Chapter 23: 'Escape'

The door to the building burst open and a minor whirlwind rushed in, throwing two of the youngsters against the walls hard enough to stun them. Jacqui caught sight of Peter as he grabbed the arm of the third and pushed it an impossible distance up his back. There was a sound like wood breaking and the boy screamed in agony.

One of the stunned pair had recovered enough to return to the fray, but Peter grabbed him by one wrist and swung him round like a catapult. Just as the young man was heading towards the door, Peter let go and the youngster's body flew through the door, only to be hit by the lads' aircar as the fourth one tore away, intent on saving his own skin.

Peter looked the three over and decided that they would cause no more trouble for the moment.

Scooping Jacqui up in his arms, he said, "You little fool. You've killed four men today and I hope Martha makes you pay for it."

Jacqui just stared uncomprehendingly at him as he dumped her unceremoniously in the New House of Joy's hovercar and drove her back 'home'. At the New House of Joy, Jacqui was still shaking and slightly in shock from the beating she had received from the four young men when Martha came into the Choosing Room, stark naked, and took her in her arms. Jacqui winced at her touch on the bruises on her shoulders.

Martha said to Alf, "Fetch Violetta. Don't stand there staring at my tits; it isn't the first time you've seen them and probably won't be the last, even if they aren't pretty any more."

Martha and Violetta took Jacqui off to her own room and calmed her down. Then they examined her bruises and could tell that she had been battered unmercifully; these were not the marks of a whip or a paddle, but were solid bruises made by fists or boots.

"What happened?" asked Martha.

"Two of them hurried me into their aircar when Peter and Alf were busy with the other two," sobbed Jacqui, "They said they wanted to fuck me, but you charged too much, and wouldn't allow gang-bangs anyway."

"You could have screamed and avoided all this, but no, you were drunk enough to let them," remarked Martha, "Getting drunk is punishable; you know that."

Jacqui rather tentatively admitted, "Y-yes, Madame."

"Then what happened?" asked Violetta, in a rather more gentle tone of voice than Martha.

"Well, I thought if I let them have what they wanted, they would bring me back. So when we stopped at this hut I sort of let them strip me and then one fucked my face and another fucked my arse..." She broke off shivering again at the memory of their brutality.

"The next one tried to use my cunt but he was too drunk to get his prick hard enough to put it into me," she continued.

"So he got angry and started hitting you, then the others joined in and they all started to beat you up," finished Martha for her.

Jacqui nodded.

"And then?" asked Martha.

"Peter arrived and pulled them off me. Three of them got hurt but the other got away in the aircar," said Jacqui, "Peter won't be in trouble will he? I mean with the policebots, I'm sure he broke the arm of one."

"You haven't been here long, only just over a week, but you should have realised that we aren't lying to you. There are only prisoners here and we control ourselves," explained Martha, "Karl owns those four young fools. I own Peter. Any damages will be dealt with between us two and only us two. There are no policebots here; none at all!"

Martha called Peter and asked him, "How bad are they?"

"One was hit by the get-away car and is finished, the one with the broken arm ... maybe ... and the third depends on Karl because he only got concussion. I'll catch the fourth one later on."

"What do you mean, Peter. One of them is finished?" Jacqui asked.

Martha answered for him, "He means that one, maybe two of them are injured too badly to work, and will therefore die because we have a 'No work, no food' rule. The third one may survive if Karl is prepared to pay him for not a lot of work for a while. My bet is that Karl will say that men like that, who are only used as mine foremen and who get beaten up are no use and he'll send them down the mine to dig ore. They'll all be dead in a day or so, killed by miners they've disciplined in the weeks they've been here."

Turning to Peter she said, "Forget the fourth, Karl will deal with him the same as the others. I'll have a word later."