Trapped in The House of Gold

Chapter Four - Bought

Shivering I scratch at my arms and legs. I feel dirty, dirtier than rolling in mud or the dirt that laces my skin. The reminisce of the men's hands all over my body is an invisible film that won't come off. I want to scrub the feeling of their hands, of what they did off of me...but no amount of scrubbing will ever remove the memory permanently stained into every fibre of my being. The marks of their hands are dark stains scattered around my skin, tattoos that I never wanted watching me, taunting me as they wait to fade.

No one else has come since they left. No food or water just darkness in this cold hell. Each passing second ticks by agonizingly slow as I count to fill my time and distract my mind. I hang onto each number hoping that by the next one the door will open or food will slide in. 25054...25055...25056...25057... one breath in one breath out 25058. Over and over again I count each number a breath, each number telling me that I am okay, that I am still in one piece.

They can't take what I don't give. And I did not give them anything, not yet, even if they touched me, raped me they have not won they have nothing.

Footsteps ones that have not walked this hall in 25172 seconds. The lock clicks not on the flap but on the door. 2 seconds later light floods the room. Shutting my eyes I wait blinking back tears as my eyes adjust. "Ahh, what's that disgusting smell? Huh, little girl you look dread full, bored with us gone?" The older man asks chuckling.

Squinting in the harsh light I scowl spitting at his feet "looks like someone forgot to throw away the trash."

My mind is in a drugged fog, the man moves like lightning grabbing my hair and pulling me off the ground. "Move that mouth again and we will stuff it, " I go green at his implication. He smirks dropping me roughly to the floor as I remain silent.

"Come on little girl I feel like getting paid today, " he calls walking out the door. "Grab her boys the men must be getting anxious." At the man's call, two more men grab me under my arms hauling me off the floor.

I let them drag my limp body through the metal door that I had long since stopped trying to escape from. How long ago was it hours, a day, a week? Judging by my body possibly a few days. My counting only lasted till I went to sleep then I had to start all over again. But the hunger gnawing at my stomach is not much worse than when I did a 30-hour famine in middle school.

Up the stairs of the door, I tried to escape from, they drag me. My already cut legs getting new ones against the concrete steps.

How are they going to sell me off? Are they going to bathe me and dress me up like a nice little doll? Are they going to throw me on a podium for all the disgusting men to ogle and bid for? Is each person who wants me going to get a free test drive to know if they like the product?

The thought alone fuels my anger twisting my stomach. Pigs all of them using innocent people for their own gain. My limp body tenses as my anger grows. Minutes pass as I continue to remain limp teeth clenched. Fighting would be futile in my weakened state. My body craves proper food and rest, even then I am no match for healthy men. Let alone four men against one beaten woman, the odds of my escape are slim to none.

My skin prickles as the men slow in front of a door 475 steps from my cell. Still, no windows aglow with fresh light instead I bask in the warmth of good LED lights. A shocking difference from the cold cells a floor below. The slimy old man wastes no time pushing open the wooden door and waltzing in.

The cold concrete switches to a plush carpet making me sigh at the small bit of warmth it provides. Tilting my head up I squint at the sight. The room is small not much bigger than the cell I was being held in. A red carpet lays covering most of the floor beaten by the weight of people walking across it. The room is bright with lights shining in a photo shoot set up in the middle. A metal table rests in the middle of the room all the lights angled in its direction.