Judicial Punishment Lottery

Shona complied and a second officer approached and fixed the shackles first on her ankles and then onto her wrists. The slack on the shackles was taken up until she was pulled across the padded bar and her ankles were spread apart, allowing her breasts to hang free and fully presenting the curve of her backside for punishment. Shona shivered and released a breath. She felt horrible embarrassment at being presented so helplessly to a baying crowd with everything on display. Shuddering, she had to close her eyes and take several controlling breaths to try and calm herself.

Officer Milton called out, "Prisoner secure and prepared for punishment."

The nurse closed her eyes and did her best to tune out the noise of the crowd. Her position wasn't too uncomfortable though she dreaded to think how stiff she would be in four hours' time.

The procedure was repeated again twice. Mary struggled furiously and screamed like a banshee until she was eventually gagged. The officers didn't undo the handcuffs but simply cut her clothes off her using something like a seatbelt cutting device. The fragments were left on the floor, and she was physically wrestled onto the frame. Only once her feet had been shackled did the officers undo the handcuffs and they held her hands in place as a third officer secured her wrists.

The fragments of her clothes were gathered up by the redheaded escort as the male called out, Prisoner Secure and prepared for punishment."

Shona gaped in horror at the woman's body. She was a skinny little thing, almost emaciated and her back, buttocks and upper thighs were crisscrossed by the marks that showed a history of previous punishments. There were dozens of healed scars and Shona couldn't help but weep at the state of the poor woman, she looked like a runaway slave from the 1800s.

The crowd had cheered at her struggling, but those at the front who could see her more clearly grew quiet at the sight, a few turned away and at least a couple simply left.

The punishment officer in charge took one look and muttered into his radio, moments later a medical technician stepped forward to examine the old wounds. Eventually, he stepped closer to the officer and Shona could just make him out as he spoke, "The wounds are all healed, it's all old scars, her heart and vitals are strong. I hate it, but I'm duty-bound to declare her fit for punishment."

The officer acknowledged the medic and Shona heard him mutter, "bollocks."

The young man Ian made a show of stripping. He grinned like an idiot and waved to the crowd. He even blew a kiss to one of the young women near the front. All the while his group of mates cheered him on.

Shona heard Officer Milton muttering, "He's in for a fucking surprise. I bet the dopey bastard won't be grinning so much in a few minutes."

The officer in charge spoke again. "Punishment detail, stand to."

Karen addressed the nurse, "I have to step back a bit now, but I'll be right here where you can see me."

A male officer took the position vacated by Officer Milton, he was a large, extremely burly man, with a shaved head and a fierce-looking goatee beard. He had a scar running down one side of his face and Shona thought he looked for all the world like a Viking berserker or something equally terrifying. She gulped and felt herself quail at the sight of him. He moved closer and grinned, "I'm Officer Douglas and I'll be your punishment officer for today. The good news Shona is I shouldn't have to do much. I got picked for you special cos I'm so pretty. This way the dopey fucks, sorry I mean 'helpful citizens', who step up here might think twice about taking any unwarranted liberties okay."

Shona spoke in a small, terrified voice, "Er, thanks, I guess."

"That's quite alright."

She swallowed nervously, "Can I ask something?"

"Just a sec," he examined her details on the punishment roster, "nothing here about a gagging order of any level so chatter away if it helps. I'm not promising to answer mind."

"Sorry, it's just that none of you seems to like the idea of this lottery thing?"

He spared her a glance, "Ask any cop, any first responder or ambulance driver. We all hate rubber-neckers. I'm a professional, I don't take any joy from this and anyone who does is a creepy bastard as far as I'm concerned. I'm just glad I'm not on Mary today, poor sod."

"Sorry, but what happens if someone does do something to me they... shouldn't."

"Well then, I get to arrest them for a sexual assault and in a few weeks' time you can pop by and watch them up here instead of you."

"Oh."

The supervisor looked around to ensure all was as it should be. A punishment officer stood by each frame, each holding a strap or a cane as required. "Officers, do your duty."

The air filled with the sounds of canes and straps whishing through the air and striking flesh followed by grunts, screams and shrieks of pain.

