CHAPTER 1
Avril noticed as she was walking that two hefty men were following her every move. At first she thought they were going to woo her. But after minutes of just following her trail, she knew something was wrong.
“do they want to kidnap me?” she thought as her heart began to beat fast.
“of course not” she muttered with a sad chuckle
“no one would want to kidnap someone they won't get ransom out of” she said to herself.
She was wearing a floral print dress with sun flowers on it. That was her prettiest dress and she wore it when ever she felt down. This particular day, she felt even more down and depressed than ever. She had ran out of food and the neighbors had insulted her when she went to beg.
“it's not like it's my fault my parents died while owing everybody” she had said to herself earlier while crying.
In order to clear her head, she decided to take a long walk around the village farms. She lived in an island village in The Philippines, where their major occupation was fishing and rice farming. The rice was not ready for harvest yet if not she'd have at least, little to eat then. She would work on the farms and get paid then take little of the rice home. But the harvest was still months away.
Also, non of the fishermen agreed for a woman to be on their boat and still wouldn't give even one fish for free to her. Maybe they really did hate her as she thought.
Avril sniffed and wiped her stubborn tears that were trying to blur her vision. She looked behind her and saw that the two men had disappeared
“thank God” she said and continued to walk. She palmed her forehead and lowered her head when she hit something hard. She immediately dropped her hand and lifted her head. Only to see one of the hefty men in front of her.
“oh. Sorry” she said and tried taking the other bush path
He grabbed her hand and she gasped. She jerked her hand off abruptly and turned around in an attempt to run but was immediately carried up by the second hefty man who was right behind her. He covered her mouth and they ran into one of the rice plantations. They kept running until they got to a secluded farm area. The sun had set so the farmers had all gone home. They lowered her to the ground with her mouth still covered firmly. She was struggling and kicking her legs aggressively but they easily pinned her down that she couldn't move anymore.
There, in the darkening sky and chilly atmosphere, they raped her one after the other until she blacked out. They didn't feel any remorse or pity for her because that was their lifestyle.
After they had gotten their satisfaction, they carried her to their ship and sailed away before sunrise.
***
The floor was so cold that it made Avril's body numb. She had been lying there for hours, unconscious. And when she finally woke up, her teeth couldn't help but chatter. She looked around her and saw she was in a kind of cell. There were iron bars right in front and the floor was metallic. She knew immediately what had happened to her.
She had been kidnapped and these people were not after a ransom. She remembered vividly that they had raped her and she tried hard not to think about it. However, no matter how hard she tried not to, she found her mind being flooded with bitter memories. Not just that of the recent rape but also of Ed's.
Ed had lured her to his room all in the name of giving her some chores to do of which he was to pay. But instead he raped her mercilessly and took her innocence. That was five years before this second rape. Her parents were still alive then.
“I advise you not to cry. Just save your energy for later” a female voice said to her. She looked up and saw three other ladies in the cell with her. Two of them were black and looked purely African with their hairstyles. The other looked Chinese. The three of them had one thing in common. They looked tired and drained out
“what?” she asked and wiped the tears that had slid down her face
“you don't have to cry. It's just a waste of energy” the black girl in front said. She was the one who had spoken up earlier
“you have to save your energy for what's coming” the second black girl said
“what's coming?” Avril asked with panic in her voice
The girls sighed and looked away. Non spoke to her again. She wanted to ask more questions but decided not to.
The girls stayed in that cold, dark cell for hours with no one saying a word. The only thing heard was the noise of the men from up the ship. It was obvious to Avril they were in the deck.
“I'm Nana. From Ghana” one of the black girls spoke up. They couldn't see each other but Avril guessed it was the second black girl who spoke to her.
“you must be Filipino. We overhead the men saying that we were in The Philippines”
“yes” Avril said with a cracking voice. Her throat was dry and she needed water
“I'm Filipino” she added
“your parents must be so worried”
“all of our parents would be so worried to death right now. But we have to be strong for them. We can pull out of this” the first black girl said
“I don't have anyone to be worried for me. I have no parents” Avril said and bowed her head
For a few seconds the girls were quiet.
“then you have to be strong for yourself. You can pull through this” the first black girl said again.
“thank you”
“by the way I'm Chidi. I'm half Nigerian and half Kenyan”
“it's nice to meet you Chidi”
“by the way, how did they get you?” Nana asked
“I was walking through a lonely bush path. They ambushed me and... and...” the words stuck in her throat
“they raped you, didn't they?” Chidi asked. Avril didn't answer but they already knew her answer.
“we're so sorry about that. Don't let it get to you” Nana said
“we all were and are still being sexually harassed” she added
“what is this place? Where are we?” Avril asked
“a ship”
“I know that. What I meant was, why are we here?”
“they are human traffickers. They sell children and women. The women... are mostly for sexual satisfaction. We were much before, but they all got sold out” Chidi explained
Cold chills ran all over Avril's body.
“we're all waiting for what fate brings our way. We can only hope that we'll leave all these alive” Nana opined
“one advice for you? Don't fight them. Go along with them and don't resist. They kill those that prove stubborn. The Chinese girl just lost her friend” Nana said again
“what? They killed her?” Avril asked, still finding it hard to believe
“in cold blood” Nana replied. Avril let out a deep sigh
“don't be scared. It's going to be fine” Chidi assured. As if she wasn't scared at all
“you haven't told us your name” she asked
“Avril. My name is Avril” she said and hugged her legs, the reality of what she was in for, dawning on her.
