Legal: I own nothing but the idea.

WARNING! This is a dark fic about human trafficking! Possible trigger warnings! This story deals with human trafficking including abuse, rape, forced prostitution, kidnapping and false imprisonment. In no way do I condone any of these things.

Please read with caution, if you do not like dark subject matter or intense fics, if you cannot read the intense parts of Ghosts of Who We Were then this fic is not for you and you should not read it!

This fic starts right after Ray of Light.

Ch.1 I Was the Last thing You Ever Wanted

(CLARE)

Making it through today wasn't easy, after watching Eli run through the school naked yesterday and say some very hurtful things this morning I was practically in tears all day. Alli, Jenna and Adam supported me and helped me get through the day but I left on my spare period. Now I was home in my room, I made a play list of sad songs and put it on as I opened my laptop. I needed to get out what I was feeling, everything I was feeling and the best way to do that for me is to write. So I just start writing, I write about dating someone that's bipolar, about watching them take drugs and run though the school hugging the principal naked. Most of all I write about the pain of the breakup, how it hurts to think that someone is all in and then break down without even being able to talk to you. I write for hours, I don't stop to eat or barely get up to use the washroom. When I'm done I put it out on a public blog site under a pseudonym and then I fall into bed falling asleep.

I sleep all through the night and wake up while not exactly happy I feel a sense of relief. Writing last night and getting everything off my chest was therapeutic. It's early but I'd rather not face my family right now and have my mom tell me she knew Eli was no good for me. I didn't want Jake's fake pity or Glen trying to find the balance between supportive and too involved for his comfort. I got dressed and left for school, which wasn't open yet so I go to The Dot and order some breakfast, I eat while checking my e-mail on my phone. I have one from Adam, one from Jenna, and one from Alli checking in and making sure I was okay. Some ads and spam, a couple newsletters I subscribe to and one from an address I don't recognize. It's a response to my blog though so I open it, the man says he's a publisher and he really liked my article, he encourages me to write more. He thinks I could even turn my experiences into a book. I'm excited but not stupid, I know better than to trust the word of a random guy online, especially after what happened to Darcy, so I look him up by searching the name on the e-mail.

Typing Charles Thomas Walker yields me hundreds of results so I narrow them by putting in Vancouver where he says he works. Hundreds gets narrowed down to about a dozen, he has a few news articles about him including a couple of business magazine articles and a Wikipedia page. He's a publisher at a small time publishing company in Vancouver, his company publishes a lot of independent and small time authors and a couple literature and art magazines. After researching the guy for over an hour I decide he's legitimate and write back with excitement that his help would be appreciated and I'd love to turn it all into a book. It's almost time for school now so I put away my phone and rush to school but I'm happy and really excited.

"You look much happier than I was expecting," Adam comments when I rush into class and sit at my desk.

"I wrote this blog all about me and Eli and dating someone who was bipolar, I put it on a site and a publisher contacted me this morning. He liked it and he wants me to write more, he thinks I can turn it into a book," I inform Adam with a grin.

"Clare," Adam admonishes with a disapproving look.

"Don't Clare me I'm not stupid I researched the guy Adam, I spent an hour looking him up online it's all legit," I assure Adam.

"I'm double checking at lunch," Adam says.

"Fine but I'm telling you he's the real deal," I reply while Miss Dawes calls the class to attention.

When morning classes are over Adam and I go to the resource center for lunch. I show him the e-mail and everything I found online, Adam spends all of lunch reading everything I did, he even traces the e-mail and calls the company asking the secretary questions about Mr. Walker.

"Okay he's real and I'm happy for you," Adam says when he's done.

"Thanks Adam," I smile and kiss his cheek. "Don't tell anyone okay? I just don't want to have people thinking I'm going to publish a book or even have a short series in a magazine until it happens. After getting so excited about my article with Asher I just want to be cautious," I tell Adam.

"Cautious is good and I won't say anything," he smiles.

For the next two weeks while Eli distracts himself with his movie and Adam spends all his free time with Becky I throw myself into writing. With help from Charles I start to compile my entire relationship with Eli into a book, based on fact but I changed our names. I spend every spare minute writing and exchanging E-mails with Charles. I nearly forget about the fact that I was going to run for student council president and it doesn't even bother me that Drew is running. Okay so our first day of debates was irritating and I ignore the fact that he's Adam's brother and called him a few rude things. I come home after debates to find a new e-mail from Charles.

