Read Escape for Free Online

would go away. Standing still, hoping the floor wouldn't creak under him, he leaned over the table again and turned the tuner knob away from the free territory station. If it was a policeman or a soldier, Luka didn't want to give them any excuse to accuse him of collaborating against the Eršban army.
    “Open the door, or we'll kick it in.”
    Fear ran down his back in an icy cascade. Was the man with that deep voice going to come in and shoot him? Were they going to drag him down the stairs and throw him into a van? Make him disappear like Harun and Ferid and their families had disappeared? His legs felt weak and stiff as he forced himself toward the door, still trying to be silent, hoping some clever plan of escape would occur to him before they started knocking his door down.
    When he opened the door, a weird little noise leaked out of his throat. Flanked by two other soldiers, Pero stood there, so tall and broad in his red Vega uniform he almost filled the doorway. The AK47 he'd had slung from a strap over his shoulder when Luka had seen him by the bus stop, Pero now held in both hands, the long barrel angled across his chest, his index finger resting just behind the trigger.
    Without a word, the three soldiers surged into the room, driving Luka back. One of them flung or kicked the door closed. The sharp crack of the door hitting home made Luka's heart seize, as if it had been a gunshot.
    “What are you still doing in Sovići, Bokan?”
    Pero hadn't opened his mouth, so Luka looked at the man to his left. Not as tall or wide as Pero, but still a lumbering, muscled giant, with just as much hate in his brown eyes, even though Luka was pretty sure they'd never met.
    “Sovići is an Eršban city. Even a stupid Bokan like you must know you don't belong here.”
    Why was he still there? Why hadn't he gotten out of there as soon as he heard about the first shooting? The first disappearance?
    “You should go back to Kyurta.”
    “What do you mean, back to Kyurta? I've never even been there. I was born in Xukrasma, in Bijeljina. Like my parents. I've only ever lived there, and here. Except for a few family trips to Javaser Capital, I've never been anywhere else. This is my home.”
    “Not anymore.”
    “There is one place your people are allowed to go in the city. Do you want us to take you there?” Now it was the other soldier, the slim blond to Pero's right.
    “Where?” Luka felt so choked and suffocated by fear, he was surprised he'd managed to voice the word.
    The slim blond's face cracked open in a huge smile. “The Ketačari cemetery. We can have you there in ten minutes. Happy to oblige.”
    What should he say to keep them from killing him? The only thing Luka could think of was, It's just me. Luka. Obrad's old friend. The kid you used to coach on the weekends, the kid who used to watch you play football every evening when your brother finished class . But that would only remind Pero of the reason he'd hated him even before all this crazy ethnic strife.
    “I know this kid.” Pero's pale gray eyes were locked on Luka's. The corner of his mouth bent in a hint of a smile. “Wait for me downstairs, eh guys?”
    The brawny brunette sighed, like he was disappointed Pero seemed to be robbing him of the chance to spatter the walls with Luka's blood, but the blond swatted his shoulder and said, “Come on. Let's go have a smoke and see if that hot girl is still working at the cafe next door.” That seemed to appease his friend, and they shuffled out, looking half deflated compared to the pumped up bravado of their entry a few moments earlier.
    While they clambered down the stairs in their heavy combat boots, Pero closed the door. He closed it gently, the way Luka always did, and this time it didn't sound like a gunshot. But Luka's whole body was numb, and his brain and face were humming and tingling like his head had been stuffed full of bees.
    “Looks like you're still into your drawings.” Pero stared at the