Chapter 2

Red took us to a watering hole to both make a kill to have meat for our trip and to get our water situation ready for the desert. Red had a pack horse with water bags. As we approached the area, he left us with the pack horse and went ahead with his bow ready. As we came up, he was off his horse field dressing a deer. He finished what he was doing and said, "Let''s stop for the day and evening. We can smoke some deer meat for our trip, hydrate ourselves, and load up on water first thing in the morning. If we leave early, we can miss out on some of the worst of the heat."

Miranda looked to see me nod. We tied the horses loosely so they could eat and drink but not go far. She helped Red with the deer while I started a fire for cooking now and for smoking later. We followed Red's plan for the afternoon, evening, and next morning. We left just before the sun rose that next morning heading west.

It was late morning when Red called a halt for the heat of the day. We stopped under a rocky overhang that gave us a little shade. Red said, "I saw signs that suggest there is a party in front of us by about half a day. Their trail came in from the south and we are now following behind them headed the same way. I don't know who they are but it appears there are six or seven."

I said, "Let's take it easy. If someone is going to attract the Vegans attention and be attacked, let's have it be them and not us. With any luck at all, we can slide by without a problem."

Miranda said, "For us, anyway."

We took it easy for a couple of hours and then started back on our road intending to go well into the evening. As we went along, Red watched the trail and commented upon those in front of us. He said, "These people are not desert savvy. They did not stop during the heat of the day but pushed on. That's rough on their horses. They will be tired and slow."

We stopped for the night just before deep dark. We made a fire protected by rocks to hide it from any prying eyes. Red climbed up on some rocks to get higher and looked around. When he came back to the fire, he said, "I could see their fire up ahead of us about ten miles. It's not hidden. We can go slower tomorrow to avoid running into them and to save the horses. They may think they are pushing on but that slows you down because it wears the horses terribly. I could see some distant fires that are probably the Vegans. They are a bit to our left and south but their sentries will be noticing those folk in front of us tonight. If I did, they did. We need to give the party in front of us some slack to stay clear of their problems and to let the Vegans have them. I hope they will be busy with them and we can sneak by."

That was a long speech for Red. I could tell he was not happy for those ahead of us because they were making dumb mistakes. Those cost lives in my experience. It was easy enough to die when you're being smart much less when being dumb.

Miranda asked, "Can't we help them?"

I answered, "No, they are beyond help now. We would just be caught up in the trap, too. Also, we need to get to where we are going and that won't happen if we're dead."

We lay down for this night like the last fully clothed and ready to go in the morning or sooner if need be. The desert had cooled off quickly with the setting of the sun. We took sentry duty tonight in shifts. We woke early the next morning and ate a small breakfast. Red went back up the rocks to look and quickly returned. "They're leaving now. They are creating a dust cloud because they aren't controlling their horses well. Late today, the Vegans will probably attack them. We need to be very careful to avoid showing ourselves." He said.

We packed and slowly made our way along the trail making every effort to not show ourselves to the prying eyes we knew were ahead of us.

Red's words were prophetic. Late afternoon and after taking our mid day rest stop, we heard the distant sounds of people fighting. Red had us stop off to the right side of the trail while he dismounted and went ahead on foot. He returned two hours later and said, "They were attacked. There were seven horses so probably seven people. One horse and two men are dead. I'm not sure about casualties of the Vegans. They always haul their dead and injured away from a battle unless that's impossible."

"Red," I said, "what do you suggest?"

"We should ride a bit north to avoid their trail and camp without fire tonight. We are too close to the Vegans to risk one."

That's what we did. Later that evening, we left the horses with Miranda and Red and I went to search out the Vegans' camp. He wanted to get a better idea of their size and possible intentions based upon their activities this evening. He told us that they wouldn't play with their prisoners if they thought we were around. He added, "Good for us, but bad for them."

Their camp was not hard to find. It was brightly lit by their fires. We found a place between their few sentries and got in close. It wasn't as hard as I had thought because the sentries were more interested in the goings on around their fires than in keeping watch. We were on a small rise overlooking the camp and not more than a hundred yards from the activity. There were four prisoners who were tied upright to posts driven into the ground. There were two men and two women and they were naked. We could see a group gathered closer to the fire and I realized that a fifth prisoner was there. From the screams, it sounded like a woman.

I watched as the Vegan men moved around and saw that she was staked out on the ground on her back, naked and spread. I could see her bleeding from wounds to her arms and legs. These were fresh. As we watched, two men pushed a pole under her body just above her waist and then lifted her into the air straining her arms and legs even more. She screamed loudly in pain as she was bent over backwards. You could hear her back creak as she was stretched painfully. When they had her body as high as they could lift it without breaking her back, the pole was placed upon two tripods that kept her in that position. Her screams died down to moans. That seemed to be a signal.

The Vegan men began to rape her. The rape itself might not have been so bad if her position were better. As it was, every thrust pulled on her arms or legs or her bent back causing a lot of pain and fresh screams until she was hoarse. Some men just fucked her quickly and moved on but some stayed long enough to shoot their loads into her body. After about twenty minutes, she was only moaning as the last of the Vegans used her. Then the same two came to her with a thinner pole and roughly impaled her on it. They pushed about two feet or so into her body as she went rigid screaming in fresh pain. They laughed and left her there. She was now bleeding profusely from between her legs. After she had quieted and they had watched her twitch for a few minutes, her arms were cut loose and she was levered up with her legs spread and the pole pushed into her lower body. It went further in but she was so far gone, she only moaned a bit more.

There was some chanting and dancing and then a second woman was pulled toward the fire after being untied from her stake. She was trying to get loose and her captors were enjoying her struggles. She was pulled through a group of Vegan women who slapped at her breasts and butt leaving red marks on her body. She was sobbing when she got close to the fire. She cried even harder when she could see the other woman closely.

She was staked out on her stomach. Two men with whips came out and whipped her all over leaving red marks that went to welts and then began to bleed. She went limp twice and was revived by water being poured on her each time. Two more men went to her and pushed a pole under her and lifted her bending her over the pole. She wasn't in as much pain from that pole as bending in that direction is natural. This pole was also mounted on tripods to hold the pole and her body in place.

A group of men lined up behind her and her rape began. After about six or so, her head suddenly raised up and she screamed loudly. Red whispered that they took her ass. The rapes continued as the Vegan men took their turns in her body and used either hole. When they all finished, another shorter pole like the one used on the other woman was pushed into her ass and she, too, was levered up. Her cries were gurgles more than cries. She was bleeding badly. Two men picked up the whips and gave her a few lashes each across the front of her body marking her breasts. She was left to die mounted also on a pole between her legs.

More dancing and chanting followed. The third woman was pulled toward the fire and she was quietly sobbing as she was brought forward to her death. She saw the other two women and cried harder seeing up close what had happened to the other two. The Vegan women gathered around her as she was tied at her ankles standing. Her arms were tied behind her with her hands at her elbows. That method pulled her breasts tightly against her body and the women who gathered around her slapped her body hard particularly aiming for and hitting her breasts. She began to scream with the pain and soon collapsed. She was roughly pulled to her feet and a pole was run between her legs hoisting her upright. The beatings began again. The only part of her body untouched was her face.