Chapter 11
Kristin
March 16
Saturday, two weeks ago
The hum of voices,and what sounded like the scratch of metal over metal, caused a shudder to run down Kristin’s spine as she slowly became aware of the sounds. Whimpers and cries from other women—barely there.
Smells of new carpeting and paint tickled her nose, almost making her sneeze. An air conditioner kicked on and she shivered from cool air caressing her skin.
Naked. She was naked.
True reality seeped into Kristin and her slack body tensed. But she hung from something, her arms stretched over her head.
No strength. She had no strength.
Was she really here? Where was here? Was this her body? Even though her arms ached and her wrists stung from metal handcuffs, she felt almost separated from her own bones and muscle.
She found the strength to lift her head and look up. As heavy as her head felt, it was a wonder she could raise it.
The haziness in her mind started to clear along with her eyesight. The handcuffs’ links had been secured over a big meat hook attached to a thick chain in a ceiling that could be in any office building.
Strange to see the circular area around her. Blue drapes hung from a big metal hoop, and she couldn’t see past the drapes.
Hours, days, weeks, years. Who knew how long she’d been drugged? Too drugged to even move most of the time. She couldn’t remember when she’d been shot up last. It must have been a while ago since things looked so much clearer as she stared at her bare toes.
It hadn’t surprised her that she was naked. The only thing that surprised her was that she hadn’t been raped.
Her lungs didn’t want to work as her thoughts went places she tried to avoid but couldn’t.
Yet. They haven’t raped me yet.
The men could have. The ones who kept her locked up in a room, fed her cold pizza, and gave her bottled water when she was coherent. Ricco and Danny she thought their names were.
Whenever she was alert enough, she wondered if there was any chance in the world that she could escape.
Nick would find her. Her brother. Her only family.
He would never stop until he did find her. There was no way in the world he wouldn’t be looking for her the moment he discovered she was missing.
Did he know she was gone yet?
The murmur of voices around her became more distinct as the fog started to lift from her mind. Men moved inside the drapes, ignoring her as they set up computer monitors, lights, and what looked like recording cameras.
“This auction had better go down smooth or the Man will blow a goddamned fuse,” one of the men said. Danny maybe?
The men had frequently talked about an auction when they were around her. They often referred to someone called “the Man” and how he’d make sure she and other unspoiled candy went for top dollar.
Candy?
The words made no sense when she was doped up. But as she hung from the ceiling, her mind started functioning better. What kind of auction?
Her heart started throbbing so fast her chest hurt. It was pumping hard enough to push away more of the haze.
She was going to be sold.
Kristin swallowed as pieces of what the men often said started matching up. She was going to be somebody’s sex slave.
Tears pushed their way through her closed eyelids and her cheeks were wet within an instant. She gave a sob and tried to raise her head.
Nick. Where are you?
“Shit.” Ricco’s voice came from her right. “The dope is wearing off of this one. We can’t have her bawling during the videotaping and auction.”
More sobs rolled from Kristin as she felt a familiar prick in her arm. Within moments she wondered why she was crying.
Everything was fine.
Why was she hanging from something?
It didn’t matter.
The chain was lowered so that she was standing flat on her feet instead of her toes, but they kept her arms over her head. Still she felt some relief in the ache from her armpits up to her wrists. Plush carpeting beneath her bare feet. Strange.
Someone put his palm on her forehead and pushed her head up. She tried to focus. Joe, the man who’d put her into the van, right?
Maybe. Whatever.
“Grace.” Joe looked over his shoulder and smiled at someone Kristin couldn’t see. “Do your thing.”
Her mind swirling, Kristen felt like a leaf floating on water and nonsensical singsong music made her want to hum.
Joe faced her again and he smiled. Such a handsome smile. How easily he had taken her in. Flirted with her, bought her a drink, and bam, she was gone.
So easy.
No emotion existed in Kristin. She just was. She watched as an old lady pushed a cart close to her. Looked like makeup and stuff was on it.
“Let me do her nipples.” Joe grinned and opened a container with a pink substance.
He pinched first one nipple then the other, and squeezed hard. The pink stuff had the consistency of lipstick and caused her to gasp as he rubbed it around her areola and all over her nipple. The sudden sensation was powerful enough to cause her to catch her breath. Her nipples were hard, distended, and they ached like a small vise was clamped on them.
The old lady moved in close to Kristin as Joe cleaned his fingers with a wet wipe from the cart, smirked, and walked away.
Grace started fussing with Kristin’s long hair, which had been washed earlier when she’d been dragged into a shower. Kristin’s hair was dry now, and Grace teased it and curled the naturally blond hair so that it fell in soft swirls and waves to her shoulders.
Next Grace applied makeup to Kristin’s face, and finished with lipstick and gloss. The makeup felt thicker and heavier than she normally wore, almost like a mask.
The old lady nodded with approval in her expression before rolling her cart away. Joe directed Grace to go to another place where she was needed and the old woman headed through a gap in the drapes.
Kristin’s mind couldn’t settle on anything, bouncing from one thing to another. Blue drapes in a circle around her. Cameras. Lights that weren’t on. Computer monitors. Microphone.
Interesting, too, she supposed.
Kristin hummed along with the odd music dancing in her head.
And then her thoughts took flight. To nowhere. Anywhere at all.
The lights around her came on so brightly she had to blink in their glare. Three or four people were with her in the circular curtained area. Joe held a recording camera up and was filming her. A mild sense of curiosity had her watching him, and then he started moving slowly around her, recording every bit of her naked body.
Joe began listing all of her attributes out loud, starting with her being a college student, her body unspoiled, never prostituted. He gave her measurements, showed the birthmark on her lower back.
All so strange.
Disembodied voices began shouting out numbers. Dollars. The voices reminded her of the teacher in the Charlie Brown cartoons, only she could understand the words. Some. One voice said, “Five thousand,” another said, “Ten.” More numbers increased with bids from other computer-enhanced voices.
“Twenty thousand dollars to triumph2000.” Joe gave a satisfied smile as he looked at Kristin. “A worthwhile investment.”
“Smile, baby.” Joe came up to her as all the lights and computer monitors were shut down. “You were just purchased by a man who wanted you real bad. He’s the reason you ended up here.”
Joe settled his palm on her hip as he leaned closer. “One good screw won’t spoil you before we deliver.”
“Back off.” Grace elbowed past him and began removing the heavy makeup from Kristin’s face with a damp cloth. “You don’t screw the merchandise.”
Joe gave a wink and a grin, and left the room while Grace continued to wipe Kristin down, from her face to her rosy, distended nipples.
Grace pushed Kristin’s hair over her shoulders before signaling to two men in the room to come to them. When she looked back at Kristin, Grace said with a motherly smile, “Just enjoy your new life, pumpkin.”
Kristin frowned and wondered if she cared what the old woman meant.
Grace patted Kristin’s cheek. “Be thankful you’ll be one man’s property, and that you won’t be prostituted and have too many men to count screwing you every night.”