“What are you doing to me? What have you been giving me?” Breeze whispered as the orgasmic high once again came over her.
Ms. Beth looked cruelly back at her and smirked before replying, “Heroin. By the time I’m done with you, you will be nothing but a junkie whore.”
Breeze’s soul cried out silently as she felt herself going into a nod. The last thing she heard was Ms. Beth’s voice.
“Shoot her up twice. She’s going to be a handful. The faster we get her hooked the better. She’ll learn to go with the flow one way or another.”
Chapter Five
“Everything is easier if you forget about your past.”
It was pitch black when Breeze finally came to, but she could hear the cries and groans of the other girls around her. The air was so thick that she could barely breathe, and her stomach rumbled violently as the urge to defecate overwhelmed her. She could smell the stench of bodily waste around her, and she gagged from the horrendous odor. She was sick partly from the stench and partly from her body craving its new best friend, heroin.
Breeze did not know how long she had been out, but she knew that Ms. Beth was transporting her somewhere. As she reached out her hands, she felt the steel walls. The bumpy road beneath her let her know that she was in the back of an industrial truck. The wails of the young women around her told her that she had been there for a while.
Her situation had just gone from bad to worse. She took deep breaths to stop herself from panicking, but it was no use. Breaking down was the only thing left for her to do.
“It’s easier if you breathe out of your mouth,” she heard a girl beside her say. “It won’t smell as bad if you take it in through your mouth. Bring your face low near the seams of the wall. There’s a little bit of fresh air down here. I have a small blanket you can breathe into.”
Breeze huddled down near the girl and took a small piece of the fabric into her hands as she breathed into it. The girl’s technique did not provide much relief, but it was better than nothing, and Breeze was grateful for it.
“Thanks,” Breeze whispered.
“You’re welcome. I’m Liberty,” the girl stated.
“Breeze,” she replied. No other words needed to spoken to establish a friendship. They took a liking to each other because they both realized that they were one and the same. Their fates were not their own, and their lives no longer theirs to live. As they clung to the blanket, they wrapped their arms around one another and prayed together. Neither of them knew what lay in store for them, but they were both terrified of the possibilities.
“How long have we been in this truck?” Breeze asked.
“I’ve seen the light come and go two times. Two full days have passed,” Liberty replied, referring to the tiny bit of sunshine that crept through the crevice in the wall.
“Where are they taking us?” Breeze asked frightfully.
“They are taking us to Murderville,” Liberty replied solemnly. “I am not new here. I’ve been there before, and it is worse than death.”
Breeze did not respond, but her thoughts ran wild. She had seen the name MURDERVILLE scribbled in graffiti on Ms. Beth’s boat, and now she hated herself for allowing the white woman to sell her a dream. She had been to a place that felt worse than death when she had been with Ma’tee, and now thanks to her naivety she was on her way right back to hell.
After seeing the sun rise and set one more day, Breeze felt the truck finally stop moving. Hungry and soiled, she peeled herself off of the floor when the back door was lifted. She felt like cattle marching to slaughter as she was herded off of the truck. They were placed in a line side by side, and because she had no one else to turn to, Breeze grabbed Liberty’s hand tightly. They barely knew one another, but at that moment, a new friend was better than facing the unknown alone.
“Take off all your clothing,” a black man stated as he walked up and down the rows of girls. Breeze was reluctant, but everyone around her obediently began to disrobe.
“Undress,” Liberty whispered urgently.
“What?” Breeze exclaimed. “No.”
“Everything is easier if you forget about your past. Your place is here now. Just do as they say,” Liberty warned.
Feeling as if she could not sink any lower, Breeze pulled off her clothes. The life and times of being a Diamond heir, her father’s princess, were so far removed that it almost felt like she had never lived it. She could not believe that her life had come to this. Her father had kept her closely for most of her life. He had protected her and guarded her, but instead of helping her, his overprotection hindered her. It had made her vulnerable, and that vulnerability had led her to this place.
She was nothing like her brothers. She was weak. As she stood in the line, tears flowed freely down her dirty face, and she helplessly watched as the man grabbed a high-pressure hose and aimed it at her line. She closed her eyes as she was blasted with cold water like an animal. Through it all, she cried. Liberty held her hand while the little bit of Breeze Diamond that was left was washed away.
“Hold out your arms,” the man stated when he finally put the hose down. Breeze already knew what that meant, and although her mind told her to protest, her body urged her to give in. It had been three full days since Ms. Beth had injected her with her last fix, and already her body was hooked. It craved the drug against Breeze’s will, and instead of fighting it, Breeze gave up. If she was going to have to live like this, she may as well be numb to the pain.
Breeze clung to Liberty as if her life depended on it. Day in and day out they kept each other sane, until one fateful afternoon, Ms. Beth came to the camp where they were being kept. Whenever she came around, an eerie aura swept over the girls. She was the one who had manipulated most of them into coming to Murderville in the first place, so everyone feared her. She was the perfect example of the blue-eyed, blonde-haired devil, and Breeze hated her.
As the girls stood to their feet and waited for Ms. Beth to deliver their daily fix, the room was silent. It had not taken long for Breeze to become a full-blown addict, and her eyes widened in anticipation as she watched each girl get their turn before her.
As Ms. Beth administered the deadly drug, she separated the girls into two different groups. Some of the girls would be taken and groomed for wealthy buyers, but the unfortunate young women would stay in Murderville and work in the brothels. They would be contracted out for private parties and have their bodies sold to those who could afford it. The girls in this group would be common whores, and once they were used up to the point of no return, they would be executed and replaced. This was the group Ms. Beth put Breeze in, while Liberty was one of the lucky ones. She was taken away to be groomed for a high-priced auction.
With no one left to depend on but herself, Breeze submitted to the world of drugs and sex. She was taken to a house with ten other girls and dressed up in sexy garments. She was so high that everything was a blur as the madame of the brothel put makeup on her face and sprayed perfume all over her body.
Lazily, Breeze lay sprawled across the satin sheets as her first client entered the room. Just looking at her, no one would have ever pegged her for a junkie. The only thing that gave her away were the track marks underneath the sheer fabric of the negligee.
The man that lingered over her lusted over Breeze’s beautiful appearance. Under no other circumstance would
