My headache wakes me up, and a sick feeling comes to my stomach. I can't tell if it's because I'm hungry or because I've been drugged.
I'm lying on a concrete floor, and my back hurts immensely. I sit up and examine my surroundings. I'm in a cell about the size of a bathroom. There are four concrete walls, and a large door on one of them. There's a tiny window on the wall across from the door; it's big enough to fit both arms but that's it.
It smells like murky water in here, it's cold and dirty. The floors are full of dust and dirt, the door looks like a vault.
Panic fills my body like a flowing river. I push myself onto my feet and instantly tip over onto my hip, which slams against the ground.
"Fuck." I mumble, trying to hold myself up, but I'm too weak. I can't even stand up.
My breaths are tremulous and unsteady. There's no way out of here, and I'm going to be stuck on earth forever as a ghost. This is it. I'm never ever going to see Nick or Brooke or Tanner or Jack ever again. I will have to mourn my troubles as a ghost and do whatever ghosts do on earth.
I bet Colton could escape, though. But how? What would he do? He would find a way to pick at the lock on the handle, but I don't know how to do that. I'm not prepared like he is. I don't even know if he's still alive-- or dead-- I don't know.
What is he doing right at this moment? If he wanted to, he could just go to the Underworld himself and look for Nick. He probably doesn't want me dragging him back anyway, I would just be an inconvenience for him down there.
That means that I have to get out of this mess by myself, I can't rely on him to come and help me, he doesn't even know where I am. I don't know if I'm about to be tortured or even killed.
I have better chances of not being murdered since Colton said that these men are human traffickers, but that also means that I would be transported anywhere in the world where I could be used as an object to anyone who wanted to buy me.
I crawl towards the door, my arms giving out on me every few seconds. The door has a standard handle, and it's locked from the outside with a key. There's a key hole on my side that I can potentially get through if I had an object to pick it with.
I scan the floors, looking around at the dirt that infested the ground, but there's nothing in sight that can fit into a keyhole.
I'm finished. I can't do anything now, there's no way I'm saving myself unless I find something to pick a lock. That happening has the same odds as Colton miraculously coming to save me.
I have seen so many documentaries about sex trafficking, yet I never thought I would be a victim of it. I know that the chances of escaping are almost zero. The women that actually do escape have to wait years before they are able to. I can't afford to waste a few days, or else I wouldn't be able to save Nick or myself. And I don't doubt that Colton would leave me here and save himself.
But I don't want Colton to come for me, I want him to go get Nick. I made him come on this mission and he better accomplish that over saving me. If I have to be a ghost on Earth if it meant Nick wouldn't have to lurk in the Underworld, then so be it. It won't be so bad here for eternity, will it?
I hear footsteps from outside. I crawl back as far away from the door as possible, pressing my body against the back wall.
"How many do you have here?" A man asks. His voice is deep and hoarse. He has a thick accent, like the bald man I encountered last night.
"Only one, the rest have been sold elsewhere." Another man with a high pitched voice replies. His voice is familiar, he has an American accent. That explains why they can speak English.
"Do you think she'll sell? Or should we just dump her?"
***Dump her. Dump her. Dump her. I think to myself.
"No, she'll sell good, her price will be higher because she's young."
***Shit. Shit. Shit.
"Is she awake yet?"
"No." The deep voiced man answers, "I don't think so. I'll make sure..." his voice becomes too quiet to hear and I sit as quietly as possible in my cell waiting for something to happen, hoping nothing will happen.
I know I've been unconscious throughout the whole night because of the sunlight that's now shining through my tiny window. It barely lights up anything, just a small portion of the room.
The sound of someone fumbling with their keys fills the room and I watch the door handle turn downward. The bald man enters the room and tosses a loaf of bread and a bowl of water onto the ground.
I lift my eyes up to his face, hoping he would just leave.
"Eat up. This is the only meal you'll be getting." He commands.
"Make me." I retort looking at his plump figure. I have to at least pretend I'm not scared, just to throw him off.
"I could kill you right this second, lady. Shut the fuck up and eat." He hisses through clenched teeth.
"But you won't, because then you won't get any money from me. You won't torture me because I'd lose value." I say, but he ignores me and slams the door shut.
