Living in Darkness (Bloodbreeders) (22 page)

“Do you think I enjoy knowing and seeing what she has gone through?” he
said furiously. “Of course I wish things were different, but this is the hand
that we have been dealt.” He reached to open the door, but I grabbed his hand.

“Wait, please,” I said, looking him in the eye. “Just think about it,
okay? You and
Tanda
didn’t choose this anymore than I
did.” Even through the anger, I could tell that he was hearing me, that my
words were sinking in.

“I will speak to
Tanda
, but if this were to
be discovered, we could all pay with our lives... or worse.” I didn’t have to
ask what was worse than death. I had already experienced it firsthand. Before
pushing open the door, he whispered to me, “Lean on me as if your feet are much
worse than they are. We can’t have Annabel knowing you had any help with your
feet.”

“Well, I won’t have to fake much,” I said with a small smile. “They
hurt like hell.”

We passed through the door, and walked down the hallway next to my
first cell. The two corpses chained to the wall had been joined by a third man,
who was still alive. He was completely nude, and I was pretty certain that he
had spent time in the company of Annabel. His face was a swollen bloody mess,
and his body was covered in seeping welts, as if he had been whipped. As we
came closer, the man began to whimper and beg.

“Please, not again. Have mercy, I swear I didn’t know, I didn’t
know...” his voice trailed away in to incomprehensible sobs. We walked past
without saying a word, making our way toward Annabel’s lair. The door was open,
and she was looking as we approached.

“Don’t you dare bring that disgusting thing in here,” she exclaimed. “Spray
her down.”

“Yes ma’am. I don’t know what I was thinking,” Garvin stammered.

“Then why are you still standing there? Her appearance alone makes me
sick, not to mention the smell.”

 
She sounded surprised, but I
didn’t know what she expected me to be like after coming out of the
death-filled hole that she helped create.

Garvin nodded his head in agreement as he turned to take me away.

“Be sure to change those filthy rags, too,” she called after us. “Not
that there's anything that would help the foul beast.”

“Yes ma’am,” he said again as he turned me to walk towards the way we came.
I heard the door slam behind us, and we both jumped.

“Someone’s going to pay her back for all this, and I for one want to be
here to see it,” I said, my voice infused with pure hatred.

“You must be more careful about what you say," Garvin glanced
around nervously squeezing my forearm, and then added in a voice that standing
inches away, I could barely hear. “Even if one of the slaves down here hears
you, they may tell in hopes of leniency.”

When we reached the area where I was to be hosed down, Garvin leaned
close to my ear again and whispered, “I have to remove your garment, but you
know I will not take pleasure in it. I admire your pride more every time I see
your strength.”

“It’s okay. I know you are not like the others. You have a job to do,
so let’s just get it over with,” I replied quietly turning my back to him.

“Yes, you’re right.”

I let him take off what rags were left of my gown, and his eyes stayed
diverted the entire time.

“I must chain you to the wall before we start,” he said apologetically.

I nodded in agreement, and then he looped the chain around my waist, and
then pulled me gently toward the stained stoned wall. Without looking directly
at me, he began to spray. At first, the stream of water felt as if it were
going to tear the skin from my body, but within seconds, it felt undeniably wonderful.
The gore dripped off my body in chunks, and the mess in my hair seemed to fall
out in one big clump, causing a wet splat sound as it hit the ground. I turned
as far as I could in every direction, trying to wash away every speck of the
goop. Without soap, the smell lingered, but just to be cleaner and not clogged
with decay was wonderful.

Even when he was through, my skin remained discolored, and it was thin
like that of an old woman.
Good grief, I
don’t even want to think about what my face might look like
, I thought to
myself. I felt stupid thinking this after everything I had been through, but my
young woman’s mind couldn’t rid itself of the thought. I tried to run my
fingers through my hair, but it was matted as if someone had poured thick honey
from my scalp down.

“I’ll never get this mess out of my hair,” I said as Garvin handed me a
semi-clean gown to put on. I noticed a little smirk cross his face. “Hey, I
thought you were a nice guy,” I said, covering myself with the gown.

“No, no, it was your words,” he proclaimed. “It just reminded me of
something
Tanda
would say, that’s all.”

“Speaking of
Tanda
, where is she, is she
okay?” I asked.

He told me that the Mistress had invited some of her colleagues to stay
for a few days, and that
Tanda
was helping prepare
their rooms. He added that this was something that occurred every few of months.

“Does everyone that comes here, know about all this?” I asked in
disbelief.

“It is
why
they come,” he said, “To look over the ‘merchandise’.
Some of them pay for slaves of their choosing to keep them entertained during
their stay.”

I was speechless at how nonchalantly he spoke on the matter. All I
could do was shake my head in amazement as I waited for Garvin to take me back
to the wicked witch of the universe. Garvin helped me make my way back to
Annabel’s special room, and knocked on the door.

“Enter,” Annabel said pompously. As we did, she pinched her nose closed
with her finger and thumb. “Place her in the feeding chair and be quick about
it! The sooner she’s out of here, the sooner I can breathe.”

“You don’t have to do this,” I told Annabel as Garvin strapped me to
the chair. “I will obey you. I’ll drink without any trouble, I promise.”

“I happen to get great enjoyment out of this,” she explained as she
walked closer. “Besides, I haven’t forgotten the last time you played good
girl.”

Annabel watched as Garvin tightened the straps, and then slapped him
hard upside the back of the head.

“Strap her head back, must I tell you everything? It’s no wonder you’re
still a slave down here. You are too stupid to do anything else,” she said
turning, and walked away.

