn't see what happened to Manguito and Smokey. He only knew that he hit Big Purple's face with the point of his shoe. He only saw the man put a hand over his eyes. From then on it was the jump, the fall, the entanglement on the ground, the legs moving rapidly, the shouts.

“The muggers are running away, Chief!”

He didn't look back, he jumped to the high sidewalk, saw his friends, passed in front of them, entered an empty, abandoned lot and stopped to catch his breath. He knew that, now, they would have trouble reaching him. Manguito came up and Smokey followed panting. They walked through tall grass, Smokey complaining about the money that Caramel had stolen from him, Manguito saying that he had hidden a bill of one hundred in his shoe. Dito slapped his back.

“Jeez, you're smart, man! That bill will get us out of misery!”

They walked through the underbrush, until they reached a dirt road with many stagnant water puddles.

“We must be close to Estado Avenue. If we take a bus we can get back to Deborah's house.”

“What if the police are there?”

“We will check it out first. I'll go up with Manguito, you'll stay below on the lookout. That bitch will regret having been born.”

“I'm dying to put my hands on her,” Manguito said.

“We won't enter the building right away. First we keep a watch out, and let the time go by. Late at night we do this job,” Dito said a little nervously.

“This eye of yours will mess it all up,” Manguito said.

“When we go by a pharmacy, we'll get some adhesive tape. If we put a piece over it, we will be able to hide it.”

“Are you seeing well?” asked Smokey.

“Better than I need to. Well enough to know where Deborah has put our money.”

“After we settle with that bitch, what are we gonna do?””I'm going to call together the rest of the group,” said Dito. “Encravado, Mother's Scourge, Brown Sugar, Pin and Figurinha. We can only go about in a gang. We will get down to Crystal's place and mess his life up good.”

They got to a busy street, then another; they passed by a bakery, where Manguito went in and bought sweets. They sat on the street curb, and took their time savouring the food. A little further down they found an open pharmacy; Manguito rushed in to buy adhesive tape. They tore some pieces off with their nails and covered Dito's wound.

“Now we can face a bus. But it isn't good for us to be close to one another,” Dito warned.

Manguito gave Smokey part of the money, Dito kept five for himself. They got in the first bus that passed toward downtown.

“From there we get another, to Lavapés Street,” said Dito. “There's a bunch going by there.”

V

They arrived at Cambuci Square around two AM. The stores on each side of the two-story building were closed; only their windows were lit. Dito asked the others to wait while he inspected the place.

“We can get in, going up by the scaffolding!”

He waited for a moment until no one was around. He clung to one of the wooden supports and began to climb. He got to the planks stained by cement and paint splashes, then to the second story. He forced open a window, going in silently. He took his shoes off, reached a bedroom where there were some chairs, an armoire and a sewing machine. He opened drawers and discovered a pair of scissors which he slipped into his pocket. He advanced through the corridor to the stairs. He went down, opened the door, letting Manguito in and leaving Smokey outside on watch. Dito gave the scissors to his friend and began to inspect the rooms on the first floor. In one of the bedrooms there was light. They looked in through the cracks, and confirmed the woman inside was Celina. Dito looked in again. She was drinking and watching television. He got the scissors back; Manguito went to the fuse box and turned it off. Suddenly, the house was left in darkness. At this moment Dito went in and ran into the woman. She didn't understand what was happening. When the light came on again, Dito was already holding her from behind. He drove the scissors into her chest. She tried to escape but couldn't; she'd been pierced underneath her ribs. She fell struggling into a stuffed chair. Dito noticed he was covered in blood, but didn't worry about it. In Celina's bedroom he found a couple of knives and a gun. He gave one of the knives to Manguito and stuck the other one in his waist band. He continued to survey the rooms, until he was sure all of them were empty. Then, he went upstairs. The whole house was silent. Only television voices disturbed the peace. At the end of the corridor he saw light. He squatted down, Manguito too. They advanced almost lying down on the floor. Dito let his friend climb on his back to look through the transom.