Chapter 11

Dominic was livid, but he didn't say a word to Alessandra. There was panic in her eyes and stance, which somehow calmed Dominic. It wasn't her fault. She didn't realize her appeal.

"You broke the rules, my Ale."

"I didn't! He forced himself on me!"

"Doesn't matter. I told you what the rules are. You should have done more to prevent it."

"That's absurd!"

Sighing Dominic strove to her bed and sat down. The drawings were still on the bed and Dominic glanced at them briefly. They were very good. It only took him a moment to know he was not among the portraits.

"Sit, my Ale."

He patted the spot next to him and Aless hesitated. Full of trepidation, she went to the bed and sat down. She braced for him to strike her, but Dominic merely smiled causally at her.

"Don't worry, my Ale. I'm not going to hurt you. Tomorrow you will be leaving and I don't want our last night to be a bad one."

"Okay."

"I mean we will never see each other again after this night."

"We won't?"

"No, not unless by some odd chance."

"Oh."

Relief filled Aless's chest, but she kept her pleasure to herself.

"I wanted to spend the night with you."

"I will not sleep with you, Dominic."

"No…no, my Ale. That is not what I mean. I want to talk to you like you talk to Jᴔnsa."

"Oh…ok…"

"Tell me about your family."

"Uh…"

"Mine was a very basic one. I had a very beautiful mother. She had dark black hair and beautiful green eyes. A voice like an angel. Father was a strapping man himself. He had honey colored hair and curls. He was very heavy handed."

Aless listened intently. The night was very much about Dominic, as life seemed to be. Dutifully Alessandra listened to Dominic's stories. At some point he made her lie on the bed with him as he held her head on his chest. He talked about his childhood, his first business venture, and so on. It was dreadfully boring and a little disturbing.

Finally, Aless had to ask something she had been dying to ask.

"Dominic," she whispered.

"Yes, my Ale?" he said.

He had stopped midway through the story of when he got his Josӕng.

"Why did you get the Three-Eyed Cąȶ hidden in your Josӕng?"

Prepared for the worse, Alessandra cringed. Having the Three-Eyed Cąȶ tattooed on the body was taboo, but it was no better to accuse someone of having it.

"You can see them?" Dominic asked.

For the first time in Dominic's life, he was genuinely beyond words. No one had ever seen his hidden deity. Or if they had, they had never spoken up. She had to be a moon-witch or the incarnation of a spirit.

"I noticed it the first day, but I thought I had seen wrong. They are so well hidden in your Josӕng…quite beautifully actually. Whoever did the tattoo was truly blessed by the Deity. I just have never understood why."

"What do you know of the Three-Eyed Cąȶ?"

"Only a little from stories my mother used to tell. My father has never believed in the Temple, so I have no formal education on the subject as you know."

"Do you know what the Three-Eyed Cąȶ is most famously known for?"

"Yes. For bringing Death to the people."

"Yes. And while most of our world think that Death is a bad thing, they are wrong. Death is a blessing. It allows some of us to grow strong. To vanquish our enemies. To gain control. Death grants us power. It is all thanks to the Three-Eyed Cąȶ. So, Three-Eyed Cąȶ is my deity, who I pray to and honor. My Josӕng honors this."

"He is insane," Alessandra thought.

His arms held Aless a little too tight to him and she felt as if she was a teddy bear being squeezed by a clingy kid. Dominic changed the subject back to his life. Somehow, she managed to fall asleep. Dominic watched Aless sleep. He smiled wolfishly as he studied her angelic face. He had decided even if she was a moon witch, she was his moon witch. No one else saw him so clearly. No one else could have her. Dominic slipped out from under Alessandra. She didn't even stir. Looking at her one last time, Dominic sighed and left the room.

Yawning Alessandra woke early the next day. Looking around, she saw she was alone and a little smile crossed her lips. Today she was going home. Dominic would be out of her life and Kayla and she would be on their way home. She could see Danny's smiling face and feel his warm embrace. Compulsively Aless touched her crescent. It was still there. The only thing they had let her keep since they captured her. She didn't know why, but she wasn't complaining.

