by Jeff Gunzel
* * *
The evening meal was loud and boisterous. Tonight was cause for celebration. And even if it wasn’t, it was the best they’d felt since their arrival in this prison. So why not? After gathering everyone’s silverware, Nald stood up on the table and began juggling the array of forks and spoons.
Feeling mischievous, Viola began gathering other items from around the room to throw at him. A small candlestick, an empty bowl, and even a rounded pebble were thrown into the looping rainbow of items. Contorting his body with each toss, Nald managed to keep them all afloat. Viola clapped, loving the entertainment. He was very good. For a brief moment, thoughts of Xavier and his similar skills crossed her mind. Oh, how she missed him.
The surrounding guards mostly ignored the jubilant group, allowing them the freedom to enjoy themselves for once. One even cracked a smile, but looked away when they noticed him. Had he dared to watch closer, he might just get swept up in their laughter. What was the harm in letting them cut loose for an evening? Let them have it.
“May I have this dance?” Kalmton asked, bowing deeply at Viola’s side. She turned to him and smiled with a nod. Of course there was no music, but that wasn’t going to stop them tonight.
“Thank you,” Viola said as they swept slowly from side to side.
“For asking you to dance?”
“For everything,” she answered. It was the perfect way to end an otherwise horrible day. The humans had accepted her, and now they could move forward. All except one, anyway. Umoro sat in the corner by himself, his glare flashing daggers at all those around the room. She couldn’t worry about that now. She would reach out to him eventually, and try to unite him back into the group. They were all on the same side, after all. But she wouldn’t worry about that tonight. Tonight she would celebrate.
Chapter 11
That evening, Viola and Salina lay on their beds gazing up at the ceiling. There were other rooms available, but neither had made the move. They silently enjoyed each other’s company, even if the words were never spoken out loud.
“So what’s the plan?” Salina asked, feet crossed with her hands braced behind her head.
“Hum?” Viola muttered, rolling her head towards Salina. “What do you mean?”
“Viola the magnificent, is it not? Are you not charged with our protection now?” Viola groaned and rolled away. Oh no. Here it comes.
Grinning, Salina rolled from her bed and dropped down to one knee. “But my life belongs to you now. I live to serve!”
“Shut up,” Viola grumbled, throwing the cover up over her head. She just didn’t want Salina to see her laughing.
“But… but... but... by rights I am now your personal slave. I shall do whatever you command, oh great leader!”
Viola threw back the cover. This time she didn’t look the least bit amused. “That’s not funny,” she said softly.
Salina’s face went crimson with embarrassment. “No, I suppose it’s not,” she mumbled, rising off the floor. How could she have forgotten all that Viola had gone through before ending up here? Through their nightly girl talks, Viola had confided in her more and more as she became more comfortable with Salina. She spoke of a man who practically owned her, had spent years tormenting her both physically and mentally. Viola might be naive to the world, but she certainly knew what slavery was.
“I’m sorry,” Salina apologized, mortified at her attempted humor. “I was just acting stupid, hoping we might share a laugh or two. It seems I overshot my goal and became an outright fool.”
“You are many things, Salina, but a fool is not one of them,” Viola said. “If it will make you feel better, I suppose I could allow you to bring me some water. It’s the least I can do if you really want to serve me that badly.” She winked, assuring her that all was forgiven.
After a shared laugh, they decided to just relax in silence for a while. Even here, buried beneath stone corridors, they could still hear the desert lizards chirping outside. Not a comfortable thing when one was trying to sleep, but relaxing in its own right. It served as a subtle reminder that even though they were out in the desert, they were still surrounded by life. It was a reassuring song, reminding them that the world was still spinning even in their absence.
“Viola?” said Salina, interrupting the long silence. A lone lantern flickered away, casting dancing shadows across the stone. Viola didn’t answer, but Salina knew she was listening. “I need you to promise me something.”
