by Rae B. Lake
“ Marcel, pull the lead,” Lou said.
Suddenly I felt my arms being raised over my head, and whatever had been attached to my binds was pulling me up.
“Oh, look! There he is!” Marcel said as my body slowly lifted out of the water and into their view.
“Pull me out of here, you fucking bastard!” I yelled.
“No way! We still have to check our experiment!” Lou screamed back, “Let him go.” The taut line on my arms went slack, and I fell back down to the deep abyss.
I kept my legs moving and did everything I could to make sure my head stayed above water. I looked over the hull of the ship to see if there was something I could use to pull myself up, but it was nothing but smooth metal. The more I pulled on the metal rope tied to my wrists; the more line fell in the water. I didn’t want to risk pulling all of it down. I could feel my breath coming fast and the tears mixing with the burning saltwater streaming down my face. Everything stopped, though when something large and smooth bumped against my leg.
I looked down but couldn’t really see anything besides the dark water. I wiped my eyes the best I could and looked again. Maybe it was the rope? This time when I squinted and focused on the water below me, I clearly saw a large-bodied fish with a huge telltale dorsal fin.
Sharks!
Fuck! I moved away from the monster beneath me and screamed for them to lift me back up. “Please, there are fucking sharks. Lift me back up! Please!” I pulled on the rope again, hoping it would go taut, and I’d be able to lift myself out of danger. “Oh, god, please! I don’t want to die like this!” I yelled and could hear nothing but them cackling above me. I looked back down and could no longer see the shark circling me. I was now further out from the ship and could see Lou and his boys at the edge of the deck watching me with murderous joy on their faces.
“Oh shit, look there it is!” One of them jumped up and pointed. I turned in that direction and could see the large fin about five meters in front of me. I had nothing to protect myself with, all I could do was hope I’d be able to dodge the beast or that it would realize I wasn’t a part of its recommended diet.
I kept my eyes on that fin until suddenly it disappeared. I frantically searched below me. “Shit! Shit!” I mumbled to myself as I spun in a tight circle, trying to find the shark. It was the teeth that first caught my attention. I screamed and kicked with everything I had to get out of its way.
“Now!” The men screamed from above me, and abruptly the line on my arms went taut, and I was yanked out of the water just as the shark lept and tried to take a chunk out of my legs. I had to raise my knees to my chest, or I’d be half a man.
The shark fell back into the water and began to swim away, just as it did the rope on my arms went slack again, and I fell back into the water.
“Punch it in the nose!” Lou screamed as he fell to his knees in a fit of laughter.
“You heartless bastards! Bring me up!” I screamed, my throat raw from the crying and saltwater.
My body sank in the water for a brief second, and what I saw below was truly a scene from one of my worst fucking nightmares. Now there wasn’t just one shark; there were what seemed like a whole fucking school of sharks. I counted at least three before I bounced back to the surface. I held onto the rope and just cried, the screams from mere seconds ago turned into bitch like whimpers and pleas.
“Bring me back up,” I whispered, sure they couldn’t hear me.
I could feel the rush of the water to the side of me, but there was nowhere for me to go. I just held on, closed my eyes, and waited to be ripped apart by these apex predators.
The line on my arms went taut again, just as two of the three sharks swam to where I was only seconds ago. I waited for them to drop me down again, but instead, they lifted me back to the ship. They were laughing as if they’d just witnessed the funniest thing in the world while I laid on the deck, my body almost paralyzed in fear.
“Oh, you fucking pussy, we should have let the fucking sharks have you.” Lou kicked me hard in the side. Laughter still in his voice.
I didn’t move; just let my body absorb the blow.
“He’s no fun. Let’s give him back to the sharks.” The other man said as he used his foot to flip me over.
“Nah, Mr. Harrington will be upset if we kill him before he can show Ms. Ruby what he got for her.” He sighed and walked away, “Get him and lock him up back downstairs.” I passed out before they could even lift me off the deck.
