The Auction

Tatina POV

Yesterday I was taken from my home forcefully by the vampire authority to cover my father's debt. Today I am here being pampered and groomed to be the most beautiful creature I can be for the sick depraved bidders. I have never had my hair dyed and curled. I have never had my nails done. I have never been to a spa. Yet here I am today, getting pampered. Who knows what kind of hell awaits me. I have heard horror stories about the auction. I have heard about the things that happen to the people who end up here. I am afraid.

Here I am with others just waiting to be auctioned out to the highest bidder. It is not fair. I should not have to be here. My father was an idiot. He could not stop gambling. He lost everything playing poker with the vampire authority elite, he should be here not me. Now I have to pay for his crimes. I have to be here to cover his debts. I should be getting married or going to college, but no the vampire authorities plucked me out of my home on my 21st birthday and dragged me here. Here to this hell to be auctioned off to some sicko.

Maybe I will get lucky and end up with a lovely family that needs a nanny or a maid. At least I will have plenty of food and a roof over my head. The worst that could happen is I could be killed. Drew was so excited to get his hands on a hybrid-my mother a fairy and my father a vampire. I am an only child. I have the powers of a fairy and vampire qualities. Unfortunately, I cannot get myself out of this mess. Horace drugged me as soon as I got here to suppress my abilities. No hybrid will stand against the vampire authority. If I did, he would kill me and my family.

"Are you okay?" the young blonde girl painting my nails ask me.

"I guess. I have no choice but to be fine," I reply. I should not be mean to her. It is not her fault I am here. That fault lies with my terrible father.

"True, but you are stunning. I am sure you will be fine," she says. She tries to smile at me and give me hope, but we both know there is no hope for me only doom.

"I am scared," I say. I begin to cry. Why am I crying? I am crying because I am about to be auctioned to the highest bidder.

"Shhh. You do not want Horace coming over here. Please calm yourself. Besides, you do not want to be all puffy when they take your picture," she says. She begins wiping my tears and locks over my shoulder to make sure no one heard me crying. She is right, I do not want any trouble. I only want to get this over with quickly.

I am trying to listen to all of the advice the auction workers are giving us. I need to remain calm and smile. I need to prepare myself for what comes. The first chance I get, I can run. If the drugs would wear off, I could free myself from this place. I can fight my way out. I feel a pinch. I look to my left; he got me again. He will keep me drugged. It doesn't mean whoever gets me will keep me drugged. I can do this. I can survive.

"Now, look at your nails. They are perfect. I will get Lisa to come to do your makeup, and JoJo will do your hair. Okay?" she says. She is way too perky for someone that helps these terrible people.

I nod. I am not in the mood to talk to anyone. Here comes Horace again.

"Smile, girl. You are the big-ticket tonight. You will bring in a lot of money. There are vampires coming from everywhere to bid on your sweet ass," he says. He smells of whiskey and his teeth are gross. When he gets close to me his breath makes me gag.

I give him a fake smile. I wish I had my powers. I would enchant his ass into a fairy trap. I would love to see him suffer. I would love to see them all suffer, but I can do nothing. I am at their mercy.

"Are you scared? Nothing to be scared of unless one of the weirdoes gets you, like me," he says with an evil laugh. I believe him. I would not want to be his little pet.

JoJo comes up behind me and starts pulling at my hair.

"Don't you worry about him? He is not allowed to bid anymore. Not since he killed that girl a few years ago. She was so precious. She was 28 and indebted heavily to the vampire authority. It was sad. Really sad. Horace bought her, and well, nobody ever heard from her again. The vampire authority took him off the auction list, and now he is stuck working here for them forever," she says.

"How did you end up here?" I ask. Maybe I should not ask her why she is here, but I want to know why she is involved. I am curious how this works and why.

JoJo starts twisting my hair up in braids. "I owe but not a lot. So I can work here a few years and be done. The vampire authority gave me the option to go in the short term auction, but since I am a hairdresser, they needed me here instead," she says,

"Oh. My father sold me," I respond looking down into my lap. I cannot believe he sold me.

"I am sorry to hear that. Too bad the authority couldn't take your father instead," she says.

"Yeah. I know. I hate my father for doing this to me. My mother stood by and let it happen. I think she was jealous of me because I am a hybrid. I did not ask to be a hybrid or to be born or to be in this mess," I say.

"None of us asked for this, but here we are. The only thing I can do for you is make you beautiful," she says.

Jojo twists and braids my hair into a Viking hairstyle. I never knew my stringy long dark hair could look so beautiful. She is good at this. I hope she can get out of this life soon.

Lisa comes over to start my makeup. She does not say much. She looks at my skin dabs some stuff on my face. It is so icky. I have never been one to wear a lot of makeup. She has painted my eyes dark and put on red lipstick. I look in the mirror after Lisa finishes. "Done," She says.

