Chapter One

Disjointed images flashed through her head as a grating voice declared, “This stupid girl, can’t even walk properly! You send her back to me as soon as she’s awake.” A deeper voice argued with the woman, but she sank back into oblivion, trying to sort through her latest memories.

“I’m not stupid.” A quiet voice came from beside her as she watched the girl’s life like a movie. Standing beside her was a girl that looked quite like her original body…if she’d been half-starved at sixteen and covered with mud and scars. Vivian focused on the girl because she’d rather study her than the horrific montage of abuse she was going through. Turning to her, the girl continued, “I was pretending. It was the only way…” She huddled in on herself as they watched another kidnapped girl being brought to the village.

“I believe you.” Vivian’s voice sounded echoey in the half-formed landscape of their mind. She’d thought the worst thing she’d live through was watching servants being beaten to death. This… was so much worse.

“I couldn’t save them.” The soft voice said sadly as she stared at the woman being raped in the middle of the road. “I couldn’t even fully protect myself.” She shuddered as she crouched there, drawing circles in the dirt with her finger. When the woman was dragged away unconscious, the girl looked up at her with haunted eyes. “I can’t… take it anymore. Will you save us?”

Watching her last memory, as she purposefully slipped towards the brick wall, aiming to hit her head, the girl finished, “You look clever. I’ll leave everything to you, just promise me you’ll get us out.”

Pursing her lips, Vivian whispered, “I’ll do my best.”

“You promised.” The words echoed in her head as she surfaced once more to the world of the living.

Everything hurt. Vee, as the girl was called, hadn’t just hit her head on the way down. The aches and bruises suggested she’d been dragged over and probably kicked at least once in the ribs. She couldn’t help but let out a small groan as she shifted, trying to sit up.

“Vee, you’re awake! How are you feeling?” Doctor Tang scooted closer, his strong arms helping her to a sitting position as he looked on with worry.

“Doctor? Why?” Vivian blinked innocently at the man, grimacing as she asked in a scratchy voice, “Vee hurt?” It grated on her soul to pretend to have the intelligence of a stunted child, but she’d keep up the act until she could escape this hellhole. From her scattered memories, she knew there was a single old rotary phone in the village chief’s office. Rather than running away, it would be better to call for help. Vee hadn’t known what the device did or how to use it, but Vivian was perfectly aware of what its existence signified.

Breaking her out of her thoughts, the doctor patted her gently on the shoulder as he replied, “Yes, Vee fell down and hit her head. But you’re going to be okay. Now, drink up.” He snagged a cup that still had wisps of smoke coming off it.

Looking at the dark brown concoction, Vivian wrinkled her nose but obediently began to sip it. The bitter liquid soothed her throat and warmed her stomach as she made faces at the doctor. Thankfully, Vee’s body did some things instinctively, so she was just going with the flow rather than fighting her reactions.

“Now, be a good girl and sit still, I’m going to check your head.” His voice was gentle, but she froze obediently as he wet an old gray cloth that had clearly been washed too many times and dabbed at her blood-encrusted hair. She winced a little, trying to keep herself still as he cleared away the flakes of blood and applied another layer of green ointment. “All right, you’re all done here. Time to go home, Vee.”

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“Go home?” She tilted her head, and he nodded sadly. Blinking, she gave him a sweet smile as she said, “Okay doc. Go home.” There was nothing more he could do for her, anyway. Although his care was rudimentary and unsanitary at best, it was literally the only option. She felt like her skin was crawling as she looked at the skinny fingers that were showed mottled purple and blue beneath the deep brown. She couldn’t even clean herself up properly, because the dirt helped keep her safe.

Letting her long black hair fall in front of her face, she nodded to Doctor Tang. “Bye bye, Doctor.”

“Be safe, little Vee.” He murmured softly as she slowly got to her feet, hanging onto the frame until she got her bearings before shuffling slowly outside, leaving the legless man to his own devices once more. Stepping out into the afternoon sunshine, she inhaled the crisp scents of early spring. If only there wasn’t the pervasive stench of human waste accompanying it, it might have been pleasant.

Pulling her threadbare shirt to make sure it was properly hiding her skinny frame, she took up Vee’s perpetual hunch and shuffled slowly through the village, giving small fearful nods to two women whose eyes she caught. Both had been washing clothes in the yard, and were in similar conditions to her. Both of them barely looked at her at all, resigned to their fate. Thankfully most of the men were still busy with planting, so she made it safely back to her house without running into anyone else, carefully noting everything she could about the place to match it against Vee’s memories.

“M-mom, I’m home.” She called the words out hoarsely as she entered the gate to their dilapidated courtyard. The only part that looked the least bit neat was the vegetable plot in the corner that she knew Vee took care of.

A grimy old woman came out of the house. Her clothes were patched, her skin rough and weathered by long years of hard labor. Mother Vance’s voice grated on her ears like gravel as she huffed, “Finally back, you useless slut. It took you long enough! The day’s half gone. Don’t think we feed you for nothing!” Shoving a woven basket into her arms, the angry woman pushed her back out the gate. “Go on, go up the mountains and dig for vegetables or you won’t eat tonight!”

“Go dig, go dig.” Vivian bobbed her head softly, trying to move unobtrusively to soften the pain of her clearly bruised ribs. Gripping the basket like her life depended on it, she began shuffling around the wall, heading behind the house. Not many of the captured girls were allowed on the back mountain unsupervised. They didn’t want them to run away, after all. Then they’d get out the hunting dogs and that…was never a pretty sight. Go too far in and you’d encounter wild beasts. Vee was allowed to go collect wild fruits and vegetables alone from the lower area simply because she acted with the intelligence of a child who only remembered this was her home. If the others were let out at all, they were watched closely.

Trundling slowly up the mountain as she looked for anything edible, Vivian considered her options. In these backwater villages, the village chief was judge, jury, and executioner. Of course, she didn’t consider any of the people who stayed willingly in this village as good. Even Doctor Tang had been kidnapped and crippled so he couldn’t leave. Trying to escape on foot was just signing a death warrant. The only ‘easier’ way down was a precarious road, and they had that guarded at all times.

Women who absconded into the mountains were either run down by the hunting dogs or captured again and then treated even worse. The nearest three villages were all in cahoots with the human traffickers, because that’s the only way they could force women to come to these forsaken areas. As long as one of them lost a woman, they’d all band together to search for her.

No, outside help was probably the only actual feasible option. She’d just have to pray the police weren’t in their pocket too, or she’d be doomed after calling for help. For now, she’d find something to fill her empty stomach, survive the coming days, and wait for an opportunity.

She might’ve chosen to just go along with her family’s chosen path in her last life, but that was on the premise that she was still living well. Slaving away as an idiot just waiting for that fool to lay his hands on her? No. She would keep her promise to Vee, and then see where and when exactly the gods had dumped her this time around.