Before she’d been taken, there had been a boy in her class that she had a crush on. His name was Tommy, and he had dimples and the brightest blue eyes she’d ever seen. Tommy hadheld her hand sometimes when they were walking to class. He’d even given her her first kiss.
It was one first the monsters who took her hadn't been able to steal from her.
Although they’d taken all her other firsts.
“Rest now, babydoll,” the man whispered to her, and for some reason, her body obeyed and she drifted away.
Moving.
Voices.
Drops of something cold landed on her cheeks.
It left behind freezing little dots, but she liked it. It felt real. Reminded her of the ocean, although she had no idea why. However, she couldn’t seem to summon enough energy to put into figuring anything out.
At the back of her mind was a single thought she wasn't ready to confront yet. She’d been sold again. Or was about to be. It didn’t really matter which, her fate was the same. The unknown terrified her more than anything else, because she knew she was going to have to learn to adapt all over again, but if she couldn’t figure out the new rules quickly enough, she might not survive the transition.
Doesn’t matter.
Dead is better.
“I’ll have you out of the snow in just a moment,” a voice assured her. A voice she recognized, even though she didn't have a name to go with it.
Her eyes must’ve been open because she swore she could see trees. So many of them. Beside her, a large building that looked like a Gothic mansion rose out of the ground. If it didn't belong to evil people, she’d almost call this place magical.
She was moving without moving.
Carried.
Bouncing slightly with each step the man took. His shoulder made a surprisingly comfortable pillow.
Or maybe that was just because anything would be better than the thin mattress on the floor that had been her only source of comfort for as long as she’d been with Master.
“Going to get you all settled in a nice, comfortable bed,” the man continued talking as someone moved around them.
Multiple someones.
Too many for her to fight against.
But something felt different inside her. For so long, she’d learned to do exactly as she was ordered without fighting back, because fighting back never resulted in anything other than more pain and suffering.
Accept her fate. That was her mantra.
Hide in her mind where reality couldn’t touch her.
Only for once, her body didn't seem to remember the plan. It seemed to be acting out on its own. It was going to get her killed, but maybe that was its plan. Maybe it realized that following her mind, playing it safe, only caused more pain and suffering.
It was time for it to end.
Acting on an instinct she didn't really understand, Maya lashed out, jerked her body, summoning every bit of strength she had left, and shoved against the arms holding her, causing them to drop her.
She fell, hitting the floor with a bone-jarring thud.
Around her, male voices exclaimed surprise.
Maybe there were some female voices, too.
Other slaves probably. Although sometimes women betrayed their own and worked for the men who bought and sold girls like they were less than human.