Joy plans escape

“You see, Joy, it’s honestly not that bad. Mr. Bennington’s brand is small, out of the way, and his hands are very good at the process so it’s clean and didn’t hurt too bad.”

I can’t fully disagree with Tiffiny as I looked at myself in the mirror. The brand on my rear is fairly small. Just an interlocking B and R like Jonas had. But where he had a V, indicating his cowboy status, I and the other girls had an A and a T that interlocked with the B and R. Tiffiny had explained it as we were all owned by Bandera Rancho… Flag Ranch… and specifically we girls were part of Isiah Bennington’s Angel Treasure herd, or Ángel Tesorera.

She was also correct in saying that it didn’t hurt too bad. The mental fact that I’d been branded had made me lose consciousness more than the physical pain. And while it certainly hurt a LOT when it was being done, the salve they slapped on and the second coating that Candis and Tiffiny applied had taken away almost all of that pain. But I couldn’t stop looking at it. I was branded like any livestock. And unless there was some modern healing technology, and from what I’d see here in Gilead, there wasn’t, I would remain branded for the remainder of my days.

Language is a funny thing. There are occasional words from the girls, Candis, or the hands that I hear used but don’t understand. It’s just the way their language has developed in the hundreds of years since our departure of 2034. This may be the one time though that I’d noticed a word disappearing from their vernacular. The branding was simple enough with all four letters interlocking and I thought it was obvious. But when I asked why I’d been branded as a brat, no one knew what I was talking about. To them it was simply BRAT.

The girls had all been especially nice when I woke up. They all made it a point to show me their own brands on their asses, letting me know I was one of them. Lillia even pointed out that the location of the brand made it easy to forget. Evidently, I wouldn’t feel it at all in a few days and unless I twisted to look at my own rear in a mirror, I wasn’t going to see it again.

With a final sigh I nodded at Tiffiny’s reflection. I wasn’t ready to accept this massive indignity but there wasn’t anything I could do about it and there certainly wasn’t any reason to take it out on my new roommate. Instead, I **** a smile and said “You’re right. Candis says it wouldn’t have hurt as much as it does if I hadn’t been tied up and struggling. But I just reacted. I haven’t heard of people being branded before.” I quicky hold my hand up and nod, already hearing the repeated comment “I know, I know, we’re not people. We’re girls or women. That too is going to take awhile for me to get used to.”

Tiffiny was really nice. She’d done my fingernails when all the girls helped me get ready for Isiah last night. Only Candis and Everly had been here longer than her, but she still looked no older than me. While she’d been here for almost ten years, she was one of the youngest purchased by Isiah and therefore had remained untouched for her first seven years here. In that way, the way of being sexually used by Isiah and his guests, Tiffiny was only as sexually experienced as Madisyn. Her short cropped black hair and big green eyes didn’t hide her beauty in the least. In fact, it’s her green eyes that made her so special and earned Isiah’s interest. All of the Ángel Tesorera herd had something special about them.

My blonde and Arlie’s red hair made us special. Red was very rare and blonde was almost unheard of. Madisyn was one of the few dark-skinned girls. Almost everybody I’d seen in Gilead was either white or of Latino decent, making Madisyn’s chocolaty brown skin very enviable. Lillia actually wasn’t nearly as pretty as the rest of us, but she’d shown a spark of intelligence at a very early age. By the time Isiah purchased her she could speak six languages, had memorized most of Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Fitzgerald, and Asimov and could intelligently discuss politics, religion, mathematics, and physics. Kalyn’s body was beyond perfect. Her large breasts emphasized her trim waist and wide birthing hips. In fact, if it weren’t for the childhood scar across her face, she’d be the most beautiful of the Ángel Tesorera. Everly was the only girl who’s special nature was difficult to pick out. She seemed almost embarrassed when she told me that she was very easily aroused. At first, I didn’t quite get how that made her special, but when she told me Isiah loved giving her out to guests as a gift it became very clear. The guests would feel special because they’d get the girl off, making them feel vital and potent. By far, Everly was the most ‘used’ girl here.

