“Come on, slave, we have to get you ready,” announced the Mistress.
Keeping in a willing crouch Kirsten was returned to the room where her armor awaited. Once more she was fitted with the chitinous sections and the smothering hood with its ever-watchful electronic spies and communication devices. The leash was clipped to the wall and the Mistress stroked the smooth, studded orb of Kirsten’s hood.
“I will be back shortly. Take this opportunity to rest a little, my pet,” she said, and deserted Kirsten to temporary loneliness.
No sooner had the door closed than Kirsten curled into a fetal ball and was falling into a deep-contented slumber, her body grateful to take the chance to just shut down.
Chapter Seventeen
Maria’s fear that she would be left for hours in this ordeal as the Mistress attended the hunt of more mutants with her groomed pet rode over the knowledge that the band of mutant renegades could well be her lost compatriots Her own selfish wants and immediate concerns were destroying her attachment to them, the resentment at their continued freedom while she languished in this subterranean nightmare was growing steadily, fed by the program of abuse and the realignment of her thoughts. They had deserted her, so why shouldn’t she just accept her destiny and willingly embrace the care and ownership of the Mistress.
The worry as to the duration of her current trial was banished as the door opened and her tyrant closed in and began to remove the trappings of the undeserved punishment.
Slumping onto her knees, she cowered before the Mistress as the woman stepped before her, towering over the quailing form.
“Get up, slave,” she snapped, bringing Maria to activity but without the strength to obey. After a few ferocious and floundering attempts she finally regained her feet and teetered towards the dominatrix.
“Now follow me, slave. I have something to keep you occupied while I am away.”
The steady stomp of boots carried the Mistress away, causing Maria to mindlessly fall in behind and trail the officer as she was escorted into the corridor and to a door near the lift entrance.
The weighty portal shuffled aside with a smooth gliding power and locked itself aside to expose a slim corridor, the low ceiling forcing an entrant into stooping. Soft lights were set in the walls to bathe the passage in a dull crimson glow. The passage was not devoid of features, for other tunnels branched off as it flowed onwards.
“This little maze is set with numerous automated devices that will keep you active, slave,” she muttered with dreadful intent. “Now this will seem like I am just torturing you arbitrarily, slave, but it is for your own good.”
The woman lifted Maria’s chin with her gloved hand and regarded the girls exhausted features.
“If I don’t prepare you and get you strong quickly, others who do not care for you as I will could deem you defective and have you taken to the Sanctuary camps. I don’t want that to happen to you, so I may seem harsh and cruel, but everything you are going through has a reason. Do you understand, slave?” she said softly.
“Yes, Mistress,” answered Maria, offering a small smile as she accepted that her punishment had rationale behind it, her pain was to spare her fare worse.
Clapping a hand to the back of Maria’s neck, she bent her over and shoved her in. “In we go, slave.”
As Maria’s naked body dropped onto the interior floor she turned her gaze back as the doors started to slide shut.
“If you make it through this training ground, I will reward you when I get back, slave,” said the Mistress and the portal slammed shut with a booming tone that echoed through the low passages, leaving her trapped in the confined warren.
Shuffling around, her bare skin squeaking on the metal plates, Maria examined the door. It was heavy and sealed tight, amputating any lingering hope of freedom. She knew that she faced a return to the camps if she did not live up to the KGP’s expectation for her, and she desperately wanted to avoid that, but she still feared the process that would be her salvation.
There was a click and a barely audible hiss as a faint green haze began to seep from the walls before her. The gas began to gather density and the sudden blazing sting as it touched her throat and eyes made her shriek and retreat quickly into the maze, the caustic touch bringing her to coughing fits.
Maria swiftly tried to distance herself from the cloud, its mission fulfilled in having goaded her into moving forth into the twisting passages rather than staying and resting as she wished.
After outpacing the pungent cloud Maria slowed to a wary pace, her eyes scanning for sign of danger as she crept down the cramped passages, her heart pounding as she feared what hazards were poised within hidden compartments.
Chapter Eighteen
With surprising gentleness the Mistress brought Kirsten from her sleep with rocking motions and soothing words before taking up the lead and bringing her back into her servile crouch.
Fully prepared for the hunt and with a little more energy thanks to her nap and mutant powers of swift regeneration, Kirsten was escorted out of the deep complex and up to a subterranean motor pool. Two heavily armed jeeps and a light tank were placed around a small but densely armored truck-like transport with a satellite dish and radar antenna atop its solid back.
Saluting KGP opened the rear door and allowed the pair entry after the major returned the military salute with equal zeal.
Taken within, Kirsten found the interior bedecked with communications and monitoring equipment, scanning devices and an arsenal of tracking and surveillance tools, all manned by a small team of KGP.
The lack of webbing and arms on these men and women, plus their considerably more casual manner and token salute all suggested that this was their specialty, an arena of military service that kept them from the field and the physical demands of active service.
