Chapter 14

It started as a day like all the others as far as Sharon was concerned. In fact, in her misery she had lost all concept of days. Life was nothing but boredom and fear punctuated by rape. Only a few hours earlier Sweetness and she had had to endure another assault by the Buggery soldiers. Again ones she'd never seen before with the exception of the sergeant who escorted them in. She was vaguely aware of the violence done to her through her tears and pain. Her arse hadn't recovered from the previous assault which had already left a trickle of blood between her buttocks. Her vagina was similarly bruised and battered. And yet more pummelling. She could see Sweetness' face pressed against the ground like her own, a leg hooked over her back while another soldier squeezed his penis into his arse. She could see the other soldiers fucking each other and could hear the gasps and pants of the soldiers as they penetrated her. She had long given up struggling. It only made it hurt more. All she could look forward to was the pain ending, and then being left huddled in a slump to nurse her sorrows. Sometimes she saw enough of the soldiers from the undignified positions in which they'd held her down to see just how young and sometimes mutilated they were. She knew that their sufferings in this war had also been considerable, and the scars and dismemberments were proof, if proof were needed that war was no more pleasant for the combatants than it was for innocents like her who had been dragged into its sphere.

And then, hours of solitude with Sweetness whose tears of grief for Joy were intermingled with rage against the men who had treated her so badly. It was evening, so only a shadowy form of Sweetness could be seen in the narrow light passing through the tent's closed entrance. Sharon sat with her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms nestling around her legs, staring into space, depressed, anxious and bruised. How long would she last until she was discarded or worn out? It was while these dark thoughts ran through her mind that she was suddenly startled by a loud bang and a sudden burst of light which briefly illuminated the contours of Sweetness' recumbent white form.

Thunder and lightening, presumed Sharon. But no, there wasn't any rain. The little patch of sky she could see through the tent door was clear. And then another crash. Not too far away. And the sound of running outside. What was happening? In the tent, all she knew of was frantic activity outside, the occasional thundering crash and accompanying flash of light. And then the sound of gunfire.

"Oh No! Oh No! We're gonna die! We're going to die!" cried Sharon in utter fear, a patch of urine suddenly releasing itself from between her legs and squirting onto the ground beneath her.

Sweetness moaned. "What's happening? What's going on? What's happening?"

"I don't know," admitted Sharon, conscious only that whatever it was, it was dangerous and potentially lethal.

The noise and confusion only intensified. The gunfire became an almost continuous rattle as it progressed to machine guns and hand automatics. Every few moments there was a shriek or a thump or a crash. The tent was illuminated after and during each new noise, and Sharon could see Sweetness in those few instances lit up and crouched. She despaired. "I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die!" she moaned unable to hear her own voice over the cacophony, and distantly aware of similar shrieks and cries erupting from Sweetness. Sharon rolled herself into a ball, hid her head into her arms and like a mantra moaned: "Die! I'm gonna. Die!" She could hear soldiers running about outside. At one stage, the tent shook as a body fell against it and then slumped to the ground. Sharon yelped with terror. When would she be next?

"Sharon! Sharon!" she distantly heard. She looked up to see the shadowy figure of the sergeant. He was crouching down, but Sharon could see that his penis was fully erect between his legs.

"Not now! For fuck's sake not now!" Sharon pleaded, afraid that she was about to be raped.

"I love you, Sharon," said the sergeant in a voice hollowed out by excitement. "I love you. I only wish we'd met in... in better circumstances." Sharon gazed at the figure when there was another monstrous crash which shook the tent and briefly lit the sergeant up. He was clearly excited, and not just his penis. Sharon noticed a gash on his leg and a swelling of flesh and blood. The sergeant slightly hobbled. "If we ever meet again... if I survive... I'd so like to meet you again... but, for now, you must run. Run away!"

