Page 16 of Roman

Her eyes began to adjust to the dimly lit room as she slowly looked around her.The only light filtered in from outside the door—a barred door…

Oh god, I’m in a cell,she realized,fear taking hold of her.

Charlotte tried looking around as best she could.From what she could tell, she was in an old brick cell.The floor seemed covered in sand or dust, and the walls looked old, some bricks broken and crumbling on the ground.

Her teeth chattered, and her body shivered uncontrollably from a mixture of terror and how cold it was in the dark cell.Maybe she was underground.It would explain the musty chill in the air.

God, what if they are sex traffickers?

Charlotte and Ava were obsessed with crime documentaries.They had learned about a lot of girls being kidnapped and trafficked around the world, never to be seen again.

“No.”She shook her head, the action making her wince all over again, her head pounding and her arms screaming in agony.The thought of being a sex slave triggered a wave of nausea.

Screams echoed from somewhere close by.Whatever was happening to that poor person sounded horrific.Her tears returned.She sobbed, panic completely overwhelming her, the trembling uncontrollable.

Charlotte heard muffled laughing and footsteps somewhere off in the distance.With every step closer, her shaking increased.Never had she experienced fear like she was right now.With every echoed footstep, the harder it became to breathe.She could hear her pulse beating frantically in her ears, her breaths becoming faster.It felt like her heart was going to explode as she fought off a panic attack.

There was a loud bang on the bars of her cell, and she jerked, letting out a small scream.Laughter echoed through the space as the familiar voice of the man with the black, oily hair came through the bars.

“Not so pretty anymore, are we, sweetheart?”He chuckled.

“I would still play with her,” came the voice of the red-haired man.

Oh god, no.What were they going to do to me?Her mind raced, a thousand scenarios flashing through her head, none of them good.

They’re here to sex traffic me.Her mind had already made up what they were going to do.She would be shipped to a third-world country, and no one would ever find her.

The sound of keys entering the lock snapped her out of her terrified thoughts, the door slowly creaking open as the two repulsive men stepped into the room.Evil grins spread across their faces.

“You’re lucky our boss doesn’t want you harmed.I owe you a good thrashing for what you did to me back at your apartment,” the red-haired man said, stepping up to her and running his finger down her neck, pulling down the collar of her sweatshirt.

“Get your filthy hands off me!”Charlotte screamed, unable to move away from his nauseating touch.

“Scream all you want.No one will hear you.”He laughed, grabbing her hair and cruelly ripping her head back as he ran his tongue up her neck, his other hand running up her inner thigh over her sweatpants.

“Please, don’t,” she whimpered.

He’s going to rape me.The horrible thought raced through her mind.

Never had she felt so helpless.There was nothing she could do, no way to stop him.The tears streamed down her face as she tried kicking him, ignoring the pain it caused her.The movement sent her swinging backward.

He laughed, catching her around the hips as she swung back toward him.“I think maybe we should have our way with you before the boss gets here.”The black-haired man smirked, walking over to her.

“No,” Charlotte cried, panic gripping her.

She started thrashing violently, kicking and screaming at the top of her lungs as the two men laughed, harshly grabbing at her.Warm blood began dripping down from her wrists, the shackles slicing into them as she kicked harder, trying to get the men off her.She got the red-haired man square between the legs, and he cursed her as he hit the ground.

The dark-haired man erupted into a fit of laughter.“She nailed you again,” he mocked, grabbing her roughly.“You and I are going to have some fun.”

Charlotte shook her head.He wasn’t taking her without a fight, she thought, as screaming erupted from somewhere in the building, followed by what sounded like gunfire.

Both men whipped their heads around.

“What the fuck was that?”the red-haired man whispered, scrambling up from the floor.

“Run, they’ve found us!”a man screamed, running past the door.

“Who?”The black-haired man rushed to the door.“Who’s found us?”he yelled at the fleeing man.

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