Entering this traffic ring the characters I expected to come across were oily, tattoo-covered old men who have the ability to make my skin crawl with just a glance.

But I've been both surprised and horrified at the reality.

All these devious monsters appear normal, as I wipe my mouth of a faint trickle of blood I glare up at the man that slapped me and feel my insides curl.

The man appears young, too young to be doing this, if I had to guess somewhere around mid-twenties.

The man has dirty blonde hair and light grey eyes, half lidded as though he is high but the spark of awareness in his orbs counteracts my thought.
His hair which is styled in a high sweeping motion with a slight curl, is far from oily.
It may be glistening with hair product but it's not oily in the slightest.

He is wearing a suit just like Rosiks Father, I assume that's how you can tell the rank of a person.

It isn't as grand as their leaders, in fact it seems to be hanging off his wiry body rather than complimenting it.
It's a dark blue and while my eyes take in every detail the man awkwardly brushes off imaginary dirt off his arm.

"Curious thing aren't you." He grunts out and I force myself to wobble back onto my feet again, not wanting to stare up his hairy nostrils any longer.

"Curiosity got the cat killed."
He murmurs and for no reason at all he slaps me once more.

This time I thankfully remain standing but my cheek throbs powerfully and I press my good hand against it tightly.

"That's not how the saying goes."
I murmur but he ignores me and takes a few steps back ready to address the room.

I notice the guards among the room start to shift and squinting through the darkness I manage to make out lengths of rope in their hands, making my spine tingle.

"You lucky individuals are tonight's entertainment. This night's success relies heavily on you lovely people and we expect you to deliver." At least his words show the true oiliness of his character as it drips with false cheer and support.

His grin twitches at the edges as he stares at each of us and it gives him an eerie aura.

"What will happen is in a few hours your potential new owner will enter this room and choose out his new accessory. The best part is that you lovely people don't have to do a single thing except look pretty... And you seem to have that mastered already." He sends a wink my way in particular at the end of his sentence and I shudder as he licks his cracked lips before clapping once, urging the guards into action.

"What happens if we aren't sold?"
The brave girl next to me manages to frantically question as the guards start grabbing girls and tying their hands together behind them.

I notice the guards seemingly appear assigned to certain prisoners as they all neatly approach individuals.

Glancing down the line I find Dana staring around in a daze with her hands still free and I realise that the men in this room must be their transporters.

Thinking quickly I manage to catch my cousins solemn gaze and ensuring she's paying attention I shrug off my sling with a groan and I hold my hands stiffly behind my back.

Catching up quickly Dana mimics my false bonds and taking advantage of the blissful absence of attention we manage to blend in perfectly.

My focus falls back onto the girl beside me once I'm content that Dana is as vigilant as possible.

As the blonde girls transporter approaches her I watch as the girls chest begins to heave a minuscule amount further and a few more strands cover her eyes.

I cut my eyes to the man who appears to be in his late thirties at least.
His mousy hair has littered strands of grey that sit like straw above his round, pale face.

His hazel eyes are disturbingly small and sunken beneath his large forehead and he cranes his head, trying to teasingly catch the girl's eye but she refuses to look up.

Grunting in dissatisfaction he unfolds his rope and roughly grasps her arms, squeezing tightly and causing the girl's flesh to break out in goosebumps.

"We will have no problem selling such a beautiful bunch. Virgins sell like fine wine, nobody here will miss out!"
The tosser in the suit calls out with an eagerness that leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

Greed is absolutely horrific.

A quiet sob breaks out of the girl and I feel my eyebrows lower in sympathy. What will happen to her if they find out?
Where do the non-virgins go?!

The man takes his time tying up the girl and I fight the urge to interfere as his thumbs rub over her exposed flesh roughly.

There is nothing but lust and glee behind the mans pudgy eyes and I manage to find it even more repulsive than Rosiks.
This man knows what will happen to this poor girl and he is absolutely relishing in it, he is glad to be the cause.