“Promise you what?” Viola asked, lying motionless on her bed, eyes up on the ceiling. In the dim orangish light, her pale skin and black lips were mostly imperceptible. She looked completely human. More than just human, she was a beautiful woman by any measure.
“You might find this strange, but I honestly believe that all things happen for a reason. I know that sometimes it feels as if we have been forsaken, that the world has forgotten about us entirely. But I don’t believe in accidents or coincidence. There has to be a reason for all of this mindless suffering, this endless madness.” Viola sat up and turned, listening intently.
“One day soon,” Salina continued, “you and I will both be free of this stone prison. Our time here will feel like no more than a blip when we look back at it. But until that day comes, I need you to promise me you will not forget who you are, or the path that led you here. You must not feel pity for yourself, or for me. Can you do that for me? You must remember that our whole lives are still out there,” she gestured with a sweeping hand, “and not contained within these walls. When you walk out of here a free woman, you need to be the same as the woman who entered. Promise me you can do that, and I will do the same.”
“I promise,” Viola answered with a smile. “We won’t let this place change who we are on the inside.” She brought a hand to her heart.
“Good,” Salina said, sounding relieved. “Now let’s talk about something else.” She leaned forward on her bed, a sheepish grin on her face. “Tell me, how did it feel to beat Umoro like an old rug?”
Viola was taken aback by the blunt question. “I didn’t want to do it,” she said shyly, her eyes falling to the floor. “They forced me, remember?”
“No, he is the one who forced your hand, leaving you no choice but to go that far,” Salina was quick to remind her. “He tried to kill both you and Kalmton. If you ask me, he deserved his fate and then some. Besides, imagine the chaos if he had actually won. No one here would have followed that savage into battle. You earned our respect long before you crossed swords with that animal. Any other outcome would have been a disaster. So again I ask, how did it feel to teach that brute the lesson he so sorely deserved?”
Viola hugged her knees close to her chest and looked away.
“Bah, you’re no fun,” Salina said, throwing her hands up when she got no answer. “Well, enough chat for tonight. We better get some sleep, but first I need to go.” She rolled from her bed and headed out towards the hay pile down the hall.
Alone in the room, Viola held her protective pose, knees pulled to her chest with her face all but buried between them. “I enjoyed it,” she whispered to no one. “I would do it again if I got the chance.” It was her honest response to Salina’s question, one she was not proud of and wanted no one else to hear.
***
Tiptoeing across the cold stone, Salina suddenly found herself to be in quite a rush to go relieve herself. The damp floor chilling the bottom of her feet wasn’t helping any. Scurrying over to the dank-smelling hay pile, she lifted her tunic and squatted down. She blew out a deep breath, a little annoyed with herself for waiting so long, but relieved to be going at last. A light flashed from behind, causing her to glance over her shoulder.
“Who’s there?” she asked, feeling rather vulnerable while balancing up on the balls of her feet. “Wait your turn. I’ll be done in a minute.” The crossway looked vacant from here, and that was the only place the light could have come from. Coming back around the corner, she saw the flickering beams of a lamp, accompanie
d by footsteps as the bright light moved towards her. “Who’s there?” she repeated, shielding her eyes while trying to make out the shadowed figure. “What the hell are you—” Pain exploded through her head, followed immediately by spinning blackness. She tipped over face first down into the hay.
***
Viola waited, thinking about what Salina had said. The more she thought about it, the more she realized Salina was probably right. It would be easy to lose her mind down here, to become someone else completely if she allowed it. She listened to the lizards chirping, their song resonating through the desert. Out there, she thought. That’s where I left my life, so that’s where I’ll find it again. I just have to hang on a little bit longer. Once I’m free again I’ll—
She saw the light from a lantern outside in the hall and heard the soft slap of bare feet on stone heading towards her room. Ah, Salina was back. She had been gone a long time. Now they could say goodnight and finally get some sleep. Tomorrow would be another hard day of training. She glanced at the lone lantern sitting on the small table between their beds. Had Salina brought a lantern with her? No, this was the only one.
