Prologue
Hollie
MY DAY STARTED out as any other day— I got up, had breakfast with my sister Raine, and then headed to class at the local community college. I’m going to school to get my degree in accounting. It’s almost an hour drive from home to school, but I like living at home with my sister.
It’s been just us for so long now, I don’t want to live at the college and experience all the things going on there. If I want to go out, go to a party, have a study group, or anything else, I do it. I don’t need to live on campus to experience all the things I should do there.
Raine and I talk about everything together. She’s not just my sister, she’s my best friend. If I’m going through anything or something happens, she’s the first person I want to talk to. It’s been that way since the loss of our parents and then our grandmother. No one else in our family counts because they all wrote us off when our parents were killed.
Today, I’m running late because I was up late studying for a test in my tax class. I abhor the class and wish I didn’t have to take it, but I do because it’s a requirement for my degree. I keep telling my professor there’s no point in the class because by the time we’re done with the semester, all the rules and regulations we’ve spent countless hours learning will be null and void.
I grab a quick bite to eat with Raine before running out the door to my car. It’s a used car and has definitely seen better days. Raine and I could both use new cars, but we’re holding on tight to our money. The only thing we’ve spent the money we inherited on is my education. Raine put hers on hold so she could be there for me.
Making my way to class, I begin my long day of tax preparation, accounting, and then finally my English class. I have tests in all three classes today and then I’ll get started on my homework for the next time I have class. It’s nice not to have a lesson or added work after taking tests.
I’m walking to my car after my last class of the day and then studying before I go home. A small group of us got together so we could study for our tax class. We’re all struggling a little bit and want to do well in the class, so we get together a few times a week to work on homework and study for tests.
As I’m digging my keys out from my bag, I hear someone walking up behind me. I don’t think anything of it as there’s always someone coming and going from here. Continuing on my way, I finally wrap my fingers around my keys as I’m slammed into from behind.
My head bounces off the side of my car and I’m pressed against the door. The smell of body odor, leather, and smoke invades my senses. Hands grope me and shove me further into the hard metal of my car. Bile fills my mouth as the reality of my situation sinks in. No one I was just studying with has to come out here because they all live on campus.
“Help!” I scream out, beginning to squirm against my captor.
“Shut the fuck up, bitch,” he yells. “You bring anyone out here from your yelling and I’ll gut you right here.”
Instantly, I shut my mouth and begin to fight to free myself from him. Before I can get him to release my body, there’s a screeching of tires from behind me. A bag or something is pulled roughly over my head and I’m shoved into some sort of vehicle. Landing on the hard metal of the floor, I hold in the scream that wants to erupt.
I can hear multiple men talking and laughing along with a whimper from someone else close to me. I’m trying to figure out some way to get out of here, but at least one of the men I’m hearing is in the back with us. And it’s not like I can see if there’s a handle on the door back here.
Terror begins to fill me as I realize there’s no way out of this mess I find myself in. I’m not sure why I’ve been taken, who has me, or why they want me. Am I going to be sold to someone else? Will I be raped? What is going to happen to me and any other woman these men have?
Questions run through my mind as I continue to think of how I can get out. If there’s a way, I’ll be making an escape as soon as humanly possible. Then Raine comes to my mind. She’s going to be so scared. I know my sister— she’ll never give up searching for me.
A new level of fear fills me as I realize Raine could find herself right next to me. She’s stubborn and I know she’ll never stop looking until she finds me. Even if it’s just my body. If these men see her, they’ll take her too. The first tears slip from my eyes. I want to scream, yell, hit, and lash out in any way possible to get these men to drop me off somewhere.
I’m not sure how long we’ve been riding in the back of this vehicle when we come to a stop. I can hear a door being rolled up and then we’re moving again. Whatever was placed on my head is ripped off and I blink my eyes several times to take in my surroundings.
We’re in a warehouse of some sort. As the side door of the van opens, I see several dog cages lining a large area. There’s already women and girls in the cages. I almost vomit with the sight of them. They’re dirty, greasy, skin and bones, and all filled with defeat as they look at me. Each woman or young girl is naked and collars circle their necks. Dog bowls line the floor in front of the cages with water and something I think is supposed to resemble food. This is revolting!
Two other women are thrown from the van with me. We’re stripped down to nothing and collars are latched around our necks like the others. I’m so afraid, I can’t even fight back or scream out as the men stare, run their hands over our bodies, and talk amongst themselves about what they’re going to do to ‘break us in’.
The two women standing with me are shaking as bad as I am. Their eyes dart around the room, looking for a way to escape. There isn’t one. Along with the men standing right next to us, there are men placed strategically throughout the warehouse. If there’s a door or window, a man is there. Two men are walking up and down a metal walkway above us. Every single man is carrying a gun and keeps it at the ready. If one of us try to escape, we’ll be shot immediately.
Another man appears before us. He looks each of us over several times before grabbing onto my arm. Dragging me from the room, I’m led into a smaller room to the side. There’s a table in the middle with restraints placed at the ends of it. One wall holds all sorts of different apparatuses used in torture. Blood stains the floor as I look down while walking forward. This is definitely not going to end well.
I’m shoved to the table and immediately strapped down. Before I can blink, a needle is jabbed into my neck. I’m not sure what’s being injected into my body, but it makes it impossible to move or open my mouth to scream. My world begins to fade away as the man who dragged me in here begins to undress.
After that, each and every single day bleeds into one another. I’m not sure how long I’ve been here or what all’s been done to me. I’m covered in cuts, bruises, blood, and other fluids I don’t want to think about. Something is injected into me daily. I don’t speak to anyone else. When I’m in the cage, my thoughts are of two things— Raine and dying.
I want her to live a long and happy life filled with her dreams coming true, a man who loves her more than anything else in the world, kids she dotes on, and the life she was meant to live.
Even if I manage to get out of this shithole, I’ll never be the same girl I was. I’ve been beaten, tortured, raped, filled with drugs, and who knows what else. I’m broken beyond belief and I don’t know how I’ll ever come back from this nightmare. With help from professionals, I may live a life, but I won’t be carefree and feisty like I once was. Before this nightmare began.