Jason Eggers - Innocents for sale

She lay there on the bunk, too sore to move, for what seemed an eternity when she heard heavy footsteps coming down the ladder. She looked up and her eyes met the cold, staring eyes of the man who had placed the original bid on her at the auction.

"Well, well, you put on quite a show last night. You're a very good shag if you don't mind my saying so!" he leered at her.

All she could do was to stare blankly at him and wonder what he was going to do next.

"Don't worry," he continued, "I'm not going to touch you. You need your rest to be in top shape for your new job."

"W-Where… Where are you taking me," she finally had the courage to ask.

"Another island in the Bahamas, Grand Bahama," he answered coldly. "I think you'll like your new job even better than the last one… it's more specialized!"

She wasn't sure what.he meant, but she didn’t even want to know, because nothing could be any worse than what she had already been forced to endure.

"We will be there by late afternoon, so why don't you rest. A crew member will be down with your lunch in about a half an hour, so relax and try to enjoy the trip," he added, and then left her alone once more.

She lay back and stared at the roof of the cabin, too exhausted to even get up to look through the port hole and view the scenery, if there was any.

In a short time she heard more footsteps coming down the ladder, but this time they were hesitant and they stopped just outside her door and she heard a gentle knock.

"Are you awake?" a voice asked softly.

"Yes… yes… come in," she answered falteringly.

She opened her eyes slowly and stared at the handsome young man who was standing just above her, holding a tray with her lunch.

"I've brought you something to eat… that is, if you're hungry," he said.

His eyes were a bright blue, sparkling with life and a gentle glow as he looked down at her. "I understand you had quite a rough time of it last night," he continued as he placed the tray next to her. "I'm sorry."

"That seems unlikely coming from someone who works for…" she stopped, realizing that she didn't even know her new boss's name.

"Mr. Carl," he volunteered. "My name is David, David Warren, and I don't like this any better than you do, but that again is a long story and I won't bore you with it." He turned and started to go, when she spoke.

"No, don't go. I'm sorry I was so rude, but try to understand that I just don't know what's happening anymore and I'm so confused," she went on.

"That's quite all right; it's just that it makes me sick every time I have to run one of his slave errands for him. The girls are always so young, but somehow you don't seem to be as hardened as the rest of them."

"Well," she continued, "I was just coerced into this about three weeks ago, and I still can't believe what's happened to me since then," and her eyes began to fill with tears again.

She choked on a sob, trying to stifle her hurt and fright when he came over to her and put his arm around her so that she could bury her head in his shoulder and have a good cry.

It was so comforting to have someone gentle hold her that she almost forgot where she was going and what they had turned her into. She cried for about fifteen minutes before she could regain her composure. When she finally dried her eyes, he said, "Wait here, I'll get my lunch and we can talk while we eat. Mr. Carl is busy with one of the other girls and he'll never know. That is," he added, "if you don't mind."

"Oh, David," she said, "I'd love to have someone kind to talk to again, it's been so long since I've felt that I could say anything or tell anyone just how I felt. Please hurry back."

He left her for just a few minutes and returned with another tray and a bottle of chilled white wine.

"Maybe this will help you relax," he said smiling and holding up the bottle of Rhine wine, as he sat down on the bunk next to her. "I stole it from the galley."

"Is there anyway that I can ever get away from here," she asked hesitantly, for she wasn't really sure that he may just be sounding her out for the boss.

"It's not easy," he answered, "One of the girls that was here before did manage to get off the island, but she met with an unfortunate accident in Miami, so I wouldn't try it right away. If you wait for a few weeks maybe I can think of a way to get you out, perhaps the next time I make a run for the old man we can stow you away."

"Do you mean you would really help me," she asked, about to burst into tears again.

He put his arm gently around her shoulders and hugged her close.

"Yes, you're different from the other girls. The other ones thought that if they propositioned me I would help them, but you're not like that, you're not meant for this kind of life, you're sweet and good, I can tell, of course I'll try to help you, but we must be careful. If the boss ever found out that I had said what I did, we'd both be in big trouble." He released her and kissed her gently on the cheek.

"Now, eat your lunch and have a glass of wine, it's good for your nerves," he said, trying to sound light and encouraging.

She ate her lunch of crab and conch salad in silence, downing it with several glasses of the cold dry, wine, glancing at this young man's handsome, kind face from time to time.

He turned so that his eyes met hers, calm and friendly and she could feel a shock of electricity shoot through her body. She wanted him to hold her, comfort her, but how could she tell him that she just wanted to feel his strong arms holding her, reassuring her and that she knew that she could love him, but she had been so hurt that she knew it would sound like a bribe and phony. So she just looked deep into his eyes and let her hand rest lightly on top of his and told him, "I do trust you, please don't let me down, I don't think I could take another disappointment… not now."

"I think we're both Saturday's children," he added. "We've a long way to go, and I'd like to travel that way with you, but we must be patient. For a little while, anyway."

She gathered strength from his calm, sure voice and she knew that he did mean it. He was a sensitive man, handsome, about twenty-nine or thirty with the clearest, bright blue eyes she had ever seen.

When they finished their lunch, he got up and said, "I'd better get back topside before anyone misses me, but I'll be back and once we land I'll be around the club every day to see you. Mr. Carl usually has something for me to do anyway so it won't look obvious, but we must play it safe." He continued, "I'd like to take you in my arms right now, hold you and promise you that we can both get out of this, but that will have to wait, I don't want to rush you or skyrocket your hopes prematurely." He kissed her softly, but firmly on the lips and mussed her hair with his hands, then left.

She sank back onto the bunk, most of the nervousness had left her body and once again she held a thread of hope that soon, somehow she would break loose from the "corporation" and be able to return to a normal, happy life. Her experiences would leave some scars, but with a young man such as David who knew the whole story and still could care for her, the future would not be so grim. Jim obviously hadn't cared enough or he would have done something by now. And right now, it had to be someone who really cared.

Within a few hours the boat slowed and made its way into the port at Grand Bahama Island and the girls were escorted ashore and taken the short ride to the club. When they arrived they were taken to separate cabins that surrounded the main club, and were told to unpack and get ready for a meeting in an hour.

Candace threw her bags on the ominous looking king-sized bed that took up most of the space in the room and heard herself saying out loud, "Oh David, what is going to happen. I wish you were here to help me." She felt the urge to cry again when she heard a soft, almost inaudible knock on her door.