Chapter 5: Choice

They drove straight through the mine complex and Helen felt a lot happier seeing more people around her. All the wide-open spaces were beginning to scare her. Almost all of them wore the same overalls as hers and, as Kate had remarked, there were almost no women; in fact she wasn't sure she had seen any. Karl drew up outside a large building and hurried the girls inside. Helen had assumed that he would have a flat somewhere in the building, but they went straight into the first room on the right, which was a room with only large chairs, one of them obviously intended for two people at once, though all of the furniture was old and well-worn. Evidently this furniture would need to be moved for whoever lived here to go to sleep. It seemed a lot of work, but if that was what they did here, she shrugged to herself.

As they went in, a blonde woman of about thirty got up from the two-seater chair and came to greet Karl. Evidently this was the "Paula" whom Kate had mentioned during the bidding. Helen looked at her rival and decided that she was no match for Helen in looks. She was a little shorter than Karl, about five feet four, and had a round open face with big blue eyes and a small turned-up nose, which gave her a little-girl-lost look which she obviously cultivated. However, the whole effect was somewhat marred by the beginnings of wrinkles by her ears and an overall impression of fading, like a photograph which has been left in the sun for too long.

She was wearing the most extraordinary garment which had been inexpertly tailored from what appeared to be an old table-cloth. It was draped round her and was fastened at the waist with a leather belt. Her bare breasts which were quite large, but had started to sag, and most of her thighs were clearly visible as this 'coat' gaped wide at the front. Helen wasn't sure, but she had a distinct impression that Paula did not have a 'private forest', either that or it was very sparse and pale. Paula fairly threw herself at Karl and kissed him wildly with one arm round his neck and the other hand groping the front of his overalls.

"Not now Paula," said Karl in an irritated voice, "go to your room and I'll call you when I want you."

Giving Helen and the other girl, whose name Helen still couldn't remember, a really nasty look, Paula left the room with obvious reluctance. Helen looked at the other girl and saw an attractive young woman, also of about thirty, a little taller than Paula, but in much better physical condition, despite the journey and the auction. Her hair was shoulder length dark chestnut curls surrounding a heart-shaped face with a wide, generous mouth, and her body was slimmer than Paula's. Dressed in overalls, as she was, Helen had to think back to the auction to recall that Jacqui, 'Yes, her name was Jacqui, ' Helen remembered. Jacqui had nice high breasts, not too plump but with the nipples mounted on rather plump areolæ which stood above the surrounding breast. Her 'private forest' had also been luxurious chestnut curls.

"Sit down, both of you," said Karl, "here is where you, Helen now live, and there are rules here. You do not go into any room I haven't said that you can use. That will be automatic because the doors won't open for you until I programme them. You don't go outside to the road at all. You can go in the garden. I didn't intend to get two of you, and Jacqui will have to go; I'm keeping Helen."

At this Jacqui looked furious and, at the same time, frightened.

"Don't worry, I'll sell you to Martha; she was the last one bidding against me for you and I know she'll want a girl to go with that stud she bought. She runs what passes for a night-club round here and she wants a new act for her cabaret."

"But I don't know nothing about dancing, and I shouldn't be here. I'll be going back on the next space ship," objected Jacqui.

"That won't happen," Karl replied, "Didn't Kate tell you that? You are here for the duration."

"Yeah, Kate said I couldn't go back, but I didn't believe her. They'll have to send me back because I've already done twice my sentence. Anyway it doesn't alter the fact that I don't know about dancing."

"That won't matter," said Karl, amused, "She'll teach you anything you don't know about her sort of cabaret!" He laughed and Jacqui turned pale.

"Helen, you will have a real free choice," said Karl, "You can stay here as my housekeeper, or you can go to work in the mine facility if you'd rather. Don't decide now, talk to Paula and Frank first. I couldn't have you here in the house if Frank and you don't get on. By the way, if I am not here Frank is the boss. You do anything he says, or else."

Karl called Paula back and told her to take Jacqui to his sleepingroom and to show Helen round the house. Paula evidently didn't like the idea of Jacqui being in Karl's sleepingroom, so she protested that the attic would be good enough for her. Then she tried again to kiss him and to fondle his prick, obviously not caring about the other two girls watching them.

"Don't get so jealous; I'm selling Jacqui to Martha, but I am going try her before she leaves, whether you like it or not, so put her in my sleepingroom and get her ready for me to play with."

Helen wondered whatever he meant by that, but she was left in the dark about that as Karl sent Paula and Jacqui off and then called Frank in and said, "This is Helen; she may be taking Paula's place, but I haven't said anything about it to Paula, who's upstairs preparing a little treat for me. Now you see to Helen's clothes while I ring Martha."

Frank was a small thin man with greying hair and a kind face. The sort of man who contrived to look smartly dressed, even in frayed old clothes. He smiled briefly sat Helen and said "I'll see what I've got to fit you."

Frank went off and Helen was ignored as Karl rang Martha and arranged to sell Jacqui to her at a small loss to himself. "Since I'm losing money on her, you won't mind if I try her before bringing her over, will you darling?" he asked. From his expression of pure lust, Helen assumed that Martha didn't mind, and Karl finished off the telephone conversation by saying, "Of course I won't damage her." With that he went out of the room.

Left on her own, Helen looked round the room and discovered some odd things about the life-style on Csadia which she hadn't really noticed before. The furniture didn't look as though it was moved, so people must sleep on these huge chairs, and on the two-seated chair. The ThreeVee was in a box and not a whole wall as they were on Earth, then she remembered that it didn't show Martha when Karl rang her. Did they only have sound telephones and no video? Probably not, she thought, it must have been for some other reason that Martha didn't show herself as well as talking; nowhere could be that primitive!

Just then Paula came in to the room and said, "Come on, Helga, or whatever your name is."

