The Armoire Ch. 07

"No," said Maengun, "It has been a half an hour."

"Wow...it was like I was dreaming, or something. There was an..."

"You don't have to tell me, Bashanzhe." said Maengun, "It may be a private thing."

"I'd just like to...understand," said Tommy.

"Very well then."

"It was like looking through a dusty window," Tommy said, " but...I was walking through a forest and, when I entered a clearing, there was an eagle and a wolf waiting. Together they led me deeper into the forest until we reached another small clearing. Alyssa was there, up to her neck in a small pool of water...more like a puddle, but she was almost going under. I reached out and grabbed her arm but I couldn't pull her out. She said I should let got but I said I wouldn't...if she goes then I go too. Then the eagle and the wolf grabbed her other arm and we pulled her out easily. That's when you called my name."

"I never called your name," Maengun said.

Tommy said, "Oh...well, what do you think it means?"

"It is more important what you think it means."

"Well," Tommy said, "maybe the wolf and eagle were my manitous...no...no...one was probably my guide and one was Alyssa's. And the puddle could be the bad time she had before we met. So, I was able to help her but...not alone. She had to help herself too.

"You might not agree, Gun, but I think it says that we're...good together...What do you think it means?"

"I can not find fault with your assessment," replied Maengun.

Surprised, Tommy said, "Really...? I wonder which guide was mine."

Maengun said, "To many, the eagle represents courage and bravery while the wolf is associated with loyalty, honour, and integrity."

"Uh huh..." said Tommy, "then both of them might have been Alyssa's..."

"No, I believe the wolf was your manitou," Maengun said flatly.

They both exited the sweat lodge, again crawling on hands and knees. Tommy stood and offered to help Maengun tidy up the hut but he said, "You go and clean yourself up. I will take care of this then we will have breakfast."

Tommy thanked him and started for the house, then he stopped, turned and said, "Gun...can I ask you a favour? Alyssa is going to be curious about what happened in there and I was wondering...could you tell her? I'm not sure why, but I don't..."

"I will do as you ask," Maengun said.

Tommy put on his sweatshirt but, realizing his sweatpants were soaked, went to the tipi for fresh clothes, then into the house for a shower. He stood under the warm spray for nearly twenty minutes contemplating his sweat lodge "vision." He hadn't known what to expect when he went in there but it wasn't that; and he didn't know what to make of it. The "dream," or whatever it was, seemed to validate his relationship with Alyssa but there was more to it. Tommy did feel "cleansed" after the sweat; it seemed to wash away the importance of other things in his life in order to make more room for her.

He stepped out of the shower and dressed then opened the door to see Alyssa standing there; exquisite in a light summer dress and bare feet. As soon as she saw him she started to cry and threw her arms around him in the tightest hug he could remember.

"Is there something wrong, Babe?"

"No, no," she said, "My father told me about your vision, that's all...Things couldn't be more right."

"I'm not sure if it was a 'vision' but, whatever it was...it seems good...right?"

She stood on her tiptoes and pulled his head down to a hard, tearful kiss and said, "Better than good, Tommy...way better."

They went down for breakfast and spent the rest of the day packing and preparing for their flight to New York. Just after noon they loaded the rental car after which Mino and Alyssa embraced in an extraordinarily long, tearful hug. When it was Tommy's turn, Mino hugged him just as long and, just before she let go, she said, "Come back soon, ningozis...Promise me."

"I will," he said, "and thanks for everything."

Maengun stepped up and firmly shook his hand, looking straight into his eyes but saying nothing. Tommy nodded, understanding what he was asking, and said, "I will Gun, with my life."

Several other people came by to wish them well and they finally got on the road around two in the afternoon, headed for their five o'clock flight. Alyssa drove while Tommy, surprisingly exhausted from his sweat lodge experience, napped in the front seat. He rested all the way to the airport where she had to rouse him as they pulled into the parking lot. As they were walking to the car rental booth, Tommy said, "Hey Al, what does 'ningozis' mean?"

"It means 'my son'," she answered.

* * *

The flight landed in New York around three A.M. Wednesday morning and, after a quick taxi ride, the two dog-tired travellers checked into their room at the St. Regis Hotel and fell into the luxurious, king sized bed. They slept until noon, ordered a ridiculously expensive, room service lunch, and then spent the rest of the day taking advantage of the sumptuous bed; both for sleep and...other things.

