Empire unusual suggested

96 PASSPORT TO MAGONIA
plied to my face with violence and squeezed my head, as a bird of
prey rushes on its unfortunate, helpless victim. They pulled my
head back against a very hard chest—one that seemed to be made
of iron; I felt the cold through my hair and behind my neck, but no
contact with clothes. The hands were squeezing my head like a
formidable vice, not abruptly, but gradually. They were very cold,
and their touch made me think that they were not made of flesh.
The big fingers were placed on my eyes, and I could not see anymore,
on my nose so that I could not breathe, and also on my mouth,
to prevent me from crying out.
When I was surrounded by the strong, blinding light, I had the
feeling I had been paralyzed, and when the hands touched me, I had
the very distinct impression of a strong electric discharge, as if I
had been shaken by a lightning bolt. My whole body was annihilated,
helpless, without reflexes. I was like a broken toy between the
inhuman hands of my unknown aggressor. For a little over a minute,
I felt his hands tightening very strongly on either side of my throat.
It was horribly painful. Then he began to swing me forward and
backward several times, still fiercely squeezing my head against his
chest. I had the distinct impression that this being wore armor or
a steel carapace, or some very hard and cold material. I felt his two
[invisible] arms pressing heavily on my shoulders.
It was at that moment that I heard his laugh, a strange laugh I
could not explain; it was as if I heard him through some water, and
yet it seemed quite close, above my head. At first it sounded rough
and hushed, then rather strong and rolling. It made me shudder and
hurt me. After a few seconds the laugh stopped, suddenly cut off.
Then a knee hit me in the back, hurting me very much, as if it were
made of steel. That made me think my aggressor was completely
covered with steel. This blow made me fall back, and the unknown
aggressor made me lie down, still squeezing my head against his
chest. Then he dragged me along the path, by my head, and he
seemed in a great hurry. I did not hear him breathe.
He pulled me into a bush full of brambles and nettles and acacias,
still going backward at an incredible speed, holding my head. At
that moment I heard his voice above me, and it said: "There she is.
We've got her." As if he were talking to someone else, some accomplice
who had stayed inside the bush; this voice, like the laugh,
seemed close by, although hushed by some obstacle, and it was short,
rough, sharply cut.
I was choking, and I felt I was going to die; I thought of my
family waiting for me at home, and my whole life passed before
me in a few seconds. My aggressor pulled me through the bushes
until we reached a small pasture, and suddenly he stopped! Why?
Ilis hands had gradually slipped down my face, and I tried to call
TO MAGONIA AND BACK! 97
for help but I had no voice left but a tiny, shrill cry. After a while
I was able to sit among the brambles. I had a very hard time breathing.
My bag was still in my hand, with the money it contained. At
last I was able to get up in spite of my weakness, and then I heard
some noise to my left inside the bushes. I thought I was going to
see my aggressors and recognize their faces, but I saw nothing! Only
the branches moved, waving in the air; I saw and heard the brambles
scratching the empty space, and the grass being pressed as if
under the steps of some invisible being. I was terrified. Softly, I took
to the path again, walking with difficulty. My legs were lacerated by
the brambles and bleeding; I felt a strange sensation of nervous
exhaustion, indefinable, as if I had been electrified by a strong current.
In my mouth was a sickening, metallic, bitter taste; my muscles
did not obey me. Over my shoulders I felt something like a bar,
and in my back a painful heat, as if I had been exposed to flames
or to a burning ray. At times I still felt as if I was being brushed
by an invisible brush. I must have walked like that for five or six
minutes. At the end of the path there was a turn, and from there I
could see houses, and then the pains decreased a little bit.
Everything had lasted a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes,
and it seemed that I had lived in an unreal world. Abruptly I heard
a great noise, like a violent wind during a storm, a sudden displacement
of warm air or a violent whirlwind. I saw the trees bending
as if under a sudden storm, and I was nearly thrown down. Almost
simultaneously, there was a strong, blinding white light. I had the
feeling something flew through the air very fast, but I saw nothing.
Soon everything became calm again. I felt discomfort and nausea.
I reached the house of the lock-keeper and when I opened the
door they came toward me and asked me what had happened, because
they too had seen a light from their house. The lock-keeper's
wife asked me what was wrong. When I was able to speak at last,
they told me all the fingers were still deeply marked in the flesh
of my face, making large red bars. They applied peroxide to the
scratches on my legs, and an ointment, and bathed my face with
cold water. My hands were badly hurt.
After a long lapse of time I started again toward to buy a
few things, without saying anything to anyone, and I came back
home laboriously, by another path.
After I told my mother, and my father and my brother, too, what
had happened to me, they filed a complaint with the gendarmerie.
The police came and interviewed me at length; they examined me
and observed the marks of large fingers on my face. I was still swollen,
and felt pains at several places. They concluded there had been
an abduction attempt and told me that it was very strange, mysterious.
They took me to the spot to continue their investigation