Chapter 11 - Freedom
Squeezed into a corner of the small cargo-bay, Lyn tried to make her self
comfortable amidst the heavy, steel boxes stacked there. In the dim light thrown
from the little LED's glowing nearby, her dark-adapted eyes could just make out
her feet squashed up against the side of the box opposite her.
"This trip had better not take very long," she muttered, giving up trying to
find a comfortable sitting position. Lying herself down between the boxes, she
rested her head on the floor and tried to relax, letting the soft hum of the
engines below fill her mind.
"Fuck!" she cursed under her breath, rolling over onto one side. The hard, flat
surface of the box underneath her was extremely uncomfortable as a sleeping
surface.
"Oh, forget it," she grumbled, getting up and climbing off the box.
Her eyes searching the darkness all around her, she crept over to where she
could see the LED's glowing. Before the lights had gone off, she had gotten a
good look at the long, pill-shaped containers stacked neatly in columns. There
were about a dozen cradled in their specially designed harnesses, filling a full
half of the cargo-bay.
"I wonder..." she breathed to herself, peering at the line of status LED's.
Running her fingers around them, she located a seam in the otherwise smooth
exterior. Following it around, she was able to open the controls for the
container.
"Hmm," she said thoughtfully, her face aglow with light from the exposed screen.
For a moment, all the strange symbols and jagged lines scrolling across meant
nothing to her, but then cold realisation hit and she took a step back in
horror.
"Watch out," Moira hissed from the darkness as Lyn bumped into her. Thinking she
was still alone, Lyn jumped in shock.
"Oh crap," she breathed, glaring at the silhouette of Moira. "Don't sneak up on
me like that!"
"You were making enough noise down here that they could probably hear you
upstairs!" She could feel Moira's disapproving frown.
"Bah," Lyn spat, turning back to the controls. "Have a look at this. Is that
a..."
"...a heart-beat?" Moira finished. "Yes. They're shipping people in those
things."
Lyn shuddered, and not only from the thought of being transported like cargo.
She didn't like the sound of fascination in Moira's voice.
"Why, though? Why were they putting people in those tanks as well?" Feeling
cold, Lyn moved closer to study the controls.
"I don't know why," Moira said in a low voice. "But I have a few ideas, and none
of them are good."
"We should let these people out," Lyn said firmly, her fingers already feeling
at the controls.
"And then what? Hijack the ship from the men with guns?" Moira shook her head.
"We need to stay hidden; leave them for now."
A bright light started flashing on the controls, causing Lyn to snap her hand
back. Quickly she shut the control panel, her heart thumping. "Stupid girl,
stupid, stupid girl," she chastised herself mentally.
"I managed to steal some spare blankets," Moira told her, as if nothing had
happened. "They should make things a bit more comfortable, depending on how long
this takes."
Lyn nodded, looking nervously at the container she had touched. Nothing seemed
to have happened...
"Do you think they can hear us?" Experimentally she tapped a tune on the
exterior of the container, leaning in to listen for a few seconds afterwards.
"If they can, they can't respond," she answered herself dully, hoping whoever
was inside would forgive her for whatever she had caused.
"Leave them alone," Moira suggested, the edge in her voice making it
non-negotiable. "Don't give them false hope."
Lyn sighed, and turned away from the container. I will help them, she promised
herself.
All Jessica had to tell the time was the soft thudding of her heartbeat. The
time between Moira shooting Lyn and herself with the dart and waking up in the
darkness was filled with broken memories, disconnected images and sensations
that made no sense to her.
The first few moments after awareness returned were filled with the terror of
drowning. Her body went rigid and she pushed upwards, seeking air as her mouth
opened to exhale a chest-full of warm liquid. But her face was brought short by
the soft, resilient roof of her new world, and the next breath she took filled
her lungs with more liquid.
Her panic rising, she frantically searched for some way to escape from what she
was certain would become her watery grave, hands and feet pushing and probing
the confining walls. Her bare skin found nothing but the impassive, silky walls
that contained her; there was no air, and no way out.
Blindly gasping like a fish, Jessica felt disappointed as she admitted defeat,
thinking of all the things she didn't get to do. She began to feel light-headed
as the oxygen in her blood ran low, spots swimming across her vision. It
couldn't end like this...
On the verge of passing out, her body took a sudden breath, filling her lungs
with liquid. She had no doubt she was going to die, even as she felt the rush of
oxygen returning to her brain. Another convulsive breath brought clarity to her
thoughts, along with confusion as she felt unconsciousness retreat.
