The two friends did not talk as they stood inside the safe atrium. With a disgusted grunt, Aless limped to the kitchen where she sat hard in a chair. Placing her face in her hands, Aless tried to remain calm. She could hear Kay moving cautiously around the kitchen then felt something cold against her left shoulder. Pulling her head from her hands, Aless found Kay standing next to her, holding a cold pack against Aless's bruised shoulder. Seeing the cold pack made Aless smile slightly. It was an old cold pack that her mom bought her, shaped like a cartoon bear with a golden crest on its chest. A sunbear. That had been Aless's nickname as a kid. Sunbear. Her smile faltered as Aless recalled that no one had called her that in over ten years. Not since the day her mother died.
"Why do bad things happen?" she asked.
Aless didn't really expect an answer, but she asked anyways. Grabbing a chair, Kay sat down, still holding the cold pack to Aless's shoulder.
"Blame it on the Three-Eyed Cąȶ," Kay said.
"I'm serious, Kay."
"So am I."
"How can we blame all our problems on an imaginary Three-Eyed Cąȶ?"
"You aren't supposed to literally. It just means that sometimes there is no explanation. Bad people are bad people. And nice people will always be hurt by them."
This answer didn't sit well with Aless either. There had to be a reason.
"Do you think it was my fault? What happened tonight I mean?" Aless asked.
"Not entirely."
Snapping her head up, Aless gaped at her friend. That had not been the answer she was expecting.
"What do you mean? You think it is my fault in some way?"
"Aless, I keep telling you that you are too nice. You were too nice to that Bal guy at the club. You probably were too nice to him on your birthday and, honestly, you were too nice to him from the beginning. I mean who becomes friends with some random delivery guy?"
"He was nice in the beginning and we had fun talking. I didn't see anything wrong with that."
"And there lies your guilt. You are too naïve. Men and women can't just be friends."
"Sure, they can. I am friends with DJ."
"Puh-leez. He is Danny's friend. If you and Danny break up, you and DJ won't be friends anymore."
Wanting to say something, Aless opened her mouth but found she couldn't respond. Kay was right. DJ wouldn't stay her friend after Danny and she broke up. But that didn't mean men and women couldn't be friends.
"Being too nice with guys or trying to be their friend gives them the wrong idea," Kay continued.
Seeing Aless's crestfallen face, Kay took a deep breath.
"But that doesn't mean that you deserved what Bal did. Or even what Danny did," Kay conceded.
Moving the cold pack to Aless's bicep, Kay felt bad for her friend. Since Aless had never really dated, she didn't know that for every nice guy there were two jerks.
"Danny was just mad. He didn't mean it," Aless whispered.
"There you go making excuses for him. You are being too nice. No matter how mad he was, Danny should never have dragged you like that," Kay scowled.
Shamefaced, Alessandra looked down at the brush forming on her arm from where Danny had grabbed her. It didn't hurt badly, but it still felt tender. How could Danny have grabbed her like that she wondered. Watching Aless's heartbroken face, Kayla felt her blood freeze in her heart. It had been terrible seeing Danny manhandle her like that. It had been even worse to see that delivery guy attacking her…kissing her…as if he had the right…as if he could ever be good enough for Aless. None of them deserved her. None of them understood her. None of them really loved Aless not like…
"It did hurt," Aless whispered, her voice fragile like crispy ice.
"I bet," Kay said softly.
Tenderly she brushed back a loose strand of Aless's hair. Aless's face had hardened but it reminded Kayla of partially fired clay, hard but soft spots around the edges. Her eyes were softly glowing like Sǐwáng moons. Kayla hoped that Aless wouldn't look at her with those eyes. She hated when Alessandra's eyes were like that. They always made her feel like they were looking through her, finding all her faults and secrets. They exposed her.
"He had never done anything like that before," Alessandra finally said after a long pause, thankfully not looking at Kay.
"And he probably won't ever do it again but that doesn't make this time that he did do it okay."
"Yeah."
"Aless, you need to realize that even the nicest guys can turn out to be abusive. You can't tell until it happens."