After I was told I’d be rooming with Tiffiny, she also told me that she’d be by my side most of the time. None of the girls held it against me that I’d tried to run away, but they also made it clear that they’d do their best to prevent me from running again. It was the most frightening case of group Stockholm syndrome that I could imagine. Every girl here was devoutly attached to Isiah and would do their best to make me the same. Even the thought of being ‘free’ was distasteful to them.

After I was introduced to everybody and we had a chance to talk, Tiffiny had taken me up to ‘our’ room and shown me my closet. It was full of fairly basic clothing. While all the girls were wearing skirts and provocative tops, I was thankful that I was given the option of wearing jeans. They were so tight that they looked painted on, but it still felt closer to normal to be wearing pants. Tiffiny told me that as Isiah and Candis got to know me better, they’d fill out my wardrobe to better fit my personality. For example, Tiffiny only wore black and or green to help emphasize her eyes, but the clothes were all loose and free flowing. Arlie wore many colors, but they all emphasized her red hair and her spirited attitude.

We all worked together to prepare dinner. Evidently the girls prided themselves on not needing any help from the ranch hands. It was only a few years ago that the hands were barred entrance from this house and the girls were given autonomy. They all seemed to try and get me to engage more with them but gave me space when I didn’t answer them in time or seemed spaced out. I heard Candis, at one point, telling them that my upbringing would make it more difficult than any of them to get acclimated here and that they just needed to be patient with me. Honestly, that’s the first thing that really worked in my favor. It let me focus on talking to Eileen this entire time and not worry about not paying attention when one of my fellow herd girls was speaking to me.

Eileen retained a tenuous connection with the AoMP LRTN. It was weak enough that she indeed was slow in her responses and was constantly asking if I wanted to connect to the GIN as it would provide a much faster connection. By the time we sat down and were eating, many of the girls complimenting me on the mixed greens salad I’d made, I’d learned that getting out of Gilead would be as difficult as getting out of the Free Union.

The AoMP LRTN had more information available to it than the Free Union’s network, at least when it came to the other nations. It seemed there were four major nations in what I would call North America. The Free Union of Western Nations covered almost the entire west coast from what I would have thought of as Nicaragua to Alaska but didn’t extend much past the Rocky Mountains. Gilead was the newest nation and seemed to be centered around the gulf coast, taking most of northern Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana. The Mississippi River, which evidently was still too toxic to traverse, was the political border between Gilead and the Kingdom of Azadistan. Azadistan was ruled over by a King and very sympathetic to Gilead. It extended from the Mississippi to the east coast and north up to about where I thought of Kentucky and Virginia. The last major nation was the Alliance of Mishigami People. It was mostly in the Midwest, including former states like Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, and much of Ontario. Mishigami used to also claim ownership of Kansas, Oklahoma, and northern Texas, but Gilead had taken Texas by **** and the two countries were still at war over the ‘Oklahoma and Kanas Territories’.

While I tried to focus on what I needed to escape, I couldn’t help trying to figure out the areas where there didn’t seem to be any political boundaries. What I thought of as the Northeast Megalopolis, Washington DC to Boston, was on the map but was simply listed as ‘Waste Lands’. Much of the breadbasket and to the west, including Minnesota, the Dakotas, Nebraska, and most of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana, was simply listed as ‘Toxic’. And Florida? Florida was just gone. The southern border didn’t extend much past southern Georgia.