Femi sobbed and wailed as the punishment officer by her side brought the strop down across her posterior with a resounding 'crack' causing her to jerk in place with a shrill cry. He continued to punish her with steady regular strikes until six had been landed. Then he changed position and flogged her from the other side, landing another six scorching blows. All told it took less than three minutes but by the end of it her bottom was a blaze of crimson, and she was weeping piteously.

Mary couldn't scream, but her piteous moans could still be heard as the cane swept down upon her posterior in a sizzling arc and leaving yet another scarlet line across her already marked body.

Ian had stopped grinning. The strop whistled through the air and lashed across his back driving the air out of his lungs. He grunted in pain. By the third stroke he was sobbing, by the tenth, he was screaming.

The screens overhead displayed the punishments as they were carried out, sometimes switching from prisoner to prisoner, sometimes showing all four on a split-screen.

One screen nearest Shona blinked into life and displayed what looked like a ticket number. There was movement in the crowd and a grinning young man stepped forward to display his mobile phone to an officer. After a moment he has directed up the ramp.

Officer Douglas stared at the young man, who shuffled nervously, "Er, I won."

"Congratulations Sir, what punishment have you selected to administer today?"

He looked barely nineteen years of age, a skinny young fellow with a bare wisp of a moustache. The young man shuffled nervously, shifting his weight from foot to foot, "Well, I thought, that is er, I'd quite like to spank her please."

Shona was totally mortified but even so, she almost giggled at his embarrassment.

Officer Douglas simply looked at the man, "Are you aware of the terms of punishment. Twenty blows with the hand on her posterior. No intrusion otherwise of any kind, yes?"

The young man blushed, "Yes, er, but I'm allowed to touch her though, yes?"

"It might be difficult to administer the spanking otherwise."

"I mean, I'm allowed to make sure she's positioned right, you know, erm, at the right height and, er stuff?"

Officer Douglas gave a rumbling sigh, "That is correct, Sir."

The man gazed at Shona's bottom with a grin and moved into position. "Er, I'm just going to make sure she's sorted, okay?"

He reached out and Shona shivered as he ran a cold hand across her buttocks, she glanced around, and he saw her watching. He blushed furiously, "Er, Hi. I'm Steven."

"Shona."

"Er, yes, it said, on the ticket I mean, it said your name on the tickets I bought."

She almost couldn't help herself, "Tickets? How many did you buy?"

"I could only afford four."

"How much are they?"

"Twenty quid each."

She shook her head and looked at Officer Milton with an almost bemused expression, "Jesus."

Behind her, the young man muttered, "Er, I'm sorry about this."

Shona felt him slap her across her left buttock, then the right. It stung but was hardly painful. He kept up the punishment, striking one cheek and then the other, stopping every so often to run a hand across her buttocks, "Just to make sure she's in the right place."

By the end of it, her ass felt quite tender, and he'd managed to make her squeal and wiggle her bottom in discomfort more than once, much to his apparent delight. She was actually rather glad of the cool breeze on her warm posterior, but she wasn't in any real pain. The man however was breathing heavily, and she doubted it was purely from his exertions. He looked red-faced with embarrassment as he stepped back, "Er, thanks miss, thanks very much."

Officer Douglas watched him walk off, "That was pitiful."

Shona glanced at the bearded giant, "I'd rather it was him than you."

He grinned, "Probably true. Be another fifteen minutes before the next punishment, you can take a breather."

The nurse looked around, she was still mortified at being naked in front of the crowd, but it was getting easier to ignore or at least push to the back of her mind. Femi was secured on the pillory nearest to her and she hung there limply, eyes closed, weeping openly and sometimes she would give a pitiful moan of misery. Her buttocks glowed red and she occasionally shuddered when she drew a breath.

Mary hung limply on her frame, too weak to even sob, stirring only as the last few strokes of the cane were being applied. She would jerk and give a muffled howl when each blow landed, and Shona looked in horror at the state of her posterior which was crisscrossed with wicked-looking weals. Her moans of pain and misery were muffled by her gag but still carried to the crowd. The repeated sound of the cane hissing through the air and the crack as it struck the woman made Shona almost nauseous and many in the crowd had drawn silent at the poor girl's torment.

