Living in Darkness (Bloodbreeders)

by Robin Renee Ray,

  As she walked away, I could hear the other slaves gulping their drinks, and then immediately began begging for more. I held my hands over my ears, trying to block out the noise. My stomach churned, but the gnawing pain was nothing compared to everything else that I had endured. Maybe they’ll kill me, I thought to myself. I would happily welcome death over this.

  It wasn’t long before everything was once again quiet, with nothing other than the occasional cough or moan. About an hour later, I heard several sets of footsteps coming down the stairs. Everyone in their cages froze, and it became so silent you could have heard a pin drop. As they came closer, I distinctly heard Annabel order someone to “prepare the room.”

  Oh God, not Annabel. I couldn’t help but to hope they would pass me by, but after the message I had sent to the mistress, it was pretty clear who they were coming for. My suspicions were soon proven correct, as Enrique stopped in front of my cage and unlocked the door.

  “Now, don’t make me come in after you again. You remember what happened last time, don’t you?” he said, wiggling his fingers at me with a grin on his face.

  “Go to hell,” I said, flashing him a finger of my own. “Come get me if you want me so bad.”

  Enrique must have wised up since his last venture through the sludge, because tonight he sent in two of the men he had with him. Last time they were lucky. I was beaten and broken. This time was different. My body had healed, and though I was weak from hunger, I was more than ready to put up a much stronger fight.

  The first man to enter the cage grabbed at my feet just as Enrique had the first time, and he suffered the same fate. My foot hit his face with such force that his head smashed against the top of the stone cage, stunning him momentarily. The other man was now crouched in the cage, and as soon as he had the opportunity, he threw himself on top of me, immobilizing my body and then grappled for my hands. He put his head a little too close to my face and I took advantage. He screamed as I bit down on his ear and tried to pull away from me. While he was pushing off of my chest with his hand, I was rising with him, and then in one swift move, I yanked back hard enough to keep a portion of his ear in my mouth.

  After struggling with the men for several minutes, everyone heard, “Enrique, get in there and do the job that your men can’t seem to do.” The thought of getting another shot at that bastard brought a smile to my face. Enrique slung the two men from my cage, as they were doing their best to back out, and slid inside. He reared back to hit me, but Annabel stopped him.

  “Stop! We don’t have another week for her to heal. Just drag her out,” she demanded angrily.

  Enrique turned his head to look at her, and that little second was all I needed. I smashed one hand into his groin, grabbed his testacies and twisted, while punching him in the nose with the other. He yelled out in pain and reared back again, only this time he ignored all orders and slammed his fist into the side of my face. I fell backwards; losing my grip only after my head hit the stone floor.

  “Damn it Enrique, what did I just say?” Annabel yelled.

  With me flat on my back, the three men were finally able to grab hold of me and drag me from my cell.

  “Tie her hands and bring her to the room,” Annabel ordered, already walking away.

  Enrique flipped me over onto my stomach and I moaned as he ground his knee into my back while he bound my hands. After my hands were tied, he jerked me to my feet by my hair. He pressed his face next to mine as he came up from behind me. He was breathing so fast that the heat of his freshly fed breath moved the tiny hairs on my skin.

  “One day, I’ll make you pay for that little stunt,” he seethed. “I’ll shove myself so deep inside you that you’ll taste me in your mouth.”

  I may have been naive in that area, but I was smart enough to know what he meant. I also knew he wanted a reaction, and I wasn’t about to give him one. When I didn’t respond, he started pushing me in the back toward the room that Annabel had gone into, on legs that hadn’t stood in weeks. The first thing that happened was I stumbled forward taking several quick steps trying not to fall flat on my face. That’s when Enrique yelled, “She’s trying to run,” and dove on top of me, knocking me to my stomach. He landed so hard on top of me that it crushed the air from my body, and then he pushed my head against the hard stone floor and held it there, laying his body firmly and full length on the top of mine.

