Chapter 6

Findley Processing, Saturday Morning

Carol realized she was not in her own bed when she woke up hugging James. And after a moment she remembered where she was. The collar was a reality check.

Liz must have left after I fell asleep, Carol thought.

Last night was pretty wild, Carol thought. She and Liz had attacked Jim and each other repeatedly. It was as if the stress and shock of the roller coaster just made them both hungry to make up for lost time.

Carol nudged Jim and then started to kiss his neck.

“Mm mm,” Jim replied. “Didn’t get enough?”

“Never enough. Always want one more.”

“Honey, I couldn’t get it up this morning if I had to to save my life.” Jim murmured.

Carol froze at that statement. I wonder how many more mornings do I have? she thought.

“Well, could you if it was someone besides me?” she whispered.

“After last night, I could not for anyone. Regardless.”

“Well, you will probably have a lot of opportunities in the future to get some variety,” Carol said, with a small smile.

“I don’t want to.”

“Honey, you have to. I don’t know how long this life here will last. And I don’t know how long I want it to last either.”

“Carol...”

“Shh. Listen to me. David and Margaret have given us a gift. We have a few days to settle things and I get to see the girls. But being in this place? I don’t think I want to last too long here as a slave.”

“Carol, we can do something. Remember, delay is our friend,” Jim said.

“Jim, it is not a friend, nor is it fair. The whole thing is crazy, but this is a prison. Worse, it is a prison with an execution chamber that runs four days a week. I can’t live in that environment for long. I don’t want to.”

“So what are you going to do? Let Margaret or someone cut your throat like you and Liz described to me?”

Jim had been shocked after the first sex and a few drinks with Liz and Carol. They were laughing in shock, talking about the slaughter of the three last women in the ‘pack’ that followed Margaret. He did not know how to feel about Margaret after hearing that she had slit the throats of the three women, all the while talking to them. It seemed almost psychotic to him.

“Either that, or get David to build a gallows. I think that will take a while. Or I’ll ask him to bring in a block and axe. Jim, I am going to be slaughtered. I am going to be either table food or dog food. I hope it is table food for you. But either way, I am going through the freezer some time. I will be cut up and packaged. And you or someone is going to buy the box marked ‘Carol’. And I think you need to get that in your head now.”

“But...” James began.

“You will need to get another bed-warmer. You need to get ready to move on with your life. Best thing going for us right now is we have time to finish up our relationship. No regrets. And don’t get upset with Dave and Margaret. They did us a favor by giving us at least one night and maybe twenty-nine more. When this is over, remember they were our friends. If I had not been sent here yesterday, I would already be in cute little plastic packages in a meat counter.”

Jim was quiet while he listened to what his wife was saying. He also knew when she was on a roll like this that he should not argue.

“You sure do know how to present your case. Okay. So how much will a “Grand Gallows” cost to build?” Jim asked

“What do you mean? You intending to pitch in?”

“Darling. If you are going to use it, I will build the finest ever built, just for you.”

“Jim, you are the sweetest man,” Carol said, as she rolled over on top of him.

Liz had gone back to the room that was “hers” after Jim and Carol fell asleep. She could not stay there. The semen running down her legs felt good. And there was no doubt that Jim was an impressive lover. Hopefully, Carol would loan him to her again.

The sounds of Candy and Nancy in Nancy’s room had greeted her as she left Carol’s bed. The open door was an invitation to watch as Nancy and Candy were locked into a sixty-nine that both sweating and moaning. Liz watched for a moment, then went onto her bed feeling too agitated and sore for any more.

Waking up and stretching, Liz woke up with a shock, remembering where she was. So how do I feel? Liz asked herself. Liz was glad that she would be able to see her kids and husband a few more times. And she was very happy that she was not going to be dead for the immediate future. But the impact of watching Margaret slit three throats, and knowing that she was going to do it again today was disturbing. And her cheerful persona with everyone right up to the time they stood on the revolving door was comforting. It was wrapping her mind around what happened next that was the problem.

