“.... she poured petrol on the barrack’s wall immediately after she’d done the same with the barn, and that’s why it ignited straight away. Dry grass is a good conductor for flame.”
“Why?!” Hulk roared, “Why would you burn it?”
“I didn’t...” Shereen tried to answer, but the words seemed to be lodged in her throat. Finally, she barely managed to utter, “I didn’t do that.”
Hulk shook his head.
“Why is your t-shirt burnt out? And where did you get the petrol?”
“I don’t know!”
Greg laughed hoarsely.
“Of course! She doesn’t know! As if it has just materialised out of nowhere”
“I didn’t do anything...” Shereen was shaking her head, constantly repeating the same words, “I didn’t do anything. I wasn’t even there...”
“Where is your shoe?” Hulk asked.
“I don’t know.”
“How did the petrol get into your room?”
“I don’t know. It wasn’t there when I left...”
“Why your t-shirt is burnt?”
“I don’t know!”
Hulk angrily spat out swear words.
“Can’t you see that this all looks like a complete bullshit? Your plan has been exposed but you still keep on denying it. Where is your bravery?! Why can’t you just admit that it was huge malicious revenge?”
Shereen could hardly speak from despair. Who did this to her and why? She had never seen Hulk so angry, Greg was just grinning smugly at Shereen’s attempts to justify herself. This whole situation looked like a horror movie where a nasty ending was approaching at the speed of a fast train and she had no idea how to help herself.
“I was in the warehouse! I was cleaning there! Ask Tabitha - she has sent me there and she knows everything and can confirm...”
“Who else was with you?” Hulk’s eyes narrowed.
The silence hung in the room. No matter how much Shereen wanted this moment to become a turning point, there wasn’t a single witnesses who could verify her alibi. So she only clenched her fists and exhaled.
“There wasn’t anybody with me. I was alone.”
Hulk bowed his head in disappointment, looking at the floor.
“But Tabitha knows that I was in there! She asked me to help, because everything inside was in tatters...”
“Did she actually see you there?”
“No.”
At this very moment two more guards burst into the room breathing heavily and one of them was holding what Shereen was looking thirty minutes ago - her other shoe. But now it was charred, almost completely blackened by the flame. Of course! She nearly groaned. Whoever was her enemy - they put some tremendous efforts into providing the authorities with evidences.
“It was found behind the burning barracks.”
An eerie silence filled the room and a second later it was interrupted by the nasty laughter of the senior ward.
“Were you in that much of a hurry that you lost a shoe?” He was almost rolling on the floor with laughter, knowing that this time that bitch will never avoid the heavy punishment. No way!
Hulk stopped Greg’s nasty laughter with an angry gesture and it became hushed in the office.
“Is that yours?” He asked plainly.
Shereen swallowed the lump in her throat. That was it. The end. And there was nothing she could do about this since there are too many things and people are playing against her in this game. Someone really wanted her to retire from the playing field, and now it doesn’t matter how she lived her life and what she did in the past, all her nice deeds have been forgotten in an instance and there was only this petrol canister, burnt out t-shirt and the shoe now remained in the minds of people surrounding her.
“Yes, it is mine.” Shereen replied, not looking at Hulk anymore. She was too scared. That so familiar coldness and loneliness slipped inside. The fear paralysed her limbs, thickened the blood, dried the tongue and made her hands cold and trembling. She hated it. But hatred didn’t help to get rid of the fear, quite the opposite, it felt like fear grew stronger because of it.
Hulk was silent. It was almost physically painful to see the disappointment in his eyes. Others were quiet too, waiting for the final verdict to be made. Only the clock on the wall kept on ticking and breaking the silence.
Hulk went to the window and now paused there. Shereen knew - he was now in a process of making his final decision. A tough and cruel decision - exactly the one that the person who dared to set the building with people inside on fire deserved. And this decision will be justified and adamant. It will, most definitely, please the guards, heal Greg’s wounded ego, will become a perfect illustrative examples for the rest workers at the ranch, and most likely completely ruin Shereen’s life, depriving her of the right to freedom forever.
Or even worse - will cost her a life.
She shuddered.
But she hasn’t done anything! It was someone else and she had to try and prove it to Hulk, had to make him listen to her and believe her! She must delay his wrong and inevitable final conclusion. It wasn’t right to pay for something you weren’t responsible for, it was unfair and it should never be like that! But how is it possible to make him hear her out?
Hulk stood silently staring into the darkness outside the window, where sunset faded a long time ago. It wasn’t easy to think straight. Behind him there was a hoard of heavily breathing men and one pathetic girl who dared to cross the line - the boundaries of the dangerous area marked with red, where Hulk’s patience no longer existed. No one ever dared to cross it and expect to get away with it.
