Finding Sarah

[This could have been put in BDSM but the folks who are really into that probably wouldn't like it. There is a little mild SM in this story, some D/s, but mostly this story is about two people coming from disparate worlds finding out they could get together and have it benefit both of them. If aspects of BDSM bother you, perhaps this is a story you won't enjoy. No one was harmed in the writing of this story. No animals were hurt in the writing of this story. Names were changed to protect the guilty. Your votes and comments are encouraged.]

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Ever since I was young I've loved hiking off into the mountains. At first my hikes were with my Dad. He planned the routes, bought the food and helped me learn how to be a good hiker. As soon as my Dad would allow me to do it by myself, I started going alone. For safety reasons I would plan a route, map it out and take a satellite phone and GPS with me. Dad and I had check in calls while I was gone. When I went away to college and after graduation, I called Dad as my safety calls.

Since Dad died a year ago I'd been reluctant to go without someone at home "watching my back." I finally asked the couple who live next door if they would be willing to "watch my back". They agreed and I taught them how to do it. That Friday after work I drove up into the Sierras. I called Jack, my neighbor, after I locked my car and had my backpack on. I had two hours of daylight left and I headed north.

The route I planned was a new one for me. I loved being out again, seeing the vistas, the animals, listening to and reading the land. It had been hard losing Dad and after a good couple hours hiking I could feel myself starting to feel better, more alive.

I camped that night near a stream and under an overhang. That gave me fresh water nearby and some protection from any storm that might decide to float by. I did quite a lot of thinking on hikes and this one was no different. What was different was that I was thinking about a woman.

A woman I didn't know.

I was thinking about a woman I would want to include in my life. Someone to live with, maybe have kids with, maybe even take hiking with me. Not much thought about looks. Well, some thought. I thought about Jenny from school. We had been friends up until the eighth grade and we enjoyed a lot of fun times together. When puberty hit her it hit hard and over one summer she went from having little bumps on her chest to having huge boobs and an attitude to match. Suddenly she needed to be treated like she was something special because she had big hooters! I stopped inviting her to do things when she responded with a question, "If I go with you, who will see me?"

I thought about Carol. I had dated her for almost the whole year before Dad died and a couple months after he passed. She was fun and we talked and danced well together. She always smelled like she was freshly scrubbed when I picked her up for a date. However, she wasn't an outdoor girl. No hiking, fishing, boating, or sitting beside a pool or lake. She feared sunburn and bugs. She was quite happy naked in the shade or in my bedroom with me naked beside, on top, behind or under her.

Within a month or two after Dad died Carol made it clear that since I had a good job, and now had a house, we should get married. She broke up with me seven months before I went on the hike. I explained to her that I'm an outdoor guy. She's an indoor woman. It wouldn't work. She yelled and screamed and even was mad enough that she told her friends things about me that weren't true. She told her best friend Donna that the reason she broke up with me was that I wanted to fuck her in the ass. She didn't tell her that ass fucking was her idea and that she loved it. The way she told it I wanted it and she got tired of having to say no every time we were together.

I thought about a woman who would love being out in the mountains with me. Who could sit quietly for hours together letting the forest, the rocks, the water and weather sing their songs to us. A woman not afraid of sunlight. A woman who wasn't much interested in make-up, nylons, high heels and perfume. I knew if I met her she would have on an old pair of hiking boots that had been resoled at least once. Her hair would be easy to take care of. She would already know how to hike and camp.

I fell asleep thinking about her and in my dreams she hiked with me.

I slept later than I expected. I thought sunrise would have me up but there were lots of clouds and sunrise was less an event and more a gradual lightening. By nine or so I was moving north east and following a valley towards a small lake. I stayed about a third of the way up one side of the valley. It gave me a better view and with the clouds it gave me some protection from possible flash floods.

It was after noon when I stopped at an overlook that let me look down to the lake. The lake was about two miles away. I got out my lunch and binoculars. I scanned around the lake and saw a dirt road that wasn't on my map. I followed it and saw it end about a mile from the lake. A pick up truck was parked at the end of the road. An older Ford, if I was to guess. I didn't see any people. I wasn't surprised. With thousands of trees and some distance people would be more difficult to see than a blue truck.

I scanned the edge of the lake. If there were people they would likely be at the lake. I scanned the lake counterclockwise, beginning at the point closest to the truck. I saw no boats, no splashing, no one until I was almost done with the scan. Then, through a break in the trees I saw two people and a picnic table.

One of the two was wearing a white top and shorts that looked khaki. She was on the table, spread eagled. The other person was walking around the table, waving his arms and his body language said he was upset, angry. I wondered what was up with that.

Dad taught me that when you're looking an area over with binoculars you should also scan without them. The bigger field of vision may alert you to something you would miss otherwise.