"I look like a whore," I say to her.

"That is what you are, a whore, hybrid," Lisa says. She walks away leaving me looking at myself in the mirror. I am a virgin not a whore.

I stop in front of a mirror. I look like a painted-up hooker. There is nothing beautiful about the way I look. I have on too much makeup and way too revealing clothes. This is ridiculous. I stand in the hall waiting with other people. Men, women, and creatures that I am not sure what they are waiting to have their picture taken for the auction. Every time I pass a mirror, I look at myself. I am disgusted by my appearance. They paint us up like dolls and then buy us to do who knows what to us. Why is this allowed to happen?

"You look sexy, hybrid," Horace says, smiling at me with his nasty teeth. He makes me sick. I hope someone kills you.

I cannot even stand the way he looks at me. He gives me the creeps. No worries, Horace, if I ever get out of this, I will find you and send you far, far away. I will make sure you pay for this someday.

"Can't you even say thank you," he says loudly. I guess he is not used to being ignored by the people of the auctions.

" Hey bitch," Horace yells at me. I keep ignoring him.

"Hey, bitch. I am talking to you. Turn around and say thank you or else," he screams at me and gets right in my face.

A lady comes out of the small room. "Tatina, you are next, honey. Come with me," she says. Thank goodness. I know Horace is ready to kill me. I give Horace a bite-me look and follow her into her office. "You okay?" she asks as she looks back to see Horace mad as hell.

I nod. "Okay, stand on the X, and I am going to make your picture. Smile if you can. I know this is stressful. So do your best," she says. She is sweet and the while selling me to someone, she is sweet to me. Does she even care that she is a part of the process that is dooming me to hell? How can she sleep at night?

I stand on the X and smile while she takes my picture. All I can think about is how can all of these people come in here and work the auctions? How can they live with themselves as they paint us up and sell us?

"There is nothing to worry about here. We screen people very carefully. Do not believe everything you hear. Most of the people who come to us are looking for help. They need a nanny or a maid. It is rarely something sinister. I can almost promise you that you will end up in a good place. You are the top-billed ticket tonight. We do not get hybrids very often anymore. Especially one like you," she says.

"Thank you. That makes me feel better. I am petrified," I say.

"No reason to fret. You are beautiful and young. You are what 21? I hope your auction turns out well," she says.

"I turned 21 yesterday. That is when the authority came to get me," I respond.

"Oh yeah. I remember you are James's daughter. He had so much potential with the authority. Shame he wasted it and now lives in poverty. See, this is a good thing. You can pay off his debt and be happy and far away from him," she says.

"Pay off his debt. Do you mean I am not trapped forever in this? I can leave and have a life," I ask.

"No. Just until you pay off your debt. Honestly, you should fetch enough to take care of it in just a few years. Honey, this is going to be a good thing for you. Just smile. Be kind and obey whoever is lucky enough to get you. You can do this," she says.

This auction might be a blessing. Indeed whoever buys me will be well off enough to treat me right. I am away from that idiot father and my mother. She has followed him around and allowed us to live like pigs for so long. This ordeal might be my saving grace. I need to be polite and perky.

I can do this. "Thank you. I feel so much better. I did not understand, and no one explained anything to me," I tell her.

"Good Now, why don't we retake your picture, and you can smile a big beautiful smile," she says.

I stand on the X again, and this time I smile.

"That is perfect sweet girl. I know that you will land you a big fish," she says.

I laugh. I just want to end up with someone nice. I do not mind cooking and cleaning or tending to kids. I wish to be able to eat and have a roof over my head. I can do whatever it takes to survive. I only want to survive. Please let me survive.

"You can go to the waiting room. When the auction is over, I will come to get you. It won't be long now. I should have everything uploaded for the bidding to start within the hour," she says.

"Thank you for being so kind. Almost everyone had been kind except one person. Thank you so much," I say.

"Don't pay Horace any attention. He is just mad he is stuck here after what he did," she says.

"What did he do?" I ask.

"Trust me. You do not want to know. Just be careful and stay with the group. If he gives you any trouble, Scream loud," she says.

"I will stay with the group," I tell her.

"Good luck. Not that you need it. You got this in the bag, girlie," she says.

I exit the office and walk past all the different people and creatures waiting to have their photographs taken. I wonder how they ended up here. I am sure a lot of them have it worse than me. Everything will be okay. The auction will be over in a few hours, and I will be starting a new life. I can do this.

I walk into the waiting area and look around at all of the people waiting for their auctions to be over. Well, at least there is food. I wish I could put on something more comfortable. This ridiculous costume they put on me is uncomfortable, and it itches. I get it they want to make money off of money, but if someone is looking for a maid, why would she need to look like this. I scan the room, looking for a place to sit and wait. I would love to rest for a while before I leave. I have no idea what is to come, and I think a nap would be the best thing for me.