A lesson I learned from my parents was to act completely calm if you were to be kidnapped because it'll throw them off guard and will be less likely to hurt you. That's my goal, I have to be as strong as possible in order to get out of this place.
I pick up the dirty piece of bread from the unsanitary ground and place it into my quivering mouth. It's stale and a bit hard, but at least it would satisfy my hunger for a little while.
The water looks dirty, it has hints of brown in it. But I wouldn't expect anything better. It appears very undrinkable because it's in a clay bowl and is tinted brown, but if I'm going to die, it isn't going to be from dehydration or hunger.
Wait.
I could die here. If I die, I lose everything. If I die here I would be reincarnated as a new person or animal or whatever, and I would forget Nick, forget Brooke, forget Colton... everything that I have done for the past week would be worthless. I have to stay alive, not for myself but for Colton and Nick.
I chug half of the bowl, trying my hardest to ignore the bitter taste. It's warm, which makes it worse. I'm going to save the rest for a later time just in case I'm thirsty again.
The waiting is worse than anything I've experienced, it feels like hours since I ate the bread and the sun is still shining. Being trapped in my thoughts has only made me worry more about Colton. I'm really worried about him.
Without him, I can't get into the Underworld and I can't get back up to the Afterworld. He has the emeralds after all.
I have considered breaking the clay bowl and using the shards to attempt picking the lock, but breaking it into that small of a piece would be impossible.
I can't dig my way out of here, everything is concrete. I can't escape through the tiny window, and I especially can't try to get through the bald man, he's at least a foot taller than me and has way more muscle.
Besides, I don't even know what is outside the door, I don't know my way out. This place is probably heavily guarded with people that I have no chance getting through.
Maybe if I sleep on it, I could come up with an idea on how to escape, maybe I would dream about it or something.
Just as I lie down, I see the empty ceramic bowl in the corner
***
Oh, I have a plan alright. I'm pretty sure this will work, I just have to pick the right piece.
I'm debating between two, one of them is longer but the other is sharper.
The sharper one has to be the best choice, it will give me the best odds of injuring my attacker.
The bowl is broken perfectly into a dozen pieces, two of them happen to be sharp enough to impale that man, whenever he is to come into the cell.
Maybe I can bring both of them, just in case I need another one.
For the past few minutes, a few men have been walking back and forth outside my door, and I hope that means he will come inside where I can hurt him, and get through the door. I have no plan after that, but this is all I need. Hopefully.
I hear his voice. My body perks up and I grab the two shards of clay, one in each hand. I push the scraps of the bowl into a pile in the corner, hopefully he won't notice.
The keys jingle and the lock turns. This is my one chance to get out of here. I can't mess up. I have to be brave.
*Be brave.
I stand onto my feet gripping the weapons with great force. I'm scared, I'm not hesitant to admit that. However, I have to mask that at this moment. Any doubt I have would prevent me from my plan working out perfectly.
The door swings open and I plaster an innocent expression on my face.
"Here's some water." He places a bowl onto the ground. I walk slowly towards him while his body is halfway inside of the room.
"Thanks." I reply.
My movements are swift and smooth. I bring the shard from behind my back and aim it right at his stomach. I wince right before it collides with his body.
His groans and shrieks echoe against the walls, which is essentially a siren for whoever roamed this place.
I step over his body and push myself out the door. There's a long hallway of doors, I don't know which way to go. To my left is a corner, so I follow my gut and go to the left.
Around the corner is a wide room filled with people. My breathing is heavy. My body is shaking with exhaustion.
That was the wrong move.
They're already walking towards me, probably from the man's cries. I almost run into them, but dart in the other direction.
A hand pushes my back, causing me to leap forward and the ground comes up and slaps against my shoulder.
The men begin shouting words I can't understand, and it's too late to attempt to run away again but I stumble to my feet anyway. They kick my hips and my back. I fall back to the ground and curl up into the ball, groaning each time they beat me.
Someone grabs my hand and a rope rubs against my wrist, burning them instantly. I howl at the pain, then I'm pushed forward and walked into a different cell.
The men shut the door behind me and my hands are still tied behind my back. That just made things a whole lot more complicated.