Chapter 3
“When you get in there, you will show respect to Mrs. Giles, or I will chop your head off and let my dogs loose on that little girl, do you understand me?” Harrington Giles snarled into my ear as he pushed me forward, so I’d keep on walking.
After the shark incident, we were on that ship for another week. At least it felt like a week. When we finally did dock, I knew we weren’t in America anymore. The air smelled different, the people were more Mediterranean looking, and the houses were all bright colors. Even the dirt looked different. It was then I finally got to meet face to face with Harrington Giles, the man who’d bargained with the remaining Vilanuevas brothers for Angel and I. The men on the ship had no use for Angel, but they soon learned I was very protective of the child. Threats against her made an excellent incentive for me to go along with whatever fucked up plans they had for me, instead of fighting like I usually would have done.
Angel was their leverage against me.
I nodded and waited for the man to walk ahead of me, and into the room he was directing me to. I could smell the sweet scent of incense burning before I’d entered the room; the smoke stung my eyes for a brief second.
“My love, I have a gift for you,” Harrington said as he left my side and slithered over to where his wife was relaxing on an extravagant chaise lounge that looked out to a balcony. She looked in my direction and rolled her eyes.
“Harrington, I don’t want to play tonight. You’re late. You told me you would be home three days ago.”
“I know my sweet, but there was a problem with one of our last shipments in America.” He caressed her hair softly as she looked up to him, the love and adoration clear on her face.
“Oh? Anything to be concerned about?”
“No, nothing on our part. But the little hiccup did bear some unexpected fruit.” He looked back at me.
She stood up and began to walk toward me. “Who is this?”
He grabbed her by her shoulders and turned her back to him, “I know there’s nothing I can say to bring back your brother,” the woman’s face dropped in sadness, and her knees buckled slightly, “but maybe he could ease your suffering if only a little.”
She turned her face back toward me, rage and crazy all mixed together. “Who is this, did he kill Monte?”
“I don’t think it was him, but he is a patched member of the Wings of Diablo. We could kill him, send him back to his family piece by piece, anything you want. He’s all yours.”
The woman walked out of her husband's embrace and made her way to where I was standing. “No, I don’t think I will kill him at all.” She wrapped her arms around my neck as she studied my face.
The woman was beautiful, her long light brown hair had a deep wave to it, and it looked like it was soft to the touch, her lips were plump and stained pink, her eyes were a light brown and almost the same color as her hair, even her skin looked almost flawless. But there was one feature I just couldn’t stop staring at. There was a hideously angry-looking scar that ran from just above her collarbone, around the right side of her neck and up to her right cheek. It drew the attention away from anything else she might have offered in the looks department.
She must have seen me looking because she turned her head to show it off, a slight smile on her face. “They tried to cut my head off, but you can’t kill what’s already dead.” She turned her face back to me and reached up to softly kiss my lips. I tried to pull away and look up to where Harrington was still standing, watching his wife tr
y to shove her tongue down my throat, but he did nothing. I didn’t want to push her in fear he would retaliate, but I was at a complete loss of what to do, so I just stood there, still. She kissed me passionately, utterly unbothered by the fact I was not reciprocating. She tore at my shirt and pressed her hands on my chest.
“Ruby? I thought you said you didn’t want to play.” Harrington said behind her, a twinge of annoyance in his tone.
She dug her fingernails into my skin, deep and pulled them down.
“Ah, you bitch!” I pushed her away now on instinct. I brought my hands up to my chest, and sure enough, there were several long scratches with blood beading on my skin. She made her way back into my space and pressed the pad of her finger to one of my wounds, gathering up a small smear of blood. I watched in disbelief as she used that same finger and swiped my blood across her lips, massaging it in like lipstick.
“So many plans.” She whispered just loud enough for me to hear.
“You’re fucking crazy.”
I didn’t even see Harrington move, but my head went flying back into the door from the slap he delivered across my face. “You will respect my wife, you maggot. It’s only to make her happy I don’t have you filleted and burned to a crisp.”