Getting up, Aless found that there was a set of clothes on the chair at the end of the bed. The fabric was dull colored and rough. The top was a dark navy tank top. The bottoms were an ugly olive, cargo pants. A pair of tough looking work boots were under the chair. Nervously, Aless pulled on the clothes and the boots. The boots were hard, yet she knew they would pay off in the long run. Once they broke in they would be fine. It was then that the idea of what was about to happen hit Alessandra.

Sure, they were going home, but it was going to be a long, long way home. How were they to live? They didn't have money, food, or anything. The happiness that filled her slipped quickly as apprehension replaced it. Taking a deep breath, Aless tried to calm herself. It would be ok. Kayla and she would figure it out.

As Aless tried to convince herself, the door swung open and Celso appeared. He seemed grim.

"Time to go, princess," Celso forced a smile and swung a pair of handcuffs.

"Is that necessary?" Aless asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, it's the last time I get to do this to you," Celso made a fake frown. "Just be a good princess and behave."

Grumbling, Aless didn't even fight with him. She turned around and let him cuff her, then followed Celso out of the room. Aless couldn't remember the last time she had been out of the maze-like building. Months?

As always Alessandra lost track of all the twists and turns that they took to exit the building. It amazed Aless that on the outside of the building she had seen so many windows and yet inside the building she had never seen one. They finally reached a hallway in which Alessandra could smell fresh air. It smelled like it had just rained and there were birds chirping. Suddenly Aless had the urge to run to the door and burst into the shining sun.

"We are almost there," Celso whispered as if he knew what she was thinking.

And they were. It took them less than a minute to reach door and Celso smiled genuinely at Aless as he opened the door for her. Stepping outside, Alessandra gulped in both delight and pain as the bright sun hurt her eyes and warmed her face.

The sun was high in the sky and there were trees around the building that were blooming beautiful flowers and full with green leaves. The buyers, slaves, and Dominic were standing in the circle gravel drive that was in front of the building. All the slaves were wearing the same outfit and all of them looked scared. Aless wasn't scared, to her surprise. She was tired of the drama of the situation and just wanted to go home. The hype of being scared all the time was gone. She couldn't imagine anything worse than being stuck in that hell hole of a building.

Celso led her to the rest of the slaves and removed the cuffs from her wrists. He patted her head affectionately and said, "Good luck, princess."

Nodding to him, she thought she may miss Celso. He was not a completely bad guy; of course, after being stuck with Dominic and Cahan for so long, not even Tyler was a bad guy, the jerk that he was.

Dominic cleared his throat and Aless looked away from Celso to see Dominic standing in one of his best suits. The man was impressive in a creepy kind of way. He spoke in a smooth silky voice that reminded Alessandra of a passive snake slowly working its way around a person's neck. Speaking at length of the rules and the object of the game, Dominic looked steadily at everyone. To Aless's disgust Mistress Yìguó blushed when Dominic looked at her and he winked. Rolling her eyes, Aless listened, but only partly.

"I hope that everyone has enjoyed their stay at my abode and remembers to call upon me if anything happens. I must insist on you not killing the slaves during the race. And most importantly do no kill the other hunters. It would be very bad for business," Dominic announced to the intent crowd.

There was a little bit of laughter and some of the men elbowed each other while they winked. It was all good fun for the buyers, but Dominic's statement caused several of the slaves to gasp or gulp loudly. A small Sᴔm girl was praying in her native language. Aless could see tears in her eyes. The Sᴔm boy next to her put his arm around her protectively. Her brother? Friend? Or just a kind person? Family she guessed because they had the same eyes.

