Warning: There are some topics that may be upsetting to some readers. There will be an end marker for sensitive readers.
She squeezed my hand back and choked on her tears. Her voice sounded rough as she finally began to speak, "It was so much worse than I had ever imagined it would be. I can't believe that I ever thought the ritual was a good thing, that I was ever complacent. They don't care who joins the ritual, as long as they have gems. There was actually a crime leader there who cut up the females that he bought, and another male who wanted to take me away and pee on me. They kept us locked in tiny cabins with bars on the doors. We had to sleep in the dirt, in our own filth; they didn't allow us to bathe. They didn't take us outside to relieve ourselves; they made us use a bucket in the corner, like prisoners sentenced to execution."
I gasped and held her with both arms, and she let out another sob.