CHAPTER 2The sound of the iron bars moving woke Avril up. She had dosed off after worrying about her life and the turn it was taking.A man entered their cell with a bright flashlight which he flashed on their faces one after the other.Avril closed her eyes when the heavy light hit it. Her vision was still blur because of her sleep and the light was making it worse.“you... Follow me” the man said“me?” Avril asked. She tried to open her eyes but could only do that half way. Even so, she couldn't see anything else but the light.“yes. Come with me” he said and pointed the light to the ceiling. The cell became bright and she could clearly see the girls who were all sitting up. They exchanged looks with her and there was assurance and encouragement in those eyes.Avril got on her f
CHAPTER 3He took her to his own cabin and she was very hesitant to enter. What if he was also going to hurt her?“I'm just going to treat your bruises. Your cell is cold and dirty and you might get an infection” he said and grabbed a first aid kit. He began to bring out the things he would need.“may I... May I please... Please leave the door... Open?” she stuttered“yes. You can also grab that baseball bat and dislocate my joints with it. Just in case I get hypnotized by your beauty”Avril chuckled softly and entered the room, leaving the door open and grabbing the baseball bat. The young man was a bit surprised that she actually grabbed the bat.As if on cue, Avril spoke up “I don't trust easily you see”“neither do I” he said and smiled. He
CHAPTER 4Freddie sat over a table outside and the ocean breeze violently shook his hair about. He had a bottle of beer in front of him and a tumbler with little of the beer in it.Few minutes later, Paolo walked over and sat on the chair at the other side of the table. He had a bandage over his face“looking good” Freddie teased him and began to pour out a drink into the tumbler.Paolo scoffed and looked away. “Now I have another scar for life” he said“and you can't hide this one under sleeves” Freddie mocked and gave a short laugh. He sipped beer from the tumbler and dropped it.“don't tell me. I want to get that girl. Get her and make her pay! That wench!” he croaked“well, you can make her pay when she's off this ship and off my hands. But as long as you're o
CHAPTER 5Freddie sent some men to give hot water and a towel to Avril. He also gave them bottled water and some cakes for the girls to eat.After the men delivered those things, Chidi helped massage Avril's body. Then they ate the cakes and spread the blankets to lie down. It was actually noon time but they were exhausted and needed that rest.Avril looked over to the Chinese girl sleeping soundly at the other end of the room. She looked sad even in her sleep. Avril wished she understood Chinese so she could at least talk to her and give her soothing words. She never had friends but she knew what it was like to loose a loved one. That feeling of pain and loneliness.Avril sighed and looked at the ceiling. Her mind wandered around and she tried to not be worried. After about an hour, she too drifted off to sleep.When they woke up in the evening, they were
Avril tossed and turned on the rough surface. She rubbed her leg against a sharp rock and felt the pain in her head. She woke up and groaned. Her body was sore.She sighed and sat up then looked at her bleeding leg.“uhhh! Another injury” she grunted and rubbed the sides of the wound to ease the pain.She was in a cave and the beach was right in front of them. She could see the waves and hear the howling wind but couldn't feel it because it didn't enter into the cave.“but how did I get here?” she asked herself. She remembered waking up on the sand shore but that was all she remembered.She gathered up all her energy and stood up on her feet. She took few steps then remembered what she saw. She froze and held her breath.“that wasn't real, right?” she asked rhetoricallyshe mumbled and wal
A basket instead of the monster? Where did it go? Did it turn into the basket?She shook her head to erase that thought. There's no way it'd turn into a basket. This wasn't a fantasy movie. It was realityAvril sat up on the forest floor and looked around. No sign of the monster. She also looked up at the trees but it had completely disappeared. Her heart raced. She was certain it would pop out of her mouth any second. She gulped down and patted her chest to reduce her heart beat but it even increased.She got on her feet and battled with her legs to stop shaking and stand upright. She wanted to turn the opposite direction and make a run for it but her curiosity got the better part of her. She began to walk towards the basket, limping as she went. She reached it and stooped low. She wanted to open it but so many 'what ifs' began to flow into her mind.“what if this i
Chidi and Nana dressed the men's wounds and went to the kitchen to cook. They had not gotten over Avril's death as they thought she had drowned. Freddie had tried to console them even when he was visibly upset and frustrated.They were sober and hardly said anything. But they were thankful that Freddie did not treat them illy the way he had done before Avril came.After cooking, they set the table and called on Freddie and the men, then they left to eat the remnants.The two men were still very scared. Freddie appeared cool and calm outside but they knew who he truly was inside. He was a monster, a murderer who has no conscience.“come on, sit. The food might get cold” Freddie said to them as they approached the table.They looked at each other again and gave nervous expressions. Freddie saw it and he chuckled but decided to i
A talking dog-like animal. Great! Just great! Just when she thought her life won't get any worse.How on earth did it learn to talk? Could it be a human in a Halloween suit?No. It looked too real. Way too real.“I'm waiting for you. Come on, I haven't had breakfast yet” Dakar said and she gasped and moved back with her butt on the ground“no wait... I didn't mean I would have you for breakfast. I just meant, I wanted breakfast. I don't skip my breakfast. I don't eat humans. I eat fruits and vegetables and sometimes fish and meat. But I'm going to eat omelette and bread today. Care to join me? You look hungry”He began to walk towards her and she screamed and kicked her legs as if it could send him away“get away from me you dog! Get away!” she screamed“Ahh... First impression they say, matters a