Chapter 31
It wasn’t there before, and it must have come out of a side street intersecting the road on which we are driving.
When we approach the truck doesn’t bulge. I know it’s not sitting there by chance.
Ronny growls a cascade of curses, he tries to turn the car. He manages to, he pushes hard on the gas and I almost think we’ll make it to get away when something pierces our window. Ronny’s head falls on the horn, our car races, the horn honking wildly as if the dead driver were running for his life. But then the car slows down gradually and finally comes to a halt, as if someone had suddenly taken control of it.
I am frozen on my seat.
A man with a balaclava approaches us. This is it, I think.
But the man says, “We won’t hurt him”, taking Joshua by the arm and guiding him out of the car. I don’t see where they are bringing him, I don’t have the guts to look.
My thoughts are braced by fear. The plan is not to kill me – I sense it – at least not now. Not till the experiment is over. What if I killed myself? Would they let me?
But I am curious to know what’s in store for me, and for the briefest instant I find myself actually smiling. The remnants of the smile are still flickering on my lips when my car door opens.
“Hi Iris. How have you been?”, says Stephanie, her expression radiant, her voice emanating friendly confidence, as her well-groomed hands grip the car’s door.