Sharon was conscious that the shackle around her ankle was being taken off and suddenly she was freed. Her ankle felt sore, but it was also free. Then, as she crouched, rubbing her ankle and wondering what to do, she watched as the sergeant unclasped Sweetness' ankle and then both of them were free.

"You must run! Both of you! The Gomorrans. They're here. Soon they'll be in this tent. And they'll kill you! You must leave! Now!"

The sergeant tugged Sharon up, who was unsteady from so many days of lying down. And weak from eating so badly. And bruised and battered from her multiple rapes. He grabbed Sharon by the arm and pulled up Sweetness who was terrified and weeping. He pulled them out of the tent, hobbling on his wounded leg.

"I have to fight! You have to run!" the sergeant shouted urgently. Sharon was startled by the brightness and confusion of the camp outside which she'd only glimpsed when she'd been dragged in. All around were Buggery soldiers running naked with their erect penises, with guns in their arms. On the ground were the bodies of other soldiers. Some tents were burning, and there was smoke drifting across the landscape. She could vaguely see the shadows of jeeps in the distance driving around through the smoke. And all around was the sound of gunfire and the occasional whistle as bullets shot by uncomfortably close.

The sergeant pushed Sharon and Sweetness away from him. "That way! There's a wood. Only a hundred yards! Run!"

Sharon looked around her with startled open eyes, aware that her chances were lessening by the second. Without a word, she grabbed Sweetness by the arm and pulled her roughly with her as she ran almost as blindly as Sweetness in the dark void where the sergeant pointed. As they ran, they occasionally glimpsed soldiers lying on the ground and others running in all directions. She was unsure of where she trod, and felt the rough earth acutely as her bare feet raced onwards. Despite her blindness, Sweetness was keeping up with her, moaning but not complaining.

And then, they were into some woodland. But Sharon kept running, aware that this was only shelter in the most temporary sense. They ran over through the dark shadows, gashing their ankles and their thighs on the brambles and thicket. Gradually, the sound of gunfire became more distant, but the explosions when they occurred were loud, threatening and shook even the tall trees around them.

Sharon ran and ran, her breath short and painful. And then she noticed an opening in the trees through which the moon was shining. Sharon guided Sweetness through the trees, and put an arm around the girl.

"We've escaped. We may be safe," she whispered. Sweetness looked up her, gazing with sightless, tearful eyes.

"I hope so! I hope so!" she whispered.

However, when they got to the edge of the wood, Sharon could see that they were still far from being as safe as she'd hoped. Outside a full battle was in action. Buggery soldiers were running about, their erect penises silhouetted grotesquely against the moon. Gomorran soldiers in jeeps were also in evidence, firing at the Buggery soldiers from their jeeps. A large tank was charging over the dried barren earth, crunching over the bodies of dead soldiers, occasionally releasing explosions of fire into those soldiers who were running about. Sharon was suddenly aware that the tank was heading towards the woods where they were, and might soon be on them. She wasn't sure that the trees would offer it much of an obstacle.

She squeezed Sweetness' shoulder. "We have to keep running. It's dangerous here." Sweetness nodded, and joined Sharon as she led her back into the wood.

However, it was not long until Sharon's exhaustion became the better of her, and she and Sweetness were reduced to staggering through the dark dismal wood, not knowing where they were going, only knowing what they were running away from. The sound of explosions became more infrequent and more distant, and she was now more conscious of the deadness and silence of where they were. But tired as she was, she and Sweetness continued walking and stumbling in the dark. Neither said much to each other, although Sweetness clung to Sharon's arm or hand so tightly that Sharon could feel the girl's nails dig deep into her flesh.

The girls walked on and on, until they could walk no more. And then, hoping that it was safe, Sharon settled on a spot underneath a tall tree around which was mostly grass and moss, and although it was slightly damp in the night chill, she gently eased Sweetness down to join her in the dark for the rest that her body demanded of her. Sweetness sighed and pulled herself onto Sharon's body for comfort and warmth. Sharon had neither the energy nor the cruelty to push her off.