That little bit of conscience that gnawed at me got shoved back down into its box and the lid locked down tight. I thought of the girl—the job—and how I could maximize my earnings. She was good-looking, even if she was older than the usual girl, but she had something most of the others didn’t: that arrogance. Nothing like breaking a cocky girl. I just needed to somehow preserve that during her training, make her bow down with just that hint of indignation.

Once I finished, I cleaned up, then grabbed a granola bar and a bottle of water and headed toward Gia’s room. The cold inside gave me a chill. I saw how she lay sleeping huddled into herself on the bed. I set the water and the granola bar down on the small bedside table and walked back out. Tomorrow I’d give her a chance to earn back the blanket.

4

Gia

I ate the granola bar and drank the water when I woke up. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had real food. Hot food. I had dreamt of bacon while I slept. I even thought I could smell it right now. It was like a mirage of water in the desert. I must be desperate.

No light came through the slats of the boarded-up window, so I knew it was late. How late, though, I couldn’t be sure. And it was cold. Really cold. I was glad to have such dim lighting in the room. Sleeping on the bare mattress and knowing others had been here before me—well, I didn’t want to know what I’d find staining it.

I stayed at the window for a while, knowing screaming would be useless. If anyone would have been able to hear me, he would have made sure to gag me anyway. This wasn’t the first time he’d done this. I knew that much. But I tried anyway. I cried out the window, not caring if he could hear.

“Hello? Hello, can anyone hear me? Is anyone out there?”

Nothing. Nothing but the sounds of night. I went back to the bed and sat down, rubbing my arms to warm up.

I wish I knew exactly what would happen to me. My captor—what was his name? I decided I would call him Death. He looked like an angel of death. That death mask hid his angel’s face.