Cocking her head to the side, Aless gave Kay a quizzical look. Kay wouldn't meet her gaze. She couldn't look into those Death Moon eyes.
"Did someone hurt you, Kay? Who? When? Why didn't you tell me about it?"
"It only happened once or twice. I didn't want to make a big deal about it."
"Kay, tell me."
"John."
"John!"
Shocked into silence, Aless mouthed wordlessly for a moment. John? But he was such a nice guy. How could it be true? If Kay said it was true, it had to be but how?
"I know what you are thinking. Not possible! John is Mr. Nice Guy. That's what I thought too but turns out we were both wrong about him."
"What happened?"
"It was nothing big. It only happened twice when he was drunk. Turns out John drinks a lot more than anyone knows. Anyways, when he would get drunk, John would get kind of aggressive sexually. At first, I tried to ignore it or just go with it, but it began to make me uncomfortable, so one time I told him no. It didn't go over well. I tried to tell myself it was a freak occurrence but then it happened again. Now I know I don't date the nicest guys and that a lot of them don't treat me that well, but I don't let a guy lay his hands on me, so when he sobered up, I broke up with him."
"Kay, I had no idea."
"Yeah, I know. I felt embarrassed because I had been so crazy about him and it was because of him you had to go out with that creep Tyler."
"Tails of the same fur."
"Exactly what I thought too."
Sitting in silence, both girls lost themselves in thought. It was true that Kay knew many of her dates treated her poorly. She didn't mind being used sexually but being used sexually and being struck were too different things. At least with sex, she got something out of it. The only thing she got out of being hit was pain. Meanwhile Aless wondered how she could have missed that John was treating Kay so badly. How did she miss that? She was supposed to be Kay's best friend. Some best friend she was. Some girlfriend she was. Maybe Kay was right, and that night was her fault.
"I'm tired," Kay sighed.
Standing, she handed Aless the cold pack.
"I think we both need to get some sleep. It's already one in the morning," she said.
"Yeah. Okay. Do you want to use my bed or one of the spare bedrooms?"
With her back to her, Kay paused. Her mind flashed back to Danny dragging Aless and to that guy kissing her. Then she saw those damn Sǐwáng Moon eyes in her mind. Closing her own eyes, Kay swallowed softly. She could feel those eyes piercing her back but she knew they were fading now as Alessandra calmed down.
"Naw, I'm going crash on the couch. I feel like watching a little TV and it's the only TV in your house," Kayla forced a laugh.
"Okay. Try to sleep."
Standing, Aless hugged her friend from behind then went to bed. When she lied down, Aless was sure that sleep would not come. To her surprise, sleep over came her quickly. The night's events draining her of energy. Not too much later, Alessandra woke. Queasy from lack of sleep, Aless couldn't pinpoint what had woken her. Sitting up, she felt the room spin slightly. Strange. Standing, Aless grimaced as her ankle squeaked in protest. Exiting her room, Aless heard muffled voices. Kay must have fallen asleep with the TV on. Making her way down the stairs, Aless tried to be as quiet as possible. She didn't want to wake Kay if she was sleeping. On the main floor, the voice became clearer. A woman was crying and begging, and a man was telling her to shut up.
"Kay, what were you watching?" Aless mentally asked.
Tip-toing to the living room, Aless glanced around the doorway to see if Kay was awake. She was, but the problem was that the noise Aless heard was not the TV. The TV was off. The voices she heard were coming from Kay and a tall man. The tall man pointed a metal weapon as Kay, which Aless quickly deduced was a kahō.
Contrary to its name, kahō, which meant fire gun in old Mᴔjin, did not shoot fire. Instead its internal mechanics continuously heated molten magma bullets, just enough so the bullet could pierce anything, but not enough that they were fully liquid. The external metal of the guns, Aless heard, were made of moon metal, which was a permanently cool substance. No amount of heat could alter the temperature of moon metal by more than a hundredth of a degree.
Brandishing the kahō in Kay's face, the man yelled at her to shut up again. Cowering, Kay whimpered pathetically. Three more men stood behind the one with the kahō, their expressions as cold and murderous as his.