The next day, after a light brunch, they prepared their backpacks, packing only what the letter from the "Last Master Standing" people had outlined. Around noon, they checked out of the hotel, hailed a cab, and headed for the one o'clock interview where, if they were selected, they would be billeted at a company facility that night and head for...wherever...the next day.

"Are you nervous?" asked Alyssa during the taxi ride.

"A little, I guess...You?"

"Yeah, me too," she said, "You know...they're going to expect me to call you 'master' and you to refer to me as your slave."

Tommy sighed and said, "Oh yeah...I suppose. I'll do my best but I still feel like I'm pandering to a group of people who I don't give a rat's ass about."

She said, "It's not pandering Tommy, it's...well...okay, I guess it is but, just for the game, right? We know who we are; and that's all that really matters."

The taxi let them out in front of a large, modern office building, about forty stories high. Once inside, Tommy had to chuckle at the listing for 'slaves-r-sluts.net -- 3rd Floor' on the directory board. Both were visibly anxious during the elevator ride and the walk down the hall; and, as they went into the office, Alyssa audibly giggled when she saw the pretty receptionist, complete with leather collar.

"May I help you?"

Tommy handed her the letter and said, "We're here about an interview for 'Last Master Standing'."

She handed him the letter back. "Yes, down the hall to your right, second door...you'll see the security guard."

As they proceeded down the hall, Alyssa went into slave mode; eyes down and hands behind her back. The security guard, a large man as tall as Tommy, verified the letter then said, "Right in there. They'll be starting in a few minutes. You should have her in a collar and leash; I can get one for you."

"Only poorly trained slaves need to be on a collar and leash, wouldn't you say?" Tommy said, then turned and entered the large hall.

As Alyssa moved to follow, the guard stepped in front of her, blocking her path. She tried to sidestep but the burly man blocked her again. Tommy turned and said, "What the hell are you doing? She's with me."

The guard said, "Well, if she was wearing a collar you could just yank it and pull her around me, couldn't you!"

As he said that, Alyssa stepped back, put her shoulder down, and rammed the guard in the chest, catching him so unaware that he fell to the floor, landing on his butt.

"WHY YOU LITTLE BITCH!" said the guard, as he started to get to his feet. Tommy quickly stepped in front of him and motioned for her to go into the hall. She stepped inside then turned and waited for her master. She had never seen him in a fight but she had no doubt that Tommy could take care of himself. She could see it in his demeanor as he stood right in the face of the guard, calmly looking him straight in the eye.

"As I said before, only those who are poorly trained require a leash."

The guard backed off and Tommy turned, leading Alyssa into the hall. There were about twenty other couples already waiting in the hall; masters sitting in folding chairs with collared and leashed slaves sitting at their feet. One of several production people, who had watched the altercation at the door, motioned for Tommy to take a seat. Alyssa, like the other slaves, took up a position sitting at his feet.

Tommy looked around the room and marveled at the disparity among the "masters." Most were average looking guys; some were middle aged school teacher types while others were more like businessmen. A couple of them were pretty grungy; and another looked like a priest. Most of the "slaves" were fairly attractive but a few were a little on the overweight side; one of them being quite obese, a fact accentuated by the tight, leather bustier she wore.

An athletic looking blonde man, in his mid thirties, stood up with his equally fit looking slave, and walked over; taking a seat beside Tommy. "Hello, I'm Albert and this is Willy, my slave and my wife."

He shook Albert's hand and said, "I'm Sam."

Alyssa and he had talked about this kind of thing at great length; while they were in this game she would be treated as a hard core slave; and a slave does not get introduced as a person. She is merely the property of her master...and, it was a way for Tommy to avoid using her name.

Albert, whose accent easily tagged him as German, was one of only two others, besides Tommy, who didn't have a collar on their slaves. He didn't question the fact that Tommy didn't introduce her, he just continued: "Your slave is very beautiful and I see she is willing to put herself at great risk to stay at your side."

"Yes," Tommy said, "she has worked hard and taken her training very well."