Kayla pressed against Aless as she always did, and her fingers squeezed Aless's arm so tight Aless started to lose feeling. Analyzing the crowd, Aless was too busy to deal with her panicking friend. All the slave hunters were there. Some had new people with them who looked armed. The hired help. Cahan's men were there but he was not. Where was he? Aless scanned the crowd again and again for Cahan but still she did not see him.

Dominic was still talking, although he noticed that Aless was not paying attention. She seemed completely uninterested in what he had to say and was looking for someone. Who? Some of his men appeared, each carrying several large backpacks. Grunting, they put them down between Dominic and the slaves. Dominic narrowed his eyes as he saw Jᴔnsa was among them. What did Jᴔnsa think he was doing?

"To make things a little fairer and so that the slaves will not die on the first day out, we have provided them with a standard hiking backpack, containing water canisters, a tent, a sleeping bag, a few rations, a flashlight and a first aid kit. There are only half as many backpacks as there are slaves so the slaves will be traveling in twos or a few will be left to survive on their own."

Jaws fell open. The slaves were horrified. They were grateful for the supplies but not all of them knew people there. No one wanted to be the selfish person to keep a bag and not share it (or at least not be the first to admit it), but how were they to work it out? Alessandra felt disgusted with Dominic. Of course, he would do that. Turning Aless started whispering to the other slaves while Dominic continued his speech.

"Everyone just find someone from your same region. That's the person you need to travel with. If there are more than two from the same state then you all stay together and once at a safe place figure out the details," she growled.

A few people went to question her, but she gave them such a look they closed their mouths. They didn't really have any other alternatives. Dominic was not unaware of their whisperings; however, he decided to deal with it later. Once he had finished talking, Dominic walked towards the slaves motioning for the backpacks to be brought with.

"I hope you slaves are grateful. I expect you to thank me properly," he told them in a motherly tone.

The idea made Aless want to throw up. Each slave thanked Dominic as directed while they received their backpacks. Some even bowed a little. Alessandra and Kayla were in the middle of the group and Kayla quickly bowed and gave a groveling thanks. Drawing level with Aless, Dominic smiled coolly waiting for her thanks. She said nothing. He could pull the Three-Eyed Cąȶ's tail for all she cared. Kayla looked panicked and eyed the bag greedily. Eyes wide, Kay prayed that Dominic wouldn't take the supplies back.

"Well?" Dominic urged.

"Thank you for giving us half of what we deserve," Aless said flatly, holding eye contact.

"You're right…you do deserve something else," Dominic said, his smile forced.

Striking Aless across the cheek with an open hand, Dominic smirked as everyone fell silent. Alessandra bit her tongue, but her cheek stung.

"I'm sorry, folks, that was for a disobedience that this particular slave displayed while I was speaking earlier," Dominic apologized theatrically to the buyers. "It is not her fault. She just doesn't know any better."

There were a couple nods, yet Mistress Yìguó watched warily. Her arms still ached from Dominic's last meeting with her. Remembering their time together, Mistress Yìguó cringed a little. As if Dominic could feel her cringe, he looked up and smiled at her silkily. Mistress Yìguó kept her face blank, as she had learned from years of business, but inside she felt as if worms were squirming around. She had seen the pleasure and excitement in Dominic's eyes as he approached and struck the slave. It was a sick pleasure. The same pleasure she had seen in his eyes as he had brought her to tears during their intercourse.

Dominic finished being thanked by the slaves and approached her as the slaves were receiving the last of the bags. Sidling up to Mistress Yìguó, Dominic beamed and eyed her like a piece of meat, a favorite chew toy. Instead of the girlish shivers Mistress Yìguó had experienced upon their first encounter, she felt ice pour down her back as his hand touched her waist.

"The time has come, my dear," he lulled in her ear. "It's time to enact our deal."

"Uh…are you sure about this? Our deal?" she said, trying to sound calm.

"Of course…we both will get things we want and it will forge a bond between us. A deal is a deal, Mistress Yìguó."

"Of course. A deal is a deal."