Why? He almost shook his head again, but stopped himself from doing so. Why did she do this? Did her anger overpower her common sense? He didn’t want to believe it, and a part of him continued to deny Shereen’s involvement in the arson. But Hulk has already understood that recently she became his weak spot and his response to her actions was inadequate, hence, his disbelief of her involvement is probably just another attempt to justify her, no matter whether she really was guilty or not, and that was not the way to make the right decisions. Getting involved emotionally never helps to be objective, so in order to make the right decision, he has to base his conclusion on evidences provided by the guards and not on his intuition.
This thought gnawed Hulk invisibly.
Something in this whole story didn’t quite fit. He couldn’t say exactly what it was, because logically all the links were connecting the chain of events perfectly well, where everything lead to one conclusion - Shereen was directly involved in the arson and unfortunately the guards had plenty of evidence to prove this.
But why wouldn’t she confess then? After all, there were plenty of examples of her impulsive actions, after which she’d sincerely repented about the committed deeds. So why was it different now? Because this situation was way too serious? Wasn’t there any more courage to say “Yes, I’ve done that”? How was it possible to deny her involvement, when so much evidence was facing her? In fact, too many evidence...
Hulk frowned. He definitely didn’t like something about this and felt annoyed because time was pressing him stronger and stronger with every passing minute. Everyone was waiting for his final word, reprimands and punishments to be said and done. Yes, he was short of time and had to act now. Before coming to a final conclusion, he reluctantly turned and walked over to Shereen.
“Do you have anything you would like to say?”
She nodded. The words weren’t coming easily to her, and her stare was penetrating directly through to his heart as if she was mentally asking him to listen carefully to what she has to say. Ok. He can do that. And Shereen, feeling Hulk’s silent approval, began to speak.
“This afternoon, when I returned to my room from the stone-pit, some of my things were missing. I think someone has got a duplicate of my key and entered my private territory when I wasn’t there.”
Greg immediately soared.
“You lying bitch?!”
“Shut up!” Hulk roared, “All must keep quiet until she is finished talking! Go on.”
He nodded to Shereen, asking her to continue, while listening to her and trying to put the pieces of her story together. It was very important to understand which version of it was true - the one that his guards told him about or the one that was now going to be told by Shereen. Hulk knew from his past experience that in such cases haste or negligence could become a fatal turning point in someone's life, therefore his mind was working hard – analysing everything that was being said, comparing the details, going through the options and selecting those that seemed logically and intuitively correct.
Shereen cleared her throat. Her eyes were still staring piercingly into his and Hulk once again thought that he must not rush into making the final conclusion. Something still didn’t feel right. This girl never lied before; it just wasn’t her usual style and Hulk doubted she’d start doing it now.
“Somebody was in my room, I’m quite certain. I took a short nap today, because I didn’t feel very well and when I woke up, it was the first time when I noticed something was missing. And there were definitely no canisters under my bed. Then one of the kitchen ladies knocked on my door - she said that Tabitha was very angry, because someone had flooded the warehouse and ruined loads of food. I went to see Tabitha and she asked me to help with the cleaning. Yes, most of the food was already badly damaged; a lot of packaging was soaked in water and demolished. I was in the warehouse until ten o’clock. All this time my shoes were on the porch - I took them off before going inside, otherwise they would have got wet. And when I came out after the cleaning, one of them was missing and the canister had already appeared in my room. As well as this burnt t-shirt.
She finished last sentence and went quiet.
Silence hung in the office. Hulk nodded and dove into the thinking process again.
Greg was waiting, trying not to disguise his impatience.
As much as he wanted to just come and strangle this wench, he had to stand motionless, listening to this tearjerker. Fuck it - Hulk will never believe a single word of hers - it was written all over her face “I’m a damned wretch and a thief!” and this was obvious from the first day she arrived at the ranch. And look at how miserably she was singing now, “Oh, please look at me and believe me!”
But nothing will help you, bitch. There is plenty of evidence that you are guilty.
Greg tried to hide a triumphant grin that was creeping up on his face. You’re finished! Die, you!
But Hulk didn’t seem to be in a hurry to make any decision.
His face didn’t indicate a positive outcome but no final word was heard either.
Greg began to feel nervous and finally, irritated by Hulk’s pensive look he said:
“She has to be punished for what she’d done...”
“Shut your mouth.” Hulk replied unusually abrupt even for Greg’s liking.
Senior warden obeyed, feeling that something wasn’t going as planned. Why did Hulk remain so deep in thoughts when everything was so clear and obvious? How much more evidence does this man need to see before he orders to kill that damn girl? Don’t the findings prove that she is guilty? Or was Hulk even keener than the old soldier thought?
