2. Amorette
AMORETTE
J uan, a weasel-faced man, stepped forward and unlatched the lock on the outside of our cage. The metal scraping against metal was so deafening, I jumped then winced from the aches radiating through my body. The few girls in my cage scurried away from the door.
The lock wasn’t anything sophisticated. It wasn’t even unreachable. I could probably unlatch it myself if I wasn’t so drugged up.
These men just had an abundance of confidence that their “demonstration” would be enough of a deterrent. For some, I was sure it was.
Juan ducked to reach in, grabbing the arm of a girl I hadn’t properly looked at yet. She shrieked, clawing at his arm as he roughly pulled her out of the cage. He backhanded her across the face and muttered, “ maldita perra .”
Her head jerked viciously to the side, and she whimpered, ceasing her resistance immediately.
I tried to lift my head, but a wash of dizziness settled over me, and I dropped back down. When I opened my eyes, he had her shoved over the side of the cage, the bars unforgiving as they bit into her soft flesh. Her face was turned away, but tears dripped through. One splashed on my arm.
No. The girl had to do something. They wouldn’t stop if we complied. These monsters would just take advantage and find pleasure in our pain. I tried to roll, push myself up… Something.
All I got for my efforts was an ample opportunity to listen to more cries from the girl, pants from the man, and a dizzying headache, knowing damn well I couldn’t save anyone right then.
Not even myself.
* * *
The mundane sounds were what brought me back. I wasn’t sure if it had been an hour, a day, or even fifteen minutes. But at some point, Juan and the man giving the speech had stopped their demonstration.
Sucking in a long breath through my nose, I waited for the whimpers. There was nothing but gentle breathing.
I opened my eyes, groaning as I rolled to the side. My back ached, and my head pounded—this time, probably from dehydration or lack of food over drugs. My low-level energy had nothing to do with a muddled mind. Right now, I was as clearheaded as I could expect to be.
More like I was in a surreal movie.
Everything felt like a dream, but the very real pain and exhaustion contradicted my brain’s effort to explain it all away.
The fluorescent lights were dimmed, except for one in the corner that flickered constantly. The hum of electricity was so loud, maybe even more distracting than the stench of urine and feces and sweaty human bodies.
When I pushed up to a sitting position, my spine cracked.
How long was I laying like that?
Three other women were in the cage with me. They were huddled in the corner for comfort. It couldn’t have been for warmth since it felt like a furnace in here.
I twisted to the right, then left. Stretching my arms above my head and across my chest. Anything to alleviate the soreness.
Everyone was asleep. Or at least trying to find any rest they could.
It seemed a considerable amount of time later.
“Time to wake up!” A guard yelled as he banged through the door at the end of the room. Shocked gasps and whimpers erupted from the various cages as women scattered to the far corners of them.
The older man was missing this time. So was Juan.
We were blessed with a new group of sadistic men. Disgust slithered over my skin as the men leered into cages at the naked women trying so hard to hide their bodies.
These fucking pricks. My hands itched to get a hold of them.
The new man leading the pack was short, maybe a few inches taller than me. A little pudgy and balding. His expression was jolly, and maybe in another life he would have been considered a kind man. On appearance.
However, appearances mean nothing.
And this jolly smile was directed at scared women.
He said something to his closest companion, and the boy nodded, heading for a cage. The women in that cage seemed so young. Their eyes were wide with fear, their mouths open in prayer. They clutched at each other, completely forgetting about their need for modesty.
“No,” I whispered, grabbing at the cage. The cool metal was rough against my palm.
The man, who at this angle could have either been fifteen or thirty, pinched his chin, playfully studying the girls. He enjoyed this too much.
I wanted to hurl.
“Don’t,” another word spilled from my lips.
The smallest girl caught his attention. Blonde hair, dark eyes, small frame. She shook her head uncontrollably.
He grabbed her ankle and started pulling her toward the door. All the men began to gather around. I lost sight of her, but she found her voice as she began to shout.
“Please, please, please. No! Please. Ouch! That’s hurting me!
Ple–” Her words stopped as she started gagging.
When she stopped gagging, she started sobbing as the men worked on a rotating basis.
The men in the back moved to the front, and the men in the front shuffled to the side.