Dominic grinned and winked at Mistress Yìguó. A knot settled in Ms. Capone's chest as she watched the intense hunger and depraved insanity in Dominic's hot gold eyes. His eyes were trained on the poor wild slave. It was then that Ms. Capone wondered if she had made a deal with the Three-Eyed Cąȶ themselves.

Aless was rubbing her sore cheek as a backpack was shoved at her. Kayla looked crestfallen as Aless's hands wrapped around the straps. She hadn't been given one. Looking up to thank the man who had actually given her the pack, Alessandra saw Cahan.

"Really?" she sighed. "Do you do everything?"

"Yeah, pretty much," he smiled a little.

Contrary to his smile, Cahan's eyes searched her face. A light bruise was arising on Aless's cheek. It was like spring time, with blooms of blue, purple and yellow in his enhanced vision. Sighing and thinking he to himself that he was such a softie, Cahan pulled out a cool compress.

"Here, hold it to your cheek. It will help with the swelling."

Gently, he held it to Aless's cheek. Surprised Aless placed her hand over his. Kayla watched slightly intrigued as Alessandra blushed violet. Jerking away, she shook her head.

"No, thank you, sir. If I'm going to bruise, I might as well let it be as bright as possible."

"Why would you do that?"

"So everyone can see the brutality of men."

"Of Dominic."

"Of men."

"Awe, the feminist comes out again."

"Better a feminist then a doormat."

"You ought to be grateful."

"I never learned to be grateful to my master."

"Just hold it to your damn face. It will help with the pain."

Cahan grabbed her by the back of the head and held the compress to her face. Struggling a little, Alessandra glared at him, but the cooling effect of the cloth stopped her. It did feel good against her pulsing skin. Her hand replaced his and she had to squelch a sigh. Cahan turned and started to walk away.

"Thank you," Alessandra said quickly, blushing deeper.

Stopping, Cahan turned and grinned his crooked grin.

"What was that?"

"You heard me."

"I don't think I did."

Aless turned plum and huffed. She wouldn't repeat herself. Cahan leaned in with a huge grin.

"I knew you wanted me," he teased winking and laughing at Aless's open surprise.

"You pig!" Aless growled.

As hard as she could, Aless threw the compress at his face. Chuckling, he caught it then eyed the necklace she always. On instinct, Cahan grabbed it and broke the chain. Kay caught a hold of Aless, who tried to throw herself at Cahan. It was the crescent Danny had given her.

"I will return this when we meet again," he whispered and then walked off.

Shaking his head, Cahan rumbled with good humor as he passed Dominic. Dominic looked less than friendly towards Cahan, yet he didn't care. Blowing a kiss to Dominic, Cahan racked up an invisible point for himself against Dominic in his mind as Dominic snarled, staying put.

Alessandra was still blushing as she hoisted the pack on her back. Kayla was staying close as she saw Dominic check his watch. The race would begin soon.

"You have seventy-two hours, slaves," Dominic said sharply. "Seventy-two hours to run and then the hunters will be on you."

There was a tense silence. Dominic held up his hand, all five fingers sticking up. Slowly, as he looked at his watch, he lowered each finger. As the last one curled into his fist, he looked up and smiled.

"Run."

For a brief moment, it seemed everyone and everything had stopped. Time was frozen and Aless felt her eyes travel to Cahan. In them she saw a hunger, a drive, a sudden primal urge. She would even have sworn he looked like the jungle cat from her dreams.

Kayla was the first to move.

"Aless!" Kayla shrieked.

She grabbed Aless's wrist and dragged her down the gravel drive. There was a loud commotion as the hunters all laughed and the slaves yelled and scrambled to get away. Aless started behind Kayla, but soon was past her. The drive was long and steep. The gravel path was a little slippery as all the slaves tore down it. Alessandra led the pack, neck and neck with the Sᴔm boy and the little Sᴔm girl. They looked at each other and he nodded somberly. He had the little girl on his back and Ale had Kayla by the wrist.

