PROLOGUE

NATALIE

I wiped the knife on my shirt and ran as fast as my bare feet could carry me. It left a dark red stain but was the only way to not leave a trail of blood behind me. 

Not that it mattered. 

Unfortunately, I didn't kill the man I stabbed and he already alerted the others. The shouting voices and dogs barking floating up from the distance told me they were hot on my trail. And my chances of escaping were slim. 

Tightening my grip on the knife handle, I willed my feet to run faster. But the cold, hard pavement was already biting into my tender flesh. My heart pounded so hard against my ribs and my lungs gasped like a fish out of water. 

The barks and shouts getting louder behind me willed me on. If I was going to live I had to escape. If I couldn't escape, I'd stab myself in the heart before they took me back to that place. 

My mind flashed to Leah's crying face and it made me press on despite the screaming pains in my body. She was still so young, only sixteen and a virgin when they took her. All of us girls looked out for each other but I took her under my wing like a protective mother hen despite being only six years older than her. 

When the foot soldier guarding us decided to have her for himself, I stabbed him in the neck with the knife I stole from the kitchen earlier. The next thing I knew, all the girls were yelling at me to run.

For the first time in six months I was free, if only for a few moments while they chased me. If I had to kill myself to stay free, so fucking be it.

My eyes darted around, trying to make sense of the world around me as it rushed by. I was running through some kind of complex of warehouses. 

I ran through wide open rooms stacked with shipping pallets, all kinds of containers, and huge 50-gallon drums. Pushing one door open led to more of the same. 

My hope sank like a stone as I listened to the shouts and barking over the blood pounding in my ears. Would I ever escape? I couldn't afford to hide because the dogs could smell me, but for all I knew I could be running right to them. 

Desperately, I darted behind a stack of pallets and pushed the top one with all my strength. The cardboard boxes that were stacked on it crashed to the ground, spilling their white, powdery contents. 

I ran a bit farther and did it again. I began knocking over pallets, buckets, and bins behind me to create a sort of obstacle course. 

I needed time. I needed to find a way outside. 

My feet were absolutely killing me and I wouldn't be able to run for much longer. 

I'm so sorry, Leah. I hope you can succeed where I failed.

Crashing against a door to push it open, I found myself looking up at a sky full of stars. The sidewalk was cool beneath my aching feet.

I made it outside!

My joy was painfully short-lived as I continued to run, knowing they'd be right out here behind me in mere seconds. But renewed hope gave me a proverbial spring in my step.

I went around the side of the building, still having no idea where to go or what to look for. Hell, I didn't even know what country I was in anymore. 

The warehouses seemed surrounded by dry, flat land. I couldn't see any other buildings in the distance or even a road. 

My hopes dashed, I still kept running as I squeezed the knife handle. It was the only source of strength and courage I had left. I couldn't afford to stop. Stopping meant death. 

As I crept silently along the wall, a sound grew increasingly louder. First a whisper and then a roar as I grew closer. I couldn’t say why but I continued moving toward that sound. It couldn’t possibly be any worse than what chased after me.

Perhaps it was stupid of me but I had nothing else to go on. Turning back around would send me straight into the hands of so-called men who put me in true, literal Hell for countless months. If they caught me, they would delight in making me wish for death.

I peeked around a corner to see the source of the sound and tears of joy nearly spilled from my eyes. 

The sound was a truck's engine.  Not twenty feet away from me, a U-Haul styled truck sat with the engine turned on and the back opened. A driver was doing a final count of inventory of the contents in the back. 

All I could see inside were various boxes and shipping crates piled up. I didn't care what was in them or where they were going. 

I needed to get on that truck.

I glanced over my shoulder and listened hard. No barking or shouting and no one behind me. Maybe my obstacles and directionless running actually bought me just enough time. 

Looking around the corner again I watched the driver mull over the shipping crates like a hawk. 

Please don't close the door yet, I silently pleaded. I'd hang on the back if I had to but who knew how long I'd be able to hang on?

The driver walked around to the front of the truck and my heart dared to soar for a moment. He leaned back against the hood and proceeded to make a phone call. 

Now! 

I darted out from behind the corner and with surprising agility, leaped into the back of the truck and sought out a hiding place as fast as I could. 

Just as I wedged myself behind a tall box that he couldn't see me over, the door pulled down and I sat in pure darkness. 

When I felt the truck begin to move, I wanted to cry out in victory. It didn’t feel real after the endless nightmare I just lived.

Somehow, I survived Hell on Earth and lived to escape. 

But I stayed silent and told myself to curb my excitement for when I reached my destination. 

I had to be ready for whatever waited on the other side of that door when it opened again.