A little girl, sitting in the corner of a dimly lit room. In the corner opposite to her stands a dusty old bed, next to it a small stool with a half burned down candle sitting on top. Otherwise the room is empty. No windows, just a big, heavy door. The girl can't remember for how long she's been sitting on the floor, but she's scared and cold. The rags she's forced to wear fail to keep her warm and the thin blanket she took from the bed isn't warming her much either. But it gives her the feeling of being sheltered, of being save, a feeling she has desperately been clawing for for as long as she can remember. It's temporary, but it's all she has, especially now in the darkest of times. Even after all that she's been through these past few weeks, she can still remember what it was like before she got taken here. She remembers. Faintly, but she remembers.
She would sit on sidewalks all over the city of Vale, changing locations every couple days whenever a police officer told her she couldn't stay where she was, begging the people that passed by for money. Most would just pass by without paying her any mind, but there was the occasional kind soul that spared some of their Lien. Some days she collected more Lien, some days less, but at the end of each day there was always some in her small, rusty can she collected the money in. On each day whether or not she would survive till the next day was uncertain, but she survived. She froze during the nights and sometimes didn't eat for days until she found something at least slightly edible in a dumpster or collected enough Lien to buy half a loaf of bread. Her last wardrobe change was so long ago she couldn't even remember it and most days she felt miserable, but she survived. And surviving is all she wanted.
*One day life has to get better, right?*
This had been her life for as long as she could recall, until one day this man came along. Usually pedestrians would give her a few Lien at best, but he gave her enough to last her for days. He didn't say much, just smiled at her as he put the money in her small, rusty can.
*W-what? T-this much?*
She looked at him confused, but grateful.
"Just don't spend it all at once, kid."
Not sure whether or not he was joking she slowly nodded, grabbing her can and marveling at the amount of Lien she now owned. Then he left without another word. It wasn't a one time event either. He kept coming back, multiple times a week. Even when she'd changed locations he always seemed to find her. She started anticipating him, looking for his distinctly orange hair in the crowd, listening for his cane's distinct sound it made when it hit the ground, perking up whenever she saw him coming around the corner. She didn't just care about his money though. She enjoyed the few moments when he kneeled down to put his Lien in her small, rusty can; she cherished his smile whenever he was approaching, smiling back at him every time. Normally people would just throw her some Lien and then go about their business. He talked to her, made her feel like she was more than just a rat on the side of the street, depending on the help of others to survive.
This went on for a couple weeks. He visited her, brought her money, food and even a blanket to make it easier through the night. She had hoped, believed this would go on forever. She really did.
One evening; her new friend as she'd liked to think of him as, had already come and gone; she was preparing to leave the street and find a sleeping spot in a park or an abandoned alley. As she was collecting her can and the few items she had been gifted, she suddenly heard a car approaching. As she looked up she could already see the headlights getting brighter. A car this late was nothing too special, the district she begged in that day wasn't exactly downtown, but it wasn't very unusual for a couple of them to pass through even this late. This car didn't pass her however.
*Huh?*
To the surprise of the little girl, it stopped right next to her. Nobody got out of the car though, so the girl hurried to get her things together and leave. She decided it would be best to leave the street as quickly as possible and rushed towards a nearby alley. As she entered the alley she looked back at the car.
*Who are those people? What are they doi-*
Before she could even finish her thought she felt a dull pain striking her head and surging through her body as she felt herself falling to the ground.
A young sounding voice: "Hey Boss! I think I got her!"
She hears car doors open. A gruff voice answers: "You sure? We wouldn't want her to wake up anytime soon."
"Yeah, I got her good!"
A third, less rough voice speaks up: "Shit, she's bleeding. You goddamn moron! Get her in the car!"
The last thing the girl feels are hands lifting up her helpless body as she fades into unconsciousness.
*Why? Why did it have to be me?*
She has spent countless hours in this dimly lit room, asking herself that very question. She has yet to find an answer.
Suddenly she hears footsteps coming towards the door to the room. As soon as she realizes them she snaps out of her thoughts and pushes herself further into the corner.
*NO...*
A key slides into the door's lock, unlocking the old, heavy door.
This is the moment she always dreads, every time she gets locked back into this room.
*Please... No...*
The moment she has to leave it again.
