Shatter

“ -- And...done!” Milana said, finishing my makeup.

“Milana, why all this fuss over me? I’m nothing special.” I pointed out.

“Honey, you clearly haven’t looked in a mirror in a while.” She remarked, looking incredulous. I ignored her.

I’m nothing special. Always have been, always will be. “Why am I sort of dressed up anyways?”

At this, Milana looked sad. “You’re going to be shown off. In the ‘trophy’ room.”

“Shown off? To who?” I scoffed. “Come on, this whole ‘auction’ thing is one big joke. Right, Milana?”

I expected her to agree with me, breaking into a grin and helping me into a nice pair of jeans and a t-shirt instead of a poofy, uncomfortable dress. But she didn’t. Instead, her face went stolid. “No. I’m afraid....” She whispered, “I’m afraid that it’s very real.”

I frowned. “Human trafficking is illegal. Does no one get that? The FBI or the CIA would’ve busted this place by now.”

She shook her head. “Peridot, you don’t understand. This...company...is hundreds of years old. It was originally established in Europe, then it ‘expanded’ to all continents, save for Antarctica. You can’t stop them....” She looked as if she was going to cry.

I, instead of growing sympathetic at her tears, grew angry at her. “Look, I have a family! They’re probably looking for me right now! This is ridiculous!” I exploded.

Milana just sat on the bed, not noticing my reaction. “This company...is unstoppable.”

“Milana is right, you know. I’m unstoppable.” Topaz entered the room, slamming the door shut behind her. “And the only reason that it is unstoppable is because I own it.”