Chapter 8 : 305, You're a VIP

After finally getting a shower and out of the nasty bathing suit, Ginger handed me a pair of cotton sweatpants and a white T-shirt. Nothing spectacular but at least it covered me more than I had been before. Felix didn't seem to be keeping track of Ginger and I, which made me realize that escaping was truly impossible.

We made our way back to the cell, and another guard locked us back in. Clearly, all of the workers here trusted Ginger, which was good. I just wondered why she was so beaten up.

"They seem to treat you okay here," I stated, but it was more of a question.

"Well, they're just stuck with me, so they don't have much of a choice," she countered. "Luckily, they've never tried to 'get with me,'" she revealed.

I had been wondering if she had been taken advantage of, but apparently, she had not.

But then my heart broke when I heard her continue. "Because I'm so ugly."

This place had stripped her of her sense of self-worth and individuality. El Lobo and the rest didn't want these girls to be confident and bold; that would only make it more difficult to maintain order here.

I didn't know what to say to comfort her. I just figured there had to be another reason why she wasn't harmed by these men. They would f*ck a cardboard box if it made them feel good, so looks had nothing to do with it. Maybe they respected her, or maybe they were instructed not to.

"Where did the bruises come from?" I questioned, stumped as to how she had so many.

"Oh, these?" she pointed to her arms and legs. "We get our blood taken often to check for diseases and possible health issues. No buyer will be happy if a girl he just paid top dollar for was to transmit something to him, or if the girl was to die a few months later due to a weakened immune system. I just bruise easily from the needles. It doesn't affect the other girls, usually."

"It'd be safe to assume that I'm getting mine taken soon?" I asked, feeling like I hadn't stopped asking questions all night. It seemed even Ginger was exhausted from answering.

She laughed, which made me feel slightly better that she could still do that, and assured, "Catalina. You sure are quite a curious girl. How about try to get some sleep, and we can resume your game of 'Twenty Questions' tomorrow? Sound good?"

I didn't think I'd be doing much sleeping tonight, worrying and all, but I at least felt a bit of comfort knowing I shared a cell with Ginger and not the girl yelling 'shut up b*tch' across the way.

Since there were no windows, I really had no idea what time it was other than the cave opening down the hall, and it still seemed dark.

I heard the sound of more girls being offloaded from boats and separated into cells. It was probably this day's new allotment to replenish those who were sold yesterday.

All I could hear were pleads to be spared, girls sobbing their eyes out, and even some shrieking, but Ginger seemed to sleep through it all. She was conditioned to hearing these agonizing noises.

After the girls were relocated, the halls were relatively quiet, and at least I was able to close my eyes, even though I couldn't get myself to rest. My thoughts were swirling around, and an uneasy feeling rose in my chest.

I knew it wasn't the matebond with Efrain because it surely seemed that ever since he sent me away–without actually rejecting me–that the pain in my chest had dissipated. Possibly he just was such a womanizer that the bond couldn't ever be that strong for any one woman.

This unsettled sensation building in me was different. It was the uncertainty over which beast I'd be sold to and not IF, but HOW BAD, he would be.

I must have dozed off for longer than I anticipated because I heard Felix's voice again echoing down the hallway. "Everyone, rise and shine," he said in his gravelly voice.

"Ginger," I nudged her. She seemed to be out cold in a beauty sleep. Probably after having offloaded her biggest insecurity, she was finally able to sleep better. "Ginger, it's time to get up." I pushed her again. She wouldn't budge.

I felt a towering shadow cast over me, and I looked behind me to see who it was. Felix was standing in front of my cell and directed to me, "Get ready. Let Ginger sleep." I didn't know what he meant by 'get ready,' without Ginger to tell me what it meant.

"Sir, get ready for what? Where do I go?" I rambled out.

"We have an early morning showing today," he grumbled. "Oscar informed me of some top clients that flew in from overseas for this. Now, let's go." He opened the cell and I stood firm.

"What about GInger, she's still—"

Felix explained coolly, "She isn't needed right now. Nobody from this tier of clients would even bat an eye at her."

I didn't want him to pick me up by my neck again, so I shuffled my feet forward reluctantly, trying to delay the inevitable. Surely, I was going to be pushed into one of those clear display cases today.

"You need to go to the infirmary to get your blood taken," Felix instructed. Then he gazed down at my legs and pointed out, "You're going to need a few days to heal up before you're ready to go anyways."

