Misunderstandings · Part 3 (3/3)
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"There's not! All we eat are nuts. We tried eating some berries and they made us sick. We don't know what's good and what's not. I'm real glad you're back, Dia. You know all about this place."
"I wasn't planning to stay, Selen. I just need some equipment to help me live through the winter. I haven't forgotten what you all did to me, and I don't want it to happen again."
"No, no, please, Dia! Don't go! If you go we'll starve. What happened was all Yan's idea, I never wanted to hurt you."
"That's not how I remember it. But enough of this chatter, I have things to do." I yanked on the rope around Selen's waist. "Move. I can't have you running around loose." I pulled her over to a large tree and pushed her so she was pressed against the trunk, face first, and I tied the waist rope around it. "Keep quiet. I'll untie you before I go, unless you start yelling."
"I won't Dia! I'm your friend. It was all Yan's fault."
I just shrugged and turned away. I searched under the trees until I found a fallen branch about as thick as my wrist. I broke off the twigs and smaller branches until I had a club about as long as my arm. While I was doing this I was thinking. Su's death changed the situation. I knew I couldn't best Su in a fight, but I was fairly sure I could beat Yan. Of course, if Yan beat me I'd be her sex slave, but if I won I'd be the new queen bee here and I could live in the pod, which was a lot better shelter than anything I could build. I didn't know how cold the winter would be, but the planet's axial tilt meant there would be a lot of seasonal variation, and I wanted to be prepared.
I slowly and carefully approached the pod, using the skills I learned during my childhood, when my brothers and I used to stalk each other in the woods near our farm. When I got close to the pod I heard crying, and I silently moved toward it until I could see Mari lying under an airfoil. She was in a brutally tight hogtie, and her back, bottom, and legs were covered with swollen red welts. Selen was right; Yan was a cruel bitch.
I was going to untie Mari but then I thought better of it. She might alert the others to my presence, and I needed the advantage of surprise. She didn't see me as I moved to the open pod door and looked inside. The interior was covered with soot and it smelled even worse than before, but it was otherwise intact except for the burned-out food synthesizer. I was happy to see the sluts had at least removed Su's body. I climbed inside and looked through the storage lockers. All of the food was gone and so was the wild weed. I remembered seeing a knife in the tool locker, but it was gone too. There was a small hand saw, and I took it. I also took all of the rope from the tent locker.
With some difficulty I used the saw to cut the rope into convenient lengths and I tied some specialized knots. (My brothers and I used to play tie-up games too). I put the rope and the saw in Selen's cloth bag and slung it over my shoulder. Then, club in hand, I quietly left the pod and walked in the direction that Yan had taken.
Yan was gathering nuts in another grove of trees, using the same rope-over-a-branch technique. She was more alert than Selen, and faced me when I was about ten meters from her. The knife was in a sheath attached to a belt around her waist, and she drew it as soon as she recognized me. "Dia! So you're back. We can take up where we left off." She cut off some of the rope over the branch. "Drop that stick and hold out your hands and I won't cut you."
"I don't think so. You drop the knife and hold out your hands and I won't hurt you."
Yan replied with a snarl and a lunge toward me, the knife held low in her right hand, ready for an upward thrust as soon as I swung the club at her. But I surprised her. I used the club like a sword, thrusting forward and driving the end into her solar plexus. It hit her solidly, aided by her forward motion, and she gasped and collapsed. I turned her face down and sat on her butt as I pulled her hands behind her back and placed her forearms together horizontally inside the loop of one of my special knots. A quick tug tightened the loop, and I ran the rope ends up under her armpits and across the back of her neck. I pulled the rope until her wrists were halfway up her back and tied it there. More rope tied her elbows together, and then I sat her up and wrapped rope around her torso above and below her breasts. When I finished Yan was in a box-tie I knew from experience was inescapable.
By this time she was starting to recover, and she struggled violently against the ropes, to no effect. "You win this round, Dia, but my turn will come and I won't be gentle with you unless you untie me right now. If you do I'll let you go and I won't track you down."
