Kick Your Teeth In

KICK YOUR TEETH IN

J. CORTEZ

KICK YOUR TEETH IN

BY: J. CORTEZ

Eternal Press

A division of Caliburn Press, LLC.

P.O. Box 8747

Madison, WI 53714

www.eternalpress.biz

Digital ISBN: 978-1-944956-28-8

Print ISBN: 978-1-944956-27-1

Cover art by: Dawné Dominique

Copyright 2016 J. CORTEZ

Worldwide Electronic & Digital Rights

Worldwide English Language Print Rights

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any form, including digital and electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written consent of the Publisher, except for brief quotes for use in reviews.

This book is a work of fiction. Characters, names, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book is dedicated to women and men who are victims. Who are made to feel less than a human every day. No matter how hard it gets or how terrible it seems, a good friend and strong determination can take you a long way.

Chapter One

Down, Down, Down, The Rabbit Hole

A black bus and three red Humvees pull up in front of an orphanage. The moon above them shone like a crazed smile. Soldiers exit the Humvees. Their dome-like helmets, with a black heart covering most of it, instills a certain uneasiness to this already dreaded night for some.

The crew of twenty soldiers, wearing black clothing covered by red body armor, rushed the white brick orphanage, and kicked open the large wooden doors. The men filed passed a sign etched on the entrance that read, The Academy of Products.

The head soldier, with a black J imprinted on his helmet and a black heart on his chest, pressed the button on his tactical earpiece. We have reached our destination, Sir. We will be arriving with the delivery in twenty minutes.

The older women who run this orphanage, clad in black dresses with white collars, are startled by the slam of the doors, but soon realize what is happening.

Jack of Hearts, please follow me, says one of the women. She runs to the head soldier. I’ll take you to where the girls are.

She leads them down the halls. She opens several gates along the way; gates that resembled those found in a prison.

It takes them five minutes to reach their destination. The woman opens the last gate and says, The three doors on the right hold the girls who have just reached the legal age.

The soldiers enter the rooms and wake the girls from their sleep. Each room holds ten girls, all wearing black nightgowns—all of them only thirteen years old. They lead the girls out of the building and into the black bus waiting for them. Some tried to fight back, clawing and scratching at the soldiers, only to find that their efforts meant nothing.

The last girl led onto the bus is Emily. Her bright blue eyes sparkle as the moonlight reflects off them, and the tears in her eyes only help them glow brighter. They sat her down next to a black-haired girl who was crying far more hysterically than Emily. Her brown eyes were so red and puffy from crying they looked ready to fall out. Out of the thirty girls, Emily, was the only one with a golden head of hair. She looked like a spark of light in a dark abyss.

To Emily, the ride seemed to take forever as they drove through Prodigy City. Actually seeing the lights that she only ever dreamed of being near gave her a few minutes of peace. She knew that hell awaited her when they reached the Black Tower.

The Black Tower is the highest point in the city; a very unwelcoming place that rose as far as her eyes could see. The driver pulled under the ominous awning at the front of the building, cut the engine and opened the door.

They’re all yours, the driver yelled.

The man with the J on his helmet, the one they called Jack of Hearts, entered the bus.

Get up! On your feet! Welcome to your new home!

He led them off the bus and they followed him to the side of the building, stopping in front of a big red metal door. Two guards stood on either side of it. The left one had an eight on his chest, the right one had a six, and they both had a black heart on their dome helmets.

Are the others done yet? Heart Jack barked.

Let me check, said Number Six. He opened the door for them, revealing a dark room. Ear shattering screams of other girls could be heard in the dark. Just about.

When the screaming stopped, the girls entered the room. Emily jumped when they slammed the door behind them. They didn’t stay in the dark long before the lights lit up in front of them, revealing a path. Emily avoided the darkness that still lingered at the sides; afraid that something might grab her and drag her in.

Stop! yelled Heart Jack, as the girls came to a red line painted on the floor. Everyone stand on the red line!

The girls hurried, and when they were in place, a light fluttered on in the distance. A man could be seen standing under it.

Heart Jack spoke again, Open it up! Before them, the floor opened up, revealing a hidden path covered in shards of glass.

You have forty seconds to make it to the man down there. If you do not make it, you will be shot. If you refuse to run, you will be shot. When the first person starts moving, the timer begins. If you take too long...do I really need to repeat myself? Jack quietly laughed to himself.

The girls stood there, looking uneasily at one another, when Heart Jack said, I think you girls need a little push. In one swift move, he raised his rifle and shot the girl who was standing beside Emily. She looked on in shock as she saw the girl’s body fall on the glass. Emily’s legs started moving before she could even think about it.

Pain rushed up the legs of every girl as the glass shards ripped into their bare feet. Ten seconds in, Emily took a quick look around, only to see that some girls had fallen. She could see the strips of flesh falling off their hands as they tried to push themselves back up. One girl had fallen face first, and a piece of glass was sticking out from her eye; blood gushing out with every cry she made. Emily turned her head and forced herself to concentrate on making it to the man in the light.