I looked at the area around the lake and thought I saw something. Through the binoculars I saw that I was right. What I saw was a cougar drinking at the far side of the lake. I realized that the two people I had seen could be in danger. Cougars don't normally like being near people but who knew what this one was like. I figured I would go down and warn the two about the cat. Ever since college when I hiked I carried a hand gun. I shifted it from my pack to easy access in a cargo pocket.

I took one more look at the people. I was shocked at what I saw. The woman was now nude and the man was gone. She was still spread eagled on the table and I realized she must be tied there. I hustled towards her. It was, in my mind, a race. Either the cougar got there first and she was lunch or I got there and she wasn't lunch.

Hurrying isn't safe in the mountains. Off the trail hiking is also dangerous. I headed straight for her. Less than a minute after I started I could no longer see the table or the lake. My GPS showed me I was going in the right direction.

I slipped once and slid on my ass twenty yards down the slope. Bloodied my hand and ruined a good pair of hiking shorts. I didn't stop. I was breathing pretty hard when I stepped into the clearing where the table was.

The woman hadn't moved. A quick scan showed me I had been right, she was tied to the table. That scan also showed me she was bleeding. I was a hundred fifty yards from her. I didn't run but walked quickly towards her. I was looking in her direction but beyond her. I didn't want to see the big cat.

When I was sixty yards from her I saw the cat loping out of the trees headed for her. I ran towards her, drawing my weapon as I ran. When the cat was within ten yards of her I stopped and took aim. The cat crouched to spring and as it leapt I squeezed a round off. It was the best shot of my life! The cat landed on the woman and lay still on her. I ran to her and flipped the big cat off her. My bullet had entered the cat's mouth and tore off the back of its head.

The woman had not moved. She was unconscious. I untied her. I covered her with a t-shirt from my pack and noticed she was bleeding from a hit on her head and a cut on her chest. At the lake I got a cloth wet and started to clean her up. The hit on her head had broken the skin and raised a big goose egg lump but I didn't think the damage was permanent. I uncovered her torso and when I started washing off the blood I discovered that the man had cut off one of her nipples! Why would a man do that to a woman?

The cool water must have helped revive her. She moved a little and then her eyes opened. She was surprised to see me.

"Who..."

"Name's Pete. How's your head?"

"It hurts."

"Can you sit up?"

"No. I don't have permission, Sir."

"I'm the only one here and I give you permission. Take it slow."

She held on to me and pulled herself up slowly. She winced as she moved but she moved. As soon as she was up she saw the cat. She started to scream.

"He's dead. He wanted you for lunch but I talked him out of it."

"Where is my Master, Sir?"

"Your master?"

"Yes. I belong to him, Sir."

"Let's take care of you first then we'll worry about him. Ok?"

She looked at me but didn't speak. I got my first aid kit out and treated the cut and abrasion on her forehead. Then I asked her what she wanted me to do about her chest. She looked down, saw what he had done and burst into tears.

With no idea what to do, I did nothing. She sobbed for a long time. She looked up at me and said, "You should have let the puma have me, Sir."

"No!" I sat beside her and held her. She sobbed some more and I felt all the fight in her melt out.

"Why do you want to die?" I asked.

"Sir, When I was sold to my Master her put a ring through my nipple to mark me as his. When he left me here he cut it off. I don't belong to anyone. I am no longer anything!"

"Yes, you are!" Again at a loss I went back to doing what I knew how to do. First aid. I put an antibacterial ointment on her breast and bandaged it. She was still nude except for a tattered old pair of hiking boots and two pair of socks peeking out the tops of the boots. The lug soles were well worn and were not the original soles. I looked her over more intently. What else had the man done to her? I found a few small bruises and a scar just above her shaved pubes. It was the scar I had seen on women who had C-sections. She was slender, muscular legs and arms, a hint of a six-pact middle and "A" cup breasts. I hadn't seen her stand but I knew the Forest Service picnic tables were five feet long and only her feet hung off the end. I guessed her at five-five or five-six. She had no tan lines and a good tan for the time of year. Her hair was barely longer than my own, half covering her ears, and brown.

I helped her off the table top and had her sit on the bench. She did what I asked her to do, without argument. I made camp and made us some food. She told me, when I asked, that she had not eaten in two days. As she ate I called my neighbors and told them I was Ok. Then I called the emergency number for the local Forest Service. I told them where we were and that I had shot a cougar. I asked them to bring some clothes for a woman. I explained about finding her here, nude and tied to the table. Half an hour later ten people arrived.

I had her dressed in a t-shirt of mine with her lower half in my sleeping bag. The forest people had brought two cops and a paramedic with them. The paramedic checked her out and took swabs inside her. The female paramedic told me I did a good job on her injuries and then the cops talked to her.