I laughed in her face. "You're delusional, Yan. I won't free you, I'm deciding whether or not I kill you." I tied a slipknot in one end of the rope over the branch and tightened it around Yan's neck. "Stand up!" I commanded, and emphasized this with a jerk on the rope, tightening the slipknot around her neck. Yan scrambled to her feet, a look of fear distorting her face. I tied the free end of the rope to the harness at the back of her neck. "I'm going to get Zaphre. If I don't come back you'll know I've decided that you should die."
I took the belt off Yan's waist and buckled it around mine and put the knife in its sheath. When I turned to go Yan screamed and started to beg and threaten incoherently, but I ignored her. I wasn't really going to kill her, but I figured she would be less likely to cause trouble if she thought I might do it.
I could hear Yan's screams for quite a distance as I walked toward where I thought Zaphre might be if she was also gathering nuts. My earlier explorations were paying off, as I knew where the groves of trees were located. Sure enough, Zaphre was where I expected her to be. I wasn't too concerned about her. She was smaller and weaker than Yan, and not aggressive at all.
When she saw me she exclaimed, "Dia! I didn't think I'd ever see you again. But be careful! Yan is really pissed that you ran away, and she made some terrible threats of what she would do to you if you came back."
"Thanks for the warning, Zaphre, but I've already taken care of Yan. Now I've come for you." I took out a piece of rope. "Clasp your hands and hold them out."
"Why do you want to tie me up? I won't give you any trouble."
"Yeah, but I'll feel safer if you can't give me any trouble. Do as I say. I don't want to hurt you."
Zaphre reluctantly held out her hands and I tied her wrists, wrapping the rope around them several times, cinching the loops, and finishing with a knot underneath where she couldn't reach it with her teeth. I tied her elbows together with a rope across her back, which fastened her hands against her belly. I hobbled her, just so she wouldn't be tempted to kick. I grasped her upper arm and said, "Come on, we're going back to the pod. There are going to be some changes around here."
On the walk back to the pod I thought about how I was going to secure my captives. Selen and Zaphre acted friendly now, but I remembered how they treated me before, and of course Yan was just vicious. Even Mari couldn't be trusted, as she was so easily influenced by a dominant personality such as Yan. I was going to have to keep them inescapably tied up, but loosely enough so they weren't damaged and could do such things as feed themselves.
When we reached to pod Mari saw me and begged, "Please, please untie me, Dia, I hurt so much. Hurry, before Yan comes back! Take me with you when you go."
"In a few minutes, Mari. I have to secure Zaphre first. And don't worry about Yan. She's my prisoner now."
I had a tentative plan. The pod airfoils had leading-edge slats, now extended. Their attachment points were accessible and high enough that I could just reach them, but the other women were too short to do so. I tied a rope around Zaphre's neck, not a slipknot, and tied the other end to the slat. "Lie down, Zaphre. I want to check the length of your tether." She was able to lie flat on the ground with a little slack.
I went into the pod and collected what I remembered seeing; pliers and a roll of thin steel wire. Outside again, I tightly twisted a piece of wire around the knot holding the rope around Zaphre's neck. Now she wouldn't be able to untie it even if her hands were free. The rope was made of an abrasion-resistant synthetic that was just about impossible to cut without a knife.
I untied Mari and she screamed with pain as the circulation returned to her purple arms. I tied her neck to the slat too, far enough away from Zaphre that they couldn't touch each other. I didn't tie her hands yet, and I wrapped wire around the neck knot.
Next I collected Selen from her tree and brought her back to the pod and secured her neck to a slat on the other side of the pod. I untied her wrists and retied them in front, just a few loops around each wrist and a single strand of rope about ten centimeters long between them. I tied her elbows with a rope across her back and secured all the knots, including the hobble, with wire. This wasn't completely secure, but it was the best I could do, and it provide enough slack that she could take care of her personal needs. I tied Zaphre and Mari the same way. Mari gave me her famous hurt kitten look as I tied her hands, but I ignored it. Mari may be a victim, but she's a treacherous victim.
Finally I went back to Yan. She was as tightly tied as she was when I left her, although she had obviously fought the ropes. "I knew you were bluffing, Dia. Untie me now and I'll give you a head start."
