Sharon green diana san.., p.32
Sharon Green - Diana Santee 03, page 32
“Lookit what we got here,” the first one said with a laugh. He was only a little bigger than average height, and was very thin. “I guess we been extra special good ‘cause somebody give us a couple a presents, and I do love playin’ with new presents.”
“Better not break them presents, Havelin,” a second one said with just as much amusement. “Wiger’ll chop you t’pieces if’n you do.”
“Wiger don’t scare me none,” Havelin sneered, running his hand over Teddy’s body. “I like the looks a this one, an’ I might just keep ‘er.”
“We didn’t come here for that!” Teddy said sharply, pushing his hand away as she took over the lead the way she was supposed to. “We come to join a club, not play on the street. Are you th’ boss around here?”
The two behind us snickered, and Havelin scowled.
“You want the boss a this here club?” he asked, furious madness peering out of his dull eyes. “Okay, yer gonna get ‘im. Too bad, pretty, ‘cause I woulda treated ya good. Let’s go see th’ boss.”
He grabbed a handful of Teddy’s hair and dragged her into the brick building. I pretended to hesitate as I looked around, only to find the other two grinning at me. I started to back away, but they still had no trouble grabbing me and dragging me after Teddy.
It was dark inside the building, but the dark was lifeless and stifling rather than cool and soothing. There were shadowy doorways to either side of the reeking, garbage-strewn hall we were taken through, and every twenty feet or so was a bare, feebly glowing lightbulb hanging from a strung wire. The lightbulbs were trying to keep the lifeless dark away, but it wasn’t difficult to see that it was a losing battle. Teddy was pulled along ahead of me, and I could almost feel the brief shudder that passed through her.
We went down to the end of the long hall, and Havelin turned into one of the doorways on the right. I was forced that way too, into a room that had no furniture in it and almost no air. Heavy pieces of material in clashing patterns and colors hung from all of the walls behind the lightbulbs, and even our footsteps on the bare floor were muffled.
The only thing the room held was a big, stained mattress over in the far right-hand corner, with an uneven mound right in the middle of it. Teddy was already standing near the end of the mattress, and in another moment so was I. Havelin let Teddy’s hair go, and he moved to the left of the mattress to kick it.
“Wake up, Wiger,” he called with a strange sound to his voice, as though he was being as loud as he dared. “Got a couple a pretties here askin’ t’ see ya. None a us would do ‘em.”
The body on the mattress stirred and then sat up, giving us our first look at Wiger. Standing up he probably would have been as broad as he was tall, which is not to say that he was short. He had thick hair all over him that he scratched at automatically, and his face had a broad, flat nose and narrow, mean eyes. He inspected Teddy and me for a moment, and then spoke to Havelin.
“Where’d ya get them two?” he asked in a flat rasp. “I ain’t never seen ‘em around b’fore.”
“He didn’t get us nowhere,” Teddy interrupted insolently, tossing her head. “We got ourselves here all on our own. We come from Wheatley to join your club, but if you don’t like the idea we’ll find someplace else.”
“Teddy, don’t get him mad,” I whispered, plucking at her shirt as if too afraid to do any more. I could see the angering effect of Teddy’s words in Wiger’s eyes, and could only hope she got the message. She was pushing too hard again, and Wiger wasn’t Lammerly.
“I don’t care if he does get mad,” Teddy answered with a haughty toss of her head, making me wish I could close my eyes in pain. “Let’s go find someplace else, Diana.”
She turned and started toward the door, but I didn’t move. I’d been watching Wiger carefully, and it was clear he wasn’t the sort to be impressed by haughtiness. Now he nodded toward Teddy, and Havelin and one of the men near me went after her.
Havelin ran ahead and slammed the door closed before Teddy could reach it, and then the two men grabbed her. She struggled and fought but didn’t use anything that could have won the fight for her, not even when they ripped her clothes off and went to work with their fists. I crouched down where I was and buried my head in my arms, fighting to keep myself from ruining everything by interfering. I kept my eyes closed and my fists clenched, and didn’t think about how easy they would be to kill even when Wiger and the fourth man joined them and they switched from fists to rape.
Teddy’s screams and the men’s laughter attracted the attention of a few more club members, and some of them discovered me. I was roughly pulled out of the crouch by my arms, and suddenly found myself the center of interest of three men. They laughed happily as they looked me over, then laughed even harder when I tried to pull away. They were dirty and in need of a shave, but their eyes said they didn’t care what they looked like since they were there for their own pleasure rather than mine.
The two who weren’t holding me put their hands on me too, and kicking and struggling didn’t keep me from being lowered to the floor. They took their time taking my clothes off, but that was only supposed to add to my very obvious terror. When they got down to serious fun, they didn’t take their time.
There’s no way of knowing how long it went on, but eventually party time ended. I lay whimpering on the floor at the feet of the last ones who had used me, curled up on my side with my eyes squeezed shut. I’d been able to hear sounds from Teddy for quite a while, but right now there was nothing but the sound of satisfied laughter and casual conversation from the men standing above me.