Clare I had to come to Toronto for business I thought we might meet for dinner tonight and discuss your book. I was thinking Origin at six, text me if you can make it; I have to fly back to Vancouver in the morning.

He includes his phone number and I'm about to text him back when I receive a text from Adam.

Adam Torres: I'm trying to stay out of it but Drew is hosting a party at our house to get votes.

Clare: I'll try to swing by and yell at him but I have other plans.

Adam Torres: I'm taking Becky out so I won't be home just don't yell at him too much.

I text Charles back that I'll be there, put my phone on my desk and go into the washroom to shower, I'm sure a party at the Torres house, even on a school night, will go until ten or elven, so I'll go to dinner first. I change into something business professional and take the truck, Jake is in his room listening to music but he knows if the truck is gone I have it. I drive downtown and park at Origin just as I'm getting out of the truck I get a text from Charles that Origin is totally booked and he's made reservations down the street at Mirto. I start walking in that direction while texting him back that I'll be there, I'm walking past an alley when without warning I'm grabbed! I try to scream but my mouth is covered and I feel a prick on my arm, I'm injected with something, I feel dizzy, heavy and then it all goes black…

(ADAM)

"Hey Adam have you seen Clare this morning?" Jake asks coming over to me while I stash books in my locker.

"No why?" I question.

"She took the truck last night but never came home, her mom doesn't know yet I told Helen Clare left early," Jake tells me.

"Clare said she might go to the party Drew was throwing last night at our place to garner votes for himself. He may have said something without thinking and upset her," I reply.

"Awesome, no offense but your brother can be a real jerk sometimes," Jake remarks.

"Yeah I know," I sigh. I love my brother and he's a great brother but he often talks or acts before he thinks, he feels badly about it instantly but he gets into trouble that way all the time. I start walking to find my brother and Jake follows me, Drew is with Dallas, Owen and Bianca in the hallway. "Drew what did you say to Clare?!" I snap at him cutting Owen off mid-sentence and they all look at me.

"What are you talking about?" Drew questions slowly with his eyebrows furrowed together.

"Last night at the party when she came to yell at you what di…"

"Adam," Dallas cuts me off, "Clare never showed up at the party."

Jake and I exchange a worried look, if my brother didn't upset her then where is she?

"Did she tell you where she was going last night?" I ask Jake.

"Clare doesn't really tell me anything anymore, I'm going to call her dad maybe she slept there," Jake says taking out his phone.

"Have either of you tried calling her cell?" Bianca questions.

"Yes Bianca that was the first thing I did when I saw the truck was gone this morning and her bed hadn't been slept in," Jake responds curtly as he scrolls through his numbers to find her dad's. "Clare's phone went straight to voicemail it's off," Jake tells us before speaking into his phone.

"If the battery's still in I can track it," I comment getting my laptop out of my backpack.

"Her dad hasn't seen or heard from her in months, he was no help at all," Jake says putting his phone in his pocket.

"Her phone's not traceable, either she's somewhere beyond cell signal or the battery has been taken out," I tell Jake and close my laptop again. "I'll check with Eli, it's unlikely but possible that he wanted to talk and they met up," I remark.

"I'll check with Alli and Jenna see if they…" Jake is saying when his phone rings and he scrunches his face at the number. "Hello…yes…where was it…okay," Jake says hanging up and looking at me but he's gone kind of pale.

"The truck was impounded, left in a lot downtown overnight, Adam…" Jake stops talking but I know what he's going to say.

"You want a lift downtown to get your truck? We can look for Clare," Owen offers Jake and he just kind of nods.

"Let me know if you find anything," I request and Jake nods again.

"I'll call Helen and my dad on the way," Jake tells me.

"Adam we'd better go tell Mr. S," Bianca points out.

"Yeah," I nod but my heart has sunk, my chest is tight and there's a pit in my stomach the size of the Grand Canyon, something has happened to Clare, something bad and I fear that I may never see her again. My brother and Bianca come with me to Simpson's office, although I'm fairly certain they're here for my support more than anything else because they really don't know Clare. We walk straight past the secretary and barge into Simpson's office. He's on the phone and looks at us, slightly angry but also curious.

"I'll call you back," Simpson says hanging up the phone. "What is it Adam?" Simpson asks.

