Chapter 1
Age 14
Pressing my forehead against the top of my bent knees, I tried to ignore the cold that had long since seeped into my core. I was sure I was going to be frozen from the inside out. The body-wracking shivers shoot my thin frame so much, the rocky cement against my back dug into my spine.
I knew my days were numbered. Each second was if I wanted to be honest.
I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get to see the sunrise again. Or breathe fresh, clean air. Or get another meal, for that matter.
Who knows, maybe I would die here. Alone. Cold. And starving.
Death was knocking at the door. Had been for weeks now. I didn’t see a good ending for me.
As footsteps approached, I kept my eyes clenched shut. There was no way I was going to look through the metal bars that kept me in place. And by place, I mean nothing more than what a stray animal would be gifted. Water dish and all.
I wasn’t offered a bed or blanket. All I had was a pair of worn gym shorts that didn’t exactly stay held up by my bony hip bones. I had to tighten the drawstring to keep them up, and even then, that simple piece of cotton threatened to break any second now.
Something metal banged against the bars, causing me to jerk against the loud sound. The dark laugh echoed through the cement walls that most likely held more beings like myself.
Beings.
Like I wasn’t human when I was. My heart was beating. There was air in my lungs. And hunger crawled through my veins. I was very much human. One that was more than ready to die.
Hadn’t I already been tormented enough?
It was bad enough that I couldn’t recall the reason why I was there. Not just this holding cell, but this entire life I didn’t have a say in being a part of.
I didn’t know when it became my life, but what I did know was that it was going to be the end of it.
I wanted to think, to pretend, that I hadn’t been born into this type of life. But that would be a lie. I was fairly sure that was exactly what had happened. And I wasn’t the only one.
Whatever the object that was held in the hands of the man clanged against the bar again, I knew I had no option but to slowly lift my eyes.
Peeking over towards the direction of the slatted bars, I kept my head resting on my knees. My eyes took in the nice black suit of the man who stood just on the other side. I didn’t dare look up any farther than his legs. I refused to see his hungry gaze, as though I was a simple piece of cake he was savoring over.
“Stand, boy.”
It took my brain a second too long to get the order to my legs. The man grumbled as I clumsily stood, legs weak and threatening to collapse under me. My hands found purchase along the rough edges of the wall, hoping that’d be enough to keep me standing long enough for this man to be pleased.
“He’s not much, I know.” The same voice spoke, almost like it was a sad thing I wasn’t more appealing. “Gently used, well taken care of, and knows basic commands.” My gut dropped as he spoke the words.
He made it sound like I was a dog or a used car.
“He fits what my client is looking for,” another voice, this one deeper, spoke. “How many owners?”
“None, if you think of it that way. He’s been....Shall I say trained....So there’s plenty of room for many options.”
“Possibly. Let me see what the other selections there are.”
“Of course. If you’ll follow me...”
I let my legs give out, my butt falling with a hard thump to the floor. The motion jarred my head, forcing a headache to form right away.
I breathed, pulling my body tight back into the corner as I had been before. I refused to think about what was going to become of me after tonight. Maybe death, if I were lucky enough. But I highly doubted that.
This world wasn’t kind enough for death to take me with open arms.
I was born into a horrible, painful world. A place where there was no good. Only evil, so pure that it ran in every human body like the finest wine ever created.
