Prelude

Oh man, that last guy was rough, I wonder if Evie has any of that moisturiser left, my arse is so sore.

Shit, I’m so hungry, when did I have that sandwich, it was tasty, cheese and pickle ... yesterday? No, it was Monday. It was that nice lady who gave it me. She has such kind eyes, and lovely red hair that almost glowed in the sunshine. I’ve seen her a few times, I wonder who she is?

I had some biscuits yesterday, I think ... was it yesterday? Yes, it must have been, the recycling bins were out, because it’s bin day on Tuesday.

Anyway, where am I? Oh, Paddington ... what time is it? I’ll check the clocks in the station... 10:30 ... Joey’s café will be closing soon, I wonder if he has any burgers left, I’m sure he’ll give me one for a blowjob.

Shit, this burger had better be good, I hate it when Marco is in charge, he never settles for a blowie, now my arse is really sore. At least I got a coffee, it’s warming me up nicely.

Oh, what’s that over by the bins? Is it a cat, I hope it’s a cat. I love cats, I need one to cheer me up ... I wish I was a cat; it would be nice to sit on an old lady’s knee, purring while she strokes my fur ... that would be great...

Oh wow, it’s not a cat, it’s a girl ... I don’t recognise her; I wonder who she is...

“Hello ... I’m Poppy, come with me if you want to live.”

“Err ... what the ... isn’t that what Arnie says in Terminator 2?”

“Probably ... but I mean it, you don’t look well. Have this burger, you need it more than me.”

“It’s still warm!” she cried before tucking in, “thank you!”

“You’re so pretty, I think I’ll call you Belle...”

Story

“Where are we going?” Belle asked as she walked alongside Poppy, struggling to keep up as the taller girl dodged down alleys and along narrow side streets.

“mmm ... I’m trying to find somewhere safe to sleep. I was supposed to be going home, so Evie could give me some ointment, but it’s too late now, the last trains have gone, and I don’t trust night buses ... never get a night bus Belle, there’s dangerous people use them.”

“What ointment do you need?” Belle asked, “there’s a 24-hour pharmacy over there.”

“Nothing special, just some nice moisturiser, I’m a bit sore down below, Evie has some cocoa butter.”

As soon as Poppy finished speaking, Belle dropped the sleeping bag she was carrying and ran over the road to the pharmacy. A moment later she reappeared and dashed back to Poppy’s side.

“I got this one, is it OK?”

“It’s perfect,” Poppy replied gratefully. “You weren’t in there long enough to pay...”

“Ahh, I didn’t pay, I hope that’s OK.”

“Fine by me,” Poppy replied, “give me the tube so I can rub it in.”

“Nope, you need to drop your pants so I can rub it in, I’ll do a better job because I can see what I’m doing.”

It took a while, but eventually Belle persuaded Poppy to drop her pants and panties, and by the light of a streetlamp, she got her first look at Poppy’s dilated arse.

“Jesus Poppy! What happened to you?” Belle cried as she wiped Poppy’s pussy and backside with some baby-wipes she’d stolen along with the cocoa butter.

“You shouldn’t be doing this,” Poppy replied plaintively.

“You saved my life; I can’t think of a better way to pay you back right now.” Belle told her, as she squirted some of the cocoa butter on her fingers.

Poppy sighed as Belle applied the soothing balm, “that feels nice, thank you Belle. I don’t remember anyone being so tender with me.”

“What about your mum?” Belle asked innocently.

“My mum is the reason I’m here,” Poppy replied, as Belle pulled her pants up and gently patted her bum.

Poppy looked around, “I think we’ll be safe in there,” she said, before taking Belle’s hand, leading her across the street to an empty shop doorway.

Belle sat with her back to the door; Poppy lay with her head in Belle’s lap. She told her story as Belle ran her fingers through Poppy’s untidy hair.

“I’ve been on the streets a long time; longer than a year. Right now I’m living with 7 other women and girls in a squat over in Walthamstow...”

“That’s miles away, isn’t it ... I was looking at the tube map in the station earlier.”

“Yeah, it’s about 40 minutes away on the tube. I’ve honestly no idea how I got here.”