"The woods," he said in a heavy accent.

Aless nodded and turned to the woods that lined the right of the drive. They ran for as long as they could before it hurt too much to breath. The other slaves had split off. All around them the wood echoed with screams and cries of children, running blindly. It took all of Aless's effort to not lose her mind and panic as the fear of what lay behind them and cries of those around them drowned her senses.

Staggering to a stop, the boy looked at watch on his wrist. He had a watch? That was unfair Aless thought to herself. Kayla collapsed to the ground next to the little girl. The boy and Aless leaned against near bye trees. They were wheezing and holding their sides. No other slave was around and the sounds of their voices were beginning to fade. Taking a few moments to catch their breath, Aless looked up to see the Sᴔm boy watching her.

"Alessandra, you can call me Aless," she gasped.

Holding her side with one hand, she held out her other for him to shake. His response came in Sᴔm, which Aless only partially understood. Thanks to Danny, Aless had learned key phrases, but not enough to have a conversation. She was able to deduce that his name was Jesus and the girl was his sister Rafita. Rafita smiled shyly, walking over and hugging her brother's leg. Aless nodded looking over to Kayla, who looked irritated for some reason.

"She is Kayla, my best friend. We are from the East Coast. How about you guys?"

Again, his response was in Sᴔm. Communicating was going to be hard if they didn't speak Mᴔjin. Thinking hard, she tried to understand what he had said. Grasping that Aless hadn't understood him, Jesus held out his hand and pointed to the fingertips.

"You," he said.

Then he moved his finger to the bottom center of his palm.

"Us."

"Oh! You are from South Central."

"Jes."

"Do you know where we are?"

He moved his finger to the top of his palm where his thumb joint was.

"Damn? Seriously? You think we are in the North Coast?"

"Did he say the North Coast?" Kay whined. "How the hell are we supposed to cross the whole freaking country?"

"I don't know, Kay! Let me think."

Kayla let out a whimper and buried her face in her arms. Aless rolled her eyes, but she understood Kayla's sentiment. Yet, at the moment, it was too much to take in and Aless just wanted to focus on their first hurtle, getting as far from Dominic's domicile as possible. Glancing back at Jesus, Aless saw that he was looking at Kayla in an unfavorable manner. Rafita tugged on her pant leg and gave her head a small shake. Taking a deep breath, Jesus refocused on Aless.

"Come with us, jes?" he asked.

"What?" Aless started.

"You can come with us," Rafita said.

Her Mᴔjin was better than her brothers.

"I don't know…"

"Group better," Jesus shook his head. "More eyes."

He mimicked looking around with his hand shading his eyes. Aless thought of the old silent movies her grandfather liked. It would have been funny if the situation hadn't been so serious.

"I guess that makes sense," she conceded.

Not knowing where they were put Aless and Kay at a big disadvantage. Plus they were two teenage girls. That was bound to attract bad attention. Heck, even going out to clubs in their hometown attracted nuts and pervs. Aless couldn't image what kind of people they would attract walking across the continent alone. Even if the idea was sexist, having a male around would help deter a lot of men with bad intentions. And Jesus might need help traveling with Rafita since she was so young.

Smiling, Jesus touched Aless's arm. It was went to be friendly and encouraging but Kayla instantly stiffened. How dare he touch Aless? He didn't even know her! Jamming herself between them, Kayla glowered at Jesus who appeared confused. Aless called her name but Kay didn't listen.

"Why should we travel with people who we can't even talk to?" Kay snapped. "How is that supposed to work?"

"Kay," Aless snapped.

"This is Mᴔjin. They should speak Mᴔjin."

"Kayla! You are being rude. They are offering to help us."

"How? If we can't even talk to them properly, how can they help us?"

Crossing her arms, Kayla eyes Jesus who now glared back at her. Rafita appeared bored and squatted to look at a pretty flowering weed. Taking a step around Kayla, Jesus reached to take Aless's wrist to pull her aside. It was clear that Aless was the rational one of the two.

