Growing up, we didn’t have much. My mother tried her best to feed three kids with no money. When I got older and when she got sick and couldn’t afford the medical bills, I had a choice to make. I felt like it was my responsibility as the eldest to take care of her after she worked so hard for us. I started to work as a bouncer in a strip club that was connected to a local gang due to being unable to land any other job. I’ve seen my fair share of illegal activities, however stayed out it for the most part. My mother started to get sicker and I got on the verge of asking around about any other kinds of jobs to do. The more illegal ones. Then I learned I could earn some fast cash when I found out about the Loan System.
Oddly enough, the crime network of our large city offered loans. You had the option of applying for, two grand, five grand or ten grand. However, you can ask for more but those aren’t given out often. The ten grand plus my savings would cover the medical cost and I quickly found out where I could apply. The application processes had all the normal questions, but more personal ones added in. In order to even be considered you must list things such as your favorite food or date idea. The questions threw me for a loop at first, but I filled them all out regardless. They also take photos of you face at different angles and body measurements. When all the questions are answered and photos on file, they decided in a few days if you are worthy for the loan or not.
If you are accepted, it’s not as simple as just paying it back at the high interest rates. In fact, they don’t even care about the money. Accepting the Loan System means putting your body as collateral. If you are able to pay off the loan, you are in the clear. If you still owe money, even by a few dollars, they still have the right to take you. At any point while you still owe money, you could disappear never to be seen again. People disappearing because of the loans didn’t happen very often and there were so many rumors on who was behind all of this and why. Surely there’s an easier way to traffic people so no one ever guessed the true nature behind the loans.
I didn’t care about myself. I just wanted to take care of my mother. With bills paid off and her on the mend, I started taking extra shifts to pay back what I owed.
I got along well with some of the girls that worked at the strip club. I walked them to their cars if needed and sometimes got them home safe by the end of the night if they had no other options. When Candi asked me to guide her along the parking lot, I didn’t question it. I should have noticed how she acted and that it was still in the middle of her shift. I just assumed she wasn’t feeling well and wanted to head home for the night.
I kept my eye on two men lurking near a set of cars in the dark. When they started to move, I quickly placed a hand on her small waist to guide her back to the club. More men I didn’t see before came out; guns raised. I shielded her with my body regretting I didn’t carry a gun.
“Only you.” One spoke, motioning with the weapon for me to stand aside.
“I’m so sorry.” Candi whispered distraught.
I clued in these men were collecting for the Loan System. They wanted nothing to do with her and asked Candi to lure me out into the dark. I gave her a reassuring smile. I didn’t blame her for part in this. I was only glad she was fine and they weren’t going to hurt her. I refused to move until she was safe back inside the club.
Rough hands dragged me over to a car. With a gun at my back, I didn’t fight the blindfold coming over my eyes. They could have more than one weapon and I didn’t like the idea of getting hit with a stun gun. I was outnumbered and good as dead if I resisted. This was what I signed up for when I took the loan, I knew the risk, but still was terrified over what was going to happen to me. In the very least I did what I wanted and took care of my mother.
With my hands bound behind my back; I got shoved inside a car for a long ride. They put on some low music from a mix tape of random songs from different yearly top ten lists. The never-ending list of songs made it hard to keep track of how many ended and how long we drove for. When we finally parked, it was not to drop me off but rather grab another person. I waited in silent car with two men sitting on either side. They were smart enough not to leave me alone.
Soon another person was jammed in the backseat of the van. He was sobbing and begging not to be taken. Anything he could think of to get away, he tried it. From kicking at the seats and windows until they grabbed a hold of him to throwing out offers for our captors to spare him. When nothing worked, he settled into a heaving crying fit. I really didn’t think of him any less of a person for his reaction. It should be a normal response for this kind of situation. At some point I’d carefully got the blindfold lose and he got his off without the other men caring. After he had no more tears left, he noticed me. With me being so calm, he assumed I was with the kidnappers at first.
“How are you not fighting this?” He whispered over a bit too loud.
“I’ve done what I wanted to do in life. This is fine.” I replied trying to hold back my own emotions.
I didn’t want to die. But… There wasn’t much for me to stick around for. Shifting my head slightly, I knew the other man sat behind me but didn’t know who else was inside the van. Inside far too dark to really see clearly with half my blindfold over my eyes.
“I’ll do what I can for you.” I whispered hoping only he heard.
It wasn’t right someone like him got caught up in all of this. If I could get him free, I would try my best. No one reacted to my statement because they thought I didn’t have any power to help.
When the van stopped, we were guided out. The man trying to struggle again as I just walked on slightly shaking legs. The blindfolds stayed on. The men adjusting it back over my eyes the moment we were out of the van. With some issues, they got me up a flight of stone steps that echoed as we walked. I heard that they ended up having to carry the other man kicking and screaming.
Finally, we were led to a room and told to get on our knees. The blindfolds came off and I looked around to see where we were brought.
A line of heavily armed men stood in the back of the dark room in front of the doors making it impossible to escape. On each side of myself was a person on their knees with their hands tied behind their backs. Three women, and three men including myself. The one from the van started sobbing again. The others looking too scared to do so.
The other side of the room so dark we couldn’t see anything beyond a certain point. But we heard it. Something walked closer. Something large. Heavy steps came from the dark with deep breathes. A wispy laughter came. The sound making my body feel like ice. My heart over worked itself as my mind thought of countless ideas of what could be coming towards us.
I was the only one who stayed on my knees. Some tried to get up and run but the armed men came over and forced them in one spot again. Sobbing came from the others as the thing got closer until I thought I saw a vague outline of a great beast pacing in the dark. I blinked, then a man replaced the image of the massive monster in the dark.
