Page 15 of Echoes From Within
“I don’t give a fuck,” he says, grabbing my gown and walking to the mattress. “He can torture me all he wants but I’m not going to rape some innocent woman. Get dressed.”
How can I make him understand?
“Alright,” I sigh, sitting up in the bed. “If you don’t do what they ask, they will drug you, bring you back tied to a cot. They will pick me up, forcing me on top of you. They will force my hips to move as they rape you using my body. Either way, it ends the same.”
“What the fuck?” he says, sitting next to me.
“Then they will take you to the punisher in cellblock x where you will be beaten,” I continue. “My last breeder was someone who was more than willing. But one of the other women’s breeder wasn’t. He didn’t want to hurt her and that’s the exact thing they did to them.”
“What the fuck is this place?” he asks, pulling off his coat and laying it gently around my shoulders.
For a minute, I can’t speak. The warmth of the jacket is overwhelming. Not to mention the scent attached to it. As silly as it sounds, for just a few seconds, surrounded by the warmth and the scent of this man, I feel safe. Protected.
Just for a few seconds.
“It’s a breeding facility,” I finally answer after my mind refocuses. “But instead of breeding animals, they breed humans. Once the women are pregnant, they keep us locked up in our cells until the baby is born. Then they take our baby and sell them to the highest bidder. That’s what we think, anyway.”
“Coming back to all of that,” Travis says, pulling the coat closed and zipping it up. “You said they will take me to cellblock x where the punisher will beat me.”
“Yeah,” I sigh. “I really don’t want you to have to go down there.”
“Isn’t that where the fucking dick said you will be going?”
I look up into this stranger's worried eyes and nod.
“What will happen to you there?” he asks, his voice deadly.
“It’s different every time,” I whisper. “One time I was just left in the cell without lights or communication for three days. Other times I’ve had to kneel on rocks for hours or sit in a tub of ice-cold water for so long that I was sure my skin would just fall right off my body. Sometimes, the punisher decides not to torment but to torture. And trust me, Mr. Travis, there is a difference.”
“Just Travis, babygirl,” he says roughly. “Just call me Travis.”
“You have to do it, Travis,” I say, fresh tears forming in my eyes. “Would it be better if I gave consent?”
“No, Sophia, it wouldn’t,” he growls. “I’m not going to fucking rape you. We can just lie.”
“They’ll know,” I say.
“How?”
“I’ll be sent directly to the doctor to be checked forinsemination,” I explain. “We’re checked before and after breeding room visits.”
“Fuck,” he says, rubbing his hand down his face. “I can’t do this to you babygirl. I don’t care if they beat me. I won’t fucking do it.”
I sigh. On one hand, I’m grateful for his reluctance. Travis truly does seem like a good man. But what he doesn’t understand is that no matter his choice, the outcome will be the same.
“I’m so sorry,” I cry. “You seem like such a good person. It’s just not fair.”
“Oh, babygirl,” he says. “Can I hold you? Would that be alright?”
He waits patiently for my nod before pulling me sideways onto his lap as if I weigh nothing.
“It’s alright, sweetheart,” he says calmly. “I’m going to take care of you. I won’t let them hurt you.”
I give in and let all of my fears out. I cry against this stranger as if I had the right to. He holds me for a long time while his shirt absorbs all of my tears.
“Time’s up, Seven,” I hear the guard say. “Guess we’re going to have to do this the hard way.”
“Stay the fuck back,” Travis says, standing up with me still in his arms. He places me on my feet and gently shoves me behind him.