The Maze (7 page)

She was, for once, indebted to the trainers who had subjected her to the endless days of grueling and often cruel physical exercise that would likely have killed a regular Free Citizen.  It allowed her to run nonstop, ignoring her pain, ignoring her fear.  She finally reached the entrance of the BioDome and slipped back inside.  By then, her feet were bleeding profusely and her chest ached painfully from breathing the caustic, unfiltered air. Keeria slowly stripped herself of her leather breeches and vest, peeled the sandals off her tortured feet and slipped slowly into the icy water of the stream, lying on her back and letting the water cover her. Now what?

* * *

Traisk woke, his eyes immediately darting to where his two captives remained.  They were still asleep, probably as exhausted as he was.  No, he doubted that.  They had woken twice during First Night with demands and whining that made him want to drown both in the large salt-water bath. He had ended up spanking both of them thoroughly before finally gagging them.  He returned to sleep; his dreams were filled with images of the other Trained One, Keeria.  He suspected that she was even more of a handful than these two, and even more demanding.  Still, he was set on taking her as his prize.  She had been so small, compared to these two, and her boldness was invigorating. Plus, her coloring was unique and would contrast nicely with his darker complexion.

He forced back an image of his throbbing cock diving deep inside her pale, pink pussy, his large hands holding her sweet, round bottom as he pumped her up and down on his shaft. Sweat broke out on his forehead and the cage around his groin started sending painful electric shocks to his testicles. His manhood immediately shrunk back.

“Sons of bitches,” he cursed at his own testicles, unable to relieve the pain in his crotch.  “You might condition my dick to avoid arousal at this point.  Hey, don’t forget who you’re working for!” he said to his stinging manhood.

“Does that hurt?” Lina asked, looking at his cage as he sat her on the outpot again.

“Not your concern.  Hurry up and piss, I have work to do.”

“You’re a grump this morning.  Too bad I can’t do anything to make it better for you,” Lina said sexily, eyeing him, the perfect picture of a contrite and docile woman.

He growled down at her. “You’ve already been spanked once for trying to seduce me.  Do you need a reminder?” he scolded, watching as she shook her head quickly. “You are not the one I’m after.  Tell me how she thinks.”

“That’s easy, Strong Man,” Suri piped up. “She’ll explore the Maze and try to find where the exit will be in case she needs to escape through it later if she can’t find you or can’t kill you.  Once she’s finished with that, she’s going to find you so she can try to kill you.  You are actually doing us a service by keeping us captive.  You’re making yourself easy to find and guaranteeing that Lina and I will be Free Ones after Keeria tears your throat from your neck.”

“Just remember what I told you,” he warned, eyeing her sternly as he cleaned Lina, who, once again, tried to wiggle seductively under his hand, giggling and moaning as she did so. She yelped as she received a fury of hard, well-aimed swats across her bare bottom. “Watch your manners and show some gratitude. My patience with you is growing short.”

“You don’t scare us,” Suri hissed.

Traisk raised his brow.  “Really? You must certainly be brave then.  Hell, I even scare me at times.” Not getting a response, he shrugged, plopping Lina on her stomach across the platform and tying her arms across the mattress after lodging a pillow beneath her hips. He then secured her ankles using the posts on either side of her.

“What did I do?” she asked, unable to squirm away.

“Your friend used the term ‘us’, so her punishment is also yours. Your turn, big mouth.  First, take a leak, then we’ll have some fun with Mr. Cinquedea Blade.”

“NOOO!” Suri yelled out, fighting him uselessly as he stripped off her shorts and left her bottom bare.

Lina looked fearful as her companion was tied opposite her on the bed, forcing them to face each other. “What the fuck did you do?” she hissed, seeing Suri’s panic.

“I learned about this after she stabbed me a few times, which I could easily forgive, but then the little brat decided to take a bite out of my leg,” Traisk answered, pulling Suri’s short sword out of the sheath and fingering the flat blade. “I never thought this would be so effective as a paddle, but I will certainly remember that it is.”

