Trafficked -- Beaten -- Trapped
When eighteen-year-old Stacy Degray sets off to visit Felipe, a charming guy she met on the internet, she has no idea that she is being lured to his home country Malaguay to be auctioned off as a soldier's bride. All...
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An annoying beep creeps into my fuzzy consciousness, prompting me to feel around the nightstand to find the alarm clock. A thousand sharp daggers stab at various parts of my body all at once and I cry out. When something clinks as if dropped to the floor, a hand catches my wrist and forces my arm back on the bed.
"Lie still, baby." Though Miguel's voice is soft and gentle, it still manages to send a shiver to the depth of my bones.
I force my eyes open. Bright fluorescent light blinds me as pain floods my brain. Nausea seethes in my throat. My eyes squeeze shut again with a whimper. When my muscles spasm, I scream, my throat raw and scratchy.
"Doctor, she needs more medicine."
Cool fingers clutch my wrist to take my pulse. "She just had a dose thirty minutes ago. Impossible to give her more."
"But she's in so much pain." Miguel's words overflow with despair. Despite what happened between us, I'm touched by his worry.
"I'm sorry, Commandante, but I can't give her anything for at least two hours."
A door opens and closes, making my head pound harder.
"Stacy, can you hear me?" Miguel's warm breath brushes against my cheek.
The yes is more like a croak.
He strokes my palm. "Do you remember who attacked you?"
I open my mouth to form words, but even this proves an impossible task. "Rebels," is the only thing I manage to whisper.
"We thought so. Oh, Stacy, I'm so sorry this happened. Oscar should've never let you wander off by yourself."
I try to tell him that it wasn't Oscar's fault, but only hot air leaves my mouth.
"Don't talk."
Silence follows. I want the darkness to return, but the beeping of the monitor startles me every time I drift off to sleep. The constant throbbing intensifies with each twitching muscle and the harsh pain is overpowering.
When I cough, my scream vibrates in my ears. I sink deeper into the pillows, wondering if any part of my body was spared from the woman's fists. Miguel's mumbling voice distracts me for a while as he talks to someone on the phone in Spanish.
After what seems an eternity, the door opens again. I want it to be the doctor with a new dose of pain medicine, but Tomás's voice blasts my hopes. Something cool wipes the crook of my elbow.
"I'm going to give you an injection," Miguel says. "Hold still."
I can't even protest before the tip of a needle pierces my skin. Blood rushes in my ears and the noises around me become surreal as I drift into a land without pain.
~~~~
The pattern continues and I lose track of time. The few times I manage to open my eyes, the bright light makes it impossible to distinguish day from night. Miguel is glued to my bedside, cooing around me and supplying me with the magical injections that ease my agony by giving me a temporary buzz.