I guess I better make some coffee, Liz said to herself. Forcing herself out of the bed, she picked up the robe that was brought over last night and went down the stairs to the break-room below.

There were two stairways downstairs. One was off of the stripping room downstairs, and the other went down to the break-room where the refrigerator, stove, microwave and pantry were. Liz went down to start the coffee in the break-room. The coffee pot there was older and needed to actually have water and coffee put into it, and the new pots and pans were in the dishwasher ready to use. Breaking some eggs into a bowl, Liz started to put together the basics for omelets and put some bread into the toaster. Turning the stove on and placing the skillet in place to warm up, Liz was well on the way to making breakfast.

The smell of coffee drew Carol out of bed, leaving a totally exhausted Jim behind in the bed. Grabbing a new robe, she wandered downstairs, following the scent of coffee toward Liz in the kitchen.

“My, aren’t you energetic?” Carol said to Liz when she got to the bottom of the stairs.

“No. Hungry. How about you? I have toast up and we can split the omelets.”

“Sounds great. What can I do?”

“Break out the dishes and silverware.”

Setting the table for four, Carol brought two plates and she and Liz divided an omelet and went back to the table.

“Well, I guess we will have to do a cleansing tonic again. Gosh, that caused me to have a massive shit yesterday morning,” Liz said

“Yes, doing that a second time will not be a pleasure,” Carol said. “We freaked Jim out a little last night talking about our practice run. And Margaret’s demonstration.”

“Freaked Jim out? How did he think we felt?” Liz asked.

“I don’t think he really thought about it from that perspective. I think you have to be there to really experience it first-hand to really understand it,” Carol replied.

“That’s an understatement. I didn’t know Margaret was that way,” Liz replied.

“I have been a lawyer for fourteen years, and I can tell you she surprised me totally. I thought she was a sweet compassionate lady until Jane came through the door. I had no idea of what was coming. It was like a wild horror movie. I would have peed myself if I hadn’t already.”

“I think that is why they run things the way they do. You have to admit, this process really is very well thought out,” Liz said.

“Well, I guess you would have to. I just never expected to come out of there. And if I go down that route again, I don’t think I can without shivering. I already was the first time.”

“Well, eat. If that omelet gets cold, I won’t make another one.”

“Food?” Candy said from the bottom of the stairs.

“Ah, yes. The youth arrives,” Liz said. “Yes, let me make you something quick.”

“Thanks, but finish your own first. I’ll get a cup of coffee and some juice first.”

“So, how did you sleep?” Carol asked Candy.

“Pretty well. Nancy and I were up for a couple of hours. I wore her out and let her get to sleep.”

Carol’s eyebrows rose at that remark.

“Well, we didn’t have a man like you two did,” Candy said. “So we just made do with what we had.”

“You were doing pretty good when I saw you,” Liz snickered

“We saw you. I wondered why you didn’t come in.”

“Too tired. Jim and Carol wore me out.”

“Yeah,” Candy said. “Can I borrow him some evening? Nancy wants to as well. In fact, she said she wants to be in a gangbang, now that she does not have to be a good girl.”

Carol blushed at that. She had, after all, told Jim to look around. She was not sure she wanted him looking around here. After all, except for Margaret, none of them was leaving here alive. “I guess this could be his own private brothel for a while.”

“Hey,” Liz interjected “What about Peter? Can’t he come here as well? It is not fair that he isn’t able to enjoy the fruits of his pending widowhood. Candy, I think you would like him. He’s my husband.”

‘You wouldn’t mind?” Candy asked.

“He has to fuck someone after I am dead. And since I am not able to go home, he should fuck someone while I am alive. I don’t mind if you wear him out some. Just be careful. Don’t want you getting knocked up and losing your status.”

“Thanks. I wanted to ask first,” Candy said, in a polite tone of voice.

“Does that offer extend to me?” Nancy asked, as she came around the corner from the steps.

“Sure. I don’t think Carol or I have any real claim to Peter or to Jim, based on our current circumstances.

