Chapter 1: No way out of isolation

The first half of 2019

Clouds of mist rose up the slopes of our lonely valley in the Andes. Here and there, the green of the mighty trees and the grey or sand-coloured rocks peeked through the increasingly dense veil of water vapour under the rays of the rising sun. Just as the fog prevented us from seeing into the distance, the fate of all the inhabitants of our valley was just as opaque. But this uncertainty did not frighten me; on the contrary, it gave me strength and determination. I was absolutely sure. This year we would make contact with the outside world, with the people of our region.

‘I hope I don’t get into trouble with the authorities,’ I muttered to myself. In fact, I was in the country illegally. My visa had expired in October 2016, well over two years ago. I was threatened with jail or immediate deportation from my host country. However, I had an unimaginable amount of money, several million dollars and euros in two well-hidden suitcases, diamonds worth around ten million US dollars, bearer shares worth millions and almost a tonne of gold. It was all worthless junk at the moment, but it could certainly solve almost any problem in Peru, or anywhere else in South America for that matter.

Since the sun had risen, I had been sitting on the terrace daydreaming, planning my, or rather our, future life, fantasising how happy we would be when we finally had the opportunity to buy everything we needed. I was sure we would soon be able to shop online and have our groceries delivered at our convenience. We would also be able to get enough medicine and vaccines. All we needed was for the old mountain road to be passable. Well, it wasn’t that easy, but I was convinced that we would make it this year.

Our cook Luisa, the mother of my first son Uma, had provided me with coffee and sweet pastries before she prepared breakfast for everyone. I thanked her affectionately and stroked her plump body for several minutes. After a tender kiss, the heavily pregnant woman waddled heavily back into the house. In four weeks, she would give birth to another boy, if our doctor’s prognosis were correct. Luisa worried me. Her first birth in the valley had been a sudden labour, without any signs, well before her due date. Fortunately, both mother and son were well within a few hours. Unfortunately, a few years ago she had a traumatic miscarriage. Not only did she lose her child, but she also lost her partner. One thing was clear; we had to take precautions for her impending birth.

Hopefully, our doctor would be back to full strength by then. Ramona only had a week to go before her second birth. Our doctor kept assuring me how well she was doing. Her assistant Esther, on the other hand, had secretly whispered to me how difficult it was for Dr Liebknecht to walk and sit. The heavily pregnant woman had constant back and coccyx pains, was often short of breath, but wanted to show everyone her strength and radiate joy for her second child. Nine months ago, our doctor’s loving request for a second pregnancy had triggered an avalanche of partnering. It almost created peer pressure among the teenagers in the valley. Everyone suddenly wanted a second child.

Yes, that’s why there were far too many births that year. Shortly after our cook, in February, it was young Peruvian Olivia’s turn to give birth to her second child. Fortunately, there was a break of about four months before the next births. Seven young women were still pregnant. What had I let myself in for?

I pulled an unopened packet of cigarettes out of my pocket. A new year had begun, a time when many people make new resolutions. Should I stop smoking? It would certainly do me good, although the only things we had found in abundance in the Criminal Rus camp were alcohol and tobacco products. I hesitated for a moment before opening the packet of cigarettes. Yes, when it came to sex and smoking, I was a pathetically weak man, unable to control my desires.

Still, I felt better than I had in a long time. Smiling to myself, I considered my situation. After my serious injury at the beginning of last December, I was absolutely fit. My body had regained its strength through hard physical work and regular exercise. Sex was also fun again. It was a strange feeling to be the only sexually active man in the valley. Unlike in secular life, there was no male competition for me. As if by magic, all the women and teenagers were attracted to me and showed me their unreserved affection.

But the best thing for me was the way all the women had accepted their complicated lives, their separation from their families and friends, and how they coped with school and work every day with full commitment. At the beginning I expected a lot of tears and recurring homesickness, but the opposite was the case. The girls enjoyed being together, laughed a lot, sang, and danced. And they were exemplary in looking after their little darlings, their children born last year. Only Daja was an exception. She worried me, she was not ready to accept her son Onno as her child, and she even refused to breastfeed her newborn. I had to help her, but I didn’t know how. She had postnatal depression. Seeing her baby right after birth, covered in blood and unclean, had been a big mistake on our part. Her mental recovery was my most important task, even more important than finding a way out of our isolation.

