; ; Most of them live in domed cities and underground complexes, ; with hydroponically grown food. Some survive in remote research ; stations, resupplied during the brief spring and fall, when ; ground travel is possible. But every civilization has its ; misfits, those deviant, antisocial souls who, for whatever ; tangled reasons, choose to go into the desert and be hermits.
; ; I was taking one last load of supplies to Station Shackelton ; when I saw a woman, sitting by the trail, which runs around the ; base of Mount Clinton, an active volcano. Already, the air was ; chill, and she wore a quilted coat and pants and heavy boots. ; Naturally, I stopped the crawler and said, "Howdy, Ma'am. Do you ; need a lift?"
; ; "Please," she said, "I think I may have broken my leg. ; Could you help me?"
; ; Of course I could. I was out of the cab and by her side in ; seconds. That's when she pulled out an antique .44 magnum ; revolver and pointed it at me. I raised my hands and stood ; there, scared shitless, almost. She sidled past me and climbed ; in the cab. I heard two shots. Then she motioned to me to come ; on up.
; ; I saw she had blasted the radio and the ELT, the emergency ; locator transmitter. Waving her gun at me, she locked me in the ; cargo compartment, and I felt the crawler lurch along for an hour ; or more. From the motion, I knew we were far from any of the ; usual trails.
; ; When she let me out, we were in a cave, some sort of natural ; volcanic vent in Mt. Clinton. The entrance was sealed by a ; plastic membrane. She stood there, the gun in one hand and a ; cigarette in the other, while she made me unload the cargo: cases ; and cases of food bars, bottled water, a ton of batteries, 900 ; entertainment disks, four new gravity gradient meters, 2000 ; expendable meteorological sensor packs, on and on; I won't bore ; you with the details. I was pretty well worn out by the time I ; finished, and it was long past dark. I had to work by the lights ; of the crawler.
; ; Then, brandishing that gun, she made me walk back into the ; depths of the cave. It was warm there, close to body heat, ; probably because of the proximity to molten lava. She ordered me ; to take off my clothes. I didn't hesitate; that ugly gun was a ; real convincer.
; ; I looked around. The place was a real hermit hideaway. ; There was a big air mattress on the rocky floor, and boxes and ; shipping containers and, would you believe, only candle light, ; not even electricity. She went to a box and pulled out a pair of ; handcuffs, police type, and she put them on me.
; ; So there I was, standing naked but for my handcuffs. She ; took an impervalon rope, with a quick-fuse connector on the end, ; and zapped it to the chain of the cuffs. She went to a battery ; operated winch, and the next thing I knew I was standing on tip ; toe, practically hanging from my painful wrists.
; ; "Man, do you have a name?"
; ; "My friends call me Tony," I replied, not knowing what she ; was up to, but not about to argue with her. "Uh, why are you ; doing this?"
; ; "Why? Because all men are dogs, rapists, exploiters of ; women. You have it coming to you."
; ; "Why me? I've never raped anyone."
; ; "You're a man. Shut up and take what's coming to you."
; ; It was rather warm, and the woman -- I didn't know her name ; but I thought of her as Bitch -- began to take off her clothes. ; Not just her coat and boots, everything, standing there right in ; front of me, with the candle light gleaming on her perspiration. ; She was really a looker with her clothes off. She stood there, ; stiff-legged, her feet apart, pelvis thrust forward, stood there ; stark naked, holding that .44 magnum. I'd guess she was 25, 35 ; at the max, Earth years, and she was star material, with bulging ; breasts, a flat tummy, curving hips, and a nice thatch of pubic ; hair, there between long, shapely legs -- red, like the hair of ; her head and arm pits. Wild fantasies reeled through my brain, ; all of them involving burying my prod in that luscious russet ; thatch, and my prod stirred to life.
; ; She put down the gun and went to her boxes. This time, she ; brought out a crude, obviously home-made, whip. It had a pipe ; handle about a meter long, and three steel cable lashes hanging ; from the end of the handle. The ends of the cables were frayed- ; out, little tufts of sharp wires. Despite the heat, I felt a ; chill of fear.
; ; "Little Sister," she called, "come out and watch."
