Two Peasants and a President Read Online Free Page A

now, but by God, I’ll kill you bastards if you give me the chance.  She felt them grasp her arms and lift her to her feet.  She submitted but her legs had scarcely been used in days and they collapsed under her.  The men tightened their grip an d led her forward.  Through tightly closed eyes she could only see the brightness increase as she was being led down what sounded from the echoes like a passage way. 
    Every few feet she opened her eyes just slightly to allow them to a c climate. The br ightness was still blinding, though each time a little less so.  She was in a companionway of some sort.  After walking what she estimated was about forty feet she was told to stop.
    “There are railings in front of you,” the same voice said,  “Put your hands on them and use them to climb the staircase.  One of us will be behind you to prevent you from falling.”
    Her hands found the metal railings.  Her legs were weak but she was able to hold herself upright using her hands.  The steps sounded and felt like the perforated steel staircases she had seen in industrial settings and in the movies.  Slowly, one step at a time she mounted them, occasionally feeling the hands of the person behind her on her back, which made her cringe.  When she reached the top, the man in front took her hand and led her forward through what felt like a doorway. 
    “Stop now,” the man said.  “Place your hands behind your back.”  The thought of being cuffed scared her, but there was no choice.  She didn’t even know if she could walk on her own yet, much less run.  They placed a coat of some sort over her shoulders, more to conceal the handcuffs than to keep her warm, she thought. 
    “We will now walk to a vehicle.  If you scream, the only thing you will accomplish is to bring pain upon yourself.  Do you understand?”  She nodded.  Her eyes had recovered slightly and by squinting briefly she could see what appeared to be a police van waiting on a pier for her.  The rear doors were open and a uni formed man stood next to them.  Police.
    When she was seated on a hard bench in the van, she opened her eyes again briefly.  The uniformed man sat on another bench looking at her, though he did not seem disturbed that she had seen him.  The next time , she glanced up at the small window in each door at the rear of the van.  The van was moving now and she caught glimpses of a city, a modern city.  She saw the top of a giant wheel that was lit brightly , like an enormous Ferris wheel and stored that away in her memory.  The fact that she was being allowed to look at the small windows told her one of two things: either the man was being careless or he felt confident that anything she saw would not be of any use where she was going.  The latter thought depressed her, but she forced herself to focus on gathering information. 
    They drove for some time.  She caught glimpses of the tops of buil d ings, all brightly lit.  Clearly they weren’t stingy with electricity in this place.  She tried to remember as much as she could but there was so much.  It seemed like they had driven for about thirty minutes when she felt the van turn.  T he tops of large iron gates closed behind them.  The van continued until it pulled to a stop.  S ounds like a garage door opening, which she was able to confirm when it closed behind them , told her that this place must be large, probably not a house .  
    “You will be blindfolded now,” the man in the van told her.  She felt an involuntary tightening in her stomach, but she knew this was not the time to resist.  Moments later she could hear her own footsteps and those of the men on each side of her on what sounded like a linoleum floor.  She detected an aseptic smell, like bleach or a cleaner of some sort before she was ushered into an elevator that took her down – one floor, she was certain.  Another walk down a long hall, this one sounding like conc rete and smelling less