the car, I barely take in any detail on the large compound. But when Santiago Gómez steps in front of me, the sinister smile on his face makes me freeze.
"Zoe Diego. What a surprise." He takes a step back and scans my body. "You've not been taking care of yourself."
He can give me a hit.
"Please," I whisper. "I need a line." The tears fall as I beg him.
His eyes turn to slits, and he shakes his head as if I disgust him. "That's the difference between your boyfriend and me. He's new to the game. You don't snort what you sell. And you don't take the talent and feed them their vices." He turns to the long-haired man who drove the vehicle. "Detox her and clean her up. Don't bring her back until she's the lady she should be."
Detox? Oh God, no. I need a bump.
"No," I yell as I'm picked up, and Santiago walks away. "Don't do this to me. Please!"
I'm carried room to room, but nothing registers. I sob into the man's shirt, in pain, needing a jolt, and unsure how to get it.
The sound of metal scraping fills my ears. He sets me down on a mattress.
"Meet your new roommate," he growls.
The door slams, and I slowly glance up.
A beautiful woman with red hair and green eyes stands in the corner of the room. She's tall and is wearing an evening gown. Slowly, she approaches me. In a British accent she says, "You're shaking. Are you sick?"
I reach out for her arm. "Please. I need a hit. Can you give me one?"
Her eyes widen. "I'm sorry. I don't have one."
I sob harder, and she puts the blanket over me then rubs my shoulder, but I scream at her to stop. Her hand feels like razors on my skin.
She removes her hand and kneels next to the bed. "Are you Zoe Diego?"
"Whatever is left of her," I mumble.
"I'm Penelope."
I can't reply; my tears are choking me.
"Would a shower help?"
"I...I just need one hit. Just one."
"You have a lot of blood on you. Can I help you shower? Or maybe a bath would be better?"
"So cold," I sniffle and try to wrap the blanket tighter around me.
"Let me run you a hot bath, okay?"
I nod, more tears fall, and I grasp her arm as she gets up. "Please get me a hit."
3
Zoe
Fourteen Months Later
After months of being at Santiago’s compound, he transfers Penelope and I into the jungle. Several more months pass, and a new normal forms. There are no luxuries except when it's your turn to eat dinner with Santiago. Otherwise, it's jungle food scraps.
Another woman, Julieta, was in the hole when Penelope and I arrived. Julieta and Penelope knew each other. She claimed to know me, but I don’t remember her.
Living in a dirt pit has its pros and cons. It's dirty and cold, but none of the men ever come down the hole, so at least it's ours.
Instead of singing inside, I now perform outdoor concerts for Santiago and his men. There aren't as many, and I have to deal with the night bugs in the jungle, but I don't ever question it. Santiago rotates between making me wear sequined outfits and sing naked. I don't have a microphone. They require me to sing loudly, so my voice is often sore, but I try to do voice exercises to keep it strong.
Even though we are in the middle of the woods, Santiago has a hair fetish which I learned about shortly after I was abducted. Every day, the three of us are taken to the river to wash and shave. They always take us separately, but today they've decided to let us go together.
Penelope and I strip down, but Julieta waits until we are in the water. The entire time, she keeps her chest toward us, until the men yell to hurry.
We all tell them we are, but they scream at Julieta to face them.
She closes her eyes, looks at the sky, then slowly turns.
"Oh my God. What did he do to you?" I blurt out.
J.T. is branded on her back, one initial on each shoulder about 6 inches long.
"Wash faster," the thug yells.
"Julieta, what happened?" Penelope asks.
"I'm not talking about it," she says.
"But—"
"Can you stop? Please," she begs.
"Okay." Penelope and I exchange a glance, and we finish cleaning up. When we get to the pit, we press Julieta further, but she refuses to discuss anything.