"Please," Kay whimpered. "This isn't my house. I'm just visiting my friend. I don't know where any of the valuables are. Aless is upstairs. She will know."
"I said shut up!" the man with the kahō growled.
With a hard swing, the man struck Kayla with the butt of the kahō. Clenching her teeth, Aless fought the urge to run out and defend her friend. It wasn't the time for heroics. Holding her breath, Aless backed away from the living room as fast as her weak ankle would let her. Moving as silently as she could, Aless made her way back the stairs and began to climb. About half way up, the stair beneath her foot made a noticeable squeak. Sucking in air, Aless prayed the men hadn't hear. She was not so lucky.
"What was that?" someone said.
"The other girl?" another replied.
"Go find out," the kahō man barked.
Bolting up the stairs, Aless frantically looked up and down the hall. Where could she hide? Her room? No. They would look there first and the window was a clear drop to the ground. Her father's room! Its window had a small roof outside of it. She could climb out on to it to hide. Sliding into her father's room, Aless wrenched open the window. As she climbed out on to the small roof, she pulled the drape closed behind her. It would obscure the view of her from anyone who came into the room. On the small roof, Aless searched the dark night for a way off the roof. Yet it was still the last Dark Moon night and Aless could barely see her hand before her face. Fumbling with her phone, which she had been lucky enough to grab when she woke, Alessandra tried to use the soft light of the phone to see. It only illuminated a foot around her. Too scared to slide to the edge of the roof, Aless stayed with her back pressed against the side of the house. Barely breathing, Aless couldn't think of the emergency number for the police, so she pressed the talk button twice. Why did her brain forget everything useful and important when it mattered most? Silently praying, Aless begged the Deity that someone would pick up. Inside she could hear footsteps slowly making their way up the stairs.
The phone rang four times before someone picked up.
"What do you want, Aless?" Danny's irritated voice answered.
DJ's voice spoke in the background.
"Danny…" Aless desperately whispered. "You have to help me!"
"What are you talking about? I told you I'd call you. I don't want to talk to you right now."
"Danny…they have Kayla!"
A short pause.
"What...Wait…Who? What are you talking about, Aless?"
"I don't know…they broke into the house while I was sleeping…they have Kayla…I don't know what they want. Danny, I am so scared."
Thick silence pressed on Aless's ear from Danny's side of the phone. Inside the house, Aless could hear the men tearing about rooms. They had not reached her father's room yet.
"What are you talking about? Is this a joke, Aless? 'Cause if so, it's not funny. Have you been drinking?"
"I..I…I saw a kahō…they hit Kay with it."
At the mention of the kahō, Aless could feel Danny lean forward. Aless would never joke about a kahō. He shouted at his friends to be quiet before he spoke into the phone again.
"Aless, where are you?"
"I climbed out my dad's window. I'm hiding on the small roof at the front of the house. They are looking for me, Danny. I can hear them."
Her voice was barely audible by now as she breathed into the phone. As if to prove her point, a voice sang out from just outside her father's room.
"Oh, little girl! Little girl, where are you? We are coming to find you."
Choking, Aless said nothing. Closing her eyes, Aless tried to calm her heart which was beating so loudly she was sure the intruder would hear it. The men's voice faded slightly and Aless dared to speak again.
"Danny…they are going to find me…"
"Aless, get the hell out of there! Call the police!"
The footsteps were coming back towards her dad's room.
"Oh Deity, Danny…they are coming this way!"
"Damn it, Aless, run!"
Danny must have forgotten that Aless was hiding on the small roof.
"I can't…they are here."
Footsteps told Aless that someone had entered her father's room. Pressing the phone hard against her ear, Aless fell silent. Danny said nothing, straining his ears to listen too. Out of the corner of her eye, Aless saw through the curtain a shadow pass by the window. The shadow appeared to circle the room twice, opening closet doors and searching under the bed. Good thing Aless hadn't decide to hide there. Then silence. Danny called Aless's name, but Aless quickly pressed the phone to her chest to smother the sound.