Ian sobbed and shuddered. His back was a bruised, scarlet tapestry and he groaned and jerked as the tawse whipped through the air to land heavy blows. The punishment officer wielding the strop was no amateur and he did so with skill and force, placing the blows in a well-placed pattern from his shoulders down to the small of his back and then back up again. When the last blow fell Ian slumped in a boneless heap, hanging limply from the shackles and weeping in abject misery, but he stirred as two punishment officers moved in and began to adjust the frame he was secured to, swiftly and efficiently compelling him to shift position so he was forced to his knees, leaning forward so his buttocks and the soles of his feet were presented.

A punishment officer tapped the man on the shoulder and drew his attention to a tall bucket where a number of judicial canes were soaking, and Ian gave a groan of misery as one of these supple rods was drawn in preparation for the next stage of his chastisement.

The mood of the crowd was changing, the cheers were significantly lessened, and some had turned away or left as they found the reality of the spectacle of misery and pain too much for them. Ian's little gang stared in muted silence, realising how easily they could be in his place.

Shona's reveries were brought to an end as the screen flashed and the number of a second lottery winner appeared on the screen.

A small woman in a tweed jacket and skirt moved forward and up the ramp, she was beyond middle-aged, and her greying hair was tied in a severe bun. She had pale blue eyes and a thin-lipped expression as she gazed at Shona, Officer Douglas and just about everyone in sight with obvious disapproval. Not waiting for the officer to speak to her she selected a cane and whipped it through the air experimentally.

Officer Douglas looked at the small woman and his voice rumbled, "Good afternoon, ma'am, I see you have selected the cane as your preferred instrument of chastisement. Are you aware of our rules and the details of punishm..."

"Yes, yes, it was all on the ticket. I read it thoroughly, now be a good chap and step aside please."

"Er..."

"Good heavens man, are you slow-witted? I was a teacher for forty years; I think I know how to cane the posterior of a naughty young woman after all."

With an almost bemused expression, Officer Douglas moved back.

Shona jerked as the woman prodded one cheek of her bottom with the tip of the cane, "You there! What's your name again, Shona, is it? Well, you just straighten those legs, you young madam, and push that bottom out towards me. They stopped allowing us to apply suitable correction in school and look at the result. Well, they can't stop me here. Now I expect you to count each stroke aloud, understand?"

Officer Douglas stirred, "Er, ma'am, we don't..."

"Oh, do be quiet."

The woman made a few experimental passes with the cane before turning to Shona, "Now then, where were we? Ah yes."

The woman swung her arm and the cane whipped around in an arc, cutting through the air with a sibilant hiss. It slashed directly across the middle of Shona's bottom, striking both cheeks perfectly. Shona howled in pain and jerked in place as it felt as if someone had touched her ass with a burning wire.

The second stroke landed almost immediately, another sizzling blow that struck below the first, on the meatier part of her posterior. Again, the woman howled, and tears streamed from her eyes, "Oh bugger! That hurt!"

The older woman paused, "We'll have none of that profanity you little trollop."

Turning to Officer Douglas she poked the sobbing woman on the ass with her cane, "Surely she deserves an extra stroke for that outburst, surely?"

"Er, no."

The woman gave a disapproving sniff, "Ridiculous."

The third stroke landed, again it was well aimed, landing above the first and leaving another perfectly parallel line across both buttocks.

Shona howled and sobbed, she jerked in place and her posterior gyrated on the crossbar, but she was completely helpless, held secure and totally vulnerable.

The fourth and fifth strokes slashed across the young woman's posterior, each leaving a perfectly placed weal and each causing the young woman to cry out in pain.

The last stroke howled in and landed at an angle cutting across the pattern of weals. Shona shrieked as the blinding agony burned across her posterior. All told the punishment had taken little more than a minute and, in that time, the small elderly woman had effortlessly transformed her into a sobbing, miserable wretch.

Shona was panting, taking in great gulps of air as she fought to control herself. The elderly woman tossed the cane onto the nearby table and shook her head in obvious disdain at the display, "Disgraceful. Young lady, had you been a pupil of mine I should give you another half dozen to teach you not to snivel so."

She turned to Officer Douglas, "Stand up straight young man, where do you think you are?"

Officer Douglas found himself subconsciously obeying as the woman strode off without looking back.

