Page 20 of The Filth Kings II

“I was sold the same day I was born.” I shut my eyes and tried to picture myself as a newborn since I had no pictures of myself as a baby nor a kid.

“Monni—”

“Please… just listen, don’t feel sad for me. You’re now my other half, I have to trust you with this information. It’s not for you to carry any type of sympathy for me at all. This is my burden…not yours. You understand?”

“I do, but baby, I love you…” She lifted her hand and caressed my face.

“I love you more.” I placed my hand on top of hers and rubbed it before removing it.

I didn’t want to be touched right now, I was getting ready to confess some shit that I swore I’d never tell to another soul. My only hope was to not get stuck in a trance that was too hard for me to snap out of. I never told this story out loud, I only thought of it whenever I felt at my lowest.

“I was sold to a man named Tai in Thailand, when I was a newborn for a couple million dollars.” I chuckled dryly then rested my head against the pillow.

“I know how much because he liked to remind us all of that. He groomed kids, sold them as sex slaves, fighters, assassins…the list is long. I started out as a sex slave; my first encounter was at the age of six or seven…to be honest, it could have been younger. After so long my young body went through a numbing phase of not feeling everything.” I paused when I heard Natavi gasp.

Truth is, I didn’t remember my age when the first crucial assault happened. I remember I passed out and that was about it. I wasn’t going to go into detail about who, why, and where. That would be too much for Natavi to hold on to. What I just told her now was probably too much for her to handle, but I had to find a way to move the story on, so I could get her to understand why I had to go back.

“You’d be surprised what the wealthy elite men are into these days. Men and women from all over the world would fly to these foreign countries to prey on trafficked kids. They have sick fantasies; Tai didn’t care about our safety nor our feelings. He was one of the richest men in Thailand. If the price was right…just about anything done or asked of us was a green fuckin’ light,” I gritted out, shutting my eyes again.

I told Natavi as nice as possible not to touch me, my eyes remained shut. I went into detail, making sure to leave out the intimate parts. I didn’t want her to question my manhood. I took in a deep breath and pictured everything as my mind went back to the first time my heart broke as a kid.

Chained by my ankles and wrists, the smell of pho and satay made my stomach growl from hunger. Across from me was Emi. We had been transferred to illegal adult brothels in Thailand, where we were tortured, starved, and brutally hurt, depending on which rich sick American came to visit us. Thailand and Bangkok kept lots of secrets for men that were from all of over the world.

According to Tai, the wealthy man who bought us when we were kids, no longer wanted us because we were no longer adolescents. Tai didn’t appear evil, but he loomed over me and the rest of the kids like a dark unyielding cloud. We were all assets to him, trophies as an extension of his control.

We depended on him, and he loved it down to the things that he was supposed to provide like food, clothes and shelter. If we disobeyed, we slept outside. Most of the people that paid him for entertainment didn’t bat an eye my way. He found a way to make a profit off of me by putting me in training at the age of seven for underground fighting.

Emi came when I turned ten years of age. Her parents had an agreement with Tai. He loaned them money and they didn’t pay up, so in exchange was Emi. She was beautiful and pure when she came. He made back triple of what her parents owed but refused to give her back. I was injured bad by the age of twelve from fighting kids twice my size. With a broken ankle that made me walk with a limp, I knew my time at Tai’s castle was coming to an end.

Tai was the leader over the Kaicho Syndicate; he was their Oyabun. He also was smart and provided the U.S with nuclear weapons, which gave him open assess to other rich Americans. He had his hands tied in everything; he was deemed as unstoppable and untouchable. His words were his command, everyone surrounding him jumped at any demand that left his mouth.

Whenever his profits lowered with anything that he owned, he would get rid of it. He resold me then sold Emi months later when she got pregnant. They placed us in the same room, chained to walls twenty-four seven like animals waiting to be fed or noticed. I blocked it out and forgot most of it. I wondered how I survived it because my insides felt like it was rotten.

“I’m not going to make it much longer, Monni.” Emi’s soft, timid voice stated above a whisper.

“I’m going to figure something out to get us out of here, Emi,” I said with my eyes on her small baby bump.

She was due any day, and in my mind, I was happy but scared all in one. I dreamed of figuring out an escape route for us. I would do whatever it was that I had to do to find her and I shelter. I was ready to be a father to the baby growing in her stomach. Emi and I bonded, shared the same pain of never feeling love. In the darkness of my world, Emi was like my personal angel. She was the definition of grace. I spent countless of nights crying myself to sleep in Emi’s lap, releasing years of pain and rejection.

“Our time is up, Monni. Here.” She tossed me a bobby pin and started to cough violently.

Emi had been sick for months now, coughing uncontrollably. I begged the guards to get her help, they ignored me, and when they got tired of me asking, they would knock me out with the butt of their guns.

“I heard men talking, they plan on burning this place down. They’re not going to free us, Monni. Someone on the outside told and the cops are going to shut this place down, and then…” Emi’s words trailed off as smoke crept into our bunker.

“Free yourself, Monni. I love you—” Emi coughed violently as I yanked at the chains.

I yanked hard, with all my might. The spikes cut deep into my wrists as my heart thumped hard in my chest. I wanted to break freak to save her, this couldn’t be the end for her and I. Chaos erupted and echoed off from down the tunnel. People screamed and banged their chains in hopes of getting someone’s attention. I didn’t hear heavy boots stomping, which told me the guards had already deserted us.

“Emi!” I screamed her name as sweat dripped from my brows.

My chest heaved as I took ragged breaths. Smoke slithered like a predatory fog, curling around my ankles then climbing higher, filling the suffocating small space that we were in.

“The pin, Monni. Use it.” Emi coughed violently.

My fingers trembled as I swallowed down my fear. The smoke started to blind and sting my eyes as desperation took hold of me. This couldn’t be the end. My muscles tensed as I yanked against the chains with raw knuckles. I winced out in pain as the bobby pin clattered to the ground. I couldn’t give up, so I got on my knees to search for it.

I coughed harshly as the smoke thickened with Emi and my safety on the line. I found it just as I started to grow dizzy. I fought against passing out.

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