Page 226 of Vile Boys

I stumble up the stairs and onto the stage, my heart thrumming as their gazes all fixate on me. I don’t know who these men are, but I know they want my flesh as they lick their lips at me like I’m minced meat to devour. The tension is palpable as I walk toward the center and stand still, while the seller, a woman, approaches the microphone in the front.

To both my left and my right are two guards, their guns aimed toward me.

Should I run, they’d put bullets through my legs.

If I tried to grasp the mic, they’d gun that down too along with me.

There’s no point in resisting.

“This one right here is fresh off the streets. Blonde, around twenty years, voluptuous, and her skin is flawless, not a scar in sight.” The woman swings her finger in a circle. “Turn around for us.”

I awkwardly spin around, and the oohs and aahs make me gag.

“See? A perfect specimen. So let’s start the bidding at eighty thousand.”

“Hundred,” someone in the back calls out.

I can’t believe I’m up here. That I can even stand without passingout from pure shock.

“Hundred and twenty.”

Is that the worth of a human life?

“Hundred and fifty,” the next one calls out.

All of it feels like a blur, like I no longer exist and am merely floating around in a vessel.

Maybe that’s for the best.

Suddenly, loud bangs make my ears perk up.

“What was that?” the woman on the stage asks the guards, who shrug in response.

More bangs follow, and all the men in the seats start to chat with each other.

The woman on stage claps her hands. “Now, gentlemen, there’s no need to—”

BANG!

The loudest gunshot makes them duck for cover.

“Get the girls out of here. Don’t lose our precious cargo. Bring them to the other compound,” the woman on the stage commands.

The guard swiftly steps up the stage and grabs me. “Come. Now.”

“Gentlemen, please follow the van to our new location. We’ve got some unforeseen circumstances that are being taken care of. For now, let’s move to our new auction location, shall we?” the woman on the stage says, and she clears her throat. “No need to panic, our men will take swift care of any uprising.”

“Is it safe?” one of the men asks.

“Of course!” the woman on the stage says. “But just to be sure, follow me to the side exit.”

“Move!” the guard growls at me, shoving me back into the hallway with all the other girls and boys. “Line them up. Check them. Make sure they’re ready for transport.”

The guards swiftly take care of any cries for help, punching and kicking those who appear too scared to move. I stand next to the girl that talked to me. A gun pokes into my back, a reminder not to try to rebel. Wherever we’re going can’t be any better than this.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Screams from the hallways behind us make us turn our heads.

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