Chapter 7 #2
“Trash!” Igor spat. “Absolute trash! Why teach this girl such worthless works when there is such worthwhile literature available?” He reached out and yanked the small book out of April’s delicate hand and proceeded to tear out the pages.
“No!” Sonya said as she jumped out of her chair.
Igor threw the book to the floor and angrily stomped on it.
“Stop it!” Sonya said as she went to him and grabbed his arm. “Who do you think you are?”
“Leave me, woman!” Igor shoved her away from him. “Who are you to tell me, a man, what to do? I am Igor Karloff, and no one speaks to me like this, especially a woman.”
“You are a guest in this house,” Sonya tried to reason with him. “How dare you!”
“No. How dare you, feeble woman!”
No longer able to take his behavior, she lunged forward and slapped him as hard as she could.
“You!” he bellowed as he grabbed her wrist in a vice grip. “You dare to lay your hand on me!”
“Let go!” Sonya said as she struggled against his hold. She turned to April “Run. Get out!”
April hesitated a split second then ran out.
Fuming, Igor looked at Boris who calmly sipped his tea. “Idiot! Go after her!”
Boris, clearly comfortable in his chair, glared at Igor a moment before getting up and following his orders.
“Let go of me,” Sonya said as she continued to struggle against his hold.
“You talk too much, woman,” he said as he threw her into a chair. While holding her wrists behind her back with one hand, he whipped his belt off, wrapped it around her wrists and knotted the belt then ran it through the rungs of the back of the chair and knotted it again.
“This is pointless, you know,” Sonya said. “What do you hope to accomplish here in America? What plans can you possibly have that you need to do this to me?”
“Quiet, woman!” he said. “Your voice gives me a headache.”
“In that case, you are free to leave. No one asked you to come here.”
“I stay until I am ready to leave.”
Sonya noticed the sweat on his brow and the grim line of his lips. She couldn’t resist taunting him. “You do know that whatever you and your regime have planned, it won’t work.”
“Quiet.”
“You cannot achieve what America has.”
Igor stood up straight. “You. How did you figure out what I am? No matter. We Soviets will infiltrate America with the ideology we have. Who doesn’t like free grocery stores. Free busses, free healthcare, free rent, free food, free everything?”
Sonya huffed. “I think you greatly underestimate the extent of common sense Americans have. When you offer anything ‘Free’, we know there are strings attached. ‘Free’ means essentially and eventually giving up your Freedom. The more ‘free’ stuff given, the more you depend on them, the more you become slaves to the system. Plus, Americans already enjoy freedom. We take pride in earning and paying for goods and services that we can choose to buy. Besides, where are you from? Russia, Germany? China? Right now, the world is poor because of the war.”
“It is not a joke!” Igor shouted. “We have gold. Lots of gold. Boris and I came across some Germans who said they buried Hitler’s gold with their own hands. It is what we...”
He suddenly fell silent and looked down at Sonya.
“You told me not to tell anyone about the gold,” Boris said as he entered the dining room.
“I know,” Igor hissed.
“But now, you just told her.”
“I know that, Boris! Where’s the young girl?”
“No one is supposed to know about the gold,” Boris went on.
Igor turned suddenly to face his partner in crime. “I know all of that, Boris. I know! Where’s the other girl?”
“I don’t know. The house is big. I couldn’t find her.” Boris looked at Sonya. “The problem now is that you told her about our gold.”
“That doesn’t matter. The female won’t live long enough to tell anyone what she knows.”
Sonya met his steely gaze. She’d never seen anyone with eyes so cold, so lifeless. What did he intend to do? Kill her right then and there?
“Watch her,” Igor told Boris as he walked out of the dining room.
Moments later he returned, a large gleaming knife in his hand. “Let’s shut you up once and for all.” He charged toward Sonya, his knife high and ready to strike. Suddenly the lights went out.
“Did your little friend turn out the lights thinking she could scare us?” Igor snarled into the dark room.
He let out a horrifyingly macabre laugh.
“You cannot escape me, teacher. You will not escape the sharp blade that will slit your throat. But don’t worry.
I will be quick. The blood will drain out of your body in no time.
Then, I will go and find your young student and finish her off as well. ”
His slow and careful footsteps approached the chair he’d tied Sonya to. His breathing was hard and heavy as he reached the chair and swiped through the air with the knife.
“Where are you teacher?” he whispered, still slicing through the air.
Sonya let out a light chuckle.
“Think it’s funny, woman!” he said, swiping madly through the air. He took a few steps more until his foot kicked Sonya’s chair. “I’ve got you now. There’s no getting away.
The knife sliced through the air, the swift motion ending with a thud quickly followed by a painfilled cry.
“Owwww!”
“What’s going on?” Boris said as he repeatedly flicked the light switch. Finally, the light came on. “Igor? What happened? Where is the girl?”
“Come help me,” Igor snarled.
Boris went to him and gasped. “Igor! What did you do? You stabbed your own hand. What did you do?”
“Shut up, Boris. Shut up and get the knife out of my hand.”
“But where’s the girl? Where’s the girl?”