"911. What's your emergency?"
"I found.... my ... my mom is in the bathtub..."
"Your mom? Is she...."
"I think she's dead."
"She.... Ok, honey, don't be scared. Is there anyone else in the house?"
"No, my dad's not here. He didn't pick me up from gymnastics class."
"Ok sweetie, you stay put. Don't go into the bathroom, alright? Help is on the way."
"Could you tell them to hurry? My sister will be home soon and I don't want her to see."
SIXTEEN MONTHS LATER.....
"MOM!! MO..."
"Selinaaa..... be quiet!" the young girl mumbled sleepily before drifting back into slumber. Above her, Selina Kyle was sitting up in her bunk shivering and covered in cold sweat. She kept having that dream. A retelling of that horrible day when she found her mother's corpse in the bathtub. Her body submerged in water. Water that had turned crimson. Every single time, she would wake up crying. And every single time, there was no one there to comfort her.
Selina wiped her tears off and tried to fall asleep. But sleep was elusive. On this night, hunger and trauma had joined forces in tormenting her. Mama Fortuna had sent her to bed without dinner. To teach her some manners, the old witch had said. Obviously her idea of teaching Selina some manners was to make sure she wouldn't question by what right Fortuna was keeping all of their earnings. The kids' earnings that were often made by risking their lives. Selina Kyle wasn't one to be subdued however, and stood up to all kind of abuse. Be it physical or financial.
She reached into her raggedy old back pack and pulled out a laminated piece of paper. Her birth certificate. One of the few items she had left her home with. The date of birth read "March fourteenth, 1970". Meaning at midnight, Selina had turned twelve years old.
"You'll be a woman soon" she remembered Mama Fortuna saying to her just a few days prior. She didn't like the look in the woman's eyes as she used her rough skinned fingers to caress her chin and had excused herself.
As she sat there in the dark, her sorrow gave way to anger. She knew other kids were given hugs, kisses and presents on their birthday. She had never experienced such a thing for herself but had certainly seen it from a distance. Those "normal" kids who were told that the day they came into this world was a joyous occasion.
So what had she done to deserve beatings, insults and starvation? Be it here in this hell hole, the orphanage she escaped from or even the home where she grew up. She couldn't think of a thing. In fact, she couldn't imagine any of the kids in The Nest to have done anything to deserve this life. Yet, here they were.
Selina wasn't going to take this. Life had dealt her many blows but she would not stay down. She was going to get up every single time and hit back. And each time she hit back, each time life failed to beat her into submission, Selina Kyle won.
The morning air was ideal for a good practice session. Her mother, herself an accomplished gymnast and ballerina, had told Selina. She followed the advice and every morning she would practice various gymnastics routines. She did perform much more daring physical feats that left cops and her fellow Alley Town Strays gasping. But that was under the veil of the night. The mornings were for perfecting her sense of balance and building her core strength. You can never practice enough. That was what Maria Kyle has told her. And Selina took the lesson to heart.
After doing a self evaluation of what she needed to improve upon, Selina climbed down from the roof. She entered the "main hall" and headed for the kitchen in hopes of getting her hands on a few slices of bread. Maybe some milk if she was lucky.
It was rather early so everyone was still asleep. Selina could just walk into the kitchen and look into the fridge. It seemed this was her lucky day. She found juice boxes and gingerbread. She took some of the bread and a box of juice and quietly hurried off to her hiding place. A closet on the second floor. It was filled with junk and no one ever went into it. It was also directly below Mama Fortuna's office. For Selina it was a place where she could hide her books, or where she could eat when food was being denied to her. She sat on the floor and ate the gingerbread, and was about to drink the juice when she heard Fortuna's voice. What was she doing up so early?
Selina realised she heard another voice. She strained her ears and realized it was a voice she knew. A guy named Tony. A short, skinny little man whose eyes made Selina's skin crawl. Even now she could envision the sheer emptiness, the hollowness of those eyes. She needed to hear what he and Fortuna were talking about. Climbing on to one of the shelves, Selina listened carefully. The voices were still faint, but she could hear at least some their conversation.
"No! Too expensive!" Tony exclaimed.
"What? Too expensive? Have you seen Selina?"
Selina didn't understand what this was about. Then came what sounded like shuffling, and the voiced grew distant.
After finishing her juice, Selina went down to the hall. In the mornings the kids were lined up so they could be told who was supposed to work which part of the city. However on this day, Mama Fortuna gave them a rare day off and told them to go do what they wanted. Within the Nest of course. All except Selina and Sylvia.
There were special instructions for the two girls. They were told to shower in Mama's personal bathroom. This was shocking by itself as none of the kids had ever seen the inside of that bathroom before. But this was topped off by Mama giving both of them new dresses to wear. Selina's mind raced as she tried to piece together what the hell was going on.
The dresses were inappropriate for children their age. To say the least. Sylvia was particularly uncomfortable in hers and kept pulling it down to cover her legs more. Mama saw this and slapped her hand.
