AUCTION IV

ADELINE'S POV

As the hall fills in with even more people fifteen guards suddenly walk up on the stage and my eyes widen, my chest constricting and my heart breaking as I see the syringes in their hands. I watch them in horror as they stand in front of each of us and plunge the syringes in our necks with no hesitation. My head immediately feels lighter and all the worry and hurt I was feeling has immediately been replaced by the euphoric feeling of having a drug in my system.

"I'm sorry girls. Oh wait, I'm not actually. Tonight has to be perfect and I will not have any of you ruining it because you were to sober. The dose my guards just gave you is not too strong that you lose your senses. Just enough to make you girls relax and do what you need to do." As her voice fills my senses, I'm not even angry at the fact that I just got drugged. All I want to do is obey Veronica now and forget about all my worries. All I want to do is be the best erotica doll these men have ever seen.

She smiles at us and then a huge light appears in front of her as she raises her mic and faces the crowd.

"Good evening, everyone." Veronica says, addressing the men in the crowd. There are so many guards surrounding this place. If Dante is ever coming today, I don't even think he'll be able to break in because this place is a fucking fortress. I always wonder how she got so many men. Where the fuck did she even get these many men from? It's like she has a fucking army surrounding this place.

The sound of the music reduces until only a faint sound can be heard but with the drugs Veronica just gave us, I feel like my senses are working on overdrive right now. The music is a bit louder, the sound of her voice coming from the mic is a bit higher and the lights make me feel like I'm staring straight into the sun. But still, I don't falter. I keep my pose and focus on what I need to do. The last thing I want is to get shot.

"Today marks the tenth edition of erotica's auction day!" She says in a loud and confident voice and the men in the crowd clap their hands as they look around the place skeptically.

"I know you all are wondering where the board it. I know you all want to see the men that have been running this place since my husband died. But it is with great happiness that I tell you today that erotica will have a new board and the people you are all used to seeing will not be with us tonight. Or any other night for that matter." Veronica says with a light laugh and I hear murmuring in the crowd.

They all look confused but they seem not to care.

"My husband as well as the board leaders…" Veronica starts pacing from left to right on the stage. "They would always tell me that if I wanted something bad enough, all I had to do was go ahead and take it, and hat is exactly what I did. After my husband passed, erotica was supposed to belong to me by right but those stingy men took it away from me. All I did was take it back, and now Adrian Wellington, on of our most important investors, and I want to give erotica a new look."

As she mentions Adrian's name, he walks up on the stage with a huge grin on his face. He must be so proud of himself. They must all be so proud of themselves for what they have achieved. I guess that is what all those gunshots were about the day Adrian got here. He and Veronica were overthrowing the old board and that is why there are so many fucking guards in this place.

Veronica and Adrian have a partnership now which makes them the most dangerous people I know right now. They are dangerous for all the little girls out there that will have their lives taken away. This doesn't just end here. After today, Veronica will have to fins new girls to train. It's a never-ending cycle and it is sick.

"Good evening, everyone." Adrian says with a rich voice. "A round of applause for the beautiful girls before you." He says and the crowd erupts with laughter. All the contemplation and confusion disappear from their eyes as Adrian draws their attention to us.

"I have been an investor in erotica for the longest time but I have never really had the opportunity to have a position on the board. But Veronica has made that possible for me and as a new member, I want to promise more guards than you have ever seen. More success for erotica than you all have ever seen. the money will never stop flowing, the alcohol will never stop pouring and of course, there will be many more girls to come. There will be many more nights like this to come and not just for auction day. We need more nights to celebrate our successes together!"

The crowd roars at Adrian's pathetic speech. These people are not human. They need to die. The only person in the crowd who doesn't seem fazed by what Adrian is saying is Arthur. The man who apparently will stop at nothing to get me. His eyes have been planted on e since he got here and I have a feeling he'll keep staring at me like this until he finally has me in his grasp.

Arthur scares me more than anyone else in this room because of how calm he is. He seems like the biggest psychopath in this place. I have no idea what living with him is going to look like but I am going to have to be weary with him.

"I'm glad everyone feels comfortable. Now before we move to the actual auction, the girls will be put on display and each one of them will be presented. Enjoy the night gentlemen!"

Veronica and Adrian walk off the stage and the sound of the music increases again as the men murmur to each other and take their seats. As they stare at us on the stage, the circular floors on which the gurls and I are standing on start to rotate and I know it's time for us to start changing poses every five minutes.

I feel like an animal. I feel worthless for being put on display like his as if I am worth nothing. I hate this feeling and I want it to go away so I focus on the effect of the drug that is inside me and I let my mind take me to some other place tan where u am in the present. I start to realize that no matter how much I want to forget everything, I will never be able to erase the memories of the people that I have lost, the people that I still love.

I hear cheering as a door opens, revealing the younger girls in outfits that make my stomach turn. These girls are no older than sixteen or seventeen and this is the life they have been forced to live. From the way thy walk with absent smiles on their faces, I can tell they have been drugged too. None of us deserve this but there is something so sinister about having no moral capacity to the point where you hurt a child.

From the corner of my eye, I spot Della. She walks up to where the men are seated and sits on one of their laps. She's practically naked and I want to grab her and run out of this place with her but where would I even go. The men touch and grope at the young girls all the while still staring at us. They are receiving the pleasure they came here for. The pleasure they seemingly paid for and it makes my stomach twist int knots.

They believe that they have a right to all of this and their entitlement to our bodies sickens me so much. After five minutes, a bell rings and the girls and I on the stage change our poses in unison. As I spin around slowly, I cannot seem to tear my eyes away from the crowd.

Arthur is still undressing me with his eyes. My heart beats in my chest. The drug in my system is constantly trying to make me forget everything and just give in. I close my eyes for a split second and just focus on the night.