Ethereal

Chapter One

Adeline had established two things within the past day: It was cold and she was hungry. The cell she was being temporarily held in smelt of urine and a frosty draft blew in through the cracks in the wall. There were two other girls in there with her, but one of them refused to talk to her and the other had fallen asleep a while ago, her breathing so silent Adeline almost thought she was dead. They all might as well be though, considering the circumstances.

"Thirty minutes ya whores!" A voice rang out into the cold air startling most of the girls in the dungeon. The sleeping girl whimpered and jolted awake at the sudden noise. Her eyes were a stormy grey color and filled with fear. Despite the untimely thought, Adeline still found herself becoming jealous at the beauty she found in them. Her eyes looked so vibrant while Adeline thought that her own eyes were quite dull.

The door to the cell black slammed shut signifying that the man had left. It was only then that dread truly settled in Adeline's stomach. This was happening and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Adeline was not naïve, she knew what this was. The girls back at the Institution didn't refrain from telling their horror stories to the younger girls. They told stories of ugly old men groping the girls on stage and beating them in the back. One had even told her that she watched a man eat the girl he bought while she was still alive and screaming. Adeline didn't see the point in relaying the stories, as all it did was scare people, but she supposed it was just human nature.

Adeline curled further into a ball against the wall, her tiny hands clutching her arms. Thinking about those stories was causing her to panic. He breath got after and soon the tears began to fall as her body launched into a full blown panic attack. She knew the other two girls were looking and that only made it worse. She hated this about herself, her and her panic attacks. It made her feel weak and useless and vulnerable.

"Will you shut the fuck up?" One of the girls said. Adeline wasn't talking, but it seemed that even her panicked breaths were too irritating for the girl. So Adeline tried to calm down. Tried being the key word. She heard the girl curse again mutter something about hoping that the guard came back to take Adeline away.

It took the full thirty minutes for Adeline to fall back into a state of reason, and the loud alarm almost sent her right back into the state she had been in before. A rough hand grabbed her and yanked her to her feet before shoving her into the flood of girls being forced out of the cell block at gun point. Through the panic Adeline could make out the sounds of cheering and the smell of something metallic. It lingered in the air and was quite foul.

It didn't take long for her to realize it was blood.

Large spotlights blinded the girls as they entered an area that looked to be circus themed, as thought the whole Acution was a jolly old event. Men in fancy velvet clothes and funny looking hats lined up behind a fence that entrapped the girls. Most of them looked to be in their forties.

A loud man stood on a plat form and shouted that the second round was now in session. The men walked in and immediately started yelling out prices. Now, despite the fact that Adeline was still little, she knew that money held more value than anything. It had enough power to raise a person's class, create education, start wars, and even dehumanize people.

Adeline didn't like money.

"How old is this one?" A man asked. This man was younger and looked uncomfortable. An older man whom Adeline assumed was his father stood behind him.

"Seven." Her Auctioneer responded.

"How wonderful!" The older man proclaimed. "Wouldn't she be just the perfect size to tear apart?"

The younger man bit his lip, his eyes filled with sadness and a splash of disgust. His voice wavered, as though he was trying to sound displeased. "I dont want someone that young." He responded. The older man frowned.

"Why dont you just give her a try?" The Auctioneer offered before smiling. "There are private rooms for nervous lads like you."

The older man gave a hearty laugh, as though discussing these things was as normal as a hunting conversation over beer. The young man shifted. Before nodding.

Adeline's heart sank.

The young man, led by the Auctioneer, guided her into a small room. "Have fun!" He said before closing the door, leaving her with a man three times her age. He stood tense and silent on the opposite side of the tiny room until the footsteps faded. He then released a sigh of relief. However, by this time Adeline had managed to practically melt into the wall, the poor thing pressed as far against it as possible. Would this man really take her purity from her?

As if reading her mind, he frantically shook his head. "Don't worry little one, I'm not going to hurt you. I promise." He bunched his hands into fists which made her flinch. "The only reason I am even her is because of my father. As long as they think that we fucked it will be ok." Adeline visibly cringed at the foul wording, but was grateful anyway, her eyes shining in a silent thank you. The young man smiled as if seeming to realize that Adeline never did talk much. What reason would she have to speak after all.

To her surprise, the man leaned down and picked up some of the dirt and mud on the ground, holding it out to her. "We gotta make it look believable though." He awkwardly smiled and Adeline got the message, rubbing some of the mud on her clothes so it looked as if she had been thrown to the floor.

The two of them stayed in the room for a bit before leaving with the young man claiming she was not to his tastes. She was grateful, truly she was, but the furious glare of the auctioneer made her wonder if the knew.

***

After being spat upon and even dragged by one man, Adeline was returned to her home mostly unharmed.

The Fifth Institution of the Damned was its official title. A massive series of complexes made of brick and stone. It rested deep within the mountains of the Western Region, so deep that the place seemed to have it's own time and weather. The weather was always cold and the sun never reached the Institution before noon. There was only one bathhouse and one dining hall for a complex that held over ten thousand children.

When Adeline returned, it was about two o'clock in the afternoon. Immediately she set out in search of her close friend Lillian, deciding to prove she was safe rather than clean off. Quickly she went to their shared room to find her absent. The kitchen proved to be a fruitless effort as well. Even the bathhouses held no trace of her friend and by then Adeline had lost hope. Reality had sunken in, a reality in which her dearest friend had been sold. And thus, Adeline wept. Laying herself against a wall she fell to the ground and wept.

And that was where she met Delta.

Delta was a broad and scared man, dressed in tattos. He looked rugged and mean and Adeline wondered what he was going to do.

Delta had noticed Adeline after going to get water for a lazy Bridget. It was obvious to him what the girl had endured and instead of asking, he cradled her to his chest where the small girl cried. Despite common opinion, Delta truly did feel bad for her as he he was a survivor of the Arenas, the event for male orphans. He knew what it was like to leave hell only to be tossed into a different form of it.

It was then that Bridget emerged, tired of waiting for her drink. She understood more of Adeline's incoherent cried than Delta did and insisted that she room with them from now on. Delta was confused, as Bridget never took this quick of a liking to people, but didn't question it as Bridget carried the small red-head into a different building with them. Little did they know that this small girl would bring forth such a protective nature. The two damned had never gotten involved in anything before and now it seemed they were always beating up someone who threatened her. It was an odd combination of people, but the three of them made it work.

After all, all they had was each other.

***

Sorry for this really bad prologue part two, but I just had to establish setting and such first. I promise it will get better.