Surviving Demands, page 10
Caitlyn eyed him suspiciously, and Cody laughed softly. “Come, Verna, my good little slave. Perhaps I will let you visit with your sister while I check out the stables.”
Caitlyn watched the girl’s head reappear and she noted the smile fighting to claim her lips. It made Caitlyn nervous to see that the girl seemed almost happy with her circumstances, and she tried to remember such an expression from any of the women in Sharington… and failed.
CHAPTER V
Chase stood and Caitlyn pushed back from the table. She watched Roger, Cody and Verna walk towards the foyer, and Verna slipped her feet into warm boots while Cody laid a fur cape around her shoulders. This was not at all what she had imagined and she felt totally off-balance, preferring to have a clear idea of what was expected… and what penalties were issued. It seemed that other than the horrendous initiation the night before, the men treated the women as coveted pets. Cody’s affection for Verna was as obvious as the young woman’s feelings for the older man.
“How long as Verna been his… um, how long has Verna been with Cody?”
“Master Cody, Caitlyn. It is time for you to begin to use the proper titles.”
Caitlyn noticed he did not answer her question, so she tried again. “How long has Verna been with Master Cody?”
“Since about four months after the collapse. She was the daughter of one of our neighbors, and we discovered her and her sister when we saw the smoke from the fire. There mother had died a few years earlier, and her father and three brothers were trying to hang onto their property. We weren’t well enough organized to help them then.
“A gang from the west burned out their ranch, and we found the girls in shock and hiding in the back of the pump house. The rest of their family had been killed, and we brought them back to our place. The blacksmith took her sister, and still owns her. They were the first of our permanent slaves, and they needed the guidance to slowly bring them out of their depression. Verna took longer to adjust, and her sister had formed a reliance and attachment to our blacksmith. Cody has occasionally added other slaves to their situation, but he’ll never get rid of Verna.”
Chase took her hands and leaned down to whisper, “Like you, Caitlyn. I’ll never pass you to the others, and if you refuse me I’ll send you south on the truck.”
Caitlyn shivered at the threat, but still felt the damning acknowledgement of his touch and his whispered words in her belly. What’s happening to me? Her thoughts were in tormented turmoil as her body continued to betray her.
He led her into the kitchen where an older woman dressed in pants and a flannel shirt was busy ordering two naked girls on tasks. “Good morning, Master Chase.” The woman’s blue eyes twinkled as she looked Caitlyn over. “I heard rumors you had caught yourself a wild beauty.”
“This is Caitlyn, Trudy, and I think your cooking has tamed her a bit; for the morning, at least.”
Caitlyn looked around the big room with its huge stove and refrigerator, blenders and all manner of equipment she remembered from her mother’s kitchen… in the time before. “Thank you for breakfast. It was delicious.”
“Well, wait to you sample lunch and dinner, young lady. It just gets better as the day moves on,” she smiled.
Chase decided to take advantage of the situation. “Present,” he ordered, and Caitlyn sucked in a shocked breath as the two naked serving girls scurried to drop before him and prop their bottoms in the air with their thighs spread. “Maria should be returned by the end of the week.”
“That one might not work out, Chase. She’s lazy and still refuses to follow orders, relying on her ability to make herself unavailable when she’s needed. It’s a pity, because Sandra only has one week of her sentence left and I think Lewis was eyeing her,” Trudy replied with a slight scowl. No one was fond of the man.
“I wouldn’t count on Lewis.” Chase looked down on the two bottoms. “Sandra, has anyone else expressed interest?”
The girl turned to look up at him. “Master Allen, sir. We thought with Master Lewis being a sentry that he wouldn’t stand a chance as only a herder.”
“You finish out your sentence with no problems, and I’ll see what can be arranged.”
The girl smiled. “Thank you, Master Gallory. I will, and I promise not to steal again.”
When they left the kitchen, Caitlyn was even more confused. Even the two girls being punished and humiliated seemed almost happy. “What did she steal?” Caitlyn asked nervously. She was determined not to end up with her bottom in the air.
