Skin Trade by Tonia Brown & Stephanie Gianopoulos & Philip Rogers

Author:Tonia Brown & Stephanie Gianopoulos & Philip Rogers [Brown, Tonia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Horror, Lang:en
Published: 2012-04-13T06:13:51+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

I awoke in a bed.

Not a cold wooden cot or a lumpy bedroll on the ground. An honest-to-goodness goosedown-stuffed mattress complete with a set of fresh sheets and a warm flannel blanket. At first I supposed I must’ve died and made it into heaven, for I was sure a clean, comfortable, warm bed was exactly what heaven would be like. But no, I could just make out a flickering fireplace, a small cooking stove and other signs of day-to-day living in the small room about me.

“Hello?” I croaked.

“You’re finally awake,” Mr. Theo said from somewhere in the shadows. A lamp flared to life, bringing him into a soft focus where he sat on a stool at the edge of the bed. “Welcome back to the land of the living. How are you?”

“Thirsty,” I whispered.

“Of course you are.” Mr. Theo helped me into a sitting position and lifted a cup to my lips. “Here’s some water. Don’t drink too much, though. Too much too soon will just make you sick.”

I sipped a small amount, licking my now-moistened lips with a satisfied smack. “Thank you. Where are we?”

“My home.”

“What happened?”

“I’m not completely sure.” He sat back, crossed his arms and cocked his head at me before he spoke again. “If I had to guess, I would say you’ve bloomed into womanhood.”

I winced at the news. Of course. It all made sense now. The cramping. The bleeding. How could I be so stupid? I’d learned all the signs and symptoms of the female cycle, but had long since given up hope that such things were meant for me.

“You can imagine my surprise,” Mr. Theo said. “One minute you’re a lad, and the next you’re … well …”

“I’m a girl.” It felt odd to say it aloud after avoiding it for so long.

“How are you feeling?”

“Embarrassed.”

“I meant physically. You know. Below the belt and such.”

Patting my lower stomach, I nodded. “Fine. I think I’m fine. Just weak.”

“That’s no surprise. You bled a lot.”

Speaking of blood, there wasn’t any to be found. Someone cleaned me, changed me out of those dirty clothes, and carried me all the way here while I was passed out. A multitude of questions leapt to my tongue at once. “What happened? How did we get here? Did you-”

“Hush now,” Mr. Theo said over my rambling.

I went silent.

“I know you’re mighty curious as to what happened,” he said. “But first you’re gonna answer a few questions for me. And you’re going to tell me the truth. All of it. Understand?”

“Yes, sir,” I said.

“Let’s start with the basics.” He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees and grasping his hands together in an attitude of prayer as he questioned me. “What’s your name?”

“Samantha Martin.”

“Cute. Samuel. Samantha. That must’ve made things easy for you.”

I shrugged.

“So, Samantha, why lie to me about this? Why not tell me the truth from the beginning?”

“Because I was afraid if you knew the truth you wouldn’t take me with you.”

“You’re damned right I wouldn’t have!” Mr. Theo jumped up from his stool and began pacing the floor.

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