Chapter 1 - The Love Auction (dystopian sci-fi romance novel)

boomshikha (61)in #writing • 7 years ago

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Thank you to all of my awesome followers. I am almost at 300!!

As you know, I am a writer, and I write novels. I wanted to start sharing my latest novel with you, chapter by chapter. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Love and light to you all!!

Chapter 1 - Can You Buy Someone?

I woke up with drool on my face. I disgust myself sometimes. Oh well, at least no one is sleeping with me at the moment. Being single has its advantages.

I lifted my head up and banged it against the glass. Ouch, I yelled out. Damn it. Who put glass around my bed? I was going to kill Asha. They were always playing pranks on me.

I look up and I see complete darkness all around me. I had been sleeping on the wooden floor, not on my bed as I had assumed. I lift my hand up and see the glass is all around me. I can breathe so it must have some air coming up, but I don’t know where I am, or what this is all about. Am I in a tiny glass box? Should I start freaking out now?

This is too elaborate to be a prank.

Am I dead? I ask myself with fear. Did I die without realizing it? What is the last thing I remember?

I was walking home last night from the hospital on my normal route, and... I thought I had gotten home and fallen asleep, but somehow, I ended up here.

I felt confused.

I banged on the glass around me a bit, to get some attention. Did someone put me in here by mistake? I looked down at myself, and I was dressed in a long white dress. I do not own anything this fancy. Where did it come from?

The darkness was all around me. If I didn’t know there was glass around me, I would have fallen into an abyss. I tried to look down to see what’s below me, but the glass and the darkness prevented me. I leaned against the glass behind me, and it held.

“Hello, is someone there?” I yelled. The glass reverberated with my sound, but I don’t think anyone else would have heard it.
The darkness seemed to engulf everything in its path.

Did someone put me in here and forget about me? Would I be left here until I die? I wasn’t hungry or thirsty, so that’s good. And
I didn’t need to go pee, which is a first. All good on those counts.

I felt the material of the lace dress and it was pure silk. Expensive. Okay, what is going on here?

There is no way any of the people in my life could afford this dress.

I checked underneath the dress and I had underwear on. No sexual weirdness there. That’s a relief.

I can’t believe I am behaving so rationally about all of this. But there is no reason to panic right now. I would panic if a...

At that point the lights came on, and the world I was in was illuminated.

I wasn’t the only one in a glass box. There were hundreds of others. Mostly women. But some men. All of them looked as confused as I did.

Maybe this is a dream, I thought to myself, pinching my forearm. Ow, not a dream. Not good. Not good at all.

A moment later, a stage of sorts was lit up as well, with people on them. Not in glass boxes.

Are we in some sort of weird zoo where they hold exhibitions of people? I had heard of this thing from the rumor mill, but I assumed it was garbage. News perpetuated to keep us weak and scared.

Maybe it wasn’t a lie.

One man standing on the stage stood out to me particularly as he seemed to be pointing at me.

As soon as he caught my eye, he smiled. He nodded at the man next to him, and my glass box started moving. Closer to him.

There were other people on the stage chatting with these men in black suits with red hearts on their ties. They seemed to be the people in charge, the ones controlling the boxes.

My glass box moved to stand right in front of this man. He was dressed casually, but I knew everything he was wearing probably cost ten times or more my annual salary.

He looked into my eyes, and I leaned back against the glass box. I didn’t like where this was going.

Without looking away from me, he gave a card to the man with the red hearts tie. The man almost prostrated himself in joy and ran away in ecstasy with the card in hand.

I wanted to look away from the man, but I was afraid.

I was afraid I knew where I was. The red hearts were a giveaway. I had assumed again that it was a rumor. A stupid rumor perpetuated by poor women to believe that they could be bought out by rich men. But... it seems that The Love Auction is a real thing, and I’m being bought right now.

Oh shit. How am I going to get out this one?

The glass case disappeared. And I was pushed by unknown forces onto the stage next to the man. I stood there, paralyzed.

Suddenly, I realized there were dozens of women in front of the stage, imploring men to bid on them, selling themselves so-to-speak.

“Bid on me, Mister. Please. I’ll do what you want.” And so on.

Ugh. I looked away. I felt sick that this is the world we live in right now, where the lower classes of women have to degrade themselves in such a way, because they have no other choice.

