One hundred and thirty-six: Sacrifice

In the car, I was handled and played with by all the men sitting in the backseat. They were all amateurs. Kiran had been shoved in the boot. At the quiet backlot of a modern looking building, I was carried inside. I didn't see what happened to Kiran after that. Mr Barrel loomed into view and stroked me from foot to face and back down toward the middle. I was still wearing the remains of my slave uniform and he smiled when he reached down to tear it off me.

There was something wrong with my brain. Maybe that was why I couldn't move properly and my limbs didn't obey my instructions.

"About time," he said, looking at me greedily. "Looking good, sweetheart. We're mostly after what you've got inside there. It's a more advanced technology from anything else out on the market, but after we heard how you managed to do it over twenty-five times in one day and still had the energy to walk, we thought we'd try you out ourselves first before we examine the actual hardware. It's taken us years of planning to get you in our hands. I hope you appreciate all the effort I've taken just for you."

"Kiran?"

"Don't worry," Mr Barrel told me. "Your beloved master is still alive and kicking. At least, we've saved his life for now. Now he can watch and regret what happened when he sold us off and kicked us out of Boskyland. If we can find a way to hack into that technology and replicate it or use it to control our enemies, can you imagine how rich we're going to become? Depending on how things go, you may or may not be around to witness all that. For now, I can finally have my way with you. Just like I always imagined." He sat down, throwing me over his lap and slapped me hard on the buttocks. "Girls like you always need a good slapping to warm them up. We aren't stupid. We won't use the slave controls on you. Yours are different, we know. We'd only end up killing you if we did. Instead, we'll do things the old way and find out what passive effects the controls have over your body. This is all research after all. Good research."

Slap after slap fell, while the other hand handled me. Despite myself, I could feel my body growing warm. Almost ready for what I knew and hated.

"If I had known all those years ago how easy it would be to groom you instead, I would never have let you resign after playing with you as we had," Mr Barrel said, checking my nethers. His fingers fiddled with the electric knob, playing me expertly. Picking me up by the waist, he entered from behind with a shout. "I should have kept you and used you."

The whole night of 'examination', they had their way with me and I wished I had never woken up. In a way, remaining in that slave state would have been a blessing right now. When morning had fully come and I was still awake and my body doing as they demanded, they whistled. Mr Barrel then ordered the rest of the examination to continue. I was scanned in various machines and while I was on or in those various machines, those various men came to do what they would with me.

My body trembled. I guessed that I was regaining control once more. Even so, the pain had been suppressed. It was a good thing.

Later, while all the men were happily snoring away in their bedrooms, I heard Kiran's voice from somewhere.

"Slave, get up. Escape."

My body got up and moved on its own, in spite of the pain and liquids dripping down between my legs.

"I'm giving you back some measure of control. I'm keeping enough so you don't have to feel it all. Get out of here, Jean. Don't worry about me."

I wiped myself down with a towel I found in the bathroom. Dressed myself in some spare clothes that were hanging up to dry. After a few false tries, I found an unlocked door. In there were the cut open bodies of many slave girls. Covering my mouth, I crept through the room to the other side, where I found an oven full of ashes. Trying to control my breathing and not make a noise, I found another door, through which I found what the things inside the girls' bodies looked like. I caught a glimpse of the working out of code and recognised it as similar to the old code with which I had managed to hack control of my body back. The code that was used on me was very different from the others. I had only learnt a little bit of it and then it wasn't enough for me to be able to hack my controls and regain my own freedom. The old code was pretty much useless for me.

Through another door, I followed a long corridor until I found to my surprise the golden retriever girl. She was naked, blindfolded and tied up. She looked as well abused as I felt. I untied her blindfold first and she flinched when I touched her. When she saw who I was, the moment she got her hand free, she hugged me in desperation, crying. She wouldn't let go.

"Hush," I told her. "Hush. We have to escape. They've caught Kiran and they'll kill him when they wake up to find me gone and him still here. Come on."

It took a lot of coaxing and cajoling to get some semblance of sanity back into the government agent.

"Where's Mr Cooper?"

"Bevan? I don't know," she replied, looking so lost that I had to stop myself from giving her a hug or patting her on the head like a dog. "I was snooping around without his permission and they caught me. They caught me and they…"

Her tears began falling again. I shrugged. Maybe my emotionless state from being a slave had carried over. I felt no sympathy. I felt nothing. As if things like this were to be expected in life. It had happened so many times to me now that I had no more feelings left about the loss of dignity.

"Come on, let's find a way out of here. Keep it together for now. You can fall apart later. We want them caught, right? Come on."

"You've looked worse," came a total non-sequitur.

"I've felt worse. Thank you. Why are you still partners with the Weasel?" I asked Liza. "It's been a long time now, right? Shouldn't you have become a senior agent and taken on a junior by now?"

"Bevan refused to let me go. Said he'd gotten used to me and my idiotic ways."

"You're both idiots," I said, trying another door. They were all locked. I glanced out a window, noticing it was covered in thick security mesh. Mr Barrel and his friends had been prepared. "We're going to need keys. I'll have to go back and see if I can sneak some while they're still sleeping. Hide if you're scared."

"No," Liza said, pulling herself together. "No. I'm - I'm coming with you."

"Then come on."

I checked each bedroom and man's pockets with quiet precision. It was only when I reached Mr Barrel's room that I found the keys in his pockets. He woke up briefly to find my hand in his pants and smiled at me, rolling me underneath him. I managed to free the keys, while he sleepily entered me and fell asleep before he could get very far. Every time I moved, he woke up and started again. I rolled my eyes at the frustrating situation. With my free hand, I beckoned Liza over when she peered around the door. I handed her the keys and mouthed, "Go," to her.

She left.

After a while, Mr Barrel managed to wake up again. This time, he was a bit more awake and managed to finish one round with me. In order to keep him occupied and tire him out again, I helped him along, keeping him preoccupied until he fell asleep still inside me. He was heavy and it was hard to breathe with him on top of me. Every now and then, the hand resting on my breast would twitch another squeeze. At the end of the night, it seemed that all the men had rejuvenated again, while I was exhausted. When I stopped giving them such a good time, the men started beating me. Lightly at first, but the beatings grew heavier until I could barely muster the energy to reach the 'standard' that they demanded. Their 'standards' dropped after the third night of debauchery and drugs.

They were all busy revelling and I was wondering whether Kiran was still alive in the other room or not, when doors burst open. Smoke filled the room. Whichever guy was on me finished with a surprised jerk, snorting and choking on his saliva with his shock. He was pulled off me by a well armoured man in goggles. I saw Liza enter the room with Mr Cooper and shut my eyes with relief. My enemy's enemy and all that. Better to be in their hands.

Of course, I ended up back in hospital where I had to undergo several surgeries to repair my various damaged orifices. Nobody visited. When it was time to leave, I didn't wait to see who was picking me up. I left and wandered aimlessly in random places. I didn't know what had happened to Kiran. I didn't wonder where anybody was. I just wandered until I was picked up by a concerned pair of policewomen. At the station, they discovered my identity and called the relevant people. While we were waiting, there was a sudden influx of criminals and people being brought in. In the confusion, I walked out.