“Food, which was stupid. Zeke’s group grabbed her from a burnt out car she was living in at the edge of the California Alliance. She was half starved, so we were feeding her small amounts to adjust her system, but she was convinced she would not be given food again, so when she got the chance she began to steal and hoard it.”
“The California Alliance? We thought maybe that’s where the plague was when we didn’t come across it as we headed west.”
“They’re a plague all right,” Chase laughed. “At last count, Zeke found fifty different gangs along the border alone. They continue to fight and kill each other off, and god help any women in their path. When sentries aren’t bringing in women traveling from the north or east, the bikers head to the border to collect them. Some of the gang women aren’t trainable for our Alliance, so we ship them south.”
“What happens to them down there?” Caitlyn’s eyes were huge with fright.
Chase shrugged. “Some are probably claimed, but most end up in their brothels. I don’t think many are hurt, or they would not be trading valuable foods and merchandise for them.” He watched her expression closely. “Caitlyn, Cody and I take care of an Alliance with many people counting on our decisions. Some of these decisions may not be pleasant or seem fair to you, but we base them on what will enable us to survive.”
‘Stay safe and survive, Caitlyn. Just survive,’ her mother’s words echoed. Caitlyn found the more time she spent with Chase, the less nervous she became. He did not avoid her questions, even when he must know the answers would not make her happy. She began studying the rooms he led her through, and she noticed there was a pillow on the floor beside Cody’s chair in the living room. Apparently, he even saw to Verna’s comfort when she knelt beside him.
Chase grabbed another pillow from the stack against the wall, and sat down in his chair. “Come here and rest. You look tired.”
Caitlyn was exhausted, and the warmth of the fire and full belly enhanced the lethargy. She did not complain as she knelt on the pillow beside him while he read. Her eyelids grew heavy, and his hand wrapped around her head and pulled it down onto his thigh. Just before her eyes closed, a fleeting thought of safety coursed through her, calming her, and within minutes, Caitlyn lay sleeping with one balled up fist by her cheek.
Cody walked in and saw the scene, and raised a finger to his lips for Verna. She smiled and nodded, and after stripping off her cape and boots, she joined Cody and knelt on her pillow. Cody said softly, “She’s adjusting much more quickly than I would have believed.”
“Only because I’ve ordered her to do things she wants to do. I’m sure I’m in for a battle when I try to introduce my other demands.” Chase smiled and brushed the hand resting on the sleeping woman’s head through her silky tresses.
“Zeke discovered a rather interesting piece of news that Roger confirmed with Julie.” Cody saw Caitlyn stiffen slightly, and he knew Chase was aware she was listening while pretending to still be asleep. He nodded to let Chase know it would be all right for him to continue. “Apparently, their leader, Sharon, was a little more concerned with self-preservation than her group realized.”
“How so?” Chase felt the girl begin to tremble a little, and brushed a hand through her hair.
“They got to a spot in the stream, and Sharon realized Marcy and Alice were holding them back. Without warning, she announced they were splitting up. According to Julie, she wanted to grab Caitlyn too, and sacrifice the weaker girls. She opted to throw your girl to us because she would not be able to shake Marcy and Alice.”
“Julie is afraid that if we send her south, Sharon will use her to escape and that she will be stuck there alone. She and Roger are actually working out the beginnings of an arrangement. Julie says she’s tired of running and being afraid, and trying to survive on scraps. Of course, the breakfast Roger brought back to her from Trudy didn’t hurt.”
Caitlyn thought about her decision earlier, about trying to survive without the rest. Does that make me like Sharon? I wouldn’t have sacrificed one of them to do it. There was no doubt in Caitlyn’s mind as to whether Cody was telling the truth. She remembered how shocked she and the other two girls had been when Sharon abruptly took off and left them to fend for themselves. They had always argued they were stronger together, until their capture became obvious. Caitlyn figured the five of them would stand and fight.
