COLD CREEK

Five: Cold Creek

A slosh of fiery water sent Raiden's eyes flying open. A searing pain travelled down his face and bare chest, sending a loud gasp from his lungs. He shook himself from the grogginess he had been lost in and went to push himself off the unfamiliar cold floor. But his wrists and feet had been bound together by a string of sharp wire, preventing him from going anywhere.

The wire twisted around his wrists and sliced deeper into his skin, causing him to let out another sharp yelp. His shoulders quivered and his muscles felt as if they were splitting and tearing in different directions. Rolling over onto his elbows, he looked around a concrete sealed room and a steel desk in front of him. He couldn't remember the hours before, but he knew he had been abducted.

"Raiden," came a smooth, rich voice. "How you feeling?"

Raiden looked down and noticed all his clothes had been taken. His head was throbbing and he tasted blood in his mouth. Feeling vulnerable, Raiden brought his knees to his chest and pushed himself up so that he was kneeling. Blinking away the fogginess, he focused on the figure behind the desk. Beside him stood the two other people who had escorted him to the airport, Jennifer and Bossman.

"Does he understand what I'm saying?"

Jennifer shrugged. "I think he knows a little. Said he's fluent on his resume."

Raiden looked through a strand of bloodied hair and stared at the man. He didn't say a word or exchange a disrespectful squint of the eyes. He knew the only thing he could do was remain calm and attentive. His anxiety was clawing at his insides, but breaking down would be what they wanted. Raiden wasn't submitting to the man, nor was he being stubborn, he just knew silence was the best way to keep himself alive.

"Get Seo-jun," the man said in an unhurried tone. He flicked his wrist up, gesturing to one of his assistants to obey him.

Bossman's stiff face mumbled something and then turned to leave as instructed. On his way to the bolted door behind them, he leaned down and whispered in Raiden's ear.

"Don't try anything stupid."

Raiden didn't move. The rancid, hot breath was enough for him to remain quiet all day.

"We're gonna bring your buddy in here to tell you your purpose here. I hope you don't disappoint us like the others. It's really not going to be too bad here if you just listen to us," the man said in that same uncomfortable voice that would've sounded friendly under different circumstances. "Do you understand English? Don't lie."

"I know some," Raiden replied stiffly. He paused and chose his next words carefully. His captors wouldn’t know the truth if he didn’t say it. If they believed he only understood a little English, then they would most likely not worry much if they leaked any secrets. "I lied on my resume to get the job. I only know a little English."

"Hmm. I heard you were successful in the medical field until, well, let's just say we helped with your dismissal. So sorry. Times are hard for the medical field these days."

"Can I have my clothes?"

"Oh! We're getting you new ones. You sweated so much they were drenched." The man chuckled and approached Raiden slowly. Once he was a footstep away, he placed a hand on the back of Raiden's neck.

Raiden's breath hitched and a chilling sensation spiked down his back. He moved slightly away from the unwanted pressure and glared up at the man. "I didn't catch your name."

The man arched an eyebrow and slipped his hand back to his side. In a lowered tone, he replied. "Allen DeCart."

Before Raiden could respond, he heard the squeaking of the door and two figures marched inside, Seo-jun being one of them.

"Roe," Allen greeted, "help us out will you. Tell him why he's here, what he's going to do, and all that wonderful stuff you're so good at explaining." Allen returned to the other side of the desk and sat down, hands folded in his lap as if he was ready for a fantastic show.

Seo-jun gave his superior an empty smile and walked up to Raiden. He held out a set of fresh clothing. "Here, they should fit." Seo-jun made to untie Raiden's hands before Bossman rushed to his side and smacked the junior upside the head.

Raiden's chest tightened and a sudden rage came over him. But seeing that Seo-jun didn't even flinch, he remained still.

"Really?" Bossman barked. "You trust him? God, at least tell me when you're gonna do something like that so I can have my gun ready."

"Or you can pay attention and do your job," Seo-jun snapped back, his catlike eyes narrowing even more. "I can handle him if he tries to run."

"Yeah, with what? Your Taekwon-crap?"

Seo-jun said something in Korean to himself as he proceeded to loosen Raiden's bonds.

