Half-Blood Alpha

2. Strength and Support

*Luna*

My body hurt. Even breathing was difficult, but my will to fight and my strength of spirit had not yet been broken. Still, although Natalie and another woman named Bella joined me in fighting the tormentors, our resistance was met with amusement and a telescopic baton every time. The only thing we managed to achieve was to prevent any of them from reaching any of us. The aching body was nothing compared to winning for the last of our dignity.

"Luna, you can't do it anymore. You have a broken rib. I'm not a doctor, but that big bruise looks bad." Natalie shook her head, showing off her small beating that left her with a cut on her forehead and a split lip.

"Besides, you're gasping with every breath. That's not a good sign," she added, handing me the bottle of water they kindly provided us at the beginning of the day.

I drank greedily, although in small sips. I don't know if it's possible to reconcile these two contradictions, but that's what my last days looked like. Water, which should constitute one-tenth of the daily portion, had to be enough for the whole day. The bread we were given was stale and tasteless, but at least there was enough for everyone. If their task is to sell us, care for the goods is not a priority. It must have been at least three days since I opened my eyes, and by Natalie's calculations, I've already spent at least two days unconscious here, so if our stay is closer to a week and the other women are closer to two, when are they going to hand us over?

It was a question that kept me awake at night, but as much as I wanted to answer it, it terrified me. My life was starting to look good. My hard work in the company has just been appreciated. My landlord has extended my contract indefinitely, and my Chow Chow’s adoption application has just been accepted. I was supposed to start a new chapter in my life, not to end in this dirty container, and certainly not as a s*x slave somewhere in an unknown country with no chance of help or escape.

"As long as I breathe, I won't stop," I confessed, slowly getting up from the floor, which was sticky with blood. The bastards don't even care about our health or whether the buyer will get a human or a barely walking corpse.

"I hear voices. Quickly, let’s form a shield around the weaker. Come on, girls." Bella, a chubby girl in her early twenties, alerted everyone.

As always, the women huddled in one tight group, gripping each other into the back wall as tightly as possible, leaving us on guard. Despite our pleas, none showed the courage to join us, but they all thanked us in one voice and dressed our wounds after our sacrifice.

Natalie looked the best of all of us. Her strength increased with each passing day, although her mumblings about not having any contact with any woman still puzzled me. Was she talking about some goddess to whom she prayed for salvation or a supernatural force that disembodies the heroine of our favorite series? I had no idea, but I ignored it and focused on what Natalie provided. Strength and support. And that was what I needed most to keep fighting. Summoning spirits, praying to gods, or belief in Wonder Woman were of secondary importance.

"This little one has to be safe and sound. Otherwise, you'll end up like your friends." A deep and authoritative male voice spoke outside the container. But even before his companion could answer, we heard an ominous guttural sound, like a wild animal growling before an attack.

Natalie grabbed my wrist and stared at the slowly opening door wide-eyed. My rapidly pounding heart bounced against my ribs, causing an additional pain that I decided to ignore. If Natalie, who had not shown any fear so far, was scared, our imminent death must have been behind the door.

"Amateurs. And to think that I have to work with such insects," the man added before something gurgled and hit the ground as the door slowly opened.

Natalie gripped my wrist and pulled me behind her, shielding me with her body. Despite her unnatural strength, I managed to stand next to her, staring straight ahead.

"Our little Luna is to be delivered unharmed. The rest either disperse, neutralize, or leave here. I am not interested in them. The boss only wants his promised wife."

Instructions had been issued, causing a stir, and women curled even tighter behind me. The door opened wide, again blinding us with sunlight. But the tall man quickly covered the source with his colossal body, sending a cold shiver down my spine. Not only was he big and muscular, but he looked like a man who wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty—and his right hand was dripping with fresh, dark red blood serving as evidence.

"Hello, little Luna." The man smiled charmingly and bowed respectfully towards Natalie, whose grip on my wrist became painfully tight.

"The boss will be unhappy to see your state, but we'll fix it soon." He shook his head and took a step towards us.

"Stay where you are, or I'll kill myself." Natalie threatened, raising a piece of metal hidden in her pants to her throat, surprising not only me but also our new arrival.

The man's reaction caught me off guard. Just as he had walked briskly into the container a second ago, exuding superiority and strength, he raised his hands, backed away from the container, and looked at Natalie, slightly panicked.

"Luna, don't do this." He pleaded, shaking his head.