Suddenly the curtain was ripped back, and hands grabbed Aless through the window. Screaming, Aless tried to move out of reach, but she slipped on the slanted roof. Scrambling to not fall off the roof, Aless grabbed the only thing she could, the intruder's hands. Her phone slipped from her hand, skittering down the roof. The hands wrenched Aless inside as she screamed in terror of falling and being captured.
"Danny!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "Danny, help me!"
Danny's voice squeaked out of the phone as it flew down the roof into the open air. He was calling her name hysterically. Still screaming, Aless found herself yanked back inside and thrown against a wall. A forearm pressed hard against her neck as she struggled to break free.
"Let go of me!" she yelled.
The man just laughed and slammed her hard against the wall. Crying out in pain, Aless fell momentarily still.
"Such a feisty little thing," the man guffawed.
Pinching her cheeks, the man continued to laugh as he cut off her airway. Reacting on instinct, Aless bit down hard on the man's hand. Yelping the man released her. Falling to her knees, Aless gasped for air as she scrambled on all fours to get away. Tackling her, the man flipped her onto her back and wrapped his hands around her throat. Instantly a memory of a Pakido lesson popped into Aless's mind. Raising her arms above her hand, Aless clasped hands together then brought her elbows down diagonally across the man's arms. Grunting, the man's grip loosened enough that Aless could breath. Opening one hand, Aless drove her palm heel straight up into his nose. Violet blood sprayed Aless's face. She didn't have time to think. Screaming the man reared back. Pulling free, Aless scrambled to her feet then ran out of the room. Tearing down the stairs, she didn't look back as she heard him screaming in pain and anger. Aless ignored the protests of her ankle. Diving into the living room, Aless found Kayla unconscious on the couch. No time to wake her. Luckily the sheer size of her house was giving Aless time as the men checked on their comrade then made their way down the stairs. From the sounds of their mixed laughter and curses, the men did not seem worried.
With a grunt, Aless lifted Kay onto her back. Thank goodness Kay weighed so little. The steady heartbeat against her back told Aless that Kay was alive. Knowing the men would be by the front door, Aless ran as best she could to the back door. Reaching the back door, which led to the garage, Aless saw the lamp near her explode as a crack tore the air. Oh Deity, they were shooting at her. Wrenching the door open, Aless ran through then slammed the door shut. Locking it, Aless knew she had only bought herself seconds. Turning to run again, Aless tripped. Crashing to the ground, she instinctively reached out to break her fall. With her weight combined with Kayla's, it was more than her poor wrist to could take. Her left wrist snapped under the pressure, causing Alessandra to scream. Still she could not stop. Barely managing to get to her feet, Aless hoisted Kay up again and half ran-half limped to the garage door. It had been left open. One small blessing. Wrist on fire, Aless could only hold Kay on her back with her non-injured hand.
Running around the side of the house, down the driveway, Aless's lungs burned as Kay felt heavier and heavier. A crack tore through the air and something stung her right thigh. A wet and warm sensation ran down her leg as numbness spread from the impact point. Shifting Kay's weight, Aless pushed through the pain and spreading numbness. She began to stumble as she lost feeling in her leg. Kay slipped from her back. Another sharp crack sounded as Aless tried to stop Kay from falling. Pain radiated in her lower left side. Buckling, Aless did her best to stay standing. Kay was depending on her.
The end of the drive was in view. Focusing on it, Aless pushed forward, only able to drag the groaning Kay. Two cracks, close in time, rang. More pain. The new pain radiated from her shoulder and her right upper arm. Numbness was consuming Aless. Her mind had gone fuzzy. Unable to hold herself up anymore, she collapsed to the concrete. Kayla groaned next to Aless. Half crawling, half dragging her useless body, Alessandra kept her eyes on the end of the driveway. She thought she was still dragging Kay but should couldn't tell anymore. Even the pain in her wrist was disappearing into numbness. Darkness edged into her vision then all she could see was darkness. She couldn't see the end of the driveway, but her fingers could feel the curb. Then she felt nothing.
When Aless awoke, she thought she had gone blind. Suffocating darkness surrounded her. Panicking, Aless began to struggle. Something bounded her arms to her body. The violent nature of her movements sent her sprawling onto the floor as what she was sitting on lurched to the left. Soft laughter filtered through the air, not from a single source but many. Gut wrenching, Aless managed to sit up just as the contents of her stomach heaved.
