Lacie Ch. 10

Lacie's heart hammered in her chest, her breath turned ragged in her lungs as she struggled to pull enough air to sustain her breakneck pace. The moon was out, casting wan light over Lacie's path as the brunette girl ran. In the darkness, Lacie's imagination began to play tricks on her. At first, Lacie knew she was alone in the woods. Then, she could have sworn she heard the faint echoes of running feet hitting the ground, in a longer gait than hers. Looking behind her, Lacie saw nothing, but the sound seemed to grow even louder. Lacie shook her head and tried, without success, to convince herself that it was just her imagination. Gasping from exertion and terror, Lacie ran faster than she had ever run in her life, adrenaline slicing through her veins as she sprinted along the fence. Lacie's lungs burned and her legs felt like they were on fire, but her terror wouldn't let her stop.

Finally, many long minutes after Lacie had made her frightening discovery, she emerged from the dark forest. Making a sharp turn, Lacie gasped for breath as she ran towards the distant lights of the house. Her hair streaming behind her, Lacie sucked in deep breaths, trying to fuel her body for the last desperate stretch of her panicked flight. Lacie looked over her shoulder again, swearing that she could hear a pursuer behind her. The quick glance cost her. Lacie had forgotten that the grounds just north of the mansion were slightly hilly. When Lacie had looked back, she had though she was running up the side of a small hill, when in fact, the weak light of the moon had tricked her and she was actually just reaching the top of the hill. Lacie pulled her right foot forward, stomping it down as she sprinted towards the mansion. The resistance she expected from the side of the hill did not materialize, and Lacie's forward inertia threw her off balance.

Lacie fell, slamming face first into the soft, wet grass. The far slope of the hill was steep and wet. Lacie's momentum worked against her, the slick grass causing her to slide down the hill, rolling and tumbling as she fell. Lacie felt a searing flash in her right ankle as it caught for a moment, causing Lacie to cry out in pain. The cry was cut short when Lacie's left temple smacked into something hard and unyielding as she rolled. Bursts of light flashed across Lacie's vision, as waves of dizziness suddenly assaulted her. Finally slowing from her brief but violent tumble, Lacie groaned into the dirt beneath her. Lacie could feel something warm and wet trickling down the side of her face as a pounding headache reared up, the throbbing pain in her head nauseating her, threatening to make her vomit.

Shaking her head to clear out the cobwebs that had suddenly sprung up there, Lacie pushed herself to her hands and knees. Her whole body ached from the tumble, and she was pretty sure she had concussed herself. Shakily, Lacie stood. Remembering why she was so desperate to reach the mansion, Lacie tried to resume her headlong dash, only to be brought back to her hands and knees with a sharp gasp when fire ripped outwards from her ankle the moment she put her weight on it.

Looking down, Lacie could see that her leg was already swelling. Gently rising again, Lacie tried to gingerly place her weight on the badly twisted ankle. Though it was incredibly painful, the damaged joint was able to support her weight for a few moments. That was all that Lacie was willing to risk stressing the wound with, but it was all she needed. The trickle along her left temple began to drop over her eye and Lacie swiped at it with one hand, clearing her vision. Lacie knew she still had to reach the mansion as fast as possible, so the injured girl began to hobble towards the lights that were now little more than a quarter mile away.

Lacie's hand felt strange, as if the water she had wiped off her face was making her fingers stick together. Limping to avoid straining her injured ankle, Lacie lifted her wet hand in the moonlight. Lacie gasped as she saw her fingers were coated in crimson. Turning her head, Lacie could see that the shoulder of her shirt was already stained red. Lacie gritted her teeth, knowing her injuries were just beginning to show, but could, and likely would, quickly grow much worse if any poachers caught up to her. Limping as fast as she could, Lacie's breath came raggedly, warning her that her body was approaching exhaustion as her legs trembled with strain. Finally clearing the last hill due north of the mansion, Lacie saw Marie outside, her sundress billowing in the light breeze as she brought some plants back into the greenhouse to keep them from getting too cold overnight.

Lacie waved her arms over her head and screamed Marie's name, desperately trying to get the Hispanic girl's attention. Finally, Marie turned towards Lacie, a curious expression on her face. When she saw the brunette girl running towards her, limping and partly covered in blood, her eyes widened. The pot she had been carrying fell to the ground, the clay shattering as it struck the hard packed dirt. Immediately grasping that they were somehow in danger, Marie turned and began to scream for Master. Terror filling her eyes, Marie turned and dashed back towards the mansion, yelling as she did. Marie reached the doors well before Lacie and threw them open, desperately beckoning Lacie inside.

