by Iaz Grant
“At times,” Joel continued, “he would make me touch him. To teach me a lesson, he said. I did learn; I never spoke to him again unless he gave me the permission to. I never so much as looked him in the eye. That was the only way to stop the abuse.”
Both Helena and Joel were quiet for a while, and the tension in the room was so palpable it could be cut through with a knife. Helena wondered why Joel had shared that information with her.She turned to leave, and just as she was about to turn the doorknob, Helena asked: “What happened to your mother?”
“What do you think?” she asked, anguish in her voice as she gave a dismissive shrug of her shoulder and left.
Immediately the door clicked shut behind Joel; Helena sank to the floor faintly. She felt as if someone was draining her blood like she could hear a trickling sound wasting her life’s source. She clutched her chest as a burning sensation settled there. She felt pain, pain for Joel, pain for herself, pain so physical it felt like someone was carrying out a surgical operation on her without anesthesia.
How could a person be so evil? She thought. Up until that point, she had held herself together with a thin thread of hope. Hope that she would escape somehow from the claws of the beast. Hope that the gods were not dead. Without meaning to, Joel had shredded that hope to bits with her story. The gods were dead and useless, the beast had won, and she felt whatever strength she had ebbed out of her.
She remembered the blowjob the beast made her give him as a means of punishing her for talking back to him. He had made her tell him when her period was going to end, which had been that day. She felt her inside turn cold, as the cold hands of fear got a grip on her heart and twisted.
Checkmate, she thought. The end was here. Her little stint with luck was over, and her life was about to take an even greater turn for the worse.
“What do you think?” Joel’s last word permeated through her almost subconscious mind. Did the beast kill her mother when he was done with her? Or had she been destroyed by all he made her do in full view of her daughter? Helena wanted answers very badly and at the same time, she didn’t want to know. She didn’t even want to think again.
So, she crawled into bed and curled up as if to protect herself from the world and all the forces working against her.She remained like that until she heard a light tap on the door, and he came in. The same man who came for her first night here.
“Ma’am, you are being summoned.” he said to her.
Helena could have sworn that her heart stopped beating for a while when he uttered those words. The end was here; it was time. Helena burst into tears unashamedly, for crying in front of a strange man had nothing on the embarrassment and degradation she would encounter at the hand of the beast.
Whether or not he heard her sob, he gave no indication and continued smoothly, “Cora will be here soon with the supplies you will need. Please be ready in one hour, Master Chubbob doesn’t like to be kept waiting. I will be back for you.”
With one final look that might have held pity, he left her alone. Left her mourning all she had lost, and more importantly, all she was about to lose.
Her mind drifted toZebb. She had been carrying a torch for him for as long as she could remember. She hadn’t been able to muster the courage to tell him because she feared he didn’t see her in that light and would reject her. She couldn’t bear the thought of Zebb’s rejection, so she had kept her feelings locked in her heart, figuring that being just friends with him was a lot better than not being in his life at all. But in the innermost part of her heart, she had always thought that when it was time to give herself to a man, it would be Zebb.
Now, is this what was to become of her?
Chapter Six
“You should get some rest captain, let me continue from here.”
Joyce said to Zebb in her characteristic no-nonsense fashion. He was about to reject her offer when he heard Karliah say in a tone that left no room for argument,“Don’t even think about it Zebb. Let the pilot do her job and you get some rest and something to eat.”
Sighing, he relinquished the controls. “When you put it that way, it does seem like I have no choice in the matter.”
“That is because you don’t,” Karliah confirmed.
On Zebb’s exit, Joyce assumed her position and shortly after, Sordara entered the control room, joining her and Karliah.
Sordara and Karliah had built something akin to a friendship during their stay together on the ship. Theirs was a friendship that stemmed from the mutual admiration of the others strength. At first, Karliah had disliked Sordara, because she didn’t like the “competition” but mostly because she had thought her weak and spineless. She knew better now, that weak and timid were not words that could be used in the same sentence with Sordara. And that earned her respect in anyone.
“Any progress?” Sordaradirected her question at both of them, but it was Karliah who answered.
“It would seem as if we are drawing closer to Istor.” As if it was an afterthought, she added flippantly, “Do you by chance know how to use a gun, or any skills that could come handy in battle?”
Sordararaised one elegant eyebrow and told her, “I have diverse skills, as you will come to know. I promised that I would do anything to help you find Helena, and I meant that.”
“Okay then.” And then she added, “You should come with me to the weapons room, Tyler has some new toys for us to play with.”