"Jeez, here," a male voice said.
A small breeze brushed Alessandra's cheeks as something was shoved under her face just in time to catch her vomit. Heaving again, Aless emptied the little contents she had. Shaking, Aless taste bile in her mouth as her throat burned from the acid. A large hand patted her back.
"It's okay," the voice said. "That is a side effect of tranq bullets. They really make you nauseous."
Tranq bullets? So, she hadn't been shot with real kahō bullets. Relief swept through her. The points of impact still hurt, but Aless was sure that the pain was nothing compared to bullets of molten magma. The hands carefully helped Aless straighten and then scoot her backwards until her back rest against something cold and solid.
"I'm going to remove your blind fold," the voice said. "You must remain calm or else I'll put it back on."
Gulping, Aless nodded her response. Rough hands pulled off the cloth that was around her eyes. Blinking, Aless found that there was not much more light in the room than when she had the blind fold on. Small shafts of light that warbled and danced in the space filtered in from screened windows at the top of the room and from a large metal door to her left. The whole room swayed and moved rhythmically. A truck. They were in a large transport truck. Taking a left, the truck container swayed, catching Aless off guard. Her body fell to the right and she screeched in pain. The ropes tying her had pulled on her left wrist, which was swollen and pulsating.
A man, who squatted in front of Aless, helped her sit up, clucking his tongue.
"The Master is not going to happy about that wrist," he said matter of factly.
Biting her lip to keep from crying, Aless wondered how she missed the pain in her wrist.
"If you are good, I will put a splint on it," the man told Aless.
Trying not to sniffle, Aless bobbed her head yes. Cautiously, the man began to untie her. As he did Aless studied him. He looked so familiar. Then the man turned his head and Alessandra saw them, the sideways M shaped Josӕng. It was the man from the dessert place that had waved at her and Danny.
"You…you were in the restaurant," she whispered.
"Yeah, that was me. Big coincidence that we met like this now, princess," the man smiled.
He continued to unwrap the ropes around her. Coincidence her foot. The rope fell away, and the man carefully took her broken wrist in his hand. The pain sent stabbing shots of white light into Aless's brain. She couldn't think of anything until the pain subsided. Something pushed over her hand. The stabbing pain increased as whatever it was pushed down her hand to her wrist. Then suddenly the pain lessened. Able to open her eyes, Aless saw a rudimentary splint on her wrist. While her wrist continued to pulsate, the split held her bones in just the right way so the pain decreased. Pulling her wrist to her body, Aless couldn't think for at least five minutes. Once her brain snapped back on, she lifted her chin defiantly.
"What is going on? Why did you steal us?" Aless snarled.
Sitting back on his heels, the man smiled.
"Straight to the point, huh, princess?"
"Don't call me that! I'm not your princess."
"Oh, no, for sure you are not my princess. But you are a princess. Living in that big castle of yours. Bet you never thought anything bad would happen to you."
"You obviously don't know me."
"Don't need to. Just need to get you to the Master."
"I don't want to go to your Master. I want to go home."
"And I want a house full of star gems, but that ain't happening either."
Using the wall behind her, Aless pushed herself up. The man didn't move. He continued to grin at her.
"Screw you. I am leaving!"
Moving as quickly as she could, Aless made her way to the door. Honestly, she didn't know what she was doing, but Alessandra was not going to sit around while that man took her to see his Master. A large figure stepped in her path when she was about halfway down the container. Lifting her gaze, Aless saw a large man with two ugly black eyes.
"Get out of my way," she ordered.
Smash. A hard-right hook slammed Aless into the metal floor. Coughing, Aless tasted blood. Before she could even attempt to stand, the new stranger grabbed her by the hair and dragged her back to the first man. Clawing like an animal at his hands, Aless drew blood with her long nails. The man dragging her swore, lifting her into the air by her hair and slamming her down again. Stunned, Aless went limp; the air knocked out of her. Chuckling, the first man leaned over her.