He had resigned himself to the fact that he was going to have to talk about her in this manner for as long as they were in this stupid game. He made a mental note that, when he got the time, he would have to come up with something really nice to do for her when all this was over.

"Quite the mixture of people here, don't you think, Sam?"

Tommy said, "Yes, I'd have to agree. I'm a little surprised really, at how...average they look."

Albert chuckled, "I know what you mean but...I keep looking at that heavy woman over there. I think she is having difficulty breathing with that bustier."

Tommy looked over at the corpulent woman in the bustier and it was clear that Albert was right. Her face was red and you could see that she was in some distress. He looked at her master, a bald, dirty, unshaven man in his fifties, who was paying no attention at all to his slave. Tommy was tempted to alert one of the dozen or so production people but he saw that two of them were looking right at her.

He was relieved when one of them firmly said, "You...have your slave stand up right now."

The man told his rotund slave to stand which immediately relieved the pressure from the bustier and she started to breathe easier. Tommy couldn't help but wonder if this girl's self esteem was so low that she felt she needed to be humiliated by even a low life like this guy. He noted something else as well.

"For a 'master,' he did what he was told pretty quick, eh?"

Albert agreed, "Ya, I don't think we will see him in the game."

"Oho! You clearly expect to be one of the players!"

"Sure, of course," Albert said, "I think you will be there too, and... Scheisse!"

Tommy looked to see what had caught Albert's attention and saw a huge, Polynesian looking man leading a slim, wan looking, forty-ish woman into the hall. The woman was collared and leashed and had her hands cuffed behind her back. She looked...broken; sad; the closest thing Tommy had seen to a real slave...not a volunteer.

The man sported long, black hair, slicked back in a pony tail. He was about as tall as Tommy but would have outweighed him by fifty pounds easy. When he sat he yanked hard on the leash, forcing the woman to fall hard to her knees.

"Jesus!" Tommy said.

Just then one of the production people, a young man in his thirties, stepped forward and said, "Quiet please...quiet...! Okay everybody. My name is Jason Forsythe and, on behalf of 'slaves-r-sluts.net,' I'd like to thank you all for coming. We have four interview rooms set up so we should be able to get through them in pretty good time. Once the interviews are complete we will compare notes and then make out final selections; again, we will try to waste as little time as possible.

"A few points before we start: 'Last Master Standing' is a wilderness game that will require you to essentially survive on your own in the wild. The selected masters will be allocated a patch of ground, about twenty five metres apart. You will have to create your own shelters, using only the available materials at had; that is, branches, grasses, etc. You will have no camping or survival gear with you; only the clothing you are currently wearing and the extra set in you backpacks, as outlined in the letter.

"You will have no matches, lighters, flints, or any other means of fire, other than whatever you find near your camp. A central water source will be provided but it is not, I repeat, NOT potable without being boiled for at least five minutes. You are not allowed to share with, or help other teams.

"Tournaments will be held every other day; and the tournaments will eliminate one master each time until the end. Unless instructed otherwise, slaves must be led to the tournament area naked, collared and leashed, with hands bound behind their backs. The tournaments have been created to minimize the risk of injury to the slaves but, we cannot absolutely guarantee that injuries will not occur. We have medical staff on hand to treat slaves' cuts, etc. but, if they require medical evacuation, that master will be eliminated from the game.

"We will address only the masters; slaves are the responsibility of those masters and have no standing, as far as the game goes. Other than the requirement of the tournaments, the masters will determine what their slaves wear, where they sleep, etc.; again, within the rules of the game.

"Selected masters will be billeted in single rooms which we have set up in this building. We will then proceed to the game location first thing in the morning. Anyone wishing to drop out should do so now. Are there any questions?"

Tommy looked down at Alyssa who immediately rested her head on his knee; her way of telling him that she was okay with all this. A couple of the other "masters" asked questions that required Jason to repeat what he had already said; and one master—the "priest" —dropped out because of the "naked" thing; one had to wonder what he was actually expecting here. The interviews started right away as four couples were called out of the hall while the rest waited for their turn.

