“Up, female! Time to get up!”
Alexa heard the words, thought for a moment that she'd get up in just a little bit, and then remembered how she had been woken up through most of last night. She sat up with a yelp of dismay, her still-bound hands moving to cover her bruised and abused ass. But no stinging blow came, and she suddenly realized that it was Mike who had spoken, not one of the Andersons.
She looked around the campsite. It took a while, because she kept yawning, but the Andersons seemed to be gone. Will was still there, with Martina, naked and bound, eating out of his hand. And Mike was there, standing over her and grinning hugely.
“What's going on?” she asked. “Where are the Andersons?”
“They left,” Mike replied simply.
“But... why?” Alexa felt confused, and annoyed that she'd been abandoned after submitting to them all those times. What was her status now?
“They had other business to attend to,” Mike answered. “But before they left they sold you to me, so you're mine now. Are you thirsty? Hungry?”
“Yes,” Alexa replied, so uncertainly that it came out almost like a question.
“There's not a whole lot left for breakfast,” Mike said. “But if we get a move on we can be in End in time for dinner.” He held out a piece of jerky. “Here. Eat. We've still got some water if you're thirsty.”
Alexa leaned forward and took a bite out of the jerky. This kind had a different flavor. She didn't know what kind of flavor it was supposed to be, only that it wasn't barbecue, and it wasn't bad. Hungry as she was, she quickly ate the three small pieces that Mike offered to her. She was ready for more, but she didn't get any. Instead, Mike held a water bottle for her and let her drink it dry.
It didn't take long to break camp. Will and Mike spent some time and care in covering the remains of the campfire with dirt and stomping it all flat. Alexa and Martina waited patiently in the meantime. The men had put their shoes on, but given them no other clothing, aside from their belts, which were looped around their necks. In addition, they'd put all of the females' remaining possessions in tightly-wrapped blanket rolls and slung them over their shoulders. Their hands were tied behind them.
They set out along the trail to End, Will in front, leading Martina along by the belt around her neck, Mike following, towing Alexa along behind him by her belt. They moved slowly enough for the females to keep up, even with their bound hands keeping them from using their arms for balance. From time to time they would stop for a moment and the females would be given a bite of jerky and some water. No one spoke. Alexa noticed that though Martina was half a head taller than Will, she followed along behind him docilely, like a well-trained dog, and even seemed to be hunching over to minimize the apparent difference in their heights. She wondered what had been done to Martina last night, and if Mike had participated. Then she wondered why she suddenly cared so much whether or not he had. Last night, he and Will had teamed up to capture the tall, blonde volleyball player, and it wouldn't have made sense for him not to sample her gorgeous body. Also last night, Alexa herself had been the captive female of the Anderson brothers. Mike had to have seen and heard at least some of what they'd done to her during the night.
But now... now, somehow, things were different, and she was confused. Last year, Will, the man who had caught her, had kept her to himself until her time was up. Being the female slave of one man, especially one as attentive and imaginative as Will was, had been exciting. One long night as the helpless sex toy of the Anderson brothers had left her with very mixed feelings about gangbangs. She didn't think she'd have been able to endure being their captive for very long, and there had been times last night when she'd have probably bailed out of the whole thing if Martina hadn't been there. She just couldn't bring herself to do that in front of Martina. She would never hear the end of it.
Now she'd been sold to Mike by the Andersons. There had to be some kind of protocol for her new situation, but Alexa had no idea what it might be. She wished for some time to sort it all out with Mike, but he didn't seem interested in talking, and she wasn't sure how to bring the matter up. She would wait until after they had gotten back to End, and then wait for the right moment.
They trudged on. They never stopped to rest, except for a moment or two here and there, when the man gave their females a little more jerky to eat and water to drink. As hungry as she was, Alexa was getting very tired of the jerky. She consoled herself with the thought of cooked food at their journey's end. And they kept walking. And walking.
It was getting close to the end of the day when they saw the rustic buildings of End up ahead. Alexa was so glad to see them that she was ready to sprint there, bound hands and bobbling boobs notwithstanding, if Mike wanted her to, but instead the men made their females stop so that they could remove their shoes. The last twenty yards or so before they reached a sandy side street of the town went very, very slowly, with much limping and yelping from both Alexa and Martina as they stepped on small, hard things. The noise attracted the attention of some people passing by, and they in turn called others over to have a look. As they entered the main street of End Alexa saw what had to be a large crowd for this place on hand to watch the little procession. She stood a little straighter, pulling her shoulders back, but at the same time she realized how dirty and bedraggled she must look after so much time in the woods. Well, there was no help for that at the moment.
