by Charlie Tran
“You're welcome. Now, for you. Come on out before we both get into trouble.” Glenn smiled at me, gesturing towards the door that was still wide open for me to exit through. Some of the wolves stared at me as well, watching to see what move I would make, if any. But I wasn't a wild animal, and I knew better than to turn away someone helpful here. I watched Glenn carefully as I shifted back into my human form and exited my small prison. I tapped my hip, making sure that my phone was still intact and hidden away deep within the inner confines of the jeans as my furred form fell away.
“Good. Didn't wanna have to use this on you.” Glenn smiled and placed the gun into the back of his pants as Leon had done when he’d first drawn it out. “Lemme show you around.”
“O-okay,” I stuttered, following behind him as he led me back down into the main hallway I had walked through the previous evening. I followed him in silence, noting that the loud techno thumping from before had quieted down. I could hear a few other people chatting behind the many random-numbered doors, but aside from that, it seemed the club-if you could call it that-was closed during these hours.
“Here,” Glenn said, flipping on the light in the room I had walked through with Vik from the backdoor entrance. To my surprise, it was nothing more than a kitchen, though extremely filthy with bits of dirt and what looked like mold from the heavy rains coating the caulked-shut windows and corners of the floor.
“What are we doing here?” I asked curiously, looking around at the dirty room.
“Leon set up new orders. Now that the others are out of commission, he wants to turn the Gilded Heart into a fully functioning brothel once again.” Glenn shrugged nonchalantly, the eerie lights above us giving his tanned skin an almost green glow. “But I suspect it's mostly just a backdrop for his drug ring or whatever.”
“A brothel? This isn't just a night club?” I covered my mouth with one hand, hiding a gasp at the slight surprise.
My new aide bent down in front of the stove and opened up the door after turning the handle to set it at a higher temperature. The lights inside began to glow a dim red, signaling that it was at least still functioning, however, caked in filth it might be.
“Think of it as a den of sins. Whatever you could possibly want to do, you can do here.”
“That's not what he expects me to do... is it? Is that what you do?”
He stood straight again, practically slamming the door shut as he glared at me from over his shoulder. “I'm not one of the whores if that's what you're asking. And he is training you to be a glorified maid. Why would you think he wanted anything else from you?”
“He just said some things about my face, that's all.” I was suddenly embarrassed, as though I had said something out of turn. I dropped my head and pressed my forefingers together in front of my chest.
Glenn smiled. “He might just be pervin' on you. Who knows.”
“What about the other wolves in the cages? They can't all be glorified maids.”
“Nope. We got it a bit better than them. They're like shitty butlers, I guess. When the customers start coming in, they bring drinks, party favors, condoms-whatever the custies need to get in the mood. The real workers get to sleep in an actual bed, not a cage.”
“Custies?”
“Custies, customers, clientele. Take your pick.” Glenn waved a hand toward me, motioning for me to come closer as he approached the refrigerator. “This place has been mostly out of commission since he fucked something up at Club Mega. Declan made sure of that. Get in the cabinets underneath the sink. There should be some bleach and sponges in there.”
I stood there stupidly for a moment before doing as he said, opening up the cabinets to grab the large white bottle underneath. Next to it, near the pipes, was a plastic grocery bag full of the sponges he was talking about.
“You don't know what happened then, do you?” I asked with a gulp, pulling out the cleaning supplies. Glenn snatched bag the sponges from me, tearing it open with an extended claw before grabbing one for himself and passing another toward me.
“Nope. Just that he fucked up.”
“Oh.” I sighed, thankful. Glenn opened the door up even wider, moving to the side and allowing me some space to stand next to him. The refrigerator was unusually warm but thankfully without any food to stink the place up even more.
“You know, I thought you were gonna bite me for a second there.” He smiled and opened up the potent-smelling the jug of bleach and poured some of its contents out onto my sponge and onto his. He immediately got to scrubbing, and I followed his lead, scrubbing what I assumed to deem 'my side' of the scummy fridge.
“What? In the cage?” I asked meekly.
“Yeah. You looked like a rabid wolf in there.”
“I could have, if I wanted to,” I replied with a pout, scrubbing even harder at the caked-on mold and spoiled splatters of what I assumed was once food.
“Sure you could.”
Arrogant bastard.
I didn't press the conversation any further, instead simply letting silence take over. While it felt like quick work at the time, we were in that kitchen for several hours bleaching and scrubbing every last bit away. I hadn't learned anything more about Glenn or Leon or what else was going on at this club, but I also didn't make any more enemies. I didn't care to pull my phone out with this stranger around, nor in my cage where other wolves could possibly rat me out just to get a leg up within their slavery. I just needed to wait until I was alone so that I could finally get into contact with Lucas.
Until then, I had to do whatever it took to survive.
“Now, when you're done with this, you have to hang it up exactly as you found it. The other guys in here get a bit pissy if it's not perfect,” Glenn said, folding a soft towel and placing it on the rack that had been drilled into the wall of the room we were cleaning. It was late evening already, and to my surprise, we had already received a lunch break. It was nice, even if it was only a bowl of instant oatmeal that I could swear had the taste of bleach. It could just be me though from having to smell it all day long.
