“Here he is.”

As the door to the dungeon opened, Keti’s voice echoed as he and Moyo stepped in, making way for Doctor Kiros to enter and observe the latest inhabitant of their dreaded cage.

As the master of Kiros Villa entered, he looked at the captive chained on the right side of the room. The young man looked at him with a mixture of fear and disgust.

A mixed look he had received so many times, from so many prisoners that had been chained to these walls. Young and old, men and women, boys and girls. Many a person living with albinism had seen all 5 feet 9 of him, his overgrown beard and immediately despised him for what he was and what he represented.

A threat to their very existence. A proponent of the belief that they were substandard humans and could easily be disposed of for the benefit of ‘superior beings’.

But did all this bother Doctor Kiros? Not in the slightest.

All that mattered to him was upholding those beliefs of old, and making major money out of it in the process. However his victims felt was the least of his concerns. To him, they were no different from the chickens and goats people bought to kill and eat. This was what had been taught to him as a child, and he had held these beliefs steadfastly, making a fortune out of it as a trafficker. Many people in Amela held tightly to these beliefs as well

As he stared back at the young man, he smirked, nodded and turned to his men. “Good job! Of course, I knew you wouldn’t disappoint me. Just one thing, he’s bleeding from the nose.”

Keti nodded sheepishly. “Uh, yeah. He put up a bit of a struggle, so…”

“Oh, that’s fine, that’s fine. Just wipe his nose up. That’s all.”

Choosing to say little, Kiros turned to exit the dungeon, not even bothering to look at the other hostage on the other side of the room.

Moyo and Keti followed, shutting the door behind them.

***

Nathan’s phone rang at 11:45 pm on Thursday. As he peered at the caller ID, he smiled and nodded his head.

It was Doctor Kiros. Nobody else would be calling at this time of the night.

Pressing the receive button, he said, “I take it you kept your word.”

“Yes, boss. My men were on point tonight. The target is in our custody as I speak. Slightly bloodied, since he tried to put up a bit of a struggle, but he is all right.”

“Excellent! Good work done. I have the briefcase right here. I was trusting you’d get the job done. I shall be at your place by 7am tomorrow.”

“Thank you sir… um, about execution. Are you sure you don’t need it done now? You seem like a pretty busy man, and I wouldn’t want to waste your time…”

“That’s a non-negotiable, please. If you have to sedate him or something like that, you can do that. But do not kill him until I get there and inspect him for myself.”

“Well, you know, I could take a picture for you so you can…”

“Kind sir, like I said, I do my business differently. I made it clear that this is how I want it. Do you want us to successfully and affably conclude this transaction or not?”

Doc Kiros sighed over the phone as he rubbed his face. He had met a few tough customers before, but this man was certainly in a league of his own. Clearly a lover of money, and one controlling man. “Yes, Mr. Nathan, I want it completed.”

“Good, then don’t kill him. If you so wish, I’ll have some of the money transferred to your account. Maybe an incentive of sorts.”

Kiros sat up at hearing that.  “Oh really? Well… sure, then. I’ll order my men to hold on until you arrive. Probably have him knocked out before you come.”

“Perfect. I will send you ten thousand right away. Thanks for cooperating with me. Good night.”

“Good ni-“

The call ended before Kiros could even complete his response. He shook his head again. What a man. Hopefully, I never have to deal with someone of his calibre again… but then again, who am I kidding? I’m probably gonna have another…

The pinging sound from his phone interrupted his thoughts. He reached out for it, and a smile spread across his face as he saw the bank notification.

This man may have been a tough one to deal with, but he certainly kept his word when necessary.

Kiros then shrugged and said to himself, “I guess acceding to his demands won’t hurt. If he’s kept to his word, I might as well keep to mine.”

He then called out. “MOYO! KETI!”

The two walked in, each holding a dagger in both hands.

He looked at them and nodded. “You’re ready to do the needful?”

“Yes, boss!” they both replied.

“Good. I’ve just received some instructions, though. The new one, let him be. Deal with the other one.”

Moyo and Keti looked a bit perplexed at this command. Whenever it was time for slaying the captured albinos, nobody in that room stayed alive. The two would storm in there and heartlessly slash the prisoners. That room was death row, and Moyo and Keti were the angels of death.

“Ummm… okay, boss. But, uh, why?” Moyo inquired.

Kiros shook his head. “Instructions, Moyo, instructions. I’m working with instructions. Didn’t you hear me say that already?”

Moyo lowered his head. The tint of irritation in Kiros’ voice was not a pleasant one. “Sorry, boss. Sorry. We’ll get to work, then.”