When he was finished, I was grateful it had been he, and not Enrique
that had restrained me or my head would have been pounding because of the
pressure. I made no attempt to struggle this time. When the tube started down
my throat, I began to gag involuntarily.

“Oh, now don’t you start this,” Annabel scolded. “If you throw this up,
I’ll do more than ram this down your throat.” She gave the tube one final
shove. “Do you understand me?” All I could do was blink my watery eyes to show
that I understood.

She began to pour the viscous blood, and it wanted to come back up as
soon as it hit my stomach. I did my best to relax, and concentrate on keeping
down what I had just been given. I gave one hard gag when she removed the long
plastic tub and nothing when she took out the metal piece, and was grateful not
to have to go through the ordeal a second time

I kept it down, and after a few moments, my body started to tingle, as
it craved more. I could feel the precious fluid nourish my badly starved body,
and even though I was strapped down from head to foot, I felt rejuvenated. My
hearing and eyesight became sharper almost instantly, and I swear I could feel
the energy literally pulsing its way through every part of my body. I hadn’t
until now really grasped the idea that blood was a necessity, no matter how
appalling it was to my mind.

When Annabel had removed all the hardware from my mouth, and I still
hadn’t thrown up, she seemed disappointed that she wasn’t going to have more
fun than what she was having with me.

“The Mistress has received a request for you by a man from the middle
east. He likes to sample the merchandise before he buys. I tell you now, if you
do one thing to embarrass Mistress Yvette, I will remove your stinking hide
inch by bloody inch, then I will throw you back in that black pit to rot.” She
removed the strap from my head, and then took my hand in hers. “Here is a
little incentive to show you that I mean what I say.” Then she snapped back the
same little finger she had broken before. I cried out, but didn’t say a word. I
laid my head back against the chair, and closed my eyes, waiting for the worst
of the fresh pain to pass.

“I see we understand each other,” she said leaning so close to my face
that I could feel her cold breath against my skin. “And if you ever try to fool
me again, I’ll give you your wish. I will kill you. I’ll kill you, very slowly,
very painfully. Right now you only think you know what pain is.”

She instructed Garvin to put me in a dry cell, and to offer me food
every three days. “We need her in top shape. This client only buys the best,”
she added looking at me in disgust. “And use soap next time. She reeks of that
shit-hole she just crawled out of.” She laughed as she gathered a few things, before
she left walked over to Garvin, who was untying the rest of my restraints. “Did
I forget to mention that
Tanda
has been requested?”
she asked with an evil smirk, obviously knowing the answer to her question. “Make
sure she’s ready. The guests arrive in two weeks.” With that, she turned and
left the room, continuing her evil little chuckle.

I could tell from the expression on his face and his sluggish movement
that Garvin was devastated. I wasn’t sure what to say. He had to be dying
inside, knowing what they would do to his baby sister. I decided to take
advantage of his raw emotions, in hopes that his vulnerability might open his
mind a little.

“This is why you have to help me. I’ll find others who will come back
and help me put a stop to this,” I pleaded.

“What you don’t understand is that there is no one out there to find,”
he adamantly replied as tears streamed down his face.

“How do you know, has anyone tried? Or is it just something that you’ve
been told?” I asked.

“It breaks something inside of her every time I tell her she has been
chosen.” He began to wring his hand together, looking down at the floor. “And
that she must do as her buyer says. She gets more fear in her eyes than I have
ever seen. She’s weak but what good am I if I can’t protect her from these
animals and their perversion?”

He kneeled on the floor and put his face in his hands, crying silently.
I placed my hand on his head, and soothingly stroked his hair. I gave him a
moment before I continued on.

“There is something you can do, Garvin,” I said delicately. “Help me. Show
me how the other slave got away. I give you my word to bring back help, no
matter how long it takes.” He just lowered his head away from my touch, and
shook it.

“We better get you to your cell, before others hear us,” he said lowly.

I wanted to be angry with him, but I couldn’t. I knew that everyone on
this lower level had had the fear beaten into them. After the hell I had been
through since I got here, I truly understood.
 
God only knows how long these two have been
here.

As soon as he had me in my cell, he asked, “May I help you with your
hand? I know you’ve reset it before, but it’s much easier to look away while
someone else does it.” I barely heard him. I was looking into his eyes, my mind
someplace
else, and after a few seconds, he turned to
leave.

“Wait,” I called. “I’m sorry. Yes please, I would love the help.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, thank you, Garvin.” He came back over to me. “Come with me,” I
suddenly added, “You and
Tanda
both. Let’s all get
out of here, the three of us.”

He just looked at me, and I wasn’t sure if he was going to respond. Finally,
he did.

“One slave, they would miss... but if they thought you were in the
hole...” his voice trailed off. “But three?” He shook his head. “They would
track us and have us in an hour’s time.”

I couldn’t quite believe what I was hearing. He sounded as if he was
thinking about helping me. I could tell not only from his words, but the way he
lowered his voice as he spoke.
I
swear
,
I told myself,
I swear
on my little brother Johnny, that I will return to save these two, even if I
have to make my own army to do it
.
At this point, all I could do
was hope.

“You are very wise for your age,” I sat there silent for a moment
longer. “May I ask how old you are?”

“I was nineteen when I was turned. They took
Tanda
the next night. She was sixteen,” he said, looking down at my hand. “We better
fix that finger. You start to heal faster when you have fed well.”

I only nodded. I already knew it was going to hurt like hell. About
that time, he pulled the finger into place, so fast I didn’t have time to react
before I felt the pain of it.