Greg reluctantly shivered, trying to fight back such thoughts. Even if Hulk suspected something, he won’t be able to verify her innocence - there was no way to do it. Too many people knew what he knew, and that will force Hulk to come up with the retribution sooner or later, even if it is to restore the illusion of fairness and keep his reputation at the top. As for his doubts, Hulk can shove them.
But what happened next Greg was expecting least of all.
Hulk finally came out of the pondering mode; his lips were tightly clenched, his face looked grim, but his gaze was expressing great determination.
“I'm not going to beat around the bush for years trying to figure out who is right or wrong.”
“Yes!” Greg immediately supported him, forgetting that he was told to shut up, “There is no need to wait any longer...”
“I'm going to use "Blind". Thankfully, I don’t need anyone’s permission to do that in Tally.”
Shereen did not even move; she had no idea what Hulk was talking about; she just stood there looking at Hulk expectantly.
But unlike her, the senior warden turned pale to the point that it became evident even in the dimly lit room.
It just couldn’t be true that Hulk had such knowledge. Even he - Greg - had only heard about this technique, but he never ever hoped to see how it works in real life.
Only the Commission could teach how to use “Blind” and they were very picky about whom they’d share this skill with. Greg knew about it because a while back he really wanted to get closer to the circle of the selected members – those, called a “Special Unit”. This Unit consisted only of a few men, because the selection process was extremely rigid and Greg couldn’t get in there for all the money of the world. Not that he ever really accepted this fact, but he learnt to live with it, though his mind still kept some knowledge from those special and very expensive books that he’s bought back then. The essence of this method was in the direct reading of the human memory but it could only be applied to recent periods of time, since the interference with the deeper layers could lead to a partial or complete insanity. Only those who were trained to perfection and passed the required number of theory tests, and then proved their practical knowledge for over a year of practice, could use the “Blind”.
And Hulk, judging by his look, was completely confident he could do this.
Greg swallowed nervously. It cannot be like that... It just can’t... Who could have guessed that Hulk was one of the squads?
Meanwhile, Hulk approached Shereen.
“Step away!” He barked at guards.
Security guards quickly moved back. They didn’t quite understand what Mr Conrad was up to but when he was in such a mood, it was a safer bet to stay away.
“Look directly into my pupils.” Hulk ordered to the girl, “I will finish with it quickly.”
Greg couldn’t believe it - for the first time he was seeing something that he’d never expected to see - Hulk’s grey eyes flashed with some glaring white light, (maybe he’s gone crazy on this fuckin’ ranch?) and then Shereen screamed. The senior warden had to give her some credit - even when screaming, she didn’t step back. Her body was shaking, tears were pouring down her cheeks (was it painful? He had a feeling it bloody was), and Hulk at this moment resembled a frozen machine, the eyes of which were flashing with some images at an incredible speed.
Greg thought that it was like a glow on the TV screen, which had some film on a video tape put on rewind. But everything was over so quickly that not now or many years later he couldn’t guarantee what exactly he saw on this day. Or he thought he’d seen.
When the old soldier was finally able to get his eyes off Hulk’s face, to his horror he saw the direct evidence that the ranch owner really did possess the skills of the "Blind" method. Once the reading process was over, the whites of Shereen’s eyes got turned as bright red as a scarlet cloth, which people used to tease the bulls with. There wasn’t a single white spot on them anymore, all the blood vessels have burst and now the blindness took over her.
Greg was as sure of it as he was sure of the fact that his name was “Greg”.
That was exactly the reason for the name “Blind” - as a result of such a brain scan any person would always lose their vision even if the process lasted for just one second. For how long? No one could predict precisely. That was also the reason why this method could be applied in cases of extreme necessity; when someone needed to obtain the information quickly, accurately and when all other methods were impractical or would take too long to perform, adding the risk of potential failure to the operation for the Special Departments.
It seemed like an eternity has passed since Hulk began performing this technique, but in fact, the overall process probably took no longer than ten seconds. Shereen was now sitting on the floor, covering her face with her hands; her shoulders were shaking, but she did not utter a sound.
Some of the guards were looking at Hulk in total shock; the others were staring in horror at the girl sitting on the floor. It was clear that if it was up to them, they would have been gone out of this office a long time ago, but they did not have the permission to do so, so they retreated to the wall, huddling together and looking insecure and miserable.
For a few seconds Hulk stood silent, looking somewhere ahead of himself, while his brain was analysing the gathered information and when the process was completed, he slowly turned and stared at Greg. At this very moment, senior warden wouldn’t mind if the ground would swallow him up, because it became obvious that now Hulk knew absolutely everything about the past few days from Shereen’s life and it made no sense to argue with him.
The Knight. Check. And Mate.