"Don't mind Luke, princess. He is a little bitter about you breaking his nose," he chuckled.
Propping her up, he shook his head.
"You have a lot of balls. I will give you that."
"I broke his nose?" Aless asked.
Her mind was muddled from the drugs and the head collisions.
"Yes, when you tried to escape. You took him by surprise. Actually, you took us all by surprise. Four tranq bullets and you finally collapsed. We didn't actually think we would have to ever use them, but you proved us wrong. It was a great experience for us. Good practice."
"Glad I could help."
"You are a piece of work, princess."
The man pinched her cheeks condescendingly. Aless couldn't help herself. She tried to bite him. Laughing, the man patted her head hard.
"You are a piece of work," he repeated jovially.
"You seem to be too…uh…"
"Celso."
"Celso…if you could please just drop me off at the next stop."
Celso smiled at Alessandra and the container filled with laughter. Forcing a smile, Aless tried to pretend that she understood why it was so funny.
"Sure," Celso nodded. "We'll drop you off at the next stop. I'm sure that your friend will be fine by herself."
Nodding his head to the right, Celso's eyes danced. Following his indication, Aless's breath caught in her chest. Kayla. Aless had completely forgotten about Kayla. Yet there Kay lied, unconscious. Returning her gaze to Celso, Aless licked her lips.
"Where are you taking us?"
"Us? So, you don't want us to drop you off?"
"You wouldn't even if I did."
"True…true…you are a smart little princess."
"That is quite an annoying nickname. Do I look like a princess?"
"Yes."
"Whatever."
"And to answer your first question, we are taking you to Master. From there, I do not know where you will go. It will depend on who decided to buy you."
"Buy me? What are you talking about?"
"Haven't you figured it out yet, princess?"
Shaking her head, Aless felt very confused.
"You are too cute. So naïve. We are taking you to be sold as slaves."
"Slaves?"
The word hit Aless like a truck.
"Slaves do not exist anymore. They were outlawed a hundred and fifty years ago."
"Just because something is against the law, doesn't mean it doesn't exist."
"But…but that's impossible. We live in Mᴔjin."
"Yes, the country with one of the largest underground slave trades, which you are now a part of."
Shaking her head, as if that would make it all untrue, Aless clenched her jaw.
"No," Aless hissed.
"What?" Celso cocked his head to the side.
Bolting to her feet, Aless shook with anger and resentment.
"No! We are not going to be part of this sick joke. You all are liars and criminals!"
Calmly, Celso looked up at her, not seeming bothered by her temper.
"You don't have to believe me, and you don't have to like it. But you do need to calm down."
"I will do whatever I damn well please."
Her voice was only a fraction below yelling. Men who had been hidden in the shadows of the truck gathered around them. They scowled and grumbled at Aless. Ignoring them, Aless continued to feel her temper spike. She knew her temper was completely irrational, but it made her feel better to shout at the calm, passive Celso.
"Sit down. You will fall and hurt yourself more."
"Bite me!"
"You can't talk to Celso that way, you little brat," a new voice cut in.
One of the observers grabbed Aless by her hair. Yelping, Aless twisted, ripping her hair, and swung at him. Her swift uppercut smacked into the under part of his jaw. Staggering back, the man dragged her with him.
"Tomas," Celso called. "Let her go."
Tomas didn't hear him. The truck hit a bump as Tomas stumbled back causing him to fall. Aless, still in his grip, fell on top of Tomas. Yelling and cursing, Tomas and Alessandra grappled. Hoots and hollers encouraged their battle. If Aless had been thinking, she would have realized how ridiculous she and Tomas looked, rolling around on the truck floor. Shoving her off, Tomas leaped on top of her, his face pale in fury. Growling, Aless pulled her arm back then thrust it forward and up, palm flat. A sickening crunch sounded as Aless's palm heel slammed into Tomas's nose. Time stopped for one moment, then blood spurted everywhere, down Aless's arm, across Aless and Tomas's face.
"Oooh!" Aless said.
Lurching away from her, Tomas held his face, wailing in agony.
"Deity damn!" Someone said.