“You know, I hadn’t thought about this all the way through,” Carol said. “There is a problem with David’s long-term storage of us. Legally, we surrendered our identification and our letter to report. After we are dead, there has to be a filing of a death certificate to match the order. That gets sent to our next of kin from the MAB. Until that is sent, Peter and Jim can’t claim insurance, close accounts, or do any of the other things to settle and move on. They are in limbo until the death certificate is issued.”

“That doesn’t seem fair,” Liz responded. “In fact, that sucks.”

“Yeah, kind of like having a wife in a long-term medical facility waiting for the end. That used to happen a lot in the old days and it really tore families apart. I don’t know if this fits the same legal definition. We’re not sick. We’re just not dead yet.”

“Well, I don’t really have that problem. Mr. F. said he was going to send on the hoof price to my folks already,” Candy said. I wonder if I could pay him back with wages from working here? she thought.

“Carol, what would happen if David filed the death certificates?” Elizabeth asked.

“Falsifying those would put him in a lot of trouble. Record falsification of death has all sorts of penalties from local to state to Federal. And once we are legally dead, since Parker vs. New York, anyone can convert us. Any way they want. So I don’t think that is a good idea. And false documents are too difficult and dangerous a way to go. And I think David is too ethical to do that anyway. I think we just have to work with this as it is.”

While this conversation was going on, Nancy went to the stove and started more eggs. She also put the bacon into the microwave for thirty seconds to cook up. The smell reminded her of the shock in the slaughter room yesterday afternoon, and oddly, she was not too disturbed.

I guess I am not as squeamish as I was, Nancy thought.

The smell of bacon, plus coffee and eggs brought Jim down from upstairs. He was wearing pants and a shirt as well as shoes when he got to the bottom of the steps.

“Aww. The girls wanted to see you in the buff, dear,” Carol teased Jim from the table.

“I don’t think it is safe for a man to be naked around here. Even if it is the rule for women,” Jim retorted.

“Shit. I forgot. Girls we have to lose the robes when David gets here. And be ready to be naked if an inspection happens,” Carol told the group.

“I think you are all right for times like now,” Jim said. “But definitely during business hours and when other employees are here. We don’t want stories being spread.”

“You know, there was a book written about this sort of issue many years ago,” Nancy said. “It was about a group of people trapped in a house avoiding the government. And like that family, we are trapped in a manner of speaking. And like them, when the government found out something was going on, almost all of them died.”

“Leave it to you, Nancy, to find the historical reference.”, “ Liz said

“She just needs to get laid,” Candy said. “Can she borrow Jim for a while, Carol?”

“Sure. She will have to wait until he recharges.”

“Actually, a bit longer. I have to go to the office and do some things this morning. Will you be here when I get done?” Jim asked.

“I will be either in one piece or many pieces. I think David will let you know if my status changes. We have time. Get out of here,” Carol said.

“I will let you out. Margaret gave me the combination to the alarm last night,” Candy said.

Jim poured a cup of coffee and followed Candy to the front door. Nancy sat down with Carol and Liz and asked, “ Do you think I am a depressing influence? I am trying to keep up spirits. But I am really having troubles.”.

“We all are,” Carol began. “Last Saturday, I was planning a trip to the Bahamas. Liz and I got our notices on Monday. Which means we should have been dead by today. We all -should have been. But we have to make the best of it and enjoy what this offers.”

“Didn’t David say he has half days on Saturday?” Nancy asked. “Doesn’t that mean he could “catch up” with us today?”

“More likely the three no-shows from yesterday that I heard him talking about,” Liz replied. “There were three folders on the front desk when I went with Candy to lock the front up last night.”

“I hadn’t thought of that. Sunday is Selection day and document catch up,” Carol said. “The Selection Board does overnight census review of the previous week, and does the lottery for that week on Sundays. Anyone out after Sunday morning from the previous week is subject to pickup. Not that the police are interested. But if you are picked up in even a traffic stop after the following week, without an appeal in process, you are on the stake that day. I used to think it was barbaric, but I have to admit that it insures compliance.”

“You don’t sound very happy with our society right now,” Liz interjected.

