Ruby in the Rough

by Emily Shore

  “Stupid ass,” I rise, hurling the insult.

  “Stubborn monkey,” he retorts.

  I fire back, “Assface.”

  Ink grabs his cap from his trench coat pocket and straps it on over his eyes. “Dumpster breath.”

  I slump down beside him, raising a finger. “That was one time!”

  Tipping up his cap so I can see one eye, Ink winks at me and brags, “Got ya.”

  Cranky now, I cross my arms over my chest and mutter, “It was the middle of the freaking winter,” I refer to the event from our first winter together when I was dumpster diving. “How was I supposed to know I was going to sneeze and that my tongue would get stuck? It was only a few seconds.”

  “Funniest few seconds of my life.”

  “Ink.” I nudge him with my arm, and my head topples onto his shoulder. “She’s your sister. And your nephew.”

  “They’ll be just fine without me.”

  “You think I won’t be?” I narrow my eyes, tensing.

  “Course you will. But I won’t.”

  I shut my mouth because I didn’t expect him to say that. Slowly, I work my fingers into his. For the first time, holding hands isn’t just for warmth. It isn’t in friendship but something deeper than that. It looks like we’ll finally have time to figure out what.

  Ink falls asleep and doesn’t wake up even when much of the soldiers leave the train with their gear. My guess is the ones left are in the train car right in front of us. Whatever the case, I’m not about to miss the opportunity to kiss the Ghetto goodbye. We’re on the outskirts. It won’t be long now. At first, I consider waking up Ink, but then I think better of it. The Ghetto means something different to me than it does to him. It would probably be bittersweet, but for me, it’s just sweet.

  So, I exit the train car quietly and hold onto the railing as the train pulls out. After about ten minutes, I’m finally able to see the Ghetto from a distance. The first time in four years.

  Snowflakes begin to collect all around me, light as gossamer. I stretch out a hand to catch a few, and that’s when I hear the door close behind me.

  “Done with your little nap?” I ask Ink without turning around.

  “Nice to finally meet my little monkey.”

  The voice instantly sends a web of lightning into my spine, zigzagging all along the complex fibers there, setting them on fire. For once, I’m in the worst place possible. No hiding places. No other routes. No opportunity to climb. Just me and Tanner on a platform of no more than a few feet.

  “Turn around. Slowly,” he warns just before I feel the edge of something hard and cold brushing against the back of my skull.

  “Good girl,” he commends me when I face him with the barrel of a gun aimed for my face. “Now, here’s what we’re gonna do. You’re gonna walk from this train car to the very back one,” he instructs me, waving the pistol to the side. “There’s a section comin’ up where the train will be slowin’ down. Once it does, we’ll both be gittin’ an early departure. Now...if ya please. I’ve got someone waiting who’s very anxious to meet’ya.”

  The train lurches, and Tanner stumbles. I take my chance and duck, swinging my leg and kicking him as hard as I possibly can in the gut. It’s enough for his stumble to turn into a fall, and at his angle, there’s no railing to catch him. I rise too soon. I rejoice too soon. Everything happens too soon. The three shots fired blindly. The one that finds a target in my shoulder. My vision blurs. Pain spider webs into my flesh, causing me to hobble. I reach out for something solid, but I don’t connect with anything but air. That’s when I realize my feet aren’t connected to anything solid anymore either. Air thrashes with me for two seconds and then my body and mouth are screaming unanimously as I roll and roll and roll along the ground, feeling limbs twist and skin bruising and scraping until my body finally loses momentum, and the ground decides to stop fighting me.

  Moaning loudly, I manage to raise my head that has become heavier than a whole boxcar and peer up to see Ink and my future leaving me far behind.

  More Information on The Ghetto Novellas:

  Please see Emily’s website at www.emilybethshore.com

  Discussion Questions

  Inhalers as a source of drugs are mentioned in Ruby in the Rough. Per countless sources including Polaris, traffickers use substance abuse to control their victims. Girls become chemically dependent and therefore dependent on their pimps to provide them with more drugs. Discuss the link between sex-trafficking and drugs. Consider how legalization of a “mind-altering” drug such as recreational marijuana - American Academy of Pediatrics - could impact the trafficking industry and how such a drug can become more accessible to pimps for the purposes of controlling their victims.

  85% of sex-trafficking victims are victims of child sexual abuse, rape, or incest. ~ Breaking Free. Knowing this, imagine you are a girl like Chastity. Imagine a life without hope. Is her choice to return to her life of slavery more understandable now?

