[MUSIC RECOMMENDATION: TIME IS RUNNING OUT ~ COVERED BY DEMIAN]
Lily woke up with a throbbing headache. She tried to move from her position, but it caused her to flinch. Her whole body was in severe pain, as if a boulder was dropped on her. Opening her eyes, she took in her surroundings; it was a dark room with a small source of light coming from above.
She grunted as she finally sat up properly. When she tried to stand, her left ankle probed like pins were twisted inside of it. The young girl groaned and sat back down. Lily didn't know how long she had been knocked out for; all she could remember was running away from her boss and then getting hit by a car.
As she remembered her situation all over again and how her brother was tagged a murderer, Lily closed her eyes as tears streamed down her face.
"Sh! Don't make a sound if you don't want to go next."
Lily opened her eyes when she heard a person's voice, a female about her age.
"What do you mean, don't make a sound? Where is this place? Where are we?" Lily asked. She needed to leave this place as soon as possible; she had things to do. Get revenge on her boss, then find a way to get her brother out. If he was judged as a murderer, then he would be placed on death row. That was the law.
The person who had spoken chuckled, "Just like every fresh blood. Don't worry, you will get a hang of it soon," the young woman replied, relaxing her back on the wall.
Lily furrowed her brow. Was this some kind of mental facility? She thought to herself. Or maybe they brought her in because of her condition. She just needed to explain to them when their leader arrived. Lily nodded to herself. She used her hand to remove the mud that got stuck on her feet, with her shoes missing from her leg. She nodded; anyone would mistake her for someone crazy. Lily sighed.
When the door was pushed open, Lily let out a deep sigh of relief. Finally, she would be able to leave soon. Two men dressed in yellow coats stepped inside and turned on the light.
It was then Lily noticed that it wasn't just her and the woman who replied to her earlier present in the room. Other persons scurried away when the light came on, trying to hide their faces. Their actions were akin to the rats, Lily had back in her apartment. She was amused by this.
One of the men finally said, "Look at them trying to hide. Make a pick, sir; they are always this shy for first-time customers," the man replied.
Lily tilted her head. What did this man mean by first-time customers? She raised her hand, trying to get the man's attention. "Excuse me, sir," Lily called out.
The man turned and said, "Oh, look at that, our newest commodity wants to leave so soon. Sir, you can take a look at her."
The man who identified as the customer walked towards Lily, then he got down on his heels and tipped the girl's chin.
Lily pushed her head back and said, "Mind how you touch a woman, please. I'd like to leave this place," the girl ordered.
The customer chuckled, "Seems your new product hasn't been processed yet. I don't think I want to buy her anyway; the color of her eyes is spine-chilling; it will haunt me forever after my experiment is done," the man spat, pushing Lily's head to the side.
He got on his feet and pointed at the woman who had answered Lily earlier, "I will take that one," saying this, he dipped his hand inside his trouser pocket and walked away.
The woman who had spoken to Lily earlier on shook her head as she trembled. "No, no, please don't take me. She was the one that said something; take her. I have been good, please," the woman wailed.
Lily, who didn't understand what was going on yet, noticed how frightened the woman was as she was dragged away from the room. She could hear the woman's scream fade away until there was silence. With the light still on, Lily looked around the room one more time.
It was very dirty and had this bad smell, like the sewer was left open. She noticed that it was only females who were in the room, and they said nothing to each other. Lily cocked her head. What could this be? She thought. It won't be slave trading; it was abolished many years ago. Then why did that man call her a product? She couldn't help but wonder.
As Lily tried to figure out her situation, the man who had brought the 'customer' in came to stand in front of her.
"This new product looks like she would be trouble. We almost lost a customer because of her. Take her to the abyss and make sure she reads the rules over and over again until she bends," when the man got closer to Lily and touched her face.
Lily pushed the man's hand away and said, "I've told you, don't touch my face, and get me out of here. I don't know what is going on here, but I don't belong here!" She barked, angry that her time was being wasted when she had revenge to dish out and her brother to save from a death sentence.
The man looked at his hand that was pushed by the girl, and he chuckled. The next moment, he landed a slap on Lily's cheek that caused the girl to fall on her side.
"You don't belong here? Then do all these people belong here? The new ones are always trouble, but don't worry; you'll understand that you don't have any say from now on," the man snapped his fingers, and two men came to drag Lily.
Lily, who was recovering from the slap, tried to wriggle herself from the grip of the men but grew tighter until she gave up.
The man who had slapped her stood proudly with his chest puffed, "You know what happens when one of you disobeys, right? There will be no dinner today; blame it on the new girl. Remember, there is no I here, just we. And every action has consequences," with this, the man walked away.
Lily gulped; her action was going to cost others their dinner, and looking at the women in the room, they looked malnourished. Before Lily could say anything, she was dragged out of the room.
As they pulled her like she was not just human, Lily took her time to check out where she was. The place looked like an underground den. When she passed an office, she saw a woman standing with her head bowed and her hands trembling; before Lily could understand what was happening, the door to the office was locked shut.
Lily saw other men who sat in groups, playing cards, smoking, and drinking. She had never seen so many men gathered in one place before, and it scared her. She just jumped out of the frying pan and landed herself into fire.
The people who were dragging her stopped in front of a particular door; before they opened one of them said, "I would have loved to have a taste, but this one looks strange, and those eyes.." the man shuddered.
Lily flinched at the words the men used as if she was not there.
The other man replied, "Don't always want to taste everything you see; this one looks like bad luck."
Saying this, they pushed her inside the room called abyss. And like the room was named, it was filled with eternal darkness.