To Lina’s horror, he raised the blade high in the air and crashed it loudly against Suri’s still bruised backside.  Lina, expecting to see blood from the attack, was shocked when her companion simply groaned in pain and the blade came up unsullied. Traisk smacked her five more times with the blade’s hard, cold metal, reducing her to muffled sobs into the soft material beneath her body.

Lina pleaded and begged as he ventured to her side, promising to cooperate and do anything asked of her.  Without hearing her, Traisk smacked the side of the blade flat against her bottom.  A piercing scream escaped her lips.

* * *

Keeria heard a woman’s scream and began to run in the direction from which it came.  She followed the sound to a hole in a large slab of rock amid the trees of the BioDome, and she crawled through it.  She quickly found herself in a long, underground hallway.  She ran to the end of the hallway and turned a corner, Churros in her arms, and then started down the next passage.

* * *

Traisk waited another moment and then lashed Lina again with the blade’s side, watching as a deep blue welt formed instantly.  Her scream was almost deafening.

Traisk applied the paddle side of the blade to Lina’s bare bottom a third time, and was satisfied that her shout could be clearly heard throughout the galaxy.  Or, at least, by Keeria.

The crowd clapped loudly as close ups were shown of both the bruised bottoms and the crying women.

Traisk slipped outside the door and waited in the shadows to watch.  It was only a matter of time before she walked into his trap.

* * *

Keeria was not stupid.  She could smell a trap a mile away and this one was way too obvious for her comfort.  Either this Strong Man was incredibly stupid and thought her to be an idiot, or he was too cocky for his own good.  Either way, he would die today if she had anything to do with it.

She needed to buy some time, though.  She was hungry, her lungs were seared from the poor air quality, and her feet were a mangled mess. She edged slowly along the passageway, listening at doors until she came upon the one that emitted the muffled cries of her companions.

Although raised in a litter like sisters, the Trained Ones had no great love towards one another.  They needed to compete to survive, and oftentimes they were all subjected to punishment because of something a single ‘sister’ might have done to displease a trainer.  Keeria knew she was not well liked; she was sometimes hated, in fact, by her sisters.  Her rebellious nature and outspokenness had frequently led to group punishment while she watched nearby, untouched. It was also known that she had acquired some favor from the Head Trainer for her ability to block out pain. She was called many times into his private offices for ‘personal training’, and that, oddly enough, invoked jealousy in the litter.

She had only responded to the screams because she knew it would bring her to where the Strong Man’s lair was.  Now that she knew, she could get started on the best plan to kill him.  She retreated into the BioDome to decide her next move.

* * *

Traisk hid behind the wall and looked through a small crack, watching as Keeria snuck around the corner and listened at the door.  His heart pounded as he saw her.  Despite the dirt, she was stunning.  Her long golden hair hung in a tangled braid down her back, and her blue eyes shined from under thick lashes. She held something in her arms and he squinted to see what it was.  A porcupine? He bit back a laugh.  Yes, a Trained One who made a porcupine into a lapdog while challenging the Maze.  This would be quite a story to tell!

For a moment, sadness traveled through him.  She wasn't more than a child who clung to her little pet like it was a dolly. A child who knew how to kill.  Kal’s words came back again, warning him of their cleverness.  The first two really hadn’t provided much of a challenge; they had literally fallen into (or over) his lap.  This one, though, would be different.

He followed her out of the underground passageways and into the BioDome, hiding in the shadows.  He hoped her little prickly friend wouldn’t give him away as he spied on her.  He watched as she sat at a stream and removed her sandals, wincing at the terrible condition of her feet. First Sun was starting to set and he knew it would be getting very cold up here, but still, he waited…

* * *

Keeria yawned and lodged herself in a small rock formation.  She had wrapped her swollen feet in leaves smeared with the clear sticky gel from a succulent that was known to contain some healing and antiseptic properties.  She guessed that Traisk had started conquering one of her sisters, and hence he would not be watching for her to stab him in the throat.  She would just have to wait for the right time to sneak up on him. First Sun had set and the icy cold dampness rolled in.  Dressed only in a vest and laced breaches, Keeria shivered.  It took a while, but sleep finally consumed her.