The atmosphere at breakfast was great. After the wonderful New Year’s Eve party, we had agreed to meet at 10am on the morning of New Year’s Day. But first I wanted to talk to my heavily pregnant Ramona and stroke her. She was such a strong and wise woman. Without her we would never have made it in the valley. After a tender kiss, I stroked her back and then put my hands on her body.

“Mona, how are you? You are so brave. I love you?”

Then all the dams broke. Sobbing heavily, she squeezed out a few words. “Michael, I can hardly stand it. Everything hurts. My son is squeezing my womb like crazy. I have to pee every few minutes. To be honest, I’m looking forward to it being over soon.”

“I am also looking forward to our second son, Ramona. Can you manage the meeting today or would you rather lie down?”

“Of course I can. I want to hear your plans and ideas.” She smiled at me with a slightly pained expression. Once again, I held her in my arms until her tears had dried.

I wanted to go over the main points with Luisa and Ramona first. Fifteen minutes later, the elected team representatives, Zarina, Lenya, Esther, and Mayari, were due to join us to set goals and tasks for the year ahead. I had discussed all the issues that would affect them in detail with my assistants Babette and Sula. Babette, although the fifth student representative, did not attend the meeting. She wanted to work with her friend Sula on the old mining road.

The road used to be the only access to the valley, but after the construction of a bridge over the Tiso Canyon, it has not been used for more than twenty years. But it was now impassable because at least fifty kilometres of it was covered with young trees, bushes, and cacti. We had taken every opportunity to clear or cut down the fast-growing trees, cacti, and thorn bushes, but it was tedious and exhausting. Nevertheless, it was a great achievement for all of us to clear more than twenty-seven kilometres of road and a small path for another six kilometres. If it hadn’t been for two very heavy landslides up in the mountains at an altitude of almost three thousand metres, we would certainly have managed to break through to the mountain village where many of the Indians in our valley come from. According to the unfortunately outdated aerial photographs we had found, we still had more than twenty kilometres to go before we reached the section where the tree line had prevented any further vegetation on the road.

At the beginning of our consultation, both of my adult wives confirmed how well they were feeling despite their second pregnancy. Olivia was also doing very well, as we saw at yesterday’s celebration. Only Carmen was experiencing the same problems as her first pregnancy, but this time for more than five weeks, which was why Ramona was worried. I had firmly refused to have a third child with Carmen after the twins, but she fought like a lioness for a cub and tried in many ways to persuade me to get her pregnant again. Finally, one weak evening, the women tricked me. The interpreter ended up in my bed and after one unprotected sexual intercourse the misfortune was over.

This was a phenomenon in this valley anyway, no doubt due to the exceptional natural conditions. People and animals were very fertile. Our animals reproduced rapidly. There were hardly any cases of miscarriage or deformity among the domestic animals, even though we had no opportunity for blood replenishment. Only occasionally did we catch young alpaca stallions in the upper valley for breeding. Our livestock had already recovered from the devastating floods of last February. The indigenous people’s favourite food, grilled guinea pigs, which can be slaughtered at a minimum length of fifteen centimetres and are therefore larger than many children’s pets in Europe, had already multiplied again in unusually large numbers.

The chickens, geese, and goats had also replenished themselves naturally. Only the sheep and ducks needed more offspring. The cows were old and there hadn’t been a bull to breed with for years.

We had decided that children could only be conceived and born in the valley up to 2019. Unfortunately, this had almost become a race for women and girls to get pregnant as soon as possible. Zarina, Esther, Mayari, Priya, Isabella, and Cara were already proud of their second pregnancy. Beautiful Ananda had asked for a partnership on New Year’s Eve. We had agreed on this principle in the first year of our captivity. Anyone who wanted to conceive a child had to ask for a partner in front of all the residents of the palazzo. If there were no objections, a partnership was arranged for a fortnight. Yes, I was the only rooster in the hen house and I had mated all my ‘hens’ at the first attempt. This valley seemed to offer divine conditions. Sometimes, I even believed that a higher being was guiding our destiny.

