Living in Darkness (Bloodbreeders)

by Robin Renee Ray,

  “Then, we must be on our way. Time is short.” The smallest added with emphasis.

  We went down stairs, and I turned to go through the two large doors where I heard people talking.

  “No, Miss,” one of the girls said, redirecting me. “The Mistress wants you to enter the side door.”

  The request seemed a little odd, but what could I say, I had never done anything close to this, so I did as they said, which seemed to put the girls more at ease. They were nice girls, with a nice employer, but I couldn’t figure out why they were so skittish. I summed it up to being how they were raised, because I had no other explanation.

  We came to a small side door, and one of the girls knocked three times, then they left me standing there alone. The door opened and a large man offered me his hand. When I say large, I don’t mean fat. The man was six foot and then some, and from what I could see he was solid muscle. His hair was a brownish blond and hung down freely past his shoulders. He was wearing a solid black suit that fit his large frame somewhat unyielding, giving the impression that the material would rip if he flexed his arm too much. As soon as I walked through the door, I was overcome with a thunderous applause from the many people that stood at my entrance.

  “Did I not tell you it was worth the wait?” I heard Yvette say over the noise.

  I noticed that all of the people standing around the large room were dressed accordingly to the way that I had been dressed. The room was breathtaking. The high ceilings were adorned with crystal chandeliers, much like the one in the front room foyer, but these were smaller in size and there must have been at least ten of them. Black and red velvet curtains draped the walls, and off to my left was a large stage surrounded by a thick, red velvet rope. I was so overwhelmed by the gorgeous room and applause, that I didn’t even notice the six girls standing on the stage.

  “Place her with the others,” Yvette commanded.

  As the man led me over to where the other girls stood, I saw that they were all dressed the same as me. I couldn’t figure out what was going on, but something definitely didn’t feel right, and by the looks on the other girls’ faces, I knew I was correct in my assumption.

  “Shall we start the bidding?” Yvette asked the crowd.

  “Yes, my lady,” a boisterous young man called out. “The night is not getting any younger.” Afterwards, the rest of the crowd broke out in laugher.

  Bidding? I asked myself. What does she mean by bidding? As I looked into the group of people, I saw more than one of them examining us as like we were livestock. Then it hit me. We were the livestock. The other girls and I were being auctioned off to the highest bidder.

  My head was spinning. She tricked me, they all had. I looked around the room and found Rebecca and the boys sitting at a table off to the side. They stared at me from their comfortable seats, laughing at the deceit that they had played on me. What have I done? I was flooded by images of recent events. The realization of the truth was almost too much to bear. Then it hit me…How they, especially Rebecca, had used little Johnny to get me away from Martin. Oh, God, Martin. I knew as soon as his name entered my mind that it had not been him who had lied to me, but those who betrayed me into standing here. He warned me about others being our enemy, and I walked right into their trap. In retrospect, I had betrayed myself.

  “You lied to me, all of you,” I yelled loudly, and the words had barely left my mouth, when I felt the blow of someone knocking me to my knees.

  “Shut up, slave. Get out of line again, and I’ll do worse than that.” It was the large man that had led me into the room. Pain shot up my lower back as I stood up. Slave...Did I really just hear that?

  “I must get a closer look before I make my bid,” said an unattractive, fat older man from the front of the assembly.

  He started walking toward me, past the rope, and then turned back to the audience. “Let’s see if Mr. Lebrun knew what he was doing.” He laughed loudly, as the other bidders joined in. My mind was going crazy, trying to figure it all out. I thought to myself, how very much they must hate Martin to go to all this trouble to get me here. I looked over seeing as much fear on the other girls faces as I felt inside of myself. The shame of being so naive and the sinking of my heart as I wondered what Martin must be thinking about the course of action that I had chosen to take was overwhelming.

