Cupping my face, he searches my eyes. My lips tremble. This is the first time that I can remember that I’m seeing this man in person.
I don’t know if I can give him a hug. I want to. I’m scared and my mommy is gone. They said she’s not coming back this time.
“Our plane is waiting.” He nods and stands to turn. “We leave. It’s time to go home.” He starts walking without another word.
I gasp and jump out of my sleep as ice water hits my body. They’re back. My teeth chatter as I tremble.
Yet I try to hold onto the dream I’ve been awakened from. It feels important to me. A much needed memory.
“Please.”
The chilling cry causes me to snap my head up. It’s then that I realize they have my cell door wide open and Natasha is now standing outside in the hold of one of the guards.
She’s been beaten. I stifle the sob that bubbles up. She’s naked, revealing the bruises all up and down her torso. They limit the damage they do to our faces, but our bodies are free reign.
“I want you to see friend. You two bane of my existence. It’s time you learn place.”
“Let her go,” I say with as much force as my tired body will allow.
He snarls at me and tightens his grip. “I can’t wait to be rid of you both. You cause me trouble and make others think they should too. Enough,” Iosif, the one that ordered I be placed down here says.
He turns to leave, dragging Natasha with him. Someone slams the door shut before I can see where they are taking her. I immediately rush to the door and try to see underneath, through the crack between the floor and the door.
I can’t see much, but I hear when a door is slammed shut. I wait for the sound of their footstep to disappear. Weakly pressing my hands to the door, I close my eyes as Natasha’s sobs grow louder.
“Natasha,” I call out.
“Roni,” she sobs and sniffles. “Oh my god, you’re so skinny. They’re starving you.”
“Don’t worry about me. Why are you here? What happened?”
“They came for Raven again. I overheard what they wanted to do with her, so I fought them,” she says.
I close my eyes and try not to fall apart. At this moment, I vow that one day I’ll get out of here and kill them all with my bare hands. For Raven, for Natasha, and for all the others. I’m going find out who I am and I’m going to make everyone pay.
That dream comes back to me. My father, he was a wealthy man. That much starts to tickle my brain. How did I get here? Were we on vacation? Why do I feel like he’s not looking for me?
He was cold.
Is that it? Is my father too callous to care that I’m missing? So many thoughts are sparked.
“I’m going to kill them.”
Torque. I almost forgot about him. His voice pulls me from my thoughts. The rage that comes from him almost matches my own.
“First, we have to survive, but yeah, one day…” I trail off on that promise.
Nothing more needs to be said. They will all die. I feel that in my bones.
Chapter 9
Tortured
Roni
“Wake up.” The words are snarled as warm liquid is tossed on me.
Right away I know it’s not water. The stench turns my stomach, causing me to back away from the pool it’s making around me. I tremble with anger. I’ve held my shit for this long, but this… this is about to be my breaking point and these two clowns are laughing before me.
“We thought you could use shower,” one says.
I snap. As weak as I am, I get to my feet and charge them. I start to crawl at the eyes of the one closest to me. That’s when the other one hits me in my side so hard, I know the moment my ribs break. I gasp and fall back, dropping to the piss covered floor.
I barely have time to curl into a ball and cover my side before they start to stomp on me. I’m silent as I take the attack. I won’t give them the satisfaction of my whimpers and tears.
I’m not sure how much time passes as they kick and punch at me. My mind begins to travel off away from here. It’s as if I float out of my