Chapter 72: Put Her In The Cage
Rose sat with her back against the wall. She was the only one left in the cell. A few men had come around, taking the young women one after the other. Rose had thought of fighting them, but any sane person could easily see that she wouldn’t win. Not only did she not have any weapons, she was also outnumbered. So she sat in the corner, watching the girls cry and scream as they were taken away, one after the other. The space was quiet; even the animals were gone. They had gone first, then the boys, and then the girls.
Rose looked around. It was pretty dark, the only source of light coming from the stairs. She rushed to the bars and tried to poke her head out, hoping she would see something—anything—but there was nothing.
She sat back, feeling anxiety rise in her throat. Rose shut her eyes and grabbed her head. Maybe this wasn’t so bad, she thought, trying to console herself, but the more she tried to think of reasons why it wasn’t, the more crippling her anxiety got.
Rose froze as she heard footsteps. Was it her turn now? She didn’t move, didn’t lift her head. She stayed as stiff as possible, clinging to the wall. Her ears were alert, listening to the footsteps that stopped right in front of the cell.
"Hey!" one of the men said, but Rose didn’t budge. "Stand up!"
She didn’t move, burying her head even more.
"I said, stand up!" The man’s voice was angrier now, and she could hear the jingle of keys.
"We don’t have time for this bullshit! Get on your feet!" he yelled.
Rose heard the cell unlock and a loud sound as the door was pushed in. It hit the wall with a bang, and Rose jerked but still didn’t move. Loud footsteps echoed in the space as the man marched toward her and grabbed her arm.
Rose screamed in pain at the tight grip, but it was nothing compared to the pain that came when he pulled her up with all his strength. Rose grabbed her arm, her legs stretching to meet his arm to ease the pain a bit.