I shouldn’t have been so surprised that they would have me taken like this, but I was. A part of me, deep down, always knew it was a possibility. But I thought if I just adhered to their rules and kept my head down, that I could make it to my eighteenth birthday. Then I’d finally be free.
Clearly, I’d been wrong.
The vehicle jolted and my body surged into the one next to me. They let out a groan when my elbow met their ribs. I couldn’t help it any more than I could help my own capture. One minute I was relatively safe in my bed, and the next I was being hauled out against my will.
I was still wearing my nightgown, only one of the shoulder straps had been ripped off during the struggle and I could feel the thin material slipping down my frame. There was no way for me to stop it or cover up since my hands were bound. My skin was freezing and all I wanted to do was curl up and cry. Each time the vehicle stopped, I wondered if we were at our final destination, or if we were picking up another unfortunate soul. We’d picked up at least four others so far. Some of them crying. Some of them screaming against their gag. I was quiet though. Trying to observe every piece of information I could and file it away for later.
When we finally arrived, the men ripped open the back of the van and hauled us out one by one. My bare feet struggled to keep up with their pace, and my nightgown slid even further, revealing my breasts to the cold night air. The men snickered but made no move to help cover me back up. Fucking bastards.
Fury lined my stomach at how they were treating us. These men who would willingly sign up to torment underage children had the biggest case of small dick energy that I’d ever seen. Fingers dug into my skin hard and the way they jerked my limbs to follow them made me stumble.
I couldn’t see a goddamn thing.
The soles of my feet scrapped against the wet pavement. It had been raining earlier and the smell of damp earth still hung about the air. I wondered what time it was and how long it had been since they’d snatched me from my bed. It felt like forever as I braced for whatever came next.
The men ripped the bags off our faces, and I saw the school for the first time. It was still dark, but the parking lot was lined with streetlamps. Off in the distance, above the mountainous Catskills, I could make out a faint glimmering line of light.
Dawn.
It had taken all night for them to round us up and drag us here. Glancing around, I counted ten others in different states of disarray like myself. I noted that none of us had shoes. One of the men licked his lips and seemed to adjust himself as he stared at me. A shiver ran down my spine and nausea roiled in my gut. I could only imagine what he was thinking, and it was nothing good.
The building was dark and ominous and there was a feeling of dread that curled into my stomach, sinking down to my toes like a rock. This place was evil. I could feel it.
They shuffled us inside and finally removed our bondages, then ripped off the duct tape that held our mouths shut. The delicate skin around my mouth burned and my tongue felt dry. My muscles were exhausted and hardly able to support my weight as I shook feeling back into my limbs. The first thing I did was pull up my nightgown, but it was too late. Everyone had seen me and embarrassment coated my freezing body.
“Welcome to Kingston, pigs,” An older gentleman with short cropped gray hair said as he walked, spine straight, thumbs tucked into his black vest that he wore over his chest. A bulletproof vest? Who did these bozos think they were? A fucking SWAT team?
They looked ridiculous. Like a bunch of men-children playing dress up and enacting their violent fantasies. But this wasn’t some video game. This was real life, and now I was stuck in this place of horrors. I had two years left of my high school career. Time that I’d been planning to get me out of this wretched town and away from my shit parents.
Now, I was back at square one.
I wasn’t sure how things worked here, but I’d heard enough to know that if you didn’t do what they told you, you could end up dead, and no one would even bat an eye. They’d blame you for not following orders and make it look like an accident. The deranged look in these men’s eyes told me they were just the sort of monsters that would enjoy shedding a little blood. And it had me scurrying right along when they told us to move. The men flanked us on either side, like they were waiting for one of us to flee. And God I wanted to. I wantedto run as fast and as far as my legs would let me, but there was no escaping.
I was stuck here.
They dropped me off in the dormitory wing, shoving me into a cramped room hard enough that I nearly fell on my face. There were three other girls already occupying the room I found myself in, and they seemed pissed to have been woken up to help accommodate me.
“Ladies. See that she’s shown the ropes,” the gray-haired man said, I assumed he was the leader of whatever their little fucked up unit was called.
The door snicked behind him, and I was left looking at three incredibly angry looking girls, who didn’t make a move to assist me. Instead, they rolled their eyes and curled back up in their respective beds.
The room had two sets of bunk beds on either side. The only empty one sat on the left on top of a rickety looking ladder. There were no windows, and the only light came from a thin strip near the ceiling that circled the room.
It looked more like a jail cell than a dorm room.
There was one dresser and what looked like a possible closet, but it was too dark and I was too tired to go find out for sure. Instead, I climbed the ladder and sunk into the most uncomfortable bed I’d ever had the displeasure of laying in. I pulled the scratchy blanket over my body and tried to stop myself from shivering. It was no use. The adrenaline had finally caught up with me and tears stung my eyes, making the swelling on my face hurt.
I’d never felt so alone or so angry.
My parents had betrayed me, and while their loyalty and love for me didn’t seem to run that deep, it still stung. Sniffling, I felt the first lone tear fall.
“Oh my god, we’ve got a crier,” one of the girls’ voices groaned.
I didn’t see us becoming friends anytime soon, and I wondered if it were even possible to find any in a place like this.
“Aw, is the princess mad her mommy and daddy didn’t want her anymore?” Another one of the girls asked in a mock baby voice with a chuckle, to which the other two joined in with their snickering.
“Welcome to the club, bitch.” They laughed like a band of deranged hyenas.