“Caitlyn? Do you understand why Sharon has to leave? She has no loyalty to you, and her conspiring will only undermine the ability of the rest of you to learn to adjust,” Chase said softly.
She opened her eyes and he saw a pained sadness. Sharon had led them out of Sharington and across the country, but more as pawns for her own escape. “Will Julie be allowed to stay?”
Cody answered, “She seems to have the attitude that the women who thrive with us do well with. It’s not a weakness to want to feel safe, Caitlyn.” He could see the perplexed thoughts bombarding the strong girl, and his analytical mind figured out the source. “You planned to stand alone until you could navigate our Alliance the way you did back home. Standing alone is both a sign of strength and cowardice to face and deal with your reality, but it does not make you like Sharon. Sharon can not stand alone, and she gathers others to be placed on her front line while she maneuvers for the position most advantageous to her.
“I can see you are as distraught as Julie is about Sharon’s motives. I did not tell Julie that Sharon began to immediately try to bargain with Zeke, and she promised him anything if he would not allow her to be sent south. She suggested they send Julie in her place, to keep them from being able to plan,” Cody finished.
Caitlyn’s eyes had filled with anguished tears over Sharon’s words, and Verna touched Cody’s thigh. “Master Cody, may I bring Caitlyn upstairs to wash up for lunch?”
“Caitlyn, go with Verna. Cody and I have things to discuss before we eat,” Chase said. He held her arm and helped her straighten her cramped legs. She would get used to kneeling for long periods, over time.
Verna led Caitlyn upstairs and to the end of the hall, and opened the door to the suite she shared with Cody. The room was huge, and there was a cage by the bed just like in Chase’s room. “Do you sleep there?” she pointed.
Verna laughed, “Only when I screw up and I’m being punished.” She turned and said seriously, “What Cody told you is true. I heard part of it before I left to visit my sister. That Sharon girl was even saying she could get you to do whatever they wanted if they just threatened the other girls. That’s not the way the Masters do things. They’re very patient with their training, but if a girl will not adapt without threats, they ship them out. They want everyone pretty much as content as we can be with the circumstances.”
“How did you get used to it?” Caitlyn asked.
“You might think it was easier because I knew Cody from before. Heck, he was like a grandpa to us when the ranches were running. Things were scary, and people had been running our borders almost from the beginning of the collapse. Every night we heard gunshots from people killing the cattle, and we were scared to death. Dad had just decided to ask Cody and Chase if he could move us onto their land, when we were attacked.”
“Cody was so incredibly patient with me. I must have cried for weeks straight, and then I was petrified to be away from him. Things just sort of developed from there,” she shrugged. “Chase was different. I had hoped he’d look after my sister, but he was busy building protective forces for the Alliance. She’s happy with the blacksmith, though.” Verna turned to Caitlyn. “You’re the first one I’ve seen come through that has gotten a reaction from him. Chase has trained plenty of the girls, or used the servants at times, but when you came down in his leathers I almost peed myself.”
“He frightens me,” Caitlyn admitted. She swept her arm around and said, “All of this frightens me. Where I came from, there were rules and you knew what was expected.”
“It’s no different here, except the rules aren’t in writing. Chase will tell you what to do and take care of you, and he won’t let anybody else touch you. You’re safe here, Caitlyn, as long as you can learn to trust him. It will be so nice to have another girl to talk to, because the men are away or in meetings a lot and it can be lonely at times.”
Caitlyn looked across the room and her eyes widened. “What the hell is all that?” There was a weird assortment of equipment, most of it with chains or obvious locking devices.
Verna looked confused for a moment, and then she said, “Chase must have his room closed off. The wardrobe slides over and his stuff is even neater than Cody’s. He lets us use it sometimes, if he’s going to be gone.”
“You like those things? They look like torture devices,” Caitlyn said, shocked.
