Chapter 5

"You! It's you. You bitch! The long hair had me fooled, but I see who you are now"

Angela's heart sank. This was just what she sure as hell didn't need right now!

"Tie the bitch up for flogging! Jump to it, you idle crew!"

Angela was roughly seized by two powerful ruffians and dragged across the deck... She was then tied, arms over her head and feet wide apart to the same grating at which the other three girls had all suffered before - particularly the defiant Marlene, now being reluctantly cooperative thanks to Angela's firm command, transmitted through the other two.

As the poor girl waited, stretched out taut as a bowstring, the near apoplectic Captain Farr stood with his face inches away from hers. She fought down the nauseous disgust she felt, both at the sight of his sweaty fat face and the stink of his atrocious breath.

"You thought you'd seen the last of me - EH? Thought you'd get away with ruining my career, just because of the say so of a whining, lying little bitch of a Wren!" He slapped her hard several times, causing blood to flow from her mouth and nose.

He stepped back, obviously near to a fatal seizure. As soon as he had recovered he ordered her to be given one hundred lashes.

"Oh, dear God" said Marlene under her breath. The most she had ever been given at any one time had been twenty and that had almost killed her.

"Won't that spoil her looks a bit, Captain. Damaged goods and all that?" she cried out.

The so-called first mate was standing near Farr.

"She has a point, Captain." said the villain. "We need these girls to brighten the place up a bit. And you have promised we can all have them one day. The state her back'll be in after a flogging like that just doesn't bear thinking about! The men won't like it, Sir!"

"Take that girl" screamed Farr, pointing to Marlene "to be tied down on deck for a week. I'll teach her to talk out of turn."

Marlene was dragged off. She hoped her words had secured some mercy for poor Angela!

"As for you," he turned to Angela " you can have ten now and ten when you've healed and so on until you've had your hundred. In fact we may go on and on even after a hundred. That's it! We'll make your floggings a regular attraction! Take a look at that whip! You'll be getting to know it really well! Make her kiss it first - unless she wants the hundred all at once."

The leather thong was stuck in front of Angela's face. She forced herself to kiss the thin strip of dried leather that was soon to bite and sear its message of pain into her back. This day was turning out even more badly than the last ones!

In a better mood by this time he stood smiling happily as a strong member of his villainous crew did his cruel work raising his arm and bringing the leather down on Angela's back, which became steadily criss-crossed by a pattern of red welts, some of which began to ooze blood, much to his quiet satisfaction. He would have been happier if Angela had cried out a few times - or even once. But the girl certainly had plenty of courage; he was forced to concede that much. She let out a few involuntary gasps to begin with, but quickly got even this under control and endured the final seven lashes, all of them savagely laid on, in stoic silence.

Half dead and semi conscious she was untied and dragged down to her bunk, onto which she was unceremoniously thrown. She passed out completely as they left her, and was still half out several hours later when the other two came down to see to her.

Doris put her hand under her head and sat her up in order not to have her sore back in contact with the rough blanket. She told Marcella to get her some water. As soon as she had complied, Doris put some to the suffering girl's mouth and Angela took a few sips, weakly murmuring her thanks. After a couple of sips and several long painful minutes, she spoke again.

"Damned nuisance, being recognised. He's vindictive as they come - famous for it - and I had a hand in his dismissal from the Service. If I'd had my way, he'd have served time instead of just being booted out. As long as I'm here, my life is going to be rough - he'll take great delight in seeing to that! How long do think it will be for me to heal from this little lot?"

Doris rubbed her own back, the memory of the ten she had received coming back to haunt her once again.

"Ten days and you'll be well and truly on the mend. Well enough to be flogged again. So, I guess you've a hundred more days before he's done with you, unless he meant that about going on after the hundred."

"He meant it!" said Angela.

Doris shuddered.

" I hope we can come up before then with something by way of an escape attempt - well before then! Just listening to that whip coming down on you time after time was enough to give me the horrors. As for you - why didn't you scream? I did during my flogging - I screamed like mad. And it helped, funnily enough!"

"Did Marlene scream when she got it?" asked Angela, becoming a little stronger.

"No. Not her. She's very brave - and stupid and obstinate."