“Good. Just sedate him with anesthesia in the morning. You can go.”

Keti nodded, his facial expression indicating the myriad of questions flying around in his brain, which of course he would keep to himself. He had already seen his partner get thrown off in asking, so it was better that they just obey the commandment given to them.

They turned, exited the office and headed for the dungeon.

***

“It’s just disgusting, isn’t it? The way they treat us in these parts. Just… disgraceful!”

The gentleman at the other end of the dark room shook his head sadly in agreement with Joe’s rant. “It truly is. Every day we wake up is another day on death row, because you never know who’s plotting to have your legs or skull harvested for good fortune or lots of money or whatever bullshit they come up with. It’s just sad, man. So sad.”

His name was Dani, and he was another young man who had been walking the streets, minding his own business when those two horrible thugs pounced upon him, knocked him out and transported him to this horrible place. Just a young man looking to get himself a job to support his parents, and now, through no fault of his, he sat in that dungeon, condemned to death just for being a different type of person.

“I mean, we’re already disadvantaged in some ways as it is. It’s tough enough dealing with the sun, which can easily give us skin cancer. Most of us are like the source of jokes and mockery where we find ourselves. We already can’t win, and now you wanna kill us just for your selfish gains?”

“Hmmm, bro. You won’t believe the kind of stories about our kind. I remember reading somewhere that in Jamaica, the belief is that albinos are conceived as a result of sexual intercourse during menstruation.”

Joe looked at him in disbelief. “For real?”

“Oh yes! I’ve read all these things. And it’s no joke. We really are at a disadvantage already. The last thing we need is this…”

The opening of the door silenced him.

The two looked on in terror as the two henchmen stepped in.

The angels of death had entered the room, ready to carry out their due task.

Joe’s heartbeat quadrupled in fright as the two henchmen looked at him. He held his breath, wondering what these men were about to do to him.

A couple of seconds later, they turned away from him. Any relief he would have felt at that point, however, was suppressed as they looked at Dani as well, lunging toward him within a second.

“NOOOOOO!!” Joe yelled.

They descended on Dani with a fury, stamping upon his stomach multiple times. With his hands chained, there was very little Dani could do. He attempted to kick out at them, but it was a feeble effort. Joe could only watch on in horror as they simply kicked his legs out of the way and continued to put their feet through his belly till he was clearly weak.

What followed was even more dastardly.

One of them pulled out a dagger as the other held Dani’s head up, and slit his throat.

Joe felt the little food in his stomach rise up as his eyes beheld the horrific slaughter in front of him. This was beyond cruel; this was utterly sickening. Two human beings killing another one like an animal at an abattoir.

Absolutely disgusting.

“Keti, I think he’s dead now,” one of the henchmen said, a minute after Dani’s throat had been slit.

“Alright, let’s take him into the inner dungeon,” Keti suggested.

As they lifted the body up, Joe spat out. “You slimy bastards! Do you think this is right? Do you think this is the way to treat others different from you? You’ll not get away with this! I swear you won’t!”

The two henchmen turned to look at him, scowls on their faces as they briefly laid the body down. The one called Keti walked over to him and crouched to look him right in the face.

Petrified but defiant, Joe stared him back in the face.

A few seconds of fiercely looking at each other, and Keti rose to his feet. As he looked down at him, he sneered, “Go to sleep, you white cockroach.”

And with that, a boot to the head knocked Joe out.

***

“Stupid little trash!” Keti snarled as he and Moyo carried the body of their victim into the inner dungeon. Calling us slimy bastards! Good lord I’m gonna enjoy making him die tomorrow.”

“I swear to God, man!” Moyo agreed. “I don’t even understand why we couldn’t make it tonight. What kind of bossy client is making Dr. Kiros wait?”

Keti shrugged as they placed the corpse on the floor of the inner dungeon. A room smaller than the dungeon, with butchers’ tools lying around, and the pungent smell of human flesh lingering in the air. “I have no idea. But hey, eventually we’ll get it done tomorrow, so no biggie.”

“Sure, sure,” Moyo agreed. “Sitting there shouting about the right way to treat people. Bah! Who told him he’s part of the ‘people’ we regard?”

“Don’t mind him. He’s crazy! These cursed creatures want equality? He’s not serious. No mercy for these bleached animals!”

“None at all, Keti. None at all.”

If there was one thing that these two bonded over at all times, it was this. They could squabble all they wanted, but they’d always agree that people with albinism were nothing but animals fit for slaughter.

Smh. These henchmen talk about them like they’re animals. Disgusting! You can only wonder at this point if Joe’s gonna be rescued at all…