Willing Slave, Unwilling Master Ch. 14

Reaching into my jeans pocket to make sure the leather band is still there, I hurry on down one of the busy shopping streets. Signs protrude from the walls at right angles, each one trying to push past it's neighbour for a more prominent spot. Some have even done away with being attached to the wall all together, and hang in the air on micro Anti-grav drives.

I'm so focused on trying to find the sign for the café that I walk into what feels like a wall, but turns out to be a person.

"Sorry," I say quickly, looking up.

"Oh fuck," I groan, as something cold and round is pushed into the small of my back from behind.

"That's right," A cool voice says, his breath hot on my ear. "You're going to come with us nice and slow like. Otherwise you're going to have a little accident."

My mind races as I look up at Vin. The half rhino, half monkey who pulled me into an SUV the last time we met. It doesn't take much deduction to work out that the guy currently behind me was the driver that day.

What the hell do they want with me? Rose is back at the compound so it can't be her. I mean, maybe they don't know she's back, and they think they can extort her location from me. Well, that's not happening.

"I take it you no longer wish to fund the Western Hub Anti-Slavery society?" I ask the big one, trying to buy myself some time to come up with a way to escape.

I have no idea how either of these two managed to get a gun. If, indeed, what is poking me in the small of the back even is a firearm. There's no way to tell, and calling their bluff could end very badly for me.

I could try and draw some attention from passes by, but there's no way of doing that without alerting my kidnappers. Who have positioned themselves so that, from the outside, it looks like we are a group of friends just chatting.

"Stars, I can't believe you fell for that," the man with a gun to my back says with glee.

"Me either," I say, trying to sound more relaxed than I feel. Stars, I'm going to have to ask Rose to teach me to hide my emotions if being kidnapped is going to become a regular part of my life.

"Ha, he's funny!" Vin says with a strange sort of snorting laugh. "Funny guys are fun. Especially when you stop them laughing!"

I flex my knuckles, considering my third option for escape. If I activate the taser in my hand I'm fairly sure I could get the guy behind me. But I don't know if I could outrun Vin. Who could break my neck with his bare hands if he really wanted to, and I have the feeling that it is the kind of thing he would really want to do.

On top of that, isn't there something about electric shocks causing people to clench? Not ideal if someones finger is on the trigger of a gun at the time. No, I need to channel Rose here. Act like I'm going along with them, and find a way out when a moment arises.

"So, how can I help you?" I ask.

"You're going to come for a little walk with us," the man behind me says.

"You guys remember what I said last time? About not telling you anything, and having an extremely low pain tolerance, right?" I feel my hand shake as I let my mouth fly. This whole situation is terrifying, but the adrenaline rush from my faux-confidence is helping to keep the fear at bay.

I didn't notice before, but my assailants stoped me perfectly adjacent to an ally. Vin gives me a nasty look, before his friend gives me a hard push in that direction. Taking the hint I start to walk, keeping pace with Vin.

"We remember," the big man grunts, "but, we're not so worried. You'll tell us what we want to know. That I can guarantee."

"Careful now, Vinnie," the armed man warns. "Wouldn't want to go ruining the surprise now, would we?"

I risk a glance over my shoulder, but a stout poke in the back soon has me facing forward again as the noise of the crowded street slowly fades away. Fuck, I can't die like this. The smugness from X would follow me into the afterlife.

I need a way out.

--- --- ---

Rose

There a loud beep that causes Leilani and me to jump. My sister leaps to her knees. While I do my best to sit up, before stumbling out of bed and onto my own knees. I swallow down the bile that rises in my throat, as the two wardens walk into the room with a tray in each hand.

"So you coming or not?" Jones asks, his voice eager.

"I dunno," the older Warden replies, placing one tray in front of Dahlia's and picking up her spotlessly clean tray from lunch. "They're going to move that inspection forward, do it as a surprise a day early."

"I thought that was just a rumour?" the younger man, Jones, says eyeing Thistle's breasts as he puts her tea down in front of her.

"Nah, spoke to the bossman. He says it's happening tomorrow," The old warden replies, before continuing, "Don't know whose working yet though."

Have the Wardens always done this? Acted like they were in an empty room when they were around us? They must have done, but I never noticed it before. Perhaps that's why they feel so confident about doing it now. But the jokes on them—assuming i'm using that phrase correctly—they have just told me everything I need to know.

