Chase

From my comfy seat, I glare at the squabbling men across the room, waiting until the light above the door switches on. The anticipation is starting to unnerve me.

Rummaging through my pocket, I take out a notebook and a pen, and start outlining their faces, depicting what they look like, observing every minute detail. I write down everything important—from greasy hair, to curly mustaches, to eye color, to fat bellies, and pockets stuffed with checks.

Some of them aren’t even wearing masks.

Stupid fucks.

When I’m done, I tuck away the notebook, grab my whiskey on the rocks, and take a sip.

Am I really going to do this?

Yes, yes, I am.

The grip of my hand almost breaks the glass, so I put it down before I hurt myself. I get up and march straight to the bathroom, where I turn on the faucet and let the water cascade over my hands.

I stare down at the water and at my fingers.

Soon, they’ll probably be drenched in blood.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

This is it, Chase.

This is the moment you’ve waited your entire life for.

You’re going to do this whether you like it or not. End of story.

I look up at the man staring back at me in the mirror. Or rather … the shiny, plastic, metallic mask covering my face.

It’s a stark reminder of who I really am.

I’m not the man hiding behind the mask.

The mask is me.

The man behind it just a mere figment of my imagination.

He’s the man who has it all … and it still isn’t enough.

This mask brings out the animal in me, the one hiding in plain sight.

And no one will ever know it was me.

I smile to myself, thinking about what’s to come. Whatever choice I make, it’s sure to be a spectacle. One I won’t forget anytime soon.

As I open the door to step back into the room again, the light above the door turns on, and the men stop talking. They glance briefly at me as I march toward them and wait for the door to open. When it does, they direct their attention to the room beyond.

We all sit on small black chairs lining the red walls. In the back are three metal cages, each containing a person. Two women, one man.

They’re trembling, huddled in a corner, clutching their bodies.

All wearing the same red-colored underwear that barely covers any skin, save for the sensitive parts.

They whimper and cower away from the lights aimed at them. But I can’t help stare at just one of them … a girl to my right with the most beautiful, dark curly hair I’ve seen in a long while.

The cages are behind thick, impenetrable glass, with only one door leading inside.

I doubt they can see us … but all the men can definitely see them.

“Welcome, gentlemen. I hope you all enjoyed the whiskey while waiting,” a voice in the corner says as he approaches.

Graham.

My fists ball as he talks.

“Take a good look. All three of them are available. If you win, the prize will be delivered via the back door after the bidding ends with an added fifteen to twenty minutes to account for transportation. Same door you came in through. Now, I’ll begin with number one on the left shortly. Any questions?”

He gazes around the room, but no one responds.

It’s not as if they haven’t done this before.

Many, many times.

Grinding my teeth, I sit back in the chair and continue to stare at the girl on the right. It’s going to be her.

I’ve already decided.

“Okay.” Graham clears his throat. “The first one’s a little stubborn, but he responds well to punishment. He’s deaf on one side, but the other ear works perfectly. No other defects. He’s virile and young, perfect for working with his hands, such as personal grooming, housekeeping, or general entertainment. Whatever you want.”

The smirk on his face is murderous.

It makes me feel murderous.

I can’t help it. I’m a savage in a suit who enjoys dishing out pain.

But now is not the right time.

Graham pushes a button, and the male on the left is buzzed so hard he rolls around across the floor of his cage, his face contorted and gasping for air. I look away.

“Up!” Graham yells through an intercom.

The kid struggles to stand but does it anyway. Then he bangs his head against the bars until Graham releases the button, after which he just stands there, motionless … staring right at the glass separating us.

“Bidding starts at twenty thousand.”

The men raise their fingers as Graham announces increasing numbers. I ignore their voices and focus solely on the girl on the right. For some reason, she’s gotten up from her corner and walked all the way up to the front. Graham didn’t even have to buzz her to get her to move.

She clutches tightly to the bars surrounding her. She’s not looking at us, yet I still feel watched. As if she can hear us. Or like she’s trying to.