All the men now crowd around behind the man in the suit, blocking the exit entirely and I feel my stomach drop. Something is going to happen that I won't be happy about, I can instantly tell.

"Now we need to get you out of your old clothes." The leader calls out and folding his hands behind his back he strolls casually over to the youngest in the line.

It's the boy I saw earlier with the blackened eye and my heart hammers as the man halts and leans down to face the frightened boy.

"Would you like to get out of these dirty clothes?" The man questions softly, his feral grin growing sharper and I shift from foot to foot, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

The boy timidly nods and glances down at his smudged pieces of fabric, barely holding together with shame.

The man clicks his fingers, the sound echoing through the silent room and most of us jump at the abrasive sound.

My eyes cut through to a spark of movement among the guards and I curiously watch as one that simply by stature looks a teenager shuffles forward with an iPad glowing in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other.

Reaching the wiry man quickly the boy keeps his head down and from this distance I can't make out any of his features but as he raises the scissors I notice some fingers missing and I swallow thickly, suddenly glad not to be closer.

The man doesn't look at him but vaguely pats the boys light curls before grasping the scissors.

"Name?" The young boy opens his mouth to answer the mans question but the boy now staring intently into the iPad answers quickly for him.

"Benjamin Hoods." The man remains silent, his gaze slowly taking in the shaking stature of Benjamin and I cringe at how small he looks.

He shouldn't be here, nobody should be.

"Benji if you stay still then you won't get hurt. Understood?" The man waves the scissors in front of the boys eyes and the boy clenches his lids shut and sobs.

Everyone is silent as we all peer over to see what is happening and as the man begins cutting through the boys clothing a lump forms in my throat.

He begins with the shirt, slicing through the sleeves first before dragging the thick scissors straight through the middle.
Even I can see the boy violently shiver as the cool metal brushes against his skin.

As the shirt falls in tatters onto the dirty concrete most other captives thankfully look away and uncomfortably begin to shuffle, while attempting to break out of their bonds.

I however can't tear my eyes away from the scene as I silently plea in my mind. Please stop at the shorts, leave him some dignity you monster.

However my plea's aren't received and the man cuts through Benjamin's pants even quicker, thankfully he leaves his boxers on and the man now shuffles up to a young girl who is next in the line, grinning and asking her name only to then repeat the process.

The man manages to make it a quarter way through the line, now one away from Dana and each passing second my fists grow tighter behind my back.

There is a sudden thumping on the door causing everyone to jump, one girl shrieks as I presume the man accidentally cuts her with the scissors.

The man straightens, pocketing the scissors and turns around, muttering a brief "Sorry Darl'" with no real sympathy before turning and facing the exit.

The men open the door and I attempt to peer over their hulking forms but soon find it unnecessary as the visitors shove their way through to the front.

My eyebrow raises as I take in both Axel and Rosik once more.
I had accepted never to see them again and feel torn as my emotions jump from disappointment to hope as I consider them able to get Dana and I out of this situation.

"Rosik? Welcome back home!"
The man calls out however doesn't move from his spot.

Glancing at his features I'm surprised to find them stiff and no longer oozing charm, he does not like Rosik.

"I'm here to collect my parcels. Plans have changed and they are coming with me." Rosik wastes no time in explaining and I crease my eyebrows in confusion.

How did he manage to convince his Father to let us go?
He certainly made his decision seem firm and unmoving.

I glance over at Axel only to find his eyes already drilling into mine.
He has one hand pressed firmly against his neck and I briefly wonder if the two of them had fought once more before coming down here.

The tension and fear in Axel's eyes confirm that something big has happened but I'm clueless as to what.

I'm surprised not to find Oliver in sight but I'm hoping that he's taken his leave to contact the police physically.

I have no idea how he has managed to talk his way out of the building but I can't afford to care about that right now.

"Your parcels? Tsk tsk, you never knew how to play well with others did you? You had a partner as well you know? In fact, I heard you had to receive an extra due to you not being able to handle two girls." The man calls out smugly before turning back around and grinning he finds himself face to face with Dana.