I looked back at the man, and he was staring at me. His green eyes seemed curious.

I was curious myself. He hadn’t bid on anyone else, just me. Did he know me?

He stepped towards me, and I stepped back. Into the abyss. Doh, I hadn’t realized I was standing right on the edge of the stage.

He grabbed my waist and pulled me back onto solid ground, before I fell hundreds of feet down to my death.

I pushed myself away from him, and mumbled thanks.

The representative of the auction returned with the card, and a huge smile on his face. He looked at me, and in a scolding manner said, “Be good to his highness. He paid a lot of money for you. Don’t let us regret selling you to him.” He gave me a strict look, and then walked off, pleased with the sale.

“How... how much did you buy me for?” I asked. I had to know. What was I worth in this sort of market?

He looked at me. Why does he have these eyes that seem to look right through a person? I have only met a few other people like him. They seem to have this sort of shamelessness about them. They have seen it all and done it all, so they don’t seem to care. They know who they are, and they don’t need to be shy about looking at anyone.

He put his fingers on his lips, as he debated whether to tell me or not.

“I don’t know if I should tell you this, but I paid $2 million for you.”

I choked on my own saliva, and started coughing violently. He moved to help me somehow, but I stopped him by stepping away.

With tears in my eyes, I said, “$2 million? $2 million! Are you freaking insane? I mean, what’s wrong with you?? Do you know what you could do with that money? You could feed all of the untouchables for a year with that money. Shit.” My opinion of this man was fast degrading.

“Is that what you would do if you had that kind of money?” He seemed unfazed by my tirade. It was going to be hard to move this man to some kind of emotion, it seems.

I thought for a second, and only for a second, before I answered confidently. “If I had that kind of money, I would give my services as a doctor for free for a year or more to everyone who needs it.” I sighed in pleasure at the thought of it. I knew lots of people in the untouchables sector who would be so delighted with the help of a doctor. I smiled. “Yeah, that’s what I would do.”

“Hmmm.”

He looked at me, and I looked back.

There didn’t seem to be any lust in his eyes. He didn’t seem to have that lecherous look that most men had when I walked past them on the streets.

He just looked at me with curiosity and interest. I guess, that is a good thing. That would mean he’s not interested in playing with me sexually. Maybe he just wants to study a female from the untouchable world? I crossed my fingers, and hoped that was the case.

“Let’s go?” He said, and walked off, not even making sure that I was following.

The cries of the women asking people to bid on them filled my ears as I walked off the stage, to the outside.

The car waiting outside wasn’t fancy. I was expecting a hyped-up limo or something funky. But it was just a jeep of some sort.

Nothing that would draw any attention of any kind.

He had the door open for me, and I slid into the car, the soft leather under my bum feeling nice after sitting on the cold tile in that glass case all night.

I cuddled into the leather, making sure to leave as much space as possible in between us, and looked out the window.

His phone rang, and he picked it up, speaking in French about some business deal. I understood very little, and I soon fell asleep.

I woke up a few minutes later, as the Jeep stopped, and I saw him sitting next to me, staring at me, as if I were a specimen of sorts.

I was confused, and I didn’t remember at first, where I was.

“Where... where are we?”

He didn’t say a word and pulled me into his arms to give me a tight hug. I had never been hugged like that before.

So, odd that I had been alive on the planet for 30-odd years and I still hadn’t had physical contact as close as this hug. It made me kind of sad.

He pulled me in, smelled my hair, and just held me there for a few minutes. It wasn’t sexual. It wasn’t lustful. It was just about holding space for a person. And it blew my mind.

“You speak in your sleep.” He said, and instantly, the bubble I was in burst. My eyes had been closed, but they flew open to see him looking at me with sadness in his eyes.

“What did I say? Nothing embarrassing, I hope.” I laughed. Ha-ha. Pathetic. I knew I spoke in my sleep, especially when I was tired.

“You miss your family.” He said simply, and let me go. The door opened as if by magic, and he allowed me to get out first.

I stood outside reeling from what he had just said. There were tears in my eyes, but I was afraid to let them go. I wiped my eyes quickly so no one would notice, and looked up to see the white marbled demonic house that would hold me for God-knows how long.