; ; From out of the darkness, a slim little creature emerged, ; tentatively, like a wild animal. Her coloring was like Bitch's, ; russet hair above and below, except the hair on her head had been ; hacked short, in contrast to Bitch's luxuriant, shoulder-length ; wavy hair. Little Sister was slim thing, maybe forty, forty-five ; kilos, with pretty little tits that were hardly a handful, and ; bony hips, and skinny legs and arms, and big, hazel eyes. She, ; too, was naked. It was really quite warm in the cave. The ; little sister stood there, barefoot, with her eyes downcast.
; ; "Watch, damn you!" yelled Bitch. She lighted another ; cigarette, left it hanging from her mouth, and she swung the ; whip. The steel barbs tore the skin of my buttocks, searing ; pain, and I screamed. Any sign of an erection vanished.
; ; "Men!" yelled Bitch, "Always leering at women." Swish; more ; pain, as the whip flayed my back. "Groping at their breasts." ; More pain, across my chest. "They think we are just sex objects ; for their pleasure." I nearly fainted, as the lashes tore my ; thighs. My legs went rubbery, and I hung there, limp, dry- ; mouthed, light headed, almost in shock.
; ; The slim one ran to me and hugged me, shielding me with her ; body, shaking her head in a wordless plea to save my life. I've ; no doubt Bitch might have killed me with that whip.
; ; Bitch used the handle of the whip to beat her sister off me. ; The slim one cowered, no match for Bitch.
; ; "You think I shouldn't beat him like that? Perhaps you are ; right, Little Sister. It wouldn't do to kill him too soon. He ; has a lot to pay for."
; ; Bitch pulled out some awful porno mags. "See, when men ; degrade women, they do it in sexual ways." She held up a ; picture, of a woman, bound arms-to-ankles on a sofa, with her ; crotch exposed to the camera. Then Bitch took some cord and ; bound my ankles to my arms, so I was hanging, doubled up, ass ; down, the handcuffs skinning my wrists, my crotch more exposed ; than in the picture. "See, what men do to women, women should ; do ; to men." Little Sister cringed.
; ; "She's an actress," I explained, "doing that voluntarily, ; and it doesn't hurt her."
; ; "Shut up, Man," yelled Bitch, emphasizing the point by ; prodding my testicles with the handle of the whip. I groaned.
; ; Bitch showed her sister another picture. "Do it, just like ; in the picture." The slim one shook her head. Bitch slapped her ; twice, hard, and the slim one approached me with two large safety ; pins. She stuck one through each nipple. It hurt.
; ; Bitch hefted my scrotum with the whip handle. "Men torture ; women with sexual frustration." Watch, Little Sister. Bitch ; began to do a sensuous dance, wiggling her hips, fondling her ; breasts, even spreading the lips of her vulva with her fingers. ; It was as sexy as anything I'd seen in those sleazy bars of Metro ; Roosevelt, but there was no way I found it sexually arousing, not ; while she still owned that whip.
; ; "What's the matter, Man. Can't get it up? You thinking of ; what I'll do to your precious manhood?" I imagined her nailing ; my penis to a board, or some such unpleasant thing. "Little ; Sister, make his penis stand tall."
; ; The younger one shook her head, and received a vicious swipe ; with the whip for her reluctance. With bloody streaks across her ; breasts and belly, the little one approached me tentatively. "Go ; ahead, touch it. Have you never touched a man's prick before?"
; ; The intimidated sister tentatively touched my penis. "Heft ; his balls." She did. "Now put his penis in your mouth and suck ; it, make it hard." She did. She actually succeeded in arousing ; me sexually. She bobbed her head on my tool, and caressed me ; with her slim fingers, careful not to touch the wounds from the ; whip.
; ; "That's right, Little Sister, make him want you. Now, ; stop." The sister stopped and stepped back. One look at Bitch, ; and I lost all interest in sex. My penis hung limp.
; ; "Damn you! Do it again." Little Sister picked up my limp ; dick and popped it in her mouth. "You've seen the videos. Make ; him hard," shouted Bitch. The game continued, hard, soft, hard, ; soft. I don't know what Bitch had in mind for my stiff prick, ; but she never got her hands on it. There was no way I could feel ; sexy, the position she had put me in.
