Human trafficking. A short story of fiction.
Cages. Blinding flickers of light. Being trapped. She had experienced it herself, firsthand. It was everything, from human trafficking to organs. Slavery, sexual and for a cheap workforce. Getting drugs over the border. From A to Z, they did it all. And she had seen it. Felt on her skin.
Right now she was sitting between metal bars. Solid and cold. Her eyes were closed, her breath even. There were others but they also sat silent. Most of the time. Sometimes one or two rattled their cages. Or cried out. Her skirt was muddy, from the chase yesterday. Her hair still wet. But the metal bars around her, spotless. This was a high-end den.
They would probably be auctioned off. Depending on the buyer their faith would be shitty or complete hell. Someone whispered. Just above their breath. She heard it and looked up, opening her eyes. The light was off. Then on. And then gone again. That was how they kept them in place. It was not easy to keep your eyes open with that blinding light on.
She turned to the door as it opened. Someone came in and threw the switch. There would be no light for a while. She licked her lips and observed the situation. There were three people there. No one was carrying keys. They were just doing their rounds. It was not the time for them to be moved yet. Good. No splitting up.
''Water... Please.'' she didn't make it louder than a wispier. She had to be vulnerable. The man in front of the two others looked at her and went past the other cages. He knelt down and looked into her eyes.
''You are pretty. Pretty girls like you bring in money.'' he turned towards one of the guards, a woman. ''Bring her something to drink. We need her to still look pretty tonight when the buyers are ready to bid.''
She did not look older than seventeen. She was twenty-one. She knew by now that prostitution and personal slavery was where her sell would be categorized. Her blood type was averagely common. That would not be an option. At least not with all the people in the cages here. She looked at the other guard. The one that was walking behind her man. Why not thin the herd now?
Her eyes met with another pair, on the opposite side of the thin walkway. Where the other guy stood now. The other pair of eyes nodded and started to rattle his cage. He also murmured incoherently, then grabbed his stomach as if a sudden pain had taken hold of his body. That moment the guard that had been kneeling in front of her cage, turned his head. The other guard went closer to the guy.
She took her opportunity. The bars of the cages were thick but also with big enough spaces to put your hands through. And she was skinny. In a split second, both of her palms shot through the bars and grabbed the guard. At first, he was confused but when his body reacted, it was too late, she squeezed on his carotid, he fell against the floor, knocked out. Always know the right buttons to push. She looked at the other guard that was out on the opposite side. He too was out. Her partner nodded and pushed his fingers into his throat simultaneously. A shiny object came up with all the puke.
The smell was not amazing. But, thankfully, the guy hadn't had much to eat the day before and it was mostly body fluid and, well, that shiny object. A key of sorts. One that he had kept in his mouth and swallowed after their capture. One that went into the lock effortlessly but needed a little help to work. He fumbled for just a couple of moments before a click informed them that the door was unlocked. He, just like her, was skinny and looked like his feet barely held him up. But that was just to make the animals think he was no threat.
He got to her first. The rest of the caged people just looked at them. Every time someone tried to speak, another shushed them. Her lock came open faster than his and she jumped out and hurried to the door the second it did. There, she waited as her partner unlocked other cages with seemingly no order. The only thing was, the ones who go out were the ones who had shushed the others.
The door opened less than a minute after she had gotten out of her cage. There were three more people with open create doors at that point. The guard woman who came in carried a pitcher of water and a glass. And, as she closed the door and looked around, she was faced with two green eyes and then, darkness. The pitcher or glass never met the floor. They rested in the hands of the girl who had neutralized the guard.
She looked around and saw that those three people that were let out, had taken the weapons from the unconscious guards. Each one was inspected and checked. Their closes were switched with the unconscious jailer's attire. At least the important one. She, herself, put the pitcher on the ground and searched the woman who had a walkie and a gun. She took the transmitter and passed the gun on. She was more of a blades person herself.
Then, she turned. There were probably around fifty cages in the huge storage room. All filled. Well, not anymore. There were more and more people getting out of their boxes.
''We are a specialized army unit and, for you all to be safe, we need to deal with the captors first. We will let you out when it is done. If you want to get home safe, be quiet and have patience.'' her voice was calm and the people were too frightened to object. Her team, that consisted of fifteen, including her, was almost ready.
''In the last twennty-four hours there have been twelve guards on rotation. I think we might be in for a treat,'', of course, there would be more people than them. Without the guards there were the big heads, and, if they were lucky, the buyers. That would be fun. ''what should we do with these guards here, boss?''
She looked at the three laying bodies that were now assembled next to each other in a line. ''Put them in the cages, we need someone to interrogate later. For the next location.''
Her people nodded and got the heavy bodies into the cages. Then, she walked to the door and the rest of them followed her. First, two that had found guns, then, her partner. One of the fifteen stayed behind. She, too, was carrying a gun. It was vital to show the people in cages that they would not be left behind. Plus, if the guards woke up and made a commotion, she could knock them out.
They moved slowly and briskly. Between empty rooms. Once in a while, there was a weapon or two laying around. Nothing much. No other guards, though. She guessed they were all together. So, by the time she got to the heavier door with commotion behind, she had already calculated. Four to one. Probably. Maybe more. But they had trained for it. Her people stepped behind her. Some knelt down.
''Leave no one breathing. When one drops, take their weapon. We go through fast.'' she whispered and put her hand on a knob.
There had not been swords but she had found knives. Those were her weapons. If you threw them right, they could do damage and kill. But, truth be told, she just enjoyed the fact that she saw each of her victims. They deserved a slow death and a knife was better than a bullet in delivering that. The door opened without a problem. It was heavy oakwood. What received her there, were not many armed men. Maybe half of the sixty people.
The rest were all buyers and sellers. They were taking their places and getting ready for auction. She had not seen a live one in a long time. Must have thought it to be safe here. Her sight assessed the situation immediately. Her people shot those with guns, first. Her team did not abide by any laws. They did not care if a leader or an influential billionaire was in the room. They were the shadows and they treated everyone equally. Like they deserved to be treated.
The room was silent in a couple of seconds. The other party hadn't had any time to react. The one man, who sat on a throne-like structure, was last to have his life taken. He also suffered the most. She liked to toy with her prey.
This was a dream. And there were a lot of people who looked like teenagers. Kept as slaves. For what reason, I have no idea. That my dream did not tell. But, I think, it came out to be a decent story.
Have the best day! Today, tomorrow, and forever.
Linda