"WAKE UP SCRAP!" A brute slams open the door, shouting in a very deep voice. As he enters he immediately spots her in the corner and starts slowly approaching her. He seems annoyed.
"Come on already! Another customer is waitin'! We gotta get you clean before we go!"
He rips the blanket away from her, grabs her on her tattered rags and lifts her up over his shoulder.
*NO! PLEASE, NO! NOT AGAIN! PLEASE!*
The girl's struggling doesn't even seem to bother the brute as he carries her out of the room.
"Come on, you've been through this enough times at this point. You know you ain't gettin' away!"
He's right. She has been through this many times at this point. She knows what's coming. But that doesn't make it any less terrifying, any less disgusting. Or any less painful.
"Now, you get in there and make sure you look passable while I go get myself something to eat!", he says as he practically throws the girl into a bathroom. "You know the drill! When I come back you better be done!" His last words as he closes and locks the door. As she hears his footsteps move away from the door she slowly gets up from the floor she has been pushed on. The girl is shaking out of fearful anticipation of what's to come. She hates this bathroom, hates these people, but she has no other choice but to comply, after all, what can she do against them?
She slowly walks towards the small shower in the corner of the room. Just like the rest of the room it is very bare-bones, just a small deepening in the floor with a showerhead just out of her reach. She removes the rags she's wearing and gets below the showerhead, instinctively reaching for the cold-water valve. She knows the hot water doesn't work. As she is standing there, cold water raining down on her head and running down her shaking spine, she looses herself in thought for a moment.
*I would have loved this a couple weeks back... I would have given everything I had for a chance to experience even a cold shower just did they have to ruin this? Why couldn't they have just left me in the dirt... Why?...*
She feels tears welling up in her eyes. But she only has a limited amount of time and if she doesn't get done in time, she knows she would be punished. She had only made that mistake once and was not going to make it again. She had to prevent that at all costs. And so she grabs the sponge off the floor and starts scrubbing.
It doesn't take her long and she quickly gets out of the shower, walking over to a sink where a towel was waiting for her. As she dries her body and face she takes a look in the mirror. Back at her stare a pair of white, gloomy eyes accented with noticeable eye bags. The person they belong to is visibly exhausted, near the end of hope. She had seen her reflection before in shop- or car windows, so she knows how different the two reflections are. Back then, even on bad days she had never looked this miserable, because she knew if she just survived, tomorrow might be brighter. But now, she's scared of surviving until tomorrow.
*It will never end, will it? I'll never leave this place... I'll die here, won't I?*
The brute's footsteps are returning. She hastily rubs her pink and brown hair dry, while she hears the door unlocking.
"I'm back and you better be ready! We're runnin' behind schedule here!"
She just gets done with her hair as he slams open the door. She barely manages to hide behind the towel in time before he stands in the doorway eyeing her.
"You're gonna wear this." He throws her a short, simply cut white dress.
"Not that it matters what you wear. NOW HURRY THE HELL UP!"
Startled, she quickly gets in the dress. It's one of a few that she's worn before. With a grunt, the brute turns around and walks away. The girl follows, knowing that not doing so would only lead to more suffering.
She follows him through the same corridor, she's walked through many times before. Too many times. At the end of it another man is already waiting for them. He looks younger than the brute, a bit taller and less muscular.
His voice isn't nearly as deep as the brute's:
"We good?"
"Yeah, she's ready to go. Where are we takin' her again?"
"New customer, lives at the city limit. Ride's gonna take a bit, maybe 30 minutes."
"Oh, great... Hey, you hear that pipsqueak? You might get to relax a bit before... let's call it 'work'."
She wouldn't.
"Anyway, let's go."
The brute pushes her in front of him and they leave the corridor into a garage. In it only an old looking car and a workbench with various tools. The girl gets shoved into the backseat by the brute as the younger one enters the driver seat and starts the car. After the brute enters next to him, the garage door sweeps open and they drive into the night towards a nightmare once more.
The drive there is agonizing, as it always is. Just this time, it's longer than usual. After a long time of silence the brute is the first to speak up:
"How much longer is this gonna take?"
"We're almost there. Should be right around the corner."
*We're almost there? No... Can't we go just a little longer? Please, not yet...*
The car pulls up into a block of apartment buildings and stops next to an alleyway leading into a courtyard. As her captors are about to leave the car, the young one's scroll starts ringing.
"Aw shit. It's the Boss. You go on ahead, I'll have to take this call."