All while the jolly man in charge stood off to the farther side.
He wasn’t watching the show, he was scanning the cages even when the girl made one heartbreaking cry.
The girls in the cage with me closed their eyes and covered their faces.
I didn’t.
Her words–now her sounds–told me exactly what they were doing. And exactly how much it hurt .
“Stop!” I screamed, shaking the bars. The metal racket echoed around the room, and the men surrounding the girl stopped. They turned, making a big enough gap to see two men pinning the girl down as one straddled the back of her legs.
“You stupid motherfuckers! Assholes! Small-dicked menaces!” I shouted every obscenity I could think of. Let them come for me. I’d fight back. I could handle the attack in a way that girl couldn’t.
I wasn’t so naive to think I’d save her. Not forever. But I could take their attention for now.
The jolly man grinned as he snapped a finger, and one of the men with his pants still up started winding through the cages.
The girls behind me pushed the far corner, avoiding me as if I had leprosy.
When the man unlatched the cage, I took a breath and waited until he reached in. When his hand was close, I grabbed it and yanked it, crashing his head against the bars. He cursed as I screamed and kicked out.
He would take me out of the cage. My adrenaline would fail, eventually. It was inevitable. But I would fight like hell to inflict as much damage as possible.
The man yowled as I connected with his shin. Pain reverberated through my ankle and up my leg, but I kept going.
Another guard pushed him out of the way and grabbed my foot, much like they’d done to the other girl. I sucked in a sharp breath as the concrete scraped over my lower back.
When I was out of the cage, I pulled my leg away with enough force that he bent forward.
Perfect.
I swung my other leg, and my foot connected with his cheekbone. He dropped me.
Vibrant laughter came from the jolly man as he pushed through the men. “This one,” he said.
The two men who’d tried to take me backed away, leaving all the room for the man to come forward. Instead of reaching for my foot, he stepped on it. Not hard enough to break bones, but enough to cause pain.
“Little girl, fighting isn’t encouraged. There are only so many ways we can punish you, and none of them can leave any permanent damage to your skin. Let me ask you, does that make you feel lucky?” He leaned toward me as his smile widened.
I didn’t fall for his manipulation. Nothing he could say would make me feel safer, fortunate, or happy to be here. Especially when he inferred their options for punishment were much, much worse.
“My name is Randall, I’m the lead handler here. And you just became interesting.” He slowly bent forward, as if he was ready for an attack. I didn’t give one. He would be expecting a kick to the face.
Instead, I waited until he grabbed my wrist, and I scored his cheek with my nails. He yelled as blood rose to the surface. When he yanked back, still holding onto me, I went forward with him. At crotch level, I grabbed his balls and twisted.
“Fucking bitch!” he roared as he let go, grabbing his genitals.
I tried to scramble to my feet, but too many guards were on me. They took my arms and hoisted me up. There was so much rage inside me; this was just the tip of the revenge. I needed to cause the same pain to these monsters as they doled out to us. I needed it like I needed to breathe.
A man on each side held my arm tightly, enough to keep holding me up. Using that to my advantage, I continued to scream and kick any available surface I could reach, mainly going for the balls and knees. Those were the most vulnerable places on a man from this angle.
Randall muttered, no longer the jolly man who walked in, but one with death in his eyes instead. He gripped me from behind, banding my arms and walking me out of the room. Shouting to one of the other men, who pulled his phone out.
I twisted my neck because something felt off.
What I had hoped was a temporary solution wasn’t. The men weren’t following us to make me pay. They were spreading out and opening up all the cages.
Randall pushed us through a door, and I let out a cry of rage so strong I should have damaged my vocal cords. If I could get back to those women, I might be able to save a few of them. Maybe.
I scratched at his stomach and hips, and I kicked out at his legs. When he hoisted me higher, I bit his forearm as much as I could. He cursed and twisted me to his side so he could walk faster. All the while I raged.
A few men stood off to the side. They could have been standing there talking, or they could have stopped when they saw us. Either way, I wanted them to see me.
I screamed again, renewing my assault on Randall.
We didn’t go far. We didn’t even leave the hallway before he pushed open a door. Inside, he shoved me away from him, and when I tried to be the attacker, he backhanded me so hard I fell and cracked my skull on the floor.