The Auction (3 page)

Chapter Three

Tori paced around her room waiting for something to happen. She was going crazy in here without any stimulation. It felt like hours since Zee had left, leaving her to wonder what the hell had happened. Suddenly she halted. Something Mr. X had said
came
reeling back to her. He’d mentioned it being her last night with him. Had she been sold? This wasn’t supposed to happen. Per her contract from
The
Run, he was to release her on her own recognizance. She’d silently wished to be rid of him
since they day he’d tagged her
but now she found herself in a situation that could turn out to be infinitely worse.

She sank to the floor, feeling defeated by the unknown. Tori wasn’t sure how long she lay there but she was pulled out of her temporary misery when the sound of the door opening indicated she was no longer alone. She looked up to see a young girl wearing a green sarong, with song black hair. The girl, who didn’t look a day over sixteen, definitely wasn’t as intimidating as Zee.

“Rose, I’m Shia. I’ll be assisting in your grooming.”

“My name is Tori.”

Shia raised her a dark brow. “Perhaps that was your name before you came here, but now you are Rose. Perhaps it slipped Zee’s mind to inform you of this.”

“My name is Tori,” she said more firmly than before. They’d taken everything from her, she wouldn’t allow them to take her name as well.

Shia shrugged before walking to the far corner of the room. “Well, you can be Tori all you want, but don’t let anyone else hear you say that. Until you’re sold and renamed you’re Rose. All the girls are given code names while they’re here to maintain anonymity.” Shia placed her palm against the wall and a panel appeared revealing several buttons which she proceeded to push. “Step back, please.”

Tori moved in time to see the opposite wall open up and the bed recede behind it. Then, where the bed had been, the floor opened up and a large square tub appear. Water began to spill from filters on either side of it while a stre
am of soap poured out from a slot in the corner of it
.

“You don’t have to hold that blanket so tightly against your body, you know. There’s nothing I haven’t seen already.” Shia gave her a polite smile.

Tori licked her parched lips. Her throat ached slightly, possibly from screaming so much. “This bath is for me?”

“Yes, you must be thoroughly cleaned and groomed before I take you to the medic to have your scars healed. The buyers won’t settle for anything less than perfection.”

Tori had no clue what was going on and she wasn’t sure how much she was allowed to ask. After hesitating for a moment she figured she’d suffered a lot already, if they tortured her some more then at least she’d know what she was up against. “I don’t understand what’s going on here. What is this place? Where am I?”

Shia gave her a funny look. “Don’t you know?”

“If I did I wouldn’t be asking.”

“In ten days you’re going to go on the block. You’ll be auctioned off and from there, I guess it will be up to your new master.”

“Auctioned off? Yesterday I was under the patronage of a man who only referred to himself as X.”

“Well, I guess he sold you and now you’re here. Look, I can imagine this is all confusing for you, but there’s really no point in getting yourself worked up over this. The only escape from this place is death.
Zee would never let you go because there’s a lot of money to be made with you
.” Shia sat on the side of the tub and dibbed her hand into the soapy water as if to test it. “Come on, get in.”

When Tori remained frozen to the spot, Shia sighed. “Please don’t make this harder on the both of us. My instructions are to give you a bath. If I’m not done by a certain time, the guards come in and take matters into their own hands and I’m sure you wouldn’t like that. And personally, I don’t want to be punished because you don’t want to comply.”

It was on the tip of Tori’s tongue to tell the girl to fuck off but she thought better of it. Even if the girl was a little pushy, Tori didn’t want to be responsible for getting someone else in trouble. With a sigh she dropped her blanket and stepped into the steaming hot water. Gingerly she sat down in the tub, flinching a bit as her body adjusted to the heat. She hadn’t had a proper bath since she was under the care of her first patron. Growing up in a poverty-stricken neighborhood, they didn’t have the luxury of baths, instead they washed in ancient shower stalls that were made in the twenty-first century. Sometimes they didn’t work properly because of the plumbing issues.

“How’s the water?”

“Nice.”

“Good. I’ll give you a minute to soak and relax before I get your back. I have a variety of scented soaps. Would you prefer something flowery or citrusy?”

“You choose. I don’t care.”

“Okay.”

Silence fell between them as Tori tried to wrap her head around everything happening to her. When she was a child, her father used to tell her and her younger brother and sisters stories about the child snatche
r
s. They would come around and take bad children away. Those stories used to terrify her, but as Tori grew older she realized they were simply tall tales from a drunken man meant to keep them a
fraid
. She didn’t think she would find herself embroiled in something even worse The Run. At least with The Run, there was a possibility of freedom; with this she wasn’t so sure.

“You’re different from the other girls who’ve been through here,” Shia spoke, breaking into Tori’s thoughts.

“How so?”

“Most of them cry the entire time. But not you. You seem, I don’t know, almost angry about this.”

“Of course I’m angry. Who wouldn’t be? I signed up for a game because I had no other means of supporting my family without completely losing every bit of self-respect I had. And now to find out that I’m going to be sold off to the highest bidder is just fucked up.”

“Maybe it won’t be so bad. You might get a master who treats you well. It’s not unheard of.”

“Or I may not. Tell me, how are you involved in all this?”

The girl frowned. “I’m not sure I understand your question.”

