Highest Bidder

Twelve

“Sit down,” he instructs in a commanding tone.

I use my hands the best I can to find the material of the seat. Once I feel what I am searching for, I slowly start to lower myself. If I am about to be hitting butt-to-cement, I would like to soften the blow, or at least slow the impact a little bit. I hear an annoyed huff alongside shuffling of feet from my left, and hurry the rest of the way down, thankfully only hitting soft cushion and not the hard ground.

“Feet,” he grunts, clearly annoyed at this point.

I swing my feet up and over and scoot on the leather seat, until I am facing what I hope is the correct position. The car door slams shut, and I let out a small breath of relief. I hear a second car door being opened and then slamming shut, before all I can hear is the car is starting and taking off down the street.

It doesn’t seem to take long before I assume we reach our destination, as the car comes to a stop, and the engine is shut off. I once again am lost as to where we could be. The blindfold turning my innate sense of direction off, along with starting at an unknown location. I just know we took two lefts and a right to reach our current location. I hear the front driver's door being opened and shutting before my door is opened. A slight breeze enters the warm car, causing goosebumps to form on my arms and legs. It isn’t necessarily a chilly night, just enough of a temperature change from the car to the outdoor air to seem chilly.

“Get out of the car,” Jeremy commands, and I quickly comply.

I swing my legs towards the sound of his voice scooting my butt as I move so I am sitting sideways with my feet now on what I assume is cement. Hands grip roughly at my upper arms,l and pull me into a standing position.

“We don’t have time to lollygag this time,” he spits out. The grip on my arm increases to a painful point as we start moving.

I keep stumbling as Jeremy drags me along. My much shorter legs make it impossible for me to actually keep up with him. I’m jerked to a complete stop and tumble a bit before I hear the squeak of what sounds like a metal door being opened, and we are once more on the move.  We walk a few feet into the building before we veer off to the left and come to a stop once more. The hand on my arm is removed, then I can feel hands in my hair, and the blindfold is gone. The bright lights burn into my eyes, and I blink rapidly, adjusting them to the onslaught of lights. The handcuffs on my wrist are loosened, and then the metal is gone.

“There are guards everywhere. Don’t be stupid and try to run off,” he says. I nod my head and he crooks his finger for me to follow him.

The building we are in reminds me of an old abandoned warehouse—the type you would see in old cops and robbers movies. I remember my dad watching them when Marie and I were really young, and this is exactly what it looked like. And just like in the movies, illegal things are happening here. My nerves from earlier that seemed to subside a bit in the car, come back at full force at the thought of what is happening here and my stomach twists. Once more I find us stopping outside of a door. Jeremy swings it open and gestures for me to go in. The sight that greets me has me more worried than ever before. Inside the door is a tiny room filled from corner to corner with girls. All standing in straight lines, heads bowed, and hands behind their backs. All are dressed similar to me; many are standing without a robe on. My heart aches at the sight. I get a slight shove from behind and walk the rest of the way in.

“You’re number 12. Come when you are called. Now go to the back,” he states, while pointing to the back of the room to where there is just enough room for me to squeeze in next to a brunette that is even smaller in size than me.

I head to the back. Moving through the bodies without touching anyone is impossible, but I do manage to get into place without hurting anyone. I make sure to position myself as I see the other girls standing, hands behind my back and head bowed. I hear the door open and shut, but don’t dare look up to see if he is really gone or if he was just testing us to see if we would move. I don't want to get punished. The sound of feet shuffling and a soft sound of material scraping against skin are the only two sounds in the room aside from the sound of breathing. I switch from foot to foot as I think over the past...twenty-four hours? Has it really only been a day since my whole life was turned upside down? It seems more like weeks, not just one day.  

I resist the urge to lift my head and roll it back as I feel a kink starting to form at the base of my neck. I’m not sure how long I have been in here, ten minutes maybe, and I am already starting to feel the effects. I had been the last one in here, I acknowledge. There is no telling how long these other girls have been standing in here before I arrived. I hear the sound of the door handle jiggle, followed by the sound of it being opened.

“Number one, you're up. Lose the robe and follow me,” the male voice demands. I hear fabric hitting the ground, followed by the heavier sound of shuffling feet as girl number one makes a slow exit out through the door.

The sound of the door clicking shut echoes throughout the room. This is it. One by one, we would disappear out that door, never to return. That thought has my nerves kicking up a notch, and I sway on my feet. The corner of my vision starts to turn to black—a hand grips my upper arm, shaking me a bit before I can fully be engulfed into blackness.

“Nope. No fainting now,” a soft voice says from beside me. “Number four, in the small cooler that your right foot is resting on is a bottle of water. Grab it and pass it back,” the little brunette next to me says a little louder, but still not above a whisper. I can hear shuffling, and then the water makes its way back. The girl opens the lid and hands it to me. “Drink,” she says, handing me the opened bottle.

I take a long drink of the water and hand the bottle back to her. The girl gives me a small smile before taking the bottle and handing it back up the same way it came to us. I take the time and study the girl next to me. She is younger than I originally thought, and she can’t be any more than thirteen years old. She turns her head, her eyes meeting my own, and I feel my heart break even more. I recognize something in her. The very same, sad eyes, with the same broken look in them, as in mine, are staring back at me. The only difference is the color.

“Someone will be here soon to fetch the next, everyone back into position,” the girl commands quietly. I roll my neck once, then bow my head and place my hands behind my back. I don’t want to get caught disobeying, and I shudder at the thought of what will happen if I am.

It takes less than two minutes for the door to open once more, and the man asks for girl number two. It only takes me a couple of numbers in to figure out that they come at ten minute intervals. As the numbers wind down and get closer and closer to the number twelve, my nerves become more pronounced, and causes my heart to beat faster and louder. I can hear ringing in my ears and am starting to shake harder. I just need to keep it together; I can fall apart later. Wherever and whenever that may be, I can find a spot to fall apart, but for now...for now I just need to stay strong long enough to not get punished. Once number eleven is called out, I start counting and right at 600 seconds the door opens and number twelve is called. My number.

This is it. My destiny is about to be decided.