Insanity Chapter 14 (Patreon)

SPLASH!

“Wake up, maggot! The show’s about to start!”

“Huh, what’s going on?” I asked, still disoriented from before. What the hell happened?

“Looks like your finally awake,” Malik said, sitting next to me. He was covered in bruises from the neck down, wearing rags, and his arms and legs were cuffed together with chains. I looked down and noticed that I was in a similar condition that he was in, and I was wearing the same rags and chains as he was.

“What happened?” I asked him, still trying to recall why we were in this situation.

“Domenic betrayed us,” Malik said to me. “He had his men beat us up and rob us of everything we had on us before bringing us here and selling us as merchandise. Right now, we are nothing more than slaves waiting to be sold.”

“Damn, I heard of ex’s doing some  crazy shit, but I never expected this?” I said back to him.

“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Malik said to me. “Domenic has always been one to value profit over love. Though he wouldn’t sell us over a petty grudge. He did this because we were looking into that Andros fellow. To be fair, he might have saved our lives.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked him. “Can’t you see what situation we’re in right now? We’re going to be sold as slaves!”

WHACK!

“Keep it down, maggot! The buyers don’t like the rowdy ones, and niether do we,” the same man from before yelled at me.

“See. How can this be any better?” I asked Malik using a quieter tone.

“Because we get to live,” Malik said. “I know how Domenic thinks and for him to be afraid of something means that he is willing to do whatever it takes to avoid it. I’m assuming this because maybe he still has some feelings for me. I believe that he sold us into slavery to keep us away from that man.”

“Whoever he is, he already has a hit on us, one that Xavier probably knows about as well. You and I can defend ourselves even in slavery, but Jess and your sister won’t survive, given the history of what happens to female slaves. Protecting them is the best thing that he can do.”

“Oh, now that I’m thinking about it, when were you going to tell me that your precious little brother was a girl? All these years, and you never told me, but I’m sure that Xavier knew and Jess probably figured it out, but to exclude me, after all, we’ve been through.”

“I wanted to tell you, but Xavier told me not to,” I said to him. “ He said that it was too much of a risk. …Is this really the right time for you to be asking this?”

“This is a better time than any,” he said back to me. “After today, we may not see each other for many years, and that’s even if we survive and escape or are eventually freed.”

“Malik I-”

“There’s no need,” he said, cutting me off. “For what it was worth, I did enjoy being your big brother and even hers as well, despite how much she annoyed me. Just make sure that you stay strong until you get back to your sister. That man will have that hit set out on all of us for some time. To be honest, splitting up like this is the best thing that we can do given our positions.”

“Alright, maggots, to your feet!” the man yelled, bringing several armed guards with him. “Today, you pathetic lot have the chance to be bought out by some very rich individuals. They have come from far and wide to see what we have in store for them.”

“Oh, and a minor note before we begin. If you aren’t sold, you will die after this. I have no intention of keeping the scraps that no one wants. Now line up on stage!” he yelled, having his men push us out towards the stage.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to begin our monthly auction where we do our best to find you the perfect slave to suit your every need. Today we have a lovely cast of slaves that come from all different backgrounds! And as we always do, we won’t inform you of their background until after you make your purchase! It’s no fun knowing exactly what you buy. You may be surprised to see what you get~!”

“And without further ado, let’s begin with the male slaves,” he said as we were pushed onto a stage where my eyes were blinded by a white light. I could barely make out the crowd before me even when they were this close. Though I knew one thing, none of them were from the slums. Each one of them had to be from the upper levels or from outside Trex.

“Our first product is a young man around the ripe old age of ten. With his docile body and feminine frame, I am sure that many of you ladies, as well as men, have your eyes on him. Let’s start the bid off at an easy one hundred gold coins.”

Gold coins!? Those were the highest form of currencies in Trex. Other cities have long since switched to paper currency, but Trex still remained to its roots in currency despite the advancements we have made over the years using steam power. This was to stop the slums from forging their own money. No one would ever believe that someone from the slums could possess a gold coin.

“150!” “200!” “375!” “500!” “1000!” there were many people that were yelling out for their bides to be heard, though it would seem that the final bid was the one for 1000 gold coins. I could properly see the person that bought him, but I could see the tears form in the boy's eyes as he was dragged off the stage.

The auction continued at that pace for a while, and I lost myself in fear. I never thought that it would end like this. I didn’t want this! I had to escape! Malik, sensing that I was thinking about escaping, grabbed my hand for a split second to calm me down before he was brought to the front.

“What we have here is a fine young man, of the rough age of sixteen to seventeen years old. He was found today, so please forgive his appearance, but look at what a fine specimen he is,” the man yelled, drawing attention to Malik’s body.

“Slightly built and a sturdy frame, as you can see, he is able to take a beating. Not to mention his tan skin, which means he was born west, where the Tamim clan resides. Is he one of them? We can’t say for sure. His background is even a blank to us. How about we start him off at a nice 50 gold?”

“55!” “70!” “125!” “500!” “5000!”

The last bid left everyone in the room silent. I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard it. Malik looked over at me in shock as he was dragged away. I read his lips telling me to be strong.

“Wow! That was amazing,” the man said. “I didn’t know we had such a big spender here today. Hopefully they got what they wanted,” he said, trying to lighten the obvious tense mood that Malik’s sale had.

“Now, moving on to our next specimen,” he said. His men forcibly dragged me to the front of the stage while I struggled against them.

“Quite the rowdy one, isn’t he?” the man said, anger clearly showing on his face that I defied his orders from before, but it would seem that he wouldn’t stop everything just for me and decided to roll with it.

“Here we have the last male specimen of the night. His age is between thirteen and fourteen years old. He is a fighter; it took us many men just to take him in despite his age. I wouldn’t suggest using him to have a fun time if you know what I mean, but I assure you that there are many other ways that he can properly serve you.”

“Let’s start this little diamond in the rough at 25 gold!”

“…”

“Really? No one wants him for that price. Perhaps I was asking too much,” he said, looking back at me with anger in his eyes.

“Alright, how about five gold,” he said, whipping his forehead with his handkerchief. No one seemed to want me.

“Fuck you,” I whispered under my breath, but it would seem that I had caught his attention.

“What was that, you little punk?” he asked, looking as if he was going to kill me any second now.

“Fuck all of you!” I yelled out at the top of my lungs. “Each one of you are nothing more than pieces of shi- ACK!”

One of his men that were next to me punched me right in the gut, knocking me down to my knees to shut me up.

“I am most terribly sorry; this slave is not suitable to sell,” he said, bowing his head to the buyers. “We shall dispose of him immediately.”

“Wait! I offer 100 gold coins for him,” a male voice yelled out from the back of the audience.

“I am terribly sorry, sir, but this slave isn’t suitable to see,” the man said, repeating what he just said.

“If that isn’t enough, 500!” the man in the back yelled back to him.

“Sir, it’s not a matter of money but a matter of honor,” the men said back to him. “We cannot save you in good faith such a disobedient slave. Who knows what could happen.”

“I don’t care 1000 gold coins,” the man in the back said to him, refusing to give up on me for some reason.

“Fine,” the man on the stage said to him. "But to make sure that you understand, we shall have you sign a contract to make sure you are fully responsible for what happens afterward. Boys take this one away to room thirteen,” he said as his men dragged me away to the room where the man who bought my life was waiting.