Less than a hundred yards from the door, Lacie's tortured ankle finally gave out, her aching, bruised body no longer having the strength to carry her. Her fingers desperately scrabbling in the dirt, Lacie got to her hands and knees and began to crawl. Looking desperately at Marie, Lacie saw when the look of fear in the dark skinned girl's eyes morphed into to pure, unrestrained terror. Lacie looked back behind her as she desperately crawled towards the open door. Time seemed to slow as a pair of silhouettes, clothed entirely in black, materialized out of the darkness, both headed straight for Lacie. A she screamed in terror as the two figures closed.

Lacie knew she was losing the race, and as she desperately tried to crawl away, one of the figures snapped out a long black rod, a pair of crackling electrodes at the end. It was a shock prod, meant to restrain and punish rogue slaves. Looking back towards the mansion, Lacie saw she still had fifty feet to the house. She knew she would never make it there in time, even though Marie bravely stood her ground, holding the door open as she screamed for Lacie. The black clad poachers were less than fifteen feet away from Lacie when she gave a wail of despair, throwing her arms over her head, instinctively trying to protect herself. The crackling sound moved closer and as Lacie closed her eyes and screamed in terror, an instinctive denial of what was about to happen. As she prepared for the stabbing, burning sensation of being struck, something totally unexpected happened. She was surprised by a primal scream of rage, the sound coming from in front of her, cutting off only to be followed immediately by a thudding sound so deep, Lacie could have sworn she felt it vibrate in the ground beneath her

At almost the same time, Lacie heard a sharp, rippling, snapping sound. A man's gurgling scream echoed through the night. Confused, Lacie uncovered her head and looked behind her. One of the black clothed men was on the ground, writhing in agony. A dirty, muddy boot-print was stamped into the middle of his chest, and from his wheezing gasps, the thud had been from some kind of kick, one that had landed straight across his sternum. Lacie realized, to her horror, that the snapping noise following the kick had likely been the sound of his entire ribcage shattering.

Her eyes snapped over to the remaining black clad poacher. The man was barely standing, his body jerking and twisting as he was rocked by blow after powerful blow. Master stood there, barely four feet away from Lacie as he pummeled the poacher with his bare hands, his fists and booted feet lashing out to slam heavily into Lacie's would-be assailant. Master unloaded a brutal flurry of punches to the man's gut, and as the poacher doubled over, Master's feet moved rapidly, distancing him from the man slightly. Faster than Lacie's eyes could follow, he crouched and leaped towards his opponent. Master's right knee hooked out wide, his foot tucked in tightly to his body. Finally, right when Lacie realized what he was doing, Master's foot flashed out, the toe of his boot connecting with the man's neck as Master unleashed a punishing kick. There was an incredibly loud, sharp snap and the black clad poacher collapsed. Lacie knew from the boneless way he fell that the man was dead before he hit the ground.

Chest heaving, Master crouched warily between his felled opponents, the man with the crushed chest having gone still only moments before. The look in Master's eyes seemed like it would scorch the earth bare from the heat of his rage. Moments passed where the only sounds were the ragged breathing of Master and Lacie. Eventually, satisfied that every immediate threat had been dealt with, Master turned. Straightening, he rushed over to Lacie's side. Lacie could only stare at him as she panted for breath, her eyes wide in astonishment. Slipping his arms under her, Master lifted her as if she weighed nothing. Lacie clung to his shirt as she gulped for breath, still dazed and stunned with disbelief from her sudden rescue. Rushing to the door, he carried Lacie back inside the mansion, passing the trembling Marie. His barely restrained fury almost choked his voice as he whispered a single command to her.

"Lock it down. All of it. Right now."

Spurred into action, Marie slammed the door shut, peeking one last time at the bodies of the two poachers on the lawns. Lacie simply clung to Master and gasped for breath, too stunned to even comprehend what had just happened. Master dashed through the house, trying not to jostle his precious cargo. Finally, he reached the medical suite, just beside the workout rooms. Lacie had never been there, since she'd never had a reason to.

Heather was already inside, humming to herself as she rearranged some supplies. She jumped when Master burst through the doors, the loud noise startling the redhead. She looked at Master before realizing he was carrying someone. When Heather looked down at Lacie, her hands flew to her mouth. Dropping the plastic bottles she had been holding when Master had burst into the room, Heather immediately ran to him, helping him carry the injured Lacie.

