NOTE: 

-Please note that this book is a work of the author's imagination, so obviously, there will be some unrealistic events and technology and medical advancements that may not exist in our real world- yet.

❀❀❀ ⓒⓗⓐⓟⓣⓔⓡ ⓕⓞⓤⓡ ❀❀❀ 

Lia

The days passed in a blur of faces and names I wouldn't remember. I remember the pain, the terror of waking up in a different place every time, with no recollection of getting there. I don't even remember the transition from being with Talon in his car and then waking up in a trunk of another car, or anywhere else after that. 

I woke up in the trunk not knowing how long I've been here. It was dark and suffocating; there was no room for any movement and even if there was, I couldn't move because my hands and feet were tied up. My body was shaking with uncontrollable tremors. I don't want to die here. At first I started to struggle mindlessly, trying to kick out the brake's light but the space didn't permit much movement and then my body began failing me, I felt my nerves becoming loose and slacking. Fear was overriding all my bodily functions and I was slowly beginning to accept my fate; I was going to die soon without knowing who I really am or why any of this happened. I was choking on my tears and the overwhelming pungent stench that was filling the air was making it worse. And only when the car stopped and someone was carrying me out that I noticed there was another body in there, a dead one. All this time I was lying there next to a corpse. I remember screaming and throwing up on the man's shirt; he got angry and slammed my head against the car. 

After that I woke up in an excessively bright room with curtains on either side of the bed I was on, there were tubes coming out of my arms, and monitors all around me, it appeared like a hospital and at first I thought I had been dreaming. Maybe none of this had really happened? But then I realized I was tied to the bed when I tried to get up, and then the curtain was pushed open and people, who were clearly not doctors, began speaking around me in a foreign language.

What is going on? What is this place? Please let me be dreaming... 

I never stayed awake long enough to see them clearly. I was unconscious most of the time, and during the few hours I was awake I was living my worst nightmare. 

This time I woke up in a room with other girls; they were huddled in groups, speaking in subdued voices but their conversations ceased as I awoke from my slumber. I looked around; dozens of pairs of eyes were watching me as I stared back in confusion. 

A girl got up from her place against the wall and approached me silently, she was tall and thin, her blonde hair falling smoothly over her shoulder and her clothes weren't as torn and bloodstained as mine. My old bruises faded and were replaced by new ones and my hair was matted with blood, but that didn't stop her from coming closer until she was crouching down right in front of me, leveling her gaze with mine. 

"My name is Diane," she spoke with a broken accent. My eyes wandered around her face, not looking anywhere in particular, and my body was beginning to shake lightly. I couldn't speak; I haven't uttered a single word since the night Talon killed his father and then I started waking up in different places. Another girl came closer, she was dark skinned and shorter than Diane, "maybe she doesn't understand English?" she said. 

"Lia," my voice came out in a whisper. "I'm Lia" 

"Lia," Diane repeated with a smile. "Don't be afraid, we are not to harm you."

"I'm Holly," the other girl introduced and offered her hand, "come, let's get you cleaned up." 

None of the other girls said anything, they only watched in silence, as Diane supported my weight and led me to the far end of the room, where there was another door that led to a small bathroom.

I stepped under the shower, not bothering to take my clothes off, or what was left of them, and let the water fall over me, my tears mixing with the water and blood on the shower floor. My sobbing turned into heart-wrenching crying and I couldn't stay upright, I fell to my knees with my face between my hands and cried. 

✿

Now I lay awake on a thin mattress that smelled of mold and was apathetically tossed on the cold, bumpy floor. I was aware of every sound around me; some girls were awake, others dozed fitfully, their sleep beset by nightmares. No one attempted to speak to me other than Diane and Holly, everyone seemed to be lost in their own mind and we all looked equally terrified. What the hell is this place? Who are these girls and why is this happening to me? 

I was freezing and there were no blankets in this place, there was only a stack of clothes which Diane got me something new to wear from earlier. Could I freeze to death? Will this nightmare end then? It felt like my brain has disconnected from my emotions at some point, I was beyond exhausted; I felt numb to everything around me and I welcomed this feeling. 

There was a loud, sudden scream that startled everyone out of their reverie. They scrambled up into a sitting position, looking around the room for the source of the sound. Diane rushed across the room and sat beside one of the girls who, upon a closer look at, seemed to be crying silently. 

