6. Six

Joey

Shutting my eyes only heightens the sound of crying and if I cover my ears the metallic stench mixed with bile grows stronger. It doesn"t matter what I do, there"s no escaping this nightmare. Not even in my own head. The longer I"m in this van, the more I can feel my walls closing in.

There are no back windows, no evidence around to clue me in to where we are or where we"re going. The man up front starts talking again about an upcoming auction, speaking of merchandise. I already know what type of product is wanted in those high dollar auctions and usually a man like me doesn"t meet those qualifications. I may not look my age, but I"m clearly nowhere near the age of the men around me, or at least I hope they are all men.

I am not naive or ignorant enough to not know what this type of sick clientele is after. The van comes to a halt and the others go silent as if they are suddenly in mourning. In a way we kind of are. We are all leaving behind a life we once knew and saying goodbye to everything we were before.

The door slowly slides open and light enters the dark vehicle, blinding my eyes that are not adjusting well. I don"t know how long we"ve been travelling for, but it couldn"t have been more than a day. The van had made only a few stops. During those times I'd debated on banging on the van doors in case there was anyone nearby to hear me. Then I thought about the others. Would they suffer from my mistakes? I couldn"t live with the leftover guilt if they did. I had to have a better plan.

"Out," one man yells and I"m too busy shielding my eyes to know if it"s the same man from before. After a while they all start to sound the same. "Come on, princess," the same man says mockingly. "You may have had men bending backward for you before, but here you are at the bottom of the food chain."

The back doors open, and four men are dragging the others out, forcing them in a single line, tying their ropes together. "Go on and join the rest of your friends."

"If you were smart, you would let me go. Release me and the others, and no harm will come to you."

He laughs with his hand resting over his bulging stomach, his lousy attempt in trying to keep it from shaking too much. "That"s cute, really cute." His hand slaps hard across my face. "Now get out, before I drag you out."

"Fuck you," I spit. "I bet you"re nothing but your boss"s little bitch boy. As soon as he says when, you are kneeling, begging to suck his cock."

Smack. The harsh sting covers my whole face this time, causing my teeth to chatter. "You talk way too much for my liking." He turns around, signaling a man nearby. "Nathaniel, find something to shove in this fucker"s mouth to keep him quiet or else I may have to find another way to occupy that mouth of his. You know the boss hates when we play at work."

Nathaniel laughs. "Lucky for you, I keep a box of supplies up front just for this reason." He walks to the front of the van and comes out with something in his hand. "Open wide, princess."

I shake my head, squeezing my lips shut when my eyes land on the ball gag. His brows furrow and his chest rapidly moves up and down. "I guess I need to force it open then."

Before he can put his dirty hands on me, I open my mouth willingly, earning me a smile. "That"s a good boy. If only you followed directions the first time, then things could have moved a lot smoother." He shoves the ball in my mouth, tying the gag at the back of my head. "Try running that mouth of yours now," the man with the scar on his face says from behind me and Nathaniel laughs. He pushes me forward. "Get in line with the others."

I stand behind a boy who looks no older than sixteen, holding his hands forward and trembling with piss dripping down his leg. My stomach knots at the horror unfolding in front of me as the man with the scar ties me to the rest of the captives. "You in the front, that man holding up the gun is Nathaniel, and he will be the man you follow. If you get out of line at any time, he will shoot you dead where you stand, and your friends here will have to drag your corpse with them."

Nathaniel moves forward and the line follows closely behind him. I have to nudge the boy in front of me in order for him to speed up. I don"t need him falling and taking us all down with him. I wish I could talk and offer him reassuring words, promising him it will be okay soon, even if it may be a lie.

Entering a large house, we walk through an empty foyer surrounded by two sets of stairs and our steps echo throughout the house as we continue to follow the man who doesn"t deserve to have his name to be even a thought in my mind.

"Take everyone downstairs, except for the new one," another man says from the top of the stairs. "The boss wants to give him a proper introduction."

"Come on, princess." The man with the scar separates me from the rest of the line, dragging me toward the stairs. "Let"s go meet the boss man." He guides me down a long hallway to an open room. He shoves me through the door, untying the gag and letting it drop to the floor. "Remember you will only speak when spoken to or the gag will go right back in. Now get on your knees, boy."

I hesitate at first before dropping to the ground, not wanting to look into the eyes of the man fastly approaching me. "My oh my, what have we here, you are a pretty thing, aren"t you?" His voice comes out as smooth as silk and something about it shakes me to my core.

He grabs my face, forcing my eyes to meet his. "A little on the older side, but pretty, nonetheless. You are also nice and strong and won"t break too easily. It"s good to have something a little broken in every now and again."

"Who are you and what is this place?"

"I"m Ivan, but you will be called whatever the hell I want to call you and this place is your temporary home. You will obey all the rules or life will be very hard for you."

"Fuck your rules, and fuck this place," I spit.

He tsks, shaking his head. "I was warned about you having a little fight left. I can"t wait to see how long it takes to dim that raging fire. I do enjoy a good challenge."

His rough fingers slide down my cheek, wrapping around my neck. "But do you know with challenges comes consequences." He tosses me so hard my back slams against the marble floor. "Put him with the others for now, and if he steps out of line again, bring him to me."

"Yes, sir," the guy with the scar on his face says. Ivan storms out of the room, not closing the door behind him or giving me a second glance.

"Stand up, you stupid whore."

I clench my teeth to keep the words on my mind from slipping out. What I have planned for this guy will have to wait until I get my hands free.

I get to my feet and continue to become familiar with my surroundings, counting the number of guards in the hallway as the man shoves me through it. "Move faster. I don"t have all night and you"ve already wasted too much of my time as it is."

I increase my speed, my feet aching with each step I take. He guides me through a middle door down the steps of what appears to be leading to a basement. The closer we get to the bottom, the stronger the horrible stench grow and that"s when I notice the sounds of cries and loud groans. We don"t make it past the first step before he shoves me forward and my body hits the ground.

"Try not to get any bright ideas or I will chain you to the ceiling upside down until all the blood rushes to your head." He kicks at my legs with the heel of his boot. "Now get to that back wall and don"t move until that door shuts behind me." He pulls out a gun, pointing it to my temple. "Or it will be the last move you make, got it?"

"Yes, sir." The words burn my throat as I force them out.

"Good. Any more of your ridiculous questions before I go?"

"Yes, how"d you get that scar on your face?"

He smiles wickedly. "Maybe someday I"ll have the chance to show you."

"Or maybe I"ll have you show me on yourself, making your right side match your left."

He throws his head back laughing on his way up the stairs. No one here takes me seriously and they find my threats harmless which means they won"t see it coming when I slit their throats and bleed them dry. Good.