Journey of a Girl

The Auction: Chapter One

The answer was swiftly given by the mob that came to stare.

Those who once belonged to the school watched as the gate was broken and people poured into the courtyard.

Buckets of water were brought to douse the fire, and by the time the last ember was snuffed, every last student and domestic had been fitted with iron shackles around their wrists and ankles.

The prisoners were confused, pleading several times to know why they'd been restrained, but no one offered a word of explanation. Guards appeared and flanked the sides of the group, pushing everyone into a tight huddle. Credence attempted to slip through, hoping to blend in with the free townspeople, but she was grabbed by the big hands of a stranger, who pushed her firmly back among her peers.

Bound in chains with the rest of them, Credence was placed into a long line that spanned the whole of the school. With no knowledge of where they were going or why, the line was marched through the now uneven streets, and all the eyes of the towns were watching. A few of the children called to their families, but no one came to their aid—as if merely acknowledging one of them might curse the hand that tried to comfort.

Credence noted with no small satisfaction that although the towns had acted quickly to kill the fire in the school, their attempt to save the building proved futile, and though the flames were gone, most of the foundation had been taken with it.

The school was beyond saving, and the last of that monster's paradise, from courtyard to kitchen, would inevitably have to be torn down.

With a few guards holding lanterns to light the way, the line was released from their shackles and ushered into a large room with packed dirt floors, that contained empty tables, washtubs, and cots.

I've been here before, Credence realized.

They had been brought to the same place where the red stripes took their rest before the Auction.

Proving her correct, the plump woman who had addressed the room so long ago, Miss Scrubbs, made her entrance to attend the new arrivals, holding a lantern of her own to shine upon her frowning face.

The first time Credence had seen her, the woman exchanged humorous bantering with her charges. None of that joviality was present in her tone now, and she stared at the room with eyes full of hate.

She hadn't come to welcome them or give them instructions, she had come to condemn them.

"It's too late an hour to be messin' with you lot," Miss Scrubbs snarled, "but here I am all the same! Far as I'm concerned, every last one of you should get black stripes for what you've done—murdering your headmaster and settin' fire to the school!"

A round of gasps answered her and she spat on the ground.

"I don't care if it was all or one who did it," she added. "Someone will answer for this—the towns demands it!"

She shook her head and wiped the leftover saliva from her chin with her nightgown sleeve.

"Lucky for you, it's not me making the decisions! What a mess! We've got nowhere to put you, so for the time being you'll stay here—and don't even think about gettin' a bite of bread from me in the meantime!"

A guard entered the room and pulled Miss Scrubbs aside to whisper in her ear. She scratched her chin and gave a curt nod.

"Fair enough," she grunted at the guard before turning back to the rest of the room. "Well, well. Aren't we the lucky few? Seems the towns agreed to have a surprise Auction tomorrow night! And you'll be the only attraction!"