"What the f**k you saying to yourself? Huh?"

"Shut up and do your job," Allen commanded in a voice not meant to be argued with. "By the way, Mr. Morita, I emailed your parents through your employee email and told them you were invited to a last minute business trip and you wouldn't be responding a lot. And by their reply, they don't seem very interested in your whereabouts."

Raiden's face stiffened and his heart began pounding. As terrifying as it was, the man was right. His parents hardly asked about his life unless they were celebrating a special occasion.

Once Seo-jun worked off the wire from the wrists, he handed Raiden a light blue button up. Raiden pulled it on and fastened the buttons quickly so that he felt less exposed. Once his upper half was covered, Seo-jun tied his hands again and then uncuffed the ankles. Here, he had to help Raiden, which brought a humiliated shade of red to both their faces.

"Mianhamnida," Seo-jun apologised along with a respectful bow. He didn't look much at Raiden afterwards.

"Okay, now that we've wasted enough time, hurry up and tell him what's going on so that he can meet Ava," Bossman said, reaching for his pack of cigarettes. "Is he Japanese or Korean or Chinese? I can't tell. Does it matter?"

"He understands the languages," Seo-jun said. He pulled out a piece of paper and cleared his throat. In Korean, he explained an entirely different monologue than the one written in front of him. Since he knew the others couldn't understand him, he took the moment to prepare Raiden for the truth.

"I'm going to pretend I'm reading you our guidelines, but in reality, I'm telling you the truth. Allen DeCart is a trafficker and has been for many decades. I am an offspring of two adults he 'harvested' twenty years ago. They were both Korean and taught me how to speak their language while I learned English and some Japanese by myself. We are stuck out here in California, USA. No one suspects us because Allen has made a good system to keep us secret. Where you are now, is not where you'll stay. This is Allen's secret office that he brings new people to." Seo-jun stopped and glanced up at Raiden to see if he was paying attention.

Raiden's eyes had never left.

"To continue, I am your handler. I supervise everything you do and say and make sure you do not get us into trouble. Allen DeCart makes a living by doing adult films and selling young women for s*x. He brought you here because," Seo-jun's voice cracked and his eyes welled up with tears.

Bossman punched Seo-jun's arm. "Stop being a little b***h and keep reading."

"He uses children in his films. The younger the better."

Raiden's eyes widened and his body went cold. "What are you saying?"

"We have women here that need to get pregnant. The babies are raised here. Ava Mills is your assigned partner. She, like me, has been raised here. If she cannot get pregnant this year, Allen DeCart will kill her."

"Why are you still here? Why haven't you gotten help!" Raiden yelled, fighting against the tears building up inside of him as well.

"I've been waiting for you!" Seo-jun shouted back, his fists crumbling the paper.

Allen DeCart quickly rose from his chair. "What's going on? What are you telling him?" Allen, with a looming presence that frightened Raiden even more, walked up to Seo-jun, forcing him to walk backwards until his back hit the wall. "You little s**t, what are you telling him?"

"I-I'm telling him what you wanted me to. He's just pissed off about what we do, that's all."

Raiden could see the terror streaking through the boy's face as he cowered under the mighty shadow.

"I hope so. Because you know how much I trust you." Allen caressed the side of Seo-jun's cheek before running his hand down the younger man's chest. "Well, take him to meet Ava. I'll talk to you later."

"Yes, sir." Seo-jun dipped out from underneath Allen and scrambled over to Raiden. He took his ward by the arm and nodded to Bossman to open the door.

"You guys have fun," Bossman taunted with an annoying laugh.

Seo-jun rolled his eyes as he walked the both of them out into a hollow tunnel. The tunnel looked as if it had been manmade with the unstable wooden beams holding up the shaky tin roof. The sides were a mixture between chain-link fences and old wooden fence posts.

"I helped build this tunnel," Seo-jun commented.

Raiden couldn't say anything. His thoughts were still on the horrible news he had heard.

When the large steel door closed, Seo-jun turned to Raiden. "I had to tell you the truth. The last men here believed they were going to be paid for the work they did here. They weren't. They were threatened with their lives and their families if they didn't participate. Allen makes a lot of money online with the content he puts out. I'll try my best to make sure you don't do a lot that they had to. But I'm only your handler. Once I take you to your assigned room at Cold Creek, I can only help you so much."

