He moans, looks down to his bound wrists.

There are only seven fingers left.

His right eye blinks away a blood stream.

His left eye…

He moans again, and sees the little metal table next to him, with various tools, instruments, and razor-sharp knives. Resting in a bloody patch of gauze is his left eye.

Miguel comes into view, smiling, wiping his hands dry with a cloth. A chest-high leather apron covers most of his clothing. He steps forward, caresses Pelayo’s cheek.

“Please…,” Pelayo begs, whispering around his broken teeth and sliced tongue. “Please…make it quick…”

Miguel says, “I will, I will, cousin. But you know how religious I am, don’t you?”

Pelayo says nothing and then screams as Miguel slaps the bloody stumps on his left hand. “Yes, yes, yes, I know you are a religious man! Please, Miguel, please…end it…”

Miguel leans down. “I will. But I believe in my Lord God. I believe He was the creator of all things. And I believe He created this world in six days.”

He steps out of view and comes back with a large propane blowtorch, which he lights and starts to lower to Pelayo’s waist.

“Which is why I’m going to take six days to end your world, cousin.”

CHAPTER 95

CHAPTER 95

ON A sunny, breezy day in this part of Virginia my family and I follow the directions given to us earlier. It’s a breathtaking and melancholy sight, all the rows of simple tombstones, stretching out beyond us at every view, scattered here and there among trees whose branches look like they wish they were larger, to provide shade and comfort to all who rest here.

I’m in the middle, Tom holding my left hand, Denise holding my right, and during our long walk along a paved lane, Tom gives my hand a squeeze and I turn and see a horse-drawn carriage with slowly walking soldiers flanking it, a flag-draped coffin being drawn to its final resting place, the collection of grieving family members barely visible in the distance.

“Here we go,” I say, as we leave the narrow road and pass through another lane of gravestones, to one that’s fairly new. We pause there for a moment, looking down at the stone and the carved cross, her name, ROSARIO VASQUEZ, and under that, CW2, followed by US ARMY, and below that the short range of dates that marked her brief life.

I stand with my husband and daughter for a few minutes more, my eyes blurry, and then I reach down and caress the smooth top of the stone.

“Rosaria,” I whisper. “Thank you, sister. Welcome to my family.”

Acknowledgments

Brendan DuBois thanks the following for their assistance: US Army Lieutenant Colonel Brian Thiem (Ret.), Former Deputy Commander, 3rd MP Group (Criminal Investigation Command); Captain Vincent O’Neil, former Company Commander, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 508th Infantry Regiment; and for information on weapons’ tactics and self-defense, Stephen DuBois.