Chapter 3

3

A Few Weeks Passed

Lana‘s POV

I wonder if there could be any possible way to stop the time and cherish the moment forever but again, this is the world of real facts, not my fantasyland. I exhaled a deep breath and kept ambling on the poolside with the ocean of memories in my brain. As I looked up in the gloomy sky with full of starry stars, and yet I tried to count each of them specifically but at the same time, wondered that dynamics of light can’t be numbered. I lifted my head all little more up in the blamy breeze and closed my eyes along with the flow of wind. It’s so calm yet so peaceful in here. I wanted to sway slowly to the beat of air but here my mind was busy in recalling my treasured memories.

I just couldn't get over this nirvana. I opened my eyes with the thought of beach in Ibiza where he spent our 5 glorious days and then the great Barcelona was in line, we stayed there for 2 weeks.

I could proudly say that time has been written in my dear diary forever. I celebrated my birthday there and I could swear that had to be the best birthday I ever had, surely it'd remain best forever. After having some unforgettable fun and making beautiful memories, we came back to Madrid. Explored beautiful places like Prado Museum, Crystal Palace, Puerta del Sol, and much more.

How could I forget about shopping? Their malls are exclusively different than ours. Whenever you pass by any shop you could hear different people speaking Spanish and sometimes so fast that it might sound gibberish for non-natives, it sounded to me. Even I took classes before coming there couldn't help me enough to understand the natives, they had different accents and styles, So, The most fun part was learning their kind of Spanish.

Other than that, if I talk about the shopping experience then, my hands firstly went to their cultural dresses which I bought as a mark of the trip at least.

My eyes roamed at my drink. I don’t think so I will get used to my area’s food so easily after tasting their cuisine. It’s all perfect, just like I planned everything.

Thoughts were knock-rounding here and there. Suddenly a feeling of depression took over, it’s my last day here but I don’t wanna leave this heaven so soon, I don’t want that life back. I was going back to my room that all in a sudden, I heard a scream of a girl,

“HELP! HELP ME SOMEBODY PLEASE, THEY'RE KIDNAPPING ME, LEAVE ME HELP… HELP SOMEONE HELP!” she shrieked which made me frightened, I ran for my life but a cloth wrapped around my mouth leaving me to struggle but my shout wasn’t audible enough to be heard. I nipped my claws in the predator’s skin but it wasn’t effective at all. My head spun and I know, I’m about to faint but I need to stay awake for myself. At last, I lost and let the darkness consume me as a whole.

There I go.

Kidnapped in the city of Spain.

———————————————————————————————

My head is spinning like my world is about to crash. I was being dragged towards a place, I couldn’t protest for myself. I can’t see anything, they covered my sight with a black cloth. I let them take me but where were they taking me? Before this, everything was all going as I planned, but what just happened in a moment? I was busy thinking about my best birthday then how come I was here and the biggest question is where am I?

I heard a sound of the door opening, what’s going on? They uncovered me and I saw almost 15-20 girls kneeling around me. Why are these girls… what? Almost every one of them’s faces were smudged with black tears of mascara, they were tied with a rope, just like me. I could sense some of them were drugged and others were looking cluelessly here and there, just like me. No idea what’s happening. Some were trying to free themselves but it seemed beyond of possibility because of the grasp.

I feel shivery. I wanna run… far away. Oh God! Please. My within is screaming

I was just here to spend time with my family but during our juncture, I didn't remember breaking bad and my family... We… we had a… flight this evening.

Did they leave me here? No, they can’t. They must be worried about me, I didn't want them to think that I ran away because I didn’t wanna go back. I didn’t want to, but this was not what I wanted either.

Please Lord take me out of it, this is not how I expected my trip would end. I’ m…

A hand clutched my waist where a scream left my mouth. I tried to push it away but It only tightened more to the extent that it hurt. “LEAVE ME” I felt a pinch of a needle in my skin. I struggled but nothing happened till my eyes left my side.

“Sleep tight bitch” that’s what I heard

—————————————————

I slowly opened my eyes. I was still there…

I was giddy, my head was spinning woefully. I turned my heavy skull to spot changes but everything is still the way it was. The slight change I detected was a girl beside me already hoping me to be her savior. She looked familiar but I couldn't remember why.