  The old man looked me up and down, like I was a cow at an auction. Then, out of the blue, he reached up and grabbed my breast. I did what came natural, and doubled up my fist, slamming it as hard as I could into his face, hard enough that he didn’t merely hit the ground—he bounced. Yvette stood up with shock and a bit of what looked like panic slowly breaking the content smile of satisfaction that she was wearing proudly seconds ago.

  “Teach her some manners. Take her to the dungeons.”

  Without hesitation, the doorman grabbed a hold of me, and I fought back. I kicked him in the groin while punching him in the face, much like I had the old man. I had never been angrier in my life, even when I thought Martin had betrayed me. I reared back for another punch as the large man fought to control my arms, when two more men approached and started beating me with long wooden sticks. The three punched and kicked, until I was back on the ground with my face a bloody mess. I was all but dead on the ground. I’m not sure what happened after that. The last thing I remember was a boot quickly coming down toward my face.

  *****

  I came to while being dragged by my hair down stone steps that curved in a winding, spiral shaped staircase. I tried to get a hold of the arm that dragged me to keep him from pulling my hair out, but promptly felt a kick in my stomach. My eyes were already swollen, but I could see enough to make out the face of the person who had just kicked me. It was none other than Annabel.

  “You better watch yourself, or I will cut your fingers off one at a time,” she threatened with a chuckle. “You didn’t really think we were going to just take you in, did you?” pausing briefly. “Oh, I’m sure you did. I can see it on your face, you stupid little girl.”

  The further down we went, the worse the smell became, and I could hear people moaning, crying, and what sounded like begging for mercy. When we finally reached the bottom, I realized that the odor that I smelled was like a vulgar mixture of decay and human waste.

  “Why are you doing this?” I asked, desperately trying to understand what went wrong.

  “Shut up, bitch, or I’ll beat the shit out of you again,” the man said, flinging me across the cell by my hair.

  “Lock her up, I will deal with her later,” Annabel ordered, then came over to me and kneeled down, speaking so close to my face that I could feel her breath on my skin. “You’ll pay for hitting one of our best buyers,” she spit in my face before she stood up. “Lock her in.” Then she simply stood and walked away.

  The tall man used his boot to kick at my back several times to get me far enough into the small cell so that he could shut the gate-like door. Once I was in, he slammed the door, locked it, and he too turned and walked off, just like Annabel had left. I cowered in my pain on the filth covered floor, smelling the decay of those that had been here before me, wondering what had changed. Why did these people suddenly turn on me? Then it hit home that nothing had changed. This had been their plan from the beginning. The pain was overwhelming, but the horror in my mind was much worse. I tried to pull myself into a sitting position using the bars of my cage, but it was no use. I stayed where I was, with God knows what soaking me to the bone.

  I felt horrible, not due to the pain, but because I had believed every last word. When I get out of this, Rebecca, you are the first on my list, I thought. That is, if I ever get out. I put my hands over my face and screamed out in frustration

  “You should do as they say,” I heard a small, distant voice say. “They can make it a lot worse if you don’t.”

  “Where are you?” I called into the darkness. “I can’t see you.”

  “Shh! I am in the cell next to yours, but you must be
quiet. You can never let them hear us speak. Pray you are not here long enough to find out what happens if they do.”

  I knew dawn was close, I could feel it in my head. Please come so I’ll be done with this night, I prayed silently. I started to slip into the only world that gave me any sort of solace, that’s when I told myself it was just a dream, a very bad dream. Maybe if I said it enough, it would somehow come true.

  Chapter 12

  I awoke in the same filth in which I had fallen asleep, knowing for sure this was no dream. It was a nightmare. My body ached from head to toe. I was positive that I had a few broken ribs, and I could feel that my face was badly swollen. Now what? I asked myself when I heard sounds coming down the dark hall. My question was soon answered, when a male and female that I didn’t recognize started coming toward me with a large hose. I could hear the others screaming as they were being sprayed down, but I had no idea how water could cause pain until they reached my cage. The pressure was awful, but the salt in the water was worse. They were using ocean water. As it hit my body, I also screamed in anguish at the stinging pressure behind the hose, and the burn as it soaked into my flesh. Until then, I had no clue that I had been beaten so badly.

