Slaves of Love
About twenty minutes later, the door opened again and two more dazed women were pushed into the truck. The door closed behind them.
A rumbling started, and the vehicle lurched forward, slamming Shena against one of the newcomers, who hit the door with a thud. The floor bounced below them. Shena pressed her hand against the door and eased herself to the floor, as did the other two women.
About a half-hour later, the truck stopped and the door opened.
Four hooded slavers stood outside.
“Get out.”
Shena was glad of the breeze across her face as she pushed herself from the truck and the heavy closeness of the air inside.
The slaver ship lay about a hundred meters ahead. Big, flat, dull silver. The hull, which had always appeared smooth from a distance, was made up of all kinds of panels with handles and devices jutting out. The ships had always looked so tiny up in the sky, but this one seemed gigantic, with its yawning door and the darkness within.
The guards herded the women onto the ramp leading to the door. Shena’s knees almost buckled as she realized her father’s nightmare threat had finally become a reality.
She had been sold to the slavers.
The large hatch closed behind them, blocking out the setting sun and probably her last view of her world.
Shena and the others were led to a large open area just inside the ship’s entrance. One by one, their chains were removed, and they were left standing there for a long time. Finally, a tall, bearded man followed by two guards came and led them into a narrow corridor. After a few turns left and right, one of the guards opened a door to an empty room about fifteen feet square. The women plodded inside, glancing around. In the walls, there were niches about six feet long and two feet high. They were stacked six high, about twenty-four in all. Shena did a quick count of the women. Twenty-two including herself.
“I think that’s where we sleep,” one woman whispered.
“Silence.” The tall, bearded man strode into the center of the room. A guard closed the door.
“Most of you will be taken to E’Le’Dor, where you will be sold as slaves. Along the way, we will stop at two more worlds, where we will pick up more slaves. When we are on planet, many of you will be loaned to the local brothels.”
“What happens to the ones who aren’t taken to E’Le’Dor?” a woman to his right asked.
Shena didn’t see exactly what happened, but she did see the woman fall to the floor, writhing in pain, one of the guards standing over her.
Ignoring the woman’s wails, the speaker continued. “I didn’t say you could ask questions.”
He paced a few feet, then back again.
“Once you are sold, your new owner can do anything he wants to you. He can touch you anywhere. He can fuck you anywhere. He can make you suffer in any way he likes. He can even kill you.”
He stared at them with steely eyes. “Get used to the fact that your body is his. Learn to pleasure him, and you may survive longer.”
He paced again. “Never m
ake eye contact with a normal person. As a slave, you must keep your eyes downcast at all times.”
He pointed to Shena. “You. Come here.”
Butterflies swarmed through her stomach as she stepped forward.
“Sit.”
She glanced around. There was nowhere to sit down.
He pointed at her with a black rod about six inches long. Intense, rippling pain shot through her, frying every nerve-end.
“I said sit!”
She crumpled to the ground, then sat cross-legged.
He nodded. “Better. Now, look at this.”