4Years Ago

Caroline leaned weakly on the icy, metal grates that were keeping her inside the cage. Small shivers wracked her tiny frame, the thin blanket that she was clutching doing close to nothing against the numbing cold in the warehouse.

She had lost track of the number of days she'd been trapped in this godforsaken place, but they felt like an eternity to her. The first month had been the hardest. She had counted every day, clinging to the small glimmer of hope that someone would come and rescue her. Caroline had fought back with all of her might against her captors, but to no avail.

Soon, the physical pain inflicted daily combined with the lack of proper nutrition weakened her. To her utmost surprise, she found herself dizzy and sometimes even unable to stand up straight, not that she would ever show that to the guards. No, she never faltered in front of them if she could help it.

The worst part was that although her body demanded its much needed sleep, every time she would close her eyes and doze off nightmares of the horrors she'd experienced would come back and haunt her. She could barely sleep 2 or 3 hours a night and it was taking its toll on her.

A muffled yelp caught her attention and Caroline quickly realized it had come from Julie. The amber haired woman had been brutally thrown back into her cage. Upon seeing the woman curled up a fetal position, silent tears running down her face, Caroline felt her own eyes start to sting. Julie had been her only comfort there, the one person that helped her hold on to her sanity.

Ignoring her own discomfort, Caroline dragged her sore body as close as the bars would allow it and extended her skinny arm through the small gap succeeding in placing a gentle hand on Julie's shoulder.

"Let it all out," she coaxed,"It's over now."

Shinning green eyes turned to look at her and the immense sadness found in them hurt Caroline more than all of her wounds together. If she could, she would take Julie's place every day. Unfortunately, that would deem Julie useless to Matthew's cruel business.

Julie went on crying for a few more minutes before pulling herself together. "Thank you, Caroline. I'm fine now." With that her wall had been raised once more. It was becoming somewhat of a routine. The friends would comfort and support each other until they were able to stand their ground once more.

They sat in silence, enjoying the rare peaceful moment the Universe had granted them. Loud footsteps headed their way announced the arrival of a guard. Caroline knew that they rarely grabbed a girl twice a day so she braced herself for what was to come. Judging by the frightened look in Julie's eyes she knew as well. Caroline retreated her arm and cast a reassuring smile for Julie. She just prayed that it wouldn't be Matthew summoning her. He was by far the worst out of them all.

As expected, the bulky man stopped in front of Caroline's cage, unlocked it and roughly grabbed the woman by her arm. The blonde could feel her legs buckling under her weight so in a way she was grateful for the support he was giving her. The man dragged her towards the dimly lit hallway that tormented her at night. Once she passed the first and biggest room, a barely audible sigh of relief escaped her lips because that was Matthew's personal room.

That small grain of happiness was crushed though when the guard threw her in the last room. A naked man waited in bed, a lust-filled smile marring his wrinkled face. He appeared to be in his fifties, but kept a rather fit physique. The sick grin on his face told Caroline that this was going to be a rather rough night for her.

He motioned for her to come nearer and Caroline willed her body to move knowing that it would be worse to disobey. She'd learned that the hard way. In spite of that though, she found herself taking ridiculously small steps to the dissatisfaction of the man.

In merely 10 seconds he had come to stand in front of the woman that found herself staring into merciless onyx eyes.

"What's wrong, little girl? Don't tell me you're scared." he mocked her.

Despite her strong nature and will to remain strong she found herself cowering in fear. There was something about this person that terrified her. Maybe it was the sadistic smile or the dangerous aura that he gave off, but few people had scared her so badly. At the lack of an answer he spoke again.

"That's fine. I like fear. No, actually I thrive in it" and he licked his lips in anticipation.

In that moment, Caroline took a step back, but her foot connected with the small chair in the room. That's when he menacingly advanced, grabbed her by the hair and pulled her in for a rough kiss. There must have been something in the way he moved his hand up and down her waist and legs that sent Caroline in a frenzy.