"What the hell happened?" she asked, directing him towards the inspection table/bed she wanted him to put Lacie on. "Did she fall off Pharaoh?"

The cold fury in Master's response caused the blood to drain from Heather's face.

"We're breached. Lock the door." He placed Lacie on the table and gently pulled his arms away. Reaching up, he pulled a few bloody strands of hair from Lacie's face before kissing her gently on the forehead. Lacie didn't try to resist. Turning, Master dashed back out of the door, once more reminding Heather to lock it behind him.

As Lacie lay there, the full pain of her injuries finally slammed into her, causing her to groan as she rolled slightly on the wide hospital bed. Heather dashed around the room, grabbing supplies.

"Hold on Lacie, I'll be right there." Heather moved up to her and tore Lacie's blood stained shirt off her shoulders. Swiftly rubbing a swab over Lacie's shoulder, Heather leaned down, picking up a needle and tiny glass jar as she did. Drawing some of the clear liquid into the needle, Heather warned Lacie of the coming pinch. Turning her head, Lacie didn't look as Heather injected Lacie with the needle's contents. Hissing in pain, Lacie waited as Heather withdrew the needle and held a cotton swab to the injection site.

"There, that should help the pain. Try and stay still Lacie." Heather lifted a small penlight and waved it in front of Lacie's eyes. Groaning, Lacie tried to push Heather away, but the redhead simply held her down with her free hand.

"I need to make sure nothing is broken, Lacie. If I can't do that, it'll hurt more. Stop fighting me."

Lacie let her arms fall limp, and turned back towards the painful light in Heather's hand. The red head put a patch of gauze in Lacie's hand and pressed it to her temple, just above the hairline. "Keep that there, it should stop the bleeding." Heather was quick, but thorough.

Even before Heather had finished checking the extent of Lacie's injuries, a warm lassitude began to fill her body, trickling through her veins as the painkillers began to take effect. Heather saw Lacie's body growing lax, and she gently turned Lacie's head so that the weight of Lacie's own hand would keep pressure on the scalp wound.

Using a simple pair of scissors, Heather cut most of Lacie's clothing away, leaving her clad in her underwear alone. Despite the painkillers and Heather being as careful as possible, Lacie still screamed out in pain when Heather pulled the shoe and sock off of Lacie's badly twisted ankle. The flesh was already swollen and purple, and the slightest movement sent fiery needles up Lacie's leg. Heather set the leg down and stepped away, rummaging through a set of cupboards. Finally finding what she was looking for, Heather pulled out a tiny blue sleeve, looking almost like a flexible ankle brace. Heather moved back up to Lacie, and before the younger girl could resist, Heather slid the sleeve up Lacie's foot, snugging the device around her ankle.

Lacie cried out, but Heather ignored her, moving to a small freezer by the locked doors. Pulling out a small, cylindrical, plastic cooler, Heather hurried back to Lacie and set the cooler on a nearby countertop, stacking a couple of thick books under it, elevating the cooler. Heather then took a small tube and attached it to the cooler's spout, running the other end to the tiny cuff around Lacie's swollen ankle. Twisting a valve above the tube on the cooler, Lacie heard a gurgling sound come from the orange bucket-like container. Moments later, Lacie felt icy water begin to trickle around her ankle. Looking down, Lacie saw the cuff begin to inflate and fill with the cold liquid.

Heather walked back and gently pressed Lacie's head back onto the pillow beneath her. Lifting the gauze away, Heather "tsked" as she shook her head.

"Sorry, Lace, that'll need a few stitches. What happened?" as she spoke Heather moved away, pulling supplies out of drawers before sitting on a wheeled stool and pulling herself closer to Lacie. As she waited for Lacie to answer, she pulled a small tube of white cream out and slathered it on a piece of gauze. Gently dabbing the cream on Lacie's cut, Heather applied the local anesthetic, giving it time to sink in before she started stitching.

"I was out walking." Lacie replied slowly, the drugs in her system slowing her thoughts down. "I got to the fence," Lacie breathed absently. "A tree had fallen over the fence. I ran back." Lacie shivered slightly, goosebumps covering her body from the cold feeling creeping up her leg. Heather noticed and grabbed a nearby blanket, tossing it over her friend while tucking it under Lacie's leg, cocooning the limb, keeping the icy cuff from cooling her knee and thigh further.

