THREE

Kiera’s POV

The room was suddenly flooded with light, causing my eyes to struggle to adjust to the brightness.

As I looked around, I noticed several young girls, some younger than me, and others around my age. The walls of the room were old and I could see some cracks on them. There was a fireplace, bed, and a bucket filled with things I couldn’t clearly see. Then my eyes settled on him–The man who has absolute power over my fate, surrounded by six able-bodied men and 4 middle-aged women.

“Strip!” He shouted, his voice echoing in the room.

Suddenly, some of the girls began taking off their clothes, revealing their bare bodies.

“What are the rest of you buffoons waiting for?” He shouted.

Trembling, my hands began peeling my clothes off my body. My clothes were no longer moist, as they dried on me over the passing hours.

I watched as my clothes fell to the floor and my hands quivered as I pulled off my pants. No man had ever seen my bare body, not even Miguel.

“Now, turn around,” he instructed, and we obeyed.

 The room was deathly silent, save for the sound of his footsteps as he approached us. 

 “One, two, three, four….” He counted until he reached the final number 15.

“Many call me the devil in a human’s flesh, others call me Voldemort. However, I'm just a simple man, and if you follow my instructions, you will be in my good books. Otherwise, you wouldn’t wanna live to see what comes next. From today, you answer to me, you belong to me, you report to me, and take instructions from me, until you get new masters.”

I got lost there, because what did he mean by new masters? My mind was still processing what he said when he continued,

 “I El Diablo, am your god from now. Is that clear?” He demanded.

“YES,” we responded in unison, tears running down my cheeks as the word came out of my mouth.

From getting the most unexpected heartbreak of my life to becoming someone’s property, that’s how my life switched within a twinkle of an eye. My world which was already crumbling has now fallen to ruins. I have nothing left, no hope for redemption. I am now a property of the devil himself.

“You’re in the hands of the Madams now. Don’t make their job difficult,” he said exiting the room.

“Turn around,” one of the Madams instructed.

“I’m Naomi, and these are my sisters, Lucy, Leah, and Carolina,” she introduced.

They placed a bucket of water in front of each of us and instructed us to wash our bodies.

The Madams stood around the bed, and Madam Naomi picked up a pair of gloves from the bucket. Next, she took out a rod, which looked to me like it had a mark on it.

“Come forward, one by one, and lay on the bed. This process would be excruciatingly painful, yet swift. So brace yourselves.”

The first girl climbed onto the bed, and Madam Leah and Carolina strapped her legs and hands to the bedrail, while Madam Lucy gagged her with a cloth.

Immediately, Madam Naomi heated the rod in the fireplace and pressed it on the girl’s thigh. My body instantly turned cold and my eyes gaped in terror.

The girl struggled, but there were only muffled moans coming from her. Her eyes were dripping with tears, as the pain lashed through her body. After about a minute, she became calm and the Madams released her, and immediately one of the able-bodied men picked her up and took her out of the room.

The next girl was hesitant, she cried and pleaded and even attempted to run but two of the men picked her up and strapped her to the bed.

Time and again, the girls passed out from so much pain after the procedure and finally, it was my turn.

I swallowed hard as I climbed the bed. I felt my feet and my wrists secured to the safety rails table and the next thing I felt was a stinging pain from the depths of hell, instantly sending shock to my brain and I blanked out, my mind unable to withstand the torment.

***

“Wake up,” I felt someone tapping my shoulder.

I groaned, stretching out my hands.

“Where am I?” I asked, looking around.

I found myself wearing a loose pajamas, with no recollection of how I had ended up in them.

The room was small and dimly lit. It held a congregation of lost souls of about 30 girls like me, their faces smeared with fear and sadness, and I recognized some from earlier. Some chattered nervously, while others lay sprawled on bunk beds or the cold floor.

My legs swung over the edge of the bed, and a sharp pain flared from my thigh.

“Ouch!”

I glanced down, tracing the branding wound—a cruel eagle mark with an “El” inscription etched into my skin.

“Sorry… The pain will last for a few days, so just try to be strong,” the girl said. “Anyways my name is Emerald. What’s yours?” she asked, sitting beside me.

“Kiera,” I responded, my voice a little above a whisper.

“What’s this place?”

Clearing her throat, she glanced around, “Some of us call it the slaughterhouse. Don’t let the name scare you. Girls are brought here to be groomed and cleaned up to be playthings for men. Every night, some of us are auctioned off to different men, and the ones that fail to get auctioned, are kept here. So this is basically our home for now.”

My stomach churned as my face contorted into a pool of disgust, “You mean El Diablo sells us to men?”

She nodded in response, “That’s how he gets his money back. I’m here because my mom needed money for surgery and I turned to El Diablo for help. I never knew I was selling my soul to the devil. I've been here for 2 weeks, and I heard that one month is the maximum time you can spend here if not…” She paused, and I instantly understood what she meant.

“So why do we get branded if we’re eventually gonna be sold?” I demanded.

 “So that wherever we go, we will be reminded that we were once his property. He loves to mark his territory.”

“Has anyone tried to escape?” I questioned curiously, my eyes darting around.

“Two girls tried to escape. Once they were caught, they were never seen again,” she confessed.

Right on cue, the door swung open and two men stormed in.

“It’s time,” one of them uttered and one after the other, the girls made their way through the door.

Suddenly, Emerald’s hand brushed mine, “Obey and survive. Hopefully, I’ll see you later,” she said, walking behind me.