Chapter 1

Kimberly Lee and her two friends from high school, Susan Taylor and Tiffany Walker, had been touring Western Europe for nearly a month when they decided to expand their explorations into Eastern Europe. They looked through their tour book, finally settling on visiting Prague and Budapest. Almost as an after-thought Tiffany suggested a side trip to another small country called the Grand Duchy of Upper Danubia.

The three girls knew nothing about Upper Danubia, except for what they were able to learn from their tourbook. Apparently the country had a lot of architecture from the 19th Century and had not been heavily damaged during World War II. The local citizens were relatively friendly, and there were plenty of nature trails, parks, and very cheap restaurants. Best of all, the guidebook pointed out that Upper Danubia was known for having the world's lowest crime rate due to its unique justice system. Kim and the other two decided to go there for sure; it sounded like a really great place. They would visit the capitol Danúbikt Mostk, and later spend a couple of days hiking at the Rika Chorna Reservoir before continuing on to Prague.

As they waited for the train to take them from Amsterdam to Danúbikt Mostk (or Danube City in English), Tiffany decided to buy some extra marijuana from her lover in Amsterdam. The three girls had taken full advantage of Europe's lax drug laws to smoke marijuana to their hearts' content. Amsterdam was so cool, to sit in cafes and get high!

Kim, especially, had taken to smoking weed while in Amsterdam. She determined to have as much fun now before heading to college in the fall. Tiffany had turned Kim onto marijuana while they were still in high school, but now Kim was smoking it more than either of her two friends. Kim didn't realize it, but she was becoming addicted.

Tiffany casually stuffed the bag of marijuana in Kim's backpack and the three boarded the train. "Don't smoke all of it, Kim" she joked, "we gotta make this last until we get to Prague."

Fourteen hours later, the train arrived at the southern border of the Grand Duchy of Upper Danubia. It was obvious that Upper Danubia was not a particularly wealthy country, but everything seemed very clean and in good order. The train stopped as the border guards casually checked everyone's passports and pieces of luggage at random. The girls had a brief scare when a border guard checked Tiffany's backpack, but fortunately he skipped Kim's.

The train pulled to the Danubian side of the border crossing and passed a hill topped by an imposing stone fortress full of cannons. The surrounding area contained gardens and memorial statues honoring a series of battles that took place in 1754. The young women thought about getting out and looking around, but decided against it. Suddenly, as the train started to move, Susan gasped and pointed out the window at a sight that was much more interesting than any war memorial:

"Check it out! That guy's got no clothes on!"

Sure enough, at the far end of the station platform there was a naked young man selling ice cream out of a push-cart. The three girls were amazed that no one around him seemed to think there was anything strange about a naked guy selling ice cream. A few passers-by casually glanced at him, but that was about it. Kim tried to get a closer look at him. He seemed to have something around his neck, like a dark-colored collar, but he was too far away for her to have a good look at him.

The three girls now had something to discuss as the train completed the final part of the trip into the capital of Upper Danubia. Kim remembered that Upper Danubia had a reputation of being a traditionalist and conservative country, but obviously that wasn't true if guys could run around selling ice cream in the nude.

Danube City was very different from the bustling European capitals Kim and her friends had visited previously. All of the architecture in the downtown area was at least 100 years old, and the buildings were very clean. There was no trash in the streets nor graffiti whatsoever. There were no private cars on the streets; only trolleys, trolleybuses, and bicycles. Kim remembered from the guidebook that only farmers and merchants were permitted to own vehicles, since the Grand Duchy's territory was small and its government didn't want it filled up with cars and parking lots. As a result of the restriction, the smoke and constant beeping of the other European capitals was totally absent from Danube City. The traffic moved very silently and orderly.

Most of the citizens of Danube City were dressed in simple western-style clothing, except for a few women wearing traditional Danubian dresses. One detail they noticed immediately was that all of the city's women, old ones and young ones alike, had their hair carefully done up in tight braids wrapped around their heads. Children were dressed in standard school uniforms. Then there were the naked people. As the three Americans walked around, they noticed the occasional young man or young woman, working in a store or a restaurant, or riding a bicycle; moving about completely in the nude. All of the nude people looked like they were in their teens or 20's, and all of them were wearing metal collars.

When they stopped at a cafe, their waiter was nude. The young man seemed very shy and nervous. He didn't seem like the sort who would be at ease being in public with nothing on, and in fact appeared quite depressed. Like all the other nude people Kim had seen in Danube City, he was wearing a metal collar. While her two friends admired the waiter's body and made jokes about him, Kim began to worry. There's something going on here with these nude people that we need to know about, she thought to herself. She badly wanted to ask the waiter what was up with his collar, but he didn't speak English and she did not speak any Danubian. At the end of the meal Tiffany got a bit drunk and slapped the waiter hard on the ass. He gave her a sad look, but otherwise did not react.

By the end of their meal Kim wanted to smoke a joint. The urge was building up very quickly and soon the trio were looking for a place they could enjoy a good smoke in peace. They settled on the nature park behind Danube City's Temple of the Ancients. They found what seemed like a good spot, near a park bench in a picturesque spot that overlooked the East Danube River.

Tiffany rolled a joint and passed it to Kim, then lit the end and held it until Kim was smoking. Kim sat back and relaxed, as she felt the mellow sensation slip through her body. Tiffany and Susan decided to run behind the bushes and pee, then they would take a few drags off Kim's joint before rolling another. It was a routine the three had gotten used to, and today would be another lazy, mellow afternoon...

