Sometimes, I doubted it; could things be worse than this? But the only thing I could feel hit home was that we don’t belong in this world. Even if it was a total ramble, I never felt like I belonged here. There was never any room for me or my mom, for that matter. We were scum, a disgrace. It didn’t matter that I was a straight-A student with as good as full attendance at school. I would always be scum, something that belonged in the gutter.
Mom’s skin felt damped and cold against my fingers as I tucked her dry, splintered hair behind her ear.
“In the next life, Mom. In the next life.”
These are the only words that stuck with me from when I was a child when she still had clear days. When we had to go to bed hungry again, the power was out, or my shoes were destroyed, and she could not get me new ones. She always cradled me in her arms, brushing away my tears.
“In the next life, baby girl, in the next life.”
My tummy rumbled, and I cried in hunger, and for many years, those words didn’t make sense to me at all. But as time passed, as I saw her slowly disappear in front of my eyes, I understood: in the next life, Mom.
I closed her door, and with both hands along the wall, I found my way to the stairs in complete darkness. I fumbled in the dark step by step until my foot finally found the cold wooden floor. A door behind me was slammed shut, and I jumped around. But all that met me was utter silence and more darkness.
“Mom?”
“Hello?”
No answer. Did she bring someone with her? It would not be the first time; I cursed under my breath and turned around. The stairs behind me squeaked, and I stopped in my tracks. Listened. There it was again; someone heavy slowly walked down the old stairs.
“Hello? Get the fuck out; the party is over!”
I shouted; my hand slid down my pocket, and I grabbed pepper spray. Still no answer, but the squeaking sound filled the air again. Like the old wood complained beneath the weight of someone big.
“Get the hell out! Now!”
“ Run, rabbit. Run!”
The voice came out of nowhere, deep and carnal. Taunting me from everywhere, booming like a ghost. The hair on my arm stood straight up, and a chill crept down my spine.
Rumbling hoars and laughter filled the darkness. I heard someone shouting after me as I spun around and ran straight out the door. My heart pounding in my chest, I stumbled towards my car. Don’t look back, don’t look back!
Frantically I yanked the car door, fuck! But I didn’t lock it! Fuck, fuck! My hands started to tremble as I searched my pockets, but nothing! Where is the key?
The front door opened behind me, and I kicked the car angrily and ran straight for the road.
“Little bunny, little bunny. Wolf is hungry!”
What kind of sick fuckers is this!? I still hear that creepy laughter behind me as I run for the road; I’m not staying to find out! The thud of my heartbeats pulsates through my ears, and my breathing is fast and shallow. Just as the road is in sight, I feel a sigh of relief before someone grabs my shoulder harshly. Adrenaline pumping through my system, I act on impulses, Spin around as fast as possible, and plant my fist right in some dude’s throat. Staggering back, I gasped for air, staring wide-eyed at the massive figure before me. God damned, he is tall!
He lets me go, and the little sadist inside me smiles as I hear him cough and gasp for air behind me. I aimed for the nose, but breaking his throat would do the trick! My victory is short-lived; the air is knocked out of my lungs, and I’m thrown several meters down the road. The pavement scraped up my skin; all sounds around got overthrown by the loud sound of my heart. As my vision blurs, I swear I see a wolf towering over me. Great, just great!
My eyes roll back, and darkness devourers me completely. The wolfs can have me; I don't have the energy for this shit!
In the next life, Mom, in the next life.
I was floating on a comfortable cloud, birds squeaking around me, and the air was so fresh and light. Taking another deep breath, I smiled before I opened my eyes.
This is far from a comfortable cloud; I was ruled back and forth on a cold, small wooden floor, maybe a boat? My head pulsated, and my body ached. However, it was nothing to the pain jolting from the center of my face and out to every single nerve in my body. It smelled like shit here!
Blinking slowly, my blurry vision became more precise. Looking around, I realized I wasn’t alone, but at the same time, I felt incredibly lonely. At least eight girls were sitting around me, and one was sobbing. The other ones stared emptily down at the wooden floor. Hands and feet bound with a thick rope.
There were no birds, and it was a horse carriage. The squeaking was from the old wood and wheels. My side ached, and the skin on my knee stuck to my pants. Great, they were even torn! They were nearly new! Lifting my knees, I managed to roll up into a sitting position.
