Eden, Page 2

The protestors brought Mamica down from her perch and parted themselves, creating a pathway so that Mamica could march forward. Mamica waded toward the equestrian statue. Now Colonel Hoggia sat on the horse high above the crowd, his arms embracing the torso of the Skanderbeg statue.

  Mamica suddenly pivoted on a heel and said, “Cyril, come here.”

  Cyril felt a hand go to his back and push him forward. He agreed to walk towards Mamica until he stood in front of her.

  In a strong loud voice, Mamica said, “Cyril, you must shoot me.”

  He stared into her eyes, then down to her purplish-blue nipples.

  Colonel Hoggia said, “You bitch! You bitch!”

  Mamica said, “Shoot me, Cyril. Shoot me.”

  The next moment was like eighteen and a half lost years. The recruits and the naked protestors backed away until only Cyril and Mamica stood opposite each other beneath the equestrian statue.

  “Zyk!” the Colonel yelled so desperately that his voice cracked with the strain. “Turn away from the sex tank. She can’t be killed under any circumstances.”

  Mamica smiled. It was an expression Cyril had only seen on his mother’s face once. He had a faint memory of it from when he was recovering from an illness and she had dared sing him a lullaby.

  Cyril thought he heard Colonel Hoggia whimpering.

  A curdling scream made Cyril’s skin twist in the opposite direction, although his feet remained firmly planted on the cobblestone square. He could only see bits of skin through the crack of uniformed recruits. He recognized more tits. They were those of Teutos. She had stripped off all her clothes, thrown down her gun and started to scream at the sky.

  The recruit who had taken his father away came up next to Cyril and said matter-of-factly, “If you shoot, Colonel Hoggia will be killed.”

  Colonel Hoggia kicked his legs against the equestrian statue’s belly. “You must listen. The sex tank is actually a bomb. Everyone will explode if you shoot.”

  Slowly, Cyril pointed his gun at Mamica.

  Mamica’s face brightened like never before.

  The protestors began to chant above Teutos’ screams, “Shoot her! Shoot her!”

  “You are a man-woman,” Colonel Hoggia shouted. “You must not shoot.”

  The recruit who had made Cyril’s father disappear said, “Recruits, take off your own clothes!”

  Excited shouts rumbled through the square. Recruits ripped off their uniforms and raced into the crowd of protestors. All was a mass of chanting and screaming and recruits throwing off their uniforms. Quickened breaths and nakedness and Mamica’s smile made Cyril ask the sky to tell him what to do, for he was only eighteen and a half years old. When no answers came, he couldn’t hold back anymore. His finger on the trigger, Cyril shifted his aim and pointed the gun at Teutos. Then, he blurted the obvious. “I have an erection.”

  The protestors, Mamica and the recruits began to cheer.

  Only Teutos said nothing, her stare landing on Cyril’s pants. He couldn’t help himself either. He moved his eyes down her body and she flushed, cupping her hands over the hair between her legs.

  A shot rang out. The naked crowd began pushing toward the equestrian statue, still chanting, “Shoot, shoot, shoot.”

  Through the crush of bodies that tore his limbs in many directions, Cyril thought he heard the colonel cry out, “Please help! Please help! Isn’t it obvious? I have been shot!”

  Note: George Katrioti Skanderbeg routed out the Ottomans for a time in the fifteenth century. Still today, he is Albania’s national hero. His equestrian statue stands in Tirana’s central square.

  This short story is a comedic twist loosely based on the true story of an Albanian man who was eighteen in 1993 when he served his mandatory military service. His service coincided with the fall of the double-speaking Albanian communist regime when he was forced to be among the armed soldiers who held back defenseless protestors. Many of the protestors were his friends.

  About The Author:

  B. Zaragoza is a writer living in San Diego, California.

  Also by this author, check out the fast-paced thriller novel, THE LISTENER’S LABYRINTH.

  What Others Are Saying:

  IndieReader: “THE LISTENER’S LABYRINTH is an enjoyable, fast-paced novel that will keep lovers of the genre and readers who might not be so keen on military stories wanting to read on. Well worth giving it a try.”

  “Fun, fast action, ran it by my wife who then cursed me for giving it to her, she stayed up reading "just 1/2 hour" in the evening and ended up finishing in 3 nights. (No ... not a 1-1/2 hour book)”

  “This tale has a little of everything; sex, intrigue, military, international affairs, compelling relationships, blood & gore, tenderness, gripping plot, and picturesque settings.”

  Also, check out other published works at Merchant’s Press.