Suddenly Kim heard an angry woman's voice shouting in Danubian. She looked around and saw a young female Danubian cop standing only a few meters away from her. The cop was quite pretty, but had a very angry expression on her face. She was holding a service revolver in one hand and a radio transmitter in the other. Kim realized with horror what was happening, she was about to be arrested.

When Kim tried to stand up the cop screamed in barely understandable English:

"You ... maragana girl! You no move!"

The cop punctuated her command by pulling the hammer back on her revolver and pointing it at Kim's head. At that moment the cop's partner showed up, holding a rifle. He pointed it directly at Kim.

Tiffany and Susan came back a few seconds later, chattering in English. The male cop immediately pointed his rifle at them and started shouting at them in Danubian. They squealed with fright. The female cop, in her broken English, was the one who addressed them.

"You tourist?"

"Y ... yes, w ... were tourists. F ... from America."

"You with girl?" The young cop pointed at Kim, who had her hands up and was shaking.

Tiffany nodded in terror.

The female cop then pointed at the ground about five meters away from the park bench. "You lay ... lie! On tummy lie!" When Tiffany hesitated the cop pointed the revolver in her face. The three Americans scrambled to lie on the ground on their stomachs. Each in turn felt her hands being grabbed by the male cop and handcuffed.

By this time several local residents were standing around watching the arrest. The two police officers chatted with the bystanders in Danubian, explaining that these tourists had been caught smoking marijuana, on this Sacred ground behind the Temple of the Ancients, no less. The male then reached in Kim's pocket and pulled out her passport. He thumbed through it and found what he was looking for. "Amsterdam", he read aloud.

Two more police officers arrived, a man and a woman. The first female cop ordered the Americans to stand up and pointed at each of their three backpacks. "This one ... who?"

"It's mine," mumbled Susan.

" ... and this one ... who?"

"Mine," responded Tiffany.

" ... and this ... you?" The cop looked at Kim. Kim sadly nodded her head.

The two new cops pulled out three large plastic bags to put the backpacks in, while the two arresting officers emptied the contents of the girls' pockets into smaller evidence bags. One of the newcomers filled out labels for the bags while the female cop snapped a picture of the spot where the crime had taken place. As an afterthought she picked up Kim's joint from the ground to put in a separate evidence bag.

With that the four cops loaded the three Americans and their backpacks into a van. Kim, Tiffany, and Susan were too stunned to be able to react to what was happening to them.

After a short ride to the Central Police Station the van pulled to a stop in a courtyard. The police unloaded the backpacks and then pulled the Americans out of the van. Next to where the van was parked was a slightly raised circular cement platform. The police ordered Tiffany to stand in the middle of the platform, and Kim and Susan to kneel next to the platform, facing away from its center. The cop with the rifle pointed it at Tiffany while the young female officer took off her handcuffs. She pointed at the ground.

"Costumes here ... all!"

Tiffany looked dumbfounded, not understanding the order.

"YOU DO!!!" The officer once again pointed her revolver at Tiffany's head.

Tiffany screamed, but then an older man in a dark suit put his hand on the cop's arm and forced her to lower the weapon. He spoke to Tiffany in an educated-sounding accent.

"Young lady, you must undress, right away. You are now a prisoner of the Duchy, and you are not permitted clothing."

Tiffany started to cry. "No ... please."

"It is our law, and you will obey. Take everything off and put it over here. If you do not, we shall punish you for insurrection."

Kim was facing away from her friend, but she listened with horror to Tiffany's crying and the sound of clothing sliding off her body and falling to the ground. Then she heard the rustling of plastic as a guard picked up everything from the platform and stuffed it in a bag. Then she heard the click of handcuffs as Tiffany's hands were once again secured behind her back. Tiffany was guided to kneel next to Kim. Kim glanced over at her friend's bare body and teary face.

Kim felt a hand grip her upper arm. The hand pulled her upward and helped the prisoner get on her feet. She could not bear to look at the officer helping her stand up. Kim felt the key enter her handcuffs and slide them off. With that the older man addressed her.

"You, place your clothes on the cement. Remove your jewelry as well."

Kim felt numb as she slowly worked to get her clothing off. She kicked off her shoes and slid her jeans over her feet. She dropped them on the cement with a dull clump. Next were her earrings and her necklace. A guard handed her a plastic bag to put them in. Kim then hesitated as she held her hands at the waist of her blouse. She held her breath as she pulled it up over her head, exposing her shoulders and breasts to the hot courtyard sun. The final item remaining was her panties. Slowly she slid them over her bottom and legs. She held onto them for just a second, hoping against hope that all this was somehow a nightmare and she would be waking up at any moment.

A guard yanked Kim's panties out of her hand and pulled her arms behind her back. Kim found herself handcuffed and kneeling next to Tiffany, the hot sun shining on her breasts and thighs. The rustling of her items being placed in a plastic bag signaled the final loss of her clothing and of her status as a free American tourist.

Kim knelt in numb horror as Susan undressed. Once Susan's clothes were off her body and bagged as well, the educated man shouted at his subordinates to get three carts to wheel the backpacks and other personal items to the examination rooms.

Three male guards led the three young women across the courtyard into the identification room. The police uncuffed them one-by-one, and then fingerprinted and photographed them. Kim thought to herself in terror, my God, they're going to take pictures of us naked.

Sure enough, Kim found herself standing in front of the camera with nothing on. The first shots were of her face; one from the front, one from the back, one from above her head looking down, one from each side, and two taken from different angles.