Chapter 1 - Lost
Claire still desperately clung to the telephone pole as the water
continued to recede into the sea. Her family vacation had been wonderful until
today when the chaos erupted. As she looked around her all that she witnessed
was devastation. It was like god came out of the ocean and simply swallowed up
the resort town. Part of the hotel that she had been staying at with her
parents was completely destroyed, its remnants swallowed up by the sea.
That was when it hit her. Her parents, where were they? The last thing
she remembered all three of them had been running from the wall of water that
approached like a speeding train. Her parents had been behind her, but as she
looked in that direction, she saw nothing. Virtually everything that had once
been there, tables, chairs even the stone wall that surrounded the swimming pool
were gone, only rubble remained.
As the terrible realization began to hit her of what had happened,
Claire let go of the pole and fell to her knees, tears rolling down her
cheeks...
The next day passed like a whirlwind. Claire spent it looking for her
family and trying to find any personal effects that may have survived the wave
of death. However, she had no luck with either task. It seemed like only
yesterday that her family was laughing and enjoying a calm day on the beach, a
break from the busy life of Bangkok. Her father had been sent here three years
ago by his company to set up a new office. During that time, Claire had gone to
a private school with both international and Thai students. This was her senior
year and at 18, Claire had looked forward to attending college in the United
States.
Now, however, it seemed like everything had been lost in the blink of an
eye. Her parents were missing, and everything that she had brought to the
resort town had been lost in the wave of water. It was all gone. All that she
had left was the slightly torn lavender sundress she had been wearing and a few
Thai Bahts. While she realized that there was still some hope that her parents
had survived the tsunami, Claire knew that her best course of action would be to
go the American embassy in Bangkok and contact her extended family in the
States.
The Thai relief workers had slowly begun to trickle into the area. It
was only one day since the calamity and most of the world had not yet realized
how terrible the destruction had been. Fortunately, Claire found a tent that
had been set up where a relief worker appeared to speak English. "Please Sir,"
she asked, "Do you speak English?"
"Yes Miss. Are you alright? Have you been injured in anyway?"
Claire felt relief for the first time since her ordeal had begun. "I am
alright Sir, but my parents..." she could barely choke out the words, "my
parents are missing. I am not sure where they are or what has happened to
them."
The man paused; he could see the anguish in the young girl's eyes. He
had seen it countless times today, but he still could not get used to it. He
pulled out a form and handed it to Claire and also pulled out a list. "Please
sign this form Miss. It is verification that you are alive and will be sent to
your embassy. Please place your name, age and nationality. Also though I know
it is hard, please place the names of the people who are missing on this list.
We are using it to track and find those who were lost in the tsunami. If we
find out any information, it will help us find you and notify the appropriate
authorities."
"Thank you Sir," Claire said. "I was wondering if it would be possible
to get transportation to Bangkok. I would like to go to the US Embassy and
contact my family."
"Yes Miss, there is a truck heading there today. I am afraid it is not
the most comfortable journey, but if you are interested, you are more then
welcome to travel with them. Also if you go talk to that girl over there, she
can get you some food and some clothing."
"Thank you Sir."
The road to Bangkok was bumpy and the truck that Claire was riding in
was hot and uncomfortable. Thankfully it was at least covered from the hot sun
which seared the desolate landscape. Claire had never really had the
opportunity to visit the Thai countryside. Most of her time had been spent in
school or in Bangkok with the occasional visit to a resort for a vacation. In a
way it had been an adventure, though that hardly managed to take care of her
grief and despair.
At least things seemed to be improving. The aid station had provided
with Claire with her first meal in over a day. While it was not more than rice
with a spicy sauce, it did help quell her hunger pains. They also had given her
some new clothing, an off white simple Thai dress. It was not much, but it was
comfortable and it actually seemed to help with the heat. Hopefully by this
evening she would be at the embassy and perhaps tomorrow or the next day on a
flight back to the United States.
Still Claire was utterly exhausted. She really had not slept for two
days and the ride was so uncomfortable that she had little hope for dosing on
this trip. The thought of a soft bed in an air conditioned home sounded so
wonderful to her. Yet at the moment it still seemed like it was far away.
Claire had no idea how long this trip would last or how long it would take to
contact the embassy.
Dosing off and on, Claire awoke to discover that the truck had come to a
stop. There was a slight commotion as a man said something in Thai to the
passengers directing them to get out. Claire looked at the girl next to her and
asked, "What is he saying? I do not understand Thai."
In somewhat broken English the girl replied, "He is saying that we are
stopping here for a break and because the truck needs to be looked at. He says
to go into the building and relax."
Although Claire was very excited about getting to Bangkok, she welcomed
this break. This would give her a chance to lie down and perhaps get a little
shut eye which she desperately needed. Even though it was not dark outside the
air was still thick and the temperature very warm. It almost felt like a warm,
moist blanket was enveloping her as she got out of the truck and walked towards
the building. This looked like a regular pit stop for travelers as multiple
vehicles were parked here.
