No windows. No other way out but the stairs. A toilet and sink in one corner. Dirty mattresses in the other. No-Beard pulls out a pocket knife. “Hands. Now.”
With our bindings cut, No-Beard motions to our boshiyas. “You can take off. This is where you stay for now.”
I struggle to remove the gag. My tongue is stuck to the roof of my mouth, but before he turns, I croak out, “How long?”
“Until we say.”
Another man, older, almost elderly, shuffles down the stairs carrying a tray with bowls and bottles of water. “I am Hassan. You eat. You sleep. You stay quiet. If you scream, no more food or water or light. Understand?”
The three of us nod, and he sets the tray down on the floor. And then…they all leave, the trap door shuts, and something heavy scrapes against the ceiling.
I run up the stairs as quietly as I can and push at the wood. It doesn’t budge. We’re trapped, and from what little of the house and the village I saw through my boshiya, no one will ever be able to find us here.
2
Joey
I jerk awake, hitting my head on the wall behind me. It’s stuffy. The mattresses are stained and smell like urine, so we’re sleeping on the floor. Well, Mia and Ivy are sleeping on the floor. I’m pressed against the wall opposite the stairs, my knees drawn up to my chest, trying to make myself as small as possible. I can’t let them sneak up on me. Or catch me unawares.
Jefe grabs my hair and yanks me off the floor, waking me from an exhausted sleep. I scream, but the other girls are powerless to help me. Emmie raises her head from where she lies across the railcar, in too much pain to move. She does what she can…holds my gaze while Jefe shoves my dirty, ripped skirt up over my ass. I try to send myself somewhere else. Somewhere safe and warm where no one hurts me. But like every other time…I fail.
I stifle a sob, fully back in the here and now, watching the stairs again. Across the room, Mia shoots me a sympathetic look. “Sleep a while, Joey,” she whispers, trying not to wake Ivy. “I’ll keep watch.”
“Can’t. Not now.” I hug myself tightly, digging my fingers hard enough into my sides to leave bruises. I need to feel something other than abject terror and hopelessness. We’re God knows where, the rest of our team murdered, and they’ve locked us away where no one will find us. I won’t cry. Not in front of Ivy and Mia. They’re so young. I remember how strong Emmie was—in the beginning—and how much I loved her for it. Now…she’s dead. Her demons took her life, and inadvertently saved mine.
“How long have we been here?” Mia asks when Ivy sits up and rubs her eyes.
I shrug. “We’ve had two meals, but I’m so hungry, I don’t think they’re feeding us more than once a day.” The bowls of stew with some sort of meat—goat I think—don’t come with utensils, and we have to eat with our hands. The tiny sink only supplies brownish water, and we’re all dirty, exhausted, and weak.
Ivy wrings her hands. “What are they going to do to us?”
I don’t want to tell her. All I want to do is close my eyes and pretend I’m somewhere else. Like…back in San Diego before everything went to hell.
“When will you be back?” I ask Ford as we lie in bed together, naked, his hand stroking gently up and down my arm.
“Six months. I’ll be able to call sometimes, but letters will always get to me.” He presses a kiss to my temple, and I fight not to cry.
“I’ll miss you. Promise me you won’t do anything too stupid out there, Marine.”
“Never, buttercup. I’m yours, and as soon as you graduate, we’re going to make it official.”
But we never got that chance. Never made love again. Only ever had one more night together before…my entire life turned into a nightmare. I focus on Mia and Ivy. Twenty-one and twenty-two. The age I was. Their eyes are swollen, their cheeks stained with tears.
“Listen…” I say softly, hoping my gentle tone will make the harsh words easier. “We’re…women. In a country where many…consider us property. Whatever happens, be smart. Don’t fight when there’s no hope. Save your strength for any chance you have to get free. And if you see an opportunity, take it. Even if you have to go alone.”
Heavy footsteps thud above us, and I snap my gaze to the top of the stairs. Ivy and Mia press deeper into the corner. After the scraping of whatever they use to cover the trapdoor, sunlight spills into the basement. Daytime. It doesn’t last long, though. Two hulking forms lumber down the stairs. I don’t know these men. They aren’t the ones who took us. Bigger, meaner looking.
The lead one points at Ivy and Mia. “You two, up. You are coming with us.”
I push to my feet, blinking hard to clear the dizziness threatening. As terrified as I am, I have to protect Ivy and Mia if I can, so they’re going to take me first. But the man who appears to be in charge shakes his head. “Not you.”
“Why not? Where are you taking them?”
“Away.” The man shoves me back against the wall. “You make trouble, you get hurt.”
Ivy and Mia haven’t moved, and the other man strides over to them, grabs Mia’s arm, and drags her towards the stairs as she screams and hits him with her free hand.
“Wait!” I beg. “Please. Give me a minute with them.” I look up at the man looming over me, praying he’ll relent. But he just knocks me to the side with a bulky arm and laughs as I fall to the floor. Mia’s already up the stairs, and suddenly, her screams die down, and that’s so much worse.