I looked down, the anger rising in my body, but there was nothing I could do. I was stuck. I had to hold out a little longer. I had to be alive when my brothers came for Angel and me.
***
Angel and I shared a small cell, two small pallet mattresses, a toilet and sink, and nothing else. At first, I was happy to be left alone in the cell with Angel. We told each other stories, played silly games, shared wishes and dreams, but then a day turned into a week, and the week turned into a month. Sometimes they forgot to feed us, and other times it was so cold I was sure one of us would die of hypothermia before the warm sun could break over the horizon.
The only time I was ever out of the room was when Ruby wanted to play. She was a sadist, through and through. Her batshit crazy husband made sure she had everything she could ever desire. The trafficking business was good, and seemingly they were the very best and could ask a big price tag. Yet nothing he ever brought her seemed to light her eyes the same way hearing someone scream in pain did.
“Inkpop, you think they will let me outside today?”
I sighed and let my head hit the wall behind me, keeping my eyes closed. Who knew a fucking six year old could ask so many fucking questions, “I don’t know Angel. I don’t think so.”
“I’m so bored.”
“Practice your handstands.”
“No.” She grumbled.
“Make up a story.”
She let out a loud sigh, “I don’t have anymore. Can’t we just ask them to let us outside for a little while?”
“Look, Angel, they’re not going to let us outside! That’s that! Now for fuck's sake, just drop it!” I screamed at her, and she jumped startled by my outburst. Her lower lip trembled before she turned around on her pallet and laid down. No doubt she was over there crying. I had been becoming short-tempered with the little girl. I didn’t blame her though I was going just as crazy as she was. I hobbled over to where she was laying down. The last party Ruby invited me to must have torn something in my knee because since then, I’d not been able to walk on it without pain shooting through my body. I knelt behind Angel and pulled her into my embrace, the stubborn girl going stiff in my arms. Her form of rebellion.
“Hey, I’m sorry, I yelled. I know you want to go out, and I do too, but there’s nothing I can do to get us outside, and it makes me feel bad, do you understand?” I said, my voice as calm as I could make it.
She turned her head to look at me. “Why are you so mean, Inkpop?”
The silly nickname she had chosen for me, making me smile. “I’m sorry, Angel, I may get angry but never at you, just the situation.” I rubbed her dirty, curly hair, pushing it out of her face.
“Okay, I understand.” She smiled and turned around to give me a big hug. I hugged her back and had to stop myself from getting more upset. She was nothing but skin and bones. I could feel each of her ribs, and her collarbones had already begun protruding sickly through the thin covering of skin. We wouldn’t survive much longer like this.
The latch to the door unlocked, and two armed men stood there.
“Dumbass, Mrs. Giles wants you.”
I turned my head to the guards and glared at them, “What for?”
One of them chuckled before walking further into the room, “What do you think?” He grabbed me by the arm and tore me away from Angel.
“No, leave him alone.” Angel jumped up from the bed, and I could see she was getting ready to swing at the man dragging me away.
“It’s okay little one; we will bring him back.” The second guard stepped in and diverted her attention. Angel stormed back over to the pallet before she fell down and started to cry.
I looked over to the guard who’d stopped Angel from making a huge mistake and could see he was upset. Although he was one of our guards, he wasn’t as cruel as the rest. I knew he wouldn’t set us free, but maybe I could get him to help Angel, he seemed to have a soft spot for her.
He grabbed me by my other arm, and they toted me to Ruby Giles party room. I heard the screams long before I made it to the room.
“She’s in rare form tonight.” The asshole guard confessed.
I chanced a glance over to the other guard, and he did nothing but look away. I took in a deep breath and tried to set my resolve for what was to come. My dignity was long gone when it came to surviving Ruby, crying, pleading, begging, passing out, even defecating did nothing to deter her, and in the short time I’d been her captive, I had done it all.
