I was sold

The van

My head spins, It feels like a terrible hang over. The air on me feels thick and humid, I feel the sweat gathered on my back, under my arms and behind my knees. A dull ache throbbed behind my forehead. Opening my eyes i am in pitch darkness, I roll onto my side, my left leg completely numb against the hard floor. I feel my hair tickling my face so i try to wipe it away but my arms are trapped behind her. The lift. My heart skips a beat as i suddenly remembered what happened to me in the carpark, Was it real? 'Hello?' i say “Shh!, for god sake, someone shut her up.” A gruff female voice comes from behind me. “Hey be quiet, please, they don’t know we're awake” another female voice whispers from in front of me “Please help me” I beg, ignoring the women. “I don’t know where I am, or why this is happening, god my throat is killing me” I speak panicked. “Shut up, we don’t know either but whoever grabbed us, I don’t want to come back so stop talking!” The same gruff voice as before warned. Moving my head, I feel a thick rough material against my face, a sack seems to be over my head still, its scratchy fabric irritating my cheek. Moving my jaw around, my chin feels tight and sore, likely from being pushed against the rough material for so long. How long has it been? where was I, and why am i here? Who are these other girls? 'My phone' I think, a jolt of anxiety fills my chest, clawing my hands up my back, '-Is on my desk..'I realize, dropping my elbows down against my back...The rope around my ankles and wrists is really starting to bite into my joints, and i ache everywhere from laying in such an unnatural position for so long..''How long have you be-'' I begin to whisper, but just as i finish a loud ‘Thunk’ noise erupts from behind me, Light enters and shines through the woven fabric sack on my head. I Laying still, closing my eyes and holding my breath. A Scream erupts from one of the girls next to me as she is dragged backwards by her ankles, suddenly i feel a hard tug at my feet. Someone grabs me and drags my body along the floor towards the light. The surprise and sudden touch someone scares me, and i let out a scream too. The hot bright light shining in through the bag on my head invokes a surge of pain to build behind her eyes. I squint to block it out, but the light penitrates past my eyelids and I see coloures as i squeeze them closed. A hand comes up to my tied hands and grabs the bundle of rope around them, the hands lift me up for a moment, off of the hard floor and lowered me back down onto my bound feet. As my feet hit the floor, I realise both my shoes are gone. The grainy rough floor hurts to walk on and tiny stones dig into the soles of my feet through my tights. I hear more screams and crying, and the noise of a sprint suspension creaking, I then realise the room I had been laying in was actually a vehicle of some sort.

“Hey suka, move it” A deep accented voice booms at me, Pushing a hand at my back. “Please, where am I? what do you want? Please let me go, I can’t breathe-'' THWACK. A hand slaps over the back of my head. Stunned i freeze. No one has ever hit me before and immediately, I'm afraid. “Shut your mouth! Another word and ill cut out your tongue.” Spits the man behind me. Holding back tears, I squint through the bag, my eyes slowly adjusting to the light, I try my best to look at my surroundings, but the heavy fabric clinging to my face blurs my vision, I'm panting from the shock of being slapped, and the material sucks in and flares out in rhythm with my lungs, My heart beats loudly in my ears and the condensation from my breath dampens my face, A scream erupts from behind me, as another girl is wretched upwards from the vehicle and dragged to her feet, "Shut it w***e!" A roar from the same man as earlier followed by a smack, and a whimper. I feel another hand on me, it grabs at the back of the neck and pushes me forwards, I hop as quickly as I can,but I struggle to stay upright. I tip too far forwards and fall to my knees. I land on them hard, sharp tiny pieces of debris sticking into my knees, I gasp and feel a slick wet sensation spread through my tights, the fragments of dirt embedded in my soft skin. People around me shriek with laughter, “Get up w***e, there will be plenty of time to be down on your knees later.” taunts someone in the background. Tears stream down my face, as anxiety of the situation sets in. White-hot panic filles my veins, my already heavy breathing becomes erratic, and I feel a panic attack approach and as someone grabs my shoulders, I begin flailing my body from left to right unable to find the strength to stand. A hand fumbles behind my head and the grip of fabric loosens around my neck. The sack is ragged off me, ripping a clump of hair away at the same time. "Argh!" I cry, twisting my head and lifting her shoulder in an attempt to rub my scalp. my eyes squint again, bare in the overwhelming light, but my hands stay where they're tied. Lifting my head my eyes meet the deep brown stare of a large muscular man. His black hair is cut short, thick eyebrows curl together. His tanned skin sweaty and shining in the light, A large and heavy-looking gun is slung over his shoulder, sweat marks cloud his gray tank top. "Where am I?" I plead, my bottom lip shaking, inhaling fresh air deeply for the first time in hours, I try to take in all this new information at once, but I'm so overwhealmed. 'Last chance, shut you're mouth!' the man spits in my face, He grabs me under my arms and lifts me off the floor and back onto my feat. I feel a cool breeze blow at my knees, I realize they must be bleeding from my earlier fall. The man pushes me along quickly, holding me up as I bob side to side, crying and pleading, snot runs down my lips, tears stream down my face but all my protests fall on deaf ears and I see the man walk in front of me. a heavy fist comes down on my face, bashing my jaw to the right, my mouth fills with blood and my eyes roll upwards into my head. "I can tell we're going to have fun with this one'' The man behind me chuckles as I feel my legs buckle underneath me. My head spins from the shock and I feel a yank of the of rope shackling my wrists hoist up my small frame. He throws me almost effortlessly up over his shoulder, my sore knees bouncing off his large body. Blood from my jaw oozes from my parted lips and dribbles down my chin onto the mans back. ''s**t, Musa is gonna have you for that, you know you aren't meant to touch their face'' I hear another guard say in a thick accent. The dizziness grows and I fade away into darkness