Yan's words were bold, but I detected the fear in her voice. "You're still delusional, Yan. I've come back to watch you die." I tied a rope around her right ankle. She tried to kick me, but I dodged behind her and lifted her leg off the ground. She stumbled and screeched at the loop tightened around her neck. I tied the leg rope to the rope across the back of her neck and stepped back as she struggled to regain her balance. I untied her neck rope and tightened it until she was on tiptoe, and then refastened it. "How long can you stand on your toes, Yan? Not long, I'll bet. This is going to be fun, for me."
I sat with my back to the tree and pasted a smile on my face. It wasn't long before Yan's threats turned to crying and pleas for mercy. When I judged that she was about to strangle I untied the neck rope and she fell to the ground, sobbing. As a further humiliation she had shit herself. I hobbled her ankles and used the rope around her neck as a leash to pull her back to the pod. I made sure the other women had a good look at the now-blubbering wreck of the formerly arrogant Yan.
By the time I finished tying Yan's neck to the slat she had recovered enough to ask me to untie her hands. "Not just yet, Yan," I replied. "How long were you in that hogtie, Mari? All night?"
"Yes! And part of the afternoon, too."
"Then I'll let you decide how long Yan's hands stay tied. When you think she's suffered enough tell me and I'll untie her." I had an ulterior motive in this. Besides driving a wedge between Mari and Yan, it would also give me an idea of how much influence Yan still had over Mari.
For the next several days I kept the women tied to the slats, except for twice a day when I took them separately to a latrine I dug about fifty meters from the pod. Eventually, I planned to take them on food-gathering expeditions, but I wanted them to become good and bored first so they'd consider food gathering a treat rather than a chore.
I made an exception for Yan. The area around the pod was littered with food boxes and other garbage, and I held Yan's leash while she picked it up. She was still in the box tie, so she had to walk on her knees and use her mouth. Every time she hesitated or complained I swatted her with the plastic rod she used to beat Mari, and I was surprised by the depths of the cruelty she brought out of me. Mari never did ask me to untie Yan, but I finally had to do it anyway, because I was afraid the strict bondage would cause permanent damage.
I was wearing my bra and panties now, because I felt being clothed while the others were naked put me in a dominate position. I had to do all the food gathering, and this took up most of my day, but one unusually warm afternoon I stopped at a deep pool in the river not far from the pod and decided to swim. I stripped of my clothes and the belt holding the knife and swam for some time. I finally left the water and stretched out on the grass in the shade of a tree to dry off. Soon I fell asleep.
Hil was the point man for the Garran expedition. He carried a beacon detector, and the signal strength told him he was very close to the alien beacon. He was moving slowly and carefully along the river bank, using the vegetation as cover, when he saw the big black animal, asleep under a tree. He urgently called to Wen, and a short time later he was joined by the rest of the group.
Wen took charge immediately. #We may never have a better chance to capture this beast! Quick, get the gear ready, but be quiet! And remember, be careful!#
I woke up suddenly. I could feel something touching my feet. I opened my eyes and I saw I was surrounded by large animals. I was very frightened. Were these predators I hadn't seen before? They were smaller than me, but so are wolves, and this could be a pack. I sprang to my feet and tried to run, but I tripped and fell heavily. My ankles were tied together! Now I realized I was surrounded by monkeys wearing clothes! I sat up and punched the nearest monkey, knocking it down. A two-legged kick downed another monkey and the others backed off.
One of the monkeys took a green vine out of a basket and flicked its end across the front of my body. It coiled around my torso just below my breasts, pinning my arms to my sides. Another monkey tossed a vine across my legs and it coiled around my thighs and locked my knees together. Seeing vines act like this startled me and I stopped moving for a moment. Not smart! A monkey slipped a black bag over my head and tightened a drawstring around my neck.
I kept thrashing and squirming, but it was hopeless. I couldn't fight what I couldn't see. Something circled my right wrist and then my left wrist, and my hands were slowly pulled together behind my back. By straining to the max I was able to briefly stop the relentless pull, but as my arms got tired my forearms were pressed together. I could feel small hands wrapping rope around my body, legs, and wrists. I was having trouble breathing. Was I going to die of suffocation by monkey? I forced myself to calm down so I could breathe.
