Array Ashley - Murderville

“It’s a shame this big ol’ dick was wasted on you bitch,” Liberty joked as she stood to her feet.

Trixie stuck up her middle finger and exhaled as she finally was able to breathe. “Girl, please… ain’t nothing going to waste over here. I be dicking these niggas down. They might not know what they are getting when they stop, but I’ve never had one man kick me out once they reach down there and find out what’s between my legs. These down-low ass men are curious as hell. Shit, I get the occasional housewife too.”

Liberty shook her head and tried to keep the disgust from showing on her face. Trixie was so feminine and beautiful that no one would ever guess that she was a transsexual. After years of being forced to live her life as a woman, Trixie now embraced it. “If I have to be a bitch, I’mma be the baddest bitch that has ever done it,” she said.

“I’m just so sick of this. Every day it’s the same thing… same bullshit… different men. I haven’t figured out how yet, but the first chance I get, I’m leaving. I’m running as far as my feet will carry me,” Liberty said honestly.

“That’s what your little stash is for?” Trixie asked.

Liberty looked at Trixie in surprise as her brow lowered instantly. “How do you know about that?” she asked.

“Girl, please… Juan done sampled a little bit of this too,” Trixie said.

“Juan?” Liberty shot back in disbelief.

“Juan, bitch,” Trixie confirmed. “I told you these men be out here loving them some Ms. Trixie, baby!” She smiled and took a long drag of her cigarette before she continued. “He knows you keep some paper put up in his bathroom, and he mentioned it to me one night when we were hooking up. You know how that pillow talk shit goes,” Trixie stated as she tapped the ashes that had accumulated on the tip of her cigarette, sending them flying into the sky. She noticed Liberty’s disposition had gone sour, and she waved her hand dismissively. “Fix your face, mami. I didn’t tell anyone else about it. Your secret is safe with me, Lib. You’re my girl. It’s not like you’re stacking big paper, babes. Just a little nest egg in case you’re able to break free. I respect it. You can trust me. I wouldn’t play you like that. You’re my bitch, Liberty… honestly, when you go I’m going with you. I wouldn’t last a day without you out here with me. You keep me sane bitch!” Trixie stated.

Before Liberty could respond one of the ‘shepherds’ pulled up and all of the ‘sheep’ made their way to the van. The men who ran the operation were anonymous. It was a system of sexual enslavement that was run with such precision that they could never be caught. Even if one of the girls managed to escape she would never be able to name her captors. Every worker was referred to as shepherd and the working girls were the flock. After they were loaded into the back of the windowless freight van, they rode dismally back to the warehouse.

Once the girls arrived they were lined up one-by-one and the profit from the night’s activities was quickly collected by the shepherds. Liberty stood unflinchingly next to Trixie. They had become accustomed to the routine. Liberty was still feeling the effects of her high and wanted nothing more than to be escorted to her cot so that she could fall into a comfortable sleep. Her lazy neck caused her head to wobble loosely as she fought the nod she was falling into. Trixie held onto her gently, discreetly giving her a shoulder to lean on. Liberty could feel herself drooling as her mouth fell open, but nothing could stop the drowsy haze she was stuck in.

As the shepherd made his way down the line he stopped at the young girl who stood to Liberty’s left, causing her to straighten her back in attention and force her eyes to stay open.

The girl timidly handed over the money she had made that night. Four crumpled twenty-dollar bills were all that she had in her hand. Knowing that girl was new to the operation, Liberty instantly felt sorry for her.

“Let me ask you something? You speak English, no?” the shepherd asked.

The girl nodded fearfully.

“So you understood me when I said you were to bring back a minimum of $500?” he asked.

“I… I tried,” the girl stuttered.

The shepherd acted as if he was going to walk away from her. “You tried,” he mumbled as he rubbed his goatee. Liberty closed her eyes knowing that it would have been better for the girl to say nothing at all. The man turned suddenly on his heel and without warning blew a hole through the girl’s head. Liberty felt the blood splatter onto her face and she stood frozen, her heart beating like a drum as she heard the girl’s body hit the floor. Too afraid to look beside her, Liberty found a spot on the dirty wall in front of her and kept her eyes there. Tears fell down her eyes and mixed with the blood as it created crimson trails of sorrow on her cheeks. I have to get out of here. It’s only a matter of time before that girl on the floor becomes me, she thought. Trixie squeezed Liberty’s hand, but neither of them spoke a word.

“Clean this bitch up,” the man ordered one of the other men. “And put the rest of them in their cages. Nobody eats tonight. Everybody meets quota… no exceptions… and until everyone does so, no one will be fed!”

As soon as Liberty was inside her closet-sized room she fell to her knees while frantically wiping the blood off her face. She knew that she could not take much more of this. It was only a matter of time before she would lose herself in this world. Her breaking point was nearing, and as she curled up on her cot she closed her eyes as the heroin lulled her back into a restless sleep.

“GET UP! EVERYBODY OUT OF BED!”

Liberty heard the voices of the shepherds on the other side of the steel door as they walked throughout the warehouse waking the girls. Liberty was still shaken from the events that had taken place the night before. It wasn’t the first dead body she had seen. Over the years she had witnessed many gruesome things, but something about feeling the girl’s blood on her face set off an intense fear within her. Anxious and weary, she was overwhelmed. As she opened her eyes, she instantly felt the itch to use. The crawling sensation that crept over her body caused her to dig her nails into her skin. She was on E and definitely needed a pick me up. The tumbling nausea building in her stomach wasn’t from a lack of food but from a lack of heroin. She was jonesin’ so bad that she could barely control her bowels. The shepherds kept the girls doped up most days, but on occasion they would make them go without the drug just to show their dominance. Liberty hated those days. The type of pain that she experienced from withdrawal was unbearable and she would do anything to feed her habit. She prayed that today was not one of those days. Liberty silently wondered why she was being disturbed. The girls never worked the boulevard in the daytime. They were creatures of the night so to be forced out of bed aroused Liberty’s suspicion. The locks clicked on her door and she was wrangled out into the hallway, forced into a moving line with the other girls. She noticed Trixie ahead of her and she pushed her way to the front until she was directly behind her girl.

“What is going on?” Liberty whispered.

“What do you mean? This is the one day every year that we have a chance of getting out of here. They are choosing new girls to work the brothels today. How did you forget that?” Trixie asked.

Mixed emotions filled Liberty. She knew not to get her hopes up. Year after year she had been overlooked and bypassed. It only made her bitter to know that other chicks were moving up in the ranks while she was left to rot.