Page 21 of Tristano

Thankfully none of them raped me. Nor did they even get close to my vagina. They mostly groped my breasts a bit as they moved me from the train to a box truck. Then they moved us into a warehouse an hour later. I only know the time it took because I counted. It was hard with my pounding head, but I had to do it.

The men haven’t been back in here since they dropped us here. I don’t know if that’s a blessing or not. I wish I had sipped at least a little of that water. It might have made me drowsy, but my mouth is drier than a cotton swab. They haven’t fed us either. Another one of the girls died yesterday. Her body is still lying in the corner where they had her handcuffed.

“They haven’t brought any new girls. Do you think this is our final place?” Mandy whispers, her eyes still closed, almost as if it hurts to open them.

“Maybe,” I choke out. “I haven’t seen or heard anyone in three days. I’ve been keeping count.”

“What if they are leaving us here to die?” another girl wails.

“Stop,” I hiss at her. “If they are outside guarding us, you’ll only draw attention. Trust me, their attention is not the kind you want to get.”

“We are going to die here aren’t we?” one of the younger girls asks.

I shake my head. “I don’t know.”

Then I hear it. The footsteps.

I shush the girls as they all go limp.

I should too, but I can’t help it. I need more information. This passiveness isn’t helping.

The man walks in, setting trays down at each girls’ feet.

“We need water,” I tell him.

He jolts, looking over to me.

“Oh, we have a brave one,” he says, his voice heavily accented. “You need more water? How about I fill up a bowl and you can lap it up like a little dog?”

I shrug. “If that’s a choice, I accept. Whatever you plan to do to us, you need us alive. You left food at that girl’s feet over there, but do you see her? She’s dead. That’s two girls gone. Can’t be good for business.”

He curses in another language before getting in my face. Spit flies from his mouth.

“I can’t wait to get you up on the website. Pretty little thing like you would already get a pretty penny. Add in your mouth, and men will pay to break that spirit of yours.”

Ding. Ding. Ding.

They are going to sell us on the dark web.

I don’t know how that really helps since I’m here, but maybe, just maybe, someone will catch these men in time. I wish I had telepathy. I could send the information back home.

Instead, the triumph of my win slowly fades as the man storms from the room.

I sigh, hating that I angered them. Hopefully this doesn’t speed anything up.

I would hate if my actions got any of the others harmed or punished. God forbid they cut the already small rations we get. I mean, it’s not like we are getting five-star meals, but even the bread with peanut butter on it is better than nothing. I don’t even care that half the time the bread is dirty and moldy. I’d eat a rat at this point if I had to.

When you are forced into such a dire situation like we are, you do whatever you need to in order to keep breathing. Maybe that’s why I lashed out. I can’t see an ending to this where we all don’t die of dehydration or starvation.

You’d think since they took us, that they would at least want to keep us in good condition, but it seems they don’t care. That only makes me worry more about what they are planning to do to us. Maybe they don’t need us alive for what comes next.

The girls begin to move before the door bangs open again, causing them all to jolt. Then the same man is back, throwing water bottles at everyone. When he gets to me, he opens the bottle before spitting in it. Then he throws it at me with a smirk on his face.

I don’t know why he seems so proud of himself. I’m dying. Literally, I feel my body trying to shut down.

I have no dignity left. No reason to turn down or sneer at this bottle of water.

Hell, it could be brown and contain E. coli and I would probably still drink it.

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