"Ran back along the fence. Thought I was being followed. Ran out of the forest, then I slipped and fell. Twisted my ankle, hit my head. Kept going. I saw Marie outside, she started screaming. I fell again. Saw two poachers running at me."

"Oh my god, Lacie, how did you get away?" Heather asked, her face pale.

"Didn't." Lacie slurred, the painkillers lowering a thick haze over her thoughts. "Master fought them. Won. Carried me inside." Lacie absently stroked her throat where her choker would have been. "Lucky."

Heather nodded her wordless agreement with Lacie's assessment of the situation. Pulling a tray on a wheeled stand towards her, Heather began threading the needle to begin stitching the cut on Lacie's head. Heather angled a nearby light and got to work. She was done in minutes, efficiently sewing up the cut. She pulled a small tube from the same table and slathered it on the cut. Lacie couldn't feel what Heather was doing, so she asked.

"I just finished sewing your cut, and I put on some flexible, medical grade superglue on it. It's beneath some of your hair, so you'll have to keep it clean, but it should be invisible once it heals, provided you don't shave your head." Heather tried to joke, tossing a concerned look at the locked door. A sudden loud thudding against the wood made both girls jump, Lacie hissing in pain as she jostled her ankle.

"The mansion is on lockdown, Heather. They can't get in. There doesn't appear to be anyone inside that shouldn't be. I have the rest of the girls with me. Can you unlock the door so we can get in? I want everyone to stay together." Master's voice called from outside. Lacie could hear the faint murmurings of the other girls.

Heather moved up to the door but didn't unlock it. Placing her fists on her hips, the redhead faced the locked doors squarely.

"Safe word, or this door stays locked till we starve in here." Heather called out defiantly, her strong voice clear.

"Safe word, Breakfast at Tiffany's." Master said from the other side of the door, a slight chuckle audible in his voice.

Blushing, Heather unlocked the door and opened them. Master shepherded the rest of the girls into the room. Once everyone was in, he embraced Heather and kissed her full on the lips, kicking the door closed behind him.

Bridget looked at Heather questioningly.

"Breakfast at Tiffany's? Seriously?"

"Hey, when Master asked me what I wanted my safe code to be, I was daydreaming. I thought he asked me what my favorite movie was!" Heather defended herself, despite the giggles issuing from the other huddled girls.

Master threaded his arm around Heather and led her to Lacie's bedside.

"How is she doing?" he asked, obvious concern in his voice as he looked at Heather.

"mmm drugged, not deaf." Lacie slurred, gently slapping his arm.

Master chuckled.

"Sorry, Lace. How are you?"

Lacie shifted slowly, the drugs in her system making her thoughts muddled and hazy. "Cold leg. Tired. Head fuzzy." she frowned. A twinkle shone in her eye a moment later as a slow smile spread. Hesitantly, she looked up at him. "Alive. Safe. Home." Lacie grinned up at Master, before her smile withered and tears began to form in her eyes. "Sorry. So sorry. So mean to you..."

Master slid his big hand across her lips, quieting Lacie's half mumbled apology. A huge smile graced his features, and Lacie could see the happiness in his eyes. The corners of his eyes crinkled when he smiled. Lacie had never noticed how cute that made him. She reached out to touch the corner of his eye, but Master intercepted her hand. Holding her fingers in his gentle grip, he brought her hand to his clean shaven cheek. Smiling as he gazed at her, he leaned down over her, the thumb of his other hand gently rubbing her face.

Slowly, Master brought his lips to Lacie's. The moment he kissed her, lightning coursed though Lacie's body, every inch of her skin seeming to tingle and burn. Her heart began to hammer in her chest, and her eyes fluttered as they rolled back into her head. Her lips felt like they were being consumed in a blissful inferno, it was so good it almost hurt. It was almost pure bliss. Lacie heard a soft, gentle moan echo around the suddenly silent medical suite, and it was only then that she realized the moan had come from her.

Lacie threw her arms around Master's neck, despite the aches and pains, hugging him tighter as she hungrily pressed her lips to his. Master wrapped his arms around Lacie's body, squeezing her tight to him. Lacie was having a hard time breathing, but she didn't ever want him to let her go. Finally, Master pulled back, gently lowering Lacie back to her bed. Pulling her arms from around his neck, Master broke the kiss. Lacie whined at the loss, holding her arms out for Master to hold her again as a pouting expression crossed her face.