Nothing in the World by Roy Kesey Read Free Book Online Page B

to betray
     the Motherland, to be a coward. Kunić did not come back, and no new prisoners were brought in. Gusterica still would not eat, so Joško ate
     for him, and the food seemed to be repairing what Magarac had broken.
    For three days he saved his waste in the pail beneath his bed. After breakfast on the fourth day he went over to check on his cellmate. Gusterica was
     asleep, his eyelids scaly with dried pus and tears. Joško stepped to the door of the cell and called for the guards.
    Again the other prisoners joined in the shouting, and again one of the guards came running down the hall, swinging his baton like a sword. Joško
     waved him to a stop.
    - Gusterica hasn’t been eating his food, and now I can’t wake him up. I think he’s dead.
    The guard looked at Joško, then over at Gusterica.
    - Shit. Okay. Go sit on your bunk, facing the wall. If you move at all, I swear to God I’ll put a bullet in your brain.
    The guard unlocked the door, stepped into the cell and closed the door behind him. He walked over to Gusterica and put his hand to the man’s
     wrist.
    - You asshole, he said, turning back around. He’s—
    Joško slung the contents of the pail into the guard’s face and clutched at the man’s throat. The two of them fell to the floor,
     rolling in the stew of feces and urine, and the guard lost consciousness before he could get his pistol out of its holster. Joško kept his grip on
     the man’s throat a moment longer.
    Now Gusterica’s eyes were open wide. He stared at Joško, and his mouth moved but no sound came out. Joško nodded, took the key ring
     from the guard’s belt and opened the cell door.
    - Goodbye, Gusterica, he said. Best of luck.
    His cellmate shook his head and started clawing at his mattress. Joško walked up the hallway, and all around him the prayers and ranting went
     quiet. One fat hand reached out to grab at his shirt. Joško stopped, looked at the prisoner, and the man drew his hand back in.
    He found the storeroom, got the door open, took up his rifle and rucksack, turned around and met the second guard coming in. He drove the barrel of his
     rifle into the man’s stomach. As the guard fell, Joško flipped the rifle around and swung it down again and again until the man’s
     skull broke open.
    Up the next hallway, into the lobby, and the clerk was standing in the far doorway, staring out at the morning. Joško brought his rifle back over
     his shoulder, drove the butt against the back of the man’s neck and watched him fall.
    Across the compound a group of guards stood talking and smoking, and to his right Joško heard the rumble of an engine. He walked around the
     corner, saw a jeep with its hood gaping open, and a soldier leaning in so far that one of his feet was raised off the ground. Joško stepped
     forward. It was Magarac. Joško watched the man work, then reached up for the hood and slammed it down.
    The engine coughed thickly and Magarac’s legs lifted, collapsing against the fender as the engine died. Joško opened the hood and pulled the
     body out. The fan had caught Magarac on the temple and peeled his face away.
    - I’m sorry, Joško said.
    The corpse did not answer. Joško dragged it over to the side of the building and stretched it out flat, taking care to fold one of Magarac’s
     arms gently under his head. He put his rifle and rucksack in the back of the jeep and climbed into the driver’s seat, turned the ignition key,
     and the engine spat and went silent. He turned the key again, and this time the engine hacked and sputtered, then roared.
    Through the middle of the compound, past the circle of guards. The sentry shaded his eyes to get a better look. Joško took up his rifle, shot him
     in the chest, burst through the gate and out onto the road.
    * * *
    The wind sang around him, and Joško smiled as he thought of how soon he would be at his sister’s house. He reached back and pawed through
     his rucksack until he found what was left of the