CONTENT WARNING: GRAPHIC MATERIAL AHEAD
***
Southwestern frontier.
A tropical rainforest.
Boots squeak on wooden attic floors, light bulbs flicker overhead, insects tirelessly crash into them.
"Go, Go, here." Someone with broken English is pushing a group of girls through the jungle.
The branches shake, and the short girl at the back tugs at the clothes of a girl of similar age in front.
"Weren't we supposed to go to Southeast Asia to strike it rich? How did we end up—"
Before she could finish, the whole line stopped; the leader loudly silenced their whispering, and then the group was led into a room.
"From today, you live here. Work starts tomorrow arranged by Kuba. Do well, make the guests happy, and earning over ten thousand a month is no problem."
The room is small with a wooden structure, with a few simple bunk beds.
Kuba, the man mentioned by the leader, enters, tall and burly with a typically Southeast Asian look, holding a dark leather whip in his hand, his greedy eyes scanning over the panicked girls.
He nods in satisfaction, muttering something in Burmese to the leader.
The leader showed a relieved smile and walked out with the other.
The wooden door closed.
Two burly men appeared to guard the door.
It was the same girl who spoke earlier who put her luggage on the bed: "Fanny, which bed are you sleeping in?"
"The top bunk."
"Okay."
The girl's bed was near the door, she was pulling things out of her worn cloth bag while peeping through the crack of the door.
Kuba handed a stack of money to the person who had brought them.
The leader wet his fingers with saliva counting the money, muttered something in Burmese with a faint dissatisfaction on his face.
Kuba's face changed, he took out the whip and barked an order, the leader jumped in fright, promptly silencing his protests.
In the end, he was taken away by several men in black.
The anxiety in the girl's heart grew.
Fumbling for the small cell phone in her bag, she hesitated, intending to call home to check in when Kuba and several others entered, she subconsciously stuffed the mobile phone into the bedding.
With a wave of Kuba's hand, the men in black started rummaging through their bags.
The girl tried to grab it but was pushed onto the bed.
The burly men looked at her like hungry wolves.
She didn't dare move, going limp and silently enduring their violence.
They searched through all the backpacks and threw everyone's passports and IDs into a sack.
Only then did Kuba stop and said in his broken English: "Work doesn't need these, earning money doesn't need these, stay put honestly, and you'll be paid."
With that, he closed the door again, leaving a room full of girls exchanging glances, still shaken.
The top bunk was occupied by her companion, a girl from the same village.
YOU ARE READING
Just Like Bonnie & Clyde II
RomanceJ: You sheltered me from harm. Kept me warm. You gave my life to me. Set me free. The finest years I ever knew were all the years I had with you. L: And I would give anything I own. I'd give up my life, my heart, my home. Just to have you back again...