"Ssshh, calm down, you're awake now," she was soothing as the other girl wept in her arms. No one else seemed to make any move, they just watched in silence and I realized that whatever is going on in here, Diane is sort of the leader of this place. Once the calm has been restored and everyone goes back to sleep, or try to anyway, I walk up to Diane, who was sitting against a wall, her knees against her chest with her face in her hands. We haven't spoken at all, after my breakdown in the shower she handed me some folded clothes and stepped out, after that she tried to talk but I just stared back, unable to form any coherent sentence in response. I lowered myself next to her against the wall and she turned to look at me. 

"Where are we?" I ask. "What is this place?" 

"I thought you were not going to ask, you were so quiet all day," she doesn't look at me as she speaks. 

"Diane, what is this place?" I repeat, I was officially too tired for fear and whatever answer she gives me won't really change anything. 

She's silent for a moment. "I think you know, Lia," she replies quietly. "Human trafficking?" 

Her words played into my head as I envisioned these young girls, feeling bound and helpless, in the hands of these monsters outside and now I was going to have the same fate. 

I was convinced then that if I die right now and go to hell, I'd wake up right where I am now. 

Who am I and how did I get into this mess? Why wasn't I letting out any sort of reaction? How do I get out?... Will I get out? 

These thoughts and visions of the girls and what they've been through played on and on in my head until eventually my body gave out and I fell asleep right where I was sitting.

✿

I didn't want to wake up, the nightmare I was having was far better than the one I was living in. As soon as I opened my eyes, and saw most of the girls huddled against one corner, I realized something was wrong. I walked up to them, squinting my eyes to adjust to the light, there were no windows in the place but the lights were always on and they were always bright. 

"What happened?" I look around for Diane and spot her at the far back, curled up, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees, and her face was buried between her arms. 

"They took Holly," a girl, who looked no older than fifteen, replied.

I didn't know what to say to that so I didn't say anything.

Who took her? Where did they take her? Why did they take her? Is she coming back? 

I sat back thinking how my life has come to this point. I felt stupid for even trying to think about that because I couldn't remember anything and that was a whole mystery itself. What even happened to me that made me forget everything? And the questions snowballed from there. How did I come to London? Am I still in London? Do I even have a brother named Matt? Why did Talon even pretend to be my brother for thirteen days? Who is behind all of this?

I didn't cry again, I wasn't sure what to make of that; was it a sign of defeat or was my mind trying to focus my energy into something more useful, like trying to find a way of this place?

✿ 

Later that day the door that leads outside was pushed open, but no one came in, and my heart almost leaped out of my chest. I looked around but no one seemed to have the same reaction. 

"Food," the girl nearest to me explained. No one made any effort to go get it, so I did. There were 23 wrapped boxes just outside the door, and behind that was another locked door. 

I silently placed the food in front of each girl, some muttered a thank you, others didn't even move a muscle and their food was left untouched as they stared at it in silence. 

How long have these girls been here?

I went to Diane, her face was streaked with dried tears and her eyes were puffy from all the crying. 

"I want to ask you something," I said as I sat next to her. "Before ... before you got here, did you wake up with no memories of anything in your life?" 

She looked at me, her brows furrowed curiously, and then she shook her head, "No, I was deceived by an advertisement for a waitressing job, when I arrived at the mentioned address I was attacked and brought to this place. Why? Is that what happened with you?" 

I tell her what happened with me, she curses in French when I'm done telling my story and then she tells me about some of the girls here, no one has been through anything similar to me, they all have been taken from some place and then woke up here. She tells me what she knows about this place; it's not just about prostitution, there is organ harvesting and trafficking and she thinks they're conducting experiments on some as well. 

The white room... 

"But how did you know all of this?" I ask, and it was the wrong thing to say because she immediately looked away, but I noticed the tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have ... 

She shakes her head, wiping away tears that haven't quite fallen yet. "I'm going to check up on the rest," she sniffles.

✿

"Lia! Lia, wake up, Lia!" 

Groggily, I opened my eyes and turned toward the voice, squinting at the bulb dangling from the ceiling. I faintly recognize the voice. "Holly?" 

Where am I? 