Green grass, trees, and open sky. Where the heck did they take me? At home, it was fall!
Dark, wet, and cold! Not to mention, I haven’t seen so much greenery or woods since I was a child and visited the local library's picture book section for kids.I shook my head a little, not going down that memory lane! It was a couple of tough years, but at least I learned a lot. I wobbled back and forth as the wheels crunched over uneven grovel. There wasn’t even a real road here! How long was I out for?
«Where are we?»
I didn't ask anyone in particular, but nobody answered. None of the girls even lifted their heads to look at me. Furrowing, I looked them over. Some were dirty, and all had fresh or old marks of tears down their cheeks. The crying girl had small leaves and sticks in her hair and something that looked like blood on her chin and sweater. Human trafficking? Kidnaping?
«Are you all deaf? Where are we!?»
I raised my voice, and all of them hunched down like they could make themselves look smaller than they already were.
«hush! Shut up! You`ll get us in trouble! We don’t know! Okay? Nobody knows. So shut up! »
One of the blond girls spat hissing at me. She looked down at me with intense blue eyes, sizing me up and down before she huffed. I had no problem seeing she was an upper-class girl. Long cherry red nails, one even with a shimmering diamond on. Golden bracelet, expensive dress, and heels I could only dream of. But nothing of this could help her now. The swollen red lines around her eyes and the smothered makeup under her eyes and down her cheeks were evident. She had cried like everyone else; I didn’t like this one bit!
I yanked and twisted my hands; the thick rope around my wrists burned against my skin, but it moved! Rolling my shoulders while shuffling my hands up and down, the rope wasn’t that tight! I’m not staying around to find out what kind of crap this is! Looking over my shoulder, I saw the back of two men, and my eyes widened. They are freaking huge!
Muscles bulged all over their bare backs, tattoos twisted and snaked around over their shoulders, necks, and probably further down their chest. One had a high and messy braid that went from his forehead and all the way down his neck. The sides were skinned. Snake-shaped tattoos decorated one of the sides of his head. The other had a little lighter hair, darker brown. The sides of his head were also shaved down to the skin, but his hair was twisted and formed with leather bands all the way to the middle of his back. I can’t see around them, but I guess one or two horses are pulling us. It’s a slow and steady paste as if the animals were already worn out and tired. We wobble and jump a little through a sharp turn, and suddenly, a little town appears. No, not a town! This looks more like a wooden village from an old game or movie. But by the sounds, I could hear in the distance a lot of people living there: talking, shouting, kids crying, and the distinctive sound of metal against meta
I laughed, but it abruptly stopped by the sound of a rumbling growl. Did he growl at me? I decided I could play this game too and did a theatrical courtesy bow back, «I appreciate the request, but I’m afraid I must deny it, barbarian. Shu, run away now and leave me be!» Straightening up, it looked like he had grown several inches, and his eyes darkened, so I reached the limit! «Shut up; we are leaving now! I can carry you, or you can walk! But note this! If you force me to carry you, I will make the walk worth my while!» His hungry eyes flicker again, his stare greedily taking me in slowly and again, that deep growl. It rumbled down in his chest like an animal was trapped inside of him! I took a couple of steps forward again, and disappointment flashed over his face but was soon masked by irritation and slight anger. Moron! He licked his lips, and again, my eyes widened; canines! I watched as they slowly grew, elongating his regular teeth. Hell no! « Fine! Be a drag! Now, come
This is leather! Thick, brown leather pants! And they have to be at least three sizes too big! The pants Luca came back with looked massive; I knew I should not complain, but he had ruined my pants! And this is supposed to be better? It felt heavy in my hands, and the dark brown fabric looked thick and uncomfortable. «Just put them on! It’s from my mate’s stash, so you should be grateful! Gawd, I’m beginning to think you’ve never seen any of the seamstress's work! » «Mate stash? That sounds so weird! And no, no, I have not, okay!?» «Fine, just put them on. It will work. » I gasped. Just as I zipped them tight, they suctioned in and became so tight! Like they were painted on, and I struggled even to move! «What the…» «Good, now squat down a couple of times. Oh, good god, don’t give me that look! Just fucking do it! » «Stop yelling! » I felt so stupid squatting down, and I was so sure they would tear and bare my ass. Fuck how did I end up in all this? But to my surprise, as I squ
