Prison of Smoke (PRISON OF TIDES SEQUEL)

Statement

Cherry's Point of View 

The following morning, Jasmine and I went to the center to meet with Anna and Chief Bennett. She'd given a statement to police, but they'd agreed to wait until she was settled and comfortable to do an in-depth interview with her. She'd requested that Jasmine and myself be there. Knowing that he'd taken others before me left a sour taste in my mouth, and I was consciously aware of the stomach acid leaving a burning pathway up my throat as we rode the elevator that climbed the massive height of the former hotel.

In Jasmine’s penthouse office, Anna waited for us with Bennett. The normally perfect view of blue skies showed clouds instead, a fitting mood for the task at hand. I assessed the woman; somewhere in her mid-twenties, she had a round face, but she was thin enough that her cheekbones shone through, giving her an unnaturally eerie look. Her brown eyes were haunted, and her dark skin was covered in bruises and scars. I wondered if this is how I looked when they found me, and I quickly realized that I was looking at someone who was followed by the same ghosts that still visited me, a reflection of that tattered piece of myself I hid so well.

“Anna, this is Cherry. I told you about her yesterday. Cherry, this is Anna.” Jasmine introduced us, and I reached my hand out to shake hers. Despite her malnourishment, her grip was durable, her hands revealing the sheer strength of her spirit.

“It’s nice to meet you, although I’m sorry for the circumstances.” I tried to keep sympathy from my smile. I saw myself in her; I knew she wanted nothing to do with the pity of others.

“Thank you for being here. I knew I wasn’t the only one, but seeing two more people… It’s a little…” She trailed off, pulling her dark dreadlocks into a ponytail at the base of her head. Her dark eyes were unfocused, swirls of caramel in them seeming to churn with her thoughts.

“It’s world-shattering,” Jasmine chimed in, and I nodded in agreement. “We knew there were others as well, but you’re the first that we’ve met.”

“I’m glad I met you two. It’s been so long, it’s hard to know what to do with myself.”

“I understand,” I said, sitting beside her on the royal blue couch. “It’s hard to adjust to life outside, but we’ll help you.”

Clearing his throat, Bennett took out his notebook and a recorder. Jasmine had a recorder as well, for her own records. “Alright, Anna. If you’re ready, you can begin wherever you’d like. This interview is being recorded, both for the sake of your testimony as well as for the center’s accounts to help other survivors that may arrive here.”

She nodded. “I’m ready. I was taken by a man, Raymond. I remember having a drink at a bar. He was there, and I ended up going up to his hotel room with him. He seemed sweet. I never thought…” Anna shook her head before pulling her locks into a ponytail. “I passed out there. When I woke up, I was in this cave. He had me there for a while. He raped me all the time, and he let his friends pay to join in. At first they drugged me, but after a few months, they stopped. He told me he’d been watching me, had seen me go home alone, and knew that there was no one waiting for me. That no one would miss me.” She paused again. “He was right.”

Anna’s sturdy hand moved towards her face to wipe a tear away. “There were times where he wouldn’t come back for days. No matter what I tried, I couldn’t get out. He kept me in chains, in a collar.”

I knew the feeling too well. I nodded along with her account as I caught her eye.

“After a while, he cut his name into me. Eventually, he got bored with me and sold me to Zachariah. Pale skin, blonde hair, short and stocky. He had these cold blue eyes. He really liked choking me. Doing it until I passed out while he was raping me was one of his favorite things. He kept smelling salts on hand so he could wake me up while he was still raping me. He had three warehouses, and he bounced us between them. After a while, he kept us between two. He had other girls there, too. Zoey and Sonya. Zoey was short, brunette, tan skin. She had an accent, and she came from Folochlay.”

Folochlay, a kingdom overseas. So this did run internationally, then, as we’d feared.

“Sonya was pale with pale blonde hair. Tall, very thin. Green eyes. She was from here. Zachariah had me for about two and a half years before he got bored and sold me off to Terrance. Zachariah sold Sonya before he sold me, and brought in Zoey when he sold her. I can only imagine he bought someone else after I left.”

When she said Terrance’s name, she shivered. We all waited for her to continue, while I thought back to the warehouse Raymond had brought us to. She said that he stopped bringing her to one of them. Could there be a connection? Maybe he stopped using the warehouse because it burnt down. From the look on Bennett’s face, he was thinking the same thing.

“Terrance was a big guy. He made sure it hurt. He had dark skin, and he was never satisfied until you were crying and bleeding. If you weren’t, then he wasn’t done. He’d take pills if you weren’t, go for hours to punish you for not breaking under his sheer force.”

A glance towards Jasmine revealed that her face had tightened - she was familiar with Terrance’s work.

“He kept me around for a while. He would invite friends over, the way that Raymond did. He called them parties; he had more parties than Raymond did. He’d let them bring other people they had kidnapped. They stopped drugging me a long time ago, so I figured they were going to kill me sooner or later.” Her brown eyes flickered towards the smooth, white ceiling as she took a breath. “A few days ago, Terrance put me in the back of a van and tried to take me somewhere. He had a gun, and I knew he was going to kill me. He said that I was worn out and that they didn’t have any more use for me.”

Bennett nodded, his lip bitten between his teeth. As gruff as the chief appeared, he was a gentle soul. It had always been difficult for him to listen to our accounts of the abuse. “How did you escape?”

“I realized it was now or never. I knew I could die if I jumped out of the van, but I knew I would die if I didn’t jump. So with my hands and feet tied, I wormed my way towards the back of the van and opened the door with my foot. I rolled out. Fortunately, it was an area with a lot of foot traffic, but there weren’t a lot of cars there at that time of night. The people walking by called an ambulance and the police. And now, I’m here.”

“Anna, I have to ask. Do you have any knowledge of being recorded during this?” Bennett knew this would be a soul crushing revelation if she didn’t already know, but it was better to tell here while she was at the center, where there were people who could help her.

“I do. Zachariah bragged about how much money I was making him. He would say, ‘Damn, that hot little body looks so good when I’m choking you out, you’re making me a millionaire. A f*****g millionaire.” Then he’d choke me again.”

“I’m familiar with his handiwork.” Jasmine’s green eyes, which were usually so friendly, had an edge to them.

After a moment, Anna spoke again. “If you don’t mind me asking, how did Raymond die?”

Bennett cast a cursory glance my way and stood. “I have no knowledge of the events surrounding his death. Anna, it was very nice to talk with you. Here’s my number if you need or remember anything. I’ll be in touch about the investigation moving forward, or if any other questions come up.”

Anna watched as he walked away. “He doesn’t know how Raymond died?”

Jasmine, regal as always, answered her question. “The police have chosen to turn a blind eye towards the circumstances of Raymond’s death.”

“What does that mean, exactly?” Anna’s eyes darted between Jasmine and myself, looking confused and mildly panicked.

I took a breath, knowing it was time to let her know how justice was served. “I slit his f*****g throat.”