She liked how the men watching looked at her as she walked by. The looks from some of the women were less welcome, but there was no help for that either. Back home in the city, she spent a lot of time and effort keeping herself in superb shape. She liked the attention that it got her, and it was great advertising for her personal fitness trainer business. Here, well, she liked to think that she looked even better naked than she did clothed. And she did have that exhibitionist streak that Will had commented on last year.
Martina seemed to have a different opinion about public nudity, though there wasn't anything about her body that she ought to want to hide. She stayed very close to Will, and hunched down even further, looking at the ground, trying to pretend that the onlookers weren't there.
They turned down the main street, heading for the barn. Before they reached it, a proctor came over and started talking to Will. Alexa couldn't quite hear what they said, but after a moment the proctor nodded, turned, and led the way to the barn.
Alexa followed Mike more than willingly. After so long in the woods and on the trail, the barn offered relative comfort and ease, an actual bathroom, even if it was on the postage-stamp size, and possibly some hot food that didn't come out of a fire-blackened can. When she entered through the big, swinging doors, it was all she could do not to let out a huge sigh of relief. Will led Martina to a stall near the rear of the barn, and Mike led Alexa to the stall next to that one. The two females waited patiently as they were relieved of their blanket rolls and their hands were untied. Their blankets were spread out over the thick layer of hay, and then the two females were allowed to go into their stalls and lie down. Alexa let herself go limp. Her ass still hurt, her legs hurt, and the soles of her feet had fresh bruises from only a few minutes ago. She'd had an opportunity to look at Martima's ass for most of the day, and from the marks on it, she figured that Martina had at least some of the same pains and twinges as she did. But none of that mattered at the moment. Nor did it matter that she was still in need of a bath and a good meal. For the first time in many, many days she could just rest, without having to keep an eye and an ear out for any sign that hunters were nearby. She wondered if other females felt the same relief, as temporary as it might turn out to be, once they had been captured and the first part of their adventure was finally over. As she thought about that, it occurred to her that most of them probably didn't, simply because they'd gone into the woods intending to be caught quickly, so that they could get to the good stuff quickly.
That thought gave her pause, as she wondered what Mike might have in mind for his newly-purchased slave. She was sure that he was talking to Will to learn whatever he could about her.
All this thinking was getting her nowhere and only making her even more tired. She'd feel a lot better after a nice, long nap. She snuggled into her blanket and drifted off to sleep.
“Up, female! Up!”
Alexa was up on her knees, her hands protecting her ass, before she was even fully awake. Mike was in the stall with her, standing in front of her, a coil of shiny chain dangling from his hand. She was still blinking and yawning when he put a loop of the chain around her neck and clipped it in place. Alexa merely looked up at him. She wasn't sure how much sleep she'd gotten, but she was certain that it hadn't been enough. Her mind felt foggy, there was a taste in her mouth, and all the bits of her that had hurt when she'd fallen asleep still hurt as much as before.
“We're going to get you females cleaned up,” Mike said. “You know the drill for that.” He gave the chain a tug. “Come on, female. Hands and knees.” He pulled on the chain and Alexa obediently crawled along behind him as they went to the opened back doors of the barn. She saw Will leading Martina by a chain around her neck. Martina was on all fours as well, and she presented an interesting view. They passed out of the barn and turned right, towards where the outdoor shower was. Alexa wondered if she would be made to wait while Martina was cleaned up, or if Will and Mike would wash them down together. And then she saw the small crowd that had gathered outside the barn to watch the proceedings. It was composed of men, for the most part, but she could see two women standing there as well, plus the proctor from earlier.
Alexa balked. Mike just pulled a little harder on the chain, and just about dragged her outside. To her surprise, they turned left. She saw what looked like a wooden cargo pallet sitting on the ground, with a bucket of soapy water next to it.
“Up onto the platform, female,” Mike ordered. “And stand up. Last time you put on quite a show for everybody. Now you get to do it again.”
Alexa whined in complaint. She was tired and hungry and didn't want to have to put on another show, not like this. It seemed that her exhibitionist streak had some limits after all. But Mike was insistent, and she had that chain around her neck, and she didn't want to get flogged anymore, so she got onto the pallet and stood up as ordered.
