The Soul Seeker

Chapter 8

    Kyle didn't finish his statement. He was speechless. I was too. There was too much to comprehend. What laid before my eyes was a horrific sight. There were cells lined up against the wall, the cells held six people each. There were about four cells in the front and two in the back. Two other cells were empty. The two cells in the back held two each, unlike the cells holding six upfront. I hobbled down the hallway, looking into the cells. It was enough to make me want to puke. The cells were dirty and grimy. All the prisoners were on the floor, chained to each other. There were scraps of food lying on the ground in front the prisoners. The prisoners themselves looked like the cell. They were coated with dirt, and their clothes were little more than scrapes. Their eyes were dark and lifeless. These were the Soul Snatcher's victims. I felt bile rise up my throat. That would be Kyle and I if we didn't get out. I kept struggling down the hallway. I got to the last four cells in the hallway.
      I turned to Kyle. "Why are there only two in each cell down here?" I asked him.
      He shrugged. "Maybe they're worth more. They probably get better treatment so they can raise the value. They're different than the others. See," Kyle pointed to one of the girls in the cell. "She seems prettier than all the others. And the girl she shares a cell with, she's just the same." He shrugged his shoulders again.
      "I guess that's how your value gets determined. And, none of these people have a soul, so they'll never argue or put up a fight." Kyle said. He sighed then closed his eyes.
      I turned my eyes over to the other cell. There were two boys in that cell.
I pointed towards them. "They seem to be the strongest," Kyle lifted his head from his hands and nodded. "We need to leave now or this is what will happen to us." I waved by arms around me.
     "Okay. But first we need to......." His words got cut off by the sound of metal clanging. We heard a voice float through the tunnel. Ron.
     "And if you'll come this way folks, we'll start the biding on the four best, and then you can buy the rest of them."
My eyes widened. Didn't he realize we were gone? He must be doing the auction before he goes out looking for us.
      I grabbed Kyle's hand. "We need to hide." We both looked around.
     "In there." I pointed to the last cell in the block. It looked dark enough to conceal us.
     Kyle and I hobbled as fast as we could into the cell and hid in one of the corners. We were huddled up in balls with our knees pulled up to our chins.
     "I'm scared." I whispered to Kyle.
     "Me too." He whispered back. I smiled to myself. At least I wasn't the only one.
     "We need to get our legs untied just in case. We may need to run." I said.
     "What do we use? This room is empty." Kyle pointed out. He put his head down.
     I suddenly had an idea. "My necklace!" I whisper shouted. I grabbed my necklace off my neck. Around the string was the key to my chest that holds my most prized possessions. I start to saw at the rope with the key.
     I could still hear Ron's booming voice from the cell we were in. I keep sawing at the rope while I listen. "We will start the biding at 50,000 dollars. Who will start us off?"
    I heard a gruff voice speak. "Fifty!"
    Another voice piped up. "One hundred!" It kept going on and on going up by 50,000 dollars each time. It got to 800,000 dollars before it started to slow down. Who are these people?
    I heard a deep voice yell. "Final offer! 2 million dollars!" The crowd went silent.
    I heard Ron yell. "Going once. Going Twice. Sold to the gentleman in the grey suit!" I heard the sound of keys jangling and a door swinging open. I heard the shuffling of feet and a man sighing.
    "I got it!" I whispered to Kyle while holding up the two ends of the rope. "Finally!"
    "There you go. She's a real beauty isn't she?" I heard Ron say.
     "Take her to the car, George." I heard the deep voice say.
     "Yes sir." I heard a voice squeak out.
     "Can I see the key." I handed Kyle the key and he started to saw at the rope tied around his ankles.
     This is what went on the rest of the auction. The buyers would try to win the person being sold. The prices usually didn't go over a million. Except for the first girl. After the person was sold, Ron would drag them out of their cell and hand them over to their "new owner". It killed me every time that Ron said those words. Then, the "owner" would tell their "assistant" to take their new found "possession" to the car. And of course, there was no struggle to get loose. After the auctions, "customers" milled around and bought people from the overstuffed cells.
     Kyle held up the rope in victory after he sawed it in half. He rubbed the raw skin. "Owwww....."
     I heard footsteps approaching the cell that Kyle and I were in. I held my breath. "What's in the two cells in back?" I heard a man's voice say.
     I heard Ron's voice. "They're empty. I usually take only the two best males and females, but if I have a good batch, I use those to keep the extras.
     "Can I take a look?" The voice asked. I started to panic.
      "Sure. Go right ahead." Ron replied. Uh-oh. This wasn't going to end well.