"Should I ring though?" Jones asks, stepping over to me and Leilani, followed by his red faced colleague. "Show a bit of initiative."

"You're not payed to show initiative," Red-face snaps. "You're payed to do what your told."

With a grunt he kneels in front of me, pushing a finger against my burning forehead until I look up at his face. "Fuck Red, I don't think you're long for this world."

"Should we call Dr. Walker?" Jones asks, sounding worried as he places a tray in front of my sister. "She hasn't eaten."

"It's just a temperature, isn't it Red?"

"I also feel sick, Sir," I say softly, "and dizzy."

"Well, that's because you haven't eaten," he smirks, picking up my lunch tray. "No need to call the doctor because the stupid girl refuses to eat."

"I'm sorry sir." I say softly, feeling something burning in my chest that has nothing to do with my fever. I'm not a stupid girl, and I don't feel this way just because I haven't eaten. I think the Warden knows that, but he wants me to be in pain.

With a laugh the warden stands up. "Your tray better be empty next time Red," he says. "Otherwise your arse is mine... Again."

My bum belongs to my Master I think in defiance, but I keep my head down and say, "Yes Sir," politely. I don't think I can take another punishment today, not if I want to escape tonight—or this afternoon, in reality. But before I can escape, I need to steal a key card—somehow.

Collecting the last of the empty trays the men walk to the door, which beeps as Red-face scans his card. The beep is a problem, but I don't think there's anything I can do about it. I just need to hope that no one hears.

Once again I feel bile rise in my throat as I consider the congealed mess that is my dinner. I don't think I can eat this. And if I can, I'm sure I won't be able to keep it down. I scratch my hot, itchy skin as I stare at the tray.

I jump as a fork looms into view, spooning a clump of the grey sludge from my tray. Looking up quickly, I see a Leilani with a strange look on her face.

"We can share the food," she says, loud enough to draw the attention of my other sisters. "But, you should drink," she gestures to the plastic cup full of water.

I shake my head slowly. I want to drink, but I'm going to need the cup and it's contents if I'm going to escape. "Thank you," I say, climbing back onto the bed and laying down on my stomach so that I'm still at eye level with my kneeling sister.

"The Warden said that your tray had to be empty," Leilani says as Dahlia and Thistle approach. "He didn't say you had to be the one to eat it," she seems to be speaking more to herself than me. Making sure her loophole works, and that she's not doing anything directly disobedient.

Dahlia settles down next to me. Resting her tray on her lap, she leans her forehead against mine, before starting to eat. Thistle sits beside Leilani, giving me a brief unidentifiable look, before digging into her own grey slush.

"Do you know what pizza is?" I ask, biting my bottom lip. It might be dangerous to ask, but, I don't like sitting in silence. And, though none of them can know it, this might be the very last time any of us see each other.

"It's a type of food," Thistle says at once. "Consisting of a flat round base of dough baked with a topping of tomatoes and cheese. Typically with added meat, fish, or vegetables."

I can't help but giggle. I'm sure that if I looked up pizza on one of the education tablets that would be, to the letter, the description. "It's really tasty," I say, swaying as another wave of dizziness hits me.

"The man who took you gave you non-approved food?" Thistle asks, her folk of grey mush halfway to her mouth.

I nod. "I liked it."

"You're not allowed to have a favourite food," Leilani says, peering at Dahlia who has been focused on her meal. Apparently working on the basis that the best way to avoid saying something incriminating, is to say nothing at all.

"I know," I say quickly, "but it tastes nice."

"I wonder if my Master or Mistress will allow me to try pizza," Dahlia asks, having picked up on Leilani's looks.

And just like that the conversation turns to a discussion of my sister's preferred type of Owner, and what each one hopes to be allowed to do. I smile. I don't need to imagine a perfect Master. I already have one.

--- --- ---

Dan

"I don't mean to sound too childish," I say, "but are we there yet?"

Vin glares at me, his fists clenching with an audible crack. It sounds bad, but it would be great if he where to lose his temper and punch me. With his strength it would set off the medical alert in my ident chip for sure.