"The girls hardly seem troublesome. The red head just needed a good few hits and she's now quiet as a mouse." My body is so strained that my muscles begin to ache as I lean forward and glare down at the man.

Dana sniffles and I watch her arms shake as she fights the urge to cover herself.

"C-come down and say that to my face you ass-wipe!" I call out desperately, trying my hardest to capture his attention and bring him down but the man knows what I'm up to and sends me a teasing smirk before pulling out the scissors once more.

"Let them go Luka. That's an order." Rosik grits out and he steps further into the room.

Luka ignores Rosik and cuts through the first sleeve of Dana's dress.
I've most certainly had enough so stepping forward I attempt to confront Luka and knock some sense into him but the blonde girl next to me steps forward, blocking my advances.

"It's the same as standing in a bikini. She'll only be put through more shit if you interfere." The girl mutters out and I stiffen, her words sending an unwelcome sense of rationality through me.

I clench my hands behind my back so tightly that I physically feel my nails cutting through my palms before nodding once and shuffling backwards.

I can't bring myself to look at Dana again so instead I glance back at Rosik and Axel.

I squint my eyes at Axel who is now glancing nervously at the men around him who are paying him no attention.
I focus on his neck that he is still shielding and tilt my head, noticing through two spread fingers a thick substance staining his flesh.

I can tell it's blood and I feel my confusion deepen, what did those two get up to after we left?

I toy with the idea of Rosik being a vampire all along and bite my lip to stifle a slightly hysterical giggle that threatens to burst.
This is not the time to reminisce about my Wattpad reading days.

"There is no need for you to touch my girls. They won't be on sale tonight." Rosik explains further and I feel myself relax as the boy with the iPad calls out another name and I assume that Luka has moved on to the next person.

For the first time since entering this room I glance up quickly at Rosik and I'm relieved to find that his gaze is solely on Luka.

Rosiks hands are deep in his jean pockets and even though he's lacking his jacket which is still swamping my frame he doesn't look cold at all.

In fact he looks a little flushed as a bead of sweat runs down the side of his temple.
These two are acting strange and it's frustrating not to know why.

"I'd heard that you'd gone soft for these girls but didn't want to believe it...
Your Father must be so disappointed." Luka says pressing Rosiks buttons.

Rosik now storms forward until he is an arms-length away from Luka.
Luka turns slowly from the next girl he was in the middle of stripping and holds the scissors tightly in front of himself.

"How dare you disrespect your authority like that. This business is in my blood."
Rosik barks out and everyone in the room grows tense.

I however remain surprisingly calm, just revelling in the fact that his anger isn't directed at me for once.

"I am in charge of all the men in this room and that now includes you. Besides it's your Father I respect, you're just as scared of him as the rest of us." Luka points out and I find myself rolling my eyes while Rosik bites his lip and remains frozen.
Allowing Luka to continue for now.

Of course Rosik is scared of his father, that dude is literally a monster.

I allow myself to finally drag my gaze back to Dana who has her head dipped, attempting to allow her long brown locks to cover as much of her chest as possible.

I continue repeating the word 'bikini' over and over in my head, hoping somehow that Dana will telepathically connect and calm down.
But her eyes remain glassy and distant as she stares at the ground in shock.

The man works through the captives quickly, nobody puts up a fight.
Not that they really can while tied up and with each passing victim I clench my fists tighter, worried that my liberated hands will be discovered too soon.

I keep my chin up high and keep my crazy curls behind my ears to the best of my ability, wanting to ooze confidence when I'm lacking it the most.

"Now the stubborn fruit."
Luka whispers suddenly by my ear and I jump having lost my train of thought.

Aiming the scissors far too high I force myself not to flinch as a small lock of my hair is cut off by Luka and instead I glare harshly into his cool features.

"Don't move, or I might just slip."
Luka leans forward to whisper in my ear but my eyes latch onto Rosik who starts forward and latches his beefy hand in the back of Luka's blazer.