Closing the door and locking it, the Mistress clipped Kirsten’s leash to a ring in the wall and took an awaiting seat. Fastening her safety belt, she removed her cap and ran her fingers through her hair to lift it back into a carpet of spines before donning a headset. Via one of the radio systems she informed the convoy to get moving.
The engine shuddered into life and sent vibrations throughout the chassis before it lurched forward and began to ascend onto the streets without. The interior bore no windows, depriving Kirsten of a view and leaving her to sit quietly and await her release into the wilds. Dwelling on the joys of the hunt she ignored the many sly and curious glances the surveillance and tracking team cast her way. On occasion she pulled a little at her leash, reminding herself that it was there as she clenched her rear to the root, savoring her captivity.
Chapter Nineteen
Creeping forwards with apprehension, Maria kept her hands to the walls, watching the featureless panels with as much intensity as the vague light permitted.
Scintillating arcs of jagged serpentine force ran across the metal and licked at her outstretched limbs, weaving around and boring into the flesh, filling Maria with a blast of electrical mayhem. With a shriek she jerked back and struck the metal, only to find it similarly embellished with energy. Jerking upright, she scampered forward, her frame being savaged with every step until she had cleared the afflicted area.
With a sigh she dropped to the floor, her naked form landing with a slap, her skin slick with a fevered sweat that had her hair hanging in wet strands.
Wheezing, she pawed her way forward, crawling as her phased limbs stubbornly refused to answer any stronger calls while the aftermath of the shocks continued to haunt her nervous system.
There was a click on the very edge of her hearing and thin wires spat from the ceiling, the taut wires stretched across the walls and dropping across her bare body. The mighty drag of the plummeting net slammed her to the floor and then increased the ferocity of its bite. The strips dug in, her skin promising to split as the garroting cables dragged all the more sternly upon her. Cocooned and pinned down, she squealed and fought to break free. Then the sudden whir of activity fr
om behind her filled her with increased fright.
A twin pronged assault brushed her abdomen, the mechanical arms that bore the oversized battering ram phalluses locating her orifices and then cramming rudely forward. Dripping with lubricant they wrenched open the entrances and brought them to the verge of what they could accommodate, the massive rending wash of pain from their trespass making her yowl and fill the corridors with her echoing scream.
After having made their crude entry, the toys began to vibrate massively, the cranking mechanisms within the instruments churning her body, filling the already punished tissues with added riots of effulgent anger.
Raped by automatons, Maria squirmed in her bondage with futility, the wires digging in as she lay helpless before the mechanical molestation, her tears falling to the steel as she hollered in dismayed anguish and remained unable to do anything to affect her plight.
Chapter Twenty
The drive was short because the destination of the ambush was fairly close to the base. Radio chatter was the only sound to oppose the growl of the engine as the team absently monitored the audio traffic during the voyage and ran diagnostics to check that all was ready for the hunt.
The truck slowed to a halt and chugged calmly to itself, the engine left running as the area was secured. The sound of barked orders and charging boots through vegetation filtered into the mobile command unit as troops were deployed.
With the affirmation that all was well a touch to a console caused a hatch to open in the floor, the small portal just big enough for Kirsten to squeeze through. The motor stuttered to a halt and the Mistress removed herself from her seatbelt to unfasten Kirsten’s leash and indicate the covert exit.
“Find the mutants responsible for the attack,” she ordered, stroking the smooth surfaces of Kirsten’s hooded head and treating her to a secret smile replete with pride and fondness.
Kirsten’s soul seemed to light up with joy and fanatic devotion and without delay she flipped down through the hole and wove out from beneath the truck.
She paused at the edge, the harsh light of day extending beyond the shadows and dazzling her gloom-dependent eyes. Letting her sight adjust while she crouched in the shade she surveyed the scene upon the road.
Two mutilated remnants of trucks lay charred and surrounded by debris along with two twisted mounds of wreckage that had once been jeeps. The bodies and cargo had been cleared away and the obstructing husks forced to the roadside. Two squads of KGP had formed a cordon, the sentries keeping their aim trained into the lush woodland their fingers loitering on triggers.
With a sudden charge she ran for the tree line, throwing her mind to her skin and partially hiding herself from view, the chameleonic tissues finding the clarity of day a vexing opponent to battle.
Vaulting into the woods with a jubilant leap, Kirsten danced between trees and leapt over fallen trunks, sprinting wildly, relishing her freedom and the power of her own enhanced flesh as she began to scrutinize for tracks and other signs of recent passage.
Chapter Twenty-One
The assaulting rods withdrew with a pivoting turn, elevating Maria’s suffering and the pitch of her cries before allowing them to end.
The mechanisms returned into the ground and the wires flashed upward without warning, vanishing back into the ceiling and leaving her sprawled on the ground, a zebra stripe pattern of contusions running across her body.
A brief shock of voltage afflicted the floor, bringing her to full attention. Leaping up, Maria banged her head upon the low ceiling and skipped back, only to find that the electrified panels extended backwards and were seeking to drive her further into the maze.
Shrieking as her muscles twitched and her skin seemed to burn under the crackling arcs she dove out of the influence and began to commence a slow passage onwards, gingerly nursing her punished regions.