Suddenly, Emily tripped; she fell on her side, shrieking in pain. She could feel the glass puncture her skin—cutting her ribs, waist, and hips with every little move. She hurried to her feet. I only have a few more feet to go, she thought. As she reached the end, she fell under the light onto a cold concrete floor. She lost consciousness for only a second when a swift kick to her stomach woke her up.

The man under the light crouched over her. Hi there, I’m Jack of Clubs, but you can just call me Jack. This man looked similar to the Jack that had brought them to this place. He wore red clothes with black armor, had a J on his helmet—only this Jack’s chest bore a red club.

Club Jack slapped her. To your feet. He slapped her once more before moving on to the next girl.

Emily struggled to sit up. When she was able to, she saw that only seven girls had made it, including herself. She looked out on the glass field and saw many bodies lying face down. All of them were missing most of the back of their heads. She looked at her own body and could see pieces of glass sticking out of her; her gown barely hanging on. A pool of her own blood gathered beneath her, shining such a red it made her stomach turn. She forced herself to her feet, almost slipping on her blood as it mixed with the puddles from the other girls.

The girls could barely keep themselves up. Their feet ripped to shreds and bone visible through the crimson mess.

Look at you, said Club Jack. "The future whores of the Black Tower stand before me. Or where ever the hell they end up sending you. I am here to make sure you put on a good show for the clientage, but I will only teach you about how to fight. That is my job. The other part you’ll learn much faster when the clients take your virginity and start riding you at least six or seven times a day."

He laughed as he gestured with his hand and four nurses came out of the shadows. They wore black masks, clingy dark dresses, and a red heart was tattooed on their exposed cleavage. Each of them carried large syringes full of a bright orange liquid.

They gave each girl a shot, thrusting the needle hard into their arms. Emily felt the large needle glance off the bone, and the hot liquid run through her. She felt dizzy and disoriented, but at the same time a feeling of relief came over her. She even felt herself smile. Her smile quickly faded, though, when Jack’s huge fist connected with her cheek, making a loud, echoing crack.

She hit the floor hard, and before she lost consciousness she heard Club Jack say, Good night, little whores. Your training starts bright and early tomorrow. Which is five hours from now. Ha, ha, ha!

Day One

Emily and the girls sat huddled in the corner of an unkempt cell. Spider webs crowded the ceiling, and mold grew on the walls, dripping a slimy green substance. Rats scurried along the floor and over their feet. A puddle of an unknown substance gave off a foul smell like the waste of someone else, and the girls tried hard to avoid it. The gate to their cell slammed open. Jack of Clubs dragged each one of them out of the cell by their hair and threw them against the wall outside.

Line up against the wall, and don’t move unless I tell you to! belted Club Jack.

Emily looked down at herself and found that under her torn gown, and dried blood, her cuts had disappeared. Before she could even question why, Jack pushed them along.

Get moving, whores! We only got a few weeks to get you ready.

They walked down a small hallway, up a spiral staircase and into another hallway full of cells on either side. Each cell had the name of a city over it, and each had at least five girls inside.

Yep, only our city ever produces the most girls, said Club Jack. He lifted his hand gesturing to the signs above. "Affinity, Angelgate, Edge City—none of them has girls like Shadow-man’s own Prodigy."

Shadow-man, Emily thought. He’s the reason why all young girls get forced into this torture. Her thoughts halted as the group stopped and waited for Jack to open the door. He walked past the girls and knocked on the door. The clinking of keys broke the silence as the soldier on the other side unlocked the door and swung it open.

Walking through the door, they entered a large room the size of a football field. Girls could be seen on nearly every inch of this room. They were hitting punching bags, throwing fists, and cutting the air with kicks. Some girls were sparring with each other, and some were being tortured. Emily quickly looked at her feet. She did not want to look at what the girls were going through, and the thought of having to go through it herself made her sick.

Club Jack pointed in front of them. Stand on the red line, he said. The girls hesitated. Don’t worry, you dumb cunts. There is no field of glass here. That was just your initiation. We only take the strongest girls; the most determined.

Club Jack walked to a soldier standing a few feet past the red line. Today is your first day of training. I have ninety days to get you girls ready to fight. First, let’s get your blood pumping, and then we’ll get you cleaned up. He walked to the end of the room and yelled, Make ‘em move boys!

The soldier in front of them pulled out a whip that had a metal tip. He bore a red number two on his black armored chest, and he towered over the girls like a giant.

Number Two cracked his whip. Run to end of this room and back to the red line five times. If you start slowing down, Number Three and Number Five will pull you to the side and hold you down while I give you three lashes. Now, move!

Emily gained the lead, and by the second lap girls were already being taken to the side. Halfway through the third lap exhaustion took hold, slowing Emily down, and Number Five quickly grabbed her arm. Number Three grabbed her other arm and they pinned her against a pillar