All of a sudden, her body decided to fight. Pushing at his much stronger figure turned out to be useless so she scratched him on the cheek deep enough to draw blood. At his crazed look, she knew she'd committed a terrible mistake. Before she could attempt to run he slapped her hard across the cheek, sending her to the ground immediately starting to kick her in the stomach. Caroline felt as if a thousand knives pierced her skin, but refused to give him the satisfaction of screaming so she bit down on her lip feeling the metallic taste of blood filling her mouth,

Many blows later, he threw her to the bed as if she were a rag doll. No matter how much she hated the humiliation she was being subjected to, she was aware that this fight had already been lost. He ripped off her dirty gown and tossed it to the ground. His lips were brutally slamming down on hers. Soon enough he savagely commenced what he'd actually come here for.

Caroline turned her head away, wincing at the ferocity found in his moves. He thrust into her as brutally as he could, but still thoroughly enjoying deviling her. Caroline closed her eyes to keep the tears at bay and was surprisingly successful. Having reached full satisfaction, he stood up and with one last vicious smile put on his clothes and left.

The blue eyed girl was left on the hard mattress, pain radiating from every inch of her abused body. Knowing that she had little time before the guard returned for her, she fought a spell of dizziness and got herself to stand up. Disappointment coursed through her veins at the sight of her shredded gown. She couldn't wear that. Frustrated, she threw it back on the floor no longer able to bottle up her emotions.

Right on cue, the sturdy wooden door opened. Instead of the man that had brought her here, she found herself face to face with the most understanding guard in the entire warehouse. He had been there ever since the first days of her captivity and Caroline was always able to see a shred of compassion and maybe disgust at what he had to do. Sure, he never voiced such things, yet he was always mindful of her wounds and not as brutal as the rest of them.

He remained in the doorstep for a moment taking in the view that had met him. Caroline deduced that she provided a rather pitiful sight. The guard was shocked at seeing the usually calm and collected woman practically break down. Her fragile form was shaking, tears rolling down her face. Her lack of clothes showed just how skinny she really was, her ribs visible and purple bruises already appearing on her torso.

Upon looking at the shredded garment the guard wordlessly exited the room only to return shortly with a new robe in his hand. Hesitantly he took a step in the girl's direction and handed her the gown. He proved Caroline's opinion of him correct when he turned his head slightly to the side in an effort to grant her some privacy. The woman stood up on shaky legs and got dressed, wincing when the fabric touched her wounds.

"I'm done," she declared and he turned towards her gently grabbing her arm to lead her to the cage. Before they could exit the room Caroline found herself softly whispering. "Thank you."

Surprise flashed in the man's eyes, but he covered it quickly and nodded shortly. Unlike the others, he didn't throw her in the cage but waited for her to enter on her own accord before shutting the door. She found herself looking at his retreating figure gratitude shinning in her blue orbs. Lost in her own disturbing thoughts she missed Matthew's gleeful look and the scowl directed at the unknowing guard.

Nightfall came and Caroline was pulled out of her nightmare by the screeching of the metal door. Strong arms forced her to a standing position and just as she was trying to focus her fuzzy mind she saw Julie awaken from her slumber and worriedly look at her. The blonde once again forced her lips into a smile, but she was sure it came out as more of a grimace. Her deepest fears turned into reality when she was thrust into Matthew's personal chamber.

The sight that met her made her blood run cold. Matthew was standing over a fallen figure, a small pool of blood had already formed at his feet and a bloodied knife rested in his hand.

"So nice of you to join us, Caroline. Our friend here was staring to get a little restless, right?" With that he aimed a kick at man and then took a small step to the right so Caroline could finally see who that poor bastard was.

Her heart stopped when she saw the kind guard battered and bleeding from superficial wounds all across his stomach. "Stop," she screamed but it only seemed to infuriate the man who kicked him once again. The sound of bone breaking sickened Caroline. "Please, just stop. Please," she begged.

"Why should I? I took him in. I gave him a job when no one else would. And how does he repay me? By betraying me. By helping the prisoners. Helping you." At the reminder of the man's wrongs Matthew hit him again and again until he was out of breath.

Caroline hated how helpless she was in this situation. She desired to aid the guard, but there was truly nothing she could do to quell Matthew's thirst for vengeance. She just watched with teary eyes as he delivered blow after blow to the young man whose only response were his soft cries of pain. Soon not even that was enough for the sadistic man who crouched in front of him and pressed his knife against his throat.

"Don't do it, Matthew. Don't."

"Oh, Caroline. Kind, generous, selfless Caroline. You really don't see it, do you? You're the main reason why I'm doing this to him," he pressed his knife even more."You," and he slit the guard's throat.