When the monkeys finished tying me they took the bag off my head. I was wrapped in a cocoon of rope. I felt a thick 'bamboo' pole behind my back and felt the monkeys tie it to my ankles and waist. It was longer than I was tall, extending above my head. A monkey started to tightly tie my neck to the pole. I panicked when the rope bit into my throat and I started to choke, but another monkey made him stop and tie the rope around my shoulders instead. I was puzzled, because the monkeys were acting as a coordinated team, but no one said anything. The only sounds they made were grunts when I hit them. I wasn't quiet. I screamed and yelled, and I even pleaded and threatened. It didn't matter, they didn't let me go.
Once the ropes were tied a monkey stroked the green vines and they uncoiled. I flexed and twisted, but I couldn't move very much. Working together, the monkeys rolled me into a long net and tied its edges to the pole. I stopped struggling, because I was totally helpless now.
Once the animal was wrapped in the net the Garrans paused to rest. #Well, that was a struggle! Anybody hurt?# Wen asked.
#I'm afraid so,# Ulo replied. #Tilo was knocked unconscious, and Maf's arm is broken.# He opened the medical kit and applied a splint to Maf's arm.
Tilo groaned and managed to sit up, both hands clutching his head. #That's a powerful beast, and all of its limbs are dangerous. What do we want it for? Vivisection, I hope.#
Wen replied, #No, if we can domesticate it we can use it to replace a bonom. You know how badly we need farm animals.#
Tilo stood and walked unsteadily to the net-wrapped animal. #We won't be able to tame it unless it responds to pain. Let's test that.# He kicked the animal's long leg and it flinched and cried out. #Well, maybe we can do something with it. Too bad we didn't bring a whip.# He kicked the animal again. #Vicious beast!#
#Enough, Tilo! It's just an animal. We frightened it and it reacted instinctively. It's not morally responsible for hurting you, so leave it alone.#
Ulo asked, #Are you sure it's an animal, Wen? If so, how do you explain these items that were next to it? This is a knife, and these look like clothes.#
Hil interrupted. #We're very close to the alien beacon. Should I scout ahead?#
Wen replied, #Yes, do that Hil, but be careful you're not seen. Report back as soon as you can.# He turned to Ulo. #I'm sure it's an animal. It didn't respond to my calls.#
#You may not know this, Wen, but the ability to call does not develop automatically. It's dormant until it's activated by direct contact with an active mind. Usually, of course, parents activate their cubs without even thinking about it, but there have been cases of feral cubs without the ability to call.#
#I didn't know that. Maybe I was wrong about this beast.#
#It's so rare it's not common knowledge. But now we've got to determine for sure if this is an animal or a person.# Ulo placed his forehead against the beast's forehead and called, #Hello, can you receive me?#
One of the monkeys touched his head to mine and suddenly there was this voice inside my skull, and it felt like part of my brain I never knew I had opened up. I replied, #Yes, I can hear you! But how is it you're speaking Galactic?#
The monkey transmitted what felt like a laugh. #I'm not. On this primal level your brain automatically understands what it receives. You're just interpreting it as your spoken language. My name is Ulo and I am male. What is your name and your gender?#
#My name is Dia and I'm female. All this is a shock to me. I never knew I had this ability.#
#Can you still receive me when our heads aren't touching?# Ulo backed off about a meter. #Can you receive me now?#
#Yes, but it's very faint.# I squirmed in the net. #Could you release me? This is very uncomfortable.#
#I don't know. You did injure two of my companions.#
#I'm sorry about that. You took me by surprise. I'm not a violent person, and I promise I won't hurt anybody else.#
#Let me ask our leader.# Ulo called to Wen. #This is definitely a person. She wants us to release her from the net.#
While Wen was pondering this revelation and request Hil called. #I've reached the alien craft. It's small, I think it's an escape pod. And there are four more of the beasts, tethered to it.#
Ulo announced, #We found your spacecraft. Our scout said there were four others like you tethered to it. Why are they tied up?#
Although I didn't know it then, my reply was to have a profound effect on our future. I could have said I tied them up because I was afraid they might hurt me, or they wanted to make me their sex slave. Instead I replied, #They're animals,# not meaning it literally, just describing their behavior.
