Captive Travelers

by Candace Smith

  Tocho sat across from them, and Aubrey caught the connection that he and Nashoba were good friends. He seemed to study her more than the others, and Aubrey came to the uncomfortable conclusion that Tocho was making sure she had nothing to do with Kayla.

  The fire died down and Aubrey wanted to stoke it, to throw another branch on the embers so she would not be left in darkness with Nashoba. The chatter of the harsh clipped words when they spoke kept her mind frozen and unable to think beyond terrifying thoughts of what the savages had planned for them. When the two Indians left for Cici and others curled away from the fire to sleep, Aubrey kept remembering the gruesome sight of Clara’s pierced nipple.

  Kayla began to whimper when her wrists were tied to her ankles, bowing her backwards. Ahiga and Tocho pulled her out of Aubrey’s sight. Aubrey wanted to stop them, but she felt Nashoba’s hand on her shoulder when she stiffened to rise. “No, Wacasa,” his deep voice ordered. He tied Aubrey’s wrists behind her, but he left her ankles free.

  He rose to his feet and pulled her up. Aubrey trembled when he led her away from the fire. Nashoba removed the noose and lay down on a patch of grass. He looked up at the frightened woman. Her green eyes were wide and brimming tears, and her top teeth scraped softly on her full bottom lip. His eyes traveled lower, across her pale breasts glowing in the moonlight and tipped by rose-colored nipples that had tightened… either through her fear or the slight chill. Her body tapered in at the waist and blossomed out to comfortable hips. Golden curls barely hid the small lips of her sex. Nashoba’s shaft throbbed, aching to be inside her. It would have to wait until her preparation. “Wacasa.” He patted the ground beside him, and watched her nervously drop to her knees.

  Aubrey quivered and cried silently. His warm hand gripped her arm and pulled her down until she was lying beside him. She felt the lean strength of his body pressed up against her. His fingers never moved to caress her, though one strong arm pulled her tightly against his chest. It was many hours before her eyes closed, and her nostrils flared when she inhaled his masculine scent as she slept. She turned and moved against his warm body when the chilled dawn approached.

  In the morning, Kayla was relieved to finally have her gag removed. Every fiber of her being wanted to shriek at the Indians, but she forced herself to keep quiet. It was torment enough to walk with the noose around her neck, and the gag stifled her breathing further. The women were fed jerky and plenty of water before the Indians mounted their horses and led them west.

  They marched the same as they had done the previous day, with the two girls spaced three horses apart so they could not speak. Ahiga and Nashoba would occasionally stop their horses and offer their captives a warm drink of water from the flasks they kept tied to their hips.

  Kayla watched Aubrey trudging behind Nashoba’s horse. Cici must have left with two missing Indians, and Kayla did not know what that meant. It seemed the leader had chosen Aubrey. As for herself, it seemed they all despised her. Kayla had never experienced such a venomous response to her presence. Her exotic beauty and welcoming smile had no affect on these men… especially the man leading her, who glared into her eyes when he was forced to offer her water.

  If not for the viciousness in his expression, he would be devilishly handsome. He was not as tall as the leader, but his body was honed to perfection. His belly and abs were tight, and around one muscled bicep he wore a black band with leather fringe and beads. Kayla noticed that when the other Indians laughed and joked, Ahiga’s expression never changed from stoic cruelty.

  Kayla could not understand why Hehewuti had done this to her, and to involve her friends was unimaginable. The old woman had admitted that she knew of her grandson’s failings, and she was well aware he had stolen from her.

  Kayla thought hard, trying to figure out why this happened. The first time Kayla had met Hehewuti, the Indian seemed genuinely pleased. She was proud that Bobby had found a smart, pretty girl, and the old woman had bragged about Kayla to her tribal friends.

  When they broke up, Bobby had been pissed off, but he seemed to accept it was over. Kayla remembered Bobby saying that his grandmother would be upset. At the time, she thought it was a strange thing for him to say. Now, Kayla wondered if Hehewuti was more upset about how she would look to others when the breakup happened.