“Fifty thousand, going once, going twice. Sold!” The bidder on the far right hands a check to Graham who inspects it before shaking his hand. “Thank you.”

He walks back to the center and says, “Okay … next one is a female. She’s ripe, of age, and perfect for any party or gathering. She’s very sociable and listens to commands well. Also has an implant for ultimate pleasure.”

Graham presses another button on the wall, making her squirm in her cage. She jumps to her feet without him having to say a word. The buzzing stops … but he reaches into his pocket and takes out a device, clicking it on.

She clenches her legs, and her cheeks flush. A slight mewl leaves her mouth.

The men chuckle, throwing glances at each other, gloating like crazy.

I swallow and loosen my collar, then stare at my hands. They’re covered in marks from my nails digging into my skin.

“Bidding begins at thirty thousand.”

The men bid again, but I can only focus on one thing.

The girl on the right … Her eyes and how they rise to meet mine, only for just a second.

They’re so … clear. And beautiful.

In her cage, she sinks to the floor and lowers her head, hiding her face among her curly hair.

I have to focus on her and only her.

If not, I’d probably outbid every man in this room until I won all three.

But that would only make things harder for me.

I have to be patient. Have to be wary. Have to fit in.

So I wait and wait until the bidding finishes at seventy thousand, after which another check is exchanged.

Finally, it’s time.

“Lastly, we have a short but spicy female. This one particularly gave me a lot of trouble.”

The men in the room snigger.

But I don’t find it funny. Not one bit.

“She’s spunky, but with a bit of training, she’ll make a wonderful pet. However, there is a small defect … she is blind.”

Blind? No wonder her eyes are so … pretty.

A grin spreads across my lips.

This couldn’t be any more perfect.

Graham presses another button. She’s crippled with fear and pain, crawling in her cage, but she doesn’t give up. Doesn’t stop clutching the bars, doesn’t get up.

“Up!” Graham yells.

I clench my fists, watching her struggle. She refuses to give up the fight even though she’s already lost by a long shot. She’s in a cage, yet her spirit never fails her.

I admire her.

But I also wish she’d just surrender.

“Please …” I mutter to myself, biting my lip.

Only after a grueling minute has passed does she finally relent.

She’s light on her feet, but oh so unsteady.

“Bidding starts at fifteen thousand.”

I run my fingers along my jaw, staring at the girl, while the men start to bid.

For a moment, I stop breathing and focus entirely on her feeble body, which seems to be able to withstand so much pain. It’s incredible.

When the men stop muttering their bids, I raise my hand.

“One million.”

Everyone looks at me with gaping mouths. As if I’ve lost my mind.

But they don’t know what she’s worth. They can’t see it … but I do.

To me, she is everything.

Her existence will be my downfall or my only salvation.

I have to know which one it’s going to be.

I have to have her.

“Any other bids?” Graham asks, hoping someone will bid more.

Of course, not. They don’t want her. They don’t see the use in a blind, defiant girl.

But I do.

“Okay … going once. Going twice. Sold!” Graham says, and he approaches me.

I narrow my eyes at him and cock my head while I take my sweet time rummaging through my pocket to conjure up a checkbook. With quick scribbles, I write everything he needs. I don’t look twice before tearing it off and handing it to him.

“Thank you,” he says, greedily snatching it away from me. Then he directs his attention toward the rest. “Well, that was all. I’ll have more for you next time.”

Everyone gets up and leaves, but not me.

With careful steps, I approach the glass and place my hand on top of it, wishing I could already touch her. I wonder what I’ll feel. What I’ll want. What she smells like. How she’ll taste.

I close my eyes and imagine all those things.

Riveting.

“I’ll bring her to you in a moment,” Graham says. “You bid quite a lot.”

I smile and look his way. “I know what I want. And I always get what I want.”

He smiles back awkwardly and then clears his throat. “All right. Well, if you will please wait in the other room like the others, I’ll get to work.”

