Flight 118: A Woman’s Future

With the dawning of the morning came the undeniable realization that sitting around waiting for someone to come was not the smartest option. We were miles from our half of the plane, which was nowhere near the front of the plane. Our half, at least, had the black box that would tell people where to look for us. But none of us had any clue where we were or how long it would take for someone to find and rescue us. Heck, none of us would last long staying in this one spot, least of all those injured in the crash.

Deciding what to do resulted in a lot of arguing. Many people had opinions on what we should be doing. Clarisse wanted us to stay put, despite the many times we all circled back around to the fact waiting to be rescued wasn’t the best option. Several people wanted to be in charge, thinking they knew best. Ironically, the guy I had noticed earlier, the one who seemed to actually have survival skills, never said anything.

Eventually, the doctor seemed to settle everyone down and get them to listen.

“We need to take action. Now, I don’t want to scare anyone or force anyone to do anything they don’t want to, but there are many people here who desperately need help. Even staying here one more day can be the difference between life or death.”

He lowered his voice slightly at the end, shooting a glance where many people were laying down or sitting propped up nearby. Obviously, he did not want to worry them.

“We need to send some people out. To search for help.”

“What do you suggest? Us just go out there and get lost?” Someone said angrily. “We don’t know where we are or the dangers. We could never find help or our way back. We could die!”

“If we stay here and do nothing we’ll die. If not us, they will.” Another person whispered harshly, pointing towards the others. “Can you people really stand here and say you’ll let them die because you didn’t even want to try and get help?”

Doctor Olmatas cleared his throat as the argument erupted again. Raising a hand he managed to get them to stop. “Our best chances are to send out people who were mostly uninjured, the ones with only a few scrapes and bruises, in every direction so they can try to find help. They’ll probably find people to help long before anyone finds us here. Those people over there need help. We need help.”

Pushing off the tree he had been leaning against, the mystery survival guy stepped into the light of the sun filtering through the tree canopy. “I’ll go.”

It was the first time I had seen him in actual light and I was shocked. I knew he was huge before, at least six feet tall, if not more, and very muscular. But I had not realized just as ruggedly handsome and...terrifying he was. His green eyes glinted like something ethereal and deadly in the sun, his aristocratic jawline was stiff with a noticeable tick, and his bulging arms crossed across his chest.

“No, I need you here.” The doctor’s voice pulled me back to the conversation.

“What?! Why can’t he go? He’s more qualified than any of us!” My eyes widened in shock at Clarisse’s outburst.

“He’s trained in being a medic. I need help with the injured. Actual help from someone who knows what they’re doing. There are too many people here who need medical treatment to do it by myself.”

I sighed and stepped forward, speaking for the first time. Awkwardly raising my hand I volunteered, “I can go.”

“Thank you, Emilia. That’s great! Clarisse? Would you go as well?”

Clarisse was already shaking her head. She didn’t want to go anywhere away from the plane. She was still convinced the only way to be rescued was to stay there and wait. But we finally convinced her to go. There weren’t many people who were able to walk that far who weren’t needed here. Either they were seriously injured, had broken bones, were family members of seriously injured people, or were needed to help.

After we finally figured out the people going to adventure out into the bright green, overgrown forest for help, we moved on.

Doctor Olmatas said, “Now remember, there are forty-eight survivors. Twenty-eight female and twenty male, two of which are minors. Thirty-one of them are in desperate need of medical attention. It is important to remember this because we need help as fast as possible and can’t risk not getting enough help soon.”

With the knowledge that so many people relied on the five of us, we all set off in our separate directions, carrying the tense expectation away on our backs.

After what must have been hours of stumbling my way through the forest, being scratched and tripped, I finally broke through the tree line as the sunset streaked across the sky and onto a dirt road.

All I could think about was how thirsty I was; and how tired. I had been exhausted before setting out on the adventure, but I definitely felt like I might as well be the walking dead. My feet screamed at me not to go any further. Sitting down I decided to take a small break when I heard something in the distance. There was a creaking sound that vaguely reminded me of the sounds of a wooden roller coaster when it first began. Then there was a sound that I was sure was a horse.

