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Two

AURORA

I woke up with a start and sighed, breathing heavily. I had the weirdest dream that my father had sold me off to aliens. It was so vivid my body shook from fear.

However when my eyes fluttered open a startled scream escaped my lips when I realized where I was. I was inside a truck, transported with other girls who seemed pissed that I was screaming while one was too busy crying to care.

“Holy fuck! Where am I?” I asked in an alarming voice as I attempted to stand up only to feel a stinging pain in my neck.

I let out another scream and the girl beside me stared daggers at me.

“Can you shut up before all your screaming brings them here,” she said with a scowl.

“No, this can't be real,” I said, shaking my head, “I’m stuck in a bad nightmare and I need to wake up.”

Another girl chuckled beside me, “At least she's taking it well rather than the other girl who wouldn’t speak but won’t stop crying.”

“I’d rather have both of them quiet before they come back,” the first girl said.

I closed my eyes and shook my head again, “Nope, I’m still dreaming.”

I felt a sharp prick in my eyes and I opened my eyes with a scowl, wincing in pain.

“Ow! Who did that?” I glared at the girls.

The third girl burst into laughter as she stared at me, “Well, you kept insisting you're dreaming so I decided to pinch you and since you aren't awake then you're not dreaming.”

There were about six girls in the truck including me. My mouth suddenly felt dry as the reality of my situation dawned on me.

“How could he?” I muttered, my throat choking up from the sobs that threatened to break free.

The first girl groaned, “Can you all just shut the fuck up? You've been sold off, so deal with it.”

I glared at the first girl, she seemed to be the only one who was hostile among us.

“What the fuck is your problem?” I hissed at her.

“Do you need me to answer that for you?” the girl asked in a condescending tone.

I ignored her only because I realized we had stopped moving. My heartbeat suddenly increased as I wondered what would await us.

That’s when I noticed the collar around the neck of the girl. I touched my neck and it was there too.

“What is this?” I asked.

None of the girls seemed to know. And just like that the truck door opened and light streamed into the truck. Standing before us were two men who seemed to be around 6ft3 and had dark-brown skin with brown eyes. They had a tattoo on their forehead which looked like an inscription in a language I'd never seen before.

“Earthlings, welcome to your new home,” one of the men said, his tone mocking.

“The collar on your neck signifies –” the second one started to say but I interrupted him sharply.

“How long before I can leave? How long will it take to pay off the debt?” I asked. I didn't want to believe that all my life would be spent in this hellhole.

The man suddenly smiled and I felt a slight shift around me. Before I knew it a scream ripped from my throat as I was instantly elevated from the truck and tossed to the ground.

My eyes widened in horror as I gasped, staring at him. He hadn't moved a muscle, he had just arched his brow at me and remained standing where he was then suddenly I was on the floor.

“How did you do that?” I asked, gasping for breath.

“Don’t ever interrupt me again, Earthling,” he said, his tone laced with disdain.

Then I saw a cruel smirk appear on his lips as he pressed a button on the remote he was holding. A loud cry escaped my lips as I felt excruciating pain from the back of my neck down to my toes.

“Make it stop!” I screamed.

If he heard me he acted like he didn't as he turned to the other girls who were staring at me with wide eyes. Even the one who had been crying was now silent.

“This is what happens when you ask too many questions or interrupt me and this is what your collar does,” he said with a smile.

He removed his hand from the remote and the pain subsided as my body spasmed from the pain I had just experienced.

“Now, come along, girls. Your tasks await,” the other man said.

The girls stepped out of the truck and one of them helped me stand up. My face was streaked with tears and I was limping as I followed them inside the huge gate.

A startled gasp left my lips at what I saw and I wasn't the only one. The other girls were gaping at the towering building before us.

The towering building twisted and curved like a living thing, its surface shimmering with an otherworldly glow. The walls seemed to shift and ripple as if made of liquid metal.

I saw strange symbols etched into the surface, pulsing with a soft blue light. The entrance was a giant orb that opened like a mouth, inviting us in and ready to devour us. Above, the sky seemed to darken, as if the building was pulling the light out of the air.

“Let’s go,” the man said.

As we stepped inside, the air thickened with an eerie mist. The walls glowed with an ethereal light and if I hadn't been sold I would have marvelled at the beauty of this place.

It looked so foreign, unlike anything I've ever seen. It was beautiful but I guess that’s what masked the wickedness in their heart.

Just then four men with long red hair and short orange hair with identical fiery orange eyes scared me. They were all tall with different inscriptions on their forehead.

The men who had brought us bowed immediately. They saw the four men and gestured for us to do the same. We all bowed and I felt a hot feeling as they walked past me.

Suddenly one of them stopped before me and pointed at me.

“It’s this one. Bring her,” he said.

My eyes widened as my heart thumped wildly in my chest when suddenly I was dragged away from the others.

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