CHAPTER 5 - BLACK MASKED WOMEN

I looked at myself in a wall mirror; I was not much of a sexy person but I had the curves where it was required, my black hair tied up into a bun, and my black eyes making its way through the red mask. All my feelings had already left my soul.

All I wanted was for this auction to end and hoped I would get a dumb, idiotic master from whom I can run away.

I entered the next room, where all the women sat in their respective steel chairs, their names stuck to the seat with a white sheet.

I looked across the room and found mine in the 5th row out of the 20 rows which were present, having 10 chairs each. I couldn't digest the fact that there were 200 women ready to be sold. The room was plastered white with debris lying on the floor just like the other rooms I had been too.

As I moved towards my seat, I could see the first girl I met sitting 2 rows away from my seat towards the corner. She smiled back at me with what seemed like pity, and I nodded.

Minutes passed, and the hall which was empty before was filled with bewitching women dressed in scandalous clothing. They slide down a screen projecting a video on the wall, probably filming what was happening on the stage. I noticed that each row had one red mask, why? pondered me.

Just then a lady arrived, probably in her mid-40s wearing stilettos, bringing her height up by a foot. She came in with 2 men behind her back carrying boxes.

' Ok ladies, you know the ground rules' she said in a firm voice and everybody's gaze was fixed on her as they nodded in unison.

She signaled the men to distribute what was there in the boxes. They were steel handcuffs, four for one person. I saw a woman handcuff herself, 2 on her hands, and 2 on her legs. I looked between the women to find eyes similar to mine, but there were none. All knew what they had signed up for, and now I was a replacement for the girl who they had just killed.

The boys came over to me handing four; I had trouble trying to put it on myself. Although I saw many women handcuffing themselves, it still scared me. The lady sitting to my left, her hair blond with the red lipstick perfectly lining her lips said ' let me help you'.

I handed over those cold steel chains, and she started clicking it open, locking them up around my hands and legs in seconds. Looking at her skill, I guess she was a professional at these.

' First time I see' she said looking at how clumsily I handled the chains. Her eyes were green, and she had a certain warmness about her.

' yes,' I said, for once, all these women were never the rude type which made me feel safe but endangered because just beyond this room sat hundred greedy wolves.

'okay start the injections' the old lady said after watching all the girls had their handcuffs on.

' what injection' I whispered asked the lady who had just helped me.

'Aphrodisiac,' she said, and my palms started sweating. My throat parched as the self-confidence in me was crashing down. 'they inject us with the aphrodisiac, so we give out body pheromones, seducing the men. Well, if you ask? It is to raise the stakes, the hornier the women act, the more money men throw out from their pockets'. She said, and I couldn't think anymore.

To imagine people voluntarily did this was a fact I was pressured to believe through each stage. They started injecting the women in the first row. 5 minutes later they were taken away to the stage to be sold as slaves.

The Tv lights went on, showing the image of a girl being locked between two black poles in an X position. She wore a black mask and in that position, anyone could see her alluring curves, those men hungering themselves with the image of her in their bed, I wanted this madness to stop.

The red curtain in the back made her more significant, standing out on the walnut wooden flooring. The anchor started reading out her sizes, from where she came, her status, her relationships. I could already see the drug taking effect. She began moaning a little, wriggling between the chains to free herself.

As the man finished his speech, he rang a bell, presuming her to be open for auction. There were some shouts in the audience, talking about thousands, and they sold the girl.

The Master who bought her came up, on the stage. He was a dignified man, you could tell by the way he carried himself. A grey suit covered his body, his right hand gripping a black collar. He went over to her, putting it around her neck, and started violently kissing her.

'Why is he doing that?' I asked, not expecting to hear a response.

'He is claiming his slave' the one sitting on my right side said. Her mask was white, with black hair making it down to her waist. She looked at them as though it was a common thing.

I looked at her, not understanding what her mouth had just spoken. She signed a little, 'I should have known you are a virgin?' she says talking to me like a little kid, not that others have said it to my face, but I knew she looked down upon me.

'well, when a Master buys you, he has to claim you on the stage, claiming means performing a certain sex act, to show others, you are his. Although that only holds true for black and red masks' she said turning her gaze back to the screen.

' what will happen to the white?' I asked, she scanned my face for a few seconds and said 'It's better if you don't know'.

The girl's chains were removed, and she followed her master down to the dais.

'Where did he take her' I asked, this time irritation showing on the face.

' She will sit beside the master, till the auction is over, each master can buy a maximum of 3 slaves and so they stay and see if anyone catches their eyes' she pauses. ' Although every master till now always leaves with 3, no more no less, it's extremely rear to see a master with one' she says changing her legs, comforting herself in the chair.

' That also means there will be many slaves at his home' she continued and my stomach twisted. Why were their so many people interested in this relationship?

' Well, let me tell you a secret' she comes close to my ears. She smelled like lemon.

'never fall in love with your master, it brings you nothing but tragedy' she says going back to her seat, like a woman who knew of the pain it brought.

' The slaves are only kept for a maximum of 2 years and they are brought back here again in search of a new slave. I know, the ladies here might have told you for a lifetime, but that never happens, since men want to experience everything and anything, they keep a count of the women they have taken, the different races, it is just pure sex without love,' she finishes her long speech, her eyes thinking about the past.

'will I be free after the contract gets over?' I ask meekly.

' yes,' she tells her eyes becoming dark. 'But by then, your body will be a slave to pleasure, you will crave for men, and eventually, you will accept this path, coming back here again to be a slave for a new master' she said.

' Is that how it happened to you?' I ask, she looked at me for some time and turned her head away.

' Its good to be brave, but remember that it may lead you into some serious issues' she said, and we both turned our gazes back to the flat Tv screen, which showed a white-masked woman chained.

I noticed the differences each mask held, some with glitters, some netted, while some had colored feathers, some were just plain blood red or pitch dark or dove white, each unique from one another just like the women who wore it.