“Clean yourself up,” Mike said, giving the chain a flick. Trying very hard to pretend that the crowd wasn't there, Alexa checked the bucket and found that it had both a washcloth and a short-handled soft brush in it. She took the washcloth and began with her arms. She had no desire to put on a show as she had last time, flaunting her toned and limber body in front of a very appreciative audience. Then she glanced over to the concrete pad where Martina was. The tall blonde was standing, facing the crowd, her back arched, as cold water sluiced down on her from the showerhead above, making her nipples stand out boldly. She was running her fingers through her long hair, not quite washing it, but certainly giving it a thorough rinsing. Will stood nearby, holding the end of her chain leash, his back to Alexa, all of his attention concentrated on his tall, blonde prize.
Inwardly, Alexa snarled. All her reluctance to put on a show evaporated as she saw Martina putting on one of her own, and to an extremely appreciative audience. She remembered the fierce competition between them last year, first to be the last one caught and then to attract the most attention from the gawkers as they were exhibited naked in those cages in the big slave market in Gordburg town. She began to slowly, sensuously, was her breasts, closing her eyes and tilting her head back as she moaned faintly. Anything Martina could do, she could do better. At least she could here in Gordburg. When it came to female display it wasn't so much of what you had as it was what you did with it. Martina had a magnificent body, no doubt, with long, strong legs, a mouth-watering taut round ass and breasts the perfect size and shape for her frame, plus that long, thick, honey-colored hair. So what? Alexa had the same basic equipment, a bit more tone, more curves, and a flexibility she'd maintained through yoga. She could actually bend over backwards and touch the ground with her fingers, for one thing. And, even if her legs weren't as long as Martina's, she could stand on one foot and raise the other one up over her head. She wasn't going to try doing either of those things on the slippery surface of the wooden pallet, but she had other tricks she could use.
She got the washcloth sopping wet and then squeezed it out on the top of her head, looking upwards so as not to get any of the faintly-scented soap in her eyes. Then she tossed the washcloth back into the bucket and began vigorously scrubbing the suds into her short hair, in such a way as to make her breasts jiggle. She gave her hair a far more thorough washing than it really needed, and then went on to washing her legs, stretching each one out straight and bending to reach all the way down to her toes. Her legs done, she went back to her breasts and under her arms, following that up by using the short-handled brush on her back. She tried to pay no attention to what Martina was doing, as it might throw her off of her own game, but she saw the attention of the crowd switching back and forth between her and Martina as if they were watching a tennis match.
She saved washing between her legs for last, partly because she needed to work up her nerve for it. Unlike the previous time she'd showered for the benefit of an audience, she felt a real need to be thorough, given the gang-banging she'd gotten from the Andersons, and it made her a little shy.
It was starting to get dark by the time she was done. She wrung out the washcloth and dropped it on the pallet alongside the brush. Then she picked up the bucket. There wasn't much water left in it, so she upended it over her head. As if he'd been waiting for that signal, Mike turned the nozzle on the hose he held to a fine spray and began to rinse her off. The water was cold, and Alexa let herself shriek girlishly at the chill and dance around – carefully – on the pallet. Mike gradually adjusted the spray as he went, and she turned in place so that he could reach every part of her. She let out a few more squeals and shrieks before he was done. When he shut off the nozzle, she just stood there, shivering, wondering what came next. One of the slave barn employees, a man who looked to be in his late hundreds, came out and handed her a huge, thick towel. The glint in his eye as he looked her over suggested that he was still young at heart. Alexa accepted it with a smile and began to dry herself off, starting with her hair. Here she had a clear advantage over Martina. Hers was so short that it took hardly any time at all to dry, while the blonde's thick mane would never get dry through the use of a towel alone. No, Will would probably have to spend a lot of time with a hair dryer and brush. He might like that, though.
Once dried, Alexa, still shivering a little, handed the towel over to Mike and once again waited to see what came next. If she had to crawl back to her stall, a lot of her shower-tease would be wasted, since the ground around the pallet was wet and more than a little muddy. And if she was allowed to walk back, instead, her feet would get dirty. The old retainer provided a solution to that problem, bringing out a pair of flip-flops for her to wear. He still had that glint in his eye. Alexa slipped the cheap sandals onto her feet and let Mike lead her back to her stall. She felt almost completely refreshed, if still a little chilly, and was happy to see that her old, stained blanket had been replaced by a thin quilt. At the door to her stall, Mike halted her and took the chain from around her neck. There was a wide and thick black leather collar slung over the low door, and he held it up for her to see. It was soft, supple and shiny black, with heavy silvery D-rings set in the front and on both sides. The buckle was just as heavy. It was a beautiful piece of craftsmanship. When Mike began to put it around her neck, Alexa held her head up to make it easier for him. She wondered where he had gotten it. Last year Will hadn't collared her with anything nearly as beautiful. As Mike buckled the collar snugly around her neck, Alexa felt a first little thrill of anticipation. He would want to fuck her. After the display she'd put on just outside, he'd have to be a walking corpse not to want that. And he'd want to keep her. He wouldn't have put such a collar on her if he meant to sell her off. She could easily be his slave for the rest of her time here, and she didn't think he'd be anywhere near as rough with her as the Andersons had been.