"Clare's missing Sir, her phone can't be traced, she took Jake's truck and it got impounded because it was left in a lot overnight. Jake is calling Helen and Owen is taking him to get his truck and look for Clare but n…"

"Adam slow down," Simpson cuts me off and presses his intercom button. "Victoria get me Officer Turner on the phone and Helen Martin," Simpson tells his secretary.

I tell Simpson everything I know, which isn't much only that Clare said she had plans and might drop by the party to yell at Drew. Then Jake showed up this morning saying the truck was still gone and Clare hadn't been home. Jake calls to tell us that he got the truck but they don't see Clare anywhere, Helen calls in a panic and then Dave's dad arrives with a couple detectives. Drew and Bianca are excused to class while I stay in Simpson's office to speak with Officer Turner and the detectives.

"Has Clare been depressed lately?" Officer Turner asks me.

"No, she'd been happy and talking about the future. I haven't spent a whole lot of time with her lately, it's just I've been busy with Becky a…"

"It's okay Adam you're not under suspicion we're trying to find out about Clare's life recently to find out where she may have gone or who might have taken her," Officer Turner tells me.

"Taken?" I say slowly, I knew it was a possibility in the back of my mind but hearing it said out loud sends a shiver down my spine and I feel ill.

"Was there anyone new in Clare's life recently?" One of the detectives asks me.

"No, no one new, Clare hasn't been out much she's been writing f…wait," the realization hits me like a ton of bricks, "Charles…something, Charles Walker. He was a publisher; he contacted Clare and said he was going to help her write a book. I was worried about the guy but she said she'd done research she even showed me what she found. I looked at everything, I even called the company and spoke to his secretary everything looked legit."

"We'll want to check him out anyway, you said Charles Walker?" Officer Turner inquires.

"Yeah, I'll show you," I nod getting out my laptop while the detective writes something down in his notepad.

I search for Charles Walker again and get way too many results but none of the pages I remember seeing before. I search for Charles Walker publisher and nothing comes up. I remember that his full name was Charles Thomas Walker, I type that in and get several results but none are the ones I'm looking for, none of them are the publisher or the pages I remember seeing. I try a dozen searches but everything I saw before, every page I saw on the guy is totally gone, the company website, the articles, blogs all of it is gone.

"It's gone…it's all gone, there were a dozen pages, a company website I saw them all and now they're gone," I tell them in a fast voice as my fear turns to panic! I get out my phone scrolling through my phone log, back to the Tuesday morning before last and find the number I called that was supposed to be this guy's office. I call it again but the number's been disconnected. "She's gone, I checked him out, I called his office he seemed legit but it's all gone and so is she," I rant as tears crowd into my eyes and burst out, I put my arms on Simpson's desk and my head on my arms.

"Did you just try his office again?" Officer Turner asks me and I nod. Someone takes my phone to get the number and then sets my phone down by me.

"We'll need to talk to Clare's other friends, we already have officers at her house and we'll take her laptop as evidence," says a detective.

"We'll coordinate a search and they're putting up an amber alert," the other detective tells Simpson.

"We'll help in any way we can, what about the kids? What do I tell them? Should I tell them?" Principal Simpson questions the officers.

"It's best if you call an assembly and tell the school all at once. Otherwise they'll find out through the media, control the assembly tell them they can help with the search it will make them feel like they're helping and not powerless. We'll be at the assembly and tell anyone that might have information to speak with us."

"Adam I can call your mom so she can take you home," Simpson offers.

"No I want to go to Clare's house, I can help, I need to find her," I say resolutely as I look up and Simpson nods.

"I'll take you over Adam, I'm sure her family would be happy for the help," Officer Turner offers.

I nod and start putting my laptop in my backpack again while Simpson stands up and walks out to the secretary's desk. Next I hear the tone that means the school wide intercom has come on.

"Attention DeGrassi students and staff please report to the auditorium for an emergency assembly."

"Sir," I speak up when he's turned off the intercom, "we better tell Eli alone."

Simpson nods and turns the intercom back on, "Eli Goldsworthy come to my office."

I hear students walking and filing out of their classrooms; I grab my stuff and wait by the front doors until I see Eli.

"Eli," I call to him and he stops.

"Simpson wants to see me, what's the assembly about?" Eli asks.

"It's about Clare," I inform him and Eli freezes going a little pale, "she's missing Eli, she was kidnapped!"