"Hey, hybrid! Come here," Horace screams at me. I hope he is talking to someone else.

I turn around to make sure he is talking to me. Of course, he is. I am the only hybrid here tonight. I smile politely. "Coming, sir," I say in my sweetest voice.

I walk up to him and smile. He grabs my arm. "Time for your shot," he says. He pulls me into the hall. Oh No, I have to stay with the group. I am terrified as he pulls me down the hall. Tears begin to flow down my face.

"I can wait here while you go get it. She told me to stay with the group. I do not want to get in trouble," I say.

He keeps pulling me harder down the hall. "Come with me, or else I will make you regret your defiance," he yells at me.

I comply. I do not want to make him mad. I have to survive the next few hours, and then I will no longer have to deal with him.

"Those girls painted you up nice. I thought you were a little ugly when you came in but now look at you. You look good enough to eat," he says.

I do not respond. No matter what I say, he will take it the wrong way.

"Hey, I just complimented you. Say thank you, hybrid bitch," he says.

"Thank you. I did not realize you were complimenting me. I apologize, sir," I say.

"Hey, look here. Do not be a smart ass. I am trying to be nice to you. I could be very mean to you. Do you want to see me be mean to you? I bet you like it rough," he says.

He pulls me around the corner and reaches into a cabinet. He pulls out a vial and a syringe. He takes his time getting the shot ready. He is almost drooling, looking over my body. I feel so gross right now as he grabs my arms and stabs me with the syringe.

"There that should keep you under control until the auction is over," he says.

"Thank you," I say.

"You want something to eat. I have food in my office," he says. He is up to something. I already know that. Why else would he pull me away from the group? He is going to hurt me; I know it. Please do not hurt me! Somebody has to come and see what is happening to me.

"No, No, I want to get back. I am supposed to stay with my group. The lady told me to stay with my group. I do not want to get in trouble," I tell him, stuttering and almost begging for my life.

"I am not trying to get you in trouble. I just thought you might give me a taste before you leave," he says. His hand pushes my hair back away from my neck, and he licks his lips.

"A taste? What do you mean a taste?" I ask. I know what he means. He wants to fuck me.

"Do not pretend with me. You have whore written all over you. I bet you are a nasty girl. Aren't you? I bet you are a real nasty little whore," he says.

He grabs my face and tries to kiss me. I push him back, but he presses his lips to mine. I kick him in the shin, and I break free, then start running away. I have to get back to my group. "Please stop. Do not hurt me," I scream as I try to run away, but he is faster than me.

Horace tackles me and climbs on top of me. "Shh, little whore. I am going to get myself a taste of you hybrid. I am going to have some of that special tasty treat you got between your legs," he says.

He starts pulling at me, trying to undress me. "Please stop!" I scream.

Horace manages to get my panties down. He is going to rape me, and there is nothing I can do about it. "You are going to be mine. Either shut up and take it or we can do this the hard way whore," he slaps my face.

I scream, "Help me, Please Help me!"

He is holding my arms above my head as he tries to undo his pants at the same time. "Please stop!" I scream.

I can feel him getting ready to insert his member into me. This is not how I want to lose my virginity. Not like this on a cold floor by some monster. Somebody has to help me. I close my eyes and cry out for help.

"Help ME PLEASE!!" I cry out as loud as I can scream.

I close my eyes and prepare for him to take it. I can feel his hot breath on me and his hardness at my entrance. I cannot believe this is happening to me. Why? What did I do to deserve this?

BOOM

"Get off her, you idiot. I will not miss the next time," she says. I open my eyes as Horace gets off of me. He backs away slowly and pulls up his pants.

"Thank you," I say as I get off the floor and run to her, crying.

"I told you to stay with the group," she says, scolding me.

"I know he did not give me a choice. I am sorry. Thank you," I say again.

"Go back to the waiting area. If anyone stops, you tell them you were with me, Jayne. Your auction is about to start, dear and you need to be close by in case the bidders ask for more pictures. I will deal with Horace," Jayne says.

"Thank you. I am sorry," I say.

"No need to be sorry. Now get back to the waiting area, and do not leave your group again. I might not be around next time one of these assholes tries to rape you," she demands.

"I promise I will stay with the group," I say.

I run back to the waiting area. I try to fix my clothes and wipe my face. I cannot believe what just happened to me. Thank goodness Jayne heard me scream. I do not know what would have happened if she hadn't come to help. I do know what would have happened. He would have had his way with me. He would have raped me. I would have lost my virginity on the cold floor, roughly and unwillingly.