Chapter 1 #2
I’m thrown back into the present by my body being forcefully dragged out from my cage.
I try to dig my heels into the floor, or wrap a hand around one of the rusted metal bars to derail my escape but my efforts prove useless as the guard, who could easily crush me with his bare hands throws me onto the floor at the back of the line.
My bare knees scrape across the sharp concrete and I can already feel the blood blooming under the skin before it starts to run down my shins in small rivulets.
I can’t do this. I can’t do this. I.. can’t.
I wait for the tears to arrive but they never come. My eyes are dry and barren from all the tears I’ve previously shed and I refuse to cry for these fuckers anymore, no matter what they throw at me. The more dead I feel, the better.
I’m pulled to my feet and shoved forward as the line begins to move like cattle to a slaughterhouse, and I have no choice but to follow.
The air outside is cold and crisp as we shuffle out of what I can only assume as some sort of bunker maybe?
I know we’re usually kept underground so as not to alert anyone of our presence.
I crane my neck to the night sky, the glowing white stars blanket the vast open space and I can’t stop the images of Dean flashing across my vision like an old film.
It’s down right cruel and the only thing that’s keeping me going is knowing that we’re both under the same set of stars, wherever he may be.
I hope he isn’t hurting like I’m hurting and that Lyla is keeping him company.
I’ve faced the harsh truth that these men will break me down, they’ll break me so viciously that there will be nothing left of me but I refuse to give up.
I refuse to stop fighting to get back to the man I love.
“You know the drill! Line up and strip, don’t make me ask fucking twice!
” My teeth grind until my jaw aches at the guards stupid fucking voice.
It scratches over my skin like a cheese grater every time that I hear him speak but I don’t give him the chance to whip me again as I step in line against the wall and begin to strip, just like he asked.
The filthy white robe slips easily off my battered body and falls to a puddle around my feet.
I kick it away so it doesn’t get wet and stand with my back straight, my arms stiffly by my side and wait for the ice cold water to fire freezing cold bullets into my skin but it doesn’t come just yet, oh no.
This pain is so much fucking worse as the guard who brought us in decides to take his continuous bad mood out on us by cracking a black police baton across my lower spine.
A gurgled scream rips straight out of my throat and my breasts smash against the cold wall as I fall forward, my spine bending into a disfigured U shape as the raging pain spreads across my skin.
Sharp breaths and shocked noises fall from the other women’s mouths at my abuse but none of them step forward to help me and I don’t blame them.
We’ve been groomed into fearing every single one of these men.
To avert their gaze every time they walk past us.
To suck their disgusting, vile cocks whenever they want.
We’re nothing more than glorified glory holes and human punching bags for these scumbags.
My face is crushed against the wall from falling forward but I refuse to move, to show them fear, then another crack of the baton lands on the back of my thighs, just underneath my bare ass and my knees buckle, my skin begins to throb as my knees collapse under my weight but I don’t fall.
I keep fucking standing even if I’m ready to die.
I. Keep. Standing.
I hear the guard shuffle away from me but I stay frozen in place as he shouts over his shoulder to no one in particular.
“This bitch is gonna’ be so fun to break.
” A gruesome laugh falls from his lips then the icy bullets from the fire-hose smash against my already tender skin.
The water feels like blades carving into my flesh.
The girls next to me scream and cry out under the torment of water that’s been blasted at us.
I want to reassure them that it’ll be over soon, that everything will be alright but I know I would be lying, because this won’t be over soon and things aren’t going to be alright.
The water finally stops and I’m able to catch my breath for a moment before the cold shivers begin to set in.
The cool wind scrapes across my bare, wet skin like sandpaper and I wince, wrapping my arms around my middle to try and keep myself warm.
Looking down at the floor, I see my robe is sopping wet along with everyone else’s and I already know we’re going to be forced to sleep naked now until they dry.
“Line up! Lets fucking move! Big day tomorrow, ladies, it’s selection day!
” The guard’s voice is cheery like he’s a host on a game show and we’re all just playing to win our freedom.
My stomach bottoms out at his words, selection day.
That means we’ll be perfected and polished to some degree then put on show like antiques at an auction.
For men to bid on us. To pay for us. In all the time that I’ve been here I’ve never been bid on and I can’t help but feel like that’s Ricky’s doing, that he’s saving me for something much worse.
We all shuffle into a line again and begin to leave the open showers, the group shivering as one until we’re back down underground and thrown back into our cages, again.
The young girl in the cage at the side of me softly cries and I battle with myself on whether to try and comfort her.
My heart overthrows my brain as I put my filthy hand through the bars, my fingernails broken and brittle.
“Hey,” I say softly, not wanting to frighten her even more.
She flinches then slowly lifts her head to face me, her eyes hollow and red from all the tears.
The girl looks down at my open hand before lifting her own and placing it in mine.
Her skin is cold and dry as I wrap my fingers around her boney hand, the notches of each knuckle are prominent under my finger tips.
“What’s your name?” I whisper to her, not wanting to attract any unwanted attention or put this poor girl in the firing line. Her dull brown eyes bounce around my face then she opens her cracked lips.
“It’s.. it’s Emily, what’s yours?” I give her a soft smile.
“I’m Annabelle, but you can call me Ana.
” Her mouth lifts into a small smile and my heart aches for her.
“How long have you been here, Emily? I haven’t seen you before.
” Her dark brows furrow as she thinks. “Uh, about two weeks. I think? I’ve lost track of time now.
It could be more or it could be less. I remember it being a Saturday, that’s when me and my boyfriend usually have our weekly date nights and I was waiting for him to pick me up when I was grabbed from behind, a foul smelling cloth was pressed over my face and then. . I don’t remember the rest.”
I notice the tears welling in her eyes as the harsh memory flashes in her mind and I squeeze her hand a little tighter in mine, in the hopes that it brings her a grain of comfort. Her eyes dart towards our connected hands and she repeats the movement.
“How about you? How long have you been here?” She asks and I school my features, not willing to let the horrific memory infiltrate the solid walls that I’m placing around me brick by brick.
“I think it’s about a month, but like you said, time is hard to keep track of here.
I was in a car accident, ran off the road on my way home to my.
.” The words fail me for a moment and I clear my throat.
“My boyfriend, my car was a complete wreck. I don’t remember much after that.
I probably passed out and then woke up here. ”
I can still hear the scraping of the metal against the tarmac before I made contact with the steel barriers, the sheer force of the car hitting those solid structures flung me out of my seat, causing me to smack my face against the hard steering wheel, and then my mind started to go blank and fuzzy and the only person I could think of was Dean.
Every so often I let his presence inside my fortress, but only for a couple of minutes.
Anything more and I begin to fall apart and I can’t afford to do that, not here.
“You miss him don’t you? I can see it in your eyes.” My eyes flick back to Emily, I nod and chew on my abused, dry lips. I don’t trust myself not to crumble if I speak about Dean.
“Get some rest, Emily. Don’t give up just yet.” A tight smile tips my lips up and I give her hand one last squeeze before pulling mine back through the bars.
“Thank you, Ana.” She whispers before leaning into the corner of the cage and resting her head on the bars. I mimic her pose as I shuffle myself backwards and let my heavy eyelids fall closed as pure exhaustion and sorrow take over my body.