Chapter Five

When I woke up everything had changed.

All I could do was scream, hunched over in the seat of the transport van.

The bottom half of my once pristinely pressed white dress was now soaked in rust colored blood. My blood.

With every bump the van hit, my fresh stitches pulled apart causing a mangled cry from my throat.

They had taken my body from me, my future.

I could no longer ever have children, they cut those possibilities out of me.

I don't know how long I sat in the back of the cold moving van, but it was long enough from my sobs to come to a slow.

It felt like my mind was screaming at the top of its lungs, deafening me.

I wasn't sure who was driving, or where I was going.

I was just so scared.

My whole body shook uncontrollably, I rubbed my arms in an attempt to soothe myself but it didn't help. 

The Selector couldn't have assigned this right? This was all just a sick joke on me. My hopes and dreams couldn't end here, not like this.

The van came to a screeching halt throwing my body back against the side from the impact. I let out a small whimper at the pull of the stitches.

The pain was so excruciating, nothing I had ever felt before. This doesn't happen on the west.

Before I could continue my thoughts the van door slammed open, there stood two men.

A rozzer and a man dressed in a cheap Jean jacket with fitted sweats. His bald head shined in the vans break lights, he wore dark sunglasses even now at night.

They seemed to be deep in discussion, arguing about something.

"Eh, your too late Henry. Maybe next delivery." The bald man said crossing his arms across his chest.

"But I made it here as soon as I could! You said I could have a dance-"

Jean jacket guy cut him off waving his hand dismissively in the Rozzers face.

"Doesn't matter, and look at her! She's a mess. I don't have time to get her fixed up before closing time, it's not gonna happen."

I was a mess, My legs were covered in dried and fresh blood, darkened with dirt from the van. I could feel my hair sticking to my face from my tears, my makeup was definitely gone.

The rozzer sighed and then began climbing into the van towards me.

Reactively I backed up into the corner and put my hands in front of me, palms open.

"No I-" I started.

"Shut up bitch." He grabbed both of my arms and yanked hard, sending me straight out of the van.

I landed hard on my knees on my pavement causing me to cry out.

"Hey now! Keep your hands off my merchandise!" He screamed at the rozzer, pointing a finger directly to his chest.

The rozzer flipped up one of his fingers and then stalked away towards the drivers side of the gray van.

"Cmon stand up." He said as the van raced away.

Very slowly I climbed to my feet, each flexing muscle tugging on my wound.

Then I was able to take in my surroundings. I was in a dark, dank alley. With a big filthy dumpster to my left, a half dressed man sat in front of it smoking tobacco. But he seemed like I wasn't paying attention, or maybe he was just drunk.

On either side were darkly painted brick buildings, the walls littered in different names spray painted on them.

I felt dirty all over.

Was this really the east? Could people actually live here, like this?

"Im Luis, the head manager here." He said tucking his hands into his pockets.

"W- where am I?"

Luis gave a big smile, "Welcome to the Dollhouse! We cater to the seedy underbelly of this fantastic division!" His sarcasm was thick at the end

I just looked at him, confused.

He came close and held his arm over my shoulders so tightly I couldn't run even if I tried. I could smell the alcohol and cheap cologne so intensely I had to hold my breath.

He seemed like the type of man who had a few screws loose, the type you'd never want to make angry.

"Now, I don't have the time to do a big tour right this second so I'm going to hand you off to Fox. She'll take great care of you."

Before I could respond he kicked open the door closest to us and pulled me in to the Dollhouse.

Sporadically placed ceiling spotlights gave off a purple hue, dimming the whole room. I squinted my eyes to see around me.

There was a long wooden bar where men sat being served drinks, opposite to it were a set of small stages, similar to the one in the Selectors room. Except these had shiny floor to ceiling poles.

The music was so loud I would've held my hands over my ears if Luis wasn't holding my shoulders down. The sound was nothing like the soft orchestras back home, this was overwhelming and too fast.

There was an array of chairs positioned in front of the stages, most filled with men.

In the corner was a round table where more men sat, playing cards.

The smell of tobacco and liquor was so thick it made me wrinkle my nose.

What was this place? This certainly didn't feel safe at all. I pictured what my mothers reaction would be, she would jump and scream.

And why was their only men here?

Luis snapped his fingers and gave out a loud call, "FOX!"

Almost immediately a women sprinted out of door that looked hidden from sight. 

Her waist length, silky, reddish-orange hair hung loosely around her body, I could tell she was taller than me by a few inches before she even got to me. She was older, maybe mid thirties?

Her long legs were strapped into big heels under a skin tight green dress. At least I think it's a dress? If they made dresses that short and low cut.

Her stride was confident like she owned the entire room.  A few men turned their head to watch her as she approached. She was beautiful, but in a different way. A way I had never seen before.

"That bullshit doctor fucked us again. I don't even think he cauterized the wound this time." Luis spoke in a frustrated tone.

Fox looked me up and down, lingering on the blood spot of my dress.

"Good thing I can get blood out of anything. But I don't think she's safe to work for at least a week or two." She said.

He frowned at that, "That's not an option. We'll have to figure something out."

"Maybe you could offer a bed night to one of the Selectors friends to make up for it?" She questioned.

Why were they speaking about me like I wasn't right here?

Luis nodded. "Get her cleaned up, oh and tell Candie she needs to go on."

Candie? Go on? My head was bursting with questions. So many things I had never heard or seen before. I felt like I was living in a big confused haze.

He gave me a slight pat on the back before running off toward the gambling table.

Fox gave me a sympathetic smile and gently took my hand, "Alright sugar let's get you comfortable."

We walked through the crowd of men, only to pause for Fox to whisper something into a pink haired girls ear at the bar.

She pulled me into a small room. Inside, were a set of uncomfortable looking wooden bunk beds. A long stretched mirror sat on the wall in front of a collection of vanity tables, each with their own chair. Different makeup and nicknacks cluttered it, pictures and drawings filled up the space on the walls. People had been living here for a long time.

Fox leaned on a the bunk bed with her arms crossed, she gave me a small smile

"Welcome home."