Inhale. The stench was second only to the images on the list of experiences that haunted me long after I left the brothel. It was almost dizzying, and I switched to breathing from my mouth in order to focus. Exhale. Another purposeful capture. I knew they’d be coming soon with the injection that would take from my body the strength to fight. I knew the reason they hadn’t given it to me already was because of my supposed intoxicated state. The meds didn’t take full impact if an abundance of alcohol was in the system. So I gave a flawless performance of a ditsy, tipsy party girl who knew no better than to be alone in the city at that time of night. And the predators pounced.

Inhale. I had to get into the back. That’s where most of the girls were “working” right now, and out the back entrance Vadner would be waiting for the girls and me. If I could manage to get out of my confines before the injection implementers arrived. Exhale. The carefully disguised pick was an “embellishment” on my thin undergarment. My hands strained against the metal that encircled my wrists. Almost. My skin pinched, and then I heard a blood-curdling scream. I could hear it too well. They were close. Inhale. My body tensed and my ears strained. The sound of the contact of hand to skin was unmistakable. More screams. More fist to skin. Then silence.

“Move!” my mind prompted. A panicked urge flooded my inner being, and I strained ferociously against my confines. I could feel the skin break. My fingers finally wrapped around my salvation. Exhale. My confines released, and I began my sprint. Out of the room, down the hall. I ran past the rooms identical to mine, flashes of barely conscious figures filled my mind. “Three doors down,” I thought. I nearly slipped turning the corner with my level of momentum. This particular room had a closet that adjoined to the back. It was a passage the high profile customers to get to the back without unwanted attention of the other customers. As these customers weren’t the everyday regulars, this room was usually left deserted.

Inhale. Gingerly, I opened the door. This side of the building was quite the contrast from the front. The luxurious rooms for the wealthy customers and the holding rooms were in far better condition. The stench was far worse here. Soiled curtains formed partitions for some sense of privacy, although the sounds made no attempt to be private. The hall I was in came out on the side of the maze of curtains. The “enforcers” were at the front and throughout the corridors between the makeshift rooms, all currently shielded from me. They were occupied with making sure the customers stayed within the time limit of their spending.

Exhale. Now to make my way to the back. The girls there required far less security, as they were the most recent additions. The first dose of drugs paralyzing them, they posed no threat. Just like produce, the older cherries were moved to front, and the fresh ones were at the back. Get the old ones bought up before the get rotten. Or die of disease, infection, and misuse. There was an exit toward the back, used only in the case of law enforcement deciding to get nosy. It only opened from the inside.

My feet swiftly but softly carried me to the last row of curtains. I drew back the curtain, and my heart sunk. Inhale. The dark skinned girl in front of me had a large bruise covering the side of her face. The girls usually got roughed up, and this was no surprise, but the age of this girl is what struck me. She had to be no older than seven. They frequently took them young, but not this young. Fear and confusion raced across the girl’s face as she took me in warily. This too was rare, usually the girls didn’t even take me in, their empty eyes looking unfocused, if they were even open. I drew back the adjoining curtain, and found that very look stamped on the face of a girl not far from my own age. Exhale. Familiar territory.

The girl complied easily as I slipped her arm under my shoulder to support her. I moved to pick up the young girl still seated on her cushion, and I immediately regretted that move, as a scream erupted through the entire building. Inhale. I heard muffled footsteps heading the way, and I promptly scooped the girl up with my other arm, and almost dropped her from all the flailing. I tightened my grip, and then started moving toward the exit. Shouts rang out from the middle of the curtain maze, and I doubled my effort. Everything felt like slow motion. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. The young girl still fighting in my arm, I moved to secure her, simultaneously leaving the older girl without support. A shot rang out, and I didn’t even bother to look back to know the source. They were in firing range now. Inhale.

With both girls firmly gripped on either arm, I reached the door as the gunfire continued. Out of the building now, they continued Then the older girl cried out. A brief glance over confirmed what I knew as red now spotted her left leg. Almost. I could see Vadner’s truck on the other side of the alley. His eyes widened as he saw our followers. Tires squealing, he pulled up so we could get the the van. More gunfire. The men were almost out of the building. I practically threw the girls off of me, trying desperately to speed up their drug-induced sluggish pace. I jumped in and barely had time to slam the door before Vadner threw the bakkie, or pickup truck into gear. Exhale. Gunshot burst through the back window, but we were on the home stretch now. The “enforcers’” vehicles were at the front of the building, and I knew we’d be gone and safe long before they could catch our trail.

“How did they see you?” Vadner said stiffly after a moment of me catching my breaths. His usual jovial demeanor long gone, he waited for me to answer.

Inhale. “The young one fought me. Never mind that now. The older one needs medical attention,” I said. Exhale.

He glanced back briefly to confirm what I said. “Eish,” was all he said, his greying hair moving slightly in the wind let in from the broken window. I tended to the older girl’s wound as silence set in on the vehicle.

“You know you can’t go back in now, eh? Now that they saw you?” Vadner said, looking straight forward on the road.

I was silent, not willing to admit defeat. I knew that he was right though: I couldn’t go back in. Inhale.

Notes