  Maybe it was not so much about her grandson, but there would be no way to get these people to listen. Hehewuti had been so nice the day they met, and it hurt Kayla to admit that Aubrey was right and it had all been planned to destroy her and her friends.

  “Wacasa,” Nashoba called down from his horse. Aubrey’s tired eyes looked up at him, and she saw that he was pointing out to the prairie. She turned her head in the direction and saw a huge herd of buffalo grazing in the bright green grass of a meadow that seemed to stretch to the mountains in the distance. “I have heard what has become of the buffalo in your world. Here, they thrive when only a few are taken for their meat.”

  It was another dig at what the white man destroyed. The Indian had made several such comments, but Aubrey was too tired to let them affect her. She stared silently, and watched the brown furry babies playing in the grass.

  The group stopped at sunset, and the Indians enjoyed more of their devious, arousing tortures. While the savages led Kayla to pinnacles of passion, Nashoba brought Aubrey to the crest only to desert her body with his hands when she began demanding release. Aubrey was confused and frightened, though the Indian seemed to merely enjoy teasing her.

  The fire died to orange embers and Nashoba led Aubrey to a private space. Even with the edge of unfulfilled passion, she managed to drift to sleep much faster. The constant fear from the capture had dulled and she was exhausted from traveling.

  The next day, just before noon, they walked over a hill. A green plain was spread before them, with the stream running along one side. If not for the surreal reality of the circumstances, the scenery was breathtaking. Snowcapped mountains rose into the clear blue sky in the background, with miles of undisturbed prairie speckled with colorful flowers that swept down to the water. Across the stream, there was a large settlement with teepees and frames of stretched hides. Children and women were down by the water, splashing and doing chores. One of the children noticed them first, and he shouted and pointed for the others.

  Chapter IV

  Kayla could have died. She let go of the noose and lifted her hands to cover her body, until Tocho threatened to tie her hands behind her again. The girls were led to the cold water and ordered to wash, just as Cici emerged over the hill. The woman and children erupted with excitement when they saw her.

  Kayla and Aubrey had already figured out that Cici was being treated differently, though they had no idea why. Cici still had her ankles tied together, and she shuffled towards Aubrey and Kayla. She looked shocked, and her eyes were dazed. “They’ve drugged her,” Kayla whispered.

  “At night.” Cici’s sluggish response surprised them. “They put it in my food. I don’t think they touch me, though. It doesn’t feel like they do.”

  “Oh, god. How are we going to get out of here?” Aubrey cried softly. She had her arms wrapped around herself, and her bottom faced the gathering crowd across the water.

  “Wacasa,” Nashoba boomed. She turned to look at him and he pointed further upstream, where his horse stood at the water’s edge.

  Aubrey put one foot in the frozen stream. Before she could force another step, the big warrior was behind her. Aubrey cringed and gasped in terror. She was afraid he would hit her, and she had no idea what she was doing wrong. His arm wrapped under her breasts again and he pulled her out of the water.

  He leaned down and his long hair fell over her shoulder, reaching almost to her waist. He whispered in her ear, “You will wash yourself away from the raven.”

  Despite his words, when Aubrey felt his cock twitch against her bottom she felt an unintentional sexual response to having the strong man hold her so close. She froze for a second, and then she began to s
hake. “Oh, god. No, please.” At least if she stayed beside Kayla and Cici they could attempt to cover each other. Aubrey did not want to stand off to the side by herself, exposed and where she was sure to be noticed. “Please don’t make me do this.” Men from the tribe had joined the women and children on the other side of the stream.

  Nashoba slipped his hands under her chest and he held her breasts. Aubrey gasped when he cupped her firm mounds and his thumbs brushed over her nipples. He turned her to face the tribe gathered across the stream. She tried to squirm away from him, and he pinched her nipples tightly until she stilled. Nashoba felt the eyes of the tribe on him, and he reveled in the powerful control he held over the golden beauty.

  Watching her tremble in his arms, he continued to hold her breasts while she stood naked in front of his people. Aubrey tried to cover herself with her hands. Nashoba chuckled low in her ear, and as soon as he released her, she dashed to the water and knelt down so that the freezing current covered her.