Caroline immediately rushed to the man's side not caring about the consequences that action might bring. She pressed her hands against the wound trying to stop the bleeding but the warm sticky liquid seeped through her palms. Tears blurred her vision and she tried to find something to say to make it better for the man that was gasping for air. Her mind was blank so she just took hold of his hand and squeezed hoping that such a small gesture would be able to convey her emotions. He weakly curled his fingers around hers for a brief moment before his hand went limp and his eyes closed.

"That was so touching," Matthew laughed sarcastically. "Such raw emotion. Better than movies," he exclaimed enthralled by his doings.

Caroline on the other hand was furious. She stood up and strode over to Matthew glaring at him. "You're a monster."

"My dear, you haven't seen nothing yet."

The mocking tone of his voice and the smile that graced his face led to the woman surrendering to her rage. "I hate you," she raised her hand to slap him, but he grabbed her and forcefully twisted her wrist. Her knees buckled yet Caroline refused to give him the satisfaction of showing the extent of her pain. She looked up and gave him one more hateful glance. Upon seeing her lack of response he released her.

"Take her back to her cage. I've no use for her now. Then come back and take care of this trash," he pointed to the dead body. "It's a disgrace to my room."

Caroline was in a daze. She couldn't forget the look in that man's face. He had been pleading her to help him and she'd done nothing. Worse, she'd been the reason why Matthew killed him. She was thrown to the ground, but she couldn't find any strength to stand up. Her clothes were covered in crimson liquid and she felt disgusted. Tears escaped her lips as she replayed the scene over and over again.

"Caroline, what happened? Caroline whose blood is that?" Julie questioned, but no answer came. The blonde continued to weep, not even acknowledging the other woman's presence. "Caroline, just talk to me."

"He," her voice broke as more tears fell," he killed him because of me and I didn't help him."

"Matthew? Who did he kill?" It was in vain though because the girl didn't respond again. She just cried the whole night, mumbling incoherent words rendering Julie a helpless witness to the other girl's breakdown.

2 years ago

Caroline fought to remain conscious while she felt as if her body was on fire. Apparently one of his clients had complained to Matthew that she hadn't been compliant enough. Naturally, Matthew had decided to enforce some kind of punishment upon her.

She tried to drag her body towards the small mattress, but even the small act of lifting her head made her dizzy and nauseous. A large gash on her forehead bled along with many other smaller ones on her hands and stomach. He had been rougher than ever and she attributed that to the fact that his attempts at breaking her hadn't been successful. That in itself was a victory in Caroline's eyes.

"Hey," a smooth voice vaguely reached her."Open your eyes for me."

Julie. She immediately recognized her beacon of hope and sanity and struggled to do as asked. Even that tired her, but she succeeded although the image was a bit fuzzy.

"That's it, Caroline," Julie encouraged as her small hand checked the cut on her head."I'm going to clean it up for you. You're lucky the guard threw you near my cage. That way I can watch over you."

Julie tore off a piece of cloth from her robe, used her water ratio to moisten it and gently dabbed the cuts within her reach. Caroline let out a moan when it reached her forehead and closed her eyes against the searing pain in her body

"This is all I can do," mumbled Julie apologetically." Besides the cuts what other injuries do you have?"

Caroline focused her exhausted mind trying to come up with a coherent answer. "I think he broke a couple of ribs."

Julie sighed, hating to see her strong friend like this."There's nothing I can do if that if true. Just rest, Caroline. I'm here," she reassured.

Caroline nodded thankful for the girl's help, but resenting herself for accepting it. She knew Matthew hated when his slaves fraternized with each other and she shuddered at the thought of what he might do should he learn of their friendship. With that in her mind, she opened her eyes again and tried to move away, ignoring the throbbing of her body.

"Hey," Julie grabbed her hand,"Stop, you'll hurt yourself."

Blue, tired orbs turned to look at her wearily."Not safe for you," she cringed at the weakness of her voice,"Matthew might find out and..." she paused not even wanting to think of that.

"Caroline you're my friend and I want to help you. I'm not going to abandon you because I'm scared."

The resolve in Julie's voice astounded Caroline and even though she still didn't agree with her way of thinking she was too drained to complain anymore. Within seconds she was fast asleep.

