#2 - Nikki Smith

7. Red Light, Green Light

            I next woke up on a plane. It wasn't a comfortable passenger plane like I should have been on with Nolan. No, this was instead a small plane where you could see the front and the back of the plane without needing to move. It was crammed and even more crammed where I was located. Although I could see the front and back of the plane, my eyes were drawn to the sides of the room. I was in a metal cage with handcuffs locking my wrists together.

There were also five other girls in human sized cages. I was the youngest by far. If you'd look at me, you'd assume I was around 8, 9, or maybe even 10 years old. The other girls looked like they were anywhere from 12 all the way up to 18 or 19. They certainly weren't adults, but they weren't as young as I was. Why was I part of this group, then? Was it just opportunity? Do they expect me to give in easier than these other girls?

Four of the other five girls were awake, but they all looked miserable and scared. I opened my mouth to say something, but the girl right next to me put her finger on her lips to tell me to be quiet. I closed my mouth.

The girl looked to the front of the plane to see if any of the guards were looking. They weren't. She slowly moved closer to me and whisper, "If we're caught talking, they'll beat us." She sounded as terrified as if she herself had already broken that rule and then been beaten. She was talking in French, which means these girls were probably all abducted in France and were heading out of the country like I originally thought would happen if someone has trafficked. There were several assumptions I could make about this organization. They probably had an operating base in France but a main "headquarters" in another country. But where were we heading? They also likely had operating bases across several countries. It was at that point that I realized how big of an operation this could be. The larger the base and organization, the harder it would be for me to escape. They would have resources, weapons, connections, and structure. This world continues to sicken me.

I wasn't afraid of these guards, but I didn't want any other girls to get hurt. There was a time and a place for my opportunity to lash out, but I didn't want anyone here to suffer because of what I did. I stayed quiet for now.

I took a moment to analyze my situation. I still felt weak, but this time my body was in much better shape than when I last woke up. I was happy to be out of that damn basement, but what was going to happen next?

There were two guards up at the front of the plane, but they were much different than the goons who originally captured me and left me in a basement. I was being passed on to another group. I think that's the last I'll see of the men from the van. The cockpit of the plane was open, but I couldn't really see inside it. There were likely going to be two pilots. Outside of the cockpit, there were several boxes and bags. They were likely materials and supplies for their operation.

The cage I was placed in was about a meter and a half wide, by a meter and a half long, by a meter tall. It was locked by a metal lock that required a key. If I had a small piece of metal, I could pick it. However, what would be next? The two guards each had a gun. They were serious traffickers and knew what they were doing. Even if I managed to subdue them, I still had to figure out how to fly a plane. I had luck flying a helicopter, but how well would that translate to a plane?

For now, I think it was going to be best to just sit and wait for an opportunity to strike. I would likely just be shot and killed if they felt like they couldn't control me. I didn't have a weapon. Whenever I could get my hands on a weapon, I wasn't very worried about having a slower trigger than these guards. I had a faster reaction time than some of the most well-trained militia in Russia. I don't think these guards would outshoot the Russian militia. Still, I needed to be careful about what I said and did around these men.