(CLARE)

It's dark, it's cold and dark. For a brief moment I think I'm dead it's the feeling of pain that tells me I'm not dead however. I'm on a bed, it's not very comfortable and sort of dirty but that's not why I'm in pain. My ankles are tied by ropes, my eyes begin to open and adjust to the dim lighting in the room. All I see are gray walls and a small lamp on the floor. The ropes used to tie my ankles are tied to chains that are suspended from the ceiling. I'm still groggy, my mind in a fog but I realize not only am I naked but I've been raped! I feel it now, the searing pain down there, the overwhelming soreness in my hips and groin. I've never ever had sex or really done anything but make out but I know that's what I'm feeling because I just know.

My groggy fog starts to fade, I remember now, going to meet Charles and then getting grabbed. He was fake, it was a trap, after all the research I did and Adam did it was still a trap and I fell right into it! I realize I will probably never see my family or friends again, I don't panic but instead sink into despair, my heart gets tight and then feels like it stops and sinks. A giant pit forms in my stomach and then becomes heavy and ties in knots. I become simply overwhelmed with a completely hopeless feeling. I'm not crying, it's like I can't, I close my eyes once more and wish desperately that I could see my family and friends again. Then I hear footsteps, heavy footsteps of a large man and I open my eyes. I try to sit up and move the urge to try and flee kicks in but it's now that I realize my hands are also restrained. I have leather straps on my wrists and they're bound to the bed somehow.

"Good morning Cinnamon."

I look up to see my captor, he's large not fat just big and muscular, like Owen only bigger. His dark dirty blonde hair is cropped short; he has dark eyes and a darker expression. He's smiling but it's the most sadistically dark smile I've ever seen. He's dressed in jeans and black t-shirt, has a thick neck and stubble on his chin, his chin is square and his high cheek bones are prominent. If he didn't look so grossly and maliciously evil he would be attractive. He looks pleased but in such a creepy way it sends a shiver up my spine and just being in his presence makes me sick.

"That's your name now, Cinnamon like the color of your hair," he tells me. His voice is gravely and husky. "Now that you're awake let's really initiate you, it's a lot more fun when you're awake. Of course some people," he comments walking to the bed and beginning to take down his pants, "pay to have you totally unconscious so they can fuck you and just have you lie there. And other's well they like to hear you in pain."

He has his pants and boxers down a little and he crawls under my leg getting on his knees between my legs. He's holding himself and gets out a condom, putting it on which I suppose is comforting in a way but I don't feel any solace in this. It only reinforces that I'm a prisoner, my life is now about being a sex slave. His hand presses into the mattress at my side as he leans forward ready to rape me!

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" I scream and spit at him.

He looks angry for a second and then almost amused, "You know I had a feeling you were a fighter. Two weeks of constant correspondence I knew you were a fighter." He says all this while grinning and then punches me right at the temple, I get dizzy and before I can recover he backhands me, I bite the inside of my lip and taste blood. "That will be the first thing we take from you, well I guess the second, don't get virgins too often anymore," he remarks and then shoves himself into me, penetrating with a brutal force and I scream! It burns like being impaled on a red hot metal spear. He starts to pull out and I let out a breath, the tears come now, streaming from the corners of my eyes, down my cheeks. "We'll fuck it out of you," he tells me and pushes in again causing me to scream again, "or we'll be it out of you," he says pulling out again and I take the breath while I can, "but you will stop fighting."

"LET ME GO!" I scream as he pushes in again.

"You're a mouthy one, lets shut you up," he says stopping for a moment and reaching to the side he gets a ball gag. I shake my head but he manages to get the gag on. I start choking, the ball in my mouth forcing me to salivate.

While my captor, or one of them anyway as he kept saying we so I know there's more than one, finishes his assault all I can do is make strangled cries of pain into the gag. It feels like it lasts forever and all I feel is pain. At first I try to think of my family and friends, holding out any hope that I'll see them again but it makes things worse. So I stop and just try to disappear and it starts to work. My mind takes me away, it's like I'm floating outside of my body, distancing myself from the pain and the shame until it finally stops.

(FITZ)

I hear a new girl screaming; I know it's a new girl because only the new ones scream and only girls have that much of a high pitch. You can hear everything down here, the cement only blocks out things above and around but in this part of our latest dungeon you can hear everything. There were fifteen of us but two months ago one of the guys was killed, beaten to death on a job. Then a few weeks after that one of the girls tried to get away and they killed her, a second girl got sick real bad, caught a virus and they killed her to keep her from getting us sick, killing is how they deal with problems. When we got down to twelve I knew they'd start looking for new people, fresh meat to train and break like they were doing right now to the new girl.

