Page 610 of Rage

Most people wouldn’t return to the place that caused them harm or discomfort but I’m not most people.

When I’m done, everyone will come to know the nameElias Cross.

Chapter Three

Rue Bennett

This is it, Rue. All you have to do is find a way to get the fuck out.

Looking around the room, I observe the women who have been paid to get us ready. One of them has luscious auburn hair, which extends past her ribs, and the other has glasses that are too large for her nose. They keep sliding off. Both are pretty in their own way, and I doubt they know who they are employed by.

“Close your eyes please, miss.” The one with the glasses smiles and I do as she asks, her vanilla perfume still clinging onto her sweater as she swipes makeup over my lid. “This will suit your outfit perfectly.”

From her comment alone, I realise she knows nothing about these people, and maybe it’s for the best. I wouldn’t wish this on someone I hated, let alone someone who is just doing her job. I haven’t spoken to anyone besides Hope for the last month...at least that’s how long I think I’ve been here...and honestly, I don’t think I want to. After being beaten and forced into sexual activities with multiple men and sometimes women, I don’twantto speak.

What could I say that would hold any value after what I had been through?

Who would take me seriously?

“You have beautiful skin.” Her minty fresh breath fans over my head as she continues to work on my face and I want to thank her for the compliment, but I don’t. My reality is my beauty has been stripped from me, taken with force, and moulded into a dark, sickening trauma. “I’m almost done,” she whispers as she paints my lips.

I look over at Hope who now has a long bob cut, her dead straight strands shining beneath the lights. As her eyes find mine, I see the hesitation behind them because tonight is the night we will be separated. The ceremony is where the richest of filth gather to bet their millions on girls and women to have and keep, to dowhateverthey want with. It’s where the women who have no one go, after their ransom requests haven’t been met.

“Okay! I think you’re ready.” The woman with the glasses grins from ear to ear, looking to her colleague for approval and when the other woman nods, she reaches for a mirror. “Would you like–”

“No.” I stand abruptly, the sharp ends of my outfit almost cutting my skin as I refuse to look at my reflection. The two women stare at me, then look at each other, unsure of what to say. Leaving everyone else in the room, I enter the attached bathroom. It’s small, but it has everything you need. I avoid the mirror and shut my eyes, taking in a few deep breaths before everything begins. I don’t know what to expect, and everything inside me screams with anxiety, but I can’t focus on that. Looking down at my outfit–if you can call it that–I reevaluate my plan. It consists of sharp mirror like pieces, connected by mesh. One piece is a mini skirt and the other a bra. I was instructed to be bare beneath, so it really leaves nothing to the imagination.

Finding a long piece of mirror, I peel it off the mesh slowly, being careful not to make it obvious a piece is missing. Holding it in my hand, I test it on myself, gently pricking my finger until a dot of blood appears, then I slide it delicately into the bra, hooking it onto the mesh and pressing it to my skin so it doesn’t fall. A loud knock vibrates the door, startling me and I turn the tap on to wash the blood off my finger before opening the door.

I keep my gaze low, knowing exactly who is behind the door and he chuckles. The searing memories from countless nights of his disgusting breath on my face and calloused hands on my body at the forefront of my mind every time he’s near. When he’s not, there’s a voice inside my head. His voice.

“You think you’ll ever leave here?”

“Not even your own parents want you.”

“You’re stuck here...forever...”

“I’ll use you until your cunt can’t take me anymore, and then I’ll shove my hand so far up your pussy, I’ll force you to smile, like my own personal puppet.”

A shiver rolls through me at the echo of his voice as he nudges me forward. “They’re waiting. It’s almost time for themain event.”

A quick scan around the room reveals Hope has already gone but I pray I still have a chance to see her again. Stepping out the door withstink breathbehind me, the corridor seems like it’s getting smaller and smaller the longer we walk. My throat constricts the closer we get to the end, the black door mocking me like it’s the final chapter of my life. It just might be.

Stink breath—or Teddy as they like to call him—opens the door before whispering in my ear. “If I was them, I wouldn’t wastepisson you.”

I grit my teeth before stepping out into a dark room filled with mirrors and my heart jumps into my throat as I snap my eyes shut.

No, no, no.

I don’t want to see who I’ve become. I want to remember the woman I was before they turned me into a slave for their sick pleasures.

The microphone feed crackles as it turns on, a womans voice fills the room, vibrating off the mirrors. “This is our last prize. Gentlemen, we have Rue Bennett...” A bright spotlight shines on me, illuminating my vision with the red of the back of my eye lids.

“Open your eyes.” A man's voice travels through the feed as my stomach does a summer sault, threatening to throw up the bile that's been stagnant in my belly for days. “I said open your eyes, girl!”

The thin, blade-like mirror presses tighter against my breast as I swallow and slowly open my eyes, my gaze trained onto the floor.

“Look at the mirror in front.” Another command comes from behind me,stink breath,reminding me how much I need to get the fuck out of this place. Saliva pools in my mouth as I look at myself in the mirror and I purse my lips. The light from my eyes no longer there, instead, all I see is hate. My hair, wavy and neat, representing everything I once was. Spoiled with the comfort of money, able to afford all the finer things like being able to get my hair done every three weeks. My roots have grown out now, the dark blonde blending with the highlights I had.

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