The only thing I appreciated with Felix is that unlike George and his buddies, I felt like he wasn't a pervert and neither intrinsically evil. He came here on a mission to find his sister, and maybe he still is using this job to bring her back. No, he won't go easy on us girls, but he seemed to be fair compared to Efrain, El Lobo, or Agustin for that matter.

Felix handed me off to another guard who made me feel uncomfortable the way he scanned over my exposed skin, and he led me to the infirmary. In contrast to the cages we were stored in, this room was austere, cleanly and meticulously maintained. It seemed the best doctors and nurses would have been employed here just by how technologically advanced it looked.

White LED lights illuminated the room so brightly I was hard-pressed to even find any shadows in the room, or a speck of dust for that matter. A line of refrigerators and freeze chambers were on the far side of the wall and rows of MRI machines were along the side. I was expecting the health care system in underground Miami to be haphazard and grimy, but it was exactly the opposite. There were powerful people with sprawling connections to keep this operation afloat.

A nurse summoned me after I entered the infirmary, and the creepy guard handed me off. She had an evil smile, like she administered lethal injections in her spare time.

"Follow me," she said and led me into a private room with blinding lights. She dimmed the lights down to do her procedure. There, she rolled up my sleeve and took my vitals, as well as a blood sample. She did the normal range of tests and quickly left. She actually didn't do anything out of the ordinary and left me with the message, "The… doctor will be with you shortly."

She gathered her personal computer that she had entered a lot of information into and took the blood vials with her before turning up the lights again and locking the door shut from the outside.

I gulped, wondering why she paused before 'doctor' and why it sounded so sinister.

I tried to get my mind off of the thought but the dizzying spotlights in the room gave me a migraine. I tried to shut my eyes but still the light made its way through.

After trying to dodge the beams with different techniques, there was a knock on the door followed by a swift entry by the man I presumed to be the doctor. Instead of the usual white lab coat I was familiar with seeing doctors wearing, this was one outfitted in all black. He looked more like an executioner than a healthcare professional.

"You are truly a fine specimen dear, and you smell magnificent!" the man said with a wide grin. I only could see that because he dimmed the lights again to a normal level.

A cold shiver ran down my arms and I had a bad feeling about this man. I wished to be back with Ginger as soon as possible and out of this office.

"I'm Dr. Melnyk, my dear. I have to say, I've never quite met a girl like you in all my years working." He extended his hand but my body was frozen. I didn't want to touch his hand either.

"A little shy, I see. Not a problem," he played it off. "It must be weird being alone with such a striking man," he chuckled depravedly. The joke was on him because he looked even more repulsive than Oscar, which was saying a lot.

My face was even and I didn't address his comment. I wanted to know why I was here. "They took my blood; what else do we need to do today?" I asked, hoping to get this examination over with.

"Patience, my dear, patience. We need to wait until we get the results. In the meantime, how about we do an oral exam?" He laughed even louder, even more maniacal.

"My teeth are fine," I grumbled.

"Not on you, dearest, on me!" he exclaimed, rocking back and forth on his chair from laughing. I found none of this funny.

Then the doctor began, "Well, I hope you'll consider my offer. But first, I need to brand you."

"What?" I leaned back.

"Easy, easy. It's just like a tattoo. You'll need a number to go by," he informed. "So we can keep you tracked and traced should you find it fun to run away." He leaned in, his arms rested on his knees now that he had taken a seat next to me. His eyes were nearly black, and he had dark circles around his eyes. He looked like an albino snake, ready to strike at any moment.

"I don't think our high bidders want their purchases to be tainted with a tattoo," I muttered.

"Hahahaha, your naivety really turns me on, young girl!" He cackled maniacally. "This isn't a real tattoo. Have you ever heard of a GPS microchip?"

A microchip? Like the thing to track animals, I thought. But, I never knew of a microchip capable enough to have a GPS.

I started kicking my legs and trying to break free from the chair.

"It would have been a painless procedure, but you gave me no choice," the doctor informed me, his eyes narrowing.

Suddenly, two metal cuffs tightened my wrists into place, and the doctor exposed a syringe he had in his hand. He carefully looked at the metal needle watching the liquid inside with a smile.

"It will all be over–" I heard, but the words started to cut off as I felt the syringe enter my vein.

My vision became foggy and my eyes sealed shut.