There was nothing one could do against the “Blind”. There has only been a few times in Greg’s life when he felt as bad as now; his knee suddenly began aching - some time ago it was injured in a street fight, a muscle in his back started to hurt - maybe because it got a bit of a chill or was overworked. By the time Hulk came close Greg’s tongue ceased to function and became unpleasantly rough and dry.
“She wasn’t there.” Hulk said quietly in an even voice, and Greg instantly realised that he was afraid to look in his grey eyes. The gaze of the man in front of him reminded him of a steel blade surface - it was cold, and promising some sort of perversely slow death, “You will bring to me the one who is really responsible for the arson in the next twenty-four hours.”
A chill crept down Greg’s spine; he was almost devastated by the realisation of the necessity to fulfil the order. He understood that very clearly before Hulk ended his sentence:
“Or all the guards including you will be thrown out and replaced.”
The senior warden clenched his fists so hard so that his fingers wouldn’t tremble and was now looking over Hulk’s shoulder.
“If you bring me the wrong person, I’ll know it. Do you understand?”
Greg understood and therefore nodded. From now on he has no right to disobey, because he could almost feel how this soulless white light would cut through his memory like a knife that goes through some melted butter. And then the darkness will fall upon him; complete blindness - a nightmare that could become a reality within one day. He gritted his teeth in order to disguise the chattering, which they would produce if he’d just open his mouth.
“You have twenty-four hours. Take your people and get out.”
Hardly remembering how he managed to move his feet, Greg left the room. The others left the office right after him.
I sat on the floor, not daring to move.
The shock from the last incident deprived me of every last ounce of strength and self-control. The latest events were blurred in my head, thoughts hid somewhere on the back of my mind, fearing that someone from the outside might come and steal them. The last thing I remembered before the darkness fell was a bright blinding light. No, before that there were Hulk’s silvery eyes with the dark rims, bright and unblinking, and then there was an unbearably cold white light coming from somewhere, and it began to feel as though my thoughts started floating away beyond my consciousness. I couldn’t describe this even to myself - this weird, surreal feeling. Yes, my head was aching, but the pain was bearable; less pleasant was the pulsing in temples area. What was the point in napping during the day?
But worst of all was the fear - it was now different to the one I felt when I was led into the room and interrogated and when Hulk stood silent next by the window, making his final decision. The Fear, which was now inside of me, was made of some different substance - it was alien, monstrous and too strong as if the world around would came to an end and there was nobody around me anymore. Not a single person. Nobody. And nothing.
I was no longer terrified by either Greg or any other punishment, or even by what other horrendous things might have happened in that other world, which remained outside of my mind. Something very bad, something horrible has already happened to me, and more than anything I was afraid to open my eyes again, and see nothing.
Someone touched my hand.
“Give me your hand I will help you to get up.”
Hulk - the voice belonged to him, but where were the others?
I tried to listen to what was happening around me.
Why is this so quiet? Have all the others already gone? When? As soon as this strange light touched my eyes, I was hardly noticing a single thing happening around. What was the verdict then? Was it announced out aloud and I missed it? Or that what was happening to me now was my punishment? Why did it seem to me that Hulk wanted to get something out of me first? Did he change his mind?
Trembling and not daring to take my other palm off my face, I stretched one hand out to Hulk - his warm fingers clenched around my wrist and pulled me up. Barely touching my back, he gently led me to the couch and helped me sit down.
“Do not try to open your eyes for a while, ok?”
I nodded, not knowing whether he saw me do it.
Yet again I felt unusually scared. And freezing. It seemed like the temperature has dropped immensely, I was constantly shaking and just couldn’t get warm.
“Hulk, please... what’s wrong with my eyes?... Was there an announcement about my punishment? Where are the others... and... What’s going on?”
I wasn’t sure if my voice was trembling from the cold or my emotional redundancy.
“Hush, hush... Sh-h-h-h...” Hulk comforted me, “Try to sit quietly and calm for a few minutes. You have to get warm first.”
“But my eyes...”
“I know. Just stay quiet.”
I heard his footsteps die away somewhere in another room and then they approached me again. A soft fabric feeling like a fleece blanket covered up my shoulders.
“Wrap it around you, alright? I’ll make some tea and then we’ll talk.”
“Alright.”
He didn’t need to be asked twice - I bundled myself so tightly into it that I barely knew how to get my hands out and take the cup of tea. The coldness began to recede.
I could hear Hulk making the tea - the clattering of the dishes, sound of the pouring water, tapping of a spoon on the porcelain.
“Take it.”
“I can’t see.”
“Just give me your hand.”
I reached out in his direction.
Hulk took my hand and gently placed a warm cup into my fingers - thanks to him, it wasn’t very hot. I took a sip and relaxed a little.
“Thank you.”
“You are welcome.”
He sat down, probably, in the same chair where he usually liked to sit while listening to my translations. Thinking about it I suddenly