I nod and take my hand off the glass, saying a mental goodbye before turning around and walking back outside.

* * *

Syrena

In a wheelchair, I’m wheeled out of the cage. I don’t know what’s happening because my mind is barely there. All I know is that I’ve been drugged … heavily.

I feel numb. When I wiggle my toes, nothing happens, and my fingers don’t respond either. All I can do is wait for my fate.

Will I even get to say goodbye to Ella and Cage?

Before Graham put me in the cage beside these two, I was in a different place. Somewhere upstairs in a glass cage, right next to two other people. But at least I had an actual bed and privacy there.

Not here. Here … I was only a doll put up for sale.

Ella and Cage were my original cellmates, but now they already feel like distant memories.

I’m forced to close and open new chapters in my life in rapid succession, and I can’t keep up.

So much has happened these past few months that I feel as if I’m beginning to lose my mind.

Captured by a monster, then stuffed in a glass prison with two other people, and now, I’m being taken from the compound where I’ve been living for months.

Where will I go?

And more importantly … will I ever get back home again?

A tear manages to leave my eyes and roll down my cheek as Graham sets me down and leaves.

Moments later, I can hear the groaning of two other people right beside me. The girl and the boy who were beside me in the cage just now.

I don’t even know who they are. This is probably the last time we’ll meet.

No one talks. A door creaks. Then Graham pushes us forward, one by one. A man clears his throat. Someone else shuffles around. I wonder how many there are.

Moments like these are when I really hate being blind.

The longer I sit in this chair, the more I begin to feel my arms and legs again, and my lips can definitely move. I don’t talk, though. I don’t want to give Graham incentive to sedate me again.

“You can take the wheelchair with you. It’s on the house,” Graham says.

I wonder who he’s talking to.

Is this person the next one to keep me as a prisoner?

Probably.

Still, it makes me shiver in place.

Suddenly, a hand on my hand makes me freeze.

“Syrena.”

I look up even though I can’t see. His voice centers me, forces me to find him. It’s commanding but scary. Daring and completely in control.

“Graham told me that’s your name. Is it correct?”

I nod slowly.

Something pushes my wheelchair along. I’m assuming it’s him.

“Great. Then let’s go.”

I don’t know what happened to the others, but I assume the other men are taking them with them.

The man pushes me outside, through a corridor, turns right, then another turn, and then we stop. A door squeaks, and a warm glow meets my face. Not soon after, he pushes me outside, and the sun’s rays heat my skin. I bask in it. I open my mouth and let the fresh air enter my lungs. Tears run down my cheeks.

“No need to cry. I’ll take … good care of you,” he says, his voice dark and foreboding.

I don’t think I can trust anything he says.

However, I’m happy to finally be outside the compound again.

So much time has passed since I last smelled the dry air. God, how I’ve missed it.

He pushes me across rocky terrain until we come to a stop, and I hear the beeps of a car.

A door slides open. “Hey.”

It’s a new voice.

“Get her in,” the man who pushed me says.

Suddenly, I’m lifted out of my seat and lifted into the car, landing on a soft cushion. Someone straps me in with a seat belt and closes the door. Another door on my other side opens, and someone sits down beside me.

The other person throws the wheelchair in the trunk and then sits down behind the wheel.

“No need to worry …” It’s him, right beside me, whispering in my ear.

I suck in a breath.

I want to scream, but I can’t. I physically can’t. The only things leaving my throat are a tiny squeal and some rasps. “The drugs will wear off soon.”

I hope so because I really, really want to get out of here.

Now that I’ve had a taste of freedom … it feels too good to be true.

I’m so close. I only have to move my hands to the door and open it.

But the familiar click of the locks sinks my heart to my shoes.

“Let’s go,” the man besides me barks at the one behind the wheel, and the car begins to drive across the rocky terrain.

“Who … who are you?” I ask after a while, as the drugs begin to fade around my lips and throat.

The man beside me hums and puts his hand on mine as it rests in my lap. “Call me Chase… your new owner.”