After a year of this life hearing those sounds doesn't even make me sick anymore. It's like when I used to hear the birds in the morning or even my parents yelling, it's all just noise now. I lean back against the pillow sinking down so my head doesn't hit the cement wall. I'm trusted because I'm a veteran now; I've been with this group the whole time because I learned fast. I get certain privileges because they trust me. Not like the privileges make this life good or even bearable but they make it so it's not entirely horrendous. Things like I get a pillow, a larger cell and an actual bed, not just a mattress on the floor. I even get books, I read a lot, it kills time between jobs. Jobs is the nice way of saying they sold me to someone for an hour or two, sometimes a whole night but those are rare.

The sounds of the squeaking bedsprings and muffled screaming finally stop, they're done with her but only for now. I hear the sounds of a struggle, the girl thinks she can get away; she still has hope, that will fade fast. Then I hear the sound of her getting hit hard and Vollstrecker is angry. It's not his real name, it's some code name, they all have them, I think it's German. Most of the people running this ring seem to be from Europe, I've seen a lot of the merchandise, that would be kids like me, get traded to another ring in another country usually European but I've seen Asian guys and even some from South Africa.

The door to the breaking room opens and Vollstrecker comes out carrying an unconscious girl. She's probably been drugged again but he beat her too, she's naked of course, clothes are earned around here it's another way for them to break you and strip away your dignity. I don't pay much attention until something catches my eye, medium brown ringlet curls and an abstinence ring on her finger.

"No no no no no no no! Please not her, anyone but her! Not that I would ever wish such a life on any other person but Clare!? This life will kill her, she can't survive this, it will take everything from her. No not Clare! Why? How can that be Clare!"

My heart starts to pound just at the sight of her, for the first time in months I panic. I haven't felt this kind of panic since I woke up in the breaking room. Of course that was a different dungeon, we were in Calgary then, we're outside of Montreal now, we move every few months, before local law enforcement catches on. I remember the fear I felt waking up in that room, how hard the first days were, how so much of me was broken in so many ways. The fact that Clare is here is heartbreaking, I would give anything for her not to have this life.

Konigin comes from her office, she's the head of this ring and it's another code name. She's in her early thirties and has a thick European accent. She looks at Clare and smiles, saying something in a low voice in German to Vollstrecker.

"She's a fighter," Vollstrecker tells Konigin.

"She was a virgin too, put her in the hole, a few days of getting raped in the dark should take the fight out of her," Konigin tells him.

"No wait," I call getting up from the bed and running to the bars on my cell.

"You have something to say Cross?" Konigin questions strolling over to me, my hands grip the bars and she runs her fingers over my knuckles.

"Put her in with me, I know her I can help her, teach how it works here. She won't stop fighting, she's stubborn put her in with me I can keep her from fighting," I insist but I don't plead or beg because they won't respond to that they think pleading is funny and a sign of weakness.

Konigin smiles taking her keys off her belt and opens the cell door, "She's your responsibility, you teach her, you train her, if she fights again then you will be punished for not doing your part as a trainer and she will be punished for not listening."

"I understand," I nod as Vollstrecker carries Clare in and puts her on my bed.

I go to the bed and they lock me in the cell again. Sitting on the bed next to Clare I cover her with my blanket, checking her eyes I know she's drugged. It'll be hours before she wakes up so I get in the bed with her and hold her, watching her sleep and hoping she's at peace, because drugged sleep is the only peace she'll have for a long time. After several hours Clare starts to stir, I stroke her arm gently and brush a curl from her face, Clare's eyes open, she looks at me and I see the recognition in her eyes.

"Fitz?" She questions in a weak voice.

"Yeah it's me, I'm sorry you're here, I would give anything for you not to be here," I tell her.

She looks at me, her eyes blinking under the lights so I shade her eyes with my hand. I see the tears flooding her eyes; her body starts to shake as her tears break free. She reaches out and I take her hand in mine, she grips tightly, holding me as her lifeline. She cries a couple of minutes and then it slows, her eyes opening again and locking onto mine.

"Fitz how did you get here?"

Update Thursday October 30th from right here with Fitz telling Clare how he got there and the search for Clare continues.