  Cici was wailing on the bank while the two Indians that had been escorting her coaxed her to the water. Cheers were still erupting on the other side of the stream at the sight of Waka, while the savages led her into the stream. Soquila stood straight and proud as he kept up the steady tapping on her rump with the quirt.

  Kayla stood dumbfounded on the bank. She watched Cici and Aubrey, and then she heard the catcalls and noticed the expressions of the Indians across the stream. She searched for a friendly face. Once more, she was singled out with lecherous and hateful stares. Several of the Indians were cupping their groins and trilling frightening cries.

  Tocho grabbed the back of her noose and dragged her to the stream. He continued pulling the leash while she sobbed and pleaded, until, laying a hand across her shoulder bladesm he shoved her into the water. Kayla tripped and submerged under the current. She came up choking and sputtering out the cold water while the tribe laughed at her. “They’re going to kill me,” Kayla cried. Her teeth chattered from terror and the cold.

  Aubrey stared at the water, trying to ignore the Indians lined up on the other bank. She used sand from the bottom of the stream to scrub off the trail dirt. Her shaking fingers untied her braid and she swished her hair in the stream to rinse it. She dunked one time, scrubbing her scalp and face, and then she knelt in the frigid water with her arms crossed over her chest. Her thoughts seemed to be frozen as well, and she could think of no way to escape.

  “Wacasa.”

  Aubrey automatically turned and looked up towards the commanding voice. For three days, this is what the had Indian called her, and Aubrey realized that her white man name was left at the farm, along with her tattered dress.

  Nashoba had mounted his horse again. He held out his hand, and Aubrey knew that he was waiting for her to hand him the tether that was floating in the stream. His horse walked beside her and stopped. “Please, oh god, please don’t make me do this.” Her teeth were chattering as she pleaded from her kneeling position in the water. From the corner of her eye, she saw that Cici’s escort was all ready batting at her with the short whip and forcing her to cross the stream. His friend rode behind them, leading his horse.

  Nashoba’s eyes were changing, and a seething anger was building beneath the fierce stare. Aubrey rose on shaking legs and she held the end of the leash out to him. There would be no escape, and after witnessing what had been done to Clara and Henry, Aubrey knew the Indian’s punishment could be swift and cruel.

  She managed to stay close beside the horse and trudge through the water beside Nashoba, with an arm covering her breasts and a hand in front of her pussy. Aubrey was relieved that he did not order her to lower her hands, and they kept her slightly protected from the eyes of the tribe. Kayla was screaming again from behind her, but Aubrey was too petrified with her own humiliation and did not turn to look at her.

  Ahiga warned the warriors who splashed into the water that they were not allowed to touch the raven until the shaman had cleansed her. Kayla was terrified when the Indians rushed towards her, and she remained crouched in the water, clutching the fringe of Ahiga’s breeches in her bound hands. His fist wound into her hair and he dragged her to a stand. He did not want the tribe to think that he had weakened to her seductions.

  They trailed behind Nashoba and Wacasa, who were walking slowly behind Waka and her escorts. The chief sat beside the old shaman in front of the spirit teepee, and they discussed the approaching offerings in quiet tones.

  Cici stood before the two older men, quivering so violently from the chilled water and terror that Soquila had to hold her up. The shaman stood with a small pot in his hand, filled with aromatic oil. Cici whimpered when his bony hand reached out and covered each massive breast and nipple with the salve. When he reached between her legs, she tried to step back. “Easy, Waka,” Soquila murmured, rapping lightly on her heavy thigh with the quirt. She looked up at him in tearful confusion. “Easy, Waka.”

  The chief looked into the warrior’s eyes, and he nodded. He had been watching the procession, and he could see that Horse had managed to gain some ground calming the big woman. Soquila was an excellent trainer, even at his young age. He had no woman to distract him, so it would be a good match to have him tame the beast and keep her calm and productive for the tribe. “Take her to the pen, Soquila. Awi and Tala are preparing for her.”