Tommy was called around twenty minutes later and entered a room where Jason and two other people were sitting side by side. He motioned for Tommy to sit opposite them, about six feet away, and Alyssa knelt on the floor beside him. Jason introduced him to the other male panelist, Eddie, another thirty-ish man, and Rebecca, a hard looking dominatrix type with jet black hair pulled severely into a pony tail.

Jason and Eddie asked him a barrage of predetermined questions: How long have you had her? Do you whip her? Do you bind her? Then Jason asked him some strange questions...

"Have you ever been to British Columbia?"

Tommy said, "Yes."

"Do you have family there? You know, father, mother, brother, sister, aunts and uncles...like that."

He said, "No, none at all."

"Are you familiar with the parks and lakes in BC."

"No," he said, "I've never traveled around the province at all...just visited some friends near Creston."

"Okay," said Jason, "that's all I need."

Then Rebecca finally spoke up, "Your slave took on that big security guard to stay at your side so she must be very loyal and obedient. She will obey you without question...is that true?"

Tommy said, "Yep."

"Then command her to come over here and lick my cunt."

Even the two other men were surprised and Tommy felt Alyssa squeeze his knee, telling him that she would do it if he told her to but Tommy said, "I'm sorry...you must have misunderstood. She is MY slave, not yours."

Rebecca snapped, "Yes, exactly...now command her to—"

"Miss! Would you please take a long hard look at my slave!" said Tommy.

Clearly annoyed, Rebecca said, "Yeah...so, what about her?"

"Is she not possibly the most beautiful woman you have ever seen?"

The two male panelists nodded their agreement but Rebecca said, "She's okay, I suppose...so what?"

Tommy leaned forward, glaring directly at Rebecca and said, "I have spent considerable time and effort keeping my slave in pristine condition for my own pleasure. Why on earth would you think that I would have her sully herself by placing her mouth anywhere near your obviously well used vagina? God only knows where it's been!"

Jason and Eddie immediately looked at their hands and attempted to suppress their chuckles. Rebecca went beet red and her eyes shot daggers at Tommy; she was seconds away from attacking him.

Jason broke the tension as he said, "Okay...I think we have all we need. Thank you, Sam. You can return to the main hall now."

They went back to the hall and Tommy took a seat near the back. As Alyssa went to kneel beside him she brought her head close to his and whispered, "I love you so much, Tommy."

He was pretty sure that his rebuke of Rebecca had essentially removed even the faintest hope of being selected for the game. They didn't need the money and, even though the survival aspect still intrigued him, he didn't really care, but he felt bad for Alyssa; she really did seem eager to go through with all this.

About fifteen minutes later, Jason entered the hall and said, "Would the following people please come with me: Master Togo; Master Albert; Master Henry; Master Winston; Master Bobby; Master Gregory; and...Master Sam."

"I'll be damned!" Tommy said as he rose with the others and followed Jason into the hallway.

Jason stopped and turned towards the group, "Your rooms are along here, on the right, and a dinner will be available in the main hall in an hour or so. Please remain in your rooms until someone calls you for dinner. You will get more instructions at that time. Congratulations everybody, you are the final contestants for 'Last Master Standing'."

* * *

The next day found Tommy and Alyssa back on another airplane bound for parts unknown. It had been an interesting morning involving yet more instructions and security. After they had dressed everyone was patted down to ensure that they weren't hiding anything that might assist them in the game. The slaves were subjected to a full body cavity search; thankfully by a female physician. They had been warned about the impending search while they were at dinner and, judging by the way Togo cursed under his breathe and the obvious discomfort displayed by his slave, it was apparent to all that she had something shoved up inside her.

Tommy was wearing jeans, jockeys, smart-wool socks and hiking boots, as well as a tee shirt and sweatshirt. Alyssa was identically clothed and, within the rules of the game, they each had a set of shorts, a warm jacket, spare socks, and underwear in their backpack. The slaves were fitted with collars and the masters were given leashes. That was it; they were allowed nothing else.

The contestant's rooms had only a single bed since the slaves were expected to sleep on the floor but Alyssa managed to squeeze into the bed, essentially spending the night on top of Tommy. Both slept like week old puppies and, when they awoke, Alyssa gave him a nice massage to alleviate a stiff back; the result of lying in the same position all night. When she was done Alyssa noted that something else was stiff too so she alleviated that as well.