— But what was the noise of the roar you heard in the laboratory? — Durval asked.
— Until that moment, none of us knew — Heitor said. — I think even some soldiers from the platoon had no idea that the army was keeping a beast locked up in the underground laboratory. You could see on their faces that they were terrified even after Botelho shot some kind of tranquilizer dart at the creature. After all, from time to time we heard a grunt from the dazed animal.
“The soldiers kept searching for us in the laboratory, but they didn’t approach the back part, where the cage should be. From my position, I couldn’t see much. I remained still, lying in my hiding place in the metal structure above the operating table, while the soldiers searched every inch of the room. Botelho stayed near the door, pacing slowly back and forth like a beast before pouncing on its prey.
“Then I heard a commotion and understood that they had discovered Second Lieutenant De Matos. Apparently, he had hidden under one of the operating tables. They beat the man, Durval. How they beat that poor man. Kicks, punches, rifle butts to the face, one soldier even twisted his arm behind his back with such force that you could hear the sound of the bone dislocating from the shoulder. De Matos fell to the ground and curled up while a dozen soldiers beat him. I thought they were going to kill him.
“Your friend Botelho just watched and did nothing. I know he was a civilian and therefore couldn’t give a direct order to the soldiers. But unofficially, he was the big shot in that place. He stood there watching De Matos get beaten like a thief’s bull. I’m not emotional, you know. But at that moment, I felt pity for the man. I even thought about jumping on those cowards to stop them from killing the unfortunate.
“Finally, Botelho went to the soldiers and cynically told them to stop it.
“Only when they lifted De Matos could I see the horrendous state they left him in. His lower lip was cut, and a part hung almost down to his chin. His nose was visibly broken, flattened into his face and turned to the side. One of his eyes was closed, and in the other, you could see the terror he was feeling.
“Botelho approached and said he didn’t want to know why he was there, he just wanted to know if there was anyone else involved in that criminal invasion besides him and Gouveia, who the soldiers had captured while trying to escape down the stairs. De Matos shook his head and mumbled no.
“I think as long as I live, I won’t be able to thank De Matos enough for that. A true friend. They took De Matos out of the laboratory. Botelho was the last to leave. He turned off the light and murmured something I couldn’t understand.
“I ended up locked in the laboratory with the beast about to wake up from the effect of the tranquilizer. I just hoped it was still caged.”
Episode XXXVII continues in the next edition.
JOSÉ GASPAR
Filmmaker and writer
www.historiasdooutromundo.com