Sordara patted Joyce on the shoulder and followed Karliah in the general direction of the weapons room. The room lived up to its name in Sordara’s eyes. There was floor to roof shelves bolted to the ground covering the four walls of the room. Each shelf held an assortment of weapons. Some she was familiar with and others she could make no sense of. All she could manage was, “Well, I don’t believe I’ve seen so many weapons in one place before.”
“So many weapons, so few soldiers,” Tyler commented dryly. He was bent over a couple of devices on a table at the far end of the room, one of which was twitching seriously. Whether or not that was a good sign, Sordara didn’t know.But she supposed it was normal since Tyler gave no indication the twitching bothered him, neither did Karliah for that matter.
“Come over here.”Tyler waved them over. “I’ve been working on this for a while now,” he said, referring to the twitching device as Sordara had taken to call it in her head. “But before I show you what it does, meet the other babies.” He waved his hands in a flourish toward the shelves. It was obvious he took delight in this; his blue eyes had a twinkle in them.
Carrying a weapon Sordara was familiar with, he gestured, “I guess you’ve seen a gun before, do you know how to shoot one?” he asked her and she gave an affirmative nod of her head.
“Good,” he said and threw the gun at her. She caught it deftly and wielded it with an expertise that earned her looks of surprised admiration from the two other occupants of the room.At the end of the tour, she added a vaporizer, a boomerang, and a Swiss Army knife that had about 10 functions to her little arsenal.
“Now this,” Tyler started, holding up twitch “is a transmitter. You stick it in your ear so we can all be in communication at all times. I’ve also placed a tracking device on it, just in case…” His voice trailed off, but it was no use stating the obvious. They all knew there was a possibility they might not make it back alive.
He gave one to Sordara and showed her where she could get the appropriate uniform to hold all her weapons conveniently.
Zebb had called a meeting to address his team as they approached the rendezvous point. When they were all assembled, he could see they were all in full battle gear, including the Brakoni woman. He was grateful to this person who decided to risk their life to save the life of the girl he loved. Such loyalty was rare and in it, he felt a flower of hope open up in his chest that maybe, just maybe they would all live to see the end of this. It was from that place of thanksgiving and hope he drew the strength to say what needed to be said.
Clearing his throa
t a little, he began solemnly. “I salute you all for the courage you have shown since the beginning of this mission, a mission some tagged a suicide mission. I can’t blame them. At the onset, it did look like it, but that wasn’t enough to deter you.You trusted me enough to follow me, a debt I will never be able to pay.I can’t make any promises; I can’t guarantee that you’ll all come back alive, that I will come back alive. But what I can say and want you to know is, I’m honored to have the lot of you fighting by my side. I couldn’t have asked for a better team.”
At that, he gave them the bow. The one in the military that said: “If I die fighting alongside you, then I have died a good death.” Tyler, Karliah, and Joyce understood, and they returned it.
To Sordara, he said “I salute your courage. I know only a handful of people that possess such courage and I’m honored to have you here.”
The room went silent, and it felt like forever while they all struggled to contain their emotions.
“Captain, we are here.” That was Joyce.
He nodded his head. He had the battle to prepare for.
Chapter Seven
Lieutenant Dave’s ship landed right next to the Juliet Seven.
His ship was no doubt impressive, as were all the ships on station 582, but placed side by side with the Juliet Seven; it looked like child’s play. The Juliet Seven was a vessel admired by all and in fact, some people referred to it as the ‘flying beauty’. He snapped out of his reverie when Captain Zebb came out of her, fully garbed in battle regalia.
“Thank you for joining us, Lieutenant.” He noticed that others were exiting the vessel as well, two women and a young man. He raised his hands in a salute as a show of respect.
“It is an honor to fight by your side sir, to defeat one of the tyrants on this galaxy.” And to avenge Jamal’s death, he thought to himself.
The two teams converged on the monitor room of the Juliet Seven. Collectively, they were 30 men and women. Zebb directed Tyler to break down the prepared operational plans. He had made it clear to him earlier that no mention of the sex tapes be made and also ordered that all the security cameras in the living chambers be disconnected from them. He couldn’t bear to see Helena like that, but more importantly, he couldn’t bear the thought of others seeing her like that. He would preserve every bit of her pride that he could. She deserved that much.
Tyler addressed the group, looking every bit in charge of himself and in control.
“We have reasons to believe Chubbob has about 10 fighters on the ground. That is not to say he doesn’t have more, but in his abode, he has about ten. He wouldn’t be expecting an attack and therein is our advantage. The goal is to retrieve the hostage. We in, we out.”