Her mind reeling, Jessica allowed herself to return to a regular breathing
pattern, sucking in the oxygen-rich liquid and then exhaling. The feeling of
drowning returned along with it, causing her to start gasping again. By now she
had realised that she wasn't really going to die, but the thought provided no
comfort.
Trying desperately to relax and breathe the warm, oxygenated liquid that
surrounded her, Jessica explored her horizontal prison. It was roughly
cylindrical; thin enough that she could flatten her naked body against one side
and use her elbow to just touch the other, and long enough so that with her feet
flat on the end, she could easily reach the top with her hands.
Gentle currents caressed her skin as she searched the darkness, but she couldn't
find the source of the disturbances. Was the liquid that surrounded her coming
through the walls, slowly filtering out any impurities and replacing them with
life-giving oxygen? Her exploration revealed nothing though; every bit of the
interior of her world was as smooth and featureless as the next bit... except
for one.
With a little wriggling she rolled over onto her side and reluctantly pulled her
legs up to her bare chest, one hand slipping down between them. She had felt it
during her movements, but had been reluctant to touch it until now, dreading
what she would find.
She felt a chill run through her as her exploring fingers touched what felt like
the smooth wall of her prison where the soft skin of her pubis should be. Her
hand shaking, she followed the edge where her skin disappeared under the foreign
substance, tracing it down between her legs and back up between her buttocks.
She shuddered as her arm brushed against the umbilical that it was connected to,
the snake-like tube tethering her to the wall down near her feet.
Her heart was pounding as she pressed against where it covered her sex, feeling
something almost like jelly moving underneath. Pressing lower, she felt the
jelly moving over her clit, and between her slightly parted lips. Nearing the
base of the umbilical, she pressed down and felt where she was penetrated by the
attachment, the small finger that invaded her vagina expanding as the jelly
moved.
Her vocal cords tightened as she exhaled sharply, but without any air her cry of
dismay went no further. A horrible feeling of violation filled her mind, and she
cracked. Both hands closed tightly around the umbilical, squeezing out the jelly
that filled it. She wasn't sure whether it was alive or some kind of weird
machine, but she hated it, and with a burst of strength she yanked hard on the
umbilical.
Her mouth opened in a silent scream as what felt like a million hooks dug into
her soft flesh. She let go reflexively, pulling her hands away from the
attachment that was still moulded to her body. Tears filled her eyes and were
washed away by the liquid surrounding her.
Her chest shaking silently with her crying, Jessica remained in her foetal
position, trying to ignore the tingling of remembered pain between her legs. She
didn't know how long she had been asleep, and her fragmented memories provided
no comfort. What had happened? Was this Moira's doing?
She knew it wasn't, and the knowledge chilled her. Despite her womb-like prison
she had to admit she was relatively comfortable and free to move around, and
from what she remembered of their briefing on Moira, she loved her victims to be
both uncomfortable and tightly restricted. Even if she had changed her tactics,
Jessica knew that not even Moira had the kind of technology to join flesh
with... whatever it was moulded to her genitals.
Her thoughts were interrupted as the umbilical between her legs shook, suddenly
coming to life. Her heart-rate increasing rapidly, she reached down and touched
the snake-like tube, feeling as it throbbed, like something was moving within
it...
It expanded suddenly in her hand, and she let out a soundless cry of fear as she
felt something fluid pulsing through it. She had a moments warning of warmth
against her anus, and then it was flowing rapidly past the tightly clenched
muscle and up the tube she could now feel snaking its way into the depths of her
bowels.
Recovering quickly from the horror she felt, Jessica desperately clamped down on
the umbilical with her hands, halting the flow into her rear. Her chest heaved
as she breathed rapidly, her diaphragm aching from the effort despite the
thinness of the liquid. She strained for a few moments as the pressure mounted,
fighting desperately despite the fluid already escaping through her fingers, but
she quickly realised that she couldn't stop it indefinitely.
She began to cry as she relaxed her hold, the sensation of the warmth travelling
up inside her revealing how deeply the tube went. The resulting burst of warm,
thick fluid into her bowels filled her with shame and discomfort. She had always
refused when her Master had suggested enemas, and the fluid forcing its way into
her felt every bit as bad as she had imagined.
The sudden sound of tapping caught her attention. It was distorted by the liquid
surrounding her, but as it continued, a familiar tune emerged.
"Lyn!" she mouthed silently. The growing fullness in her belly forgotten, she
braced herself and beat hard against the top of her prison. Excitement filled
her thoughts, even as she realised the walls were easily absorbing her attempts
to communicate. She could be wrong, but only Lyn would have chosen that tune!