The building inside was actually cool. They appeared to have air
conditioning. It was also quite nice. There were tables and chairs set up and
a few people mingling about. Claire and the other passengers were directed to a
room off to the side, which was spacious enough for everyone to lie down and
relax. For the first time in several days, Claire felt comfortable. Soon part
of this terrible ordeal would be over with and she would be with her family.
Claire relaxed up against the wall and tried to clear her mind. She
hoped and prayed that perhaps her family had survived and that she would be
united with them again in Bangkok. At the very least, soon she would be back
with friends who could help her sort out the pieces of her broken life. As
Claire tried to remain positive, she noticed a few people walking into the room.
They seemed to be looking at her and the other refuges that were mostly lying up
against the wall. Perhaps this was the Red Cross or some government
organization.
The people seemed to be talking to themselves and occasionally pointing
at one person or another. The whole experience seemed a bit strange. Then
suddenly Claire heard her name, "Claire is that you?" Her eyes turned in the
direction of the words until they locked with Mei a girl from her school.
"Mei... is that you?"
"Claire what are you doing here?" It was Mei. Claire could not believe
her eyes. For the first time in nearly 48 hours she recognized someone. Things
were beginning to look up. Although Mei was far from a close friend, actually
more of a rival, things were beginning to look up.
"Mei, my family, we were..." It was hard for Claire to manage the words.
The grief and shock were still too real, "we were caught up in the tsunami. I
am not sure what happened to them. Everything, the beach, the hotel, the
people, they are all gone." A tear began to roll down Claire's cheek once again
as she began to think about all the people including her family that were sucked
out to sea.
Mei stood silent for a moment taking it all in. Many people had been
affected by the disaster, but this was the first time that she knew someone who
had been lost. "Claire, I am very sorry for your loss." Mei said sincerely,
"but what are you doing here?"
"I was taking this truck to Bangkok. I am going to the American embassy
so that I can contact my family. Mei, everything is gone. I lost everything
but the clothes on my back and they were ripped to shreds. If the relief
organization had not given me something to wear, I would be sitting here in
rags."
"Claire, I am sorry, but don't you know what this place is?"
"No, I thought it was a rest stop."
"Far from it Claire. This is an auction house."
"An auction house... what do you mean, why did they stop here?"
"Because this is an auction house for people, and you are one of the
people up for auction."
"What? How can I be up for auction? Is this some kind of joke?"
"Listen Claire," Mei contemplated what to say, "This is a slave auction
and you are up for sale. I do not know what truck you took or who told you
what, but in about ten minutes, you and all of the people with you are going to
be paraded out into that room and sold to the highest bidder."
Claire seemed dumbstruck, "You must be kidding. That sort of thing is
illegal. You cannot actually go out and buy someone. Stop joking with me Mei.
I am already upset and not in the mood."
"I am not joking Claire." As if almost to emphasize her point, a short
rather fat man picked up a girl who was sitting at the end of the row. He began
pawing her, feeling her breasts, her ass, inspecting her like she was an animal.
She whimpered a protest, but he yelled at her in Thai, something which Claire
did not understand, but it was enough to convince Claire that things were indeed
not as them seem.
"How... how could this happen?" Claire managed to say.
"My guess is that you were tricked into taking this truck, or the truck
driver tricked the aid station and pretended to be someone else. Whatever
happened, you are here. My guess is no one knows you are here, and it is very
likely that no one even knows you are alive, which makes you a prime candidate
for slavery. No one will be looking for you. They will just assume you died in
the tsunami."
Claire thought about this for a moment. She could not imagine that such
things still happened, but it made sense. No one knew that she was here, and if
her parents had been killed in the accident, no one would even think to look for
her. All her documentation had been lost in the disaster. She truly was alone.
The reality was beginning to sink in and as it did Claire began to feel an
overwhelming sense of desperation. "Mei, you have to get me out of here.
Please... you have to do something."
Mei stood there silently for a moment. Claire looked like a gazelle
fleeing for its life from a lion on the African savanna. "Claire... I am not
sure I can help you. These men are gangsters. If I try to take you they are
likely to kill my father and me or make me a slave like yourself. I mean if
they even think I will do anything, we are as good as dead."
"Buy me then, buy me. My family will repay you. Please you have to buy
me. I am begging you, don't leave me here." Claire's expression had changed
from a look of terror to a look of desperation.
"Claire... I'm not... I'm not sure we can afford you. You are white and
young. You are going to cost a lot of money. There are people here from the
sex trade that will want to buy you." Claire's jaw dropped as Mei spoke this
words. This could not be happening. This had to be a bad dream. Mei felt pity
for her. "Look Claire, I will see what I can do.
As Mei walked out of the room, Claire contemplated her situation. She
doubted that any of the other people who had made this trip with her, were aware
of the grim reality that awaited them. In the back of her mind, Claire hoped
that this was still some sort of a cruel joke, but she doubted that Mei could do
such a thing. While neither girl particularly cared for the other, this was not
a joking matter. As that thought began to sink in, Claire began to look around
the room hoping to find some means of escape, but it quickly dawned on her that
this was not an option. Mei was her only help now...