“Yeah, if everything goes as planned,” this, from one of the men on Dave’s team. He continued by saying, “I’ve come to realize that with people like Chubbob, it is hardly ever a walk in the park.”
That statement was like cold water on previously burning spirits. Surprisingly, it was Sordara who responded, looking at the man with thinly veiled disgust.
“Way to go, Officer, what a nice way to encourage the team.”
She then turned to look every single one of them in the eye,“If it doesn’t turn out as planned, then we fight. We fight for our honor and to avenge the ones we lost. We fight for our freedom, freedom against oppressors such as Chubbob, who make us lose our hope in humanity. We fight with the last drop of our blood because if we don’t live for something, we will die for nothing.”
By now, she already had tears in her eyes. Not the tears of someone who was weak, but of one who believed very strongly in her cause and would do anything to preserve it. And that belief was felt very strongly by every being in that room.
*****
Chubbob was waiting, very impatiently for Helena’s arrival. She was the single remaining piece in the puzzle before it was complete and then it would be time to play. Where is the bitch?
He was aware from his informant that her rescuers were well on their way and would likely reach Istor by nightfall. He wanted to have her before then. To him, it was meant nothing save another woman conquered. The name 'Chubbob the Conqueror' wasn't just given to him, he earned it.
Eventually, his manservant ushered her in and left them alone. He eyed her lustfully, taking in the attire he had had Cora prepare for her. It did become her, she looked perfect.
“Turn around, slowly,” he commanded. Yes, excellent, he thought as she obeyed. He liked what he saw.
He watched her take in the artfully arranged room. He basked in the look of horror that darkened her lovely features when she saw the whips. Her fear made him very excited. Oh yeah, this would be fun.
The moment Cora gave her the tong bra and pant as her outfit for the night, she knew she was in for some major shitstorm. But not even the outfit prepared her for the picture before her now. She took in the women, the pole, the video recorder and finally, the whips. Oh shit!
“Helena, how kind of you to finally join us.” He drawled lazily from his reclining position.
No smartass comments formed in her head. It felt like her upper, and lower lips were glued together.
He made his way towards her and in one swift, practiced motion, her tong bra was gone. Out of reflex, Helena raised her hands to cover her exposed chest. He apparently did not appreciate that because he snarled at her and removed her hands forcefully, grabbing both breasts in a painful grip.
“You do not want to do that?” he said, his hot breath fanning her face. He squeezed hard on a breast, sighing contentedly. “I have waited a long time for this day, my precious,” he managed between every squeeze.
Helena wanted to cry as he was physically hurting her, but she would rather die than give him the satisfaction of seeing her tears. If she was going down, she intended to go down strong.
He shoved her roughly towards the pole, and with one flick of his wrist, one of the girls came to join her.
“Play with each other; I want to watch the both of you.” And with that, he sat back and lounged, as if preparing for a show. He was getting incredibly aroused himself.
Chapter Eight
Helena was caught in a whirlwind of emotions. Shame for one, she didn’t like the fact that she had to do these things with the girl while another man watched. It took her back to Polentia. Powerlessness and despair weighed down on her because no matter how much she detested it, she could do nothing. Nothing to save herself, nor the girls who were also victims of circumstances.
“Come here Helena.”
She already knew not to cross the beast. It never bode well for her and she thought maybe if she complied, things here and now could be borne. She walked towards him slowly, trying to brace herself for his next action, whatever it might be.
He ripped off what was left of her clothing, and she stood gloriously naked before him. She looked everywhere but at his despicable face. He put one of his clawed fingers in between her thighs, and she drew back slightly at the shock of him. So, this is how it ends. Helena thought to herself.
She hated the beast and she hated what he was doing to her. She hated the feel of his hand on her body, in her body. She hated it all with every fiber of her being. But, there was a sensation it sparked in her, a sensation she didn’t altogether hate. She felt woeful at this realization. What am I? Am I just a slut after all? A good for nothing person who couldn’t even manage to be utterly repelled. Maybe there really was something wrong with her.
“Be good, and maybe I won’t have to use the whip or any other torture toy on you.”He said it with a reconciliatory tone like he really meant to do her a good deed, but it just felt like he was rubbing salt into her wound.
He rose to his full height and undressed quickly, like a man who couldn’t wait to be free from all encumbrances and get down to business.He gave Helena a full frontal view of his very long and very erect male member, and said in a very voice thickened by lust, “If you liked the feel of this in your mouth, you would l
ike it even better buried inside you.”
