18
“I don’t want to die.”
Tiffany pulled the younger girl into her arms. “We’re not going to die.”
They had been in this hellhole for days, at least four, maybe five. Why wasn’t anyone coming to find them? Surely her mom and dad knew by now that she was missing. Tiffany bit back the tears. She should have been smarter and she wouldn’t be in this mess.
Her mom would be so hurt. Tiffany should have called her back, but she had been so angry with her. Her mom just didn’t get that she was an adult now. She needed to make her own decisions and plan her own life.
And just look where that got you...
Tiffany steadied herself. She had to be strong. Vickie needed her. The girl in her arms shook with her sobs. The other girl—Lexy—sulked in the corner on the opposite side of the room. Lexy had beaten Vickie badly today. Her arm might be broken. There were a lot of bruises and some swelling. Tomorrow if she couldn’t perform...
Not going there.
They would get through this. Whatever that bastard wanted, they would do it until they figured out a way to escape. Then she could make it up to her mom for being such a bitch.
The box-style cage was about the same size as their dorm rooms. The room was white and totally empty. Well except for the three naked, bruised and battered women seated on the floor. Blood was smeared on the walls from where they’d leaned against them and steadied themselves when they felt too tired to keep their balance. There was puke on the floor, some urine, too. They tried to make it to the hole in the floor they’d been instructed to use but it wasn’t always possible.
Tiffany closed her eyes. The light was so bright. It burned her eyes. At first the box had been totally black and so damned cold. She was certain they would freeze to death, but then suddenly everything turned white and the lights came on so bright. And it felt like the temperature was rising.
She was so hungry. He’d cut their food down to next to nothing. At least he still left water. Would he cut that down next?
She was so tired but sleep wouldn’t come. No matter how tightly she closed her eyes she could still see the bright light. It was like looking into the sun. She squinted her eyes open enough to check the other girl. She’d won today’s battle—thank God there had been only one—but Lexy hadn’t gotten off so light. Her face was bloody. Scratches on her body showed Vickie’s desperation. She’d fought hard. Vickie shuddered in Tiffany’s arms as if she’d said the words out loud.
Tiffany ached from the battle she’d fought and won against Lexy yesterday.
How much longer could they keep this up? Weakness was already clawing its way into her bones. Vickie was losing her mental fortitude as well as her physical strength. Tiffany wasn’t so sure about the other girl. Lexy, her name was Lexy. Lexy stared at Tiffany as if she’d read her mind. Was she talking instead of thinking? Maybe she was the one losing her mind.
“They’re going to make us kill each other,” she said.
Lexy could very well be right. Tiffany worried that was the ultimate goal. She couldn’t be sure but the place where they were forced to fight appeared to have cameras. Were they videotaping this insanity and selling it on the internet? What kind of sick fuck did this?
Probably a serial killer.
Uncle Tony and his FBI friends would find them. He was the best.
“I’m not killing anybody.” Tiffany had made that decision yesterday. No matter what happened, she wasn’t killing another human being.
Lexy said, “How did you end up here?”
The girl who’d refused to say more than a word here or there since they were thrown into this place was suddenly all questions. Tiffany was glad. Talking distracted her from the hunger gnawing at her belly.
“I went to this club to meet a friend.” Tiffany frowned. “Someone put something in my drink, I think.”
“I got picked up in an alley.” Lexy straightened her battered legs. “It was the middle of the night. I was taking a nap when I heard a noise. I got up and someone grabbed me from behind. Put something over my mouth and nose and that was it. I went nighty night.”
Now that there were lights Tiffany could see what the other girls looked like. Lexy had the biggest boobs of any of them. And dozens of tattoos. Tiffany tried not to form an opinion based on all that ink but she couldn’t help it. She had Lexy figured for a druggie, maybe a prostitute. Not fair, Tif.
“Your friend needs to toughen up if she wants to survive this.”
Lexy was right about Vickie, too. Tiffany didn’t really know Vickie. They were both freshmen at Georgia College but they had no classes together. Tiffany had seen her around. At the club that last time, too.
Vickie’s steady breathing told Tiffany she was asleep. She asked the other girl, “What makes you think any of us will survive?”
Would they make it out of here?
So far they had food and water. Not much but enough to survive.
Lexy didn’t have an answer for the question.
Tiffany didn’t either.
Please, God, don’t let us die here.
She thought of her mom and dad and determination welled inside her. Hell no, they weren’t going to die. They would get through this. Whatever the bastard who’d taken them wanted, they would do it until they figured out a way to escape.
Come on, Uncle Tony, find us!
Tiffany had no idea who had taken them. She’d gone to the bar but she’d had to leave early. She felt sick. By the time she got to her Jeep she couldn’t keep her eyes open. The last thing she remembered was her vision fading to nothing.
A human trafficker had probably taken them. They were young. Those sick pieces of shit liked to find young women. Her uncle had warned her to be careful for that very reason.
Or maybe it was a serial killer.
Uncle Tony knew all about serial killers, too. He would find them.