“Actually, I am,” Carol said, slipping into lecture mode. “Do you realize that the general population has almost 90% fewer crimes overall than we had in the 2010 crime statistics? Violent crime is down to almost nothing. Human-on-Human violence is almost non-existent today. You are safer walking down the street today than in any era in history. People are accountable for the most minor things because avoidance of guilt is a major crime. My caseload as prosecutor dropped to one a month in Major Crimes.”

“That is because of the population ratio,” Nancy said. “Women are habitually less prone to violence, and when they are, they are more likely to accept guilt for it.”

“She’s right there,” Carol agreed. “The men usually tried to evade or rationalize their actions. The women explained it.”

“DONUTS!” Candy shrieked when she came back into the room from the front door. “There was a Cream Donut delivery outside, and they do them each week!”

“Oh God,” Nancy said. “Fat Pills. I might as well just put this on my ass now.”

“I would not worry too much, girlfriend. I don’t think we will grow too much over the next month to drop in the market grade,” Carol rebutted.

“Thanks, bitch. Just when my mind was off of the subject,” Nancy murmured.

“Nancy, you are alive right now. And we are not living in the pictures of the old WWII documentaries. We are going to die someday, but not right now. Eat a donut.”

Grabbing for a jelly-filled éclair, Nancy said, “You are right. Not much place for guilt here anymore.”

Driving toward the plant the plant, David and Margaret were continuing their conversation that they had started at the house.

“So, what is on the agenda for today?” Margaret asked.

“Well, my receptionist is supposed to call any missing selectees from the previous week’s processing and let them know we do “catch up” for the week on Saturday’s. At the end of the day we have to electronically file the death certs with the processing notices to the MAB. Any no-shows are broadcast as Be On the Look Out, although if they do appear here during the following week, we allow for processing. We are so small that we can usually fit in any who do show up.”

“Okay, I can start on that. What do you want to let Helen see? If we don’t keep her separate from the others, you know that they are going to talk. It might raise her nervousness and make her unmanageable. Is Mark allowed to stay?” Margaret asked in a rush.

“Absolutely Not. No partners in processing. Dad was emphatic and so was Carl. The risk is too high. Ever since we had the last demonstrations six or so years ago when we first opened, we have been very strict about that. In fact, we are careful about having males on-site during business hours who are not employees. The insurance risk is too great.”

“Okay. So, What time should she show up?”

“Well, it’s 7:45 now. Let’s see what mess we have, and call her at nine with the rest. We should be able to chase Jim out and get the place cleaned up upstairs. We have to decide how domestic we are going to let the dorm get. I don’t want to have to repaint walls and stuff when we move our tenants along.”

“I see what you mean. We have to move them out when we move them along. You know, I had never really thought this all the way through. There really is going to be an end for them, isn’t there?” Margaret asked.

“Yes, there is. Like it or not, people are not pets. The biggest thing is that we get to help decide the day for them, Candy included.”

“I hear you. But you can’t term her before you let me see her bouncing up and down on your cock.”

“Margaret, I told you, I don’t mess with the meat. And I don’t let the staff do it either. That was one of the things that turned my stomach about last year’s news piece; the screwing of the reporter while she was on the spit. There was no excuse for that. Remember how cold you were to me after that piece came out?”

“Well, yes. I do. I should have had more faith in you when you said you didn’t fuck with the meat. Barbara told me that yesterday. She was pretty much hero-worshipping you.”

“Barbara’s story is pretty sad. She had two sons. Which should have permanently pulled her from the lottery. And they were both killed. One in that mess in South America and the other in the Mid East in the last dust up. Her husband was killed in a car accident two years ago.

“She sure did enjoy catching Stacy yesterday. Everyone did.”

“Everyone does. Chris hates cutting pregnant women. And cutting out the Fetus and leaving it on the table until it quits moving leaves him pretty upset for the rest of the day.”

Margaret was quiet. That would be part of the field-dressing process she was taking on. None of the women she had cut yesterday were pregnant. Having two girls herself, she was wondering how she would feel when she did that. She just realized how very, very lucky she had been her entire life.