Five young ladies, all fifteen now and all mothers, had expressed their interest in me in the form of a love letter. Ramona had introduced this, she said, for my future safety in case the authorities’ made enquiries. She herself had written me an emotional love letter that spoke of her true love for me. She had earned my affection in a whole new way and, to be honest, I was flattered by the way she had tried to win my love and me.

The meeting went very quickly. Luisa made short work of it. She was again very pleased with the deliveries from her Ayllu, as the locals affectionately refer to her little village. The villagers were hardworking and industrious as far as they were able. Our cook praised the young women in the palazzo for the deliveries of meat, eggs, and vegetables from our own garden around the centre and from the fields and beds near the Casa. We produced more than we could eat. Our cold store, where Rus used to store fish, we filled it with frozen fruit and vegetables as a precaution. Even if the harvest failed, we wouldn’t suffer any hardship.

Our doctor proudly told us how Esther and she had coped with the complicated birth of Daja’s first child a few days ago, how weak the young mother had been afterwards, and how well she was doing physically today. Ramona shared my concern. Daja had severe psychological problems recognising her child as her own. She was dismissive of her Onno and lacked any empathy. Immediately after the meeting, Esther was to check on her again and talk to her woman to woman. Perhaps I could admire the young mother breastfeeding afterwards.

When our doctor presented me with a list of medicines and remedies that had run out or had expired, I could only shrug my shoulders, but I agreed in the protocol that all expired medicines and remedies should continue to be used, but only if urgently needed. I had to take responsibility for this in consultation with the doctor. Olivia and Nuria were to be involved by Ramona to replace as many medicines as possible with natural remedies and to use the traditional healing methods of the Incas, but our doctor was very cautious about this.

Among the older inhabitants of the small settlement in the valley, our doctor noticed how healthy most of the Indios were. Only Alonso needed medication to stabilise his circulation and was regularly given a small dose of blood thinners. Nuria, the oldest woman, was unfortunately nearing the end of her tether, but still wanted to help. She continued to give Leonie and Olivia tips on how to use certain parts of the plant for medicinal purposes. In the last few weeks, they had moved on to the extraction of important raw materials from animals and animal product remedies. To sum up, Ramona said that she expected the village elders to die. We should expect at least one natural death in the village this year. We should therefore find out in good time what the rituals are for a funeral. Luisa promised to discuss the matter carefully with her mother and Alonso.

By now, all the student representatives had joined us. I began by talking about our most important project, the creation of a link to the outside world. According to the maps in the desk, about 45 kilometres of the road were overgrown. So far, according to rough measurements, we had made a lot of kilometres of the road passable and cut at least six kilometres of path through the thicket. Later this year we planned to widen the lane to allow a bicycle to pass. I would need a bicycle to the mountain village, because after the overgrown piece of road it was still at least fifty kilometres to the first mountain village. I had failed miserably on two previous attempts. I wanted to try again this month, but I knew that the mountain village had no phone or Internet, let alone a shop where I could buy urgently needed items. Luisa told me just forty kilometres further on, there was a small village with a petrol station and connections to the nearest larger town.

Babette and Sula wanted to continue felling the larger trees, weather permitting, until we could extend the path after the rainy season. But Babette had shown me yesterday how little oil was left in the cordless chainsaw. Even if we used it sparingly, there would only be enough for a maximum of 500 trees. But we were expecting over a thousand trees to be felled, maybe more. Babette accepted my suggestion and tried using the vegetable oil we had found in the cellar. Although it stank a lot when used and burned quickly, it was reasonably usable. Our experienced sawyer now used it in strict alternation with the actual mineral chainsaw oil and the vegetable oil. The chains were also in poor condition and difficult to sharpen, which made the job even harder.

