A Murder - A Maker Pt. 02

"Oh." It was reasonable, and even if it didn't entirely soothe the guilt I felt at not trying to free the others around us, I had no way of countering her points. I glanced down, examining the paler marks around the edges of my cuffs, and let out a relieved sigh.

"Feeling tired?" she asked. I glanced up, nodding, though I still felt an undercurrent of tension that was keeping my fatigue at bay. She beckoned me forward, uncoiling from her sitting position and stretching out on the bed, and I settled in the space indicated beside her. I had thought to move to the bunk overhead, but as she turned to her side and nestled back into me, I wrapped an arm over her side and settled my forehead lightly against her hair. The company was welcome.

"Hey, Min?" she asked. At the answering noise, she continued, "Tell me about how you ended up here. Where'd you come from?"

I hesitated. It took a short while, but eventually I turned my head, propping it up to rest closer to her ear, and quietly began to relate a description of Richmond Essar, glossing over the less savory aspects of his nature, and the story of the pirates on a nameless ship that had left me to my own devices on Mars. She fell asleep at some point, but I kept up the quiet story until its end.

***

The prison outpost was not in any way a high security facility, and no one had tried to escape at any point in recent history. Most inmates were content with awaiting their sentence and serving or paying it off, and those guilty of violent crimes were held elsewhere. The complacency of the common prisoner and the feeling of superiority that settled on guards with little supervision led to a routine with minimal oversight, and Riss' plan took advantage of that.

The outpost was operated by a larger company with numerous satellite facilities, all tasked with servicing the retention of prisoners for more than half of the colony cities on Mars. The organization had purchased operation time on a mag-lev train track that branched and spread its way across much of the planet, and a central supply depot sent out shipments every other week. The simplistic version of the plan consisted of freeing ourselves from the dormitory, sneaking aboard the train, and riding it away before breaking free and seeking out a means to leave the planet. There was more involved, but the task Riss gave to me was straightforward enough: free her, then tag along while she did the rest.

Several days passed quietly after the first as I acclimated to the outpost's routine. We were mostly left alone by the guards, with food delivered at automated intervals, and no consideration was given to exercise or other means of breaking the monotony. Each day I requested a shower, and each time was escorted with cuffed wrists to a wide, square room with a row of shower heads along the perimeter, then the magnetic lock was released and made to strip. Different guards escorted me each time, and while the first did nothing but leer, the next two made advances I was helpless to resist.

On the fifth day of my imprisonment Riss climbed to the top bunk that I had adopted, perching on the edge and crooking a finger that brought me up from my lethargic repose to crawl nearer.

"What is it?" I asked.

She shot me a grin. "Shipment's gonna be coming in today," she confided. "Probably within the next hour or so. Once it's landed they're going to be rounding us up to go down and store all their shit. You're gonna have to worm your way free by the end of that, because it'll be taking off pretty quick once all the supplies are out."

I blinked, almost asking how I was supposed to get both of us free to board the train, but refrained. She wouldn't have an answer for me, likely, and a relaxed sort of confidence had taken hold in any event. I could handle it, despite the press for time.

The door to the outer hallway began slowly grinding open, stealing our attention. My stomach dropped as it revealed one of the two guards that had found me, Collin. A disdainful twist to his lips already in place - or maybe it was etched there permanently - he jabbed a finger out toward me and then pointed at the floor. I glanced at Riss, then twisted around to drop off the top bunk and cross over toward the entrance. I stopped within the square on the ground, glancing him over uneasily. He took a step back, snorting, and muttered,

"Get out here."

I slipped forward, anything but reassured by his tone. He slammed the keypad with a fist to set the door slowly closing, then suddenly crowded in on me, a hand seizing my throat and pinning me back against the wall beside the entrance.

"I've been hearing things about you, freak," he growled. "You're a real fucking whore, aren't you? Let just about anyone between your legs, huh? Well, fuck if I know why, but the warden's got something he wants to talk to you about."

