Behind the Moonlight

Work

        Work, our lives revolve around this four letter word. We know nothing but sheer pain and constant labor. From dawn as our eyes slowly open, the dreadful day begins and the painful reality sets in that we will live this way for an unknowing amount of time. We slave at the hands of an authority who see us as property.
        A timid beam of light peaks through a barred window six feet above us. As if to show hope is not an option. I crave the warmth of the sun on my skin, enveloping my body. The breeze gliding through my hair and the pure bliss of enjoying every day things I never thought I would be robbed of.
         A lot of children are here as young as 5. My soul aches for them. They will never run carelessly, play like normal children with sand between their toes. They look almost soulless and I hear cries in the night as these children miss their families.
          I'm not sure how long I have been here but I remember so vividly what was happening right before I was abducted. It was a Sunday morning, my day off of work and I was doing my usual binge shopping. My hair was freshly colored and I didn't have a care in the world. I wanted a new purse so I decided to make a quick stop at the local mall. My phone starts to ring and as I look down I see that it's my best friend Beth. I try to imagine what she was calling for. It might have been some gossip about our rivals or she could have had an amazing day. I wouldn't know though.
          Before I could answer I felt the piercing feeling of cold steel pressed into my spine and a hand wrap around my face with a cloth. I didn't have time to fight back or even scream. As soon as I took a breath in my lungs caught fire and everything faded to black.
           Countless amounts of times I have tried to escape this place with no luck. We all play our parts like cogs in a machine. I'm on the conveyor belt line where I sort metal to be repurposed, for what? I haven't the slightest idea and I'm not sure I would like to know. It later gets sent to the furnace and is then melted down. The furnace suffocates you and squeezes your lungs with heat making it nearly impossible to breath.
            I look down at my hands. What was once soft and delicate was now cut, callused and bruised. We are sent to our cells after the day is up. At least in prison people get time outside. That was now a distant memory. We have the bare minimum in our cells. We are limited to a toilet, cots and blankets. Anything else would be classified as a luxury. Showers are twice a week and that is only because the guards could not take the atrocious smell of us anymore.
             Food, something hard to come by and scarce. I've seen so many good children fight each other over the little nutrition we receive. Almost as if their primal instincts had kicked in and nothing but survival was on the brain. I often sit and wonder what kind of sadistic fucks would do this to so many people. I would end up driving myself insane contemplating this.
             I look around and see starving sleep deprived children, teens, and adults. The sickening feeling of defeat waves over me. To keep room for new younger workers we are all kicked out at the age of 25. We aren't aware of what day or even year it is so when the time comes we have no clue. It's a waiting game. I was 20 when I was abducted. Where we go still baffles me but it's a harsh reality we will soon face one day.
             I'm lucky to share my cell with my now best friend Castile and another man, Trey. Looking at Cass sends an overwhelming feeling of protection that surges through my body. I want to hold him so badly and save him from this hell. Even in our not so adequate conditions he still manages to be vexingly handsome.  His dark silky hair cascades over his broad shoulders down his back. His eyes enchant me, deep soulful blue almost grey that compliment his dark complexion. His features so masculine with a strong jaw.
           In our spare time he works on his damn near perfect physique. I don't mind though I rather enjoy watching. He is dauntless but I see a side to him others don't. A softer sweeter side. A gentle loving side. I look forward to moments with him no matter how brief. What if best friends is all we will ever be?
           His eyes meet mine and my body stops, I can feel the blood pumping through my heart. My skin warm to the touch and my hands sweat. My cheeks flush and I feel paralyzed. I fall deeper into the dark abyss of his eyes and can't look away. He cracks a half grin and shakes his head chuckling.
            "Persian, you are too cute you know that?" Cass says still smiling.
             Embarrassed now I turn my head away and smile. I then feel the warmth of his hand on my face and he brings my eyes to meet his once more. He looks directly into them and then down at my lips. Still looking at my lips he proceeds to tell me that I'm beautiful and looks back at my eyes. In that moment my heart stopped. Nothing that was going on or even happened matter in that moment. It was a moment I didn't want to let go of.
The cells are cement. Cracks run along each wall slowly letting in the musky water from the rain. The sound of small tinks on the roof soothe me into almost a trance. Not realizing my cot is being soaked I quickly jump up and move to the other side of the room. At this point Cass is sleeping and trey also. I pull my legs into my chest and burry my head between my knees. Without missing a beat Cass suddenly awakes and looks over at me. In his sleepy stature he picks me up off the floor and brings me to his cot. My heart racing I lay on the side trying to give him his space but he pulls me closer. I can feel his chest against my back, his heart pounding against my skin and his hand on my hip. He traces his finger along my side all the way up to my collar bone and stops. I just lay there enjoying his touch as he asks me, " Why didn't you wake me? You know your always welcome to sleep next to me."
"I know. I didn't want to bother you, you looked like you were finally getting some good sleep. It's probably," I started to say and he puts his finger against my lips.
"Never be afraid to wake me. Your more important than a few hours of sleep." Cass gently says interrupting me.
I smile and he wraps his body against mine. Thoughts flood through my head and my body gets tingly with every move he makes. I want to lay here forever. In his arms is my safe haven.
            As the sun rose I opened my eyes, still in his arms and my soul felt happy. He started to stretch and give me a sleepy smile and my heart started to pound, butterflies filled my stomach.
             "What is this we have here?!" A guard sneered.
            We both knew what was going to happen and instant regret flooded over me like a tidal wave. My chest felt heavy and a knot grew in the throat as the tears welled in my eyes.
             "Hey, don't cry it's ok. It was totally worth it, you are worth it." Cass said trying to reassure me.
             The loud thuds of the guards boots filled the silence as they creeped closer and closer. As the guard pulls out his stick I cringe and look away but the sounds of the hits stung my ears and hurt my heart. Tears started to pour down my face but I knew if I tried to stop him he would have been more harsh on Cass.
             "I've told you more than once inter relations in this facility will not be tolerated. Let this be your last warning because next time there may not be a next time." The guard growled as he turned around smirking.
               As soon as the guard was gone and we were out of his line of sight I ran to Cass holding onto him as if my life depended on it. I felt something warm and wet on his back. Looking at Cass in horror I pull away from him looking at my hands. They were covered in crimson. I turn Cass around and see painful cuts across his back. He turns back around and smiles at me once more and winks. My face somber but my heart aching I stare at him. He is so strong and I admire that about him. Quickly I start to rip at the blanket and dip it into the water. It's not the most sterile but it will help stop the bleeding.
             I carefully place the pieces of cloth on his wounds and run my hand across the back of his forearm stopping at the base of his neck. I gently run my hands through his hair and brush it away from his face. I could see the pain buried deep in his eyes but he wouldn't ever admit that he felt anything other than happy. He didn't want to burden me with his emotions.