Natalie stood still and pressed the metal against her throat, cutting the epidermis delicately. A barely noticeable trickle of blood flowed from the wound, ultimately causing the guy to panic. I didn't know what to think about all this, but I knew one thing: the guy came for the wrong woman. I'm Luna.

I was about to step in and correct his mistake when Natalie looked away at me and mouthed a firm NO. However, that wasn't what stopped me from confessing the truth; it was something completely different. Suddenly, something strange flashed through her brown eyes, like a flash of toughness and bloodlust, and everything looked as if there was another person inside Natalie. I didn't know if my eyes were deceiving me or if my brain was slowly starting to fail due to lack of oxygen, but I let Natalie continue, hoping that we would be able to get out of it alive.

"I'll do whatever you want, Luna. Just put that shard aside and come with me." The man urged, still standing with his hands up in the air.

"I don't believe you. As soon as my father finds out about this, you and your boss will end up with your throats ripped out." Natalie shouted, but the man interrupted her with a loud growl.

"Your father paid for your release. Do you think that if I had anything to do with these people, I would be standing here with bloody hands? Come out and look out; you will see how much blood I shed to free you. And your father agreed to everything. Ultimately, it was for the good of his beloved daughter."

The man kept explaining his motives to Natalie, but I didn't believe his words. Even though I didn't know what it was about, the situation seemed quite obvious. Natalie was fed lies so that the guy could achieve his goal, and unfortunately, with Natalie's slowly fading toughness, he seemed to succeed.

"Prove it," she challenged him. "Prove you're not lying. Give me some proof that you’re working for my father." Her voice shook with fear and anger. I don't know which of them prevailed.

"I'll do whatever you want. I have my phone in my pocket. You can call your father, who will explain everything." The man moved further away, causing Natalie to walk towards the exit.

Bella whispered her objections, still guarding the women from her side. I tried to hold Natalie back, but her iron grip on my wrist made her drag me towards the trap. I tried to talk to her, to struggle out, but she acted as if hypnotized, perfectly following the man’s steps.

"Your father is already waiting for your call." The man teased her, slowly lowering his hands and reaching into the back of his pants for a cell phone. When Natalie dropped her hand from her throat and looked at his hand, which was pulling out the phone from his back, my eyes remained on his face, which, although seconds ago had expressed panic, was now showing a sneer as I saw how his manipulation had worked.

"Natalie, No!" I screamed, but it was too late. The man pulled out a gun from behind him, aimed it directly at Natalie's chest, and fired, hitting her with a bullet that looked like an animal tranquilizer dart.

Natalie gasped in shock, looking first at the red stabilizer sticking out of her chest and then at me, trying to apologize to me for her stupidity. Her grip on my wrist loosened, and Natalie went limp, falling straight into the awaiting arms of the guy looking at her, chuckling.

"Small, stubborn, and stupid. You'll be indeed perfect, Luna," he added, lifting her without paying attention to me.

He turned and started walking towards the parked SUV near the tower of containers, and only then did I realize where we had been all this time: at the docks, perfectly hidden among thousands of shipping containers where people rarely appeared. The man whistled, calling to his friends, who were quickly crawling out of the remaining cars and jumping out from behind nearby containers.

"The package’s secured. Clean up the scene," he ordered.

Several equally tall men ran towards the container with the women, and a few scattered between the containers, probably looking for the remaining thugs or similar shipments. Only when I heard screams from the container right behind me did I notice bodies lying on the concrete between me and the cars. I counted at least five men, including Freddie Kruger's brother-in-law, with his throat ripped out and a vast bleeding wound in his chest.

My stomach, although empty, began to tighten, causing bile to flow into my throat. I turned away so as not to watch the horror scenes, but I unknowingly provided myself with something even worse because I had a live view of five men in a container taking care of the women I wanted to save. They all screamed, cried, and struggled, but none of them had a chance when each of them, one by one, was put on a gun and shot at their heads, hearts, or necks, ending their lives, painting the container’s wall red. I couldn't stand it; I fell to my knees and vomited on my hands, crying.

A similar fate was about to await me, so there was no point in postponing the despair that was tearing me up inside. My screams were mixed with gunshots, bodies hitting metal, sounds of crying, and my retching. My heart was breaking every second, and my brain couldn't comprehend the level of evil and suffering around me. Amidst all this, I didn't notice one of them approaching me until I saw his blood-stained shoes, and I looked up, staring at the barrel through tearful vision. I closed my eyes, deciding to leave like a coward, when I heard a gunshot and a sting in the chest where the bullet hit me. Drowsiness overtook me almost immediately, and looking at my dirty hands, I fell on them without feeling anything.