"Do not touch her. She is mine, she remains clothed." Rosik growls out and unfortunately our eyes meet as I remain powerless and stay still as Luka chuckles lightly by my ear, his breath causing goosebumps to erupt over my flesh.

"I'm following protocol Rosik. Don't make me call your Daddy and tell on you." Luka teases and I'd be impressed by his courage if he wasn't dragging the scissors down my neck and over my collarbones while speaking.

"Just stop Rosik." I grit out as Luka nicks the flesh on my collarbone that is producing slightly and I flinch.

Rosik is only making things worse and I'd rather have the attention on me for as little time as possible.
Luka slowly slides his hand over my shoulder and pushes Rosiks jacket to the ground with a light thud.

"At least let me do it." Rosik practically begs and Luka halts before turning around, shocked by the vulnerable edge to his voice.

Luka stares at him for a few seconds but Rosiks eyes remain latched onto mine.
I keep my hands firmly clenched behind my back, I want nothing more than to rip the scissors out of Luka's hand and start a rebellion but the plan seems rather unlikely to succeed.

"I don't think so." Luka drawls before shrugging off Rosik's grip and turning back to me, scissors raised and ready to strip me of my clothing.

Axel coughs loudly and captures Rosik's attention before inclining his head, urging him to back off and return to his partner.

Glancing once more at me and mouthing 'are you okay?'
I remain stoic and refuse to reply which only prompts Rosik to sulk away and return to Axel's side.

Even though there is a literal zip running down the centre of the front of my dress Luka obviously enjoys the feeling of cutting fabric because he ignores the obvious detail and begins cutting along the shoulder straps of my dress.

To prove a point Luka's hand skims over my skin behind the blade as he carves a straight path through the green fabric.

His touch causes me to shudder but I force to keep my back and gaze straight and strong even as he chuckles at my body's repulsion.

Just as Luka cuts through the final section of the top of the dress a rather loud bang is heard from somewhere upstairs.

Everyone jumps in the otherwise silent room and I hiss as Luka once again slices my arm, this time it's rather deep and I begin to bleed from the top of my right arm.

Luka warily glances up towards the roof but after hearing no other noises he simply shrugs and presses one hand on my hip, burning me before positioning the scissors at the dip from my cleavage and forcing the blades to start slicing down the centre of the dress.

My hands grow slick with sweat and begin to shake.

To distract myself I tune out the sound of the blades and focus on the soft sniffles surrounding me.
How often does Rosik's Father receive these batches of children?

How many have been forced to be stripped of their clothing and sold like meat for God knows what purpose?

How many are still alive today?

I wonder if any have fought before but judging by the handful of guards/transporters crammed along the walls I'm guessing that there must have been instances in the past to require caution.

If I lashed out right now would it be enough?
I know the answer isn't positive, I'm nothing more than a weak victim, that's what I'll continue to be for as long as I'm stuck in this whirlpool.

I don't notice my dress fall in pieces onto the floor, I don't notice the shiver that wracks my form as the cool, rancid air coats my exposed flesh.
However, I do notice Luka's hands roughly wipe my unwanted tears from my burning cheeks.

"Not so tough now are we?" He purrs into my ear and I swallow loudly, forcing a sob back down.

"Okay that's enough!-" Rosik begins to call out and steps forward once more.

The next few seconds pass quickly as Rosik reaches out with a surprisingly blood-soaked hand.
Luka spins around at the same second undoubtedly to gloat but is stilled by shock which is deepened as Axel reaches out to pull back Rosik, revealing his stained neck as well.

"What?.." Luka manages to force out just as a commotion explodes from outside the door.

Now everyone is looking at the door as banging is heard and the whispers from the prisoners grows louder, I even notice a few begin to back up and dive into the shadows across the room but I remain fixated on the door which begins to shake.

"What?" I echo softly as the door finally collapses and forgetting about hiding my own hands they wrap around my mouth as police begin swarming into the room with shields, raised voices and raised guns.

Oliver did it.

He's saved us.

