[Erin]
The truck we’re in came into a grinding stop. I rolled into across the floor from the sudden cessation of momentum, bumping myself into someone.
I groaned when I hit my injured knee into a hard surface.
The metal door creaked open, dread crawling up inside me. This is it. Hell had opened up for me.
Rugged boots pounded on the floor, padding towards our huddled bodies.
We were picked up one by one, and excruciating pain tormented my left knee when a rough hand closed on my arm, yanking me up.
I yelp, but it was muffled by the gag on my mouth.
It was already daylight. I can tell by the small amount of light penetrating my blindfold.
“Boss! This one is injured.” Announced by the man that was holding me. Another pair of hands inspected my knee and then to my face. I tried to pull away and shrink from the touch, but they kept me tighter.
“Easy now, darling.” The man, with a gruff voice, cooed me. A shiver ran down my spine when his calloused hands scraped my face.
“She’s a pretty little thing. Be careful with it. We can still sell her. The wounds will heal. Let Kirstina do something about it.” I was scooped up next, then slump over his shoulders.
My body sways, making me lightheaded. After a while of walking, I was finally being put down to a hard surface.
Low whimpers and muffled voices echoed across the area. They must be the people I came here with, then someone cleared a throat, silencing us.
“Listen up.” A woman’s voice spoke sternly. She must be Kirstina.
“I will take off your gags and blindfolds. One of you shouts I will kill you in an instant. One of you tried to escape. I will kill you in an instant before you even made it outside. You defy me, guess what? I’ll kill you. You understand?” She threatened us, and no one dared to squeak. Her words were loud and clear.
My head nodded instinctively as if those words she said were directed to me. The wild beating of my heart never ceases to stop the moment I got here. Cold dread lingered at the back of my neck as if death itself is breathing down on it.
Someone moved behind me. I almost jump to my feet, the pain on my knee flared, startled up when someone took the blindfold, and the gagged were removed, my vision blurred from being shut for too long, and it takes some time for it to adjust with the light. A curly blonde, the slender woman stood at the center of an empty room. She wore a tight black latex suit that exposed too much of her cleavage, red knee boots with killer heels, and a whip in her hand.
She scans the room, and her eyes landed on me. Brows knitted, she walks towards my place with heels clicking at the cement floor. Squatting down, she inspected my injured knee. I wanted to recoil from her touch, but her threats kept echoing inside my brain, holding me frozen in place.
She disapprovingly looks at the inflamed wound, then shakes her head.
“Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. You’re such a fine specimen. What a great loss if this wound won’t heal in time.” She hooks her fingers around my chin, lifting my head up, tilting my face from side to side. Inspecting for more injuries, and seemed to be satisfied when she found none.
“Alright. I’ll send someone to patch you up. You will be put on display for tonight’s auction.” She said, releasing her hold on me, then stood up and look at the rest of the girls in the room.
The girls had varied from different ages, but one person caught my attention. A young girl, definitely, too young to be here. Probably, in age, that ranges from eleven to thirteen years old.
Did they kidnap her too? Was she a payment too?
“Prep them for tonight.” Kirstina blurted an order, shifting my attention back to her. Men strolled back in the room, taking us to another place.
We were taken to a room with many sheer dresses hanged in display on a steel rack. A woman came to me and put some bandages on my knees. She also had injected anesthesia around my wound so I wouldn’t feel any pain.
A woman at my age came and changes our clothes into a close-to-nothing piece of fabric, helplessly clinging to our bodies.
I was only wearing a red lace panty and a stretchable garter strap in an X pattern across my breast, concealing only my areolas. Then layered with a thin white see-through lace that hung down barely reaches my thighs.
The coldness from the metal collar that was locked on my neck seeping to my skin, silver chains connected to the shackles on my wrists. The anesthesia travels on my body, making it numbed for a moment, and also helped me not to limp when I walk.
A firm tug on my chains brought me back to reality. That the life I had has come to an end.
Tears threatening spill from the corner of my eyes, but I up to keep it from falling. We were placed behind the bars of a huge metal cage with a thin red satin covering our appearances, but that didn’t hinder us from seeing where we’re going. We were like items in a pushcart from the grocery store. We are traveling down to a narrow hallway, all of us dressed in the same clothing, parading into our damnation. Like our own check-out counters.
With the murmuring crowd coming from the end of the corridor, the flash of light passed through the satin, temporarily blinding me as we stepped into the elevated platform at the middle.
The men push my caged the last part of the lineup. Kirstina checking on us one by one, a man in a black suit stood at the middle of an elevated podium, with a rubber mallet in his hand.
Except from the men and Kirstina, people seated on the tiers of chairs were wearing masks. Cardboard on their hands, talking in whispers to the person next to them. The man at the center speak up in excitement, and my stomach rolled in cold dread.
“Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to the 25th Annual Red Auction. Tonight, another lovely batch of items will be displayed. Some are sweet, innocent, feisty, and all in delectable selections. Of course, the item will be forwarded to the highest bidders.” He announced.
