HOUSE OF HORRORS
BRIAR
Lily and Iare shoved forward through the back entrance of a ghastly estate. A dark mansion, long since abandoned, judging by the vegetation overgrowth and the musty smell that hits us when we enter the ground level.
“I don’t like this. It’s like a scene straight out of a horror movie..”
“Shhh,” I hiss at Lily at my side. “Keep your head down and your ears open.”
The man who took us from the loft leads the way.
Seamus O’Rourke.Koen’suncle.
“What do you think, ladies? Pretty grand, eh?” he says as he marches us through the foyer. A chandelier lights the space overhead, but it’s covered in cobwebs and hanging slightly askew.
There are voices up ahead… and music… We get closer, coming up to what must be the ballroom, and I catch a glimpse of…yes, it’s a fucking party.
“What the fuck?” Lily whispers, and I just stare.
“My idea,” Seamus boasts as we walk by the entrance. The room is filled with mostly men, but some women, dressed to impress, drinks in hand, while servers circle with trays of horsd’oeuvres. “A little fun before the games begin.” He raises his brows in excitement and I feel bile rise up in my throat.
The auction.
I swallow hard and exchange a look with Lily.
“Ah, not to worry, ladies, it truly is your lucky day. You get to escape all of that pomp and circumstance.” A sharp tug on my elbow and I’m redirected, both of us dragged downstairs into what looks to be the basement. Something tells me thatluckyis not quite how I would’ve phrased it…
“I should really kill you,” Seamus prattles on. “You two have been nothing but a problem from the start, especially you.” He turns to glare at me. “But unfortunately, for now, you’re worth more alive than dead,” he laments.
Koen promised me the Irish had nothing to do with any of this.He swore it.And I believe him.I still believe him.I don’t know what Seamus is up to, but I’m certain that, whatever it is, Koen doesn’t know.
We walk down a long hallway, and he pushes open another door. The smell wafting out is horrid, and I wince. I can’t quite place the scent, but I’m able to isolate the overwhelming stench of urine. But even that horrible smell alone could not prepare me for what’s on the other side of that door.
Cages.
Actual cages.
Row after row after row of them. And inside of each…girls.
I crowd in closer to Lily, and feel her grip on my arm as we dig our heels in at the sight, but it seems our party is coming to a stop. A couple of men step forward to greet us.
Seamus gives them a nod. “Strip them to their underwear. They’ve already been sold, and their buyer doesn’t wantanymarks.” He gives the men a hard look. “He paid a pretty penny for this set, and he is not to be displeased. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“When you’re done, room three,” Seamus instructs, and he receives a nod in return.
What happens next is downright dehumanizing. Seamus leaves and the men grab us, dragging us down the long aisle between cages and into another room where we’re both stripped of our clothes.
Lily panics, thrashing in their hold, and they resort to ripping hers off. Cold, practiced and fast. They continue until we’re left with nothing but our underwear.
A man steps forward with a tray of numbered plastic tags. Tiny.Like cattle tags.I struggle in the hold of the two men who have a grip on me, when he picks one up, loading it into some sort of gun.
“No.” A man with a clipboard steps forward. “The buyer requested they not be tagged.”
A breath of relief escapes me as the man with the tray disappears out of the room, and I am thankful to whoever the fuckthe buyeris for that, andthat alone.
Clipboard Man gives both Lily and me a once-over before nodding in approval.