Teddy and I had been an unimportant diversion, but we’d been found attractive enough to keep. A hand touched me and I cried out involuntarily - which set the men to chuckling - but the touch had only been a prelude to being lifted off the floor. Teddy and I were carried to a nearby room and dumped back on the floor, our ransacked luggage dumped down with us, and then the door was closed and we were left alone. A few minutes earlier Wiger had given someone instructions to check on whether or not we’d really come from Wheatley, which meant our visit to the town hadn’t been a waste of time.
It took a couple of minutes, but eventually I was able to get to my knees and crawl over to Teddy. She looked worse than I’d thought she would, and I grabbed her wrist fast to check for a pulse. I found one but it was thready and weak, and if I’d had a stimulant I would have been afraid to use it. I checked her out as best I could and tentatively decided that at least one of her ribs was broken. Her face was puffy and badly bruised, and there were large, ugly marks all over her body. There had also been so many club members waiting to take her that she was bleeding.
I sat back and put my head in my hand for a minute, during which time I asked whatever powers there are why she’d had to act the way she had and make things worse for herself. In Flowerville the situation was bad enough without needing any encouragement. Then I noticed that there was a mattress in this room too, so I blocked out my own pain and moved Teddy over to it as gently as I could. When I got her onto the mattress her eyelids flickered, and then her breathing started to come in gasps.
“It’s all right,” I said quickly, stroking her forehead. “It’s over now and they’re gone.”
She moved her head back and forth a little, then managed to focus on me.
“Did I do all right?” she whispered raggedly. “Did they leave you alone?”
“They didn’t even look at me,” I lied with a smile after forcing the lump out of my throat. “Are you sure you’ve never done this kind of work before?”
The ghost of a smile crossed her face. “I guess I’m learning,” she whispered - then twisted to the side to throw up. The spasms racked her, forcing her to press her arm to her side where she had the broken rib. When she’d finally emptied herself I helped her to lie down again, then I checked out the room.
There was a big can of very warm water over near the door in a corner, so I used it to clean Teddy up all over, then cleaned the floor. By the time I’d finished Teddy was sleeping, and I found a torn blanket to cover her with. After that I sat down on the floor and leaned against a wall, drawing a picture in my mind of where we were.
The building that had become our new home wasn’t far from the center of town, and I should be able to cover all of Flowerville in only a few days. The only problem was, I couldn’t afford to start until I had some idea of the schedule this club building was run on. If someone came into the room while I was out they might not even notice I was gone, but they’d certainly noticed that Teddy was still here. If she had to go through anymore there would be nothing left to come back for, and that I refused to let happen. Taking once last glance at her, I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.
I woke immediately when, hours later, someone came to the door, but stayed where I was. The door opened, and a man I recognized from the party came in. He carried two bowls of something and he put them on the floor, then he reached back out to the hall for two tall glasses. He put the glasses down near the bowls, then closed the door and started toward Teddy. I waited until I felt sure what his purpose was, then struggled to my feet and hurried to cut him off by throwing myself down to shield Teddy with my body.
“Leave her alone - please!” I begged, having no trouble making the words come out ragged. “She’s so hurt … you can’t do anything else to her!”
“She’s a new member, an’ new members gotta do what old members want,” the man responded with a shrug, then he showed a grin. “But yer a new member too, ain’tcha? C’mere, pretty, I’ll take you.”
I’d been trying to lure the man away from Teddy, but when he reached for me I didn’t feel the satisfaction I should have. I got to my feet and backed away from the mattress as I shook my head, feeling my eyes widen as he came after me. He laughed a dirty laugh as he cornered me against the wall and then his hands were touching me, his face bending toward mine. I gagged on the smell coming from the ragged suit he wore, and tried to cringe away from the feel of the crusted material against my body. But cringing away didn’t work, and his mouth gave me his foul breath as his dirty hands squeezed my flesh, and there was no getting out of what he wanted.
He lowered me to the floor and tore his clothes open, then forced his way into my body. He held to my hair and one breast as he jerked his hips harder and harder, knowing he was hurting me and that I was trying to keep from screaming out loud. His fingers closed tight on my breast and his hand in my hair jerked my head so far back that I thought my neck would snap. I gurgled and began to choke, now trying to give him the scream he so obviously needed, and when I finally got it out his release was immediate and violent.
He kept me like that for a while, trying to rekindle his interest, but finally he gave it up in disgust. He got to his feet to fix his clothes, then he sauntered out of the room. I lay where I was for longer than I should have, but when I was finally able to force myself to my feet I went immediately to see what he’d brought. It was some rancid-looking meat soup and thin beer, but I picked up a bowl and glass anyway and brought them over to the mattress.
“Teddy,” I said, shaking her shoulder gently. “You’re missing some of the best food ever cooked. Come on, I’ll help you.”
She opened her eyes and tried to sit up, but she was in too much pain to do it. I held her head up and fed her the soup, then gave her some of the beer to drink. When she lay back down, she looked at me and tried to smile.
“I’ll bet you’re sorry you took me now,” she whispered. “If you’d taken Nalvidi instead you wouldn’t have worried about feeding him.”