An enormous shape rounded in from the hallway and set down his lantern. Viola didn’t move. Naked as the day he was born, Umoro leaned against the doorway as he watched her lying on the bed. “You made a fool out of me today,” he said, his subdued tone perfectly casual. Watching her curiously, fully erect, he began stroking himself. “But I suppose I shouldn’t complain. Now that my fellow humans have turned their backs on me in favor of some pale-fleshed dead girl, I no longer have to worry about earning their respect. They’re dead to me. You are dead to me. But that doesn’t mean I have no use for you. You can still serve a different purpose.”
His words were calm, void of any emotion. But his eyes were hot coals blazing with the promise of violence. He continued to masturbate in slow, even strokes, watching her in silence as if her presence were merely an afterthought. Viola met his gaze, showing no emotion of her own as she watched him. Despite his boorish actions, she didn’t seem to be rattled in the least. Lying back, she hiked her tunic up above the knee and tilted her head. He stopped stroking. Was she playing games with him? Why wasn’t she terrified?
“You’ve come to force yourself on me?” she asked, her fingers slowly moving along her inner thigh. “I know how this works. I’ve seen it before. Your ego has been shattered because you were bested by a woman. And now you feel like the only way to take back control is to dominate the source of your frustration. Tell me, Umoro, do you think that raping me will make you a man again? That’s never worked for any man before. I suppose you believe you’ll be the exception?”
“Shut your mouth,” he growled. Still holding himself, he pointed it at her as if it were a weapon, then moved towards her in slow, menacing steps. “My manhood is not threatened by some pale-skinned creature who has no place in this world. Just lie there and serve your purpose, bitch! Scream once and I’ll break your neck. Not that that would change anything. I have no problem mounting your corpse.”
Umoro crept up the bed like some kind of lizard. When he drew up near her hips, she invitingly swung one leg over the top of his shoulder, legs spread with his naked body nestled in between. He paused, not sure what to think of her actions. She should be terrified, trembling and crying at the very least. She drew back her tunic further and raised her hips, fully exposing herself. Cool skin pressed against his warm body.
“I know what men want,” she said, having yet to break eye contact. “You’re all the same. What makes you think you’re different?” Wrapping her hands around his waist, she eased Umoro into her.
Entering her body, his warrior’s instincts sent off urgent waves of alarm. What was she doing? Her body was icy cool even from the inside. She tugged his hips again, forcing him deeper inside. So cold. Unnatural. Confused, Umoro hated this lack of control. He was the one who was supposed to be imposing himself, not the other way around. Everything felt...wrong.
Viola leaned in, her icy wet lips brushing against his cheek. As her tongue tauntingly flicked his earlobe, she whispered, “How many women have you forced yourself upon? Can you still see their faces?” No longer could he deny his terror building within. He turned his face and looked straight into those blood-red eyes. Her black lips curled up in a fiendish grin. “Were they too afraid to scream?” She paused, her glare burning into his soul. “I think I want to hear you scream.” Her voice was so soft, so confident...so terrifying.
Her teeth flashed, jaw snapping like a piranha. Umoro’s eyes bulged as white-hot pain shot down the side of his neck. His reddening face trembled, mouth gaping open in a silent scream with his tongue dangling out. His mind spinning, he couldn’t even grasp the reality of the situation. Blood rushed from the open wound at an alarming rate. Finally finding his voice, he shrieked a shrill, shameless pitch that could shatter glass. He wailed like a tortured animal.
With her fingernails digging into the back of his neck, Viola clung to the thrashing warrior with all her strength. Her cheeks pulsed with a rhythmic wet slurping, throat muscles contracting with each rush of fresh blood. I’ll drain the life from you, you bastard! The world will be a better place without you! With his urgent screams echoing down the hall, soon came the clanking of armored footsteps. Guards flooded the room. Among the shouts to break it up, a flurry of arms grabbed and pulled, trying to pry them apart. Viola clung fast; each fresh mouthful of blood gained was another step towards her goal. I’ll suck the life from you!
