Page 3 of At A Dreamwalkers Mercy

“Fuck’s sake, girl,” Chuck snarled as he came around the corner and reached down to grab her arm, his fat, grubby fingers wrapping around her thin arm and squeezing as he pulled her up forcefully. Her mind instantly went hazy and filled with images from his own mind, even as she tried to block them out.

Evil, twisted things.

He dragged her out of the tent, oblivious to the pain in her head, as his thoughts and memories started overtaking her thoughts, and she swallowed roughly, forcing the bile down her throat as her body started to shake.

“I’ve got someone coming in. I need you to check him out.” She swallowed again, this time guilt rushing through her. She hated everything about being stuck in this place with Chuck.

She hated living in a small trailer that locked from the outside.

She hated moving across the country all the time and never settling down.

She hated that she couldn’t go out and find a life of her own.

That she couldn’t make amends.

But mostly, she hated this.

In every town, Chuck found some man that was looking for something in their life. Sometimes it was money or love, often it was business, but they were always very wealthy, and that wealth was what Chuck was after. That was what he used her for, to ring them dry.

That was the worst part of it all.

At first, he had threatened her with violence. But after a while, when he figured out that wasn’t going to work, he had started threatening the other girls in the circus camp. Even though they hated her, she couldn’t stand to let him hurt them.

“Don’t fuck this up!” Chuck grunted out, probably reading her mind, before adding, “You know what will happen if you do. Sara is looking mighty delicious lately.” He knew exactly what his words would do to her, and her stomach rolled at the thought.

Sara was seventeen and running away from a father that was a little handsy. Unfortunately, she had run right into Chuck’s greedy hands instead. Most of the people that were working for Chuck were running from something, or like her, had nowhere else to go.

“I know,” she said meekly, already knowing that she would do whatever he wanted to keep someone else safe. Especially if it was keeping them safe from Chuck when he got that look in his eye like he had right now.

She knew what that look meant.

She had experienced it firsthand.

“I bought and paid for you. That means, when I’m done with you, I will loan you out and get my money’s worth.” She shivered in remembrance of his long-ago words as he had stood up after beating her when she hadn’t wanted to bribe an older gentleman that had just lost his wife.

The next day, the old man had come back with a happy glaze to his eyes, excited to be able to talk to his dead wife, and she had done just what Chuck had wanted.

Dread filled her just thinking about it as Chuck shoved her into her room to get ready.

She shivered at the cold and sat down.

Of all the places that they had been, Massachusetts was by far the coldest. They would be going farther south after this, and she would be happy for the warmth, though she would miss the pretty scenery.

She loved the trees and hills that seemed to be everywhere.

She shook her head at herself.

It wasn’t like she got to go sightseeing. One of the reasons she didn’t just pack up and leave was that Chuck always took her money. She didn’t have a penny to her name.

What was she supposed to do?

Turn tricks on the street?

Somehow, even Chuck seemed better than that.

As she picked up the old makeup that made her face feel so pasty and gross, she started painting on the dark eye shadow and tried her best to conceal her face.

Next, she grabbed the fake silk wrap next to her and started twisting it around her head, covering up her bright orange hair.

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