Page 5 of Marks of Rebellion
I groan but pick my leg up to allow her to help me.
"What did they do to your ankles?" she cries out.
"It's from the shackles. My wrists are the same." I hold them out.
"Give me the soap. Let me help you clean them. You could get an infection from these wounds."
I do as she says, and she cleans them and then holds my calf so I can shave. When I've gotten my legs and armpits, I do my bikini line and throw the razor back in the bucket.
"Nope. Pick it back up. It's commando time."
I ask the question I'm most fearful of. "Are they going to rape me?"
She shakes her head, and her eyes widen. "They haven't done that to me. But they love to stare, and every now and then cop a feel to watch me squirm. And sometimes they make me sing for hours naked."
Horrified, I gape at her.
"I've worn hardly anything on stage. I just pretend I'm in a concert to get through it."
"I don't want to give them the satisfaction—"
"Vanessa, don't make them angry. I did the first night I got here." Her voice is firm with warning.
"What did they do?"
"Zoe, out!" the man yells.
"Just do what they say," Zoe instructs. "I'll see you at dinner, and we'll talk in the pit with the others after."
"The others?"
"Yeah. Penelope and Julieta."
Goose bumps break out on my skin.There are more women here?
"They won't be at dinner?"
Her face falls. "No. They'll be fed scraps. Be grateful you'll at least get a good meal tonight. Santiago is fed like a king. The rest of his guys mostly fend for themselves and rely on whatever they can catch. It's not always cooked all the way. It might be a while until you get anything else you can stomach."
"Zoe, now!" The man yells.
She groans. "Gotta go. See you tonight. And shave until you're bald." Zoe winks and leaves me in the river to finish.
I follow her directions and remove all my hair. It takes a while, and when I'm done, I get out. The man hands me a dress and high heels.
Is this a joke? He wants me to wear stilettos in the jungle?
How does he even know my sizes?
Santiago was planning on buying me.
I've been bought.
For the first time since arriving, the realization hits me like a brick.Santiago owns me.At first, it was Carlos. Then the guerrillas.
I'm never going to be free again.
If only I had never met Carlos Garcia.