“Sit, female.” Mike ordered after he had finished buckling the collar. It felt snug, but not uncomfortably so. Alexa obeyed, sitting down on the edge of the quilt. Mike just stood there, looking down at her, so she just sat there, looking up at him.
“Are you hungry?” Mike asked after a long, wordless moment.
“Yes, I am,” Alexa replied.
“Let's try this again,” Mike said with a sigh. “Are you hungry, female?”
“Oh! Yes, Master,” Alexa said demurely as she turned her head away from him. There was a lot to the whole Master-slave thing, and even then most of those relationships were customized to suit the people in them. She wasn't looking for a permanent Master, and she didn't think that Mike was looking for a full-time slave, but while they were here in Gordburg she could enjoy the role-playing. And the sex.
“All right,” Mike said. “Wait here for me. I'll be back shortly.” With that he turned and left, not just Alexa's stall but the barn. She couldn't see where he had gone, but then Will came in, leading Martina by her chain leash. At first glance, the blonde appeared to be sleepy. As the pair came closer, though, Alexa realized that instead she was powerfully aroused. Her hair looked to be dry, and well-brushed, and Alexa wondered if having her hair brushed had some kind of erotically stimulating effect on Martina. Maybe it did, or maybe it did only under very special circumstances. Will led Martina into her stall, shut the low door – it was more of a gate, actually – and shortly afterwards the two of them sank from Alexa's sight behind the solid plank partition wall that separated the stalls.
Mike came back. He had a styrofoam food carry-out container in one hand and a bottle of wine, with one glass, in the other. He put it all down on the quilt in front of Alexa and opened the container. The smell of a freshly-cooked cheeseburger with a side of fries made Alexa's mouth water. Her first instinct was to grab for it, but waited to see what Mike's rules were. He didn't say anything, but he used a plastic knife to cut a bite-sized piece out of the cheeseburger, which he then offered to Alexa. She leaned forward and opened her mouth for it, even though her initial impulse was to snap it up like a starving tiger, possibly taking one or more of Mike's fingers with it. He gently put the morsel into her mouth and watched as she ate it.
Having her hair brushed might have done it for Martina, but Alexa thought she had never, ever, experienced anything as pleasurable as the taste of that cheeseburger. There was no ketchup or mustard or mayonnaise on it, but as the juices from the meat hit her tongue she closed her eyes and let out a tiny moan of sheer pleasure. After so long eating processed, preserved or scrounged food out in the woods, the taste of the fresh beef, melted cheese, and toasted bun was heavenly. She ate that bite, and every succeeding bite that Mike carefully cut and handed to her. He interspersed the bits of cheeseburger with fries, and those were as perfect as the cheeseburger in their own way.
In a very little while, the food was gone and Alexa was feeling very, very contented. Mike set the takeout container aside and uncorked the wine. It was a red wine, and they shared half of the bottle between them, Mike holding the glass to Alexa's lips from time to time so that she could take a sip. She thought that it was all very romantic in a truly strange way, and by the time he recorked the wine bottle and set it aside along with the glass she was ready to do anything – almost anything – that Mike wanted. When he pulled a pair of handcuffs from a pants pocket and held them up for her to see, she twisted around and put her hands behind her back so that he could cuff her. She was confused at first when he then stretched out on his back on the quilt and unzipped his pants.
He pulled his cock out. At first Alexa thought that he wanted her to ride him again as she had in that creaking bed in that little upstairs room so many days ago. But he didn't seem to be completely erect, and the unspoken rules of this little game they were playing required her to wait for an instruction or an order from him.
“Suck it,” he ordered. Alexa knee-walked into a better position next to him, bent over, leaned forward, and took him into her mouth with a tiny moan. She could smell a faint trace of male musk, but otherwise he smelled as if he'd recently showered himself. She took him in as deeply as she could, then pulled back slowly, feeling his cock sliding out between her lips. Then she took him in again, just as deeply. She could feel him getting harder and longer as she sucked. She didn't know if he wanted to come in her mouth, but if he did she would accept it, and even swallow it all. It was the least she could do to show her thanks to him for rescuing her from further use and abuse at the six hard, rough hands of the Andersons. And for the shower. And for the wine. And especially for that cheeseburger.