"Why not?"

"You'll see. Allen has selected a group of men to keep us in line. Any wrong move or wrong word, we've got The Cutter to answer to."

"The Cutter?" Raiden's blood curled at the choice of words.

"Yeah, he's above Allen and Bossman. He's the one most of the money goes to."

"Have you met him?"

The tunnel became narrower, forcing the two to hunch. Raiden's panic began setting in and he froze, pulling Seo-jun to halt.

"I can't. I can't go on," Raiden stuttered as he stared down the unknown channel of dirt and sawdust. "I'm going to pass out if I do."

"You have to. It's not that far. Only a few yards to go and we're outside, trust me."

"I need to wake up, I need to wake up, I need to wake up," Raiden began repeating as he sank to his knees. He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that when he'd open them, he'd be back home with Byeol by his side. "Please, please, please, get me out. Get me out!"

Seo-jun knelt down beside him and clutched his shaking shoulders. "Raiden, please, it's not a dream! You can't get out--,"

Raiden started hyperventilating, his breath going out of sync with his heart beat. The face of the unknown woman kept appearing and reappearing in his mind. That man, Allen DeCart, and his fake smile flashed through his mind like lightning in a thunderstorm. He pressed his palms against his eyes and fell forward. "Please, get me out. Please!"

The steel door behind them opened and Bossman trudged out with a cigarette smoking between his cracked lips. "What the hell is going on? Thought you two idiots would be there by now."

"He's just having trouble," Seo-jun excused as he tried to pull Raiden to his feet.

Bossman spat the cigarette out and went up behind Raiden. He kicked him in the ribs causing him to fall fully onto his face. "Get the f**k up and start walking."

Raiden laid still, trying to catch his breath. He felt his side burning with pain and he was sure there would be a sizable bruise there in the morning.

"Tell him to shut up before I knock his teeth out. Or, you know what?" A sly smile split across Bossman's face as he looked down at Raiden. "This would be the perfect time to break him in." Hurriedly, Bossman began unbuckling his belt. "Hold him still."

Knowing what was going to happen, Seo-jun grabbed Raiden and helped him to his feet. He put himself between the two and glared at Bossman. One hand was holding Raiden back and the other was ready to defend. "You touch him, I'll kill you right here."

"What is this now? All of a sudden he gets here and you're acting all tough. You couldn't kill me if you tried. And besides, you only have a taser. I've got a gun." Bossman proudly brandished his weapon in front of Seo-jun. "And you know what, after I own his ass, I'll come after yours."

Seo-jun, within seconds, shot his fist forward, popping Bossman in the jaw. The gun slipped out from the man's loose fingers and clattered to the floor. Seo-jun didn't hesitate once he saw the escaped weapon. He delivered a direct kick at Bossman's knee, sending him to the ground.

Bossman let out a scream and clutched his injured leg. “You could have broken my knee!”

Seo-jun bent over and grabbed the gun and tucked it in the back of his pants. "You don't have much rank here either. So if you mess with me again, I will shoot you." Seo-jun then guided Raiden forward and the two of them were able to make it through the tunnel.

Raiden’s mind was whirling with both pain and anger. He was beginning to wonder if there was any hope of him escaping, as every place around him seemed to have been purposely built to stay hidden. He had read about human trafficking victims and only a few out of the thousands were ever rescued. Perhaps, he and whoever else was being held hostage, would be "the forgotten."

"You okay?" Seo-jun asked in genuine concern. "Bossman is all violence and stupidity. The reason he's Allen's right-hand man is because he's willing to do the dirty work. The men at Cold Creek are worse."

"Cold Creek? Why the ambiguous names?"

Seo-jun shrugged as they neared the exit of the tunnel. "It's just what they've called it. It's literally an abandoned bar that they renovated and turned into a house. It looks perfectly nice on the outside, designed to look as if an elderly couple lives there. The rooms inside look like regular rooms, there's no dungeons or anything like that. I mean, except where The Cutter lives. But that's a whole other experience."