“Oh, they’re torture devices all right, especially in the hands of the Masters. Cody can make me so hot for him, he’s lucky he does have me locked down.” Verna noticed her uncomfortable expression, beyond the alarm of the bondage equipment. “Cody’s right, isn’t he? He said you didn’t let anyone really ever touch you before, and that’s why you’re so angry and frightened.”
For some reason, knowing they were aware she had not been touched seemed more humiliating than the brief experiences she had gone through. Denying it was useless. “I managed to stay out of sight, and was kind of planning on doing that here, but I can’t figure out how to do it in your system.”
“You can’t, Caitlyn, not when the Masters give you everything. No women lives alone, and even Trudy lives with her husband in a cabin across the complex. Caitlyn, I’ve listened to them talk since the beginning, and there is no better option out there. This is the safest place you can be, and you have one of the two Alliance leaders who wants to care for you.”
Caitlyn twisted her hands. “I’m afraid, Verna.”
The girl walked over and hugged her, not nearly as conscious of their naked bodies pressing together as Caitlyn was. “I know. I was scared at first, too. Cody told me that Chase is very aware to go slowly with you, so just listen to him. You’ll be all right, and you may be surprised at how comfortable you begin to get. It takes a while, but the layers of all the horrible things that have happened begin to peel away and bury beneath their protection.” Verna gave her a squeeze. “Come on, let’s get washed up before I end up in the cage tonight for making them late for lunch.”
Cody was looking at a slightly distraught partner who was uncharacteristically paying very little attention to him. “Don’t worry about her, Chase. Verna will calm her, and she’ll get a chance to see some of her other duties without being threatened by you.”
Chase looked through the ceiling. “Well, I don’t hear her screaming, yet,” he admitted. “Though, I am fully prepared for those flaming eyes burning through me when they come back down.”
“You may be surprised, Chase. Verna is very good at explaining things, and she wants the girl to stay here. She wants the company, and you’ve never expressed a willingness to keep a woman before. Caitlyn is smart, and she’s already figuring out that she’s pretty much stuck here, with no better options. She’s clean and her belly is full, probably for the first time in years. I think with a little patience she’ll be fine, and it would be nice to have another strong woman around here. Trudy has her hands full with the cooking and trying to run the servants, and Verna isn’t capable of expressing the authority to get them to clean.”
The men were distracted by the women coming down the stairs, and to Chase’s surprise, Caitlyn did not have the anger he expected. There was a nervous wariness, but almost a resigned silence. Caitlyn was far too embarrassed to voice her decision, but when they got to the dining room, she walked to the wall and brought a pillow beside Chase and knelt instead of sitting in the chair. His mouth dropped open and Cody smiled, and he caught Verna’s wink as she lowered.
Chase made as little an issue out of the alarming change as he could manage, but he still found it difficult to believe. Caitlyn had scanned the offerings before she knelt, and she asked quietly, “Could I have half a sandwich and some fruit? No mangos, though. They make me breakout.”
“Would you like iced tea or milk?”
“Both please. I’m thirsty for the tea, but I think I need the calcium for a while. We only found a few cans of milk and one box of powdered to share on the way here.”
When lunch was finished, Cody and Verna retreated into the other room. Chase looked down almost uncomfortably. “Are you all right, Caitlyn?”
The green eyes looked up with nervous commitment. “I’m scared, but I think I’ll be okay.”
Chase pulled her to a stand. “If you feel yourself… ” he tried to find the right words.
“Tumbling. It feels like I’m spinning or tumbling, and I’ll let you know. It’s a terrible feeling, like I’m falling through the air.” Caitlyn shuddered.
“Is there anything you would like to do this afternoon?”
“When does that truck come?”
“Anytime now, I expect.” Chase could not understand the importance in this. Maybe she wanted to see the supplies they received. It had obviously been a long time since she had seen some of the normal provisions the complex had.
“I would like to see my friends. I know you don’t want me to, but you asked me what I would like to do.”
Chase ran his fingers through his hair. The fact that she seemed to be willing to abide by his decision and was not demanding, made up his mind. “They’re in training, Caitlyn, and you might not like what you see.”