Shona wailed and he turned back to her, "Holy shit, that was something."

He cast an expert eye across the pattern of weals on her bottom, "Not bad, you're not hurt really you know, it'll pass in a few minutes, and they'll all fade in a day or two, but I tell you something, I wouldn't want to have met her twenty years ago. Jesus."

Shona gave a scream of frustration and thrashed about for a moment, tugging uselessly at the shackles before she slumped in place, weeping quietly.

Over the next half hour, the burning sensation on her bottom faded to a dull throbbing. Meanwhile, she saw that Mary's caning had been concluded and the poor woman hung limply from the frame, barely able to moan. A medic had checked her out, examining the livid pattern of weals that crisscrossed her buttocks and checking her vitals, but again he appeared satisfied that her heart and blood pressure were normal, and she was fit to remain in situ.

Ian had shrieked in agony as the cane slashed across his posterior. He begged the punishment officer to stop and swore he had learned his lesson, but of course, his begging and promises were equally useless. The punishment officer was impervious to such entreaties, having heard them countless times before and he laid another five hard, measured strokes on the man's buttocks. By the time he was done Ian was sobbing piteously, with snot and drool dripping from his mouth and nose, but his punishment was not yet concluded.

Stepping back the punishment officer switched target and landed an expert blow against the sole of Ian's left foot. The cane whipped across with a stinging slap and Ian threw back his head and howled, he thrashed uselessly, struggling wildly to evade punishment.

Three equally hard strokes were landed on the sole of each foot and Ian shuddered and screamed throughout. On the last stroke, his back arched and his whole body flexed in agony before he slumped forward breathlessly weeping in total, abject misery.

"Shona?"

It was a small, trembling voice and the nurse raised her head to see Femi looking at her. The black woman gave her a tearful smile, "You okay?"

Shona swallowed, the tears trickling down her face had stopped, and she drew a breath, "Well, I've been better, but thanks Femi, I'm okay," she sniffed, drew another breath and held it a moment before blowing it out, "so Femi, you were telling me about your kids. What was her name, Abigay? You said she was a bit of a tomboy?"

Femi smiled, "Oh yes, she's a handful, but she's kind you know, a good kid."

"Tell me about her."

Standing in the background Officer Milton watched and appraised the exchange with a small smile.

Eventually the chime on the screen nearest Shona sounded and a third winning ticket number appeared. In the background officers released Mary, easing her down from the pillory as she collapsed in a moaning heap. Two of them managed to get her to her feet and along with the medic they half-carried the scarred, semi-conscious woman from the platform.

Distracted by this activity Shona didn't notice the young woman approaching. She was a young and not unattractive brunette, with wavy brown hair. She was solidly built, not fat as such, but stocky perhaps, well endowed, with broad hips. She looked very nervous and blushed when Officer Douglas spoke to her, "Good afternoon, ma'am, may I ask what punishment you have selected today?"

The brunette had watched in horror as Mary was carried past her and she looked shaken, her face was pale, and her lips quivered. Her eyes now seemed transfixed on the pattern of weals crisscrossing the rounded cheeks of Shona's bottom.

"Ma'am?"

Officer Douglas touched her shoulder and she visibly twitched as if startled, "Well, I was... er, I mean, I was going to spank her, I've always wanted to spank another girl, but, I've um... I've changed my mind."

"You wish to select another punishment?"

"No, I mean I don't want to do it. I thought it would be like a thrill you know, but it's just horrible" she looked at Shona imploringly and tears appeared in her eyes, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I wish I'd never bought that ticket."

Officer Douglas looked down on the woman and for what seemed the first time he seemed almost sympathetic, "Might I have a word, ma'am?"

He moved across to the young woman and spoke quietly, "What's your name, Miss?"

She looked up nervously at this scarred giant, "Abigail. Have I done something wrong?"

"No, in fact, you're the first person to come up here I actually have any respect for. But here's the thing Abigail, if you don't punish her then I'm going to have to do it."

"What?"

"You picked spanking, okay fair enough, but if you don't spank her then I'm the punishment officer who has to. Which one of us do you think she'd prefer?"

She looked at the thickness of the man's arms in horror, "But you're... er."

"Yes, I am. So, I'm going to give you a moment to think about it okay?"