Page 13 of Thanatos' Craving

“Bidding? Bidding on what?” I asked.

The woman stayed silent as she continued to write, and the guard pulled me closer to him. “For you, Ginger. Auction night is the first of the month. You wonder why all those girls disappear into the back? They go to new homes and live as sex slaves.”

My breath came in uneven pants, my heart wanted to race out of my chest.

“Don’t worry. I’ve kept you dancing here long enough so I could save up enough for you.” The guard straightened his shoulders. “Got a cage and everything for when I’m not there. You’re gonna be mine now.”

No words left my mouth as I stared at him.

I had to get out.

I had to get Amanda out.

“Here.” The woman ripped a sheet a paper out of the notebook. “Put her in a cage with the rest of them. She’s dressed fine for the auction.”

I stayed silent as the guard walked me down the hallway. This club was larger than I thought. I tried to memorize the maze that he led me through to the cages. If I had my bearings right, we were right on the edge of the building. Which meant there could be an exit somewhere close.

The guard had one hand around my arm, the other fiddled with his pocket until he pulled out a set of keys.

“Just another hour until the bidding starts. Then you’re mine.” He put the key in the lock. He turned to me, and before I could fully form a plan in my head, I kneed him straight into the balls.

His eyes widened in shock, and he grabbed them.

I didn’t stop. I took my heels and ground them into groin. Onto the floor he fell. He yelled in pain. He was making too much noise, so I took my thick shoe and kicked him right in the temple.

He stopped screaming, and I just prayed to the universe that it was enough.

Without confirming his well-being, I forcefully snatched the keys from his lifeless grasp and swiftly inserted one into the lock. The mechanism yielded effortlessly, and as the door swung open, a sickening sensation churned in the pit of my stomach. A dreadful sight awaited me—ten women confined in cages; their elegant attire unable to conceal their impending fate.

Some cried, but the one that cried the most, wailing in the corner, was Amanda. I went to her first, fiddling through the keys. A master key, there must be a master key.

Amanda pulled me closer to her as I pushed the key into the lock. First try, it sunk into the lock and the door clicked. Someone was on my side tonight.

“Thank god, Ginger, thank you, thank you!” Amanda held me tight, like a lifeline, and I smiled, trying to hold the both of us up.

“My name’s Juniper, and we aren’t out of the woods yet.”

I quickly got to work and unlocked all the cages. I urged Amanda to go to the back door of the room with the EXIT sign above it and told her to leave. She wouldn’t. She stayed by my side and helped me open all the doors.

As soon as each door opened, each woman threw a quick thank you and left.

As the last door creaked open, a dim light flooded the room. The last woman we rescued engulfed me in a tight embrace, her lips pressed against my cheek, and she forcefully guided us towards the exit. At that moment, a low groan echoed behind me, causing Amanda’s terrified scream to pierce the air. But the warning was futile, for the inevitability struck like lightning. My body crashed onto the cold, unforgiving floor, sending a shockwave of searing pain radiating through my back.

“Run!” I choked out a scream. The woman we just released darted out the door. Amanda, being stubborn, tried to pull meacross the floor. “I said run!” I pushed her away. She stumbled and cried, but I saw her scurry out the door.

Someone pulled my ankle, the exit becoming smaller from my sight. Whatever was digging into my back goes deeper. The searing pain came full force again when the guard stepped on the opposite side of the wound and pulled whatever was sticking out of it.

I screamed, my nails digging into the floor. I did my best to turn to look behind me. A jagged knife dripping with my blood hung in his hand. The left side of my back was bleeding. I could feel it running down my side and watched it pool on the concrete floor.

I gathered enough strength and gazed at the guard I had kicked him in the face. He was bleeding on the side of his head and his sunglasses were missing. And for once, I wish they had stayed on.

His eyes were blazing red with big yellow pupils. A black ring surrounded his eyes, making them look like they sank further inside his head. My mouth hung open in terror. For whatever reason, my legs couldn’t work. The heels were too hard to maneuver in my shocked state. I took my good arm and pulled myself along the floor again to get away.

The guard chuckled, licking the knife with his thick tongue, and hummed. “You taste good. A minor price you have to pay for taking things too far.”

Clicking heels filled the room, and the gorgeous blonde stepped in. She scratched her head with her long red fingernails and scowled at the guard. “Koozoth, what is the meaning of this?” She stared at the empty cells. “Where are all the girls?”

He sheathed his knife and growled. “Don’t say my name, or would you rather I say yours? And she let them all out, they got away.”

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