Marked By Rejection by Avery Stone
To Be A Hollow You Will Obey
"She's probably a slut that Alpha found on the city streets."
"It's cause of her curves and small waist."
"She'll lose all of that. She's already lost weight since coming here."
"Make sure you toss her food away. She doesn't deserve a single slice of bread."
I tuned out the loud whispers, hoping the cold beads of water beating against my flesh could warm up even slightly so I wouldn't shiver the entire night.
I was the last one in line, which meant I was forced to take a shower when the hot water had obviously run out. After skipping three days due to being unconscious, I really needed to shower, so today wasn't going to be an exception.
I'd asked for death at least a thousand times at this point, but my heart felt empty after what I'd experienced three days prior.
Yael was gone.
The first two days, I'd been in the dungeon, recovering. Yael would change my bandages, and he'd do something with his hand that would take the pain away. It was mesmerizing to watch because intriguing symbols of what surely was a different language would appear on his flesh like a glowing tattoo, and that was when those orbs of gold would ignite.
They helped heal many of my wounds, and Yael said if I truly wished it, he could get rid of the scars beneath my tattoos. I was impressed that he'd noticed, but I didn't want him to waste any more energy on me.
He'd done more than enough.
I secretly couldn't tell him that I wanted those scars to remain. I hid them with tattoos because it helped avoid the 21 Questions game from anyone who couldn't mind their own business, especially at the café. But even if I truly could, I wouldn't hide them.
Deep within, I knew that I allowed them to be out on display, so the world would acknowledge that even though I looked weak and frail, I was a survivor.
By the second day, I could walk and function, and he'd shown me the basics and told me what the schedule would be. I wouldn't leave the dungeons, but all the females used the common shower room.
We weren't "prisoners" but then again, it felt that way because we could only wear a specific "bag" of cloth that was extremely itchy and rather revealing. The material was thin, like a cloth bag that had been discarded, torn apart, and the material sewn together just to cover the essentials.
It didn't cover much, and I was one of the shortest here.
The front part purposely dipped way past my cleavage, and the length could barely cover my butt. No panties were provided for "easy" access, but Yael somehow managed to get me a pair with the excuse of reserving me for the Alpha.
Alpha Kolton.
It appeared as though most of the men called him Kolt, for short, but the mere mention of his name made everyone tremble in fear. The tough, muscled beings who could probably bend me into two would shiver at his name and stand upright in attention, no matter his presence.
That alone was showing me the obvious red flags.
I couldn't quite understand the women.
They complained about being sex slaves but would fight amongst one another about who would share the Alpha's bed the moment he came back. Their venomous eyes would come my way, judging me for everything.
My body, tattoos, hair, and even my eyes.
They enjoyed mocking the way I walked, how slim my legs were, and the bruises all over them, my flimsy arms and the multiple white strands in my hair. They picked me apart during the first shower session, and I worked as fast as possible to clean myself and get out so I could return to the safety of my cell.
Yael had brought me food that night, coming in the wee hours of the evening.
Since I wasn't "assessed" by the Alpha, I had to stay in this specific dungeon. Apparently, there were ranks based on "performance". I may be naive in some areas, but I was already figuring out the patterns and what performance could mean.
Since I was "fresh meat" the other women would make sure my meal disappeared or was drenched in urine, feces, or blood.
Disgusting.
The two meals a day felt like a privilege, and maybe it was from how these ladies made it their mission to destroy mine by the time it got to my cell, but Yael had predicted such, which was why he'd bring me bits of bread and cheese that he reserved from his share.
Males ate more than the females from what he'd suggested, but it was because they needed the energy to fight one another for dominance. He wasn't considered because of his disability, but I never got to ask him more about what had happened for him to lose his arm.
On the third day, I lost him.
It was unexpected. He'd come by to check on me and he was going to explain exactly where I was. My ability to speak was a struggle because of the strain on my voice, and I stuttered saying certain things. Again, it wasn't intentional, but the words would process in my mind clearly, but come out mangled like I'd purposely butchered them.
I expected Yael to be frustrated by it, but he allowed me to take my time and explain how I'd gotten kidnapped by my boyfriend and older brother and was supposed to be given to this Kolt man.
I'd left it at that, hoping he could give me some insight on this Alpha and how he was able to do that healing magic. It was becoming clear that Yael and the others weren't normal, but my survival wasn't either, so I had to figure out the most important factor to this equation.
What am I now?
He was going to explain when Derek, Wilfred, and two others arrived, and by the time he was out of my cell and trying to assess what the problem was, they were beating the shit out of him.
Not with just fists.
I watched in silent horror, not because I didn't wish to help him, but because I couldn't fathom what was unfolding before my eyes until it was all over and the dark ground was covered in blood.
Yael's blood.
They proceeded to kick him and then mock me, laughing at how the disabled rejected was trying to swoon up to me. They belittled his worth as a man, spitting and stabbing him like he hadn’t endured enough until he lay there.
Lifeless.
The four of them ensured the bars were locked and left him there for me to watch his still body. Their absence made me rush to try to help him, but they purposely placed him far enough away that I couldn't reach him with my arms that felt so short.
I wanted to do what he'd done, to somehow call for those golden orbs and heal him, but nothing could be done. All I could do was stare up at the single flame as if it were a Goddess of Healing and beg for the warmth of the flames to shield his soul.
I'd never really been a spiritual person, having lost any type of faith in a higher being when Kyle died. Sometimes it felt like I'd lost it before then, but any threads left evaporated like my life purpose. But in the midst of watching the only kind person here be beaten, degraded, and left for dead, I broke my strike with the intense desire for him to be saved.