“Ow!” she yelped the following First Morning, or perhaps it was Second Morning, as Churros buried itself under her blanket for warmth. She wished she had a monitor.

Wait a minute… Her blanket? Where had that come from?  And there was food nearby as well.

Keeria jumped up in a panic, looking around her.  Her eyes widened as she looked down; her feet had bandages on them.  Real bandages! Who had done this to her? How could she have slept through it?!

The crowd snickered at Traisk’s little joke, their curiosity rising.

Heart racing wildly, she searched for her sword.  It was where she had left it. There was even a sharpening stone and some oil left for her.  Her poisoned quills had been placed in a puncture proof cylinder with a strap to carry it. Whoever did this wanted her to survive this ordeal, but why? So she could kill the Strong Man? Was it Head Trainer? Or an elder who sought her favor for some reason?

She was famished and ate quickly, choosing to save some food in case she needed it later. Churros nibbled on a fruit core as she gathered her weapons together and tried to walk.  It was impossible. Groaning, she sat back down and rubbed her legs.

“Got a problem?” a deep voice asked.  Keeria held her short sword steadily in front of her, watching as the monster blocked off all incoming light to her little shelter.

“Only with you, Strong Man.  Which one did you conquer?”

“I haven’t decided yet. Can’t you tell?” he asked humorously, gesturing to his cage.  He sat a short distance from her. “Sleep well? You seemed to.”

“You were watching me?” She kept her cool as she slowly picked up her blowpipe and loaded it with quills.  There was no way he could see her in the dim light.

“Only after I made sure you were tucked in nice and warm and your poor little feet were properly cared for. I notice you were a tad hungry, too.”

He sounded kind, but then, Keeria knew the tricks the Strong Men would play.  She had been warned. Without warning, she blew the pipe, sticking four of the six quills straight into his gargantuan, fur-covered chest. Traisk looked down and, grimacing, yanked out the barbed quills from his skin.  The only damage was some irritating red marks.  Keeria stared, stunned.  Why hadn’t the acid worked?

“Next time you want to use poison darts, make sure to keep the solution from drying out and neutralizing.  It also dulled the barbs a bit, so you might want to keep acid off the sharp end. Good try though, I’m impressed.  Very inventive. Now th
at we’re done playing, l
et’s get you back into the underground structure and make you comfortable.”

Keeria sliced at him with her sword, unable to balance herself on her feet. He laughed in her face and easily pulled the blade from her hand as she dove for his throat. “Let’s put this away before you hurt yourself.  Put the claws away, kitty-cat, we don’t scratch our masters around here.”

“You are not my master!” Keeria sneered, snatching Churros up in her arms and holding it so that the sharp quills would stab Traisk.  Why didn’t the wretched little creature
rattle
its quills at the horrid man?

Traisk leaned into her, resting his giant mitt gently over the top of the animal’s head. It made an odd grunting sound
and held his hand with its paws, burying its head into his palm
. Keeri
a stared, mouth wide open.

“Maybe not now, but I will be.  I am choosing you.” With that statement, he lifted her off the rock and slung her across his shoulders, ignoring her stabbing him repeatedly with the porcupine’s tail as she tried to shimmy out of his grasp.  He laughed, ignoring the stinging barbs in his flesh.  To him, they were nothing but a light massage. He carried back into the underground passages and down two levels, past the room where he harbored the other two women and into the secret chamber he had discovered, the one filled with both terrible and fascinating furniture and devices.

Keeria’s eyes enlarged as she observed the room.  She was accustomed to different means of physic
al abuse
, but there was
a difference
in how Traisk handled her that sent a warning through her body.  He h
ad
something more sinister in store for her that she had never been prepared for, and she knew th
at
it would start here.

Traisk carried her through the first chamber and into the adjoining one, placing her gently down on a soft lounge. He covered her with a blanket, set Churros neatly on her lap, and brought a tray of food and water to set beside her.