A scream ended her slumber. Right in front of her, her worst nightmare was turning into reality. Matthew was inside Julie's cage, grabbing her by the hair and hitting her head on the metal bars.

"No!" Caroline screamed desperately, jumping up all the pain forgotten. Of course her shout only made Matthew hit her with more pleasure. Julie writhed in agony, blood flowing down her face.

"Caroline, you're finally up," he grinned," Your friend and I were getting acquainted. I wonder why you didn't introduce us before."

"Let her go," she seethed staring him straight in the eye without backing down.

"Oh, but I can't do that," he forcefully kissed the amber haired woman," I'll admit she's not you, but she's not bad either," he pulled back and threw her on the ground straddling her. Julie was looking into Caroline's eyes with a mixture of resignation and defeat. None of those thing were acceptable in Julie's case.

"Take me instead," she quickly offered." Take me. If you let her live I won't fight you anymore." That was a promise she intended to keep as long as it kept Julie safe.

"Don't," Julie started to beg, but Matthew slapped her hard.

"Tempting. I admit it is, but I have other ways to break you eventually and none of them include me giving up on my fun." With that he tore Julie's robe.

"You son of a bitch. You'll pay for this. I swear to God you'll pay for this," Caroline screaming while tearing at the bars, tears threatening to spill.

"God? There's no God Caroline. And even if he existed, he's turned his back on you years ago," he smirked.

Minutes later her strength left her and she just clung to the steel watching Matthew thrust into Julie over and over again. The poor girl looked at Caroline and mustered up a reassuring look that broke Caroline's heart. Blood was running down Julie's inner thigh because of the brutality of Matthew, but he went on never ceasing his torture for even a brief second.

Finally, he pulled back at turned at the powerless blonde. He took out a knife and twirled it in his fingers. "What should we do next, Caroline?" He moved the sharp edge along Julie's cheek."How about slitting her throat?"

Caroline's heart skipped a beat as he pressed down his knife enough to draw a thin line of blood. However, she appeared to have lost her voice. "Nah, too plain and we've already done that." Images of the guard flashed before Caroline's eyes, but she pushed them back. "What about the heart?" He stuck his knife into Julie's chest, but once again only enough to draw blood. "This isn't right either." The blade danced on Julie's stomach drawing three more crimson lines as Matthew continued his sick game.

Julie's eyes almost closed and Caroline just wished she'd faint so that the torture would stop. Unfortunately, Matthew had caught that too. "Oh no, are you getting tired? Perhaps it's time we ended this. Any suggestions?"

Caroline clenched her mouth shut well-aware that anything she said would be used against Julie. She just prayed to the skies above that he's grant Julie a quick death. Of course, nothing went as she wished as Matthew plunged the knife into Julie's abdomen. It was a deep wound, but it had most likely avoided any vital organs. That meant that Julie was sentenced to bleed to death. Matthew kicked her towards Caroline.

"I'll even allow you to say goodbye. Maybe you'll make this even more emotional than your other friend's parting. She will certainly last longer," he roared like a maniac.

Caroline ignored him, sliding to the ground and meeting pained emerald slits. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Julie. I should have stayed away from you."

A soft, raspy voice whispered through pained breaths," Not your fault. I don't regret it." Julie gazed at Caroline with such resolve before speaking with new found strength."Keep fighting. What happened to me is not on you," she drew in a long gulp of air," You can survive this. You're stronger than anyone I know. Promise me you'll fight."

"I swear, Julie," Caroline declared as a lone tear ran down her face. One final nod and Julie was gone.

"You two certainly don't disappoint, my pet. From now on you'll obey when I say no friendships or you know what happens."

Once he was gone, Caroline retreated to the furthest corner of her cage. Her body which was now lacking the adrenaline was starting to complain and she couldn't stand to see Julie's corpse. This death was as much on her as on Matthew. The blood caking her robe was a painful reminder of what had transpired. She couldn't blink without seeing Julie and it tore her down. She wanted nothing more than to break down. To shut herself off and lock her mind away, in a safe place. To turn off all emotions sounded so appealing.

I Swear.

Just as she considered that possibility those words came back to her. She couldn't ignore a promise made to Julie. She wouldn't be able to bear that guilt as well. She had enough on her plate with the fact that she'd gotten Julie killed. Guilt was taking over her and she was unable to fight it. She knew deserved her torment.