  The young girl seemed to be uncomfortable with what they were doing, and the man was too blank to read. Once the hose was turned off and to my complete surprise, the young girl bent down and started to speak.

  “You must obey, or your punishment will be far worse than it already has been,” she said, with genuine concern in the voice.

  “Tanda, what are you doing?” the young man asked, obviously alarmed. “Do you want to end up like her? You know what would happen if they were to come in right now.”

  “Yes, Garvin, I know better than most, but they almost killed her on her first night. I can’t just sit back and let it happen, now can I?” she asked, her sympathetic blue eyes pleading with his.

  He stood there for minute, silent, and then he sighed saying, “No, I suppose not, but you must be more careful.” I listened closely as they spoke to one another. They seemed to be against what was happening in this place, and it gave me a little hope. I thanked the good Lord that they weren’t like the ones who had brought me down to this horrid place. I was sure the others would kill me within a week, if not sooner. I knew by the way I felt at this point, that I couldn’t handle much more of a beating, much less any more unwanted twist of events.

  The swelling around my eyes had subsided enough that for the first time I could clearly make out my surroundings. The cell that I was in was so small that I couldn’t have stood up if I had wanted to. The cage door was made of metal bars that were old and rusted. The concrete floor was covered with grime, most of which I could tell from the smell was human waste and some type of rotten decay. It reminded me a lot of a slaughter house where people took livestock to be butchered. I certainly felt about as helpless as cattle in a cage, awaiting my demise. But I was no animal, and I sure as hell wasn’t going out like one.

  I continued inspecting the room, and I was horrified by what I saw on the wall across from my cell. A person, far too decomposed to tell its gender, was chained to the wall by its wrist. The legs were so grotesquely misshapen, that had I not seen the upper portion of the body, I wouldn’t have known that they were legs, both feet were missing altogether. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what they must have gone through. Next to the corpse was a young man, unconscious and hanging nude. His body was hanging forward, his arms bent into a position that was far from normal. He had obviously been severely beaten, and I couldn’t tell if his eyes were missing, or if they were just too swollen for me to see. There was a massive amount of blood between his legs, making it more than obvious that most of his torture had been done in that area.

  I heard Annabel approaching before she was in my view, and she was not alone.

  “Enrique, bring Martin’s whore to my special little play room,” she ordered. “She will know not to disobey after tonight.” I heard Enrique walking toward my cell, so I crawled as close to the back wall as I could manage. He unlocked the door, bent down, and peered in.

  “If I have to come in there and drag you out, you’ll wish you had never been born...Now get over here,” Enrique demanded.

  “Go to hell,” I spat. “If you want me, you’re going to have to come and get me.”

  “You’re going to regret this,” he said, crouching further to fit through the door.

  “I already regret it, you piece of horse dung,” I yelled.

  He began crawling toward me, showing that he clearly hated touching what I had been forced to sleep in. You could tell by the way he wiped his hands on his pants every time he touched the floor. He grabbed for my leg, but I pulled them close to my body. He inched a little closer and reached out again, only this time, I kicked out with all my might, catching him right across the face. He grabbed his nose, and when he did, he slipped on the grime covered floor, landing right in the muck he had been trying to avoid.

  “Ha, now you’re as nasty as I am.” I laughed.

  Anger flashed across his face. With lightning speed and frightening accuracy he grabbed my foot, sliding backwards with me in tow. Kicking and clawing the whole way, he yanked me out of the cage. As soon as he was out, he swung me across the debris covered hall, right into the hanging corpse with no feet. As I was slapping at the dried withered thing that smiled back in its grotesque fleshless grin, Enrique was trying to get a hold of my hair. I grabbed the chain that hung loose by the dead being’s side and slung it around, using all the fear that was built up, missing Enrique’s face by mere inches.

