Monday at 9:08 A.M….

I woke up feeling groggy. The collar constantly attached to my neck made my shoulders weighed down. It pulled at my smile, making it into a constant frown. It was the beginning of the second day I had been here. At least I had a bunk to sleep in instead of the floor.

Sunday had been a….learning experience on what I was allowed to do. There was a whole set of rules I had to memorize and constantly keep with me. I wasn’t allowed to talk back, not really allowed to talk at all, actually. I couldn’t touch the cabinets and must ask one of the boys to get something from it.

I wasn’t allowed to take the collar off. I couldn’t leave the bus unless I was supervised. There was no refusing orders. If I was caught breaking any of the rules, I was to be punished harshly. I felt like I was some pet, not a human with feelings and opinions. It was horrible.

The thing was, I had one secret up my sleeve. When I had been out on my driveway that night I was taken, I had my ipod with me. My ipod had a messaging app on it. What was the bad part? It was out of battery.

Yep, I had a useless ipod.

Unless….

Unless I could find a charger. Like all people with phones, their chargers were heavily guarded and they mostly kept them in their bunks. I couldn’t sneak in and take their chargers without being caught. So for now, it was a waiting game.

With a yawn, I rolled out of bed. If I didn’t get out of bed soon, I would be dragged out. As much as I wanted to fight back, I just didn’t want to cause too much trouble. There was limited trust I had access to. If only I could reach it, I would be able to maybe gain a foothold over them.

Standing up, I heard the silver collar jingle and shake as I moved. Matty Nicholls and Oli were sitting out watching something on TV. I slowly entered the room, attracting their attention. Oli’s bright eyes glimmered.

“Come here, Kitten.” He cooed. I mentally grimaced at the pet name. That one word really did make me feel like a cat. I’m allergic to cats.

I’m more of a dog person, to be honest.

Without a word, I walked over to him. His strong hands grabbed my wrists and pulled me down onto his lap, cuddled up to him. I went rigid at the touch. He pulled me against his chest and continued to watch the TV, as if nothing happened. With my hands curled into my chest, I subjected to the forced cuddles.

“So how did you sleep well, Kitten?” He asked. I sighed, keeping my attention focused on a cabinet. As long as I wasn’t thinking about how wrong this was, maybe it could turn into a more normal conversation.

“Good.” I responded shortly.

“Good, what?” He asked curtly. I gritted my teeth. Of course, I had forgotten one of the rules.

“Good, sir.” I forced out. He gripped my arm tightly, causing me to suck in my breath in pain.

“Orion, you mustn’t forget your manners.” He scolded. I ducked my head shyly and grumbled an apology. He didn’t push matters further. His hands ran circles up and down my arm. As good as it felt, I knew it was so wrong. I knew that I should be subjecting to a kidnapper’s touch.

This was all very wrong.

Eventually he got tired of me and picked me up, scooting me off his legs until I was curled onto the couch. He got up as I leaned against the corner of the piece of furniture. There was a hiss as coffee started to be made. Jordan came out from his bunk, looking sleepy still. He walked over to me as Oli handed him the newspaper.

“Hey, darling.” He said, patting my head. I gave him a weak smile.

“Hello, sir.” I responded. He nodded in approval and moved to Oli’s side. Matty looked like he was going to fall asleep on the other couch, even though he had just woken up.

“How long should we wait?” Jordan asked. Oli thought in silence for a moment.

“For the ad or for what?” He turned to his friend. The keyboardist shrugged. I pretended not to be listening to their conversation. Oli took another newspaper and looked through it. Although it was often seen as an old fashioned way of the news, I guess it was good for local news and stories. I noticed that the headline was from my town. I swallowed a gulp of overwhelming sadness.

“Give it a couple weeks or so, just for training, mate. She’ll warm up and then we can contact some of the others.” Oli explained. Jordan nodded. He looked over to me. I caught his eye before tearing away.

“Are you sure? I know one of the guys who’ll be good for her.” The keyboardist whispered.

“We’ll just have to see. She’ll fetch a good price.” Oli murmured. I looked out the window, peeking to the still landscape. It looked like we were in the western area of my home state. There were rolling plains marred by our abandoned road we traversed. My hands went up to the collar as it scratched a sensitive spot. The back of my neck always made me cringe when it was touched.

“Hey!” Oli snapped. The rolled up newspaper smacked my head sharply. I yelped and dropped by hands. Woops, I guess I had just accidentally broken one of the rules again. I rubbed my head where the heavy paper hit and watched as Oli walked to the back lounge.

The collar continued to itch and scratch, but I held my willpower against it. Glumly, I contemplated how much force it would take to kill me. I was mad that I was treated like a pet, that I was kidnapped, and that I’m miles away from my true home.

And so, I continued to brood in silence.

Notes