"What're you doing girl?" she asked Sylvi in that deep smoker's voice.
"Mama, it's too short...." Sylvia protested, but was dismissed.
"Nonsense! You're both growing up to be so pretty. You need to show off your good more. It'll get you far."
"What's gotten into you anyway?" Selina finally spoke up, "why the fairy godmother act?"
"You watch it, Selina" Fortuna spoke in that foreboding tone that she had perfected "that sassy mouth of yours can land you in trouble where you're going."
"Where we're going? What the hell does that mean?" Selina was getting more uneasy by the second.
Just then, a car pulled up at the Nest's entrance. Selina peeked from the window and saw Tony step out. Along with another man. He was tall, bulky and in a blue-grey suit. Mama Fortuna clamped her hands excitedly and said, "enough talk. Now put those shoes on and come to my office".
The high heeled sandals were uncomfortable. Selina was able to walk in them gracefully, but Sylvia stumbled and nearly fell a few times. Selina held her arm to stabilise her and they walked to the office.
The man in the suit took a good look at them and smiled at Fortuna.
"They really are as beautiful as you said. I'm impressed. We have a deal."
He said before handing Fortuna a small briefcase. She opened it and beamed. Selina didn't have to guess what it contained that made the witch so happy.
"They're yours!" The old woman told the man as they shook hands.
Tony turned to the girls and smiled in a way that made their blood run cold.
"My! What beauties!" He showed his yellowed teeth, but what disgusted the girls was the hungry look he wore.
The other man, the big one wearing the suit, approached the girls.
"Hello ladies, my name is Peter. Peter J Lawler."
Selina and Sylvia exchanged a look. The man continued.
"You know how sports teams sometimes trade players? Well you girls have been traded. And now you're gonna play for the big leagues!" Peter wasn't nearly as creepy as Tony, but something told Selina that under the surface, he might be way more dangerous.
"But you didn't give Fortuna any new players. You gave her money." Selina pointed out, ignoring Sylvia squeezing her hand as a way of urging her to be quiet.
Peter laughed and turned to the woman holding the briefcase like it was a baby.
"You were right Fortuna. She is sharp. Good. That's good."
He faced Selina again and said "Well you see Selina, we compensated your former boss all the money that she figured you two could possibly make her. But I still think I'm getting the better end of the deal."
Fifteen minutes later, Selina and Sylvia were in the back of the car. Peter had allowed Selina to take her back pack with her which contained her books and her birth certificate. Running away had crossed her mind, but for the entire duration of their walk from the office to the car, Peter had maintained an iron grip on her arm. As if he knew that she was the one most likely to get any ideas.
The car came to a halt outside a hotel. In Park Row. It wasn't exactly like the pictures of hotels like Hilton that Selina had seen. But it could certainly pass for it's distant cousin. She figured this is what they called a "four star".
They were taken to the basement through a door in the alleyway. In the basement was a hallway that led to a large suite. Sylvia whispered to Selina that this was the cleanest room she had ever seen. Selina shared her awe but her mind was occupied with what the place had in store for them. When they entered, a man Selina recognized from the newspapers was sitting on the couch. She had seen his picture with the Mayor. Two other men were there too. Tall and muscular.
He put down his cup of coffee and regarded them critically. He walked around them as if examining them.
"Not bad." The man commented.
"We knew you'd like them Mr Shepherd." Peter said cheerily.
That's when Selina remembered who this man was. A Congressman. But why was he here? What was going on?
"Yeah, just make sure they know what they're required to do. I don't want any trouble at the party tonight. Important people will be there and I want them satisfied."
"Of course, sir. Of course. Don't you worry."
The Congressman left soon after. Selina noticed that he exited from a different door.
Peter offered them some breakfast and told them to get some rest, before their "work" would begin.
"You'll be staying here now. Ain't that great?" Peter asked cheerily.
"What exactly do you want us to do?"
"Oh you're going to have a lot of fun, young ladies. You'll be waitresses. At a fancy party. You'll be serving food and drink to rich people. High society, as they call it."
"That's it? Whoa!" Sylvia exclaimed. She looked overjoyed at the idea of getting to live in this suite with a huge cushy bed, a television, even an attached bathroom. And they hadn't even seen the other room which looked even bigger.
"Yes! And of course any other favours the guests might ask. But it'll be so much fun for you. So much better better than that dump you had to live in."
"If all you wanted were waitresses why not hire them. Why did you pay all that money to Fortuna for us?" Selina asked.
"Haha! You really are a sharp one, aren't you? But take my advice darling, keep that sass mouthing and the questions to a minimum. This'll be fun, but only if you're respectful."
Tony then entered and with him were two other girls. They looked younger than Selina and Sylvia. Selina figured they were ten or eleven.
"Now these two girls are going to stay with you. Four of you make nice, get comfy. Around six pm, someone will be here to get you ready."
Peter's voice then took on a darker tone. He regarded all four childhood and said "Do not get any ideas about running away. Bad things happen to bad girls who run away."