; ; "Man, I need your prick erect. Since you won't do it for ; me, you can do it for my little sister. Men like to see women ; degraded. Watch, and let your penis respond nicely, or..." She ; whirled, grabbing her sister, and swiftly tied her victim with ; rope, like the porno pictures. Bitch tied the slim woman's arms ; tightly behind her back, so her little breasts were thrust out. ; She wrapped rope around the little breasts, so they were ; deformed, bulging out between the strands of rope. She drove the ; little sister around the cave, swishing her whip, occasionally ; hitting her victim with the handle. Then she tied a rope around ; her sister's waist, led the twisted ends down between the ; sister's legs, and tied them tightly to her arms, in back, ; pulling her shoulders even farther back, making her arch her ; back. The twisted ropes lay nestled between the outer lips of ; the victim's vulva. If the sister moved, tried to straighten her ; arched back, the ropes would saw painfully at her tenderest ; places.
; ; "Eat me," Bitch said, and the tortured sister, on her knees ; on the rocky floor, her back arched painfully, obediently lapped ; at Bitch's crotch, which had become quite wet of it's own accord.
; ; "Look, Man. You like that, Man? Come on, get it up for me, ; Man. Something wrong with your penis?"
; ; "No way, woman," I replied. "I don't get off on pain, not ; mine, not hers. You are wasting your time." I watched while the ; slim one applied her mouth to the older sister, probably not for ; the first time. Bitch seemed to sweat more than usual, and her ; nipples were hard, and she shuddered in what I assume was an ; orgasm. I didn't arouse me in the least.
; ; After a while, Bitch lit another cigarette and untied the ; sister, who sulked in the shadows. Little Sister's knees were ; skinned from the floor, and her breasts were streaked with red ; from the ropes, but she was, as far as I could see, not seriously ; injured.
; ; Bitch fumed with frustration, mad at me, mad at her little ; sister. "Little Sister, come here," she ordered, and the slim ; one obeyed. Bitch handed the dejected waif the whip. "You whip ; him. I want to see blood." Bitch forced her sister to whip me ; more, and the sister did it, tears streaming down her face, her ; slim body wracked with sobs. When it seemed I might pass out, ; Bitch allowed her sister to give me some water. When it seemed ; sure I was strong enough for more torture, Bitch gave her sister ; one of the batteries from the cargo and forced her to administer ; electric shocks to my genitals and other places. Not pleasant.
; ; All this time, while Bitch supervised, the candle light ; playing on the curves of her spectacular, naked body, she was ; smoking cigarettes, one after another. She had the habit of ; lighting her next cigarette from the stub of her last. She began ; to make a point of then extinguishing the butt by pressing it ; into my flesh. I did a lot of screaming.
; ; Bitch went out to the front of the cave, leaving me with the ; slim one, who had been torturing me at Bitch's direction. The ; little sister wasn't tall enough to reach my face with hers, but, ; with tears in her eyes, she held a water bottle to my lips and ; kissed my body, where it wasn't burned or torn. She was trying ; to apologize.
; ; Bitch returned, and the sister cowered at the edge of the ; candle light. "Where are the cigarettes? Man, where are the ; cigarettes?"
; ; "There were no cigarettes in the cargo," I croaked. "Check ; the manifest."
; ; Bitch swore and declined to stub out her current cigarette ; on me. She kept it, and smoked it down to practically nothing, ; while she rummaged in her various boxes. "Shit! I'm going to ; have to go get some," she yelled, as if it were all my fault. ; "Listen, Little Sister, I'm going to take the crawler and go into ; town. You keep him alive until I get back. But don't let him ; get comfortable." She put a clock on a handy rock. Hours had ; passed; it might even be light outside. "Every hour, I want you ; to suck his cock and make him stiff. But don't let him come, or ; I'll beat you worse than I did last year, you hear?" She put on ; her clothes and left us alone. We heard the crawler leave.
; ; I knew it would take her hours to get to the nearest store. ; "She won't be back until tomorrow, at the soonest," I said. ; "Would you please let me down? These cuffs are skinning my ; wrists."
; ; The slim woman looked frightened and turned her back on me, ; running to hide in the shadows. I couldn't see her, but I was ; sure she was watching me. The clock chimed the hour.
; ; The little sister emerged from the shadows and lit another ; candle; the first was almost gone. Like a robot, she took my ; flaccid penis and put it in her mouth. There was something about ; her, her vulnerability, her sadness. "You don't have to do ; that."