Back to our morning meeting. The young women made some interesting suggestions for future joint childcare and the organisation of our lives. The two climbing frames in the camp should be built, as well as a large sandpit. We also wanted to have a swimming pool for the toddlers, but there was the problem of water exchange and the lack of tiles for the otherwise too rough concrete. So, we decided to keep the two plastic children’s pools and teach the toddlers to swim as soon as possible so they could use our big pool.

The issue of nappies was also important. It was proposed that each mother should be given only one nappy per child for two days. At first it seemed that there was an unlimited supply of disposable nappies, but this was soon put into perspective. They were becoming scarce, even though we found a pallet of monthly packs in sizes 4 and 8 in a container. Fortunately, we had also found washable nappies and over pants, but they wouldn’t last long.

Lenya raised the issue of shoes. The young women’s footwear was in a disastrous state. The shoes were worn out and no longer waterproof. In addition, the young women’s feet had grown enormously. Many of the teenagers had blisters or sore toes. Fortunately, Babette was now a size 45 and the Rus shoes fitted her. Shoes in sizes 41 to 43 were in short supply but in need. Together we went to the former bedroom of the site manager and the architect, both murdered by Rus and his henchmen. We found several pairs of shoes in the four suitcases they had packed for their departure. In the cupboards we found four pairs of work shoes and two pairs of rubber boots. After a thorough cleaning we were able to help many of the girls.

Ramona then summarised the situation with our children. So far, we had sixteen infants in the Palazzo, three children in the Casa and three babies in the village. Eleven women were pregnant at the moment. I had five requests for a partnership to father children. Ramona was expecting sixteen newborns in the year that had just begun and asked me to fulfil the wishes of the young women. She was joking, but for the young women in our group it was a very serious question. It was important for the four student representatives to hear my opinion on the child wishes of their five classmates. When asked, I assured them that I would begin the process of partnering with Ananda today. My short groan sounded like a burden, hard work, but secretly I was looking forward to two weeks of love and sex with the lovely Indian girl.

Our doctor was very supportive of my suggestion to create a pathway to the outside and reiterated the medical importance of this. She no longer had the essential first vaccination for the most recently born babies, which were a triple tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough. Many other medicines and childcare products were missing. The doctor’s plea fell on fertile ground, as all four young counsellors were pregnant and desperate for vaccines for their children.

Esther returned to the issue of children. She emphasised that she would gladly give up the remaining days of her partnership with me but begged me to fulfil her friends’ desire to have children. I told her that Babette and Sula had decided not to get pregnant for the time being. My two assistants had only one important task to make the road passable. After that, Babette explained, there would be time for love and children.

At the end of our meeting, I thanked everyone for their great support. “Guys, thank you for your great cooperation. You have all become so dear to me. Without you, the student representatives, we wouldn’t have made so much progress. Lenya - great maths lessons. Mayari - keep up the good work getting everyone involved in sport. Esther, you are unique. As a midwife you will be helping our doctor deliver next week. Zarina - you are like a dear big sister to everyone. Your advice and sometimes comfort to your friends is priceless.”

Lenya thanked our doctor for her care and praised Luisa’s delicious food. “Guys, we should not forget Babette and Sula. When Sula and Beth get back from work today, let’s celebrate them. What they are doing on the streets is so great. Their work gives us hope for a better life.”

Everyone tapped the table in agreement. We all hugged each other. My little kisses were obviously good for my wives. We were a great team.

Afterwards, the four young women went to Priya to thank her for the cultural programmes and the recorded TV films. Without them, our lives would be dull and poor, Lenya said with deep conviction.

It was pleasantly warm in the big hall. It was summer at last. Although it had recently started to rain again in torrents, the temperature outside was already 24°C, but the rain prevented us from working outside. Hopefully, Babette and Sula have found some shelter from the rain, I thought as Olivia tapped me on the shoulder. She had joined us with her son Michael. Full of mummy pride, she enjoyed the praise from everyone present about how confidently her son was already walking.

There was a lot of activity in several places. The young mothers chatted about their children’s physical progress and played with their toddlers. Only Kira and Isabella were in the Casa with Daja, wanting to keep her company and look after little Onno. The youngest mum was due to move back to the Palazzo the day after tomorrow. Unfortunately, we still had no solution for her relation to her son.