“Don’t you remember anything?”

“I left the squat on Monday, I met a girl I see around sometimes, Jewel. We shared some cider and maybe some ketamine. I usually lose a day or so after I’ve used ket.”

Poppy sat up for a moment and dug through her jeans and jacket pockets, she pooled the money she found and quickly counted it, “mmm, about £150, looks like I’ve been busy.”

“Busy how?” Belle asked, not sure she wanted to know the answer.

“Fucking people,” Poppy replied bluntly as she slipped the money in her jacket pocket and resumed her place on Belle’s lap. She felt safe here, she felt happy too, for the first time in a long time.

“How many people?”

“mmm, 8 or 10, maybe more if I’ve spent money since Monday, which I probably have, because I got quite drunk yesterday...”

“Don’t you remember?”

“I try to forget,” Poppy replied in a shame filled whisper, “that’s what the ket and cider is for. I remember the last one, it paid for your burger.”

“Shit Poppy, that’s horrible.”

“Yeah, but the girls back at the squat will be able to eat for a few days.”

“So you go through all that shit, and it’s not even for your benefit?”

“Well, I eat some of the food Max buys...”

“Yeah, but I just saw your arse; a few meals is no payback for how much you must hurt.”

“I don’t mind it, and sometimes it even feels nice.”

“Oh my god!” Belle cried, “I just realised, that burger, it was your meal!”

“It’s OK, we’ll go to the squat tomorrow morning and eat something then,” Poppy replied soothingly, “now though, I just want to sleep for a bit.”

“She’s a goddess,” Belle whispered as Poppy slept in her lap.

Belle was stiff when she awoke with the sunrise a few hours later, but she was alive, and that wasn’t something that was guaranteed if Poppy hadn’t found her.

Belle reached for the baby wipes and looked down at her new friend, still sleeping peacefully in her lap. She gently washed Poppy’s face, careful not to wake her.

Poppy’s eyes fluttered open as Belle kissed her now clean forehead, “good morning sweetie, I can’t remember the last time I slept so well. I had a wonderful dream; I hope it comes true.”

“What was your dream about?”

“We were living in a big house with two other beautiful girls, we had parents, and friends.”

“That sounds fun.”

“It’s a big step up from the wish I had just before I met you.”

“What was that,” Belle asked as she resumed combing Poppy’s hair with her fingers.

“I just wanted to lie in someone’s lap, like a cat, while they stroked my hair.”

“Well, that one came true last night,” Belle replied cheerily.

“I hope that’s a sign the second one will come true one day,” Poppy said wistfully, as she climbed to her feet and helped Belle to hers.

“I’ve never been on the underground.” Belle excitedly told Poppy as they walked to the station, “err ... aren’t we going the wrong way for Paddington?”

“We’re getting the train from Edgeware Road, it’s easier to sneak on without paying there, because there’s fewer staff.”

“Do we have to jump over the barrier? I don’t think I can jump that high.”

“Don’t worry, sweetie, there shouldn’t be any jumping needed.”

It was a ten-minute walk to the station; they stopped on the way and Poppy treated them both to a bacon roll and coffee.

“Oh my fucking god!” Poppy gasped after her first bite, “this tastes so good. I don’t think I ate anything yesterday ... oh, no, that’s not true, I had a Snickers that someone gave me ... does a chocolate bar count as food?”

“You can have my sandwich,” Belle offered, “because I had yours last night.”

“Thank you, Belle, but you have it ... besides, you might need the energy if we get caught.”

“Will we get arrested?”

“I’ve not been arrested yet,” Poppy told her as she walked Belle around to an alley at the back of the station.

“If we do get arrested, will the police send me home? Because I can’t go home, ever...” Belle replied, a note of panic in her voice.

“We won’t get arrested, and if we do, it’s most likely they’ll just let us go after a stern telling off, then they’ll probably take us home, which will be back to the squat.”

After checking there was nobody around, Poppy led Belle half-way down the alley, they stopped at a collection of bins.

“Isn’t this where you found me, amongst a load of bins?” Belle asked nervously, unsure what was about to happen.