The brute nods, gets out of the car and turns to open her door.
"Come on, we're here. Time to go meet your new friend."
*He's not my friend... None of them are...*
She hesitates to get out. The brute gets visibly upset with her.
"Oh, come on already! Not like this is your first time! Come here!" He reaches for her, grabbing her by the arm and yanking her out of the car.
"Keep it down back there for crying out loud!" the younger one orders them from the front. "Or do you want people to notice what we're doing here?"
The brute grunts at him, then closes the car door and drags the girl with him into the courtyard.
"Now keep it quiet you brat! If we're discovered and have to blow this off, you will be the one to pay for our losses, understood?"
She seems to calm down, not because she's actually calm, but out of fear.
"See, there you go. Easier this way, isn't it?" at this point they have entered the empty courtyard and the brute is dragging her straight towards the entrance to one of the buildings.
"Maybe today will finally be the day when you stop resisting so damn much." They are halfway to the door.
*No...*
"I'm sure it'll be all fine in the end."
*No. it is never fine in the end. It always keeps hurting. No matter what.*
"I heard this one is a nice guy. Sound good?" They are only a few feet from the door.
*No, it never sounds good. Nice guy? None of them are nice. None of them have ever been nice.*
"Yeah, i'm sure he'll be real gentle. Treat you real nice."
*No. I don't want this! I don't want any of this! Just leave me be! Just let me die already!*
She musters all of her strength and rips herself from his grip. She stumbles backwards a bit, he looks at her with a mix of shock and anger in his eyes, although it quickly turns to only anger. She turns around and runs as fast as she can away from him, going straight for the exit of the courtyard. Just away from him. But she doesn't get very far as only a few feet from where she started running she feels a hand grip her arm very tightly.
"YOU GODDAMN RAT! HOW MANY TIMES TO WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS?! YOU! BELONG! TO US NOW!"
He spins her around and lands a heavy punch in her gut. Writhing in pain, she goes to the ground. Suddenly a loud whistle, followed by what sounds like a small explosion breaks through the night.
"What the?!" Still livid the brute looks up into the partially lit courtyard. His gaze scans the entire area and then stops at the alleyway the two came from. He calls out for his partner. No answer.
"Come on, something tells me we should leave." He reaches down for the sobbing girl when suddenly, a soft, charming voice seems to address him:
"It's a beautiful night, wouldn't you say?"
"What!? Who said that?! I don't have time for this!" the brute answers, looking around to find the source of the voice.
"The cold air is so refreshing. Perfect conditions for a gentleman to take a woman out for dinner or to the cinema." As they said that a figure walks out of the alleyway and into the light cone of one of the lamps in the courtyard. "And yet you decided to take an innocent little girl out here, in the middle of the night, to the middle of nowhere. And I can't help, but wonder why." The girl's pain eases up a little and she is able to look up. As soon as she sees who her savior is, her mouth can't help but form a weak smile. Orange hair, those green eyes, the white coat and his cane. She knew him; he had given her hope before.
"This is none of your business. Now leave or you'll regret it." The brute steps between the girl and her savior.
He lets out a sigh. "I was kidding. I know why you two are here. And let me assure you, I won't be regretting anything tonight." he is nearing the brute. "You on the other hand. You are not gonna be that lucky."
A few feet away from the brute he comes to a stop.
"Hrgh... I ain't got the time for this..." Without further warning the brute takes a mighty swing at her friend, who avoids the attack only by inches. Now repositioned, he launches his cane right into the brute's stomach area, causing him to wince. Pressing the attack he immediately takes his cane in both hands and brings it down on the brutes head, knocking him out and sending him to the ground. During the fight the girl moves away from the two of them a good few feet.
*He's back! He.. came back for me!*
Her friend shifts his attention to the girl, who is sitting in the dirt just a few feet away from him. She is looking up at him in disbelieve and awe.
"Hey kid." he kneels down next to her. "I thought I'd check in with you again. How are ya'?"
A few seconds pass. They feel like years to the girl.
*I-it's over. He... he saved me! I-i-i...*
She doesn't even know what to think anymore, that's how overwhelmed she is.
"A little shy, hm?" he said jokingly. She suddenly jumps forward locking him into an embrace. "Huh?" Tears start streaming down her cheeks. This time, they are tears of joy.
*Thank you.*