“Yeah. Right. What else could they do to us?” She sniffles. “It can’t get any worse than this.”
“You two are fucking idiots. Shut up,” a third voice sounds.
Of course there are other girls. Did I think I was the only one? That they’d hold some sort of special auction just for me? That’s a naïve way to think. Of course there are others, but how many? Is it just us three? Are there others?
I’ve been too shocked by my situation to consider what happened to me. Knowing there are other girls who have been captured makes me feel sick. Knowing there are other females who have been hurt, who are going to be killed, makes me want to puke.
My stomach lurches, but I haven’t eaten in a long tim
e, and I don’t throw up.
“I’m scared,” the first voice comes again. “I’m Angel.” Her voice waves, and I wish there was something I could say to comfort her, but the truth is that I’m scared, too. I haven’t quite resigned myself to my fate. I haven’t quite come to terms with the fact that my life is over now.
It’s all downhill from here.
“Sweetie, you’re about to dance with the devil,” the other woman says. “So you might as well drop the innocent act.”
“It’s not an act,” Angel sounds scared. She’s close to me, judging by the sound of her voice. I reach my hand out, silently searching for hers. When I find it, her skin is cold and clammy.
Like mine.
I grip her hand, holding onto it like it’s the only thing keeping me together because it kind of is. I don’t know what’s going to happen to me, or to Angel, or to the other girl, and that scares me.
It could be anything, but we’re on Dreagle, so it’s going to be bad.
This isn’t going to be some happy ending where a magical prince swoops in to save me. In real life, there are no heroes. In real life, no one comes to save the princess. In real life, the princess has to save herself or die trying.
Angel stops talking and as I hold her hand, her breathing eventually slows.
“I’m scared, too,” I whisper. My voice seems to echo in the darkness.
“You should be,” the other girl says.
“What’s your name?”
She sighs, but finally answers. “Greta.”
“I’m Fiona,” I tell her, and I realize Greta is too calm. Does she know what’s happening? Has she lived on Dreagle? Was she taken from another planet? Maybe she can give me information that will help me escape, that will help all of us escape.“Do you know what’s going to happen to us?”
“I’ve heard enough stories to know exactly what’s going to happen to us.”
“Please,” I beg her, hating how my voice quivers. “You have to tell us.”
Greta hesitates and I know she’s wondering how much she should scare us. She’s terrified. That much is obvious. Oh, she’s trying to be strong, but her voice is shaking. I bet if I could see her, I would notice a tremble.
Then she starts speaking.
“I work at a place where girls are sold by the hour. Sometimes, we’re sold by the minute.”
“Oh, Greta,” I whisper. I’ve heard of places like this, but I know I can’t imagine.
“You have no idea, cupcake,” she says. “Human? You’re human, right? I can tell by your voice. You’ve never been to Dreagle, never even been to the slums on your own planet. You’ve never been anywhere that isn’t pristine and clean. You have no idea what people are capable of.”
She pauses, and I nod. She can’t see me, but I nod.
“You’re right,” I tell her. “I’ve never been off my own planet.”
“And that’s not even your planet,” she scoffs. “Earth was destroyed long ago. That’s beside the point, I suppose.” She’s right, but the words sting. I was born on Mirroean. To me, that’s my planet. To me, that’s home. It’s always been home. My parents were Earthlings, but I was born later. I was born after they immigrated to a new, fresh world. I was born after they took a chance and moved.