  Ruby says each one of the photos Sawyer took is a cage to her. What do you think this means? Consider how many countless girls are not only stuck in the life but also stuck on screens whether tablets, phones, televisions, or computers all around the world. Teenage girls make up the biggest slice of viewable porn, which by definition is trafficking. Discuss how you can take away the demand. ~ www.rescuefreedom.org - #refusetoclick.

  While climbing the Hotel, Ruby eavesdrops on an encounter between a john and a prostitute. She describes the prostitute as a very good actress who acts to herself the most. What do you think this means? Consider this with the fact that dissociation is a common psychological defense for females in these traumatic situations.

  While eating a meal in the Penthouse, Ruby reflects on how products in the past had invisible bloody fingerprints all over them, but people ignored or turned a blind eye to them. Have you ever considered where your products are coming from and whether or not they have bloody fingerprints on them? For example: the majority of chocolate corporations profit directly off of child slavery in the cacao fields of west Africa. For more information, see the following website: http://www.foodispower.org/slavery-chocolate/ Consider buying Fair Trade chocolate. After all, is a few cents saved worth the bloody fingerprints?

  In the conversation she has with her brother in the end, Ruby mentions that she was only twelve years old. According to the Polaris Project, the average age of entry into sex-trafficking is 12-14 years of age. Most come from a background where they have already been sexually abused. With this knowledge in mind, discuss how to break the cliché viewpoint that prostitutes are just “whores” and in the life because they want to be. If a girl makes it to adulthood, imagine how many years she spent in the life of sex-trafficking to where it is so commonplace for her that she doesn’t recognize that she needs to escape much less how to escape.

  More Information

  For more information on the world of sex-trafficking as well as the anti-trafficking and anti-pornography movements, see the following resources:

  Nefarious: Merchant of Souls Documentary via Exodus Cry – www.exoduscry.com/film

  Liberated: The New Sexual Revolution Documentary via Exodus Cry – Coming soon

  The Abolitionists Documentary via Operation Underground Railroad

  Polaris - https://polarisproject.org

  Fight the New Drug - www.fightthenewdrug.org

  Women At Risk, International - www.warinternational.org

  Breaking Free - www.breakingfree.net

  Operation Underground Railroad - http://ourrescue.org

  Thorn - http://www.demiandashton.com/aboutus/

  International Justice Mission - https://www.ijm.org/

  Agape International Mission - http://agapewebsite.org/

  Acknowledgements

  First off, I must thank my agent, Carlie, for giving me her blessing to release this novella so I can support two very amazing organizations.

  Special thanks to my husband for listening to me read aloud and
for supporting me like he always does.

  Three cheers to my fellow Ringer, Molly Phipps, for her incredible mad skills on the cover and promotional teaser. I’m your biggest fan, Disney buddy. And everyone should check out We Got You Covered.

  To my faithful beta, Jasmine. You went above and beyond the call of duty, gave me precise feedback and proofreading.

  Thank you to Benjamin Nolot for Nefarious and for agreeing to do an interview with me. Check my Author Page (see Notes) to read the interview on his upcoming documentary, Liberated.

  To all the wonderful people at Breaking Free and Women At Risk, International; thank you so much for everything you are doing. You inspire me to keep writing and inserting bits of your true stories into my work every day!

  A word of appreciation to Sergeant Grant of the Minneapolis Trafficking Task Force, who is quite the speaker, and whose words have stuck with me. Especially when you refute the slaves and chains stereotype and show the true nature of trafficked girls.

  To all the little girls in my life: Emma, Claire, Abbie, Natalie, Alexis, Anastasia, and finally, Emmyleigh and Rosaleigh. Remember you are all princesses and you are worth so much. Don’t let anyone tell you different!

  Finally, to my heavenly Abba, who has always treated me like a princess and gave me a heart for all the lost princesses of the world.

  About the Author

  Emily holds a B.A. in Creative Writing from Metro State University and is the grand prize winner of #PitchtoPublication, which granted her the professional editing services of Kate Angelella formerly of Simon and Schuster for her dystopia, The Aviary (currently unpublished). She is represented by CK Webber Associates. Her time volunteering at anti-trafficking seminars and fundraising opportunities has garnered interest and support in her work from political leaders, anti-trafficking advocates, mental health workers, educators, musicians, youth leaders, and even two best-selling authors. This is her first self-published work, and she hopes to use it to raise awareness to the sex-trafficking industry, especially for young adults interested in joining the fight. To learn more about Emily and her other anti-trafficking books, see her website at www.emilybethshore.com

  If you enjoyed Ruby in the Rough, please leave a review on Amazon or GoodReads. For updates, like me on Facebook, Twitter, or subscribe to my newsletter via my website.