My hands had tightened around his wrist, but I couldn't make him relax his grip. I strained to breath around his fingers, balanced on the tops of my feet. Our eyes locked, and I was pinned beneath the fervor of his hatred as much as by his hand. He finally let go, catching me by the shoulder as I started to curl up and gasp, then rammed a fist into my stomach with a heavy grunt. I sank to the ground, braced on knees and elbows, and fought the urge to retch. Collin waited all of a few seconds before snarling for me to get up, and, when I didn't, seized me by the collar of my uniform and started dragging me down the hallway. A few yards into the unceremonious transport I managed to scramble to my feet, freeing myself from him and skittering just out of arms reach, breaths still coming in pained rasps.

When we reached the elevator I stepped in behind him, passing through to the back corner and waiting there. When the elevator doors had sealed shut again he rounded on me, a hand lifting, and I shrank back further into the corner, hands lifting defensively. He stopped at the fear on my face, suddenly barking out a laugh.

"What a cheap freak you are," he said. "Here-" He turned, pounding at a few buttons on the elevator and then waiting silently as it continued to rise. When the doors opened I realized we weren't on the floor leading to the warden's office, but instead in the main lobby of the outpost. It was empty. I glanced up at Collin uncertainly.

"Go on," he invited, a different edge in his voice than I was used to. "You could make a break for it right now. Don't you want to be free again?"

I pressed further back against the elevator. When he took another step forward I sucked in a shallow breath and tensed my core, looking down at his fists in anticipation.

Instead, he stayed where he was and said,

"You're not going to go, are you, freak? Even when it's right here for you." Not trusting my voice, I shook my head. "You don't have the nerve, do you?" I nodded. He laughed, turning back to press a button on the elevator and begin our descent. Fear rooted me in place. Collin was frightening, and while I was accustomed to some level of revulsion or superiority from those I met, the wholehearted malice he contained was more than I could handle with any grace. There was a bestial quality to his anger, and he seemed so cocksure that he might turn and kill me at any moment, for no reason beyond his freedom to.

The elevator doors slid open, and as we stepped out I reestablished the greater distance between the two of us, eyes flitting between him and the steel-tiled floor as we marched down the corridor to the warden's office. I was very nearly relieved when the door slid open and I stepped into the office, leaving the guard outside and fixing my attention where Bryce sat behind the desk. At least he was a known quantity, for the most part. His gaze flicked up from a document before him, surveying me for a few seconds before he gestured to a stool and returned to his work. I quietly slid forward, easing onto a seat and tucking my hands between my thighs.

"You have had time to grow accustomed to this facility, and your... Role within it, he said, tapping a button to dismiss the screen before setting his attention on me once again. "I am familiar with the liberties the men take with you, and I know they will become bolder the longer you stay with us. You may stay in that position, being used and passed around until you are spent and discarded, with not a one of them knowing the sheer loss of wealth when you finally break."

"Or," he went on, "Or, you may submit yourself to me alone. You will be mine utterly and completely, you will not resist any of my commands, and you will decide to take upon those responsibilities yourself. I will keep you here, and no one else will have free access to you. Either way, you shall spend the rest of your time here, empath. Either under my hand, or under that of everyone else. What do you choose?"

"Now, sir?" I replied, mindlessly resuming the title he had demanded previously, feeling a fleeting pleasure at the approving nod he gave with his confirmation. Thoughts and scenarios were racing through my head, all over a muted undertone of guilt at my plans to escape. Every guard in the facility using me, each wrenching more pleasure and humiliation on me until my world narrowed to a scope of nothing else. I would not break, I told myself, and that would make it worse. I was made to recover, and so I would wear out their interest and then lie discarded until someone felt a stirring for me again. It was a bleak future.

"I would-" I started, then faltered. He studied me expectantly, impassive. "I would implore you to claim me for yourself, warden," I said. My hands tightened, fingers sliding between one another to clasp more firmly, as the weight of my words set in. Part of me reasoned that I wasn't staying, that I would make an escape, yet it was difficult to muster any sort of self-confidence after openly begging another to conquer you. Worse, to enjoy it, the bitter pleasure in the request and the simplicity and joy in the dedication to another's will, to their satisfaction. Scenes played through my head, each with me losing myself in service to Bryce. I shivered.

He rose and stepped around the desk to cup my jaw in one hand, guiding my head up to face him. His eyes were intense and consuming, and not at all kind. I saw the thrill of victory, and hunger, the readiness to explore all the facets of a new possession. I wanted him to act on that, but instead he said,

"I've business to take care of, and I might be occupied for some time. Collin will see you back. You'll assume your new role upon my return."