  “Just like this,” he hissed, licking my cheek. “When you least expect me.” Then ground his perversion into me before he slid his hands under, picking me up by way of molesting my breast.

  “Let me go,” I screamed trying to pull away from his grip.

  “Enough! Bring her, and if I ever see you touching this one again, I’ll personally have you placed in the lower level.”

  That got his attention because he picked me up off the floor and threw me over his shoulder. We went through the door, and after it was shut, Enrique dropped me to the floor without as much as a bend at the waist. I tightened every muscle in my body as soon as I felt myself go airborne, bringing out an unexpected scream on the way down. The pain that shot through me was a welcome change and worth every agonizing minute to be out of that man’s reach.

  “Bring out the chair and put it next to the table,” Annabel ordered one of the men, the one whose ear I had partially bitten off. He did as he was told, and when the chair was in place, she added, “Now, put her in it, and strap her down good. Surely you can manage that a little better than your last job?” The two men didn’t acknowledge the insult, but picked me up and sat me in the chair.

  “What, you going to give me another manicure?” I asked, laughing uncontrollably.

  “Oh no, I have something else in mind for you tonight,” she said, laying odd instruments on the table next to us.

  The only tool that I recognized was a clear tube, but I had no idea what it could have been used for to cause someone pain. After my arms and legs were securely strapped down, they pushed my head back against the headrest and strapped it down as well. The band was so tight, that I was unable to turn my head in either direction, not even the slightest. In fact it was so tight that the leather was cutting into my flesh.

  Annabel picked up one of the devices, smiled like a mother would to an infant she was trying to feed, and said jovially, “Open wide.” Needless to say, I kept my mouth clamped shut. She nodded to Enrique, who came over and pulled down on my bottom jaw. As soon as my mouth was opened wide enough, she shoved the thing she held into my mouth. It was a round, metal contraption with a hole in the center, and it had little legs that hooked onto the sides of my mouth, keeping it pried wide open. It was almost too large, causing my lips to feel as if they were being split wider than they should be. She shoved it so far into my mouth that I felt—as well as heard—it scraping my teeth as it began to gag me.

  “Do you have the blood ready?” Annabel asked no one in particular.

  One of the men brought over a pitcher and sat it on the table. She looked down at me slowly shaking her head, with that stupid halfcocked smile, “You should never disobey Mistress Yvette. She was very kind to offer you food from her own private stock.” I wanted to argue, but there was no way I could speak with this thing in my mouth. Annabel turned back to the table and picked up the plastic tube. “If you swallow, the tube will go down much smoother,” she said, inserting it through the hole in the tool that she had placed in my mouth. She pushed the tube into my mouth, past my tongue, into my throat. That’s when I found out what type of pain the tube could cause. I gagged repeatedly as she forced the tube further and further down my esophagus, until it would go no further. Even when the tube was in place, I continued to gag, convulsing and completely unable to take a full breath. Annabel secured a funnel to the small piece of tube that was still exposed and looked down into my watering eyes.

  “This is what happens when you refuse to feed,” she told me, picking up the pitcher. “You don’t want to be weak for your date tomorrow night, now do you?” />
  I didn’t have a clue what she was talking about, and I really didn’t care. All my concentration was trying to steal small intakes of air through my nose in-between the continual heaves. She began to pour blood from the pitcher into the funnel, and I could see the clear tube turn crimson as it filled. She kept pouring until the jug was empty, and then proceeded to pull the tube out. As it came up, the repetitious movement of my diaphragm became more violent.

  “Uh-uh,” she said, as if scolding a child. “Throw it up, and I do it again, as many times as it takes. We have all night.”

  She removed the metal piece from my mouth as she spoke. I squeezed my lips together, doing my best to swallow, but it did absolutely no good. My body gave way to one final heave, and the blood came gushing from is portal, showering back down onto my face.

  “Now that is a shame,” she said, her satisfaction shrouding her mock disappointment. “It looks like we’ll have to start all over.” I could see Enrique out of the corner of my tear filled eye, smiling like the Cheshire cat.

