Cache

Chapter 29 ~ Liberation.

Entering this traffic ring the characters I expected to come across were oily, tattoo-covered old men who have the ability to make my skin crawl with just a glance.

But I've been both surprised and horrified at the reality.

All these devious monsters appear normal, as I wipe my mouth of a faint trickle of blood I glare up at the man that slapped me and feel my insides curl.

The man appears young, too young to be doing this, if I had to guess somewhere around mid-twenties.

The man has dirty blonde hair and light grey eyes, half lidded as though he is high but the spark of awareness in his orbs counteracts my thought.
His hair which is styled in a high sweeping motion with a slight curl, is far from oily.
It may be glistening with hair product but it's not oily in the slightest.

He is wearing a suit just like Rosiks Father, I assume that's how you can tell the rank of a person.

It isn't as grand as their leaders, in fact it seems to be hanging off his wiry body rather than complimenting it.
It's a dark blue and while my eyes take in every detail the man awkwardly brushes off imaginary dirt off his arm.

"Curious thing aren't you." He grunts out and I force myself to wobble back onto my feet again, not wanting to stare up his hairy nostrils any longer.

"Curiosity got the cat killed."
He murmurs and for no reason at all he slaps me once more.

This time I thankfully remain standing but my cheek throbs powerfully and I press my good hand against it tightly.

"That's not how the saying goes."
I murmur but he ignores me and takes a few steps back ready to address the room.

I notice the guards among the room start to shift and squinting through the darkness I manage to make out lengths of rope in their hands, making my spine tingle.

"You lucky individuals are tonight's entertainment. This night's success relies heavily on you lovely people and we expect you to deliver." At least his words show the true oiliness of his character as it drips with false cheer and support.

His grin twitches at the edges as he stares at each of us and it gives him an eerie aura.

"What will happen is in a few hours your potential new owner will enter this room and choose out his new accessory. The best part is that you lovely people don't have to do a single thing except look pretty... And you seem to have that mastered already." He sends a wink my way in particular at the end of his sentence and I shudder as he licks his cracked lips before clapping once, urging the guards into action.

"What happens if we aren't sold?"
The brave girl next to me manages to frantically question as the guards start grabbing girls and tying their hands together behind them.

I notice the guards seemingly appear assigned to certain prisoners as they all neatly approach individuals.

Glancing down the line I find Dana staring around in a daze with her hands still free and I realise that the men in this room must be their transporters.

Thinking quickly I manage to catch my cousins solemn gaze and ensuring she's paying attention I shrug off my sling with a groan and I hold my hands stiffly behind my back.

Catching up quickly Dana mimics my false bonds and taking advantage of the blissful absence of attention we manage to blend in perfectly.

My focus falls back onto the girl beside me once I'm content that Dana is as vigilant as possible.

As the blonde girls transporter approaches her I watch as the girls chest begins to heave a minuscule amount further and a few more strands cover her eyes.