38. Chapter 37
Chapter 37
Eden
M y head—it's like a drum pounding incessantly, the pain unbearable.
Why does it hurt so damn much?
I roll onto my back, gripping my throbbing head, desperately trying to piece together the fragments of my fractured memory. The phone call from my mother echoes in my mind, her voice quivering with fear.
And my father. He seized her. He hurt her.
My house. I rushed to my house.
I close my eyes, and the horrific image of my mother’s lifeless body sprawled on the floor floods my mind. My hand reaches for Roman’s gun before—
The impact. He struck me in the head.
Forcing my eyes open, I try to stand, only to be jolted by a sharp collision with cold metal. Blinking through the veil of darkness still clouding my vision, my eyes gradually adjust to the dim, oppressive gloom of the room .
I feel around, my hands encountering nothing but metal. The realization dawns on me: I am enclosed in a cage.
A dog cage.
What the hell is this?
I shake the bars, the rattling sound mingling with faint, sorrowful sobs nearby. The room is illuminated only by the flickering glow of candles, casting erratic shadows that dance across the walls. The air is thick with the musty scent of dampness and decay.
I hear the sobbing again and shake the bars harder, my fingers probing through the gaps in an attempt to grip them tightly.
“Is someone there?” I croak, surprised by how parched my throat feels.
Movement catches my eye a few feet away. Another metal cage shifts, and I realize that I am not alone.
“Yes,” A young voice whispers, laden with despair. “There are about twenty others down here.”
The children.
The fucking children.
I shake the gate of my cage with all my strength, desperate to find any give.
“It’s okay, sweetie,” I whisper, trying to sound reassuring despite the pounding in my head. “I’ll find a way out of here—”
“You’re Eden,” The young girl’s voice trembles. “They’ve been talking about bringing you down here for days.”
“H-How long have you been down here?” I ask, my voice barely more than a rasp.
“I-I don’t know,” She replies, her voice muffled by tears. “They pump us with stuff from those clear bags,” She gestures weakly, and I finally notice the IV drip attached to both her and my arm. “It makes everything confusing.”
Ripping the IV from my arm, I clench the needle tightly, my mind racing. I need to get out, I need to—
“Take yours out,” I whisper urgently. “All of you, take them out—”
“That only makes things worse,” She hisses, fear evident in her voice. “Please, just stay quiet and listen—”
I glance down at myself and realize, with a shock of revulsion, that I am no longer in Roman’s clothes. I’m wearing a white medical gown. My undergarments are gone.
What the hell is happening?
“The bid will happen soon,” The girl sobs. “The men upstairs promise we’ll go somewhere better than this. Maybe my new family will help me find my momma—”
“Upstairs?” I question, my voice trembling.
The girl falls silent, leaving me to listen to the muffled groans and sobs from the other girls in their cages. My focus shifts to the distant sound of a piano playing somewhere above us.
Jesus Christ.
We’re in the church’s basement.
Reaching for Roman’s ring for solace, I discover it’s been taken. They stripped me clean.
I jiggle the cage again, the lock sliding tantalizingly close but still just out of reach.
“Have any of you ever tried to get out?” I ask.
The girl’s silence speaks volumes.
These cages were built for children, not for a grown woman .
Scooting on my rear, I press my feet against the gate’s door, bracing myself for a desperate attempt to break free.
With every ounce of strength I can muster, I slam my feet against the gate. The loud rattling makes some of the other girls gasp.
“Don’t—”
Ignoring her plea, I continue pounding the gate with my feet, shouting with each impact.
“Just,” I yell. “Fucking,” the lock rattles with each strike. “Open!”
The gate swings open with a creak, my heart pounding in my chest.
Still clutching the needle, I drag myself across the cold, grimy floor. I grab the first candle I can find and force myself upright, using the wall for support. The flickering light reveals the horrifying scene before me.
Dozens of cages surround me, some filled with multiple small children. They are dirtied and gaunt, their eyes pleading as they rub their faces with grimy hands.
All these children.
They’ve been here, hidden beneath this church, and no one had a clue.
Kneeling by the cage next to me, I unlock it, reaching inside before the girl can protest.
“No, no—”
I grab the girl’s arms, making her focus on me.
“That IV is coming out, and then I’m finding us a way out of here,” I whisper fiercely. “What they’re putting in you won’t help you get home to your mother. I need you to work with me here. What’s your name?”
She hesitates but then meets my gaze.
“Hannah,” She whispers, her voice trembling.
“Okay, Hannah, I’m going to take this out,” I say, gently pulling the IV from her arm. She flinches, and I’m struck by the dark circles beneath her eyes.
How can a loving God allow this?
Where is my sign to have faith in Him?
I toss the IV aside, clutching the needle. I’m determined to drag Hannah out of this cage and find a way to escape.
“Okay, Hannah, we will get you and the other girls out of here—”
Suddenly, a door creaks open, and light spills down a staircase a few hundred feet away from us.
Hannah puts a finger to her lips, signaling me to be quiet and get back into my cage.
I shake my head, keeping her cage closed, and press myself into the shadows, hoping they conceal me well enough.
Two large figures descend the staircase, flashlights in hand, sweeping the cages furthest from us.
“All of them are here?” My father’s voice questions, laced with menace.
Vile pig.
“Yup, all of them—”
Father Kevin.