When I gave Ananda a never-ending love kiss to announce the start of our partnership, we were quickly surrounded. There were jokes and teasing, but everyone wished us good luck and success for the nights of love ahead. Ananda took my hand and pulled me towards the basement. Her daughter Desna was playing in a playpen with Cara’s Gabriela. Our kitchen assistant had taken over the care of Ananda’s child when we went to make love.

At the cinema, Ananda lost all her usual inhibitions. She literally fell all over me. While kissing me lustfully, she began to undress. Shortly afterwards, a naked angel laid in my arms. Her hand touched me where she hoped I would swell, but it didn’t happen that quickly. The lustful moan that came from Ananda’s lips broke the spell. She wanted to be mine, wanted to unite. The moan electrified my lips. The tingling quickly travelled to my mind, dancing in my nervous system. The emerging lust travelled to between my legs. My excitement became visible and tangible. My partner accepted this gratefully, stroked my trousers, and unbuckled my belt.

Ananda wanted no foreplay, pushed me undressed onto the two-seater cinema bench and asked only one thing joining me. As she squatted over me, I quickly moistened our connecting elements with a little saliva to prevent friction loss, as I joked inwardly as a technician. A little later I had no more thoughts about it. All I could feel was lust, wild lust. The young Indian woman was in control of her body, as she had shown me during our first partnership. She stimulated my intruder with her muscles, nearly hypnotising him and forcing him to surrender quickly. The heat of her embrace made me lose control far too quickly. I couldn’t resist and let my body do what nature expected of it. Ananda brought me to my climax, and I gave her the most precious gift a man can give. An overdose of sperm flooded her womb. She greeted my gift with a mad scream, sighed with joy and looked proudly into my eyes.

But she hadn’t had enough. Ananda moved her abdomen in small semi-circles, rubbing her clitoris against my member. I noticed more and more that her body was doing a fantastic little dance. Her abdominal muscles were playing an exciting game. As Ananda came closer and closer to orgasm, her nails clawed into my back. She gasped and moaned. With another scream she collapsed on top of me, delighted and exhausted. I marvelled at myself that I had been able to hold my excitement for so long after my outburst, but my partner’s youth and her magical muscle play had ensured that.

We cuddled happily. Sweat had collected under her breasts. Although I had only had to move a little, I was sweating too. A small film of sweat between us made my hands slide over her skin. Her body was still twitching. I could feel her heart beating. Her slight panting told me how exhausted my partner was. It took a while for her to calm down, but she finally signalled it to me with a tender kiss.

As Priya had prepared according to my wishes, I was able to take the remote control and start a compilation of Bollywood music. Ananda loved this music, looked at me with joy, shone like a thousand suns, got up from my lap and sang along as if in a trance: “Kaliyon Ka Chaman”. Her hips emphasised the catchy rhythm. Though her limbs were not yet fully in tune with her body after her big growth spurt last year, she moved with grace. Her hands reached out to me, inviting me to dance. I tried my best but had to smile when I thought someone might be watching us. Two naked bodies moving in the semi-darkness of the screen, she graceful, I improvised, but certainly very clumsily. I simply pulled my partner towards me, pressed her body against mine and kissed her on the forehead. She showered my face with little kisses, my forehead, my cheeks, even my nose. Finally, she nibbled on my ear, stroked my back, and moved her breasts sensually over my skin. When her lips parted in anticipation, I kissed her longingly, as I hoped a teenager would expect at that moment. Her hand was already searching again to see if I was ready for another lovemaking session. Of course, I wasn’t sufficiently aroused yet, although the situation was extremely stimulating. Without any shyness, her fingers helped while her tongue signalled her greatest thirst for lovemaking.

