Blue people

1 | at gunpoint

Amari Parkins

screams echo through the room as they drag in a woman forcing her to sit down, her face is covered in several bruises and judging by the scratches on the three men's arms, she's a fighter. 

i would rip these fuckers hands off and probably their eyeballs out of their sockets because of what they've most likely seen but i'm not in the position too do so.

Two other guys in the room have a gun pointing towards my head, one of them is behind me and the other is standing at the opposite side of the tattoo chair.

even if i'd try to hurt one of them i'd probably get shot by the other. I wouldn't be able to save the woman if i'm dead.

The man behind me slaps a sheet of paper down on the trolley table, on it was a barcode and under it was a fisherman spear of some kind. I'm not exactly unknown to the world of trafficking.

it's their way of creating ownership over women branding them to be there's. they usually pick something a bit more complex but it's definitely a symbol they made for themselves

"Tattoo it on her shoulder." the man behind me pipes up in a firm tone. His unsympathetic words cause the women to start begging, for them to stop, let her go, spitting out reasons why but it falls on deaf ears.

The guy to her left holding her arm in a bruising grip slaps her across the face and that's all it takes for her to quiet down. two of the men holding her down back off but one stays by her side.

a tall muscular bearded man leans back against the wall. "don't bother with skin prep." he adds his dark dangerous eyes pinning me with his stare.

I'd like to hold his stare but instead of putting up a fight I give in and nod. the short boy in front of me lowers his gun, he visibly eases slightly, the anxious expression painted on his face calming.

while still being held at gunpoint by the guy behind me. after a but finally apply the Stencil and start tattooing her.

she's dead silent, her dead eyes stare down at her lap, avoiding everything. a small whimper escapes from her lips, it's not from pain but something else that i can't quite grasp.

as i'm tattooing I slightly eavesdrop on the men speaking. "She's mute, right?" the tall muscular man, comments. the skinny boy who was pointing a gun at my head just a second ago reponds "who?"

he lets out a tired groan. "her for fuck sakes." out of the corner of my eye i see him do a gesture with his hand towards me.

the boy nods "y-yeah.." he stutters. a sudden whack gets delivered to the back of my head. by the man behind me. "focus." he commands.

They keep talking back and forth about what they're gonna do to her. they're over sharing extremely much without even lowering their voices the slightest,

They always tend to believe because i'm mute i'm apparently deaf too. men always say they have trust issues but i'm starting to believe they only say that to feel bad for themselves.

Surprisingly they even said her full name, Lara Redvers. I'll probably be able to do more research on her later but for now I'm just going to absorb whatever information they're willing to share.

I finish the linework, rolling back on my chair i nearly collide with the man behind me. i feel his hand wrap around my neck and he forces me onto my feet

he presses me against the wall, he still has his gun in his other hand pointing towards the floor. "watch where you're going, sweetheart." he speaks through gritted teeth in such a bitter tone, I want to kick him between his legs.

his hand tightens around my throat and my instincts kick in, my right hand grabs his wrist and i move my other to his elbow forcing him to the side but he backs up quickly.

his eyes narrow towards me. "you little bitch-" he's about to take another step towards me, but the tall muscular guy had already approached him putting a hand on his shoulder holding him back, "let it go."

Maybe the military did have some benefits after all or else I wouldn't have had a clue how I would've escaped that.

The four men walk out and the tall muscular guy grabs the woman's arm dragging her along with them. they left without paying but i wouldn't have predicted that they would. I take a deep breath trying to calm myself from the seething anger boiling up inside of me.

I couldn't do anything, I try to repeat in my brain to bring me some kind of reassurance that I wasn't just pathetic and useless, I still feel both pathetic and yet useless.

well i'm in the moment of trying to comfort myself a familiar face peeks out from the doorway, Malcom. the guy's built like hulk not only that he can probably crush someone's skull with his bare hand, but he's actually a wimp.

"are they gone?" he inquired in an alarmed tone. I nod my head, "are you sure?" his voice dropped to a whisper.

he really couldn't look around and check for himself? i nod twice as though it would bring him twice as much of ease, a bell sounds signaling another customer has walked in and he jumps,

his head turns in the direction of the sound, his mouth parts and i expect he's gonna scream but his face turns neutral and that everyday smile glues back onto his face, he does a gesture with his hand telling me he's all better now.

thanks Malcom, I'm happy you're fine, no worries about me. I'm all joyful and just jolly. just had a gun pointed straight at my face but oh so great.

I recall I had to do some research on that woman. I check the clock, my shift doesn't end until two hours and depending on how low staff we are, even if I had a gunshot wound to the stomach I'd still have to wait.

I have to just bite through it and bear the next two hours worth of clients before I can leave.