"It's Helen, actually," said Helen in as friendly a voice as she could muster.

"Whatever. Come on, Helenactually, then," said Paula, trying to mimic Helen's accent, "Karl says I'm supposed to show you round so here we go. This is the sittingroom. We use it to sit in, when we aren't doing anything else." Turning to leave the room she added, "Come on."

"Wait a moment, you use this room for sitting in? Only sitting in? Doesn't anyone sleep here?" Helen asked.

"No. There is plenty of space here. Forget Earth's overcrowding. We have separate rooms for eating, sleeping, one each for sleeping, sitting, cooking, washing, working, and so on. Opposite door is Karl's study. We don't go in there unless there is a terrible row; Karl even cleans it himself ... sometimes. Down the hall is the kitchen with the eatingroom opposite. Then at the end is Frank's room."

Helen could only stare in amazement. Back on Earth her entire apartment had been one small room, about six feet by eight with a shower and a cooker and a bed and one wall the ThreeVee. Lots of people had to share rooms like that with people who worked different hours so that they could sleep in shifts. All these rooms must mean that Karl was fabulously rich, in spite of the shabby furniture; why didn't he buy some more? Helen thought she had better not ask too many questions at first.

"Off we go upstairs, where the first door on the right is Karl's sleepingroom. We better not go in just now, I think," continued Paula.

Indeed Helen could faintly hear through the door a whirring followed by a cracking noise which she recognised as the sound of a beating; sure enough it was repeated and was followed by a squeal, or a scream, she could not be sure. Then quite clearly she heard someone sobbing "No ... No ... No." as the sound of the belt or whip continued steadily.

Suddenly Helen felt a twinge of fear. That was Karl beating Jacqui, whom he had just bought and then sold again an hour or two later. What would he do to Helen if she stayed here?

Paula then led her into a nice bright room which was large enough for a bed and a chair and a table. Helen looked around but there was no ThreeVee here, which seemed odd. On Earth every room was fitted with one.

"This is my room," said Paula, and then her manner changed from hostility to one of being very sweet and kind. "What did Karl say to you, darling?" she asked

"He said I could stay and be his housekeeper, or work in the mine facility," answered Helen.

"Oh, the rotten sod!" exploded Paula, "He promised me that I could have the next job in the mine office. Being his 'housekeeper' here means nothing but drudgery, sex and beatings. You heard that poor girl getting it just now; then he'll do all kinds of perverted sex to her, and then he's going to get rid of her."

"Yes," said Helen, "I heard him selling her to Martha on the 'phone just now."

"So," continued Paula, "there's your choice, degraded sex slave or a nice little office job. I wish I was getting out of here. Look at this," slipping off her coat, "he did that to me this morning."

Paula's back was covered in a plethora of red thin weals which shocked Helen. For all she had felt a distinct twinge of pleasure run from her nipples to her love bud when she heard the phrase "degraded sex slave" she was really frightened. Her night of fun with Colin had really only amounted to a gentle spanking and six ... no, seven ... strokes on the arse with his belt. This was evidence of a really vicious beating during which the hurt would far exceed any pleasure for the victim and which, Helen was sure, would leave her scarred for life. Paula explained that it had been done with a fine braided whip made of thin wire because there was little made of plastic or leather on Csadia, and added that Karl could be really nasty sometimes.

Helen thought then that she would not take the risk and said, "Thanks, Paula, for filling me in on the reality of the 'choice'. I'll tell Karl I want to go to the mine, but I feel sorry if it leaves you here."

"I'm used to it, and the swine didn't offer it to me, so I'll just have to put up with it," said Paula, and Helen didn't notice the quick look of triumph that crossed her face.

Just then Frank appeared at the door and said, "Come on, Helen. Your clothes are ready."

Helen followed him down the stairs and along the hall to his room, which was much the same as Paula's. On the table was a selection of old clothes, any of which Helen would have put in the garbage on Earth.

"Karl doesn't like his girls in overalls," said Frank, "and when you do have clothes on they have to show everything."

Helen looked at the collection which seemed all to have been altered to show as much as possible. The best item was a tunic which had once been nice, but had had two holes roughly cut in it to let the breasts stick through.

"There isn't much point in this," Helen said to him, "I've decided to go to the mine instead of staying here."

Frank roared with laughter at this idea. "Suicide is quicker, but if you really must I suppose you might last six months in the dormitory."

"Dormitory?" asked Helen, mystified.

"I suppose you think that you would get some office job? They are very hard to get and Paula had to shag lots of people to get the one she had before she came to Karl. She only managed to get it because she was the office boss's popsy. Mostly they are done by educated men."

"But she said she wanted to get away from here?" queried Helen.

"And I suppose she said that this was a hell-hole?" Frank asked.

"Yes. And she showed me her cuts and bruises and marks from this morning's beating to prove it," said Helen defiantly.

"That wasn't a normal part of life here," explained Frank, "That was the first part of her punishment for stealing food and it wasn't done for fun. Food is short here, even if you are as rich as Karl, and she could have been put to death in public for stealing that tin of food; any man would have been. As it is she got a flogging here and she will be out on her ear very soon. If she can't find a rich man to keep her, she will be in the dormitory, or worse, in a week."

"Dormitory?" repeated Helen.

"You have to do all the cleaning and washing for a dormitory of miners," explained Frank, "There are twenty miners to a dormitory when it is full and usually two, or maybe three, women to service it. The women also sleep in the same dormitory, and although they stay alive longer than miners tend to, they become worn out old hags very quickly because the miners share them and are not particularly careful about how they use them."

Helen was horrified that Paula had tried to trick her, but she was more horrified at this insight into the realities of a harsh life on a mining planet which was a prison. It was awful how quickly a woman's status could change, and how little life was valued.