I scrambled up off of the ground as a horse-drawn carriage came around a bend in the road.

I frowned wondering where we had crashed, where in the world were carriages and horses still used, but pushed the thought away. It didn’t matter. Help was here! I frantically began to wave my arms and began to walk towards them. It was like the short break had zapped any remaining energy I had, and I was too tired to do anything more.

When the carriage pulled to a stop I saw four men on it and a woman; one who happened to be someone who had also gone to search for help.

“Hi! Hi! Oh my gosh, thank you so much for stopping! I see you already have been told-” I began but the man stopped me with a gentle smile.

“Yes, we sure did. Don’t worry we’ll just make sure you are both taken safely into town and we’ll get you all checked up.”

I did not know why I had a strange feeling racing through me, but I shook it off. I was sure I was looking too much into his smile. It seemed a little smarmy to me, and his forceful response when I had tried to talk kind of rubbed me the wrong way. But I was sure it was just the stranger-danger feeling I had grown so accustomed to in a world where women had to be wary of everything. There was already someone I vaguely knew with them, anyway. It had to be fine.

So, I took the offered hand and got in the carriage.

I looked over at the other girl with a smile as I settled next to her and was about to talk to her; maybe introduce myself. Even though I recognized her from the group of five plane survivors sent out on the search for help, I didn’t even know her name.

But I stopped and my smile fell at the terrified look in her eyes and nearly imperceptible shake of her head. I could have sworn she did not look like this before I climbed into the topless, wooden buggy beside her.

What was going on?

As we rode in silence, the girl next to me slowly slid her hand over to grip mine. The entire time the tingling sensation crossed my skin and my mouth began to fill with water as the nauseous feeling I got when I had a bad feeling.

We entered a run-down-looking town around Thirty minutes later. Noone could be seen anywhere I looked. Paint peeled from the storefronts and trash littered what little of the store insides I could see. I looked around at the ghost town. There was grass coming through most of the pavement. Many of the buildings were empty, some with graffiti and broken windows. Other buildings had warped, rotted-looking wood covering where windows once were. Even some of the brick walls had begun to crumble with what looked like moss climbing them. This town had not seen good days in probably decades, if not longer.

Looking up from my place at the bottom of the back of the carriage I asked, “Um where are we? Where is everyone?”

The same man who had spoken earlier didn’t even bother to turn around to look at me when he said, “We are almost there. Don’t worry.”

We finally pulled up to a building that looked just as desolate and run-down as the rest of the town. It was a huge brick building that looked like it had been a warehouse, even with some of its walls having bricks missing. There were lantern-like candles lighting only the sides of the non-existent doors, projecting just enough light to know where the entrance was in the dark.

My bad feeling was fully back and I shifted to stand up and demand answers to my questions again when it happened. It all happened very fast.

I was suddenly grabbed, along with the other girl, and yanked off the buggy. Two men had yanked me out by my arms. I managed to hook my leg around a part of the buggy as the girl next to me was screaming, but two other men grabbed my legs. We were surrounded by men and there was nothing we could do to stop them, no matter how much I struggled. Other men just stood there, staring at us. I couldn’t exactly see them in the dark, but I felt their eyes on me as if a million bugs were running across my skin. Then we were dragged into the warehouse-like building through a set of doors in the shadows.

Once inside I was thrown into a floor-to-ceiling iron cage. At least that’s what it looked like from the inside. I felt like a dog.

I quickly lunged to the opening but ended up grabbing the bars as the door was shut and locked before I could get through. I clung to the bars and started yelling, ignoring the sobs coming from the girl in the cage next to me.

I could barely make out the many men in the shadows but I knew they were there. Someone had to help us.

Though I did not know what was happening or where I was, I quickly came to understand that I was sure those men did not plan on helping us.

