S(l)ave Me

XXI

Liam had cloth stuffed into his mouth and then taped over with thick, black duct tape. His hands were bound behind his back and his ankles were tied together. All he was wearing was a thin sheet around his waist, just long enough to conceal, but not hide.

He refused to cry. He wouldn't give these men any further satisfaction by showing how fucking scared he was. He was in some large underground room with little torches and tables with drinks on the other side of the room. He was in line with four other people all dressed similarly to him and bound in the same way.

He blinked his eyes clear, the heavy haze of drugs still lingering in his system. He looked to his left at two of the prisoners, and then to his right at the other two. His eyes widened when he recognized the young girl from the restaurant. When he took another look at the others he realized he'd seen them all at the eatery the day before.

A waitress, two cooks, and a dish boy. They all looked scared, some crying, some with dried tears. Liam wanted to comfort them all, tell them they'd figure a way out of this, but he was in no position to offer reassurances.

The two men that brought him here came into the room with black somethings in their hands. Liam watched as each of the prisoners were collared with heavy, leather collars. When it came his time, he turned away so he didn't have to look at the man's face as he was putting the collar on, just tight enough to pinch.

Slaves were collared by their Masters all the time. Most begged for it, as a sign that they were properly owned and taken. But without a real Master, the gesture was demeaning. Liam was marked, but not owned.

He felt a cold chain dangling from the collar, ending just at his collarbones. He didn't have time to wonder what it was for before a little plastic tag was added to the collar. When they were done he looked over to another prisoner to see that it was a price tag, with obscene amounts of money on them.

Holy shit. They were being sold. This was a slave trade, and Liam was obviously the main sell, since he was in the center of the line. He was going to be sold to the highest bidder and taken away, never to see Zayn again.

The tears finally came, silently rolling down his cheeks. He let the reality wash over him, settle in his bones. He went from one horrible Master to another, and skipped completely over the only one that was good to him.

How did this happen? Why?

His thoughts were interrupted by a girl's screams, muffled by the gag. He whipped his head over to see the young girl from the restaurant fighting and trashing as best she could. The two guards laughed at the feeble attempt before one pulled out a needle and shot it into her neck. The girl went instantly loose and her eyes fell shut as she hung from the guard's arms.

Everyone in line was deadly still, not wanting the same fate. He dragged her away by her bound wrists, out a door in the corner behind them. Another couple of guards were brought in to watch them while the other man Liam recognized followed his partner from the room.

***

Zayn was speeding down the calm midday roads with Niall on the phone. "It's been hours, Ni. I told him to call me when he got back and he hasn't."

"It might just be taking a while."

"I don't like it," Zayn gritted out. "Something's wrong; I can feel it."

"Where are you going? You just stormed out of here like a crazy person."

Zayn pulled a sharp turn, nearly plowing over a pedestrian. "I'm going to see him. Demand he tell me where Liam is."

"Think about this, Zayn," Niall warned. "If nothing's wrong. If you go and start throwing around accusations, and you're wrong, Marcus will kill you. Us. He will end us."