  “You’ll pay for that, you little bitch,” he sputtered, raising his fist to hit me.

  “Enrique,” Annabel called out, stopping him. “I will take care of her myself. Now, bring her here, or do I need to find you some help?”

  He didn’t answer her, he smiled down at me instead. “Now you’re going to get what you deserve.” He tried to take me to her, but I didn’t make his job easy. I fought with every ounce of strength that I had left. Despite my struggling, he bodily picked me up and swung me over his shoulder hard enough that I could tell that my ribs were still in bad shape. He carried me down the corridor to a little room with a table in the middle, and slammed me down callously. While strapping me down, he took the opportunity to elbow me in the face, busting my lip with his efforts.

  “Consider that payback, bitch,” he said smugly.

  I could taste my own blood filling my mouth, but I gave him no satisfaction.

  “No wonder you’re told what to do by a woman, if that’s all you got.”

  He raised his fist to strike me once more, but again, Annabel stopped him. “Leave her to me, and go clean yourself up. The Mistress needs you,” she told him.

  “I’ll have my turn with you,” he whispered leaning next to my ear. “We have all the time in the world... if you live that long.” He gave me a wicked smirk, then left.

  Annabel walked over to a small white desk by the wall and began working on something. I couldn’t tell what she was doing, but I could hear metal clanking ever so slightly.

  “You will remember what you did last night for a very long time,” she said, never turning to look at me. “After tonight, I guarantee you will be a better girl.” She then came over to me, and told me to lay my hand out flat.

  “Why should I do anything you say?” I asked, trying to pull my arms out of the restraints. “You can all die and go to hell.”

  “It’s a shame you are so bullheaded,” she shook her head, taking my hand in hers, stroking it lightly. “At this rate it will be months before we can sell you for more than anything but a night’s pleasure.” She stopped rubbing my hand and quickly took hold of my little finger, bending it back until I felt the bones break. I screamed out in pain as my mind threatened to blackout.

  “Now, lay your hand flat,” she commanded, again stroking my hand. This time, I did as I was told. I felt her place a flat board on my palm, secur
ing my hand firmly to it with a thin strip of white cloth.

  “What are you doing? Please Annabel, why are you doing this?” I asked, unable to wipe the fear from my voice.

  “So you will remember,” she said, looking me directly in the eyes. “What you did with this hand.” It already hurt like hell, what else was she planning to do? Break the rest of my fingers?

  “You don’t have to do this, just let me go. I want to go home. Please,” I cried. She ignored my plea, and picked up a long, needle-like blade, holding it up to the light.

  “This should do nicely,” she said, in a satisfactory tone.

  “What are you going to do with that?” I asked, nervously.

  “Which one will it be? No, no, not the little one, it has paid its price. Ah, yes, you’ll do just fine,” she said, picking up my ring finger. “This may hurt a little.”

  She started just under the tip of my fingernail, pushing the blade slowly underneath, smiling the whole time. I started to scream with the first slice of the blade, swinging my head wildly from side to side, desperately trying to yank my hand away, but it was no use. The pain was so immense, that it caused an instant throbbing heat to course in nauseating waves from the pit of my stomach to the back of my throat, as I begged for mercy, knowing it was far from over.

  “Now, I want you to promise that you are never...” Annabel added pushing the blade deeper, “Never...,” the blade pushed deeper still, “Never, going to hit another friend of Lady Yvette’s.” With the last never, she slammed the rest of the blade in so forcefully that it not only pierced the skin on the back of my hand, taking my nail with it, but the flesh in the path of the thin sharp blade, ripped open like a ripe tomato on a hot July afternoon.

  My mouth was open in a silent scream, with no air left to use. The pain wouldn’t allow me to take even the smallest breath. My eyes rolled back in my head, while Annabel looked on with a smirk, enjoying every second of my unbelievable agony. Then like hitting a light switch her smirk turned into a horrid frown.