Wen exclaimed, #Farm animals? Can they pull a plow? We desperately need to cultivate more land, our survival depends on it.#
For some reason this reminded me of a porno video I once saw, featuring pony girls pulling a cart. Jokingly I replied, #Yes, I suppose they could do that.#
Ulo interrupted, #We have to be sure they're not people. I must test them to be sure they can't call.#
So much for my little joke about animals. If I could call, then the other women could call. I shrugged. #If you must. But be careful! Yan, the one on the far right, is especially vicious.#
Ulo hurried off. I called to Wen, #Can you release me now?# Then I wondered how I knew that the monkey's name was Wen and that he was the leader.
Wen gave his permission and the monkeys unraveled me from my cocoon. As soon as I was free I dressed myself in my bra and panties and buckled on the knife belt. Seeing me clothed and carrying a tool seemed to impress the monkeys and I felt it. Maybe they transmitted their emotions, too. I realized I had a lot to learn about my new ability.
I headed back towards the pod and the Garrans (How did I know that?) followed me.
Ulo met us just before we got there. #I tested all four of the beasts and none have any trace of calling ability.# He turned to me, #I'm surprised they don't have the ability but you do. You're so much alike physically.#
His report that that the other women couldn't call astounded me. Maybe all the wild weed had fried that part of their brains? But thinking fast, I replied, #You can see the external markers of the difference between us. My skin is dark, their skin is light. My hair is curly, their hair is straight. But these are just the outward signs; the unseen differences in behavior and intellect are very large. There's no doubt we had a common ancestor, but our evolution has diverged.# I thought of something else. #Did you notice the tattoos all over their skins? Those are ownership marks. Surely you don't think people would mark up their bodies like that.#
Ulo nodded. #That makes sense. Yes, they're definitely animals.#
Epilogue
I gave the Garrans permission to take what they wanted from the pod and they stripped it of everything metallic, leaving only the polymer hull. They made a large sled out of the local version of bamboo and loaded all their loot on it, and I hitched my 'team' to it. The sluts weren't happy to become draft animals, but since they were still tied up all they could do was complain. That didn't matter, since the Garrans didn't understand them and I didn't care. I salvaged Su's white plastic rod, and applied it liberally to any shirkers. It was hard going at first, but the Garrans set a slow pace, and by the time we reached their town the women were resigned to their fate and I didn't have to whip them much.
Once at the town I was housed in a tent until a house could be modified to accommodate my height. The four women were quartered in a custom-built stable, and my ropes were replaced by ingenious leather harnesses that allowed them a large degree of movement while making it impossible for them to injure anybody. At harvest time my team pulled a reaper, and that allowed us to gather the crop before the rains came. Wen was very grateful, because last year a lot of the crop had gotten wet and rotted in the field. Some of the labor replaced by our work was used by the Garrans to gather the natural food that we ate and a lot of it was preserved for the winter.
The winter was colder than I expected, and there was even a bit of snow, but we were all warm and well-fed. I doubt that the women could have survived on their own, so they got something in return for their labor. Of course, they didn't appreciate this.
In the spring the main task was plowing, and this was a tough job. The women pulled the plow, but I had to guide and push it, and we all worked hard. We were able to plow more than twice as much land as had been cultivated the previous spring, and the Garrans' profound gratitude was almost embarrassing.
The workload was easier in the summer, and I had a surprise for my team. I had salvaged some wild weed seeds from the stash locker, and had sown a small plot. Fortunately, the conditions were right to produce the active chemical, and I was able to reward my 'animals'. While I fully shared in the intellectual life of the town, the other women couldn't take part in it. But that didn't matter to them when they were stoned.
All things considered, I think things have worked out well for all of us. The Garrans now have enough food to survive and thrive. I am a respected member of this unique and fascinating community. And the other women are still alive and have all the drugs they want.
I sometimes think back on the misunderstandings which led to this excellent outcome and thank my lucky stars. Maybe one day we will all be rescued by one or the other of our species, which would lead to some awkward questions if it was my people. But, until then, I am happy with my new life!
I welcome your comments.
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Misunderstandings · Part 3 (3/3)
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