His hand fell away and he stepped off and past me, leaving the office. I didn't hear the doors close again, and when I twisted around to glance back Collin was leaning between them, watching me. I swallowed, pushing away the remnants of an unsatiated hunger the warden had aroused, and tried to fight back my concern as I rose to join the guard once more. We both stepped out into the hallway and the office sealed behind. The warden was already out of sight, leaving us alone in the corridor to the elevator. Collin marched alongside me for a time, then asked,

"What did he want?"

I swallowed. "He... was threatening me," I quietly said. "He wants me to become his private attendant. Forever."

The guard barked a harsh laugh at the admission and I ducked my head, grimacing.

"Smarmy bastard," he said. "He would want a freak like you all to himself, wouldn't he? Figures the man wouldn't let you back out, once he had a handhold on you and no reason to let go. Rest of us not good enough to cut in on the deal, either, is that it?"

A few of the scenes I had conjured earlier came back to me then. Naked, bent over a desk as an officer had his way with me, used by the warden as a favor to ameliorate internal politicking and win over lackeys. I shuddered, and had no desire to share that possibility.

I was so engrossed in those thoughts I didn't realize we had reached the elevators until Collin spun me around and grabbed me by the throat, slamming me back into the doors hard enough for me to lose my vision for an instant.

"Please don't hurt me," I whispered, the words sounding pitiful even to my ears. He barked a laugh, the brutal light kindling in his eyes again. His other hand reached forward and ripped the zipper of my uniform down, disappearing beneath it to seize a breast and grope it harshly as he taunted,

"Why not? You've already shown you don't have a spine. I can do whatever I want with you, and before he come swooping in, I plan to."

Each rasped breath, each wince at his rough hands only heightened the dangerous look in his eyes, and I couldn't stop myself from squirming and whimpering. When the elevator arrived the door I was pinned to slid open and the force he had on me suddenly lost its counterbalance, sending me thudding back to land on the floor. He stepped forward after me, grinning, and I slid myself to the back corner of the elevator before drawing up my knees. At another keypress the elevator began moving, and since he seemed content to merely watch me for now I stayed put.

The doors re-opened and he leaned down, gripping me by the hair and pulling me to my feet. I had time to start rising on my own, keeping his forcefulness from being too painful, and he let out a sour noise as he shoved me out of the elevator. We were on a floor I'd never seen before. I glanced around as I crossed to the far wall, tugging my uniform closer together and holding it shut with one hand. He stepped out, nodding in one direction and growling,

"Move."

We down several halls, crossing intersections, before he halted me by a door and opened it to reveal a bare-bones room with a messy bed in the far corner. Another shove propelled me into the room, and I barely caught myself from falling. There were no personalizing features in the living quarters at all. A small shower cubicle occupied a back corner, opposite a toilet and sink, and a wardrobe stood on the wall opposite the bed, flanked by a small writing desk.

"If you aren't naked in ten seconds, you'll regret it."

He unclipped his belt as he spoke, tossing it to land against the back of the chair, hang precariously, then lose purchase and drop to the floor. As he started to dig out an earpiece I startled into motion, shrugging the loose uniform over my shoulders and, after shoving it down around my hips, letting it pool at my ankles and stepping out, soft-soled boots pried off in the same motion.

There is something infinitely more humiliating about stripping yourself at someone's command than them doing it to you. I watched Collin, already spotting the strain of his erection against the fabric of his pants, and kept quiet. He watched me for a few seconds, features darkening, then stepped forward to seize my upper arm and yank me closer. My teeth at the sudden force and I craned my head up, chest pressed against his shirt as our gazes met.

"Your eyes are too bright, freak," he said, sour breath washing over me. "I'll help with that." He shoved me back to arm's reach, cocked his other hand back, and heaved forward in a vicious punch.

I could have dodged it. He was tall and bearish, but the punch was slow and too forceful to come unexpectedly. The lessons I had learned on the pirate ship were still etched into my muscles, which practically twitched of their own accord to slide me free. But I didn't want to. I wanted to stay in the course of that punch, for him to heap abuse on me and rain punishment down for all that I was, for his sheer pleasure.