“Sure are a lot of rules for just setting up a dumb room,” I mumbled, looking at the small enclosed area. There was a mattress with faux silk sheets on the ground without a bed frame. The carpet was rather filthy, but we had already cleaned and beaten the dust out of the rug it sat upon, so at least that was clean enough to walk on barefoot.
The side table next to the head of the bed was covered with boxes of condoms in various sizes and an assortment of different lubricants. I didn't dare look inside the drawers to clean the toys Glenn had mentioned. He did it himself, noticing my queasiness.
“You get used to it after a few months,” Glenn said, readjusting the towel to sit perfectly even.
“Is that how long you've been here?” I asked, sitting down onto the carpet, taking a break. Glenn shrugged.
“Longer than that. Over a year, I think?”
“Why?”
“Debt. The reason most of the others are here.”
“So not everyone here has just been kidnapped like me. How chivalrous.” I rolled my eyes, scratching the back of my head while Glenn turned to face me with his hands onto his hips.
“It's pretty chivalrous that they don't fuckin' slash all of our throats, I think.”
“It'd be nice if we could sleep in actual beds instead of locking us all up like dogs. I don't wanna go back in there.” Just the thought of having to return to the cage was already starting to make me queasy.
“You could if you fucked your way out of debt. They earn more than the cleaners and butlers, that's for sure.”
“Why don't you do it then?” I asked, not trying to be rude, but damn was that queasiness overcoming me. My mouth began to feel like it was becoming rather wet, moistened by saliva that always came before I had to puke my brains out.
“Don't forget that Leon gave me this.” Glenn's demeanor changed almost instantly as he removed his casually holstered gun from the back of his pants and
began waving it in front of him. While it didn't come off as that threatening, I understood his meaning.
I couldn't reply, as the next thing that came out of my mouth was the oatmeal we had eaten just an hour earlier. And bile.
“Oh fuck, Silver. We just cleaned this!” my associate said, dropping in front of me and pushing my head to the side, closer to where a small trash can was placed. I wiped off my mouth with the back of my hand, grimacing at the foul taste that remained.
“I'm sorry. I couldn't hold it.” I sniffed, my nostrils feeling stuffy.
“Yeah, well you better clean it. It's your mess,” Glenn said as he holstered his gun again and instead removed the rag he had tied to the belt loop of his jeans. He tossed it toward me and scooted back and away, pinching his nostrils shut. “And that's the only lunch we get. If I were you, I'd eat it up. If you make Leon mad, he'll not feed you for a few days.”
I took in a deep breath, holding it as I grabbed the rag I'd been given to start cleaning the rug of my mess as soon as possible.
Glenn only watched until everything had been cleaned. Though the smell was still there, it was rather faint, and a quick spray of scented aerosol cleaner hid it well enough. I was just about to get up to my feet when there was a knock on the door.
“Who is it?” Glenn shouted, moving closer to the door to look through the peephole.
“Customers are starting to arrive. Get the fuck out,” another voice replied. Glenn nodded at me, “Come on. Back to the cages then.”
“I haven't seen you in the cages before. Where are you going after this?”
I'd barely spent any time with the man, but I was already attached. I needed someone, anyone that I could ally myself with.
“I gotta get ready for work.”
“What, do you do butler work too?” I narrowed my eyes, approaching the door that he swung open. Glenn flipped his hair, raising his head to stare down at me from the bridge of his nose.
“With my looks? I get a room to sleep in.”
“Then why are you showing me how to clean, if you're so great?” I pouted my bottom lip out at him and led myself back toward the cages, not needing him to guide me.
“I do whatever I can to work off my debt. I'd rather spend the day cleaning and getting to interact with other wolves instead of sitting alone in my room all day staring at the television.”
“Fair.”
And with that, it was back to the cages for me. For another cramped night lying on messy sheets, to try and sleep through the night with the whining and pitiful cries of the others around. I could only hope that I'd get an opportunity to finally pull out my phone.
8
Lucas
I loved the smell of coffee. That was my one guilty pleasure in life. While Jude did have a cappuccino machine at his house, there was too much work that had to go into it. And the cleaning! It was so much easier to just have someone else make it for me. I sat in a rather comfy chair, one of different shapes and sizes and colors. Mine was a soft velvety purple that felt good against my bare arms.
I took another sip of the coffee I had ordered with just a splash of cream and tons of sugar before setting it down onto the table in front of me. Jason was chowing down on a sandwich, drinking from a to-go cup of what was just plain old black coffee. While the thought of drinking something like that grossed me out, he apparently needed it desperately because he was already out of energy. He was working a rather long shift today and was only spending his lunch out with me because it was close to work.
Although it's not like Jude lived that far away either.
I cleared my throat, getting him to look up at me.
“What?” Jason said with a mouthful of bread and meat.
“Did you hear anything I said?” I asked, leaning forward and resting my elbows on my knees as I stared at him straight in the eyes.
“Mhm.” He swallowed, “But Jude already filed a report on Silver. It's not like it's been that long.”