Hands pulled Aless away from Tomas, whose cries were turning to low groans.
"Damn it, Alessandra," Celso sighed. "You broke another nose? Do you know how much you are costing us in hospital bills?"
Pulling Aless to the far corner of the container, Cello shook his head in disgust. Pushing to the ground, Celso grumbled as he patted his pockets, looking for something. Taking a cloth out of a pocket, Celso roughly wiped her face.
"My goodness, Aless, you are covered in one of my men's blood again. Do you understand how big of a pain in my ass you are being?"
Tomas gasped somewhere beyond Aless's sight.
"Shut up, Tomas!" Celso hollered. "I told you to let go of her. It's your own damn fault."
Roughly, Celso finished cleaning Aless's face. The cloth was tied-dyed with violet blood.
"Stay!" Celso ordered.
Standing, he went to a large bag that was five feet away. Digging into it, Celso withdrew a length of soft rope. Returning, Celso stared down at Aless.
"How do you know how to break noses?"
"I have studied Pakido for eight years," Aless said.
"That would have been nice to know. That was left out of our report."
"Your report?"
"Put out your hands."
"No."
"Look, I am tired. Give me your hands or…"
"Or what?"
Rolling his eyes, Celso whistled. A terrified squeak sounded. Luke strode over, pulling Kay next to him. The ruckus must have woken her up. Stopping next to Celso, Luke shook Kay until she fell silent. Reaching behind him, Celso pulled a kahō from the back of his pants. The message was clear. Grimacing, Aless held out her wrists. Handing the kahō to Luke, Celso quickly tied Aless's wrists together. Momentarily, Aless appreciated that Celso seemed to consider her broke wrist and did not tie her wrists too tightly. Finished, Celso gave Aless a small shove, forcing her to sit. Wincing, Aless sat with Kay following her. Huddling close to her best friend, Kay whimpered, laying her head on Aless's shoulder. Small tears slid down Kay's face as she did her best not to make any noise. Kissing the top of Kay's head, Aless held in her own tears. Poor Kay. She didn't deserve this. Aless had to stay strong for her.
The men ignored the two girls for the rest of the day. Stopping twice, the men escorted the girls to and from a bathroom so they could relieve themselves. During the second break, Aless took the opportunity to attempt an escape. Discretely, Aless has worked at loosening her bindings for hours until she knew she could slip her right hand free. Most of the men needed to use the restroom themselves, so only one guard was left with Aless and Kayla. Uncomfortable with entering a women's rest room, the guard waited outside. Examine the bathroom, Aless found that a large window was in the end stall. Slipping her hand free, Aless grinned in triumph.
"Kay, follow me. We can escape through this window," Aless whispered.
Wrapping her arm in the bathroom drying towels, Aless entered the stall. Gritting her teeth, Aless knocked out the window with her elbow. Clearing the glass away, Aless called to Kay again then crawled through, sucking in her belly so not to slice it on the glass. Dropping to the earth, Aless hissed as her sprained ankle threatened to buckle.
"Come on, Kay," Aless hissed.
Bolting, Aless set her eyes on the distant woods. In six short strides, something collided into Aless's torso. Whooshing, Aless hit the ground hard, stunned. Clicking of metal caught her attention. Panting, Aless saw Celso pinning her down as he snapped handcuffs on her wrists.
"I knew you were being too good," he chuckled.
Grasping the link between the handcuffs, Celso pulled Aless up. Dragging her back to the truck, Celso laughed at Aless's "spunk." Kay stood obediently by the truck, waiting. Blinking in disbelief, Aless couldn't fathom why Kay had not followed her. At least one of them could have escaped.