I tried to gain my senses back and after stressing my mind hard, I figured out she was the girl who I saw abducted. I looked at her with worried expressions, she mustn’t be accepting this very fact of us; Kidnapped and God knew for what reasons.

“Where… where a..are we? Why are we here? Wh-who are you?” She asked me while stammering,

“I-I don’t know, I saw them kidnapping you, and then, they took me too,” I spoke to her falteringly.

Tear rolling down of my eyes and hers, this shouldn’t be happening, what would they do? Rape us till we die? Sell us to somebody or, in the worst case, torture us on live calls for those sick bastards who pay them stacks of cash.

These thoughts were making it difficult for me to even breath, I could’ve never imagined this happening all to me or anyone else. This is not human.

After some time, a man opened the door and commanded us all to follow him and we did as told. It was a room bigger than ours. As I stepped in, I saw more females of different ages; they were maybe in the 100's in the count.

My heart clenched when I saw a girl who was no older than 8, what are they gonna do with her? She’s just an innocent minor. She had tears in her eyes who spoke nothing but her petrified condition.

“Please take me instead of this pure soul who doesn’t know a thing about darkness. She hadn’t seen anything enough to understand these monsters.” My unconscious mind mourned for her 

“Make a straight line without any fucking mess. Ya’ll make sure you stand in ascending order, from shorter chicks to taller ones.” a man’s voice echoed till the end

“UNDERSTAND!” He shouted and we all timidly chanted “yes” in unison. Every single captive was shuddering in fear

We did what he ordered us to, “Good.” He said with a smirk.

“Don’t worry… you all are right in place. This is where every one of you belonged” he announced, “Our asswipe sluts” his last words were low but due to standing almost in front of him made it audible to my ears, making my heartbreak into millions of pieces. He called us sluts. A lone tear escaped down.

A while after, he focused the camera on every single girl one by one like he was showing us to someone, maybe.

It seemed like he was selecting a deal but a moment came when I forgot to breathe.

He showed me marauders from head to toe while I was shaking in panic but I mentally suspired loud when he moved on. My luck! it didn’t stop on me.

But he stopped right there when he saw a shade of satisfaction on my face which turned again into worrisome in less than a nano-second. He eyed me suspiciously and motioned that death-device again on my face. I screamed internally where my inner me was strangling my neck mentally. My heart rapidly beat against its rib cage. I’m having an anxiety attack again.

Before I could plan to process my escape-plan, he took off the bomb to my sight and kept showing others. I gulped.

“This one,” he said where all of us gasped in fear.

He grabbed her arm, making her scream in her shrillest voice. She struggled to get away but he covered her mouth with a cloth.

What are they gonna do with her, please somebody save her? She’s too righteous to be treated this way.

Each of the men were holding her arms and legs while she was fighting for her life. I sobbed at the scene. There I saw them injecting in her some fluid. I saw her helplessness cursing all of us. She chanted for help but nobody helped her, how could we? Thousands of guns were ready to batter our skulls. The headman whispered to other bulky men and they picked 2 more by his command.

They’re human traffickers, I’m so doomed, we all are. I want to escape this horrible place, I want to save all of them, what will they do to them? To us? 

They sent us back to our rooms, men tied our hands and ankles again with chains, making us unable to move. After a while, suddenly they came in with food. The food which they brought was barely food to be called. it was bread and water only.

that’s what we will eat for the rest of our lives, I innerly whined.

———————————————————————————————

5 Days Later 

It’s yet the same. Nothing was good here and it sickened me. I palled up with the girl who was abducted with me that day, she’s somehow reliable. Her name was Melissa.

She came here to visit her parents. and she lived in Texas coincidentally as an international student. We exchanged words with each other helping in escape.

We made a plan of escaping this sickening place; they take girls every day and I don’t wish to wait for my auction. I’ve seen girls in miserable shapes; all covered in blood and bruises. Sometimes they brought them back in a carrion state but mostly we don’t know where they go. They just disappear to hell.