The doors opened, and the first thing I could see was a woman hanging from the ceiling, hooks going through her arms and legs to keep her suspended. Ruby grabbed the chain connected to the woman and used it to spin her around.
“Ahh! Please!” The woman screamed as the hooks pulled tighter into her body, and a shower of blood fell from her. Ruby danced around in it, skipping happily and jumping in the small puddles of blood that were raining from the ceiling.
“Oh, if it isn’t Nico. I’ve been waiting for you to come.” She said, using my given name. I walked further in the room, taking in the state of everything around me. There were several other women and men, none of which looked like they were in too bad a shape. “I have been entertaining a few of my guests. We have a show we want to put on, but we need an audience. Would you be so kind?” She gestured to a free chair. The guards brought it over to the middle of the room and had me sit down before they chained my arms and feet down so that I wouldn’t be able to move.
I just sat there waiting for the crazy to start. The men and women in the room completely engaged in each other. None of them paying me any mind, or the woman who’d just bled to death hanging above them.
“Nico, do you like to fuck?” Ruby Giles voice rang out above the commotion in the room, and everyone seemed to get a little quiet waiting for my response. I gave them nothing.
Ruby picked up a small glass decorative ball and hurled it directly at my face, I tried to move, but it caught me right on the corner of my eye, splitting the thin skin open. She walked over to me quickly and pulled my head back using nothing but my hair. “I asked you a simple question you brute. Would you embarrass me in front of my friends?” She pulled my head back much further than it should have been able to go, and since I was chained down, the force was enough to make it feel like my scalp was being ripped from my head.
I screamed, “Yes, Ma’am.”
She let my head go and proceeded to sit on my lap as a lover would. “What was that?”
“Yes, Mrs. Giles, I like to fuck,” I said loud enough for everyone to hear. That was what she wanted. The show.
“Hmm,” she got up and walked back over to where her friends were, “Tell me, when was the last time you had some pussy? You do like pussy, don’t you, Nico?”
“Yes, I like women.” I thought back to what seemed like ages ago, Vida riding my cock, her head thrown back as she called my name to the sky. “It’s been a long while since I’ve been with one.”
“Oh, I know, and that’s so sad.” She snapped her fingers, and the women in the room started to walk toward me, stripping out of their clothing. There were older women, young women, tall women, short women, all of them coming straight at me. As much as I tried to hold my composure, it had been too long, and my body reacted on its own.
“Yes, this is why I like them young, always ready to party.” One of the older women said as she came around to the side and began to rub on my dick through my pants.
“What are you doing?” I asked, looking over to Ruby. I had no idea what she had planned for me, but so far, it wasn’t the worst. She didn’t answer me, just glared at me, the crazed look in her eyes.
The women pawed at me, some of them grabbing onto my dick hard while others only licked up my chest and neck. I was in a whirlwind of sensations.
“Move out of my way.” Ruby had moved from where she was observing and was coming at me with a knife. I flinched back, worried that she was going to kill me, but instead, she used it to cut my pants off of me, putting my hard cock in full display of the ladies.
“Nico, do you like to watch?” Ruby whispered as she used the tip of the knife to poke at my chest, not breaking the skin but only barely.
“Yes, I like to watch,” I replied quickly.
“Good! Let’s start the show, shall we?” As if on cue, the men all moved forward and grabbed onto to one of the many women who were around me, some of them being pushed down to the floor to suck dick, the others being bent over and fucked. All of them with one thing in common; they were touching me. One woman ran her nail along my inner thigh as she sucked a man off, another laid her head on my shoulder as someone fucked her from behind, her breathy moans and demands for more being spoken directly into my ear. One, in particular, had me wishing I had one hand free so I could grab her head and shove it on my painfully erect dick. She had laid her cheek on my thigh, her face in my direction, her eyes never leaving mine as another man fucked her ruthlessly. Every breath, every vibration from her moans, went straight to my dick, and I was desperate for some form of contact, anything. My hips began to buck up on their own, but I couldn’t move, and I was becoming more and more frustrated.
