Chapter 6
Bonds
Roni
I really don’t know how much time has passed since I was taken. However, I have been counting the days since I’ve woken. Two months, that’s how much time has gone by give or take.
I’ve learned a lot since then, although I still can’t remember much about before I arrived. I’ve tried. I’ve tried very hard.
“They are coming to take more girls away today,” Natasha says in Spanish as she walks by my cot.
I nod my head slightly. I’ve watched plenty of girls come and go. Among a few of the other girls, Natasha and I have remained for a few different reasons.
“What did she say?”
Raven, the girl on the cot next to me asks. She’s new. She’s only been here for a few days or so.
I take in the dark circles under her worried eyes. Her right eye is black, marring her gorgeous brown skin. She looks like she could be Gabrielle Union’s little sister.
That’s one of the first things I’ve learned. If you are defiant, they won’t hesitate to put you in your place. Those who are rebellious also seem to have it rougher and remain longer. It’s as if they want to break us before taking us wherever the others go.
“They will be moving more girls soon,” I murmur low.
Her eyes grow panicked. She draws her legs into her chest and starts to rock. I know that look. I’ve seen it so many times before.
I lean in and catch her eyes. I give a slow shake of my head to warn her not to freak out. They hate that and the beatings are more severe for it.
“You’re safe for now. You’re in this room which means you’re valuable to them,” I whisper.
I’ve also realized there’s a difference between the holding cells. Thin walls separate us into small groups. They don’t like us to talk to each other, but I’ve figured out that the cells hold different individuals for different reasons.
I’ve watched through the glass panel of our room as they’ve ushered the young boys to and from the room next door. Natasha has told me about the others. Apparently, we are broken down by race, sex, age, and virginity.
I look around at all the brown faces in this room. Anger is the only emotion I can find as the thought of our future makes me sick. We mean nothing to these people.
“Each of us has a price,” I say to Raven.
“I’ve seen the girls in the other rooms,” she whispers. “I don’t want to be like them. Those men stand in line—”
Her last words are choked off by her emotions. I’ve only been out of this room a few times. They made me shower and dress up before they forced me to take pictures, some of them were nude.
“I don’t think your fate will be anything like theirs.”
It won’t be. The girls in this room are different. I believe I understand why I’m here, although I seem older than most of the girls they bring here. Something about knowing I’m a virgin feels right. Not that I remember much.
I think the drugs they pump in us have kept me from remembering. The dried blood on my head when I finally was able to sit up and stay awake was also an indication.
That seems like forever ago. The one thing I know for sure is they’re saving me for something. Although not everyone stays, Natasha and a couple of other girls have been here for as long as I have.
I don’t know why or what they are waiting for, but I know it’s something big. Yes, a few of us are defiant. We fight back when they come to take check-in, and they want to get rough.
However, I know it’s not our fight that makes us special. It’s something different with us. From what Natasha has overheard, we believe there is a buyer that has reserved us or an auction that we are being held specifically for.
I can’t help but hope that Raven has made that list and they won’t take her out sooner. I have to believe she’s like Natasha and myself. She’ll be around long enough for us to find a way to escape. I don’t know what it is about her, but she has grown on me in the short time she’s been here. Sort of like Natasha has.
“How do you know so much? I’ve never heard them speak English, not much anyway,” Raven asks, breaking into my thoughts.
I chew on my lip, what seems like old instincts kick in. Never show your hand to everyone. I don’t want Natasha to be placed in danger by the jealousy or desperation of any of the others.
Of all the girls here, Natasha is the most unique and valuable to the guys that are keeping us. From what she has told me, they aren’t sure whether she should be auctioned off. Which I can totally understand.
Natasha and I stick together. We share our stale food, especially when they want to punish one of us to go without. She watches my back and tells me what the guards are plotting.
“I speak many languages,” Natasha answers for me. “I can understand everything they say.”
“Like them,” Raven nods toward the girls in the back of the room.
They are the Black Russian girls. A few are ARMY brats, others from villages throughout the country. They tend to stay away from me and Natasha.
I think they believe they’re better than us. As if the fact that they’re Russian will get them out of this somehow.
Natasha gives a slight shake of her head. “No, they’re all native Russians. A few speak English as well since they’re parents are US military.”
“Oh.”
“They use me to translate sometimes, Spanish, Portuguese, and Mandarin. I’ve been thinking, I believe that’s why they took me. My family used mostly Mandarin while on our vacation. I’m thinking they scout their targets.”
“Oh,” Raven says and nods. “That’s why they brought you in when we first arrived, and the Chinese girl was freaking out.”
Natasha nods and takes a seat on my cot. We all look around out of habit to see if we’re being watched. I pick up the brush from the little makeshift table they provided and hand it to Natasha.
“This is the one thing they allow us. If we need to talk, we have to be careful. I brush her hair, but we hide the fact that we’re talking.”
“Okay,” Raven whispers.
She picks up the brush from her table and comes to sit behind Natasha to join us. While Natasha releases my two braids to brush my hair, Raven nervously does the same to Natasha’s.
“How did they get you?” Natasha whispers.
I know she’s talking to Raven because we both know I can’t remember a thing. Raven is so silent; I don’t think she’s going to answer at first. However, she begins so quietly, I have to strain to hear her.
“I was on vacation with my family. Our room at the resort got messed up or something. A man offered us his villa that he and his wife would no longer be using.
“My father agreed since we had no place else to stay. It was in the middle of the night on the second night. Men came in and snatched me from my sleep.” Raven starts to sniffle.
“The next thing I knew, I was here. I haven’t seen my family since. I don’t know if they’re okay or…” She trails off. I know how that ends.
At least she knows she could have a family out there looking for her. I get the feeling I may not. That fact keeps me up at night. It’s up to me to figure out a way out of here. No one’s coming to my rescue.