Page 608 of Rage

A Taste of Venom

By: C.B. Frey

Chapter One

Rue Bennett

It’s at night that I wonder if this will ever end, because I don’t have time to during the day. When the sun is up, all we’re forced to do is obey.

Don’t move...don’t look at any of the men.

And god forbid...don’teverhave an opinion.

But the one thing they don’t know is who I am. It doesn’t matter that I come from a wealthy family, or have people who will hunt for me because that’s what they are counting on. They feed off it, like fucking vultures, pressing and prodding their beaks into every single nook and cranny of your body just for a slice of fresh meat.

In their case, it's for a dime.

Tomorrow is another day in this filth and I must be prepared. Not just for my sake but for the others. Every day there are newcomers, some as young as thirteen.

Never been touched and never been kissed.

I close my eyes and focus on the sound of my heart beneath my chest, pumping angrily, not just at my situation but at myself.

How could I let them do this to me?

How could I sit there and take it?

I take a breath, expelling the last thoughts as I blow out the air through my lips and retrain my focus.

This isn’t just about you, Rue.

This is about every woman that's stepped through those doors.

The voice in my head echoes, and almost as if she’s heard my thoughts, Hope meets my gaze from her cell. Funny, her personality nary matches her name one bit.

“I don’t know why you bother, Rue,” she whispers through her matted brunette hair, now knotted beside her face as she leans on the bars separating us. “We’re going to die in here.”

I admit, I did think like her at one stage when they first took me, but I refuse to sit here and take it any longer. I know she prefers not to risk her life, but I’d rather die with my hand in a fist, drawing blood.

“I’m going to get us out,” I say with conviction, and she pauses fidgeting with her torn nightgown.

“All three of us?” she questions with undeniable doubt in her tone.

“Make that my first promise.” I grip the bars, formulating the plan further in my head, calculating all the right steps we need to take to ensure our freedom. “My next one...”

I peer over my shoulder at the large steel door before whispering in her ear, “...I promise yourevenge.”

The clock ticks on the far-right wall, each chime louder than the last as Hope stands beside me, both our heads bowed, eyes to the floor. Heavy footsteps vibrate through the floorboards as two men stomp into the room.

“Don’t you think it’s about time we recycle and get something fresh in?” one of them snorts as he brushes up against my back, the stench of his cavity filled mouth pouring out onto my cheek. “Or we could sell them...I reckon this one could buy us a Rolls-Royce.”

It takes everything in me not to bite back because I know better now. My bruises are a testament to the fight I put up when I first got here but as they’ve healed and faded, the rest of me withers away at their every touch.

“Liam will want them in good condition. Get them cleaned up before the opening ceremony and for fucks sake...cut that one's hair.”

I don’t have to look at him to know he’s talking about Hope.

The man behind me grunts as his hand circles around my upper arm, he violently shoves me forward and my hands come out to stop my fall but before I can hit the ground, his knee drives into my stomach. Blinding pain travels through to my core but I don’t make a sound. I refuse to give them the satisfaction of my pain and discomfort. Instead, I get back onto my feet.

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