  My throat was in agony, raw all the way down, and Annabel was placing the round thing back in my mouth. This time I tried not to struggle, but my head, like this rest of my body fought against its own will. Tears of anguish filled both my eyes, and I couldn’t stop them from streaming down my face.

  “Oh, don’t cry,” Annabel said. “If you weren’t busy tomorrow night, I would be doing so much more.”

  The tube was worse going down the second time than it had been the first. My throat was so raw that it felt as if the tube was taking off pieces as it went along. Another jug of blood was brought out, and Annabel refilled my stomach.

  “Best hold this down,” she said when she was done. “Like I said before, it only gets worse.”

  Like before, my body reacted and I gagged as the tube was removed, but I closed my eyes, breathing in as much and as deep as I could, and luckily nothing came up. She removed the piece from my mouth a second time and I prayed that there wouldn’t be a third. I gagged one last time and as I did, blood filled my mouth. I swallowed it back down without a single drop leaving my lips, leaving Annabel looking slightly disappointed.

  “Good girl. I do believe you may be trainable after all.” I tried to respond, but my throat was so demolished that no sound came out. “Put her in the dry cell. Her skin is wilted from the water, and her master would not be pleased with that. He likes his slaves smooth to the touch.”

  I didn’t know which master she was referring to, or what was supposed to happen tomorrow night, but I knew I would soon find out.

  After I was unrestrained, one of the men pulled back a curtain to reveal a cell, much like one they have at a county jail. It even had a cot inside. The three men picked me up with plenty of caution from what I learned to refer to as the torture chair. They carried me into the cell, throwing me onto the floor. They locked the barred door and closed the curtain. That's when I heard Annabel say, “Clean up this mess. I have to report to the mistress.” All that followed were clanks and bangs, and the sound of a door slamming.

  When it sounded as if everyone had gone, I pulled myself up next to the bars and reached out trying to pull the curtain back, but it was just out of reach. I swallowed past the pain, rubbing my neck, as I started to relax. I think I was still in shock at what had just happened. I never even realized that the blood that the wicked she devil just forced down me, was actually making my worn and weak body tingle with a new rejuvenating sensation. That thought was the only relief of being out of the immediate situation. What is wrong with these people? I thought to myself. They enjoyed every second of hell they put me through. How many have they hurt, or killed? I crawled up onto the cot and lay down. It was the first time that I had been off the filthy wet floor in I don't know how long. Yet, it was little consolation to the cruelty that I had just undergone. I held myself letting my tears freely flow, and it wasn’t long until I had cried myself to sleep.

  Chapter 14

  I hadn’t been awake very long when I heard the door open in the outer room and seconds later the curtain was pulled back. I let out a long breath, releasing the tension that had been pulling at every muscle from my shoulders to my neck, when I saw who stood on the other side of the bars. It was Tanda, but in an instant my relief turned to concern. The entire right side of her face was badly bruised and swollen. I didn't have to ask. I had seen first -hand how cruel the creatures could be. She quickly turned her face when she saw the look on mine, acting ashamed of the act committed against her. I couldn't understand how such a young girl, could withstand the likes of Annabel and Enrique, when my time had been nothing in comparison, and already I prayed for escape, if not by way of death.

  “Miss, I am to help you get cleaned up,” she said quietly, not making eye contact.

  “What happened to you?” I exclaimed. She looked down and said nothing.

  “Did that happen because of what I told you to tell your Mistress?” I asked, hoping I was wrong. She nodded, still not looking away. “I am so sorry, Tanda. I didn’t know she would hurt you.”

  “It’s okay Miss. No one’s ever denied them the way you do,” she said, finally raising her eyes to mine. “I wish I had your courage. Even men that are brought here have not been as brave as you.”

  Tanda was holding a covered tray, and when she noticed me looking at it, she took off the cover and said, “The man you are to be taken to wishes you to bathe with these.” On the tray that she held were numerous assortments of bath soaps and oils.