; ; She didn't stop, didn't say a word. I had never heard her ; voice. I must say, she succeeded in getting me stiff, in spite ; of my misery. Then she stopped, of course. She blew out the ; candle and, I suppose, she rested on the air mattress, until the ; clock chimed the hour again. She didn't bother with the candle, ; just came to me in the dark, did her assigned task, and left me, ; my wet prick standing in the darkness.
; ; She might sleep, but there was no way I could. I was ; miserable, hanging doubled up, with burns and bruises and ; scabbing-over cuts all over me. There, in total blackness, I ; began to hallucinate, to get delirious. I may have lost count, ; but the "prick torture" was repeated a dozen times, at least.
; ; We could hear the wind howling, the sound making its way ; through the twisty tunnel of the cave. The slim one lighted a ; candle and went toward the mouth of the cave, leaving me in ; darkness. She came back, put down the candle, and pantomimed a ; storm, waving her slim arms and fluttering her fingers.
; ; "Snow?" I said. She nodded. I knew what a snow storm ; meant. "She won't be back," I said. "Please, release me."
; ; Slim fed me a food bar, holding it up to my mouth, and she ; gave me water, but she made no attempt to release me. She was ; evidently terrified of what her sister might do, when she came ; back. I got my hourly prick tease, and then it was black once ; more.
; ; Hours later, Slim relented, a bit. She lit the candle and ; moved the mattress until it was under me. She lowered me, until ; my butt rested on the mattress, which opened some scabbed over ; wounds, and she untied my legs, so I could at least get some ; circulation back into my feet. I hurt all over, but my hands, ; though still raised above my head, were no longer bearing my ; weight. "Thank you," I said.
; ; She said nothing, but gently parted my knees and, kneeling ; between them on the mattress, she, for perhaps the twentieth ; time, took my penis in her mouth and with her tongue and lips, ; made it stiffen. Only this time, she did not stop, until I had ; ejaculated, and she swallowed my semen.
; ; Then, by the candle light, she removed the big safety pins ; which had skewered my nipples. "No, don't." I yelled, when I saw ; what she was doing next. She ignored me and deliberately, ; painfully, skewered her own nipples with the same pins with ; which ; she had pierced mine. "Please, don't do that," I said. "You ; don't have to do that to make up for what was done to me. Just ; release me."
; ; She paid no attention, but blew out the candle and lay down ; on the air mattress next to me. I could hear her whimpering in ; the dark.
; ; The clock chimed again. Slim, in the dark, began to climb ; over my sore legs, to do her sister's bidding and tease my penis. ; It rose of its own accord, but I said, "Your sister isn't coming ; back. You don't have to do that." I felt her warm lips on the ; tip of my stiffening cock. "Please, I don't want you to do that. ; Just let me go."
; ; There was a moment's hesitation. I could feel her breath, ; there in the dark, on my erect member. "Please, I'd rather you ; let me loose."
; ; The wind was howling, louder than before. She lighted the ; candle and went to the front of the cave. When she came back, ; she was goose flesh, and her nipples stood erect, from the cold. ; She pantomimed a huge snowdrift. Finally, she realized Bitch ; would not be back, for a long time. She gave me some slack, so I ; could move around, but there seemed no way to get the handcuffs ; off, or even to release the Impervalon rope.
; ; I motioned to her to approach me. She knelt at my feet. I ; took her face in my cuffed hands and said, "Thank you." Then I ; kissed her forehead. Tears streamed down her face, and I was, ; for a moment, taken aback, confused, that my kissing her would ; make her cry. As gently as I could, I removed the pins from her ; tortured nipples, and she cried even more. Then she blew out the ; candle and left me, disappeared into some private hiding place.
; ; For days, she fed me, watered me, brought a bucket for ; elimination purposes, and sometimes slept beside me on the air ; mattress. If I tried to touch her, affectionately, she would get ; up and leave, leaving me in the darkness. Apparently, candles ; were in short supply, and she had been taught to be sparing with ; them. I tried to talk to her, but there was no reply. I told ; her the story of my life, but she never said a word. Sometimes, ; I wondered if she was deaf and mute, only read my lips, when ; there was light, so that I was talking only to myself. Of ; course, I was also trying to get the handcuffs off. I wore down ; several stones, and wore my wrists raw, slowly abrading the ; hardened chain which held my wrists together. Bitch, of course, ; had not returned.
