‘What the hell is wrong with you?’ I shout at Christa. ‘There are women and children …’
I look around. ‘There are animals …?’
Christa hangs her head for a moment, then looks up at me and says, ‘Burn them all.’ Stunned, I whirl around to look at my murderer. Even though I’m terrified of him, we enter into a staring contest.
I can’t back down now – the situation calls for drastic action. And besides my fear is slowly morphing into rage and I struggle to contain myself.
‘What do you want?’ I screech, my eyes flitting from Christa to Diablo. ‘Gold? Land? Tequila?’
His men scoff at my question, while Diablo just stares at me. One of his men places a lit cigarette between his fingers and he takes long drags on it. With all the gasoline around, this place could end up looking like a 4th of July celebration in no time.
Carvil and another village elder push me aside and totter up to Diablo. They bow before him. ‘Please Diablo, please.’
He ignores them, his eyes fixed on me.
They get on their hands and knees. ‘Diablo, please! Diablo …’
Diablo sidesteps them and walks away. They follow him. He stops, they stop. He walks, they walk. Suddenly he frowns and curses under his breath.
‘Take our gold, Diablo. You can have anything you want, Senor,’ Carvil says.
Diablo turns and levels his gun at them but they just close their eyes and remain standing in front of him.
Diablo inhales deeply and lowers his gun. He strokes his chin slowly. If I thought the retard had a brain, I’d accuse him of thinking.
After a few moments, he raises his hand. A man rushes up to him. They whisper for a moment. The man shouts out to the flamethrower. The flamethrower sulkily lowers his trigger.
Diablo’s man turns to the elders and talks to them. The elders listen, hop to their feet and nod vigorously, their eyes gleaming.
‘What? What’s he saying? What’s going on?’ Nobody answers me. Some of the villagers rush to douse the burning barn with buckets of water.
Carvil scrambles over to Jack and talks to him in Spanish. Jack’s eyes light up as he listens. He glances at me, then quickly looks away.
My family and I exchange confused glances.
We’re feeling a little hopeful now that the flamethrower has stopped firing and we have this stay. All eyes are glued to Jack.
Jack nods several times at Carvil then slowly advances towards me and I’m now convinced that Diablo has instructed the villagers to kill me. Maybe he was negotiating: ‘I’ll spare your village if you burn that foulmouth bitch on a stake for disrespecting me in front of my hombres.’
Jack stands in front of us and scratches the back of his neck. ‘Um … eh …’ He looks at his feet then shuffles them.
‘Oh, for Christ’s sakes!’ Elaine snaps. ‘What is it, Jack?’
‘He wants your daughter!’ Jack blurts. ‘Then he’ll spare the village.’
With a hanging jaw, Elaine turns to look at her only begotten, whose face is the colour of alabaster right now.
‘I’m not going!’ Paris cries, clutching her chest with both hands.
‘My baby!’ Elaine shrieks, a trace of hysteria in her voice. ‘Of course you’re not going! He’s crazy to think he can have you.’ She shakes her head at Jack. ‘The price we pay for beauty. I expected something like …’
Jack draws back sharply. ‘Not her. He wants Payton.’
‘What!’ Paris shrieks, her arms dropping to her side. ‘Her? He doesn’t want … he wants her?’
‘This one?’ Elaine’s face contorts into a sardonic smile. ‘You sure?’
‘Positive,’ Jack says. ‘We offered him anything he wants, but all he wants is Payton.’
‘M … me?’ My mouth is dry, my hands clammy. ‘What about the stake … burning …?’
‘Steak?’ Jack glares at me. ‘You still talking about food?’
I wave the confusion away. ‘What’s he gonna do with me?’
Jack lifts and drops his shoulders. ‘But Payton, he’ll spare the entire village if you like, go with him and … and … live with him …get it? Everyone gets to live.’
‘Me, live with him? He’s off his rocker.’ My stomach starts to flutter.