“You’re right,” I agreed, making myself return her smile. “If I had Nalvidi here all I’d have to do would be to water him occasionally. Are you feeling any stronger?”
“A little,” she responded with a nod. “When do we go looking for the vial?”
“I go looking for the vial,” I corrected before she decided it was her duty to get up. “And I’ll be going later. I’ll have to pick up some clothes first, and then I’ll strut around like a club member. It’ll be a cinch.”
“Do you know who he reminds me of?” she asked as though we’d been discussing the subject for an hour.
“Who?” I asked, controlling the urge to frown.
“Wiger,” she returned, staring straight ahead. “He reminds me of my father, and that’s why I tried to leave. My father did the same thing to me once. I’m going to kill Wiger before we leave. Can I kill him before we leave?”
“He’s all yours,” I promised the urgent pleading in her eyes. “But you’d better get some sleep now. I’ll wake you if I need you.”
She smiled and closed her eyes, and in a moment was fast asleep. I went to the door and got my own meal and ate it, but only took small sips of the beer. When I finished I located a dirty window behind the cloth hangings and took a look outside. It was almost dark, so the club members ought to be leaving soon.
It would have helped having the window on the ground floor if it hadn’t been sealed somehow, but I’d have to go into the rest of the building to find club member-type clothing anyway. Going out after dark would make things harder, but it would still have to be done. The sooner we got out of there and back to Blue Skies the better, most especially since Teddy couldn’t afford to wait very long. I lowered myself to the floor and wrapped my arms around my middle, using the waiting time to force all thoughts of pain from my mind.
I stood in the shadows of an alleyway, watching the goings-on around me. I’d had very little trouble locating a cache of clothing in Wiger’s club house, and now was wearing pants, shirt, and jacket like any other club member - plus a cap to cover and hide my hair. I was only about three blocks from my point of departure, but I’d been able to cover half a dozen different clubhouses in that section. The vial hadn’t been in any of them, and I was anxious to get on to the rest of the town. I wanted out of that place, but I couldn’t leave without the vial.
Right now I was being delayed by needing to skulk in the alleyway. I’d almost walked into the middle of some town action, and had pulled back into the alleyway just in time. One of the clubs had been waiting in ambush for another, and the first group had caught the second group good.
A dozen or more bodies littered the ground, and the survivors were swinging wildly at each other with heavy chains, pieces of pipe, lengths of wood, or knives. Stunners and disruptors weren’t used in town, not when they needed to be saved for use on the people at 2. Dark pools clumped in the dirt near some of the bodies, and if it had been light the pools would have shown themselves to be red.
Suddenly there was the sound of sirens in the distance, and the two warring groups hesitated then reluctantly separated. Some few of them stumbled away to the safety of the surrounding buildings, but the larger group searched the ground around the bodies quickly, salvaging what it could of dropped weapons before running off in different directions. Seconds later ground cars with squealing tires and flashing lights careened onto the scene, separating and taking off after the fleeing figures. The noise of the fight and the chase hung in the air for a few moments even after everyone was gone, and I still didn’t move from the alleyway.
The police in Flowerville wanted to run the town themselves and tried to offer protection to as many of the clubs as would go along with them. But the rest of the clubs didn’t like the idea and tended to concentrate their nightly attacks on the clubs that had allied themselves with the police. The club that had been ambushed had probably been one of the police allies, and if any members of the other club were caught they’d never live to see the light of the next day. But that wasn’t enough to keep the clubs from doing as they pleased, not by a longshot. Life was cheap in Flowerville, and they’d been killing each other long before they began to try the same thing with the agent trainees at 2.
I was just about ready to step out of the alleyway when I heard some sounds coming from the street to the left. Moving carefully to the end of the buildings I looked out, and the streetlights showed me a group of about a dozen men who laughed as they walked and pushed along with them two other men and a woman. The woman was crying as she was hauled along by the hair, and the two men, hands bound behind them, were stumbling and breathing hard. They also occasionally cried out when a pipe or piece of wood was shoved hard into their backs to keep them moving.
I faded back into the alleyway until they had passed, then moved up again to watch them disappear into the darkness. Three of the frightened, harried non-club members had made the mistake of allowing themselves to be caught by club members on the hunt, and they would pay hard for the mistake.
The woman would be used without thought of saving her for another day, and the men would find out just how much pain it was possible for them to feel before they died. They would have been relatively safe during the daylight hours, but at night they hadn’t had a chance. I looked around carefully to make sure the streets were deserted again, then moved on to the next clubhouse on my list.
I came back early on the sixth night, and Teddy looked up when I opened the door. She didn’t say anything, but when I shook my head to her unasked question, she sagged back on the mattress. I’d gone over every club building in town and then had rechecked them, but there wasn’t a single sign of the vial. The bracelet I’d managed to keep still glowed very faintly in the dark, but it hadn’t vibrated even once during any of my trips.
“Where can it be?” Teddy asked desperately as I approached. “How long is it going to take to find it?”
“I don’t know,” I said with a grunt as I collapsed onto the mattress next to her. “No matter how they try to shield it I’ll know when I get near it, but we’re running out of time. The longer it takes, the greater the chance of someone trying to use it.”