I'd exchange my flame of life just so he could get a chance to live. To escape from this place of pain and be somewhere else that would acknowledge him as any other being and pamper him with the same level of kindness he showed me.
A massive man bigger than Wilfred came and dragged him away, his eyes completely heartless, and I couldn't understand how anyone could not show a pinch of expression towards someone who'd been beaming with life moments earlier.
Since then, I'd been alone in this dark environment of teasing, mocking laughter, insults, and misery. My hunger strike was detrimental to my body as it took a toll on me - my weight dropping dramatically in only four days - which could have been due to my grieving on Yael's behalf.
It amazed me that he had done so little, and yet he had such a huge impact in my life, especially now that I knew I'd never meet him again.
Such a shame...
Sleeping wasn't relieving in the slightest. The moment I slipped from the fearful clutches of this world, I was yanked into the world of my nightmares filled with hands desperate to touch my naked flesh, sucking bites that would drain every drop of my blood, and burning flames that sought to close in on me like the walls of the car, until all I could do was scream myself into my new reality.
If this continued, I wouldn't survive until this Alpha arrived.
I'd lose my damn mind.
The running, cold water abruptly came to a stop, forcing me to open my eyes and acknowledge the circle of women smiling brutally at me.
"You think you're some maiden deserving of this water?" one of the women with red hair tossed at me. Those strands were dark red, the shade reminding me of the pool of blood under Yael's body, growing bigger and bigger with no aid to his rescue.
"Where's your boyfriend?" another girl with black hair tossed out and pushed me against a blonde who pushed me right to the floor.
"I don't want to touch this slut," the blonde announced with a giggle. "If I'm not careful, I may end up dead like her boyfriend."
"Ex-boyfriend since he's DEAD dead," a brunette tossed to the others, and they proceeded to giggle like the joke was humorous.
I didn't bother getting up, knowing it would only lead to me being pushed back down. These antics weren't very different from my high school days. It was one of the reasons why I didn't bother going to college or university.
No way would I voluntarily enter a space where adults made it their life mission to destroy me. I had no choice but to endure it in high school, just like I had no choice now, in this place.
Women didn't scare me as badly as men, but that didn't rule them out entirely. Women knew how to abuse our delicate bodies, and compared to men who did it for their own selfish pleasures, women knew exactly what areas to destroy so that no one would ever be attracted to you again.
That's what made these women a tiny bit scary: they wouldn't hesitate to rip me to shreds.
My thoughts had to have triggered something because my struggled scream ripped through the air as something slashed through my back. That was followed with the stream of cold water that hit my back directly, leaving me whimpering as I tried to scramble blindly out of the way.
It only bumped me into one of the many women surrounding me – and each tackle rewarded me with a slash of pain that left me moving in a different direction, only for the same thing to happen to a different area of my back.
I couldn't find a way out, surrounded by echoing laughter that sounded like a damn chant. The sound of travesty was like a hymn bouncing off the walls of a church, only this place was the epitome of sin and I was the ultimate victim trapped in their clutches.
The water beneath me was soon tainted with blood, and the scent of it made me sick to my stomach, and yet I craved the taste of the metallic thickness in my mouth. I couldn't believe the thought of such a thing, and it made me feel ashamed suddenly while I endured more pain against my back.
All I could do was wrap myself in a ball as the scratches, punches, and kicks hit everywhere. I didn't want to mark my breasts or sensitive areas, so being curled up in a ball was the only thing that could protect them.
That didn't stop them from trying, their sharp hands attempting to pry me open, while they kicked my head, my back, my ass. I could feel my brittle bones beginning to break from the constant assault, and my screams grew louder until I screamed for them to stop.
It did nothing but excite them, and I cursed because this was what happened when I reacted. My visible pain matched with the broken sound of my brittle voice was music to their ears and motivated them to keep going.
Keep bruising me, marking me, breaking me until I was just shattered pieces.
They might as well kill me, and as the knocks to my head kept coming, I was sure this was where life would end.
The next kick to my head hit something, and whatever part of my brain it was, it made my eyes roll to the back of my head and my body begin to convulse. I couldn't control the movement, and it was almost impossible to track when it started or ended, but the pitched giggles of mockery shifted to shrilled screams of pain, but I couldn't move even when the shockwaves had stopped and I remained there with the beads of water pouring on me.
"WHAT IN THE FUCKING NAME IS HAPPENING HERE?!" The booming voice sounded like it came out of a speakerphone, like I was standing outside a building trying to grasp what had been said.
It kind of reminded me of being underwater, only I was sinking deeper and deeper with no ability to save myself.
"You fucking cunts," the man screamed. "Derrick! Wilfried! Punish every single one of them!"
"W-What?! Alpha! S-She started-"
"Don't you dare speak to me when I haven't ordered you to!" A loud slap was followed by a keening scream, and suddenly the room was filled with screams, but they weren't from me.
"I didn't give any of you permission to beat this sacrifice! Do you understand what you've fucking done?! I've waited months for this deal and you've ruined it!"
I had no choice but to listen to them beg for their Alpha's mercy, but their wails and screams continued while the stream of water continued to drench me.
Whether I liked it or not, my consciousness was drifting, sinking deeper into the clutches of the darkness while the rest of the world faded away.
The only thing I could feel was the temperature of the beads of water as I took in what could have saved me before all hell broke loose.
The droplets...aren't cold anymore.