His fist slammed into my face, knuckles catching my brow ridge and curled fingers smashing against my cheekbone. My head snapped back and my vision blacked out as I was launched off my feet, crashing down by the desk in a heap and reflexively curling onto my side as pain blossomed out in an explosion that wrenched a sob from my throat.

"Fuck!" I distantly heard, hearing him stumble back a few steps from where we had both been standing. My gaze sharpened and I barely lifted my head, watching him cradle his hand as he shot off a litany of curses and rocked in pain. He turned toward me again, glaring, and snarled,

"You miserable little bitch-"

The fuzz in my mind cleared and I stopped listening. There was murder in his eyes as he stumbled toward me, and I weakly pushed myself back before spotting the belt beside me. I urgently darted a hand out, fumbling with the pistol on it and tearing it free of its holster. He lunged and I awkwardly wrenched the weapon up, squeezing the trigger just before he slammed into me. A sizzling noise, then he landed atop me, body convulsing involuntarily.

It's a stun gun, I realized. I desperately elbowed the man and wriggled my way out from beneath him, twisting onto my knees and bringing the pistol up again just as the disruption faded and he began to regain control of his muscles. He snarled, started picking himself up, and I shot him again. He lurched awkwardly as his muscles seized up, flopping onto his back. My jaw clenched, I fired shot after shot into the guard as he spasmed, unloading a torrent of energy that only stopped when the pistol gave a weak chirp indicating that its power had been spent. I pulled the trigger again, swallowed, and cast it aside.

Collin wasn't moving. My lungs ached, and as I realized that I had been holding my breath I let out an expansive breath, deflating even as I watched the man, fearfully waiting for even a twitch. When none came I eased forward, lowering my head to nestle an ear against the man's chest. No heartbeat. A wave of icy relief rushed through me at that and I choked back a weak laugh, squeezing my eyes shut and taking a moment to catch my breath. Clearing my throat afterward, I slowly climbed to my feet and turned to pick up my uniform and slip back into it. Pulling the zipper snug at my throat, I turned back to frisk the warm body, unclipping the cylindrical key but finding little else of use. There were no pockets in my uniform, so I tucked it into my palm and glanced around the room.

I found nothing of use and turned my mind to freeing Riss. It would be difficult to get her out of the dormitory again without any guards, or the other prisoners, noticing, so I would have to act before they returned. I slipped back out into the hallway, carefully tracking my way back to the elevator and ducking inside. There was little point in being furtive - if anyone came across me, trying to hide would be impossible, after all - but I couldn't shake the impulse. I paused just before keying the elevator into motion, then, swallowing, directed it to the ground floor.

The doors opened to the same view Collin had taunted me with before. I stood stock still, staring out toward the lobby, then cleared my throat and left the elevator to turn down the hallway. It took a few minutes of exploration but I soon found the locker room where I had been stripped of my possessions, and quickly hunted them down. I immediately slipped into the gloves, sighing at the palpable feel of relief that came with the act of wearing them. After a moment of indecision I left the rest behind, swinging the locker door closed with a grimace and quickly heading back for the elevator.

Once inside I keyed a button to start descending, and as the lift shot down I was unable to keep from pacing. I still had no idea what I was going to do, and I realized that a sheen of sweat had broken out on my palms. There was no possible way of going back, now, nor undoing what I had started. I grimaced, rubbed my forehead with the back of a glove, and realized that the elevator had stopped and the doors were sliding open.

No guards were waiting to greet me the moment I stepped out onto the basement floor of the facility. I let out a quiet sigh of relief and into the hallway just off the landing. The topography of the region around the facility was such that this lowest floor - in truth the two lowest floors, built to allow for a much higher ceiling and ample storage space - was submerged at the facility's front side but open to the on the far side, thanks to the sloping landscape. The railway came up alongside this open side of the basement, allowing for an almost direct transition from the freight cars to the facility's storage. I slipped through a door in the hallway and into the broad hangar that comprised this side of the facility. A stack of reinforced plastic boxes, semitransparent and packed with something dark, were near the wall and I slid in against them to take stock of the room before me.