Clinging to the small hope of rescue she now had, Jessica gave up her efforts
and tried to relax as the enema filled her, listening for more tapping. The
pressure her raised legs were putting on her colon made her lie out flat,
holding her belly as it continued to swell.
The flow ended after another minute, leaving Jessica alone and feeling violated.
She hated the bloated feeling of her belly, and she hated the thought of
expelling it, but she had no choice. Shutting her eyes in the darkness and
lifting her legs, she bore down with her stomach muscles. She groaned silently
in discomfort, but the umbilical kept her plugged and refused to let any of the
horrible liquid out.
"Please," she silently pleaded, holding her distended belly and wishing for
freedom. She wanted to see something, to touch something, to feel the comforting
presence of something solid and real, instead of the squishy walls around her.
She was unprepared as the umbilical suddenly started sucking, rapidly drawing
the liquid from her body. She squealed silently in shock and discomfort as what
felt like her guts were drawn out her anus. A wave of nausea hit her as more of
the foul liquid was forcibly pulled from her, and she had to concentrate on
keeping control of her stomach.
As suddenly as it had began, the suction ended, leaving Jessica drained and
crying brokenly. There was no longer anything comfortable about her womb-like
world. The umbilical felt like an intruder between her legs, just waiting for
the signal to rape her body again. She hated how helpless it made her feel, how
at any moment it could fill her with something painful and she could do nothing
to prevent it.
Still sobbing silently, she curled into a ball and hugged her knees, dreaming of
light and freedom.
Julie awoke slowly in the morning, hovering on the verge of consciousness as she
luxuriated in the warmth of the bed. She could feel her teddy against her, and
shifted slightly to bring his softness close, part of her laughing at how
childish it was.
She could hear Simeon talking in a low voice, and despite wanting to continue
sleeping she found her self listening to his words.
"...no signs of forced entry. The windows are always locked, but hers wasn't."
"Then this was an inside job?" Nyssa's voice reached Julies' ears, and she
shifted her head on the pillow to hear easier.
"It has to be," he replied. "Security was disabled in her room, so no-one
noticed their entry. And no alarms were tripped when they left. Security should
have gone crazy when it found two people it didn't see arrive."
"Then it is an inside job," she sighed. "And they know our technology, so it's
one of us."
"It could be anyone who actually performed it, if they were given the
instructions." Simeon sounded weary already.
"We can trust the maids," Nyssa told him "I spoke to all of them, and they don't
know anything."
Julie wondered how she could sound so sure, before remembering just how
persuasive a Dominant could be. It chilled her that she could force someone to
tell the truth just by asking.
"It's someone from the Council's envoy," Simeon said flatly. Nyssa didn't
respond, as they both shared the same thought; Damien would not like hearing
that there was a traitor amongst his crew.
"How is she?" Nyssa asked softly. Julie could feel her mentor looking at her
from across the room.
"She's a tough girl," he replied, a touch of affection in his voice. "I think it
was harder to trust Seth than she let on."
"Did you tell her?" Nyssa asked him cautiously. Her curiosity spiking, Julie
dared to open one eye so she could watch them sitting in the corner of the
bedroom.
"Nothing specific," he admitted. "I can't be certain of what he told Cassandra,
or how much she believed."
"She recovered very quickly for someone who learned about us the way she did,"
Nyssa mused.
Julie shut her eyes, her mind whirling. Her Dad was talking with Cassandra all
along?
"She'll come looking for Susan," Simeon said. "She expects one night away, even
if she doesn't approve, but two nights..."
"Tell her as little as possible," Nyssa advised. They fell silent for a few
seconds.
"She's not very good at feigning sleep," Nyssa said in a low voice, just so that
Julie could hear.
"Let her pretend," Simeon suggested, sounding amused.
Feeling guilty for eavesdropping, Julie snuggled down under the blanket and
listened to them leave. She would have to get up soon, but for now she was
content to lie quietly and hug her teddy.
"Bring her back safely," she whispered.
Body and mind exhausted, Susan barely stirred as her black form-fitting garment
was sprayed with a fine mist of cold water and peeled off. Naked as the day she
was born, she was dried off and then laid out on a soft bed. She dreamed that
Julie was there, smiling as she lovingly tied back her hair. Her dream-self
blushed as she offered her hips for the comfort of the chastity belt, feeling
the plugs slip deep into her body as it closed around her. Warm and safe, the
darkness of sleep took her away.
She awoke what seemed like days later, her blue eyes fluttering open to see the
thick, grey sheet surrounding her bed. The air smelt like Julie, but it was
different, more masculine. She had a dim memory of a male Julie holding her, but
she couldn't remember any details.
