<em>Maybe if I make myself tiny, they won't see me...</em><br/><br/>The thought snapped into Katie's mind like the fragment of a dream. She almost groaned out loud, her teeth clenched so tighty she was nearly grimacing, as she tried to control herself. Panic ran in insane circles in her skull.<br/><br/><em>There's no way out of this, dumbass, but if you play it just right, you can get away afterwards.</em><br/><br/>The tone of this thought was entirely different from the first. It was almost like a grown-up voice, soothing but firm, spoke the words, opposed to a childish whisper of terror and dark dreams. Her stomach began to unknot as she tried to focus on what would happen after the auction. Only meeting her new "owner" would give her a good starting point for her plans of escape. She took one final, incredibly slow and deep, soothing breath.<br/><br/>She was tough. She could do this. She was smart. She could do this.<br/><br/>First things first. As soon as she got out of the cage, she really wanted a drink of water, something to eat, and to pee.<br/><br/>Her eyes widened in surprise and she grinned to herself at the simplicity of these mundane thoughts.<em>This is more like it. I can do this.</em><br/><br/>Survival instincts would preserve her throughout this ordeal, but she'd definitely be a challenging acquisition for any owner.<br/><br/>As the bids continued, she made a conscious effort to try to relax her posture a bit. She lowered her legs slowly and leaned her shoulders back against the corner of the cage. She needed to save her energy for what was next.