He looked fairly handsome, but in a fake sort of way, with neatly styled black hair. Grey eyes looked us over and he smiled. A mouth with teeth too sharp looking over the six terrifying kidnapped prey.
“What a nice assortment this time around. It’s a shame I can only pick one tonight.” The man said in a voice so endearing it made me ill.
The others quickly found hope, begging to either be let go or for him to pick someone else. Saying how better looking the girls were than themselves. The men pleading for one of the girls to be taken and that caused the three women to turn on them. Not even the armed men could keep them silent. Soon they added into the noise making the room fill with a verbal chaos. The man staring at us with eyes of a hunter was pleased by the outcome.
“Take me.” I said, my voice cutting through the noise.
Everyone shut up, shocked by the offer. The man with the grey eyes hid a smile behind the back of his hand. Taking one step closer, I saw he was doing his best to clean spots of drool from the corners of his mouth. I felt scared to death. Whatever he wanted to do wasn’t going to be natural. I still didn’t regret speaking up. I kept my gaze on the ground unable to watch the man get closer and I heard his polished shoes tap on the cold floor right in front of myself.
I stared at the reflective leather until he got down on his knees. Dress pants creasing. His head ducking low to catch my line of sight. His smile so wide it shouldn’t be possible. Teeth pointed and for a second, I thought I was looking as a creature’s face. Something between a wolf and a rat.
Grabbing the side of my face, he lifted my head up so he could look down on me while he sat on his knees. Both hands tugged at my short hair, forcing my head up. His eyes no longer a grey but almost glowing silver.
“Now you, are an interesting one. I would be glad to eat you all up.” His voice dripping with excitement.
For a moment. I thought he was going to press his mouth filled with pointed teeth over my own but he stopped himself. Pulling back, he forced us to keep eye contact.
“Say it again. Say that you’ll give yourself over. Not just your life, but everything you are. If you do that, I won’t touch any of the people in this room.” His voice sweet making my skin crawl.
I wanted to refuse him. My stomach twisting and body trembling. I would rather die instead of whatever he had planned. At first, I felt so scared I nearly refused. As I stared into his silver eyes, something strange happened. Everything else around is disappeared. All the remained was that deep silver color. My mind unable to focus on anything else as my fears eased. The longer I stared into his eyes, the more I understood about him. He was ancient. Countless years old. Older than our world. He came from somewhere else, a place humans would never understand. And he’d gotten bored. Taking a person to completely twist their mind the closest thing to entertainment he could find. His face got closer to my own and I felt myself changing against my will. To my horror, I wanted him to take me. To eat me down to the bone. As much as I resisted him, the more he mentally pulled. I would be killed, but he promised it would be a better experience that any human should ever be able to have.
A single word pulled me from the trace and broke whatever power the man held over me. I pulled back breathing hard nearly getting sick as he let go. One of the armed men was disgusted seeing two men looking at each other in such a way. He muttered a very rude insult under his breathe unaware that everyone in the room could hear him.
A dark expression came across the man’s face for a second. He leaned over, his mouth right beside my ear.
“Maybe next time.”
His words caused the back of my neck to prickle. In a blink of an eye, the space in front of me was empty. Startled voices came next. I turned my head to see what was going on. Everyone who been kidnapped suddenly free. Each of their binds mysteriously snapping at the same time. Some tried for the door as the armed men froze in shock from what they were seeing.
The man who wanted to devour me took a hold of the one who insulted him. Whispering something that made his prey turned pale, the monster’s terrible face bright with joy. Mouth impossibly wide, he brought it down on the tender exposed neck to rip part of it away. People screamed and fled. I was the only one who stayed to watch. The black-haired man’s body twisted and turned into something so removed from logic my brain refused to fully process it. A silver creature with a long powerful snout that ripped into his victim’s stomach. Somehow, the man remained alive. Blood pouring from his mouth as he watched his own organs being torn and eaten. Instead of looking to be in pain, the man looked as if he greatly enjoyed it. My head felt light watching that man’s expression whole being torn apart. This creature was making his meal enjoy the pain and his death. This very nearly happened to myself and a flood of emotions came with that fact.
I watched the gory scene; a terrible feeling came bubbling up. I felt a little jealous and that made me sick. A pair of hands pulled me from the ground and out the door. I assumed it was the crying man from the van coming back to get me. We call spilled outside, frantic and mentally scarred from the night.
Getting home just a blur. I thought the other guy meekly thanked me for offering myself but I wasn’t certain. All I could think about how close I’d been to death that night and the terror that came from how I truly felt about it.
Weeks passed as I fell back into my regular life. I pretended as if the dark urge plaguing my brain wasn’t there. That I made it out safe. I was fine and wasn’t in any danger. I went to pay down my loan, only to find out the ones taken as a choice to be eaten had their loans cleared in exchange for their silence. I no longer had the threat of being snatched up at any point or had any reason to ever come across that creature again.
If it was anyone else, they would be happy about it. That night tainted my mind in a way I couldn’t fight. I finally broke, and took out another loan. Already being in the system made the process faster. The ones in the office I went to weren’t even surprised I doubted I was the first person to do this.
Now it’s just a waiting game. Every moment torture as I thought about seeing that creature again to be ripped apart. At any time, someone would come for me. Until then, I took care of my mother and spent time with my family. I never told them how death hovered over my every waking second or how I felt about it. I just to make some pleasant memories with my family before I disappeared forever. I honestly hope they never find out about what I saw that night and how it changed me. And if anyone hears about the Loan System then maybe they’ll think twice about signing up. There is something worse than death. Something like living with the fear of dying and yet being unable to control yourself eagerly going towards it…