Looking up, she saw the top of the bunk bed she was lying in, the makeshift
curtain pushed underneath the mattress above. The bed was in the corner, with
two walls hard steel and the remainder covered by the curtain.
Pulling one arm from the warmth of the blankets, Susan lifted the bottom of the
sheet and peeked underneath. She winced at the light, but her eyes quickly
adapted, showing her the small room she was in. There was a small table in the
middle with two chairs, and a bigger desk on the far wall, covered with glass
and machines that she had never seen before. She couldn't see any doors from her
position, and the room appeared otherwise empty.
Withdrawing her head back into the cosy shadows of the bed, Susan lifted the
blanket and looked down at herself. She was slightly disappointed to find that
the chastity belt she had dreamt wasn't real, but the black straps around her
chest drew her attention. She traced them with her fingers, following the one
that encircled her body below her small breasts, and the one that moved up
between the two soft bulges of flesh, splitting at the top of her sternum to
disappear over her shoulders and join with the strap again. As she followed
them, her fingers lingered on the collar that still encircled her neck,
reminding her of Julie.
Susan pulled at the strap between her breasts, wondering why it was fatter than
the rest of them. It seemed sticky, and she had to exert a little effort before
it released her soft skin. She wondered what it was for, peering at its
otherwise featureless blackness.
"Maybe it's my new clothing," she fantasised, pressing the strap back against
her skin. The sight of her small, firm breasts separated by the strap brought
the horniness she still felt to the surface. One hand disappeared under the
blanket to nestle in the rapidly moistening folds between her legs, stroking her
clit as she imagined being allowed to wear nothing but the black straps.
She moaned softly, spreading her legs wide for her fingers. Perhaps the fat area
would shock her as a punishment... She ground her engorged clit between her
fingers, her mouth opening in a soundless gasp.
She breathed deeply, drawing in the scent of the male Julie. Perhaps there would
be more straps to go between her legs, and they would shock her pussy as well...
Her other hand slid down between her legs as she looked down at the straps
around her body, watching the rise and fall of her breasts as she breathed.
She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she imagined the strap
between her legs, electricity lancing through her clit and making her writhe in
pleasure and pain. The electricity didn't have to stop there, she thought. It
could also go further back, and shock her tight little anus if she was very bad.
She arched her back and moaned again, brushing one finger across the pink
rosebud between her cheeks. They could have plugs on the straps, and shock her
deep within, forcing her muscles to dance for the merciless electricity.
Her fingers slid deep into her glistening sex as the orgasm she had craved for
so long washed over her, a long, drawn out sigh escaping her open mouth. It felt
so good, that for a moment she lost all awareness of the world around her. She
didn't hear the frantic footsteps as Seth burst into the room and flung back the
curtain, expecting the worst.
For a moment Susan was too shocked to respond, torn between wanting to continue
her self-stimulation and wishing the ground would open up and swallow her. Seth
reacted first, but surprisingly instead of being shocked by her actions, he
almost collapsed with relief.
"Oh shit," he panted, and started to laugh as he sat himself down on the floor.
"I should have thought..."
"Stop looking!" she squealed hysterically, getting tangled in the blankets as
she simultaneously tried to clean her hands and cover her nudity. Eventually she
just covered herself with the blanket and moaned shamefully, pressing her face
into the pillow.
"I'm sorry," Seth chuckled. "I thought you were dying or something... your
heart-rate went crazy! Here, let me take the monitor off..."
"Go away!" Susan cried, gripping the blanket tightly as he moved towards her.
"Don't be silly," he laughed, easily tearing the blanket from her fingers and
pulling it away. Susan moaned in humiliation, curling up tighter as she tried to
hide her breasts underneath her body. She stiffened as his fingers touched her
back, and with a click the straps of the monitor came free.
"There, you're still alive," he told her in amusement, gently coaxing her to
raise each arm so he could pull the straps up over her head.
Once she was free of the monitor Susan covered herself with the blanket again,
her long red hair on the pillow the only part of her visible.
"Come on now," Seth said, pulling gently on one edge. "You're a beautiful girl,
and you're not the first one I've seen enjoying the touch of her own fingers."
Susan whimpered softly, pulling the blanket tighter around her.
"Look, it's okay what you did. I've seen how things can get when you're away
from your Dominant for a while, and it's nothing to be embarrassed about."
When she didn't move, he prodded her sharply in the spine, causing her to yelp.
"I'm not going anywhere until you come out from underneath the blanket," he told
her firmly.