Gilead seemed to be the worst possible option. It didn’t matter how we got here, I was now a claimed woman and would remain so until Isiah sold me, gave me away, or killed me. I had no rights at all. Catty hopefully fell under a treaty Gilead had that respected wedding vows from other countries, but it would simply mean she was the property of Atticus with no rights of her own. So, escape from Gilead seemed to be of the utmost importance. The Kingdom of Azadistan seemed like Gilead light. Most of the oppression, less calories. Women had very limited rights and they didn’t include free travel. The obvious choice was the Alliance of Mishigami People. Their laws were complex and difficult to break down into what real life would be like, but it seemed women had a lot of rights. They could hold jobs, travel freely, own property, and vote. Unfortunately getting there directly from Gilead was impossible as the countries were in open war. The only direct path between the two nations would be open battlefields.

While I helped the girls clear the table after a pleasant desert of Blueberry Rhubarb Tart, I got as far into my plan as I could. Assuming I could locate and escape to Atticus, he could book travel on a train to Azadistan. There were several ways he could get the travel including listing me and or Catty as for sale and taking us to the great Atlanta **** auction houses. Once we were in Azadistan we would figure out how to re-book our travel and change it to Mishigami. Getting the money or credits for this travel would be problematic. Getting the paperwork would be problematic. Getting identification as being Atticus’ property for me would be problematic. But these are problems I could research if I knew I could contact Atticus and Catty. Unfortunately, the AoMP LRTN didn’t have internal data about Gilead and therefore couldn’t locate them. To find them, I’d have to have Eileen connect to the GIN and once that happened, I’d lose all access to Eileen. I was between a rock and a hard place.

Once we were finished with cleaning up, we all made our way to the main living area of the house. Candis wanted to focus on making me feel at home and had the girls start telling me the stories of their first days under Isiah. I half listened, enough to nod at the right places, and half tried to figure out a way to find Atticus. Halfway through Madisyn’s tale of being paraded around the property for all the hands to see, there was a sound that rang through the house and a loud knocking at the door. Candis had Madisyn continue while she got up to get the door.

Keeping my eyes on Madisyn I listened to Candis move to the foyer and open the door. I heard her speak in an annoyed tone and she was answered by Isiah. I couldn’t make out what they were talking about specifically, but I got the gist that Isiah wanted something, and Candis was arguing against it. When I heard the third voice though, I had to bite my own tongue to keep my face passive and look like I was still interested in Madisyn’s story.

The voice was Atticus!

A moment later Candis and Isiah entered the room. All the girls looked to Isiah and even while my hope of escape skyrocketed, I still had the wherewithal to be amazed by the girls’ open adoration of their owner. They truly loved him.

Isiah stepped forward and addressed all of us “Evenin’ girls! Sorry to interrupt yer night. Ya’ll know I wouldn’t just barge in on a new girl’s first night, but I have something really special. Joy came to us and was pulled from her family. It turns out that once her cousin got himself established in town, found out where Joy ended up and wanted to pay her a visit. Girls…” Isiah stepped aside showing Atticus standing tall and proud “…this is Atticus Moore. His girl’s name is Catty.”

Atticus stepped forward and the girls were practically drooling over him. Even Candis seemed attracted to him. And while there wasn’t a personal sexual attraction on my part, I could see why the girls were all interested. Atticus’ body was on display as much as mine had been in my tasseled dress. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans that did nothing to hide the large bulge in his crotch. His feet fit into a fine pair of snakeskin cowboy boots and he had a matching snakeskin belt with a huge gold belt buckle. His tight black shirt had its sleeves rolled up to his forearms showing off his musculature and was accented by a blue denim vest. The entire ensemble was topped off with a black Stetson hat, cocked back on Atticus’ head.

If my styled hair, makeup, and dress had made me feel more feminine, then this attire made Atticus seem that much more masculine. He looked fit and fine in the Free Union in his plain grey scrubs, but he these clothes were custom fit for him and made him look like a God. My eyes were only pulled away as he smiled and tugged the chain in his hand. Following the chain with my eyes I saw it was attached to… Catty’s gold choker collar.

The collar twinkled in the light and stood out not because it was beautiful or its obvious **** connotation. It stood out because it was the only thing Catty was wearing.