Loud cheering rang through the gloomy atmosphere as I sat in what felt like dirt and hay, the black so all-consuming I could only guess what my surroundings were.

I did not know how long I had been kept there. I was by myself in the dark, unable to even see the girl next to me who was still sniffling ever so often. The constant cheering in the air seemed to continuously get louder; which just seemed to make me grow more nervous and scared.

Suddenly light cut through the black. The small globe of light grew brighter as it came closer, and I could see it was from a candle. The man holding the candle came into focus, and I saw he had two other men with him. Two men who were big and burly.

Scooting back into the cell a little more, I began to beg as they opened the door, “What is happening? Who are you and what are you doing?”

As they came in, they grabbed me and picked me up. Darkness blocked my view as something was pulled over my head.

Despite my struggle, I was taken away. I quickly began to panic and scream, “Help! Put me down! Help!”

After what felt like forever, I felt myself being slammed on something hard. Then I felt something rough being quickly wrapped around me, and what I was now sure to be a chair.

They were tying me to a chair! I began to struggle and tried to get away, but it was useless. The yells and cheers were now deafening. I thought to myself, I must be in the room where I heard all this noise coming from.

A man’s voice cut through the loud noise in the room and said, “Quiet! Quiet everyone!”

The noise all at once ceased and a sliver of fear went through me as I listened blindly.

The same voice continued to say, “I want to welcome you all today for the tenth Annual Gathering here in Houston!”

I did not think it was possible, but the cheering sounded again and was even louder than before. However, just as soon as it started, it stopped.

The man’s voice cut through the air again and what he said made me begin to panic even more.

“Now, I am sure you all know how this works, but in case you don’t, I will go over it again. When we begin, the women will be revealed to you. Those who plan to bid will walk down, in a line, and decide which prize they want to bid on. Once they have decided, they will be taken to the assigned area in which they are to fight, either until one gives up or dies. Whoever wins, once making their payment, will be given escorts along with their woman. Then they can be on their way.”

I heard myself whimper softly. They were going to auction me off! There were other women too! There would be fights to the death! Where am I? Who were these people?

The voice said, “If there are no questions, let the women be revealed!”

After a continuous cycle of roaring, there was nothing but silence for what seemed like hours. The thing over my head was pulled off and sudden needles of light blinded my eyes. Then my eyes quickly adjusted. I first saw a gigantic room lit by fire everywhere. The second thing I saw was that the room was full of men ranging from all ages and sizes- and they were all staring at the stage. At me.

I swallowed hard as I stared out at the room. I barely heard the announcer person saying, “-picked up in the middle of nowhere. No family and friends who will think of her as missing. A feisty one too!”

I looked to the left and saw five other girls looking out at the crowd with fear, all of them crying. Some noisily, some silently. Some looked terrified, some confused, and some looking truly dejected.

I then looked to my right to see two girls in the same state, four girls with black bags over their head still, and one girl currently being ‘revealed’.

I felt a gasp escape me when the bag was pulled off to show a crying girl who I quickly realized was the one with me on the carriage. The one who had also been sent from the plane.

Everything that was happening was pure insanity. Someone had to save us. How can stuff like this be happening and no one knows about it? Like the authorities! Where were they?

I can’t be sold, be a slave, or possibly be killed. I was supposed to be on vacation!

I felt a tear fall from my face as I looked out at the crowd, but I quickly stopped crying. I could not show fear. I would not give these people the pleasure of seeing me cry. Whatever happened would happen and I would just need to find a way out of it.

I was quickly pulled from my thoughts, though, when I heard, “Let the bidding begin!”

I swallowed deeply and once again felt myself panicking.

Bidding?! Where the heck did we crash? Something like this does not happen in the U.S. and that’s where we had to be. Right?!

I did not want to become another statistic. My breath started to come out in gasps, as I began to panic. I just hoped whoever “bought” me would be nice enough to let me go. I internally gave an unamused huff. I didn’t even believe that would happen.