"Can't I get dressed first?" Susan asked dejectedly, letting the blanket move
back to expose her red face.
"You probably don't remember me putting you to sleep in the first place," he
told her gently. "I've seen most of you already."
"That's different!" she protested, her cheeks heating even more.
"Come on, I want to see the little minx that has my daughter so worried!"
Susan's face lit up at the mention of Julie.
"Is she okay?" Susan asked anxiously, looking to his face for confirmation.
"She's fine," Seth said reassuringly. "You can see her in a few hours, once you
have some food and get cleaned up!"
Feeling giddy with joy, Susan reluctantly relaxed her hold on the blanket and
sat up, her arms crossed over her chest.
"You remind me of Kelly," he said, his voice taking on a distant tone. "She was
always so shy and yet so naughty."
Susan blushed furiously even as she felt a touch of sadness for him, remembering
the video she had seen of Kelly. Slowly she lowered her arms and stared at the
floor, trying to ignore his gaze.
"I found some clothes for you," he said approvingly, standing up and turning
away.
Remaining in her sitting position, Susan watched him pick up the mess of clothes
he had flung in the general direction of the table during his hasty entry. She
felt the heat return to her cheeks as she realised there was no underwear, but
she accepted the offered clothes with a soft "Thanks".
She was grateful that he didn't watch as she dressed in the unfamiliar clothes.
The pants were slightly tight, and the shirt too loose, but she managed, pulling
on the loose shoes he gave her.
"There's no food here," he told her when she stood up. He pulled back the right
arm on his long-sleeved shirt, exposing the device strapped around his forearm.
"What's...?" Susan began as he stabbed it with his other hand, trailing off as
the portal opened in mid-air before them.
"Hey, Julie does that!" she exclaimed, hurrying over to look around the hole in
the air.
"Be careful, that pretty silver will shred your fingers if you touch it," he
warned. Worry briefly crossed her face as she peered at it, but she clasped her
hands tightly behind her back.
The silvery edges were neatly rounded, their surfaces shimmering slightly in the
light. The open end showed a totally different scene to the room she was in, and
the opposite side of the disc-like portal was the same, featureless silver.
Seth's warning was exaggerated, as the portal traversed a short distance so
touching it would only feel like a mild electric shock. It was the longer ones
that were more dangerous, but he thought it best that she didn't try at all.
"Happy?" he asked as he stepped through to the other side, smiling at her
curiosity.
"Mm!" she hummed in reply, looking amazed as she put one foot through and
stopped half-way. Her only previous experience with a portal had been a quick
glance before tumbling through with Julie.
"Best not to do that," he suggested gently, trying hard not to laugh as she
hurriedly hopped through. "Julie wouldn't forgive me if you got cut in half."
"In half?!" she breathed, her eyes wide with newfound fear.
"Come on," he chuckled, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Let's get you some
food."
The other side of the portal seemed like it was carved out of rock, roughly
circular tunnels snaking off either side of where they entered. Regularly placed
lamps along the ceiling cast pools of light on the steel mesh floor, cables and
pipes visible underneath.
"This way," Seth said, and started off down one of the tunnels. Susan followed
close behind, only half paying attention as she took in the cave-like
construction. She wondered if she was underground, but before she could ask him,
the smell of fresh bread reached her nose.
She purred happily, suddenly realising how hungry she was. Seth showed her the
small canteen through a side-passage, where the smiling cook proceeded to bring
food out as fast at the 16-year-old could eat it.
Seth refused to answer any of her questions about where she was, evading them
with enigmatic smiles or gestures for her to continue eating. She frowned at him
each time, but she felt reluctant to press him.
"Time to send you home," he announced once she had eaten all she could. Her face
lit up with excitement, and she almost leapt from her chair to embrace him.
"Thank you!" she said genuinely.
"My pleasure," he assured her, pulling back his sleeve again.
Susan looked closely at it as he did, noting the strange symbols on the inset
keys that covered its dark brown surface. They glowed softly as he pressed
several in deliberate succession, and then with a soft snap the portal slid open
beside them, making her jump.
"Can it open through things?" she asked, imagining the portal appearing in the
middle of the table, or worse.
Seth shook his head, smiling.
"Don't you worry your pretty head about that," he told her. "Go and give Julie a
hug for me."
Her face shone with happiness over the blush in her cheeks.
"I will!" she exclaimed, stepping through the portal onto the soft carpet of
Simeon's bedroom that lay beyond.
She turned around to say goodbye, but there was only the wall.
--
Thanks to the greatest editor I could ask for, slavelucy
--