Of course, his friend might then shoot me in the back. But I'm fairly sure even this side street has cameras. At the moment, my modified ident chip causes me to be invisible to them, but once alerted I have no doubt that they will be able to record enough of my kidnappers to insure a conviction.

I just have to hope that they are fine with an assault charge, but don't want a murder one.

"I must say, your very eager Mr. Fallow," the man behind me says. "If it were me, I wouldn't be in no rush."

"I thank the stars every day that we are nothing alike," I say, looking up at the thin sliver of sky between the high rise buildings on either side of us. I have no idea where we are. But if I had to guess, I would say we are between office buildings, and we're moving towards the industrial section of the hub.

"Shut up."

"I never did catch your name," I say, wondering if I could hit something hard enough to activate the medical alert while not drawing attention to myself. I doubt it.

"Juke," he replies after a moment. "It's good you know my name boy. That way you can run home and tell your mummy who hurt you."

A comeback involving his mother does spring to mind, but for once I decide to remain silent. I want them reckless, not murderous.

"Juke and Vin, huh," I say. "I'll remember that."

"See you do," Juke says, jabbing me in the spine with his gun. "Now shut up."

We continue on in silence. The paths becoming more and more rutted and overgrown. This part of the hub is old, close to the site of the original military base—now long gone. Back before the hub shield was expanded, industrial and living spaces were combined in a cramped mess.

Now most of our industrial sites are isolated outside of the hubs, or else off-world on giant space stations. That way the pollution can be dumped harmlessly into space, and there is endless room for expansion.

A thought strikes me as we turn down a lane littered with old rusting shipping boxes and broken glass. Are there any off-world compounds? Surely it isn't healthy to grow up with such limited gravity. Then again, as X delights in telling me, the Lower Vil are infinitely adaptable.

We stop in front of pair of heavy steel doors. Though by now, they are probably more rust than steel. Regardless, with a grunt, followed by the screeching of metal, Vin heaves the doors open. The sound bounces off the walls of the tight ally, and I cover my ears to protect them from the cacophony.

The inside of the warehouse is dark. With only the light from the grimy overhead windows to illuminate the stacks of metal shipping boxes and aged machinery. I peer inside, a cold feeling filling my stomach. This looks like a great place to kill someone.

Grabbing a touch from his belt Vin leads the way. He moves between the dusty boxes with purpose. The boxes aren't arranged in any kind of logical order. It's like they've been dumped here in a hurry. Still, Vin doesn't seem to have any difficulty in finding a path though this make-shift maze. He must spend a lot of time here. I notice a lot the crates have been prised open, before being tipped over, their contents scattered haphazardly across the floor. Clearly not everything in here can turn a profit.

The building is bigger than I first thought. After what feels like a long time walking past the smaller crates we reach an open area, where the ceiling is even higher. Here lie huge metal boxes, their sides hanging with wiring which goes nowhere, and interspaced with metal doors. With a start, I realise what i'm seeing. These are spaceships, or at least rooms form spaceships. Torn out, I presume, to make room for cargo.

Peering through the open door of one of the stacked rooms closest to me, I can just make out a row of bunk beds. And in the room beside it there is a shower room, dusty, but otherwise intact. I shudder just thinking about what living on one of these ships during the war most have been like: cramped, no sun, constantly worried that the entire ship may explode without warning at any moment. Or worse, part of the ship may explode, and leave you trapped in a floating metal tomb, with only the amount of food or oxygen acting as a countdown timer to your inevitable demise.

"What the hell is this place?" I ask, looking around in wonder at the stacked rooms which tower above us, easily as high as the roof of the central transport hub.

"This?" Juke asks, prodding me once again. "This is a billion credits worth of scrap left to rust," there's a bitterness in his voice that catches me by surprise.

"Why am I here?" I ask, doubting I will get an answer.

"You will see," Vin smirks, leading us to the bottom of another tower of rooms. However this one is different. The door to the bottom room is open revealing the bright glow of electric lights from inside. My uneasy feeling turns out to be correct, as I'm prodded in the direction of the lit room.

Stepping up though the door, the first thing I notice is how much cooler the air seems to be in here. Though, I don't know if it really is colder inside or if my mind playing tricks on me. What is for sure is that his must have been some kind of data centre or control room when it was originally part of a ship. Racks of computer servers stand or lean against the walls, where they have been pushed out of the way to make room for a leather chair, similar to a retro dentist chair, placed in the middle of the room.