A distinct and threatening hum followed her as the panels she cleared were enthused with energy to deny her a retreat, forcing her to brave the new dangers that lay ahead. Seeing now that automated bondage and chastisement devices were the style of booby trap set by the Mistress, Maria made sure that she kept her senses more alert.
The violated pain in her orifices and the throb from the hug of the wires constantly reminded her that unless she succeeded in evading these traps, more suffering awaited her.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Shadows were stretching their somber blankets across the land, the trees throwing back long lines of shade as the sun sank for the horizon, slipping from the heavens and painting the late evening sky with a variety of glorious pinks and oranges.
Leaping up onto a felled tree, Kirsten crouched and listened to the faint music of the forest, the conversation of bird and insect conducted to a background melody of soft breezes upon rustling leaves and grasses.
Regulating her breath she let her hot muscles recover for a moment. Her extending spiral search pattern had been diverted as the enhanced sensors of the transport tried to narrow her search. Four times she had been sent in wrong directions, the erroneous readings forcing her to retreat and follow a new avenue. She could see now why the KGP required the more effective skills of mutant power to facilitate their hunts.
Treating herself to a deep breath of crisp early evening air she looked in the direction of their latest best guess, wondering if she would ever find her targets.
Kirsten stopped suddenly as through the lush greenery she spotted a hint of unnatural energy color, a flickering hue that vanished from sight as it moved out of her field of vision.
Staring intently at this spot she frowned and eased herself down from her perch. Seriously considering the possibility that she might have been detected she made her approach with extreme caution, her eyes panning across the forest, peering through the interlocked arms of foliage, seeking hint of human or mutant.
The same chaotic rainbow once more snatched her attention and she diverted from her current path to intercept the hints, treading carefully so as not to alert the source to her presence.
Drawing nearer she could hear a rash tread, the footfalls heavy, burdened, conducted with only a modicum of consideration for stealth. Her ears could make out around four sets of strides, moving in single file. Closing in swiftly she began to shadow the group from afar, her inhuman gaze following the aura between the leaves and negating the need to keep true visual contact.
Dropping back further for a moment she surveyed her surroundings and then whispered into her throat mic.
“Mistress, I have located a unit of mutants heading northwest. I am tailing them to their base,” she reported, intending to diligently pursue until she could deal with them all together. Not only did she not want mutant reinforcements turning up should she assail what might just be a returning scout or terrorist team, but she also wanted to impress her owner with her skills, to earn her Mistress the respect and admiration of her superiors that she so deserved. Taking the entire mutant force alone would prove just how flawlessly the Mistress had done her job.
“Well done slave, I have your coordinates and will start following at an extended distance. Leave no survivors when you find them,” ordered her owner.
“Understood, Mistress.”
Restoring her silence, Kirsten renewed her covert pursuit, eager to face the foe and please the Mistress, hoping to gain another session of carnal indulgence as a reward.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The passage broke off in either direction just ahead of her, offering Maria another choice of routes. Nearing the junction, Maria noticed a soft click from the wall she was currently moving towards and a section of panel dropped down to expose a small alcove. A short nozzle stabbed out and swiveled in her direction, the barrel fed by a fat metallic pipe.
There was a strained squirt and a brief spurt of thick gelatinous fluid shot down the passage and splashed across her face, the translucent ooze remaining firm and cutting off her air. Dropping back in panic she clawed at the viscous sludge, her fingers running across i
ts hardened outer layer, the instantly toughened fabric denying her any chance to get it off.
Her limbs knotted and kicked to the metal as she tried to pry off the infernal mask, the dismal corridor seeming to warp through her twisting suffocating sight. Her lungs hauled at the impermeable shell, fighting to get air through and failing, leaving her in spasmodic fits.
Darkness began to gather in the periphery of her flickering vision, the swell of void eating inward as her consciousness began to ebb like a retreating tide. The prospect of death terrified her completely. She had no faith to call upon and clinging to her miserable life was all she had, causing her to protect it with all her strength.
A cascade of fluid descended from above, the rain dissolving the veil and weakening it. Unable to wait until the chemical deluge ate through it, she sunk her fingers into the pane and ripped at it, tearing it open and gulping down great lungfuls of air before breaking into hacking coughs.
The same soft metallic click alerted her again and the barrel drew aim at her kneeling, crippled form. Appraised of its effects she watched carefully, struggling to throw off the detrimental effects of suffocation so as to prevent a repeat dose.
The nozzle spat its issue toward her and she sprang for the floor, dropping and letting the globule sail overhead and splat on the ground far behind her. The automated weapon tracked her evasion and fired again, targeting her as she lay on the ground.
With an unconscious telekinetic swat she threw a mental fist into it, deviating the viscous projectile from its trajectory and coating the wall beside her with a smear of hardening sludge.
Infuriated and only partially aware of her surroundings she retaliated without thought, sending out a bolt of force at the source of her pains. Her agonies and enforced tuition made the psionic response more violent than anything she had ever previously achieved.
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