“We should be able to get them all cleaned up tonight once they’re out cold from the drips. Then, we show them off tomorrow and finally get our payday,” Kevin’s voice seethes with greed .
Vile men.
Their flashlights swing in my direction, and I press against the wall, my heart pounding as I watch Hannah’s IV being reattached. Her fear is palpable.
“Wait,” My father hisses. “Is… Is my daughter’s cage open?”
I hold my breath, staring at the staircase. I could run. I could—
“Where the hell is she?” Kevin bellows, rattling Hannah’s cage.
“I—I don’t know—”
“Don’t fucking lie to me!” My father roars, kicking the cage hard enough to make Hannah’s head slam against the side.
“Don’t you dare fucking lie to me right now—”
I charge toward my father, needles clenched in my fists. With all my strength, I slam them into his side, climbing onto his back and yanking them free before driving them back in. I scream with every ounce of breath in my lungs, kicking Kevin away and preparing to slam the needles down again.
“This is for my fucking mom!” I shout, seconds away from plunging these filthy needles into my father’s jugular.
“And this is for all of these kids—”
Pain seizes me as my hair is yanked, and I’m slammed to the cold floor. The impact knocks the air from my lungs. Gasping, I feel something cold press against my forehead, forcing me down.
“You fucking bitch—”
“Shut up, David. My parents don’t pay you to allow slip-ups like this.”
A cold, metallic sensation presses against my forehead.
“L-Luca?” I whisper, recognizing the weight of the gun .
“Hello there, Angel,” Luca hisses, his shadow looming over me.
My gaze falls on Roman's ring, dangling from Luca’s neck, a taunting reminder of what’s been stolen from me.
“Luca, what the hell are you doing—”
“Oh, come on, Eden. We can be honest with each other now,” He says, his voice dripping with malice. “You fuck the priest. I try and give you an out by being mine. Clearly, you wanted the more nuclear option,” He sneers, running his hand up my thigh. “Though, I don’t think I’ve ever had to pay so much for a woman I want so bad,” He snaps.
“Get your fucking hands—”
“Ah,” Luca interrupts, pressing the gun harder into my head. “I’m sure you and the priest got up to some nasty stuff. Not that I’m one to kink shame, but there’s a bullet in this chamber, Eden. I’m sure you’re much less fun as a corpse,” He says coldly. “So stay on the fucking ground and listen.”
I remain motionless, my father now clutching his side, his face contorted with rage.
“Where is your brother, Eden?” My father demands, stepping closer with Kevin.
I spit on his shoes, a defiant grin spreading across my face.
“Fuck you—”
Luca uses the gun’s barrel to strike my jaw, then grips my chin, his touch both painful and invasive.
“Come on, Eden, is it really that hard to cooperate?” He taunts, his hand moving further up my leg.
“Stop fucking touching me—”
“Then tell him where your brother is,” Luca snaps. “And nothing else has to happen to you.”
“Rot in hell,” I hiss defiantly.
“Fine,” Luca sighs with a sinister edge. “I should have assumed you’d prefer things to be painful.”
He grabs one of the discarded needles and keeps me pinned with his legs, resting the gun above my heart. With brutal force, he drags the needle up my thigh. The searing pain makes me scream, my cries muffled by his hand clamped over my mouth.
“I’m sure Roman is with her brother,” Luca whispers. “Call Aiden’s new number. It’s in my phone.”
I shake my head, trying desperately to divert my father’s attention elsewhere.
“Don’t—”
“Shut your mouth,” Luca snaps, his hand sliding dangerously close to an area I desperately want him to avoid. “Or I’ll make sure your first time with me is on a cold basement floor.”
I clamp my mouth shut as my father speaks to someone on the phone, putting it on speaker.
Luca leans in, his breath hot against my ear.
“Extra motivation for lover boy.”
The terror is suffocating. Luca’s fingers invade me, making the screams erupt from my throat, raw and unrestrained. His intrusion is a violation that amplifies my dread and helplessness.
I cry until I can’t cry anymore, the agony relentless as his fingers continue their assault.
“He needs to hear her voice,” Kevin whispers. “Stop what you’re doing. ”
Luca’s hand remains over my mouth as he reluctantly pulls his fingers away, my body trembling from the trauma.
“Speak up, bitch,” My father demands, holding the phone near my mouth.
Luca removes his hand, pressing the gun to the side of my head, his fingers still tainted with my scent.
“R-Roman?” I choke out, staring up at the men looming over me.
“Eden?” His voice, a lifeline in the darkness, reaches me.
It’s him.
It’s really him.
“Are you okay—”
“Roman, I don’t want to be here,” I sob, my voice breaking. “Please—”
A sharp slap stings my face as my father strikes me, silencing my pleas.
“Time to go back to sleep,” Luca hisses, his voice a cruel promise. “When you wake, you’ll be mine, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
As my father and Kevin walk away, taunting Roman on the phone, Luca forces me back into the cage. He jabs a syringe into my leg, pushing the plunger down with a cruel finality.
My vision blurs, dark spots clouding my sight, my body growing increasingly heavy and unresponsive.
“Goodnight, Angel,” Luca scoffs. “That’s the last time you’re hearing Roman’s voice.”
Laying down, the pain throbs through me, each heartbeat a reminder of my helplessness. My eyes struggle to stay open as I cling to the fading echo of Roman’s voice, my last tether to hope.
All light has dimmed.
God has once again rejected my prayers.