Mister Arlington

01

I sat atop of a bridge railing, gripping the slick metal as I peered into the distance below that disappeared into dark waters. I felt numb, void of any emotion. I leant forward, my arms stretching behind me until they were locked in a straight position.

I closed my eyes embracing the heavy rain that lashed across my face and body, I stayed there for a moment before I peeled my eyes open and looked towards the full moon. It was the early hours of the morning, around one in the morning.

It was a perfect time. To end something so lifeless and miserable. And at this hour no one was going to stop me. Stop me from ending something that wasn't life, rather just something that was walking and breathing.

So I was surprised when I heard a car pull over, doors shutting, footsteps falling.

"Hey!"

It took the man to shout once more before I swivelled my head over my shoulder to look at him. There were two men, both in pristine black suits. One lagged behind letting his companion slowly walk towards me. I turned back around to face the darkness beyond as he approached.

It was now or never.

Just as the man reached me I slipped off of the rail, in that moment I was free, suspended in air, but that was a very short-lived moment of freedom seeing that the man half threw himself over the rail and gripped onto my wrist.

I snapped my head up towards him, glaring at his somewhat handsome face. He didn't recoil like most did, instead, he hauled me up and over the bridge rail with a few grunts, but he made quick work of it.

"Stupid girl," he scolded, starting at me with a strange look in his eyes as I sat on the cold concrete, my back against the railing of the bridge.

I looked up at him with the same glare, again it did not have the same effect it did on others.

"Next time, let me talk before you do something stupid," he huffed out a sigh, "I have an offer for you. If you approve of it I will help you, if not you can do whatever you want with your life."

His offer was replied by silence from me, which he took as a sign to continue speaking.

"You don't want to live your life correct," he didn't let me answer, not that I could anyway, "well what if you gave it to someone else."

My expression must have turned into something that resembled being confused because he carried on to explain.

"Meaning, you will be a part of an auction and sold to the highest bidder. Of course, you will get a portion of the money that they used to buy you and there are rules in place, seeing that this is a gentleman's auction. So it is guaranteed that you will not be sexually abused or harmed in any way. So do you accept?"

I looked down at my purple fingers, letting the rain softly drift down on me as if a mist, a sudden difference from two minutes ago.

"I mean what do you have to lose? you could just come back here if you don't like it."

Biting the inside of my cheek I paused a moment to think upon what he was offering. He was right, I had nothing to lose, I was at my end. His offer stirred something inside me. A second chance. It wasn't something easy to come across.

It was a chance to do better. A chance to have purpose... To mean something. I looked up at him and nodded, standing on my wobbling legs as if some newborn foal.

"Come along then, we wouldn't want you to get a cold before the auction."

The two men escorted me back to the car, the other man bowing ever so slightly in acknowledgment. I slipped into the back seat as the two occupied the front.

Although I wondered where we were going, I didn't ask. My mother always told me it's not good to ask questions, otherwise you'll wind up getting beat or worse. Well, that was a rule that applied to my father, I wasn't sure if that was for men in general seeng that I rarely got to leave the estate.

"You're awfully quiet back there, " the man who had saved me, spoke.

I turned my head towards the window, displaying my disinterest in conversing with them. He took the hint and spoke in hushed voices with his partner.

Although I was extremely tired I didn't let myself fall asleep in a car with two strangers, I didn't know what the outside world was like or how people would treat me. My father always said that the outside world would hate a girl like me especially after what I had done, I was a monster among humans.

Cursing all thoughts of my father I watched the sky slowly turn from a black abyss to a beautiful display of pastel colours. Tall buildings came suddenly, blocking out the view of the sun. I watched as we passed through the dull city, curious of how it would look after all this time.

There wasn't much of a difference. People were strewn about in the early daylight, drunken or homeless slept on benches meant for people waiting for buses, the red pop of the double-decker buses stood out against all the bland colours, streets winded and crisscrossed making it impossible for me to remember any routes.

It wasn't long before we were stopping in the middle of a dark alleyway, hidden from the rays of light coming from the sun. It was definitely a shady place to be, even from my low level of experience with being outside did I know that.

But I complied with a calm and collected composure. The two men exited the car, the first one coming to open my door and the second sliding into the drivers. Once he drove off into the darkness ahead it was only me and the man who had struck the deal, standing in front of a forest green wooden door.