“You seemed very young to be involved in
something so sinister
.”

“
I wouldn’t use so strong a word.
I was born into it. My mother was pregnant with me before she was put on the block. Unless a buyer is specifically looking for a woman with child, the auctioneers prefer to abort the child depending on how far along the woman is. My mother was near the end of her final trimester when they took me from her womb. I’ve been raised to serve ever since.”

“So you’re basically a slave?” Tori was horrified at how calculated everything was. But what bothered her most was Shia’s easy acceptance of it.

Shia shrugged. “What you see as slavery, I see as the only life I’ve known. I’m not sure what I would do in the outside world. Besides, I’m not treated unfairly. If I get my work done, I get rewarded with treats. We even get to watch shows on holo
vision
in the privacy of our quarters. Besides, it’s better than the alternative.”

“The alternative?”

“I could have been born a boy. Th
ey don’t have it as easy as the
girls.”

“How so?”

Shia glanced at a point above their heads. “I…I really shouldn’t say.”

“Are we being filmed?”

“Yes, but there’s no audio. It’s just maybe the less you knew the better, for your own piece of mind.”

“But you brought it up. Tell me what happens to the boys?”

“Well…”

Tori was a bit uneasy now. What could the
girl possibly be holding back?

“Well, when they turn eight, they’re sold off. You see, since men outnumber women by such a large percentage, the bidders are only interested in the young boys.”

Tori wanted to vomit as she imagined what these bidders would want with
small
children. She’d seen a lot of sick things in her life, had even experienced some of it
herself but knowing these people had no problem selling
children made her stomach turn.

“And the girls are never sold?”

“Sometimes. Every now and then one of the buyers may request a certain type and if one of us fits the bill then we’re put on the block.”

“Aren’t you worried that one day you’ll be sold?”

“No. If that’s what my masters have planned for me than so be it. My entire life has been designed to serve others. I see no difference from one master or another.”

Tori strongly disagreed with that statement, however she saw no point in arguing with the girl. It was clear Shia was so ingrained in this culture there was little chance of changing her mind.

Shia produced a sponge and gently pushed Tori forward before running it up and down her back. “I know you’re probably worried about what will happen but if you’re good to your buyer, perhaps they’ll be good to you. You might even get an owner who
takes very good care of you
.”

Tori froze. She’d heard that line before. Her father had basically uttered something similar to her just before she sighed up for The Run, the first time.

“
I don’t see what the difference between you signing up for The Run and turning tricks to earn money,
”
Carl Morton slurred his words, drunk from the bottle of whiskey he’d consumed.
“
The way I see it, you’ll earn a lot more for less work. Ten thousand credits is nothing to sneeze at. That will take care of this family for a while.
”

It was like a slap in the face to be reminded of the
one time
she’d resorted to giving a handjob to one of her father’s drinking buddies for the few credits it took to buy her little brother some much needed medication. “I do not
turn tricks
as you so delicately put it. I did what I had to do because you don’t want to work.”

“You know I have a disability,” he whined.

“Called alcoholism. Look, you may have the rest of my brothers and sisters fooled with this sick act of yours but I can see right through you. You’re a lazy, good-for-nothing bum. Mom worked herself to death while you sat back and let her instead of taking care of your family.”

“You watch your mouth, you little bitch. You’ve forgotten that you’re only in this house because of my generosity. After your mother died, I could have kicked your ass out on the street. It’s not like I can afford another mouth to feed.”

Tori had hardened her heart against Carl’s insults. He let her know in many
ways, blatant and subtle, that s
he wasn’t his biological daughter. If it weren’t for her siblings, she would have left a long time ago. She narrowed her eyes and p
oked her finger onto
the drunk’s chest. “No you watch it. You won’t kick me out because I’m the only one bringing in enough money to keep us from starving. I bust my ass from sunrise to sunset working any kind of odd job I can get because you want to play the victim. The only disability you have is in your head, so go ahead and just try to put me out.”

Carl opened his mouth as if to argue the point with her but then thought better of it. “Well if you care about your brothers and sisters like you claim, I see no reason why you can’t enter The Run. I hear most of those girls are with their patrons for a few
weeks
, a month tops, but in return you get all those credits. The way I see it, if you don’t do it, you’re being selfish. Besides, it may not be so bad. You might even get a patron who will
take really good care of you and treat you well
. Imagine that, living it up in the lap of luxury and you get all that money to boot.”

Tori had wanted to punch him square in the nose, but when it was all said and done, she had no valid argument
to counter his reasoning.
The restaurant she
had waited tables
at had shut down due to lack of business and the factory where she worked part time had laid off hundreds of
employees including herself
. She had been an errand girl in the shopping district for a while, but
she didn’t earn
enough money
doing just that
to keep food in everyone’s belly. With no work prospects in sight her only option was to work in a brothel, which meant she’d have to move and live in one of those houses and she wanted to keep an eye on siblings. It was a daily struggle to keep her brothers from getting involved in illegal activity which was a powerful lure for kids in her neighborhood. As much as she hated to admit it, The Run was probably her best option. She only hoped she’d get a patron who would lose interest in her
quickly
, just like Carl said.

Tori however, truly learned the meaning of being careful for what she wished for, because not only did she get it, her heart was shattered in the process.