He gripped my arm so tightly I was afraid he might snap it.
Not that he cared about that. There was only one part of me he was interested in. And he dragged me to his cell to make good use of it.
The door to his cell drew shut and he tossed me onto his bed. He removed his armor and undergarments, and threw himself on top of me.
He tore my dress—such as it was—off me and fucked me. There was no better word to describe it, really. We rucked like animals, with no foreplay, no softness, no tender moments, it was hard and rough and lasted far too long.
I cried the entire time.
Once he was done with me, he rolled off, and shoved me off his tiny bed and onto the floor.
I landed hard on my ass but I counted myself lucky. If it meant I could get away from him, it was all to the good.
His was a single cell, with no bathroom, no kitchen, no amenities to entertain myself with.
When I approached the door, it didn’t open. I was trapped and didn’t know when I could leave.
The answer turned out to be the next morning.
By that time, the beast had taken me three times. He got up from his bed, found me, put me into the position he wanted—usually mercenary or doggy—and hammered me until he was done. Then he returned to bed and fell back to sleep.
Each time was unpleasant, but none had been as painful as the first.
I was relieved to leave that place once morning rolled around. The guards stood outside and didn’t lift a finger to help conceal my nakedness.
They led me back to the Prize Pool. I hugged my arms across my chest in a vain attempt to cover myself. The only positive point was that it was early and few prisoners were awake yet. I didn’t think I could take the jeers and howls of derision again.
When I returned to the Prize Pool, Lily placed a comforting hand on my arm and another on my back. She led me toward the communal bathroom.
“Come on, my dear. Let’s get you nice and warm and clean.”
Clean? I wondered how I could ever be clean again. The monster’s fingerprints would forever stain my soul. I’d never been a religious person but I began to wonder if this was some form of recompense for my bad behavior in the past. I couldn’t think of what I might have done to deserve this treatment though. Maybe I was a dictator in a past life or something?
Lily led me into the communal showers and into a small side room that she, as the madam, had exclusive use of.
When we got there, I found she’d drawn me a bath. It was a small tub and had been filled using a leaky wooden bucket that sat to one side. Steam billowed in soft plumes from the still surface. I looked forward to easing my aching bones in it.
“It was rough, wasn’t it?” Lily said.
I nodded but didn’t say a word. I feared if I did, tears would stream down my face. And Lily didn’t seem like the kind of person I should show weakness to.
“It’s always rough the first time,” she said.
She removed what remained of the torn garment from me and dropped it in a garbage can. Then she led me into the bath. I sank into it. I felt my muscles unfurl.
“Head back,” Lily said, and she began to wash my hair.
Ever since I arrived in this place, Lily had been strict. I was surprised, and more than a little suspicious, why she was being kind to me now.
“Where are you from?” I said.
“It doesn’t matter where I’m from,” she said. “The only thing that matters is that I’m here now.”
“Don’t you think you’re going to get out of here?” I said.
“No. And you shouldn’t waste your time thinking on such things either. You’re here and you’re not going anywhere. Trust me, things will go a lot easier if you accept you’re never escaping. I’ve been here much longer than anyone else and the reason I managed to survive this long is because I followed the rules and did as I was told.”
I looked Lily over. She was older than the other girls but not by much. The lines on her face were caused by hardship, not advanced years. She had a firm set to her jaw and a scowl I associated with her whenever one of us refused to follow the “rules.”
She picked up a sponge and dipped it in the water. She let it swell and then squeezed most of the water out before rubbing soap over it and scrubbing my back.
“You need to accept this situation,” she said. “The only way you’re going to survive is if you turn your weakness into strength. And the fighters’ strength into weakness.”
I had no idea what that meant.
“You will be light and bouncy, you will smile—and trust me, you have a beautiful smile—and you will pretend like you enjoy being here, enjoy servicing these aliens. You won’t. You will hate it every moment but there are some moments you can learn to enjoy if you’re smart. You will wear makeup, you will wear sexy dresses, and you will be everything they want you to be. You will boast confidence but you will not be obnoxious. You will be funny and never insulting. You will learn about each alien species in the prison and learn how to pleasure them. Each has their own preferences. Do this, and your time here, although it won’t be fun, it will be less scary. And I promise you, things will get easier.”
“I don’t want things to get easier. I want to get out of here.”
“I told you. That’s not going to happen.”
“Why me? Why did I have to be the one to get abducted and brought here? Why couldn’t they have taken someone else?”
“Those questions will play on your