  “Thank you for this honor, Chief Paytah.” Soquila was pleased that it had not even taken words from Nashoba for his chief to recognize his commitment. When he turned, he saw his father standing tall, with pride shining in his eyes at his son’s accomplishment. He led Waka towards the pens with his persistently rapping leather switch.

  Cici’s mind was still a confused haze of drugged euphoria. She was becoming familiar with the name they called her, though she had no idea what it meant. The children were chanting it in a happy singsong way while she passed by them, and everyone smiled at her.

  What had become a constant guide for her was the Indian and his soft taps. The long walk had been at a slow pace that she could handle. He had not hurt her, nor had he allowed anyone else to touch her. He made sure she had food to eat, and they stopped frequently so that she could rest and drink water. Cici could only grasp the thought that he meant a measure of safety for her.

  Nashoba dismounted, and he led Aubrey forward. “I have named her Wacasa,” he informed the leaders. He stood tall with the white woman in front of him, his hands resting on her shoulders. There was a passion in his eyes that his father had never seen before.

  The shaman approached her, and Aubrey backed into Nashoba’s broad chest. The old man looked into her eyes and ran fingers through her drying hair. “She has hair of wheat and sun, and eyes of the prairie. It is a good name, Nashoba. Wacasa will bring much luck with the crops for us, and food for the animals we hunt.”

  Nashoba waited for his father’s nod of approval, and then he led Wacasa towards his teepee where the women waited to prepare her. Aubrey balked when he reached around to lift the flap. “If you humiliate me, you will be punished,” he threatened in a low voice only she could hear. Aubrey sobbed once and walked into the tent.

  Kayla was dragged forward by Ahiga, with Tocho standing behind them. “The raven,” Tocho spat.

  “Oh god, please. I didn’t mean to disrespect Bobby. Hehewuti said she understood why we had to break up.” Kayla searched the shaman and chief’s faces, and was met by cold glares.

  The shaman looked into her eyes, and her voice stuck in her throat. “The spirit guides would not have led you here, if you were not meant to join us. For them to take two of your friends to appease their needs is testament to my words.”

  Kayla sobbed and her knees gave way. Ahiga stood behind her, gripping her arms to hold her up.

  “She has tried to use her seductive words and tears with us,” Tocho confirmed.

  The shaman’s eyes narrowed, and he scanned the tribe. They believed the true evil she possessed. “Bring her to the poles,” he ordered. He bent to pick
up a pouch, and then he followed the procession. There were many onlookers jeering while Ahiga stood behind Kayla and pushed her to the two aspen branches that had been sunk deep into the ground. Twelve feet of speckled white bark-covered wood was decorated with raven feathers and stretching to the sky.

  The shaman already had small pots of sage, scrub brush, and cow chips, waiting to be lit by the base of the poles. Ahiga and Tocho stretched Kayla’s arms over her head and secured her wrist cuffs to the branches. Her ankles were pulled apart and secured, leaving her dangling with only the tips of her toes touching the ground. Smoke from the pots wafted up towards the sky to carry her impurities to the spirits.

  Oh no. Please… Kayla sobbed unintelligible pleading words to the crowd of Indians while her arms were jerked over her head and tied. For a moment, her weight was on her wrists, digging the rawhide into the skin while she kicked out, until her legs were spread and her ankle cuffs secured to the rough tree limbs. She felt Ahiga’s fingers brush along her shin, and she stared at him through pleading, tearing blue eyes. He kept the same cruel look on his face, but he loosened the cuff when Tocho stood up.

  The two Indians stood on either side of her while the shaman approached, and Kayla looked through the crowd, frantically searching for rescue. There were no sympathetic eyes looking back at her. On the contrary, several of the men and women had a look of aroused anticipation on their faces. Her arms were already aching and she pulled at the cuffs digging into her wrists. She was terrified that they meant to kill her, and her mind kept seeing text in her books of nature religions that practiced sacrifice.

  The shaman handed Ahiga a piece of leather that had been braided into a circle. It had been wrapped with more strips to make a sturdy ring. Tocho gripped the raven’s jaw, pinching her cheeks until her mouth was forced open.