Nothing was really decided when David and Margaret got to the office. By silent agreement, they were going to play it by ear. David noticed that Jim’s car was gone when he arrived. Walking up to the rear entrance he saw that the alarm was set, and that the door was properly secured. A little too properly. The inside release/panic bar was locked into position, meaning that no one from the outside was going to get inside without a metal saw and a lot of time.

Margaret laughed, “I guess they took you seriously when you said to lock up. Want me to call them?”

“Sure. And ask them if I can come in? Dial the land line and let’s see if anyone picks up.”

“Findlay Processing, how can I help you?” a voice that Margaret recognized as Candy’s answered.

“Well, thank you for taking my call. This is Margaret and we are at the back door trying to get in.”

“Oops. Sorry. I locked that back up last night not knowing when you guys were coming. I will be right there.”

Candy was a little nervous as she trotted down to the loading dock door. She knew she had double-locked the door after everyone left last night. She had intended to wait there for David and Margaret this morning, but she had gotten sidetracked and had been back to the break-room eating. So she didn’t know what was going to happen when she let David and Margaret in.

When she opened the door, David said “Boo.” After a second, when Candy realized he was playing with her, she laughed.

“Candy, you did great. But in the future, remember to check the cameras first before you unlock. I will show you where they are so you can use them from now on.”

“So I did okay?” Candy asked.

“Candy, you did good to lock up like this. I assume you did the front too?”

“Yes. We were all a little afraid after the visit and wanted to be secure.”

“No problem. I need to give you a control access code and a few other things. First, where are the others? Everyone still here?”

“Carol’s husband left about a half hour ago. The rest are all finishing breakfast. That is where I was when you called. I locked up again after I let him out.”

“Good. Take me to the rest of the group.”

David and Margaret were happy to see everyone finishing up coffee, and that all dishes were in the dishwasher.

“I see the Saturday donut connection arrived. Any left?”

“We had a few. I placed a double order when I went to pick them up. Is that okay?” Candy asked.

“Should have ordered a triple. Could be a busy weekend. Everyone okay?”

Carol, Liz and Nancy all nodded their heads nervously. “We are doing okay. One day at a time. So what is the next step?” Liz asked.

“Okay,” David explained. “Here is the drill. We had three “no-shows” yesterday. We have to reach out to them this morning and let them know that they can turn themselves in today and be processed without any adverse consequences if they are here by noon. At noon, we shut the doors and finish up whatever we have and then clean up. Barbara, Chris and Marty leave and don’t come back before 8:00 on Monday. Tomorrow, another of you will be here, and she is going to be spending time with her family in reception. I want to work with all of you on your spaces to make them comfortable for you while you are here. And I want to get some input on what changes we need to make to get this place in line with a new business plan.”

“Candy and Margaret, you go out to the office and start calling. Also let Helen know she can come in here after 9:00 to start processing.”

“David. How much can we bring in here for the time we are here?” Nancy asked.

“What do you need, Nancy?” David replied.

“If you want me to do some research for you, I probably would need my computer. And internet access.”

“Computer, definitely. We have to talk about internet access for a few reasons. Carol and Liz, do you have workstations we can have brought in here for your rooms as well?”

“That would be great. I could ask Jim to bring that over this afternoon,” Carol volunteered.

“Good. There are some Pillar business desks in one of the rooms upstairs that I have been using as storage. I think I have some office chairs there too. We can move those into your rooms later and set up things here.”

“Nancy, I can ask Jim to go to your place and pick up your things if you want,” Carol offered.

“That would be great. My keys and things are in the box in the stripping room. I can go get them.”

“There is time for that later, Nancy. Carol, Jim can’t come over until after 1:00 PM. We will sort things out then.”

“Next on the agenda. All of you are wondering “How Long?” Well, I will be filing Goat status on all of you tomorrow. That gives us the maximum of the first thirty days. I have given some thought to what we are going to be doing, and I would like your opinions. Carol, you first.”

