Roses Are Red

Chapter 3

  The bidding seems to go on forever and I am surprised when people keep going until they reach 100,000. I have been keeping track of all of the people that have been bidding on me so far. There are only three people now, all of them old men. I doubt anyone will jump in now.

"100,090!"

"100,190!"

They kept going until there was only one man left. This man made my skin crawl. He looked disgusting as he smiled at me wickedly. He bet 100,500 dollars.

"Going once, Going twi-"

"200,000" My eyes go wide. Someone else had decided to join in. I turned my head towards the voice to be met with a pair of green eyes. My breath caught in my throat.

Leo Arden, the serial killer,the one my father has been searching for for years. My father would always send people after him and they would always go missing never to be found again. I turn my head back to the old man that was just about to win me. I needed the old man to bet again to win , even if he was gross and disgusting I did not want a serial killer to own me. I couldn't help the images of a slow painful death of me at his hand play through my mind. The old man was silent, staring down at his feet. Was he scared? He needed to bet, he just needed to.

"Going once," please save me please, "Going twice," I really miss that sewer "Going three times." I looked at the man one more time. He was silent. "Sold!"

I didn't look at the guy that now technically owned me as I was dragged off stage. I wanted to cry, I wanted to run but I knew I wouldn't get far. I didn't look up until I felt a burn on my arm. I shrieked but they had already pulled the burning stake away. I looked down at her arm to see a symbol that looked like a rose with noticeable thorns coming off it. The slave trade mark, I would never be able to remove that. A tear slipped through my eyes. I was a slave, like so many others,my family had slaves of their own and I never thought anything of it, but now I wish I could go back and set them all free.

The idea of someone owning me made my stomach drop. I held my arm gingerly as it still burned horribly. I was led outside to a little carriage. No, not a carriage ,a wooden box that was being pulled by horses. They opened the door and I was shoved in and closed the door behind me. I looked around, seeing maybe twenty pairs of young womens eyes staring at me.

I ignored them and curled up into a ball bringing my knees up to my face. I didn't care how childish I looked. One can only act strong for a little while before your walls fall down and you have to deal with reality. I felt the horses starting to move as I bounced around.

Eventually I decided to sit up and lean against one of the walls. I needed to be strong, I needed to die strong, I just needed to.

After a couple minutes we stopped and the door opened. An older man stood there looking at a piece of paper in his hand.

"Avila Wood,"The man said. A girl stood up and slowly walked forward. She looked to be about my age. She had curly blond hair and a lean figure. Someone came up behind the older man. He looked to be between 20-25 with strawberry blond hair and was lean but muscular. He was staring at the girl as the older man grabbed her arm and pulled her off the train car. She stumbles off the train car since it was a pretty high fall and fell right into the Blond boy. He smirked at her and she tried to push away from him. I could see her legs shaking. She looked back and our eyes connected. She was begging me for help but I couldn't do anything and then the door slammed again.

I was shaking. I couldn't stop thinking about the terror in her eyes. We made a couple more stops as other girls were taken away by their " owners". I felt on the verge of throwing up.

We must have stopped at least seven times before the door opened again. I closed my eyes. I didn't even look to see the man that was reading off our names. I didn't want to see another one of those gross men that bought women like you would everyday items.

"Cleo Lenex,"I heard him say. I did not stand at first frozen.

"Cleo Lenex," He said more aggressively. I stood up slowly deciding to open my eyes.

There he was standing there staring at me with a smirk on his face. I could bolt right now. I could slip out of their grasp somehow and run but I knew that wasn't possible. I moved towards the door but when the older man went to grab my arm and yank me down I avoided his grip and jumped down instead. The older man seemed pretty upset by that but I did not care at all, I was dead anyway.

I looked up into the face of the killer as I glared at him. He was close to me too close that I wanted to step back but I needed to be strong. I needed to show the girls that were heading to their buyers that we needed to stand up to them.

I heard the door close and the spell was broken as I averted my eyes from him taking the slightest step back.

"Keep an eye on her, she seems like a feisty one."