She became vaguely aware of lying on a bed, and movement. The movement, she began to realize, was due to her being in some sort of traveling mobile home, which was currently traveling. The vehicle hit a bump in the road, and she heard the muffled sound of a woman complaining. This was followed by some laughter, then the drone of the wheels on the road took over once again.
She glanced around the room; tiny. Almost claustrophobic in its compactness. In fact, the bed she was lying on appeared to take the bulk of the room. She could see that a blanket was thrown over her; moving her left hand carefully and lifting an edge, she saw that underneath she wore shorts and a T-shirt, socks. Nothing alarming.
And yet she was alarmed. She couldn't remember her name, and she was certain she had never seen this - this mobile home? - before. Closing her eyes, she tried to recall her name, facts, anything to identify herself, to introduce herself to the stranger that she was now. Nothing. She began to panic and sat up, hearing a slight clinking noise as she did. Throwing back the blanket revealed that the right foot had a leather cuff that was attached to the post of the bed. She struggled to undo it. It was locked. She sat, uncertain of what was going on, swaying slightly as the mobile home traveled on, taking her she did not know where, removing her from equal uncertainty.
More observation revealed sliding doors to the right of her, in the wall; presumably a closet. A tiny cabinet shoved against the wall; space enough to edge by to the bed or open a cabinet drawer just enough to get something out. That was all the room there was.
That, and her growing fear of why she was here, and who was she? began to cause her more panic, and she struggled, until finally she lay down again, feeling drowsy for some reason, and eventually slept.
* * * * *
"Did you check on the girl?" asked Anthony. He was driving the Winnebago, hunkered in the seat, one earphone on and tuned to country music, the other cocked upwards so he could hear what his woman was saying.
His woman was Asian, beautiful and elegant, wearing a slim red silk gown with a slit up one leg. She would have frowned if she had known he was thinking of her as "his woman." Behind her sat two blonde females, obviously twins, watching a small TV and doing their nails. Across from them sat two elderly Asian women, known as Mama San and Auntie K. No one knew what the K stood for. No one bothered to ask. They knew that Auntie K was Mama San's sister, and that Mama San was somehow related to the beautiful Asian woman, though whether mother or aunt, no one knew on that, either. But with Mama San, nobody felt comfortable asking questions, either. She was tiny and wrinkled and old and ferocious. Even Anthony felt nervous around her. There was a cruelty to the woman that made him mind his manners around her. As for Anthony, he sometimes wondered how a black man ended up with such an odd group, but as the only male, he was content to puff out his chest at times.
He was also a massive man, well-built, dedicated to the weights which were nestled solidly in the back in the room that he shared with Anna of the red silk gown.
Anthony was their bouncer, their protector, but Anna was the mistress, the leader, with Mama San and Auntie K as her reinforcements.
It was the girl in the little room that worried Anthony. Anna had returned to their camp two days ago, grim and silent, answering no questions. All she would say was that the girl could no longer speak, had lost her memory, and that no one was to question Anna's decision on what to do with her. It worried Anthony. He had a suspicion that Anna was anxious; he knew enough Japanese to understand that an overheard argument between Mama San and Anna meant that even Mama San was upset, and that scared Anthony. Anything that worried Mama San scared Anthony. He was basically a gentle man, adored women, and had his own fetishes and kinks that Anna satisfied. He was content to drive them about to their little private parties, a little on the outskirts of legal, but not really dangerous.
This, however, smacked of dangerous.
The girl had been asleep in the back seat of the Camry that was now being towed by the Winnebago. Anna had gotten Anthony to lift the girl and place her on the bed. Anthony thought the girl was drugged. She had slept for almost two days, only groggily moving about to go to the bathroom, and even seemed unaware of that. Mama San and Auntie K had had to help her.
The girl was pretty, Anthony thought. Young. Maybe early 20's. Red hair to the shoulders, green eyes, pale white skin without freckles. Peaches and cream, his mama used to call it.
Still, he was worried. He glanced in the mirror at Auntie K. She was snoring. Mama San jabbed her in the side. Auntie K snorted, moved, and went back to sleep. It was peaceful.
Except for the girl in the back.
* * * * *
In two days, the Winnebago was parked at a campground near Savannah, Georgia, close to a beach. The twins were attracting some attention with their blonde good looks and playful manner. Anthony was reading Zane Grey, sipping a beer, and sitting in the shade. Anthony fancied himself a cowboy, in his dreams. A western knight protecting the maidens of his ranch. He kept an eye on the twins, who went by the names of Bambi and Bunni. He wasn't sure what their real names were. It didn't matter. They were part of his family. It appeared that the girl was too, now.
The girl was being called Shawn. Whether that was her name or not, he didn't know. He didn't ask. This had been the first morning she had appeared to eat breakfast with them. She seemed confused and upset. He felt sorry for her. He had tried to give her another bowl of cereal, but Mama San had snapped at him not to waste food on somebody who wasn't earning their keep. Anthony's cowboy generosity told him to sneak the girl a little food later in the day.
Everyone had been sent outside to the beach, except for Anna, Mama San, and the girl. Auntie K had gone shopping. Anthony had just seen her drive up, bustling inside with two bags. He wondered what was going on.
* * * * *
It was just as well he wasn't inside to watch. His chivalrous instincts would have caught him Mama San's wrath. She was already angry with the girl, who was being stubborn.
Shawn, as she was being called, was fairly small. Petite, short, tiny waist, slender legs. Mama San was pleased. The girl was not. She made to stand nude before Anna and Mama San. Shawn did not like this. She was fairly certain this was not her habit to stand nude. She had grabbed for her clothes twice, until Mama San had gotten them and cut them up with a pair of scissors.
"You not wear clothes till I say!" snapped Mama San, shaking the scissors at Shawn. Anna watched, arms crossed. "We need to do something about the hair," she said.
Mama San nodded.
They had begun by cutting Shawn's hair until it was a chic bob, angling down towards her chin, with bangs. Next, they dyed her hair black. With the pale skin, she immediately took on a more Gothic look, which caused both Anna and Mama San to nod in satisfaction. Anna left the room and returned with a set of contacts, the type one could wear for days without removing. They were purple and caused no change to her vision, which was fine, but again the effects were immediate: a pale-skinned petite woman with black hair and violet eyes, bangs that now looked seductive as they swept across the tops of her eyes. They looked at the crotch, then at each other.
"Now we need to shave her," said Anna, just as they heard the car door close. Auntie K had arrived.
