Europe After the Rain by Alan Burns

Author:Alan Burns
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Alma Books
Published: 2019-06-24T11:03:08+00:00

Chapter 8

Holding himself above her, moving neither forwards nor backwards, the commander allowed her to survive; he turned with ease, mounted; just as he reached her, she shifted away – he pursued her; she shielded herself with her arms, facing him and crouching, she tried to escape; suddenly she turned towards him, hopeless – it was over. Failed, beaten, he continued in hope, really tired, not persevering; he did not share her panic – his exhaustion made it easy. As he woke, she prepared for a long fight; she was persistent; she stuck to her hate until it happened, but she was thrown off by his remaining motionless, by his motionless power. She endeavoured to close with him while she was strong – an amazing exhibition: she furiously hunted, grasped him; he flicked aside, he saved himself; she shifted to avoid the agony; it was driven home; there was no agony – he seized her neck and gave her a sharp hit at the base of the skull: it was over – swinging – no sound; she was overwhelmed; silence followed, clapping, whip-like, in the dense atmosphere.

With his height and weight he knelt on her spine; they fell with violence: her shocked face and flapping hands, her wrists against the wood; discoloured eyes, stains of earth and tears, bruised lips, cheeks splashed with tears; his dog between her feet, her feet in its belly; streaks of black across his face, his fingers. The short whip with a pellet of lead at the end of its lash; the hairs in his nostrils; the gaze of pleasure. The fourth stroke tore her skin – the patches of suffused blood were at first dark red; sharply defined injuries produced by blows, rupture, the skin dragged in a particular direction. She was aware only of some dazzling, some flattening; very slight, her red reflection; I could see the folded skin – the muscle dislocated, the normal state interfered with, altogether lost. Her body shook with frightened movements – the movements in her chamber, unusually deep – complicated, dragging. She fell downwards and inwards; it occurred several times – her body was dragged back; the nature of the pain was not understood, the pain in the stretched membrane remained; portions of the membrane stretched in fine threads, detached by a blow; the blood lay red and fresh, then black; a fly moved slowly across and came to rest; glittering spots, small particles of white, appeared in the blood and danced about with slightest tremor of the skin, lasted for several minutes and disappeared, leaving the surface wet.

No feet or stones – some soft thing, her head twisted sideways towards a basin of water. “Lie still.” A fat face, poor child, a smell of onions; the marks of his teeth on her shoulders. She tried to stand up. He threw a handful of sweets towards her. “No.” I saw her struggling; I touched her skirt. His fingers held her head, reached her elbows. I watched the pointed bones move, leant forwards and picked up her hand.

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