He gestured towards the two buff guys, "bad girls are punished by Todd and Reggie."
Peter then went off into the bigger room and turned on the television. Todd and Reggie went outside.
The four girls ate breakfast together and got acquainted. The other two girls were named Rebecca and Sunita. Sunita had brown skin, brown eyes and black hair. Rebecca was a redhead with hazel eyes. The girls ate some of the best food they had eaten in a long time. Rebecca was obviously starving given the way she scarfed down everything on her plate. Sunita barely touched her bacon and cheese sandwich. At first Selina thought she might be vegetarian and was grossed out by meat. She soon realized that wasn't the case when she saw the tears in the girl's eyes. She was scared.
Rebecca tried to cheer her up and turned on the television. The Loony Tunes Show seemed to lighten the mood and Sunita wore a ghost of a smile. But she still remained quiet.
The girls spent the day watching cartoons, sleeping and talking. Sylvia and Rebecca chatted endlessly, but Selina couldn't ignore the creeping sense of dread. She noticed Sunita sitting on the couch and approached her.
"Sunita, what's the matter?" She asked in a gentle tone.
"They.... they're going to hurt us" the little girl's voice was barely above a whisper.
"Who? Who's gonna hurt us?" Selina inquired again.
This time Sunita just shook her head and buried her face in her knees. Her soft sobbing shook her frail body.
The girls were given a light lunch and before they knew it, it was six in the evening.
A woman came in with a huge suitcase.
"Go shower and put these on." The woman said rudely as she threw an outfit at each of the girls.
"Do what you're told, ladies" Peter said as he had joined them.
All of the dresses were red. And as revealing as the ones Fortuna had made them wear, but Selina could tell that the fabric was much better. She remembered that her mother had a dress that felt similar.
Over the next few hours, all four of them had their make up done and their hair styled. Then they were given trays with cups on them and taught how to carry them. The woman would scold them if they stumbled while walking in heels. But not Selina. She balanced the trays and moved with incredible grace.
The woman looked impressed in spite of herself.
The girls were driven to the suburbs, where they were escorted into an enormous mansion. Selina had only ever seen such an big house in movies.
They were left in a small room that seemed adjacent to the kitchen. There were several other girls there. Some of their age group, some slightly older. The woman warned them not to mess up their hair and makeup. The room had two doors, both locked. They could hear music and the voices of people talking. It seemed like a party was going on.
After about an hour, the door leading to the kitchen opened. The girls were given trays with tall glasses on them and sent into a huge hall. The four children awkwardly walked around and offered the drinks to the men and women there. Some of then would reach out to touch the girls. Particularly the exposed parts of their skin. If they became uncomfortable and flinched, the woman who got them ready would either shoot them death glares or would simply tell them to "be nice".
Selina recognized many famous faces there, apart from the Congressman. Most notably, a movie star. Sylvia seemed particularly excited to see him and couldn't stop herself from telling him what a big fan she was. The guy leered at her as he gave her a once over.
He turned to the Congressman and said "David, I think I'll take this one. How much?"
The politician then scribbled something on a piece of paper and gave it to the movie star.
He picked Sylvia up and carried her up the staircase.
"What! Where's he taking her?" Selina demanded, dropping her tray. Peter slapped her across the face. Selina tried to go after Sylvia who now looked scared but Peter held her back.
"That's a feisty one!" Said another man, the tall one with blond hair. "I think I'll take her. She'll be fun."
Selina was forced into a room with that blond man.
What happened next is something she would not remember for well over a decade. Her mind shut itself down to protect her sanity.
All Selina would remember were the bruises on her skin. And the blood.
When they were taken back to the basement suite, Selina noticed that the other girls were in a similar state. Rebecca was crying. So was Sylvia. Sunita looked like she was frozen. The girls huddled together on the bed. Leaning on each other for comfort.
Exactly how many times this nightmare was repeated, Selina didn't know. But she would have vivid memories of the night she finally escaped.
At the party that night, one of the guests gropped her arm. The area was already badly bruised and Selina cried out. In rage, she bashed her tray on the man's head. Peter cursed at her and tried to grab her but she ran to the kitchen. Smashing several bottles of alcohol on the ground, she lit a match and starred a fire. Sylvia was in the kitchen too and began screaming.
Selina had noticed earlier that the kitchen had another exist that led to a breakfast room. She held Sylvia's hand and quickly made for the adjacent room. She threw a chair through the window and she and Sylvia both got out. They ran to the tall boundary wall. A stone wall that Selina began to climb. The scumbags from the party were approaching fast.
Selina made it to the top of the wall. Unfortunately for Sylvia, she wasn't nearly as good a climber. When Selina looked down, they had caught her.
But Selina couldn't wait. She wanted to save her friend but she couldn't go through that torture again. She just couldn't.
Selina would not see her friend again for many years. Right then all she could think was that she needed to run. The primal fear she felt propelled her legs. Selina ran. She didn't know where she was going. She didn't know in which direction.
She just ran. And ran.