He threw dirt over the fire, and we ran; I had no idea why, but I figured it was worth running for if something scared the grin off his face! We stopped by a beautiful little waterfall hidden in a small clearing. We had been running in a dense, moist forest with overgrown trees and bushes for hours, so this was a welcomed sight! A little oasis of peace and beauty in the middle of the dark and thick Woods. I was sent to gather sticks and branches for wood. All this running and Luca's stressed demeanor had made me a little jumpy, so I kept looking over my shoulder, waiting for a monster to appear. Of course, it didn't! With my arms full, I see him wrap two fishes in big leaves and tighten them with something that looks like very long grass. We sat in silence and watched the flames. We were waiting for the fish to Cook. "Why do you keep calling those men wolves?" He sighed, "Because they are; I fucked up! Let's eat first; I have much to fill you in on. But I need food!" He change
“You should have just stayed put! They will figure out that you are alive!”“I will be home by then; I’m not returning there! I’m going home and calling the police!” He snorted, “Police? They can’t do shit here, and what would you say? Big bad man kidnapped me; they are wolves on another planet? They would send you straight to a closed-up asylum, and then they would come back and pick you up again. How are you even going to get back?”“I´ll walk until I find a road and flag down a car.”I refused to accept this nonsense; this was utter bullshit, and I started to get angry. Kicking my feet, the roots only tightened even more, to the point where it began to really hurt! “Luca, get me out of here! I’m leaving now!” “I can’t! Don’t you understand? There is as good as no females born in this place; you are human. They will find out! And if they knew I helped you, I’m as good as dead!”“Stop this!” “So, how do you explain the roots around your feet? The pants I brought you? The growling
There was that wobbling feeling again. Bouncing from side to side, I groaned. My body ached, and I struggled to find my balance. Opening my eyes, it was dark, but after blinking a couple of times, I saw the sun forcing through the walls in small creaks. Pushing myself against the wall behind me, I managed to sit up to discover my hands were tied behind me. Trying to move my feet, I only uncovered that they were tied up. Great! Back to square 1.“Don’t look so disappointed, little one.” My heart skipped a beat, and I quickly looked around. I saw nobody, but I swear I could recognize the voice. That deep, hoarse voice. In my memory, yellow eyes and growing canines appeared. “You again?”I grunted, of course. Luca betrayed me; he didn’t have a plan. He led them straight to me. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back as he laughed. I pretended I dozed off, I didn’t even bother answering him, and after a while, he stopped talking. My heart was racing in my chest, and a thousand thought
Those words felt wrong in my mouth, but I didn’t get time to dwell on them before I was yanked back out. Again, he held me by my tied wrists and paraded me through the village. At least I'm not hanging over his shoulder with my ass in the air. Bo, not McBraid, Bo walked me in front of him, and we stopped by a large open field where men were fighting, training, and sweating in tiny shorts. We stopped, and I stared—at sun-kissed skin, bulging muscles, and loud grunting. I didn’t get to watch long before they all turned their attention toward us, and I just wanted to sink down into the dirt. I tried taking a few steps back but ended up walking into Bo. His massive figure felt like a warm wall behind me, and the crown of bare-chested men stalked towards us. It really felt like all eyes were on me, and for once, I didn’t like it. I was trapped like an animal, and the vibrating rumble in Bo´s chest that spread down my spine didn’t help much. Startled, I took an Involuntarily step back as B
"Eir, her name is Eir." It was the last thing I heard; I felt stupid. I was like a stunned fool, but it took me a while to realize where I was. Without stretching it too far, it took me a while to remember who I was. An old lady had led me further into the little cottage-like building, and a steaming hot wooden tub was waiting. I didn’t protest as she started undressing me; it didn’t feel like me at the moment. The water was so warm it burned by touch, but I soon adjusted, and my muscles slowly relaxed. A sweet and fresh scent filled the steaming air; it felt really lovely despite the circumstances. I leaned back and closed my eyes as the older lady started to talk. Her voice was smooth and comfortable to listen to, "First is the bath; we will clean you. There are so many smells we are not used to following you from the earth, including your hair and skin. Do you have those plastic things on your nails? What about your lashes or hair?" I just shook my head. I could never afford st