Her clamped teeth holding fast, the two of them rolled from the bed down onto the floor. Tangled up with the guards, more flooded in each second. Several hands snatched the back of Viola’s hair. They pulled with all their might, feet braced against the wall. Her mouth pulled free with a snapping crunch, a spray of blood splattering the wall as well as some of the guards. Groaning in agony, flailing wildly as they tried to take hold of him, three guards managed to drag Umoro from the room. He was in bad shape, but the healers were nearby and almost certainly awake after the rowdy outburst.
Viola sat on the floor, chest heaving, her mouth and front completely stained red. The guards watched her, hands fingering swords as they considered what to do with her. A man near the front turned back and shook his head. Without a word of explanation they all backed away, filtering through the doorway one at a time. Viola was certain she would be punished, possibly even executed for this hostile act against one of her team. It would probably happen first thing in the morning. Umoro needed medical aid before any other decisions could be made. It wasn’t like she was going anywhere. They had plenty of time to report what she had done.
“What’s going on over there?” Nald called from the hallway. Viola heard rushed footsteps heading towards her room.
“Back to your room,” a guard ordered. The footsteps halted. “This doesn’t concern you.”
“I just want to see if Viola’s all right.”
“Back!” She could hear the steps backing away.
Viola sat still, the low flickering light of a dying lantern the only thing to keep her company. There was blood on the floor, spattered across the wall in thick trailing drips. Although it looked like a massacre had just happened, everything was so still and silent now. She could even hear the tiny flame of the lantern crackling, disturbed by an unfelt breeze. She looked up at the sound of dragging feet just outside in the hall. Drunkenly, Salina hooked the side of the doorway and swung her head through. Hair a mess, she looked angry. Then she saw the state of their room, blood everywhere, much of it covering Viola.
“Umoro?” she asked, hardly able to spit out the word among her shock.
Lips caked with thickening blood, Viola nodded. “Did he hurt you?” Viola asked, noticing the old woman clutching a bump on her head.
Salina stood up straight, chin high. “I’m fine,” she assured her, whether or not she actually felt that way. Both women were in shock, and really didn’t know what to say to one another. Everything
had happened so fast. Salina offered her hand. “Come with me,” she said softly. Helping Viola to her feet, she led her away towards the shared basin down the east hall.
“I—” Viola began, watching Salina dip a rag in the dingy, brownish water.
“Shh,” Salina said, wringing out the rag. “I don’t need to hear any explanations. You did what you had to. There is nothing more to say.” With that, she began dabbing the blood away from Viola’s face. She worked in silence, caring for Viola as if she were her own daughter. There would be no judgments this evening. If they were lucky, they might even get some sleep before daybreak.
* * *
A commotion of clanks and stomps woke Viola. She sat up, surprised she had even fallen asleep in the first place. The combination of mental and physical exhaustion had apparently taken its toll. The bangs and clanks continued, now accompanied by calls for all slaves to rise. Salina sat up in her bed, rubbing her eyes in confusion. “What’s going on?” she asked, trying to get her bearings straight.
“They’ve come for me,” Viola answered with a sigh. “It’s time for my punishment.”
“No. No, it wasn’t your fault. They wouldn’t dare—”
Guards appeared in the doorway, their shadows filling up the room with their ominous presence. “On your feet, slaves,” one of them ordered. Both fingered their weapons as if itching to use them. With an uneasy glance towards each other, the women rolled from their beds. Hands up behind their heads, they walked out into the hall. There were Nald and Kalmton only a few feet away, each getting shoved on by an entourage of armed men. Herded along like cattle, the four of them were led away.
“What’s going on? What happened last tonight?” Nald asked, daring to peek back over his shoulder.