Jack frowns at me. ‘Eh … sssshhhh!’
‘I mean, I thought … like … fuck!’ I don’t have to look behind to know Diablo’s staring at me. I’m so terrified of him that I don’t even want to look at him, and now he wants me to live with him. God! I feel like a deer being eyed by a pride of starving lions.
More of Diablo’s men arrived in Jeeps and the villagers huddle together.
‘Where’s the fire?’ the men demand, visibly disappointed at the lack of a towering inferno.
They surround Diablo and appear to be badgering him.
Diablo ignores them and stares at me.
I quickly look away.
Jack runs up to Diablo’s man and has a word with him. Maybe he’s pacifying the man - telling the man that I’m thinking about Diablo’s indecent and fucked up proposal.
I look at the villagers, I see their expectant, pleading eyes and I feel overwhelmed with pressure.
Jack hurries back to me, his eyes bright and hopeful. ‘Payton? What do …?’
‘You’ve got to be kidding! You taking this shit seriously? Jack?’
‘Please Payton,’ he whispers, ‘I beg you, please.’
‘You … how can expect me to say “Yes” Jack? He shot me three times. He’s a killer. He eats people like me. You saw his psycho mother? I wanna get the fuck out of here, back to LA and just get back to my normal, dull life. Please.’
Jack shifts about and drops his voice. ‘Payton, he likes you, he wants you. Go with him and see all those people there, looking at you with pleading eyes? They get to live if you say “Yes”.’
‘Christ Jack!’ I cover my ears with my hands. ‘Don’t!’
‘Hey, you slapped him. It changed things.’
‘I slapped him, yeah. He had a fucking gun to my face. Now I’m to blame, huh, Jack?’ I know the answer to my question already, but I want him to say “No”.
He doesn’t.
I look at my father for, well, support I guess. His face is flushed, his forehead has beads of sweat and he looks like he’s going to have a heart attack. I quickly turn away.
Austin walks up to me. ‘Payton, you don’t have to do this,’ he says, his voice gentle and full of concern.
My darling Austin, attempting to rescue me while risking the wrath of the villagers by uttering those magical words.
‘Thanks Austin,’ I croak, resisting the urge to rest my weary head on his loving shoulders.
‘Of course she has to!’ Paris snaps. ‘She caused it; now we’re all gonna toast. She didn’t have to slap the devil, but nooo, Payton’s gotta be the tough chick.’
Austin quickly shrinks back.
‘Fuck you, Paris!’ I hiss.
Paris turns to my father. ‘See? For years I’ve been saying she’s bipolar, needs anger management. Now look what she’s done.’
‘What do I tell him, Payton?’ Jack presses.
‘Jack, I don’t get it - he can very well take me now, so why’s he asking me to go with him? Huh?’
‘Cos he wants you to go with him willingly, I ’spose.’
‘Willingly, my ass.’
‘Payton please!’ Jack cries. ‘Don’t say that. He’ll kill us.’
Carvil steps forward and starts begging me in Spanish.
‘I don’t understand what you’re saying,’ I say and cover my ears with my hands. ‘But whatever you’re saying - the answer is “No”, okay? I’ve had my share of hell already. I had to live with Juan and …’
Diablo drags a chair, lowers his bulk into it and lights up another cigarette.
The burden to save the village rests heavily on my stick-insect shoulders. I could really do with another milagro now.
I turn to my father. ‘Dad, say something. Talk to them. Tell them … tell them I can’t help them. Tell them I shouldn’t have to. Tell them it’s too much for me.’
My father exhales loudly and looks even more pained.
‘Daddy? Please …’ If ever I needed my father’s help, it’s now. ‘This is huge, daddy, I can’t do it. Tell him to take her,’ I say, pointing to Paris. ‘She pretty - Miss LA Diva 1999. Tell him, I’m plain and vulgar and shy and I almost got expelled …’ When I see my father’s shoulders sag, I stop. Feeling ditched and resentful that he isn’t able to help me again, I back off.