I notice dim blue light strips set into the floor and ceiling, almost invisible against the bright overhead lights. Realisation suddenly hits me. This is a clean room, no signals in, no signals out, designed to protect the fragile tech from the thousands of rogue data streams shooting through space.

"Shit!" I say, just in time to spin on the spot and see Juke—harmless metal tube in hand—slam the heavy door in my face.

--- --- ---

Rose

I kneel beside my bed feeling like i'm going to be sick again. Gripping the cup of lukewarm water in my right hand, I go over my plan in my head for what must be the thousandth time. It doesn't help much.

I take a deep breath, my lungs feeling ragged and my stomach burning. My body is failing faster than I thought possible. I'm not going to be able to last for much longer. The fact that the inspection has been moved forward may just be a blessing.

Though, given what i'm about to do, it feels like a curse.

I close my eyes, counting down from a thousand in my head as they taught us to do during truly unbearable bondage sessions. I get to seven hundred and sixty before a beep from the door causes me to snap back to reality.

This will either work, or I will be stuck here forever.

"Stars Red, you ate your food and you're still looking like shit." The older Warden says as he collects my tray.

Pushing the cup of water a little further in the bed I nod at him, "I'm still feeling sick and dizzy, Sir."

He shrugs, picking up Leilani's tray. "Sleep it off Red, if you're still sick in the morning the doctor will deal with you."

"Yes, sir," I say, balling my fist as he turns and walks away.

I count the seconds as my heart pounds in my chest, before getting to my feet. "Sir," I say, grabbing my cup and moving towards him. "I forgot to return my cup."

"What?" He says, turning.

My plan had been to pretend to trip, but due to either my neves, my dizziness, or both there's no need to pretend. I fall over my own feet, sending the full cup of water straight into the Warden's face as I fall heavily against him.

"What the fuck!" He sputters, dropping the trays which clatter to the floor before shoving me away.

I grab onto his keycard as I fall, the cord splitting just like in the movie Master and I watched. My owner told me not everything shown in a movie works in real life, but I'm very thankful they got this detail right.

Slamming into the ground I throw the keycard away from me, trying to get it under my bed. But I'm not strong enough. It comes to rest in the space between two beds, where Dahlia kneels. My way out is hidden for now, but it won't be hard to find.

I try and get to my knees, but a hand on the back of my neck stops me, pushing me forcefully into the concrete."I'm sorry sir," I whimper, watching Jones moving towards where I threw the card.

"You fucking will be," the warden, with his hand on my neck, snarls. Drops of water from his face and clothes drip onto my back.

I close my eyes, not able to bare the sight of Jones finding the card. However my eyes are forced back open again as a powerful smack is delivered to my bottom. Right across the cane marks.

I can't help but to scream in pain, bucking as my bottom burns. It's as if someone has poured molten lead over it. Gasping for air I look over to the card, which unsurprisingly has vanished.

Learning down my tormenter puts all his weight on the back of my neck, choking me as he whispers, "You better hope you're dead by morning cunt, else you're going to fucking wish you were."

I try and nod, breathing hard as he finally lets go and retrieves the fallen trays and cups. Laying on my side, I hug my legs to my chest. Unable to do anything but listen the beep of the door. Followed by the hammering of my heart.

A deep silence fills the room. There's a shuffling of feet, and I feel an arm on my shoulder. I want to tell whoever is trying to comfort me to go away, but that would draw even more attention to me. So I open my eyes blinking at Leilani who looks at me for a long moment.

"Are you okay?" she asks at last.

I shake my head. "I felt dizzy," I say softly, trying to focus on something other than the pain emanating from my bottom. "And my butt hurts," I grumble.

My sister frowns, apparently not sure if my language is appropriate, before smiling softly and stroking my hair. A strangely intimate gesture. "That's because you where a naughty girl," she says.

I sigh softly, "I didn't mean to be."

"That's why you got off so lightly," Leilani replies.

Trying to remember a time when I ever thought the burning pain running down my thighs was getting off lightly, I spot Thistle. Who rises from the floor and returns to her bed without a word to anyone.