; ; At last, the time came when the chain parted, and my hands ; were free, though I still wore bracelets. Slim lighted the ; candle, to feed me a food bar -- plenty of those -- and I ; surprised her by grabbing her and hugging her to me, my arms ; around her waist, her breasts, healed now, I hoped, pressed ; against mine. I bent down to kiss her, and then I laid her back ; on the air mattress and looked at her lovingly, by candle light.
; ; She took one look at my turgid penis and lay back, staring ; at the ceiling of the cave. She parted her legs for me.
; ; "Slim," I said, carefully, distinctly, so she could read my ; lips. "Please, speak to me." She simply lay there, staring ; through tear-filled eyes, her legs parted, her sexual sheath ; completely accessible to my sword.
; ; I couldn't do it. There was no way I was going to fuck a ; woman who couldn't say no. That would be rape. She was ; obviously an emotional cripple, traumatized by God knows what ; her ; sister had done to her, a masochist who expected pain and ; suffering. That she was willing to spread her legs for me was no ; proof that she wanted me to fuck her. I couldn't do it.
; ; When I got up and turned from her, she took the battery with ; which she had shocked my genitals and handed it to me. Then she ; lay down and spread her legs again, for me to torture her ; genitals as she had tortured mine. No way I was going to touch ; her. I threw the battery as far as I could.
; ; The days went by, with the two of us imprisoned in that ; cave, stuck there for a long winter, snowed in and threatened by ; howling winds and zero visibility in blowing snow. From time to ; time I would put on my coat and boots and check the weather. It ; was always the same, except that, for an hour or two, there would ; be light filtering through the blizzard, and the rest of the ; time, I could only hear the wind and feel the snow against the ; membrane which protected us. Always, I would hurry back to the ; warmth of the cave, and sit there, naked. I talked to Slim, but ; there was never a reply. Sometimes, I would hug her and kiss ; her, but she was always compliant, passive, limp in my arms. I ; had no way to know if she loved me or hated me; she would do ; whatever I wanted, as if she owed it to me, no matter what pain I ; might cause her. A hundred times, at least, I resolved to plunge ; my stiff penis into her unresisting vagina, but every time, I ; told myself I couldn't. I couldn't rape the victim.
; ; One day, night, whatever -- one loses track of time in a ; black cave -- I used some of our precious candle light to ; explore. I found, way in the back, a box of old books and ; papers. And I had an idea.
; ; I picked an old book, off the top of the stack, and opened ; it. I motioned to Slim to come close, which she did, and I said, ; "Please, read to me what it says."
; ; "Chapter 1. Treats of the Place where Oliver Twist was ; born, and of the Circumstances..."
; ; "You can speak!" I said, excitedly. She dropped the book ; and looked confused. "Go on, read to me. I ORDER YOU TO ; READ!" ; Like an obedient slave, she did. That was the breakthrough.
; ; To conserve candles, we would get dressed, go to the front ; of the cave, and read by the bit of daylight that filtered ; through the snow and plastic, for an hour or so a day. After a ; while, she could answer questions about the reading, though she ; could not talk about herself. I dragged the old box to the front ; of the cave and looked through it thoroughly. I found some ; papers.
; ; "Are you Ruth Elbesoi?" She nodded. "You have a master's ; degree in 19th Century English literature?" She nodded. "Tell ; me your name."
; ; Perhaps it was only seconds, but I could not stand the ; suspense. Her lips moved. "Ruth," she said. And then she said, ; "Tony, I love you."
; ; Spring came. The days grew longer, and most of the snow ; melted. After much preparation, we set out for Station ; Shackelton, knowing it might take three or four days, and there ; would be many hardships along the way.
; ; They recognized me and removed the remnants of the ; handcuffs; they knew I wasn't an escaped felon. They thought I ; must be have been dead, when the crawler disappeared with no ; transmissions, even from the ELT.
; ; First thing, after we were fed and rested, Ruth and I got ; married, by telecom link. It seemed the thing to do, for she is ; very visibly pregnant. Later, they found the crawler, overturned ; in a melting snow bank. Bitch was still inside.
; ;