We were in a log cabin, the windows were open wide and I could hear water running outside. Holly was seated and tied to a chair opposite to mine.

How...? What's going on? 

"Lia, look at me, we can get out of here, I heard them leave a few minutes ago and I don't know when they'll be back but we have to be quick," she was speaking really fast. "Look there, near the door-

I looked at the exact moment the door flew open and two men came in.

"Good morning ladies," one of them spoke cheerfully. "Good sleep?" 

We both just stared. 

"Ah! Not the talkative type, I see," he continued, "Well, we are going to play a game, and the rules are simple." 

Out of all the days, this is the one I wish I could erase from my memories forever; forget about it, forget what I saw, undo what I did; forget everything that's happened that day. But I couldn't, even if I tried. There was nothing I could do. 

There was blood; a lot of blood everywhere. I thought I would pass out but I didn't, I was awake. I was awake and every single part of my body was shaking with fear, terror and rage. 

"We can't have her awake for the ride," one of them said upon realizing I was still awake, silently watching them, he pulled out a syringe. I didn't even try to fight, it was pointless by now and there was nothing I could do, I was helplessly bound to the chair I was in, and the hand that was free minutes ago was now tied back again. 

I had accepted my fate knowing there was no way out. I was going to die in this place; I was going to die here with these filthy, monstrous people. 

As the drug began to take effect, I felt dizzy and soon blackness clouded my vision and this time, I welcomed it happily. I could finally escape this horrible reality.

I woke up again in the hospital look-alike place. There was a lot of noise around me, people talking all over. 

"I think she's ready for the final dose," someone spoke, it was a female voice. 

"Yes, proceed. If this works, we will be on the verge of a breakthrough, a breakthrough of something magnificent!" another replied, someone who sounded overly excited. 

"And sometimes they conduct experiments on some girls... I just heard about it though," Diane had said. 

I felt another needle prick my arm, but my vision didn't darken this time. Instead, I felt light headed, like I was floating somewhere, the voices seemed to be distant now but I could still see them, everyone was silently and expectantly watching me. My head started to throb in unbearable pain and I let out a scream, it felt like the blood in my head was on fire. I was thrashing on the sheets, and they secured me with more wide, leather straps to the bed until I was completely immobile. 

What is happening? What are they doing to me? My heart was thumping wildly in my chest. The pounding echoed in my ears. Every part of my body was in pain. 

All the screaming and thrashing had drained me, and shortly afterwards I felt blood trickling out of my nose, tasting its metallic taste in my mouth. 

This is it. This is the moment I die. 

No one seemed to care about what was happening to me, I watched them leave, pulling the curtains closed again. I tried to break free of the restraints, my muscles protesting with twinges of pain until eventually my body gave out and I succumbed to unconsciousness. 

I don't want to die...

✿

I woke up lying in the same bed, but everything was different. I remember. 

I remember! 

I could recall events from years ago, random memories popped up with incredible clarity. I try to get my thoughts into some semblance of order but it was too much, like I was remembering everything at once and my head was flooded with all these names and places and the only thing I could do was speak them out loud as if that eased the jumble of thoughts inside my head. 

Martin Shaw, my dad. 

My mum, Renée Lynn Shaw. 

Max. Maxon! My little brother. 

They're dead.

Gravel Row street.

Miles. 

He's alive. 

Vee. 

Carver High.

My family is dead.

Adam. 

World Art Institute. 

My family is dead. 

I remember fragments of the night I was told they died in a car accident; I was alone in the house after they left and someone came knocking loudly and insistently on the front door, to the point where I was sure the door wouldn't hold up and would eventually fall to the ground. Foolishly and naïvely I opened the door to the stranger who somehow knew about my family's death, he knew they had died and had come to save me from the same fate. I don't remember why I trusted him at the time, but he told me he'd bring me here, to London, to Miles-my brother, safely. I remember putting up a fight, and that was all I had from this night. 

Who was this person? Why did all of this happen? 

I thought that when I get my memories back I'll be able to understand why any of this had happened but I was only more confused. 

I wasn't dead... did they mess with my head? Were these memories real? 

How do I get out of here? 

Someone pushes the curtains away and steps in. 

"Hello, sister," Talon says with a smirk. "Missed me?"

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A/N

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Thank you for reading!