‘He’s giving us till seven,’ Jack says quietly, fuelling my pressure.
I look at the clock. Six fifty-five. ‘Seven!’ I jump out of my chair and start pacing. ‘Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!’
Austin turns to Carvil. ‘Payton shouldn’t have to …’
‘Austin!’ Paris snarls. ‘The Devil will kill you if you interfere. D’ya wanna die Austin? You have a baby. His name is Liam, remember?’
Austin clams up.
Elaine walks up to me and gives me a saccharine smile. ‘Payton dear, it won’t be forever. Just until things settle, dear. He might get bored of you after …’
‘After what Elaine - killing me? Eating my fleshy parts? Making a tea strainer out of me? One hundred years?’
Her smile vanishes. ‘Payton! Now you listen to me,’ she snarls. ‘You can do it. You are tough, you’re a fighter. You are ...’
‘Elaine please, you’re sounding like Mike Tyson’s coach now. I’m not that tough. ‘I’m scared, okay? I’m twenty-one for fucks sake!’
‘Snap out of it. You’re never scared. You’ve always been fearless.’
‘You’re wrong, you’re wrong, you’re wrong! You don’t know me, Elaine.’
Diablo stands up, looks at me and starts to walk away.
The clock on the wall says 7 PM. ‘Fuck!’
The flamethrower takes his position and aims directly at the villagers. Screams of terror fill the air. I too am terrified of burning to death, but right now I’m concerned about the villagers rather than myself.
‘Wait!’ I scream, running after my murderer. ‘Just wait!’
He stops but does not turn around. The flamethrower mutters angrily when Diablo raises a calloused hand. Behind me, the villagers exhale loudly.
I stand before Diablo and squeeze my eyes shut, not wanting to see the metal rings over his eyes, the hairy face, the dreadlocks, the tattoos that run up to his chin, for fear they will prevent me from helping the villagers.
‘I’ll ... I’ll go ... with you.’
A mammoth decision on my part, yet he doesn’t acknowledge it – just turns and saunters on. Now what? Am I supposed to follow him? Has he changed his mind? Doesn’t he want me any ...?
He stops and looks at me, his eyebrows raised. I quickly start walking towards him. I want to say goodbye to my family and maybe collect some of my things, but I’m not sure if that’s okay with him so I walk out of Siempre with just the clothes I’m wearing.
I zone out – I don’t want to hear anything, don’t want to see anyone, don’t want to think about where I’m going, don’t want to think about what lies ahead. This is what it feels like when you’re walking to the gallows, I guess.
A man ushers me into the backseat of a Jeep. I see Diablo through the window riding his horse. Alongside him, Santana rides, a scowl on her pretty face. I’m confused at the angry looks she’s throwing my way.
Christa rides up to them and starts to argue with Diablo. The way she glances at the Jeep gives me the impression they’re arguing about me. Maybe they don’t want him to take me captive. Maybe they feel sorry for me after all. Maybe they’ll eventually be my friends. God, I hope they’ll be my friends.
The men in the front seat of the Jeep look at me and frown. I’m scrawny and plain - a ragamuffin. My long, blonde hair is greasy and stringy, my blue eyes are bloodshot and the dress I’m wearing is baggy and unflattering. I’m wearing not a stitch of make-up so I look pale and … eleven so they’re probably wondering what the hell Diablo sees in me.
After a while, they lose interest in me and chat amongst themselves. I’m thankful for that - it gives me a chance to gather my thoughts. What the hell does the beast want with me? Why me, when I embarrassed him in front of his people? I’m so much trouble – hasn’t he figured that out as yet?
Am I supposed to fuck this freak - this scruffy, hairy aberration? The thought of that makes me want to hurl. The very thought of being in the same room with this murderous animal makes me want to jump off the cliff myself. I stare into the dark and wish I had died when he first shot me.