Thrown inside the truck, Aless growled as she tested the strength of the handcuffs. They were terribly uncomfortable, irritating Aless's break even through the splint. Taking deep breaths, Aless recalled the long afternoon in which Danny had taught her how to escape handcuff. Thank Deity her boyfriend had a trouble past, Aless thought. The process of escaping the cuffs took hours. Alessandra could only work on it when the men were not looking. A few scary moments occurred where Aless thought that she had been caught, but, luckily, she had not been. Late in the evening., Aless's right wrist broke free from the handcuff. Everyone was sleeping. Waking Kay, Aless motioned for Kay to follow her. Trembling Kay did. Together they picked their way through the sleeping men. At the truck door, Aless signaled for Kay to help her. Straining their muscles, the two girls quietly opened the truck door. A gust of wind almost knocked them off their feet. Glancing back in fear, Aless hoped the increase noise and air did not wake the men. It did not. Many of them had drank heavily and now snored loudly. Sending a silent pray of thanks to the Deity, Aless faced the open road. Lush scenery sped past in a blur as the red roads with its green dots streaked below.
"We can jump," Aless whispered half-heartedly.
Kayla raised an eyebrow and her look plainly said, "You have got to be kidding me." Sighing Aless looked down again and bent her knees trying to convince herself that she could jump. Kay's hand grabbed Aless's arm and squeezed tightly.
"You can't," Kay squeaked. "You will kill yourself."
"It will be better than what is waiting for us."
"You don't know that, Alessandra. And we may have a better chance to escape later. This is just suicide."
"Kay…"
"Aless, I'm scared too but we can't just jump off a moving truck."
Hanging her head, Aless knew that Kay was right. Taking one last longing look at the road disappearing quickly from Alessandra's view, she turned back to the men. They were all still asleep. With great effort, the girls closed the truck door, hoping no one would notice it had been opened in the morning. Picking their way back to their sleeping spot, Aless and Kay tightly held hands. Assisting Aless to sit, Kay's face reflected unspoken defeat. Holding out her arms, Aless allowed her best friend to crumple into her arms. Hugging Kay close, Aless whispered reassuring words. Like that the two girls fell asleep, their final chance for escape gone.
In the morning, Aless awoke, feeling cramped and sore. When she attempted to stand, Aless found her body yanked back to the floor. Startled, a sensation of discomfort radiated from around Aless's wrists. Her arms clanked as she moved them, revealing more heavy chains attached to her wrists.
"Seriously!" she snapped, yanking on the chains.
"You shouldn't have tried to escape again," Celso said solemnly. "And it's obvious that handcuffs and ropes don't work."
Enraged, Aless spat curses. The men ignored her. At meal times, the chains prohibited Alessandra from feeding herself. At bathroom breaks, she was not allowed out of the truck, but rather forced to pee in a bucket with a guard watching. All together it was a horrible and mortifying experience. Fuming, Aless decided to take her anger out on the men who tried to feed her. The first man made the mistake of trying to tease Aless, running his thumb over her lips. Clamping down on his hand, Aless dug her teeth in deep, drawing blood. Jumping in, Celso had to pry Aless's jaws open to free the man. The next day, Alessandra headed butted another man as he bent down to feed her, giving him a concussion. The way her head pounded, and the world spun for the remainder of the trip, Aless was sure she gave herself one too. She decided not to repeat that action. Not that she could. Soon as her head smashed that man's head, three other men jumped her. Pinning her down, they clamped something around her neck. Backing away, the men slapped hands like idiots and snickered. Lifting her hands as high as she could, Aless touched a long heavy chain that connected to a thick metal band around her neck. Her fingers ran over the chain and brace, horrified, while the men bolted the end of the chain to the side of the truck. Celso watched from a distance and shook his head. The next morning Aless woke to find a muzzle around her face.
"You have got to be kidding me," she yelled.
Muffled by the muzzle, Aless's words were barely intelligible. Torn between amusement and dismay, Kay could only stare at her friend as she sat in relative comfort, free of any types of binding. Unlike Aless, Kayla was the ideal captive. She just sat there and did as she was told. Her passivity upset Alessandra to no end. How could Kay be so passive and submissive to the men who stole them? How could she watch them treat Aless like an animal? Was Kay that much of a coward?
Of course, a quick look at Kay's defeated, tear streaked face halted Aless's thoughts each time. Her ugly thoughts were quickly followed by stomach cramping guilt. Kay was doing what she thought was best to survive. If Aless had half the sense that Kay did, then she too would be free from chains.
"Stupid Three-Eyed Cąȶ," Aless cursed.