corner, wearing a long nightgown that was as dirty and dingy
as the mattress cover she sat on. It looked as if neither had been washed for a while.
Jessie lifted the light a little more, careful not to flash it in the woman’s face.
56
Justice
“My name is Jessie,” she stated softly. “We’re going to get you out of here and take
you somewhere safe. I’m going to come closer to you but don’t be afraid. I’d never hurt
you, okay?” She shone the beam on her face and allowed the bright light to temporarily
blind her to give the confined woman a good look at her. “I’m a woman too. See? We’re
not here to hurt you.”
Jessie lowered the light and waited until the spots cleared then carefully tracked the
beam back to where the woman huddled. She took in more of the woman as she raised
the light to the woman’s legs. She was Species all right. Her hair was black and her
features marked her as carrying primate DNA. It was obvious from her delicate
features, the more rounded shape of her dark brown eyes and her cute, perky nose.
Jessie crawled closer. “Do you know that there are others like you? I’m going to
take you home to them, to your family. They’ve been looking for you for a long time.
Can you tell me your name?”
The woman gripped her knees tighter to her chest and her features showed her
terror. Jessie didn’t blame her for the fear. “I’m really not going to hurt you. I’m here to take you out of here to somewhere safe. I’m going to take you to your family. They are
people just like you, ones who were hurt by others and it’s going to be safe for you
there. No one is ever going to lock you inside a cage again. I’m Jessie,” she repeated.
“What’s your name?”
The woman opened her mouth and whispered soft words that were hard to catch.
“Mud.”
Jesus! Rage tore through Jessie at hearing the shitty name her captors had tagged her with but she tried to conceal it. “That isn’t really your name. Do you remember
what that is? What you were called before you were brought here?”
The woman hesitated. “My name was Monkey.”
Jessie counted to ten to cool down her boiling blood. Son of a bitch. Is there no end to the mean shit people do to these people?
“I’ll tell you what. Why don’t we call you Beauty? Do you like that name? I think it
fits you much better than those other ones. The men outside with me came to take you
away from the men who held you here. I’m going to take you somewhere safe. You can
trust me.”
Jessie crawled closer when the Species seemed to calm as some of the fear eased
from her delicate features. She switched her attention to the cage, noted the lock and the chains that ran through the squares from the woman’s ankles to a bolt in the floor feet
from the container. The bolt pierced right through the floorboards and no screws
showed. It wasn’t going to be easy to free this one with those heavy-duty shackles. They
usually took them in chains if they weren’t able to get them free on site and that floor
bolt would be hellish to break.
“May I look at your ankles, please? I’d like to see if I can get those shackles off and
looking at the lock will tell me if they are easy to pick or not.”
“Okay,” she agreed hesitantly.
57
Laurann Dohner
Jessie reached through the cage to gently grip one of the shackles. There were key
holes in each one and the metal was heavy, solid and wouldn’t break with what they
carried. The locks were complicated and that didn’t bode well either.
“Look for keys,” she said into her mic. “They have her chained to a bolt that’s going
to be tough to remove since it’s through the floor and picking the locks isn’t an option. I could get into the cage they have her in but those shackles are another story.”
“I don’t know where they are,” Beauty whispered.
Jessie set the flashlight down so it gave off enough light for them to see each other
as she released her
as the mattress cover she sat on. It looked as if neither had been washed for a while.
Jessie lifted the light a little more, careful not to flash it in the woman’s face.
56
Justice
“My name is Jessie,” she stated softly. “We’re going to get you out of here and take
you somewhere safe. I’m going to come closer to you but don’t be afraid. I’d never hurt
you, okay?” She shone the beam on her face and allowed the bright light to temporarily
blind her to give the confined woman a good look at her. “I’m a woman too. See? We’re
not here to hurt you.”
Jessie lowered the light and waited until the spots cleared then carefully tracked the
beam back to where the woman huddled. She took in more of the woman as she raised
the light to the woman’s legs. She was Species all right. Her hair was black and her
features marked her as carrying primate DNA. It was obvious from her delicate
features, the more rounded shape of her dark brown eyes and her cute, perky nose.
Jessie crawled closer. “Do you know that there are others like you? I’m going to
take you home to them, to your family. They’ve been looking for you for a long time.
Can you tell me your name?”
The woman gripped her knees tighter to her chest and her features showed her
terror. Jessie didn’t blame her for the fear. “I’m really not going to hurt you. I’m here to take you out of here to somewhere safe. I’m going to take you to your family. They are
people just like you, ones who were hurt by others and it’s going to be safe for you
there. No one is ever going to lock you inside a cage again. I’m Jessie,” she repeated.
“What’s your name?”
The woman opened her mouth and whispered soft words that were hard to catch.
“Mud.”
Jesus! Rage tore through Jessie at hearing the shitty name her captors had tagged her with but she tried to conceal it. “That isn’t really your name. Do you remember
what that is? What you were called before you were brought here?”
The woman hesitated. “My name was Monkey.”
Jessie counted to ten to cool down her boiling blood. Son of a bitch. Is there no end to the mean shit people do to these people?
“I’ll tell you what. Why don’t we call you Beauty? Do you like that name? I think it
fits you much better than those other ones. The men outside with me came to take you
away from the men who held you here. I’m going to take you somewhere safe. You can
trust me.”
Jessie crawled closer when the Species seemed to calm as some of the fear eased
from her delicate features. She switched her attention to the cage, noted the lock and the chains that ran through the squares from the woman’s ankles to a bolt in the floor feet
from the container. The bolt pierced right through the floorboards and no screws
showed. It wasn’t going to be easy to free this one with those heavy-duty shackles. They
usually took them in chains if they weren’t able to get them free on site and that floor
bolt would be hellish to break.
“May I look at your ankles, please? I’d like to see if I can get those shackles off and
looking at the lock will tell me if they are easy to pick or not.”
“Okay,” she agreed hesitantly.
57
Laurann Dohner
Jessie reached through the cage to gently grip one of the shackles. There were key
holes in each one and the metal was heavy, solid and wouldn’t break with what they
carried. The locks were complicated and that didn’t bode well either.
“Look for keys,” she said into her mic. “They have her chained to a bolt that’s going
to be tough to remove since it’s through the floor and picking the locks isn’t an option. I could get into the cage they have her in but those shackles are another story.”
“I don’t know where they are,” Beauty whispered.
Jessie set the flashlight down so it gave off enough light for them to see each other
as she released her
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