Tessa Valmur - Bought and Sold

When she came to she found herself lying, still bound, on the floor of a tiny windowless room and it was only when she felt the room tilt and recognised the dull humming noise of propeller engines that she realised she was in an aircraft. The room was nothing more than a large locker or storeroom. Zoe had woken to find herself lying face down and now, to try to relieve the discomfort of being bound, she rolled onto her back. Lying next to her was the American girl, awake and watching her.

'Hi there, welcome back to the wonderful world of reality.'

'We're on a plane,' Zoe groaned.

'We sure are. I'd kinda like to know where we're heading but I guess we'll find out before too long. My name's Christy. What's yours?'

'Zoe. Zoe Farquerson. Forgive me for not shaking hands.'

Both girls managed a laugh and Christy edged herself closer to Zoe then lay on her side and looked at inquisitively at her.

'Is it true you're a British Secret Agent?'

Zoe nodded.

'No shit! How the hell did you end up in this mess?'

Zoe was about to try to explain when the blonde girl shook her head.

'Don't bother, that story can wait for another time. What I'm more interested in is anyone going to get you out of this mess and can you get me out with you too?'

'Christy, I somehow doubt it,' Zoe sighed. 'I was abducted when I was in a Middle East country. I'm sure the organisation I work for would have tried to find me but now... God knows where we're heading now. Rescue is out of the question, our only hope is escape.'

Christy gave a resigned nod then a moment later asked,

'Hey, are your ears popping?'

'Yeah, the plane must be descending, either that or we're going even higher.'

Soon it was evident that the plane was indeed in descent and after a short time the engine noise changed pitch then they felt the first sudden jolt as it touched down. Judging from the continuous bumping as they slowed down, Zoe reckoned that they had landed on a pretty poor runway.

The sound of a key turning warned them that the door was about to open, then a moment later a tall, dark skinned man in a turban stood looking down at them. Satisfied with what he saw he then stepped back and gestured to some men behind him, who came into the room and dragged the girls out.

The plane had landed on a worn out tarmac landing strip, the surface of which was cracked and dotted with weeds and grass. The air against Zoe's skin was hot but she found herself gazing at massive snow capped mountains in the near distance. They had landed in a valley, the landing strip encircled by rolling hills. These were covered with rows of lush green plants, which Zoe guessed to be a tea plantation. The mountains, Zoe realised, must be the Himalayas and that they were somewhere in the foothills.

The two girls were lifted into the back of a truck which set off without delay on a rough track that slowly climbed uphill, gradually revealing a wider panorama. Two young men in tattered clothes sat hunched at the far end of the truck keeping a watch on them; one had an old bolt-action rifle while the other held a long cane. A worn out looking Landrover led the way and slowly the two vehicles climbed uphill until they crossed a pass and descended into another valley. In the distance Zoe could see what looked like a fortified monastery and she began to suspect that this was where they were bound.

Nearly an hour after they had first sighted the massive gaunt building, ringed by its high stone walls, they drove through an archway and into the monastery courtyard. The tailgate of the truck was lowered with a clatter of rusty metal and a cloud of dust.

'Welcome to Shrevra, girls. I am the Colonel, you may recognise my face from amongst the small crowd of prospective buyers who watched you being displayed at Rouassa slave market.'

As the dust cleared they found a man facing them. He looked to be perhaps seventy or perhaps he was only fifty but had spent too long in a harshly sunny location that had wrinkled and tanned his skin so much it was beginning to look like a shrivelled prune. He wore a crisp white linen suit, a paisley cravat and a wide-brimmed Panama hat. He held a silver-topped walking cane in one hand and a pair of white leather gloves in the other. Two young shaven headed men in monks' attire flanked him on both sides.

'Shrevra is a closed religious commune and you have been brought here to serve the higher disciples and the masters. Our commune is founded on beliefs of worship and devotion. You will be taught to worship the masters and you will become devoted to serving them.'

'Bullshit!' Christy swore. 'When my papa finds out where the hell I am, you lot are gonna be in for it! And if you think I'm...'

'Take the American girl and give her a dozen strokes of the cane for voicing her desire to be disobedient. The sooner she learns what is expected from her the better!'

The two natives who had guarded the girls on the journey grabbed hold of Christy and dragged her to the end of the truck where the two young monks lifted her down and carried her across the courtyard. The Colonel looked critically at Zoe, a smile slowly forming across his face.

'Do you wish to voice any objections?'

Zoe hesitated, part of her wanting to avoid any trouble but she was seething with resentment. She had to bite her tongue or she knew she'd tell this arrogant man what she thought of him. He nodded thoughtfully as he scrutinised her then he pointed with his cane to where Christy was being bound between two poles in one corner of the courtyard.

'You feel just like her, but you are afraid to speak out like she has. You may as well share her suffering, then you'll better understand the wisdom of devotion and obedience.'

The man waved his cane in signal and the two monks, leaving the American girl tied between the two poles, returned to the truck.

'This one is going to punish the other girl. Untie her and equip her.'

Zoe was too shocked at first to realise what was happening but soon enough she was standing, unfettered, with a long supple bamboo cane in her trembling hand and staring at her naked and trembling companion. Christy looked nervously over her shoulder.

'Just do it. Just do what they tell you. If you don't they'll only punish both of us,' Christy encouraged her.

'I can't!' Zoe shook her head, gazing in despair at the girl before her. The two poles were about six or eight feet apart with brass rings bolted to them top and bottom. Heavy hemp ropes were tied to each ring and by these Christy was bound by her wrists and ankles and held spread-eagled. Zoe looked around her, trying to find a way out of the situation she had been placed in. Half a dozen young monks stood ranged around in a semi-circle watching and now two older men joined the Colonel. These men, who Zoe guessed must be masters, wore dark green robes as opposed to the brown robes of the young monks.

'Here at Shrevra you will come to understand that to fully appreciate life you must learn to embrace both aspects of our existence: pleasure and suffering. Now, look at me girl...'

The Colonel used the end of his cane to lift Zoe's head by her chin, encouraging her to meet his gaze.

'Christy is younger than you are and as her older sister you must take a hand in teaching her. When she arrived she believed that she would hate it here and she'd hate to serve us. We will now begin to teach her that she can come to love being here. First we must wash her mind with the cleansing fire of pain. A pain that will make her understand that her body is nothing more than an instrument to bring the masters of Shrevra rewards for their long devotion to our community. Give her a dozen strokes of the cane and hit her where she will link the pain to the meaning of her body; the provision of gratification to her masters.'