Katie shivered and pressed her spine as tightly to the bars at the back of the cage as she could. Hiding would get her nowhere. Perhaps instincts forced her mind to begin forming practical thoughts; she had to get a good idea of her current situation and figure out how she'd get out of here.<br/><br/>Dropping the old, "If I can't see you, you can't see me!" defense, the girl peeked from behind her hands at the brilliant room around her. She was careful not to move too much, not to draw notice to herself. She apraised the other cages nearby; a few seemed vacant, others occupied with poor creatures like herself in various states of agitation or resignment. She quickly dismissed the other slaves. They couldn't help her.<br/><br/>She took her time looking over the free people in the huge chamber. Was this really happening? Was one of these "masters" really planning to buy her, to use her however they wished? How the hell had she gotten into this?!<br/><br/>Her eyes alighted first on a lonesome-looking figure. She couldn't quite make out his features from so far away, but something was.. odd about him. His posture wasn't immediately threatening, so she mentally filed him away and moved on.<br/><br/>Next, she spotted a young lady. Katie's stomach churned. The girl looked hungry, somehow, or perhaps even cruel. Everything about the young woman screamed, "I'm ready for a new toy, NOW," at least in Katie's limited experience. What kind of owner would she be? She shivered again, almost losing her self-control, and tried not to think about the girl any longer.<br/><br/>She barely found the nerve to keep up her careful investigation. She knew what "slave" meant, but didn't know they still existed in modern times. What kind of people were these, who had enough money to buy another person? Would they acknowledge the value of the life they now "owned" and treat their property well? Katie couldn't imagine what kind of service she could offer an owner, since she could barely even keep her own little room clean back home. The possibility of being a sex slave never crossed her mind.<br/><br/>She shook her head almost imperceptibly, trying to clear her thoughts. Another man had entered the room; he seemed very casual, almost bored. Was he really here to buy a human toy? She eyed his long hair and sunglasses. What was hidden behind the dark lenses?<br/><br/>The girl shifted her weight a little and tried to fight down her rising panic. She finally noticed *him* lounging in a chair, scanning a newspaper like a businessman merely burning time, perhaps waiting for a late flight to arrive. He seemed normal enough. Maybe he was just looking for a bit of company here? She tried to control her breath again, concentrating on slow, steady, deep inhalations and exhalations. She hid behind the heavy fringe of her hair and fixed her eyes on the man. Maybe she would be lucky, and he would be "the one."<br/><br/><br/>