My eyes swipe towards the masked people whose eyes were glued in each caged. Shivers ran to my spine at the thought that I might be sold to one of them, and I prayed for my impending fate.
[Erin] My turn had come. The other girls had been sold to the highest bidders with a whopping amount of million dollars. I could even hear the cries of protest to each one of them as the rubber mallet pounded on the podium just like a judge sentencing a death penalty to a criminal. My body jolted from the sudden movement as the cage was being dragged towards the center stage. The intense flashings of light produced by the cameras blinded me as the thick satin cloth had been removed from my cage. Choruses of awes, claps, and cheers erupted from below the auction block. My heart was beating faster than the horses racing on the track field as the bidding started. “Ladies and gentlemen, for our last item in the cart. This lovely young lady, a twenty years old doll. She was silent but a bit feisty. She can be whatever you want her to be. A trophy for this lovely evening to satisfy the needs of your carnal desires.” Kirstina moved forward with a leather lashing stick on her hand, ciga
[Erin]My teeth were gnashing against each other, the tiny hairs of my body stood erect that I could already see the small bumps on my skin. I was damn freezing with this type of clothes they made me wear, and I can't even consider this as a cloth. It was only garter straps that were only enough to cover my private areas.The girls that were also on the line seem to be freezing; they were hugging themselves, shivering from the cold.I was looking at them, rubbing my palm against my arms to create friction in hopes of giving me some warmth.What are we doing here? Are we waiting for our new owner?I was mulling over my own thoughts with dread coiling and furling inside my lower belly, too occupied to even keep myself aware of my surroundings.Just then, a heavy soft cloth drapes into my shoulders, startling me to my feet and sends my heart into gallops, ripping a squeak out from my throat."Relax, I'm not goin
[Erin]The ride was quiet. Akim focused his gaze on the road. It was already night. It was too dark for me to see outside or hint me anything of where we were going. I couldn't seem to find my voice to speak, despite the blasting cold air conditioner inside the car, and I was sweating bullets.Good thing that Akim give me his coat or else, I'll be freezing my butt off in this seat. It is my first time riding in a luxurious car. I have never even imagined being inside of one. However, I never thought that it would be like this. I couldn't enjoy how smooth it drives on the road. Fear was overwhelming all of it.My clammy palms clasp tightly on the seat belt. I was staring at the dark road ahead. I am not seeing anything, aside from the two-lane street we are now taking and the high walls at the side. The car swerves over the curve street, and just on the end of the road, a gigantic black gate emerges. It was so high that I cou
[Erin]My chest tightened as my heart dropped. Figuratively speaking. I believe my lungs are not functioning properly at this time as well, as it is refusing to pump enough air through my system that I will collapse any time at this moment.Akim gently pushes me forward. But I can’t move, my feet feel as if they are glued to the ground. My mouth feels as parched as the Sahara, and I'm literally shaking my wits off with fear.“Come on, sweet cake, move forward,” Akim whispered right
[Erin]What?Everything stops. I’m not even sure if I hear it right.Does he mean that he’s not going to kill me?The cold gun was still pressed on the side of my head, and he was holding the trigger. If anything, he could be jesting me and would blow my head into bits. While Akim stood there motionless as if what this man said astounds him as well.I could feel the sweat trickling down at the column of my neck as the jugular hollow of my throat drummed with tension. My lungs constricted, my knees blaring with pain. Hence my body froze at the moment.Nobody spoke. A pair of mossy green eyes pierced into my brown ones. He removes the gun away from my head and steps
[Erin]The girl smiled at my reaction. My mouth literally dropped when she said that she was going to be my personal maid.I expected to be treated as a slave or something, but I never imagined that Nikolai would appoint someone to look after my personal needs.But on second thought, was this his initiative?My head turned towards the bathroom door where Akim emerged, he was hold
[Erin]A piercing, petrified shriek penetrates the depths of my eardrums, jolting me out of my brief slumber. In the background, the sound of running water slapping against the marbled floor resounded. The bleach white wall blurred in my vision as my lids fluttered open. My nose immediately stings as I try to take a deep breath, but instead of air, water rushes into my nasal passages, instantly wheezing as I gasp for air.“Oh, goodness, Erin! Are you alright? I thought you were dead!” A woman’s voice shouted on my side. I whipped my head, blowing the excess water off my nose as I fully came to my senses. Only to be greeted by Micah's concerned expression hovering above me.I look at her with a baffled expression, my brows furrowed deeply.
[Erin]I didn’t say anything after that and finished off the remaining food, which was only a few pieces of grapes. Both of them waited patiently as I emptied everything on my plate. I stood up, Micah went to usher me, assisting me towards Akim, who is now holding the wheelchair steady as I ease myself in it.I keep my silence. Though my stomach is now happy, my heart fell heavy upon thinking about how my fate twirls around a man’s palm. Playing with its strings and then cutting them whenever he gets sick of me or decides that I am no longer of use to himI felt Akim start pushing the wheelchair while Micah followed on our trail. We weaved through the labyrinth of corners. Navigating from there to here until I lost count of how many turns we took, my attention focused solely focused on the abstract portraits