“Not quite” Poppy replied, cupping Belle’s cheek tenderly, “at Paddington you were hiding behind the bins, here we’re going to climb on the bins to reach that window,” she added, pointing to an open window above their heads.

“Where does the window go?” Belle asked, her nervousness turning to excitement at the thought of an impending adventure with her beautiful new friend.

“There’s only one way to find out,” Poppy replied as she helped Belle clamber onto the tallest bin.

Belle reached up but was still a little short, so Poppy climbed on the bin and lifted Belle until she could grasp the window ledge, then a little higher to help her climb through the window. Poppy, more used to this than Belle, jumped up and clambered through behind her.

They looked around, “ahh, the staff room, which gives me the perfect opportunity to tell you some of the rules of our gang. If you want to join us, you have to follow our rules.”

Belle was nodding and smiling, amazed that this beautiful, exciting girl was ready to let her join her gang.

“Last night you stole some things from a shop for me, that’s OK, as long as what you steal is something we need, not just something you’d like.”

“OK, I understand that.”

“What we don’t ever do, is steal stuff from people, because that’s just wrong. So, that means we don’t take anything from coats or bags or lockers.”

“Yes, that’s understandable,” Belle agreed.

Just then they heard the sound of a toilet flushing, followed by the door to their right opening, a huge man emerged, buckling his trouser belt.

“Who the fuck are you?” the huge man growled as he noticed the girls.

Poppy stepped protectively in front of Belle, “sorry mister, we got lost looking for the toilets.”

“How on earth did you end up here, the door from the public area is locked,” his eyes moved up and saw the window was no longer on the latch, it had closed as Poppy clambered through. “Jesus, the bins are under that window again, I’ve told the staff they have to keep them away from open windows.”

He stepped forwards and made to slap Poppy, she ducked out of the way of the blow, but he managed to grab her hair as he brought his arm back.

“Don’t hurt her!” Belle cried.

“This won’t hurt if you both behave,” he replied as he started to unbuckle his belt.

“Do what you like to me, but don’t touch Belle!”

“OK, but we’ll have to make this special if I only get to fuck one of you,” he hissed as he dragged Poppy’s jeans down.

Belle jumped on the man’s back; he swatted her away as he rammed his cock in Poppy’s sore arse.

“Please Belle, this will be OK if you just let him get on with it...”

“But ... he’s raping you!” Belle cried.

Poppy reached out and wiped Belle’s tears away as the man continued to thrust into her.

He didn’t last long, few men did with Poppy, she’d found out that if she pretended to enjoy it, her pussy and arse muscles took over and milked most men in a couple of minutes. The men were usually happy once they’d finished and forgot to hit her like they used to do, most even remembered to pay her.

The man put himself away and fastened his pants, “don’t let me catch you here again,” he told them, “or I’ll fuck your friend next time,” he added before turning on his heels and stalking from the room.

“Oh my god,” Belle cried, “he just raped you!”

“Yeah, I’ve had worse happen.” Poppy gasped as she tried to calm down, “He was quite small anyway, so I hardly felt him.”

Belle reached into her coat for the wipes and cocoa butter, “let me clean you up, then we’ll get the train.”

“Mmm, did you notice if he had a name badge?” Poppy asked as Belle cleaned and soothed her lady parts once more.

“Why, are you going to report him?”

“Nah, what would that accomplish?”

“What then?”

“I’m going to break that rule I told you about, he’s not getting a freebie off me.”

Belle closed her eyes, “I was so scared, I don’t think I noticed a badge ... Oh, Mark, his name was Mark Collins, station manager.”

Poppy pulled her pants up after Belle finished the cleanup and she looked through the coats hanging on pegs along the wall. She stopped at the biggest one and patted it down, she found a wallet and pulled it out.

Opening the wallet she found a driving licence, “yep, Mark Collins,” she said.

Slipping the licence back, she removed all the cash and credit cards, popped it back in the coat, and they left the staff room.

Poppy stopped in the corridor and listened, the train noises were coming from their left, so she turned that way, “hold my hand, but keep behind me,” she whispered, “if we meet anyone, we run, but we stick together. I don’t want to lose you.”

