USWNT Oneshots

Slaves

"Our next lot: she may not look like much, ladies and gentlemen, but she's strong as a work horse." the slave dealer said. "She can do any work, whether it's in the mines, in the farm, and in the house. And she has a beautiful voice, if you can persuade her to use it. Shall we start the bidding at one thousand pieces? Do I have one thousand? One thousand five hundred? Two thousand? Two thousand five hundred? Do I have any higher that two thousand five hundred? Sold!" the guards started to drag Thalia over to the man who'd bought her. Tobin ran after her. "Thalia!" she yelled. "No! You can't take her away from me!" two guards caught Tobin's arms, and a third hit her in the stomach with the butt of his rifle. Tobin collapsed, tears running down her face. Thalia struggled against the guards' grip. "Tobin!" she yelled, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Tobin, no! Please don't separate us! Please!" the guards ignored Thalia's cries as they dragged her over to the man who'd bought her, who had also bought Hope and Alex. Thalia buried her face in Hope's chest and sobbed. Hope wrapped her arms around her soul sister's body as best she could with her hands chained together. When the auction was done, the girls' new master took them to his home. Alex was given a room in the house, but Thalia and Hope were brought to the slave cabins to start work in the mines the next morning. Thalia curled up against Hope, tears streaming from her eyes. "I'm never gonna see her again." she sobbed. "I never even got a chance to say goodbye to her." Hope took Thalia's chin in her hands. "Don't talk that way." she said sternly. "You definitely won't see her again if you think that way. You've got to keep hoping." she dried Thalia's tears with her shirt. "But what about you and Carli?" Thalia asked, for the blue-eyed-woman's girlfriend had been bought by the same man who bought Tobin. "Don't you miss her?" "More than ever." Hope said. "It's like there's a hole right here." she put her hand over her heart. "But I'm just going to keep hoping that I'll see her again." Thalia eventually fell asleep curled up against Hope. The next morning, Hope and Thalia were put to work in the mines along with slaves of another man, hacking at seams of some glowing mineral. After a few weeks in the mines, they were almost unrecognizable because of the layer of dirt covering their faces. They were painfully thin because of the meager rations given and their bodies and hands were filled with cuts from sharp rocks and from being whipped. One day, when they were eating their small lunch of bread and cheese, a woman came up to them. "Hope Solo?" she asked. "Hope, is that you?" "Yeah, it's me." Hope said cautiously. "Who's asking?" "It's me!" the woman said. "Tobin!" "Tobin?" Thalia asked. "Who are you?" Tobin asked, looking down at Thalia's grime-covered face. "Tobin, it's me!" Thalia said. "Thalia!" "Thalia?" Tobin asked. She spat on her thumb and used it to wipe some of the dirt off of Thalia's face. "Thalia!" she cried joyously, hugging her girlfriend to her chest. "It is you!" "Tobin, where's Carli and Abby?" Hope asked seriously. "Carli's up at the house cuz she hurt her foot a few days ago." Tobin said. "Abby's doing farm work." Hope sighed in relief when she heard that her girlfriend was safe. "That's good." she said. A gong sounded, signaling that it was time to go to work again. Thalia still had her arms around Tobin's waist. "I don't want to let go." she said. "I don't want to lose you again." Tobin kissed the top of her head. "I know, baby girl." she said. "But if you don't let go, we're going to be whipped." Thalia let go. "We need to get out of here." she whispered. "I know, but how?" Hope asked. "The three of us work on the same seam." Thalia said. "I can pretend to collapse, and you two can take me out of the mine and we can run away. It will work. I know it will." Tobin and Hope nodded. "Let's do it." Hope said. They went to work, and ten minutes in, Thalia collapsed on the ground. "You there." the guard barked. "What's wrong with her?" Hope checked Thalia's pulse. "She's unconscious, sir." she said. "Permission to take her outside? She needs fresh air." "Permission granted." the guard said. "You. Go with her." Tobin picked up Thalia's arms while Hope got her legs, and together, they carried Thalia out of the mine into the fresh air. As soon as they were out, Thalia got up, and the three women ran into the forest. They were free.