  “If I don’t, will they take it out on you again?”

  She didn’t even have to answer. The look on her face told me they would. The small girl before me with reddish-blond hair and perfect big, blue eyes looked absolutely terrified, just at the mention of them. I knew I couldn’t refuse this time, because they could do whatever they wanted to me, but I couldn’t stand these animals hurting her, because of me.

  “Okay honey, you can help me. I’ll do what you ask,” I told her.

  “Thank you, Miss,” she smiled from ear to ear, and her beautiful face lit up. “I'll get your bath ready and come back for you when I am done,” As she was starting to walk away, she stopped a few feet away and turned around. “Oh, you should know that Garvin must be here when I unlock the door, but don’t worry, he is like me. You don’t have to fear him.”

  “It’ll be fine," I smiled back. “I won’t cause any trouble for you.”

  She did a little curtsey and left the room. It wasn’t long before she returned, with Garvin at her side. He put a key in the lock, but before he turned it, he gave me a very serious look.

  “Tanda said you were going to cooperate. If I unlock this, you promise you won’t fight us?”

  “If you promise not to treat me the way the others do, then we won’t have a problem,” I replied.

  “I am nothing like them," he responded as he opened the door. “I was raised to never hurt a woman.”

  “He’s been beaten very badly because he wouldn’t strike another slave.” Tanda broke in saying.

  Garvin stood with pride as Tanda spoke. He was a very handsome, tall young man. His short blond hair was almost white, with blue eyes that sparkled with just a hint of gray.

  “We must hurry before someone comes in to check. If they see we are talking to you, especially in kindness...” he trailed off. “If they were to ever find out...”

  “Don’t worry,” I interrupted. “If they ever ask me about you two, I'll say you are both pushy little creeps, okay?” Tanda giggled and Garvin tried to hide a little grin. At that moment, I was sure that the three of us would become friends, and the thought made me smile. “Well, are we going to do this, or are we just gonna stand here?” I asked, and then stepped out of the door.

  They walked me into the next room, which could have been a storage closet. There were odd-looking weapons and different types of chains hanging all over the walls. In the middle of the floor was a silver wash tub, just big enough to sit in with your knees b
ent. I was about to ask Garvin if he could turn around while I undressed, but his back was already to me. He wasn’t lying about being well-raised. It was nice to see a gentleman in a place that had such a short supply.

  “Can I help you undress Miss?” Tanda asked.

  “You can call me Renee, and there isn’t much to take off,” I smiled.

  I pulled the soiled gown over my head, and stepped into the tub. The water was cold, but it was fresh and felt good to my body. Tanda sat the tray on the ground and I got a better look at its contents. There were six little bottles, and at least three different bars of soap.

  “Think I’ll need all that to get this filth off?”

  “I’m not sure Miss, but they do smell nice,” she said.

  “My Pa’s barn animals would be an improvement on what I smell like right now,” I said jokingly. .

  “There’s not much time,” Garvin cleared his throat to stifle a laugh trying to sound serious. “You two best hurry.”

  I took a bar of soap, lathered up my hands, and started with my face. I said nothing as Tanda used a sponge to clean my back. My hair took the longest, taking four pitchers of fresh water to rinse out the gore, but soon we were finished and I was as squeaky clean as I was going to get sitting in the small cramped tub.

  “You smell like spring flowers, Miss, and you have healed very well,” she said, placing a robe over my shoulders.

  “Thank you.” I replied turning to look at her. “I mean it. I will never forget what the two of you have given me.”

  “We have given you nothing, Miss,” Tanda said, confused.

  “Hope. Because of your kindness, you have given me hope.”

  “May I turn around now?” Garvin asked.

  Tanda and I said yes at the same time, which made us both start laughing.

  “We know what it feels like to be tortured and left to rot,” he said, as he walked over to where we stood. “We were put to work down here because we could not be sold. Trust me there is no hope in this place.”