Prison of Blood and Lies

Three

I got out of the car and Gemba drove off.

Inside the motel, I slapped the bell at the desk and waited for the manager to come out of the back room.

“What?” she snapped. “You got the money?”

I opened my bag and dug around until I found the cash I’d taken from the dead man’s wallet and I slapped it on the desk. She grabbed it and counted the bills one by one.

“Alright. You’re all caught up,” she sneered.

I handed her another stack of bills. “And this is for the next seven days.”

I didn’t wait for her to count it before I walked away. I knew it was all there.

I locked the hotel door behind me and flopped onto the bed. I clutched my bag close to my chest and stared up at the ceiling. I opened the bag and pulled out two small metal urns. My babies. I carried them with me always. A reminder of the loss I suffered at the hands of others.

I set the urns on the bedside table and turned on my side so that I could see them. What would they be doing now, if they were still alive? First words? Crawling? It had been several months.

The weight of grief grew exponentially in my heart. I could hardly breathe under its weight. I would never be a mother. They’d taken it from me.

I considered all that had transpired tonight. I wasn’t any closer to catching those responsible for the murder of my family.

I drifted off to sleep and had the only dream that I had any more.

                                                                                    ***

A blunt force landed on the back of my head, I reached for Vance before I fell. He called my name as I lost consciousness. I woke alone in a dark room with my hands bound in front of me. Scratchy fabric covered my face and I felt my hot breath on my face. I touched my large pregnant belly and felt the babies moving inside. As long as they were alright. . .

I screamed and some men entered the room from behind me. They laughed as I struggled against the rough ropes tied around my wrists. I thought I was in a chair. I sat on something hard and my back pressed against something of the same texture.

Someone yanked off the cloth that covered my head. I blinked squinted against the bright light.

“Good morning, princess,” someone said inches from my face.

“Who are you? What—”

“Ah-ah. No questions. You belong to us now. You’re going to do what we say or we will end you.” I held my breath and tensed, waiting for another blow. The back of my head throbbed where I’d been hit before. I entered the blackness once more as the my head was covered once more.

Hands massaged my stomach. I squirmed against them and cried out. “You and these babies are going to make us a fortune,” the voice hissed in my ear. “We just need to make sure you stay like this for as long as possible.” His voice trailed off and I heard a door open and close behind me.

I struggled to get free without success. The ropes cut into my skin and the chair teetered off balance. Fear overtook me. Where was Vance? Hopeless, I let the tears come and I sank into the chair.

The door behind me opened and closed again. Two men spoke softly and I couldn’t quite hear what they were saying. The sack was ripped off my head again and I winced against the brilliant light of the room.

Two men stood before me, One grinned sinisterly at me. The other man looked at me hungrily. Instinctively, I knew that my life was over. Oh, how I wished it had ended there.

The sinister-looking man looked at the hungry man. “You can do it, right? She’ll stay pregnant?”

The hungry man nodded but didn’t take his eyes from my neck.

“P-please, my babies. Don’t hurt them,” I sobbed.

They continued as if they couldn’t hear.

“The boss specifically said that pregnant vamps would catch triple the money. You need to do this right.”

“I’ve got it. Stop badgering me,” the hungry man said. His voice was smooth as silk.

He stepped toward me and grabbed my face with his hands, making me look at him.

“You’re in for a treat. Lucky for you, I’m going to make this painless.”

Seductive energy flowed from him in waves. He held me face close to his and grinned. I didn’t understand what was happening. I felt my body relax and respond to his touch. Mentally, I wanted to scream, to flee, anything to get out of this situation.

My body, however, had other plans. My lips parted and my breaths grew heavy. I leaned my face forward to press my lips against his. Warmth spread from my fingers and toes inward, toward my core. I had to touch him. Be with him. The rest of the world disappeared, there was only him and my lust for him.

“She’s mine now. Go ahead and untie her.” I moaned at the sound of his voice.

My hands were freed and I flung my arms around his neck. He peppered kisses down the side of my neck and bit. Hard. I groaned and pulled myself into his lap. Dark spots speckled my field of vision. I wobbled unsteadily as I failed to hold myself up. Still, I wanted more from him.

Everything went black as I died in the hungry man’s arms.

                                                                            ***

I awoke clutching my forever empty middle. The flat stomach gave no indication of the life that was once inside me. All I had were memories and my determination to destroy what had destroyed me.

The memories of what happened after I died were too painful. I pushed them from my mind and grabbed the business card that Gemba had given me earlier. What did I have to lose? I’d been getting nowhere in search for the trafficking ring that held me and rented my body out to the highest bidder.

As soon as the sun set, I would see what Gemba had to offer me in the way of information. I paced the tiny hotel room for the few remaining hours until dusk.

Once dusk arrived and it was safe to exit the room, I headed toward the exit. I hailed a cab and got in.

“Where to,” the cabbie asked.

“Industrial district. The old milk bottling plant.”

He turned around in his seat and gave me a strange look. “That part of town is dangerous at this time of night. Are you sure?”

“I’m very capable of handling myself. I appreciate your concern.”

He drove off and didn’t say another word for the drive. I stepped out of the cab when we arrived and stood on the sidewalk in front of the plant. The brick building was completely dark. Only the street lamps illuminated the bottom portion of the building. Broken windows and fallen bricks freckled the building’s face.

I squared my shoulders and marched toward the white metal double doors that looked like the front entrance. The doors wore several layers of graffiti which completed the abandoned building look. I wondered how much of what I saw was natural and how much was created by Gemba to keep trespassers away.

I knocked on one of the doors and it swung open under my touch. I gasped at the disparity between the interior and the exterior. What was dark disrepair outside was orderly, bright, and well-kept on the inside. The gray paint and tile floors gave the feel of a prison.

I didn’t see anyone at the front so I followed the long corridor before me. I walked until the corridor opened up into a wide room. It looked much like the security area at the airport with a metal-detector and an x-ray machine.

I approached the guard and smiled. He smelled human and I was feeling a little peckish. The guard reached for the gun on his holster. “Excuse me,” I said.

“How can I help you?”

“I need to see Gemba.”

“But of course, just place your belongings on the belt.”

I held my bag closer to me. I could not hand my babies off to some stranger.

“No, I don’t think I will. Please, just let me past.”