“Five days! Okay? Five days, and he hasn't contacted any of us.”
“Maybe he just wants to be on his own?” He went in for another bite, attacking the food like a ravenous beast.
“Where would he be staying then? It's not like he has anywhere else to go.”
“Dunno. Maybe he has friends, ever think of that?”
“Friends that I don't know about? Doubt it,” I said smugly, leaning back once more with my coffee in hand and taking another drink.
“It's not like you two are married. He doesn't have to tell you every detail of his life.”
I didn't have a comeback for his remark that wouldn't have been too snappy. He was right. Silver and I weren't in an actual relationship. He didn't have to divulge every last detail of his life to me, but he should. Because I told him everything! Almost everything, anyway.
“I need more coffee.” I sat down the empty ceramic mug, bereft of any more liquid.
“I think you should slow it down. You already seem on edge. Don't wanna caffeine overload.”
“Whatever,” I said, jumping at the sudden buzzing I felt on my ass. While the sensation was pleasant, I had to remove my phone from my back pocket and swipe it open to see what notification I was getting.
I nearly dropped the damn thing.
“Oh shit. Oh shit! Shit!” I started to rant, replying back instantly. Jason didn't question it, though he did give me a curious look while he slowed down on the bites and went back to drinking his coffee instead.
“Silver! It's Silver! He's alive!”
“Shhh. People are staring,” Jason mumbled, diving into his food once again. I looked around awkwardly, noticing the creepy glances I was receiving from the other patrons of the coffee shop. I could feel my ears growing warm with embarrassment as I shrunk down into my chair and stared at the message I had just received.
* * *
I'm doing just fine. Don't worry about me.
* * *
I swiped across the keyboard in response.
* * *
Where are you? I'm worried. We put out a missing person’s alert for you.
* * *
Don't. I am fine. Leave me alone.
* * *
“What the fuck?” I said aloud, instantly hushing myself when I realized how loud I had been speaking.
* * *
Where are you.
* * *
I'M AT A CLUB PLEASE H33 ME.
* * *
What?! What club?!
* * *
I waited patiently for a reply, His last text message having freaked me out. My heart was pounding in my chest. He said he was fine and then texted me back something crazy? Why? ‘H-3-3 me.’ What did that mean? What was he talking about?
“What did he say?” Jason asked, crunching up the paper that his food had been wrapped in and tossing it into his now emptied coffee cup to dispose of.
“I don't know. He's at a club. He's not saying anything back now. He said he was fine, but...”
“So, he's fine. He just didn't want you to freak out probably. See?” Jason stood up from his seat. “I gotta get back to work. See you at home.”
I nodded, not looking up at him as he went ahead and tossed his garbage away and headed out of the coffee shop the bell on the door letting out a cheerful jingle as he exited.
At a club. The only club we had ever gone to was Club Mega. But it was too early for him to be there. It was probably five o'clock in the afternoon. Err, early evening. Whatever!
“Come on Silver, why won't you reply?” I was practically begging for him to say anything to me. But of course, there was no further reply.
I got up from my seat, leaving my cup behind. Guess I wouldn't be grabbing another cup of joe. For now, I needed to go find my Silver. And even if no one else was worried, I was. I had to go to him.
I just never thought I'd be going back to that club again.
9
Silver
"Fuck," I grumbled, quickly reaching for one of the ma
ny trash bags that were littered around us. I opened it, leaning over the partially full sack. The familiar sensation of saliva beginning to build up in my mouth wasn't welcome the first ten times, and neither was it this time. My stomach began to heave, though we hadn't yet had lunch. Still, I gagged. Glenn stood to one side of me, the bag of trash in his hands filled with plastic and glass bottles, condoms, and what have you, dropped to the floor as he approached me.
"You good?" he asked, leaning over to rub my back. Over the few days we'd worked together, he had become much friendlier. I hadn't done anything to put him on edge these past several days. I’d just been doing my best to clean up, follow his lead, and not barf on any carpeting again.
"I don't feel too good," I said, smacking my lips as the taste of bile came to my mouth.
"Come on, let's go to the bathrooms really quick. No one is out in the hallway," Glenn said, turning to glance over his shoulder as though he was listening for passing footsteps.
I nodded, allowing him to lift me up by my arm and carry me out of the room.
The restroom he mentioned wasn't one of the few we had to clean daily for the customers but rather was one for the active workers. It was used by people while they were cleaning, like Glenn and I, or when the people forced to play butlers were on duty. Since there was only the one for so many of us, it was hard to maintain. Most people did their best to keep it clean because we all knew we had to share it, but some had reached the point where they were just too sick to care.
Thankfully, as I entered, it looked to be on the cleaner side today.
"I'll wait outside," Glenn said with a smile, shutting the bathroom door behind him and leaving me in the room to do my business.
While I was in fact rather sick, the condition of the bathroom made its own contribution to my nausea. I planted my knees on the floor in front of the toilet, lifting the lid up as I gagged over it and tried not to breathe in too deeply. But the smells emanating from the bowl were unavoidable, and as I continued to gag annoyingly loudly, I noted that I was alone. Finally.