All the transporters along the wall are startled into action as us prisoners begin cheering and crying loudly.

The traffickers begin pulling out various weapons but the police continue swarming into the room, outnumbering the villains in seconds.

The first shot goes off, I can't tell from which side but soon more shots are returned and my gawking is forced to an end as I wake back up to reality.

We aren't saved yet.

I'm just about to turn and cling onto Dana's form somewhere in the room but a sudden motion from Luka captures my attention as I notice him dropping the scissors and reaching into the belt of his pants.

I know what he's doing however I'm unaware of my body's reaction as I dive down for the scissors and before I know it I have the rusty blades piercing deeply into Luka's side just as he raises his gun to shoot.

He and I both gasp as he drops his weapon and soon after his body follows as he begins twisting and turning, his hands quickly drown in blood as he tries to pull out the scissors and he can't form a good grip as he cries out in undiluted pain.

My hands return once more to my mouth as I watch him spasming before me and vomit crawls up my throat.

All the noise around me turns to a dull echo and slowly my eyes settle on Luka's now abandoned gun lying beside him, it's dripping in blood and I vaguely feel my curls slapping my cheeks as I shake my head in disgust.

A hand reaches into my vision and scoops up the gun before turning it back to point at me.

Still blinking in shock my eyes now follow the gun to the large hands surrounding it and I think I groan as I follow the bare arms up to the thick torso and finally I rest my wavering gaze onto Rosik, who is staring at me with equal panic as me but I can see the sick gleam of excitement lighting his orbs.

He's proud.

He's shouting instructions at me but I can't hear a thing and I simply scrunch my eyebrows at him.

I notice a few police fall to the ground behind him and the reminder of the rescue reminds me of my priority,

Dana.
She has to be saved.

I attempt to back away from Rosik, surely now of all times he can recognise that he has lost but the gleam doesn't dim in his eyes and he storms up to me and latches tightly onto my bad arm, the flash of pain heightening my senses.

The sound of the fight strikes me harshly and I flinch as various screaming assaults my senses, the smell of blood causes me to gag.

Rosik presses me tightly against his chest and I sob as I hear flesh being torn and life draining from all around me.

"Let me go!" I scream out and try to thrash around but Rosik is used to my defiance and now barely struggles to keep me pressed against him.

I feel my feet skim the floor as I'm dragged through the room and screams erupt from my throat as I feel Rosik fire his gun at unknown people.
Each time his core tightens and shudders with each shot I can't help but cry out, this is too much.

I have no idea how Rosik manages it but I begin to notice the sounds of fighting grow dimmer as I'm dragged further and Rosik's shots grow further and further apart as I presume we slip out of the room.

I don't stop squirming but Rosik is too focused on his own goals to even spare a second towards me.

Rosik is mumbling in Russian as he takes multiple sharp bends and finally after the eighth or so turn I'm finally released from his chest and simply pulled by my good wrist beside him.

I gasp out in tears as my eyes take in the dim red corridor and I notice movement behind me.

I glance over my shoulder and cry out as I notice Dana passed out in Axels arms as he jogs behind us, eyes wide and filled with fear.

"She's fine! I just had to make sure she stayed quiet!" Axel hisses out as he notices my desperate gaze search Dana for injury but news of her simply being knocked out does little to comfort me.

"What are we going to fucking do Rosik?!" Axel calls out desperately but Rosik continues mumbling and tightens his grip further, ignoring my cry of pain.

"Is there a back door or something?" Axel tries again to receive reassurance but is met with a humongous bang erupting from somewhere to the far left of us.

The whole building shakes and all of us wobble and pause momentarily as the explosion comprehends to us.

"They're going to blow up the building?!" I shout out and frustratingly now Rosik decide to enlighten us as he begins pulling me more aggressively down the hall.

"It's part of protocol. The men know what to do when under attack. There are cars waiting at the east exit and we're almost there." Rosik explains and another bang echoes once more, this one louder and closer, the ceiling begins to flake and fall into my hair.