“Well, I guess what I have to offer most is legal advice. I can look over the rules regarding the different regulations and see how to keep us out of trouble. But most of that will depend on what Nancy thinks we have as a service set.”

“Okay. So I have to be the inventor here?” Nancy said. “I have the book I co-authored on abuse of women and the articles we have on trends in the subject. Thinks like home roasting parties, and the like. We can see what some of the more erotic execution scenarios are in the D/S set, and look at how to position that to the market.”

“And I guess I need to see both the positive and adverse marketing reactions to those as we develop them,” Elizabeth said. “Lots of that I can do with Carol looking over the backlash and front pull of the U.S. and European articles. That should give us some parameters for the product offers and the acceptance. From that I guess we have to develop a financial plan and budget.”

“Okay. I want to ask you about interviews. Can we do developmental interviews on our subjects as they are in reception? Get a market study of what the girls want as they go through? I don’t think questionnaires will work. I think we need to actual interviews,” David said.

“I don’t think we can get realistic information from women in pending process. The answers and comments are likely to be skewed due to stress,” Liz said.

“Okay. How about interviews on non-processing days? Like Tuesday and Thursday. Bring people in for interviews in advance of their processing date, and see what they think. Maybe we can work to develop a few low-cost alternatives and use the data to further develop formal offers,” David asked.

“Okay. But who does the interviews?” Nancy asked.

“All of you. Nancy, you work on the interview material needed to be covered, and I know that Carol and Liz are great interrogators.”

“And Candy?” Carol asked, with curiosity.

“I am going to use Candy as a Goat here. “David replied. “She has expressed an interest, you know she has a Union card, and I think that we will need her. Margaret ran three full groups plus our little abbreviated one yesterday. She was busy. And with the situation leading into the 4^th of July holiday, I don’t see it getting any easier. It is too easy to slip up if you are working too hard. I think that the three of you can be most helpful on your projects and the combination.”

“I agree with that,” Nancy said. “That sort of interview skills are probably outside of Candy’s current skill set. We can definitely add them to her skill set later as time goes by.”

I sure am glad that I am not the runner, Nancy thought. Carol and Liz were thinking similar thoughts.

“Okay. Now we have a couple of rules,” David continued. “I will have to ask some of you to stay in your rooms for the morning. We will get things organized later. I will re-build the office to give you a Bull Pen office area, and that is independent of your rooms. But that is what we have to set up yet. Nancy, I need some ideas from you on the following: hanging, Roman bath, seppuku, and ritual beheading. Both mechanical and manual. With a machine or an axe. Also the different types of Gibbet, and any ideas of cooking while alive experiences. Not that we are going to do them but the simulation should satisfy the mental image of the subject. Also, Carol, I want opinions on family presence at these events. Why go to the expense of staging when you can have it at a solid venue? Any questions?”

“Phew! Remind me not to ask again what you want us to do,” Carol said, with a grin.

“Don’t stop. You might get a pleasant surprise,” David replied with a smile. “On that subject, we have one other rule. All four of my male employees know that there is no sex on the job. Not with co-workers, not with the subjects and not with themselves. Not during business hours. If there are any violations of this, do not feel pressured to assist, and do tell me. This is a business.”

David’s look at all three of them convinced them he was serious. All three nodded their heads. “Great. I have to check mail and go and see how the front office is. Talk with you later.”

Checking mail in his office, David saw that there were ‘pending notification of status’ e-mails for all of his collection. Quickly replying with registration as Goat for Carol, Nancy, Candy and Elizabeth, David also set a reminder notice for twenty days hence to extend all four. No need to take any chances.

Walking into the reception room, David was taken aback. After yesterday’s mess, there were eight round tables set up with five chairs, each spread evenly around the reception room. No more chairs against the walls. On the right-hand wall were two rectangular tables with coffee and juice, as well as a mail slot board that he recognized from his desk in the back. In the top were clean information forms. In the bottom were standard envelopes.

David also heard Margaret on the phone at the desk where Devony used to sit. She was evidently talking with a prospect on the phone.