Now a few of us left in this section. They keep adding girls in other rooms but not in ours, I know because every day a new girly deafening scream wails in this prison-like hell. We saw unknown faces every single day in the foyer and mighty know who will pick any one of us to sell to some ferocious wolves.

I could be one too. This thought makes me cry on my fate.

Never.

I couldn't ever bear a mere thought of molestation but I'm facing it. I can’t cope up with this type of torment. My lips quivered in horror whenever I imagine myself tied to someone’s bed and beg them for pity while monsters keep tearing my soul savagely.

I’ll rather accept death than letting someone use my body as their property. Before they separate us to tenebrosity. I have to think of an escape. Come on, there must be a way out.

Cold sweats wholly wetted my palms because of closure in tight fists. I need to think… none of us are ready for what’s pending; how can we get prepared for such filthy acts.

A day passed by and as usual, they commanded us to present in the hallway as trading mannequins.

Not anymore. Today, It’s gonna be different, we will dodge them first and run away. I found a hiding spot AC duct that was behind the door. I was diligently trying to open the duct and finally got successful.

When they’ll be left for the hall, I and Melissa will toss our lives and exit from this very whorehouse.

Carefully looking around, the fear of being caught was making our bodies brittle shivering in fear. We were trying to be careful as much as possible but

suddenly a sound of manly footsteps getting louder which confirmed it’s direction. Someone was coming our way which means a person was treading back here. We abruptly ran to hide and it caused separation in both of us. We got apart from each other.

She lurked in another room and I luckily hid in our very spot.

I'm already a heart patient since I was 6. My condition was not cooperating with me anymore, it was warning of a collapse. My legs were trembling and my hands were totally numb. I wasn’t hoping for anything else than death.

I hope Melissa covered herself well from the eyes of Satans but just as I notioned this thought I heard a sound of a scream, they found her, a sound of slaps echoing in the whole prison cell I would call,

“Bitch, you thought you’ll dodge us, Nah! not that easy. Where’re those other whores?” He forced her and she sobbed loudly.

“COME OUT” he yelled. How did they know we were not there, do they have our identifications, they knew about us? Were we a target?

“SAY IT!” He pulled her hair forcefully; making her hiss and cry in pain,

“I don’t know she escaped,” she said to him, she was defending me,

“Fooling me isn’t easy you piece of shit” he scowled at her,

“If you want your slutty friend to be alive, just come out of that hole. It’s not easy to throw dust in our eyes. y’all be found.” Only shrieks were audible, he was quiet for a while till,

“I'm gonna count till 5. If you won’t come out then she won’t be able to live another second” he threatened me, no he will kill her, I can’t do this but what will he do to me if he gets me, will he kill us both? Thoughts were rushing in my mind involuntarily, I shuddered for a second but my ground skipped my feet when he started counting,

“1” he started,

“2” leaving me panicking,

“3”, “do not come out…” But he strangled her,

“4” it’s my last chance, without my permission my feet ran to her before he counts 5,

“5” he shot her before I could barely reach her

“Noooo!” I scream in agony. Her back was facing my front but wasn’t she wearing something else? Her body fell back on the ground. I gasped when I saw her face. She was not Melissa. Whoever she was doesn't matter now because she’s just a corpse and it’s because of me. Her eyes were stoned at mine, and I shrieked looking at her. My hysterical cries kept louder and louder. I was…. No not guilty. That won’t justify my feelings.

She was lifeless because of my mistake; I was late. I kneeled and touched her hands. They were cold; she sounded afraid to be dead and look at what happened; They took the most precious thing from her; her life. There were people gathered around me just now. The men and some girls stared at me with fear because they knew what’s next waiting for me.

“LET US GO”

“LEAVE ME”

“NO, AHH… NO”

“WHY ARE WE HERE”

I heard different voices struggling out of the hold.

“Boss, they all were tryna escape,” he narrated to another man,

“Seems like, they booked their tickets,” he glared at us, “Get them to torture room” he signaled and they actioned his orders.

“take them to the main mansion’s, Boss wanna have more fun today, let it be one of them,” he chuckled after saying those painful words, they’re gonna torture me too.

God, kill me before he does.