"Meet my friends." He said, pulling his body off the bed. "Ezra and Desmond."

Those men stood there grinning ear to ear like cats high on steroids. The imprint of their manhood pointed excitedly at me.

Words still didn't leave my lips. These men were well into their sixties or even above that, yet their pleasure lay in the thighs of a fifteen-year-old.
His friends had towels around their waists just like him with grins as evil as the devil.

"Do you think you've rested enough?" He was pouring a drink into a small glass and swallowing it whole. The way he changed the topic as though he didn't just point a gun at me or had my back thrashed with a whip.

He quickly gulped two glasses of whatever was in the bottle, but from the look on his face, I didn't think he enjoyed the contents of that bottle.
But again, he took another shot and gargled it down his throat. After clearing his throat, he poured another and more into separate tiny cups.

Ezra was first to grab it from him, emptying the contents into his mouth at once. Desmond declined to take a sip. He was busy marinating me with his eyes as though I was freshly roasted barbecue meat. Even though others moved around the room, he kept watch like a chained dog.

Passing a cup to me, The General, took a spot on the bed, flashing the tiny cup in my face. "Drink this. It will help."

A shake of my head indicated that I wasn't interested in whatever he and his friends were drinking. He didn't relent but continued to pressure me to drink it. My heart pounded in my chest when he leaned into me.

I had no choice but to gulp the contents of the first glass. Another came and I declined. Generally quickly got angry and sent double slaps across my already bruised face.

"Now drink!" He growled, handing the cup to me, his eyes watched me intensely.

I let the liquid into my mouth but refused to swallow. Instead, I spit it out, splashing its contents on the General's face. What descended on me were multiple punches and whips. I couldn't even get to speak or plead with them.

Weakened from that vicious beating, the General and his friends forced my mouth open and emptied more cups of alcohol down my throat.
Desmond, held me between his thighs while Ezra forcefully kept my mouth open so that the general could pour the drinks into my mouth. By the time they were done, I was weakened by alcohol.

Right there on the floor, they took turns to violate me repeatedly. All the puke and blood ran freely on the tiled floor. I lay down wanting and praying for death.

Shana, the nurse was the first to find me. She cleaned me up, pumped me up with more drugs, and sent me to sleep. I woke up, expecting to find the General and his goons on me again. Instead, it was Shana sitting at the foot of the bed, watching TV.

"Why are you still here?" I asked when consciousness returned to me.

Swiftly, she was by my side, placing her palm on my head. "You were running a fever, so I had to stay back to take care of you. I shut my eyes briefly to get my bearings. Everything seemed too foggy and dizzying.

"And the men?" I asked, rubbing my temple.

"Off to Abuja, they would be back in the fourth eight hours."

"Hmmm!" I heaved, pulling myself up. Her face doubled in my vision, I was still very drowsy. "What day is it?"

"Tuesday."She answered.

A smile danced on my lips. I was going home soon. I thought. I was somewhat happy that I was going home.

But home to what and to whom? I'd never thought the camp could be this desirable to me. It was far better than the hell I was going through right now. If I could survive another couple of days, then, I would be home with Ifechi and the rest of the girls.

I stopped counting all the bruises on my body neither could I get to look at my face in the mirror. All I prayed was for these seven days to be over so I could at least return to the camp.

She saw my face lighten and rubbed my chin gently. "It will soon be over. At least, you will get twenty-four full hours and more to yourself."

"But you said, they won't be back for another two days." I countered, not willing to celebrate too soon.

"That's what they say." Her hands were up in the air frustratingly. "But you know, with these men, you can never be sure."

"Is this something that happens all the time with girls like me?" The questions flew out of my mouth without mercy.

She stared off into the distance, and when she spoke, her voice was laced with emotion. "I'm sorry. I am."

"So then, what's your story? Why do you do this?"

Another sigh escaped her mouth, and then she clasped her hands in mine, still not looking into my eyes. "For the poor, the rich will always win."

"Meaning?" I questioned, not getting what message she was trying to pass across.

"We are all a pawn in their hands. And like you, I'd love to stay alive too, because that's the only thing that guarantees we will ever have hope for a better tomorrow."

I took my hands off hers gently, laid back down, and backed her. For some reason, I didn't trust this Shana girl. If she could go and come as she pleased, then her case wasn't as bad as mine. To me, it was her choice to continue to do this or so I thought. When I felt the bed rise, I knew that she had left my personal space.

For a full twenty-four hours, my heart was at peace. At least, the men were far away from my body and Shana was doing everything to make sure I enjoyed my free hours.
But I still dreaded the return of General and his friends.

Despite my fear, I enjoyed different kinds of delicious meals I never had at the camp. I was willing to live in this fake luxury even if it was for once.

Shana explained where we were and how far I was from the camp.  Three hours was still a lot, even if I wanted to escape. The ten thousand Naira Zora gave me was still somewhere in Mama's hands because I'd not been able to find that money.

I couldn't comprehend why Shana shared their location with me even when I didn't ask. I acted uninterested yet she kept giving me pointers. If it was a trap or for an escape, I didn't know.  And who knows she may have been actively working for them.

I kept whatever information I had about myself and my family to myself and stored the few she gave me in my head. As far as I was concerned, the devil comes in different shades, and Shana was just one of them.

The next day, we half-waited for the perverts to come back but there was no sign of them, so my freedom continued.

Shana even taught me how to swim a little, and took me to the pool downstairs. Through observation, It was a highly premium serviced hotel, with absolute luxury. My body in that pool calmed me and Shana advised it would help soothe my wounds. Even if the devil pretended to be an angel of light, I, Linda might as well play along.

So, I kept thanking her, showing her how grateful I was and how her kindness was worth more than life. But I also knew she never slept at night, I'd seen her hovering over me, watching me while I slept. And, I tried as much as possible to never catch her, rather, I pretended I didn't know what was going on.

Friday came so quickly. It was the wicked man's voice that startled me out of bed.  This time he was with different faces. Desmond and Ezra were absent.

"Ask no questions, Do as they say." Shana had warned me before the General returned.

I swallowed the fear that tried to joke me. Another overly huge, pot-bellied man with very disgusting brown teeth.

He introduced them as Malik and Zelum. I nodded when he was done with the introductions. His friends took off to the other room where they talked over each other and laughed.

I counted the minutes until they came devouring my body. Sleep escaped my eyes and left me to the torments of my thoughts.

At exactly 12:45 am, the General ushered the men into my room. Their evil faces left imprints of horror in my head. This man was simply passing me around to different men and I didn't have a say in who violated me. So I prayed to God to keep me alive for this last time. Saturday was already here and I would do anything to get back to the camp.

When they came on me, tearing me apart like vicious beasts, I wailed and begged but didn't put up a fight. In my head, I prayed it would be over soon. Luckily, his friends were less of a beast when compared to his previous friends.

Done and reeking of alcohol, they stumbled to their rooms, leaving me to my broken boy and torn spirit.

Again, bruises detailed every inch of my body and tears didn't help to soothe my pain. Dejectedly, I pushed myself across the room into the bathroom where I sat in the tub and allowed the water to wash my pain away.