"The Cutter? Have you seen him?"

"Yeah. He's super creepy and scary. He's what nightmares are made of. You only need to meet him once to realise your future is here."

Raiden scoffed. "I'm not staying here forever."

The two of them stopped in front of the exit. Seo-jun's shoulders dropped and his eyes closed for a moment. "Like I said, you only need to meet him once." With those words, burdened with a memory not yet ready to share, Seo-jun opened the door and the first thing Raiden saw was a flight of carpeted stairs. "After you."

Raiden sniffed the air. A floral aroma lilted ahead and he could hear the faint sound of music behind the door ahead of them. He looked at Seo-jun and then back at the door. The thought of escaping came to mind again, but he didn't know the area enough to take the risk.

"Hey, you okay?" Seo-jun nudged him.

"Who's Ava?"

A fond expression settled on Seo-jun's face, bringing out the youthfulness Raiden hadn't seen before. "She and I were raised around the same time. We're practically siblings. Unlike the other children here, we earned our spots here."

"They said she was my 'partner', what does that mean?"

"You're going to have to do things you don't want to do. But if you refuse, all of us suffer the consequences. I'm sorry about what you're going to go through, but there's not much you can do until the right time."

"Which is when?" Raiden's eyes widened and he waited for the next words.

"That's up to you. I just know that you're here to help us. Others have tried to get help, but getting past The Cutter isn't easy. But you seem smart."

"Does The Cutter have a real name?"

Seo-jun shook his head. "Only know him by that. But come on."

The two of them walked up the stairs, the smells of ginger, roses, and cigarettes grew stronger. Despite his situation, the familiar smells brought some comfort to him. Seo-jun reached out and unlocked the door. He pushed it open and the sight of a cosy living room was displayed in front of him.

Raiden walked inside and looked around. There was a TV playing some American film, a glass coffee table with ashtrays and scattered trash on top, and a large couch on the other side. Three men sat there, legs spread and beer cans resting in their hands. They looked up at Raiden and simultaneously grinned.

"Is this the fresh meat?" one man remarked as he stretched himself to the standing position. He popped his back and placed his beer can down on the table. "Why did you go with this guy?"

"Allen and Jennifer chose him. I'm just here to show him to Ava."

"Aren't you gonna introduce us?" a second man chimed in through half-mast eyes. He belched and then sneezed, leaving speckled droplets on the glass table. He reached forward and picked up a digital camera. "We're running out of footage and views, so we need him ready asap."

"Yeah, but Ava's been in a bitchy mood," the first man said as he walked over to Raiden. "He's kind of short."

Seo-jun cleared his throat and brought Raiden to the centre of the room. Motioning to each guy one at a time, he introduced them. "This guy is Derek Lane, Jennifer's brother. He's the director."

Raiden stared at him, his teeth slowly grinding against each other in repulsion. Derek sported the typical look of someone who had no pride in oneself or who didn't bother with basic hygiene. He had oily dark hair, a torn band T-shirt, and stained jeans.

"That's Jimmy. He's the producer and editor, and the guy beside him, Kyle, just helps with equipment."

Jimmy was a little more plump and was dressed in an everyday flannel shirt and cargo pants. He was well groomed with his close cut facial hair and stylish glasses. He was the only one who smiled at Raiden.

Kyle only grunted when his name was mentioned and his sunken eyes remained on the TV. He had a buzzcut and looked to be the youngest of the group, despite his bulky physique.

"So, you all make videos?" Raiden said slowly, looking over at Seo-jun for clarification.

"Dude, we make pornos," Derek said through a chuckle. "How long can you last?"

Raiden's face reddened and he found sudden interest in the floor.

Seo-jun began to translate it before Raiden knocked him hard with his elbow. He knew what they said, he just didn't want to hear it repeated.

"Can he understand English?" Jimmy asked, strolling over beside Derek.

"A little," Seo-jun lied.

"Well, if he can't get off in this first video, I'm sending him back to Allen because my paycheck is hurting and our views are low."

Seo-jun swallowed. "I know. Let me just let him meet Ava."

Derek snorted and looked Raiden up and down again. "This should be interesting. Hurry up then, we'll get things set up."