It was demonic in my head, but in reality, it was actually nice. Beautiful.

It would be the sort of house that would have a perfect family within with a perfect dog, and a perfect butler.

He walked into the house as if he owned it, which he probably did.

Lo and behold, there was a butler.

“Oh, my darling boy, you have been gone for hours and we didn’t know if you would be coming back for dinner. And you bought a guest. It would be nice if you would tell us when you bring beautiful ladies in for dinner so we could prepare the rooms. Oh well. Boys will be boys.” Winking at me, he bowed. “Welcome, milady. May I take your... Ah, you have no bag.
Perfect. Would you like me to escort you to dinner?”

I shook my head violently.

“No, please. Could I just be shown my room? I’m not very hungry, and I would love to wash up and fall asleep.” The butler looked at me with sympathy, and said, “Of course. Your wish is my command.”

I looked at the man who had bought me here, but he made no comments. He seemed the easy-going type. Hopefully, he would leave me alone for a few hours.

I followed the butler, and I felt the man’s eyes on my back as I walked out of the room, up the stairs. Why did he have such an intense stare? And why isn’t he more talkative? God, it would be nice to know what he’s thinking.

I walked into my room while the butler, Dash, as he introduced himself, talked incessantly about the Master being so independent and doing whatever he liked without telling them what or where he was. It was quite disconcerting to all of them apparently.

I tried to stifle a yawn, but I was unsuccessful.

“I’m sorry! Here I am, talking away. And you are tired. Poor you. Please go sleep. You can use anything in the cupboards and the shelves. They were all bought for you. The clothes, the toiletries, everything. Enjoy! And if you need anything throughout the night, that bell in the corner will summon me instantly. Ta!”

He closed the door behind him, and I turned to face the room. I didn’t see much. I just fell to the ground so dizzy all of a sudden. I hadn’t eaten in a while, and all of the events of the day were just so confusing. I needed to eat, but I couldn’t possibly eat with that man staring at me, or in a formal setting. I sat on the ground, trying to recover my brain.

After a couple of minutes, I felt recovered enough to go wash up as I had asked to. The shelves were packed with any and all of the necessary things for a female.

Does this mean that this was all planned? Was he planning to bring me specifically or just a random female?

I am so confused. I opened up the huge wooden wardrobe, probably made of some fancy wood whose name I didn’t know, to see hundreds of clothes. I pulled out pajama pants, and a spaghetti strap tank to sleep in. I was pulling off my clothes, when a knock sounded at the door.

Without waiting for a reply, he walked in.

“Eeep,” I yelled.

I hid myself best I could, but I was still partially naked. I only had my underwear on me. I looked up at him angrily, but he didn’t seem fazed.

“I’m sure you are starving. I bought up some food for you.” He said.

In the next instant, all of my anger melted. I’m starving and he bought me food. That is definitely a way to my heart.

I turned away from him, and pulled on my tank and pants.

Turning back, I noticed he was looking at me with the same curiosity as before.

“Do you mind if I sit with you and have some food as well? I’m starving as well, and I would love to answer any questions you have?” He was already sitting, but I thought it was kind of him to ask.

“Yes, of course. Totally fine.”

I sat down on the chair, and grabbed the first piece of food I saw, which was a piece of bread buttered.

Hmmmmm. I’m in heaven right now. I haven’t had buttered bread in ages. It is on ration in the untouchable community and I’m so grateful for this small mercy.

After stuffing four pieces of bread into my body, I finally felt like a human again. He was still looking at me with that curious gaze. He wasn’t eating.

“I’m sorry. Were we supposed to say grace or something? I’m so hungry, I didn’t realize you aren’t eating. Sorry!”

“No. I’m not as hungry as you are. When was your last meal?”

I blushed. Maybe I was a bit too enthusiastic with the food.

“Well,” I said, picking up a piece of meat with a fork, “we are down to one meal a day in the untouchable sector, so I was supposed to have lunch at the hospital. But then...” A scene flashed into my mind.

“Something happened, and I had to skip lunch. Then, I was walking home...” I think that’s when the Love Auction must have grabbed me, because I don’t remember anything between walking home and waking up in that glass box. “I think that’s the last thing I remember. So yeah it’s been a while.” I smiled, as I stuffed another piece of meat into my mouth.

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