Narrowing her eyes, Kay swatted his hand away from Aless. Sucking in air, the boy frowned more deeply. Aless, this time, jumped between them, resting a hand on each other their chests. What was wrong with Kay?

"What are you doing?" Aless asked her, upset.

"Why does he have to touch you? You shouldn't let some stranger touch you!" Kayla snarled. "Haven't you learned by now that it how it all starts? Do you really think we should trust some random guy and some girl he claims to be his sister?"

"Kayla, we are not in the situation to be judging people. If we are going to make it, we need help."

Placing her hands on her hips, Kay frowned, eyes narrowed at Jesus and Rafita. She didn't trust them and she couldn't believe Aless was considering it. They didn't need the boy or his sister. Aless had Kay and vice versa. That was all they needed.

Rafita and Jesus both narrowed their eyes. They obviously knew enough Mᴔjin that they understood Kayla. Kayla was not making a good impression, which, frankly, embarrassed Aless. She loved Kay, but she hated when people saw her acting like a brat. Yes, Kayla had a point and they had not real reason to trust Jesus and Rafita, but they were all in the same boat. More people meant more eyes to help keep each other safe. Sure, it also meant more attention and more needs, but that seemed like a good price to pay for help.

"Kayla, they have a bag too. We will be fine, and it will be safer in a group. It seems to be the best choice. We have to go their way anyways," Aless tried to reason

"Going all the way to South Central is the long way home, Aless," Kay argued. "If we are in North West Coast, then we should be heading straight across."

"We don't know what month it is. If it is late in the year, we will get stuck in winter and we do not have the clothes, and I doubt the gear, to survive. Going south is longer, but it will be safer weather wise. And you don't know, they may know things we don't."

Eying the sibling, Kay ground her teeth. She didn't like the idea at all. She didn't like how trusting Aless was being. She especially didn't like how Jesus kept glancing at Aless, then chewing his lower lip like he was contemplating something. Why didn't Aless understand that she just needed Kay? How come Aless never understood that they only ever needed each other? That they had always just had and would ever need each other?

"No!" Kay finally snarled.

She went to take the pack from Aless's back, but Aless struck her hand. Jumping away, Kayla shrieked like a bird, her eyes large and indignant. Inhaling sharply, she let out a soft hiss. How dare Alessandra slap her hand away! After all they had been through, Aless was going to side with these strangers over Kay?

"So, that is how it is, Alessandra? You are going to choose them over me?" Kayla growled.

Surprised, Aless shook her head. What was Kayla talking about? She just wanted them to all work together. Sensing Aless's answer, Kayla pulled her shoulders back and scowled.

"Go to hell! I don't need them, and I don't need you!" Kay spat, turning on her heels and running off through the woods.

Inwardly, she hoped and knew that Aless would come after her. Aless always did, but a small part of her feared that Alessandra wouldn't. Shaking her head as she ran, Kayla drove that fear out of her mind. Aless would follow her, because Alessandra always did.

"Kay, you're acting like a spoiled child!" Aless called to Kay.

Shaking her head, Aless waited for Kayla to come back. She didn't. Swallowing hard, Alessandra saw Jesus check his watch. They were wasting precious time. An ugly part of Alessandra wanted to let Kay go. She knew that Kay was going to be a burden traveling across the country. Kay was spoiled and weak at times. She wasn't going to do well living off a backpack and nothing else. Yet Aless could never abandon Kayla. How would Kayla survive without her?

"I must apologize for my friend. I don't know what's wrong with her. I really do think we should travel together, but I must go get her. She doesn't know where she is going," Aless sighed.

"We no can wait," Jesus shook his head.

His mouth was tight with anger lines. Rafita held his hand, her eyes full of concern.

"I understand. Please run. I must go after Kayla. Do not let us hold you back," Aless apologized before running after her stupid, stubborn friend.