They didn’t need to worry, the corridor was deserted, and they made it out to the platforms just as a Hammersmith & City Line train pulled onto Platform 1.

“Did all that really happen?” Belle asked as they took a seat in the last carriage.

“Yep,” Poppy replied.

“Does that kind of thing happen a lot?”

“Not too often, about once a week or so,” Poppy replied simply.

“You get raped once a week?”

“Probably. Like I said, I block a lot out.”

“Did it hurt?”

“Well, kind of, because my arse was already really sore,” Poppy replied as she pulled the wad of notes out of her pocket, “here, count this lot while I check through his credit cards, see if there’s any we can sell.”

Belle took a thick stack of notes off Poppy and quickly sorted and counted them, “there’s over £800 here!” she told Poppy quietly, not wanting the other passengers to know she had so much money.

“Cool, and I think we’ll get about £50 for these credit cards.”

Poppy slipped the cash and cards inside her jacket, then she closed her eyes and rested awhile, until they reached Kings Cross St Pancras. They dashed across to Platform 3, where a Victoria Line train was waiting to take them to Walthamstow.

“You know, I think that guy was dodgy,” Poppy mused.

“He fucking raped you, of course he was dodgy ... and by the way, thanks for stepping in like that ... I’m a virgin, I don’t want to lose my cherry to a rapist.”

“No problem, Belle. As long as you’re with me, you’ll keep your cherry until we find Mr Right.”

“Mmm, I’m gay,” Belle replied, with a wry grin.

“Fair enough, you’ll keep your cherry until we find Ms Right.”

I think I found Ms Right last night, Belle thought, and wondered why she didn’t have the courage to say it out loud.

“Why would a station manager have £800 in cash,” Poppy asked, “and ten credit cards, none of which are in his own name?”

“Oh really! What do you think he was up to?”

“Well, he could be taxing pickpockets...”

“What does that mean?”

“Well, if he catches a pickpocket in the station, he takes half of what they’ve stolen, instead of reporting them to the police.”

“The sneaky bastard!” Belle gasped, “so that’s why all the cards are in different names.”

“Exactly, which means I don’t feel right selling them, they’ve been taken from the public.”

“And the cash...” Belle added.

“Yeah, but there’s not much we can do to get it back to the victims, so we keep it as spoils of war ... the cards though, I think we’ll hand them into the bank near the station.”

Once more, Belle wondered about this beautiful girl. She was a prostitute, she’d just been anally raped, she’d not eaten properly in days, but she still wouldn’t keep something stolen from the public. Maybe she is a goddess, maybe she’s Wonder Woman. What she did know, is she loved this beautiful, exciting girl. She would happily follow Poppy to the end of the world and back again.

They stopped outside Barclays Bank, “you’d better go in,” Poppy said, “you’re cleaner than me.”

“Your face is very clean,” Belle replied, “I washed you with the wet wipes while you were asleep.”

“Oh really!” Poppy replied, checking her reflection in the bank window, “Thank you so much! Still, your clothes are much nicer than mine,” she added, passing the stack of stolen credit cards over to Belle.

Poppy stood just inside the bank lobby and watched as Belle strode up to a member of staff, showing no signs of the nervousness she’d displayed outside.

“Excuse me,” Belle said as she held the cards out to the female assistant, “we took these cards off a man who raped my friend...”

The assistant paled as Belle spoke, “does your friend need a doctor, or the police?”

“It seems not,” Belle replied, “I think she’s a goddess. Anyway, he had all these cards, and they’re in different names, so we think they’re stolen. We were hoping you could return them to the owners.”

“I’m afraid we can’t return them, but we can certainly contact the issuing banks, so they can send replacement cards.”

The assistant had been riffling through the cards as she spoke, stopping at a gold American Express card, “ahh, this card will have a reward attached, I need to speak to my manager. Tell your friend to join us, you can have a coffee while you wait.”

“What’s going on?” Poppy asked in a nervous whisper as she joined Belle in a little cubicle beside the ATMs, “does she suspect something?”