My arms took the lightweight girl and carried her back to our love bench. Ananda made her desire for renewed intercourse abundantly clear to me, but I had other plans. I knelt before her, spread her legs, and kissed the insides of her thighs. She flinched, shyly resisting my touch, but I didn’t let up and found my way to her lap. Soon there was no more resistance. My tongue and lips had unrestricted access to her most intimate parts. I took advantage of this and did everything I could to stimulate her and give her pleasure and lust. Unfortunately, it only lasted for a short time. She exploded like a volcano under my caresses. A mixture of the man’s and woman’s bodily fluids poured onto the towel underneath. Her thighs trembled, her abdomen rose and fell. It was as if she was breathing with her vagina, making sounds I had never heard before. I watched her muscles play with fascination and put a hand on her pubis, but that made her shiver even more.

When I sat down next to her and tried to soothe her, she became active again, full of youth and vigour. She rested her belly on one of the soft armrests, held on to the back of the cinema seat, stretched her bottom towards me and demanded my full attention. A little unsure at first, I accepted the invitation. The sight of her was irresistible, as was her call. But she didn’t want me to use less force and amplitude. She cheered me on, shouting words that I don’t want to repeat, but which expressed her wild desire. Gripping her hips left and right, I was able to unleash my full power and to reach the speed she wanted. I thrust into her again and again, pulling back briefly to penetrate even deeper, accompanied by her growing moans and counter-movements. My cock disappeared and reappeared, glistening with her moisture. I felt her wild internal muscle play again. She had acquired incredible body control in the countless Yoga classes in her home village. She had been trained to please her Guru, to give him pleasure. But I was receiving this gift in his place and feeling the greatest satisfaction.

Eventually she collapsed. Her strength was gone. That was lucky for me because I couldn’t take any more either. Of course, I would have loved to spray myself into her again, but this way I could save that present for the evening or the next day. I took my darling into the next room to shower off and praised her for the unique gift of her unbridled lust. We smiled at each other, she insecure, believing she had shown weakness, I full of happiness and fulfilment.

When we finally got dressed, my stomach rumbled. Ananda was hungry too. We had missed lunch, but Cara was happy to help us heat up some soup. The roast goose for the holiday meal had unfortunately been used up, but what we had experienced was a thousand times better than the best food. Cara left us to look after the two sleeping babies. We sat together at the dining table like two people madly in love.

Ananda stroked my hands and kept touching my face with her lips. I was tired. Ananda lay down with me in my big bed, her daughter Desna nestled between us. We slept like this until the little girl asked for her bottle. Again, I had this overwhelming feeling of complete contentment. I wanted to embrace the whole world. What had I done to deserve such a wonderful life?

Just before dinner, Sula and Babette returned from their work on the road, soaked, exhausted, and covered in dirt. They wanted to talk proudly about the day’s achievements, but they didn’t get the chance. As we had agreed in the morning, they were given a jubilant welcome. Each was given a laurel wreath. Their arms were raised by two ladies as the winners of the day, much like the winner of a boxing match. A little singing added to the atmosphere. My assistants looked at me in disbelief, unable to understand their triumphant reception. Lenya made a short speech. There was enthusiastic clapping and cheering.

There was only one thing I could do, they needed to warm up and take a bath. They gladly accepted my invitation. In the bathroom, Mayari and Esther stood close to the tub, holding Ken and Felix, the bather’s sons, and joking with their friends. The two little boys, more like babies, reached out their little hands to their mothers and wanted to join them. They were quickly undressed and bathed with their mothers. Sula gave Ken a breast and let Babette’s son have some too. Esther took pictures of the four of them, wonderful moments you never forget.

After dinner I walked with Ananda to the guesthouse. In room ‘13’, my love nest, where I had already spent wonderful hours or nights with all the women in the palazzo, I experienced another orgy of lust. Ananda was a master of love, a gift from heaven.

The next day, the second of January, the sun finally came out. Due to the high humidity and the sun almost vertically above us in the valley, we had incubator conditions. The rising steam almost took your breath away. It was certainly more comfortable up in the mountains. So, I took the opportunity to take my assistants up to the end of the passable part of the road. The speedometer on Zarina’s bike showed us 27.3 kilometres of open road. This was a great achievement, especially for my assistants, but we still had a lot of work ahead of us.