Now with both men cursing I feel my body lifted into the air as I'm scooped into Rosiks arms and I surprisingly don't fight as he and Axel break into a sprint, Axel worryingly further behind as we flee from the newest threat.

"We need to make sure Dana doesn't fall behind!" I call out to Rosik as I worryingly gaze back to find Axel lagging further and further back.

His face bright red and his arms trembling as the minimal exercise takes its toll on his weak body.

Groaning Rosik forces himself to slow to a jog and much to my displeasure lifts me up higher and distracts himself by latching his lips onto mine and greedily begins sucking them.
I use my good fist to hit his chest but Rosik ignores my pitiful hits and squeezes my ass painfully.

"You're worth all of this." He whispers just as Axel reaches our side and I swallow more bile as we turn a final corner and enter another foyer space.

A handful of men are running out the door one by one and I can hear engines rumble loudly over the pouring rain just beyond my eyesight outside of the door.

I'm both thankful and worried to see no other prisoners fleeing the scene and I pray that they aren't drowning in rubble somewhere.

Rosiks plan is to rush straight out the door but someone calling out his name causes him to pause and my ears perk up at the familiar voice.

"Rosik! Hey mate, this is crazy!"
Oliver calls out running up to us and I fight the urge to fight my way to him.

Even though Oliver has splatters of blood over his clothes his hair is tied behind his head and his grip is stable around his gun as he pauses in front of us four with an energetic expression.

"You weren't going to leave me behind were you mate?" Oliver grits out and Rosik laughs quickly before shaking his head, not noticing anything off about his newest partner.

"Of course not, I knew you'd figure a way out." Rosik responds before placing me back down onto the tiled floor.

"If it wasn't for the camera's in your Dad's office I would have lost you for sure." Oliver explains and Rosik vaguely nods before turning back towards the exit.

"Well come on, we don't have much time before this place completely falls apart." Rosik orders and Axel puffs as his body struggles to remain upright.

Just as Oliver jogs up to join us the sound of multiple footsteps explode from a branching hallways and more police rush into the open space, guns drawn.

"Freeze!" Echoes throughout the space, one by one the voices raise in chorus.
Some deathly calm and some frightened squeals.

As Oliver joins the chorus I hear nothing but confidence as he finally reaches us and raises his gun confidently.

I want to cheer as Oliver's mask falls and a stoic, stern expression hoods his features and I wish I had time to turn and see Rosik and Axel's reaction before I'm tugged by Oliver and thrown behind him, sliding against the cold tiles and quickly scooped up by the front line of officers who are protected by shields.

My eyes which were so quickly filled with excitement are equally as quickly drained as I watch Rosik and Axel act on impulse.

Rosik shoots twice, eyes dark and filled with untapped rage and Oliver is quick to fall.

I reach out my hand through the small gap of officers in front of me, reaching for Dana somehow but Rosik notices my arm and mimics the action before spinning and running out the door.

Shots begin to fire but I scream out my cousins name and the officers have no choice but to halt.

Axel is right on Rosiks heels however a sharp cry is heard from him as he pulls shut the thick door behind him with one arm and Dana is still motionless in his other.

I blink a few times as the echo of the door pierces through the room, my eyes remain locked onto where Dana was dangling and I choke out another scream as the room begins to spin.

I try to stumble forward as the rest of the officers dart ahead but a lady near me begins barking orders.

"Get the girl out of here!" And once more I feel myself being lifted into somebody's arms.

I feel the large muscles and presume them to be male but I can't afford to look at them as I wriggle and stare over his shoulder.

Dana needs to see me when she walks back through that door.

She needs to know what hall I'm going down so that she can join me.

She can't get lost.
She can't think that I abandoned her.

I love her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Super sorry for the late update.
I have a family member in hospital and it's just a little hard to write about death and violence when I've been visiting a place filled with so much sadness and worry.

I wrote four thousand of these words tonight in the last two hours so if you see mistakes then feel free to point them out.

Please again, VOTE AND COMMENT.

One more chapter to go peeps!