Page 44 of Sacrifice

My eyes open wide and he locks the collar on me. “As long as you do what I say, you’ll keep from feeling the medicine entering your system. Misbehave, and well, you’ll be paralyzed from neck down until I take the collar off you.”

He holds my shoulders and is bent over so he's eye to eye with me. As his lips come down on my forehead, I want to gag. But I know offending him right now really isn’t an option. If I’m paralyzed or put into that suit, I know I won’t live.

Tears fall down my face, but I somehow keep my blood pressure calm. Yes, I have floaters in my eyes and I can feel the headache, but this is too important. I have to stay awake. It’s the only way I know I’m not going to die. My mind conjures up a vision of Vincent holding Espresso, waiting for me.

God, I want to be with them so badly.

“Crawl,” Alejandro demands of me when he turns to leave the room. I move as fast as I can. I’m still sore and the cuts on my knees and hands sting with each move, but I ignore them.

As I follow him, I wonder if I will ever be free of all of this. Or if I will forever be a slave, lost in a world where I’m nothing but a toy. The idea of killing myself pops into my head and I feel regret within seconds.

How can I think like this? Suicide isn’t the answer. But my mind refutes me. Better to be dead than a slave to these men who God only knows what they will do to me.

Trying to catch my breath as the anxiety rises inside of me, I stop crawling. I cannot believe I’m even considering death. Shame eats me and Alejandro looks back at me.

“Did I tell you you could stop moving?”

Shaking my head no, I crawl after him. We end up in a bathroom and he looks at the tub. “Well, get in. I said you would be cleaned up and could rest if you were a good girl. While I don’t feel like you are the best good girl around, you have done well enough to earn a bath.”

I hate how he talks to me, like I am less than human. Still, I get into the tub and the warm water surrounds me as he pours some scent into the water.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this new slave will be ready for bidding in two hours. For now, enjoy the show of her cleaning herself.”

“What?” The word comes out but only as a harsh whisper. Alejandro once again ignores me.

He shows me a remote in his hand and sits down in the far corner. “This blue button sends electricity through the tub. The green one sends those needles into your neck. Don’t test me, Aribella.”

Looking away from him, I sniffle. The tears that were barely there are freely coming down now. Although the water feelsamazing, my sorrow makes me numb. I can hear the sounds of people talking and Alejandro laughs.

“That mirror you are looking at, Aribella, is where you are hearing the voices. They can see you. Give them a nice show and pick up the rag.”

Doing as I’m told, I pick up the rag and soap next to me. It hurts to rub my skin, but I want to rid myself of the grime and salt on me. With each stroke of the rag, I feel a dull stinging pain. So much for feeling numb, I grumble to myself.

Once I’m done, I sit here, wondering if I should try to attack him. Do you really want to test him? My mind mocks me and I know the answer. If I test him, I’m either going to be paralyzed or torched. No, thank you.

Alejandro stands up and comes over to me. “It’s time for you to stand up and wash your hair. Make sure you're facing the mirror. Those that are bidding on you will want to see your luscious tits.”

Even though I’m disgusted, I stand up. It takes me a minute to get my balance, but once I do, I reach for the shampoo. There’s no reason to test my luck. At least not now. Quickly, I get my hair clean and look at Alejandro as the door to the bathroom opens.

A young woman with a collar comes in and she keeps her eyes to the floor. Oh, is she a slave too?

“Louann, take Aribella to the kitchen and get her some food.”

She’s visibly shaking as she walks over to me. I can’t really see her face since her long blonde hair covers it.

“Come,” she says softly, and Alejandro helps me out of the tub. He clips a long leather strap to the collar on my neck.

Dripping water everywhere, I wonder why I couldn’t have at least been given a towel. Sighing, I try to keep up with Louann. God, she walks fast. She has a small limp, but it doesn’t hinder her as she leads me by the leather strap down the hall.

The more I walk, the harder the pain is to ignore in my ankle. Well, in my body in general. I know that the bath helped, but Ifeel horrible. We turn a corner and come to a kitchen. When we stop in front of the counter, she looks at me.

“Well, grab your bread.” Louann tugs at me and I grab it, along with the bottle of water.

I choke down the bread and wonder again about Miss Terrington. She loved to feed me and I miss her food so much. I will never complain about food again. Stumbling after Louann, I knock my shoulder into the doorframe.

Whimpering, I don’t move, and she looks back at me. “We have to keep walking. Slaves aren’t allowed to linger in the halls.” She tugs on me again, and I choke the last bit of the bread down and swallow some water.

Coming to a new hall, something feels very off. It’s colder in this area than where we were. She opens a door and we go through it. “In here, you’ll get ready for your auction. Don’t do anything stupid.”

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