The ranger I spoke with recorded our conversation. I learned that three other times over the last ten years a woman had been left up here to die. All three did die and what was found didn't have enough clues to find the killer. The young woman I found just might help them find the man. They were excited to know about the truck I had seen. None of them had brought her any clothes.

The cops asked the woman what she wanted to do. She told them to ask me.

I told them we needed to talk. They backed off and I sat next to her.

"I don't even know your name. What is it?"

"Each new Master has named me. The one who left me here called me Slave. When I was good he called me that. For the last month or so I have been Cunt."

"What were you called by your parents?"

"I have no parents. I was born and given to a family as their slave. It is all I am."

I saw the cop walking towards us. I looked up at him and said, "She's going home with me. You have our information. Do me a favor. When you find him hurt him."

"We couldn't get a name out of her."

"Me neither. I guess Jane Doe will do for now for her. Who the man is, she hasn't said. If I find out more I'll call you."

The cop just turned and walked away. The rangers had collected the cougar and already were gone. I realized I was eight walking miles from my car. I yelled at the cop, "Hey. Can we get a ride from you? My car is eight miles from here."

It took over an hour to get to my car. I kept thinking about naming someone. I asked questions and mostly didn't learn much. I asked how old she was. She guessed somewhere around twenty-five. She had been schooled at home. She could remember living with four different Masters.

After the cops dropped us at my car I helped her into the front seat. As I got in she looked at me and asked, "May I pee, Sir?"

"You always ask permission?"

"Always, yes, Sir."

"You have permission to pee. I guess you can use anywhere by the trees. There aren't any port-a-potties here."

"Thank you, Sir."

She started to get out of the car and I said, "And, stop the Sir. My name is Pete. Call me Pete. Ok?"

"Yes, Sir... I mean Pete. Thank you." She moved quickly to the nearest tree, squatted and let her stream go. When she came back she looked at the seat and said, "I am not questioning you Pete, but do you want me to sit my bare ass on your car seat?"

"When you rode in cars before, what did you sit on?"

"A towel, a rag, newspaper. Women leak and need to not ruin the places where they sit, Pete."

I found a t-shirt in my pack and gave it to her. She folded it and sat.

She did not speak unless spoken to. Her answers were prompt and honest. I saw a drive-thru fast food place as we passed through Bassetts and asked if she was hungry. She said yes. At the menu board I asked her what she wanted and she said she had never ordered for herself. Whatever Master wanted her to eat was what she ate. I ordered what I wanted and got the same for her. She ate it all and thanked me after every bite. She folded the wrappers and collected all our trash and held it in her lap.

As I drove after we finished eating she asked, "Would you like me to suck you, Pete?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"Every time Master gave any of us food he expected sex. I have never fucked in a moving car so I offered sucking you. I am sorry, if I did wrong, Pete."

"I do not expect sex as payment for anything. I get the feeling I live in a totally different world from the one you're used to. It will take some time for both of us to adjust. Ok?"

"You ask me if things are Ok? Things are what you say they are. If you say the sky is yellow then, from that moment on, the sky is yellow."

"That doesn't make any sense to me. How can the sky be yellow?"

"Pete, When my Master says it, it becomes so. What color is the sky?"

"Blue... well, a blue sort of gray."

"Those are words that all the people around you agree are the words to describe that color sky. If the sky was the same color somewhere they don't speak English, what color would it be?"

"Azul, or whatever the word is there."

"The sky would be the same color that it is here and they would agree to call it a different name. When I lived with my Master he said what things were. He never asked for our opinion. He told us how the world was for us."

"Ok. That makes some sense. If I was the king I'd get to make all the rules."

"My Master was the king."

"How many people like you were living with him?"

"Sluts like me? Nick, I knew three other sluts but I don't know if they were like me. Sometimes Master wanted us to have sex together as a group. That was about the only time I saw them. My duties didn't allow me to go away from my part of the ranch. I cooked for ten people."

"You cooked for ten? Did you eat together?"

"No! Master and Mistresses eat first. What is left is divided and this slut gets what she is given."

"On a normal day how many people did you talk with?"

"I listened to what I was told and I did what I was told. There were three people who told me what to do. Master, Mistress Janet and Mistress Loreli. They did not speak to me every day."

"So you might go days without talking at all?"

"Yes. My job is not to think and talk. My job is to cook, clean and fuck."

"You lived this way your whole life?"

"Yes, Pete."

"You know I am not your Master?"

"If you say so, yes, Pete."

"If you want I will stop the car and you can go wherever you want. You are free."

"Is that what you want me to do?" Her face showed fear for the first time since she saw the cougar.

"No. I'm just saying you can, if you want to."

"You say I can go anywhere I want. I don't understand. I know two places in the world. Only two."

"Where are they?"

"Where I was and where I am. I was on the table by the water and now I'm in this car. I don't know where the table is, or the house I remember living in. They are only memories."

"This is California. We're driving to my home in Santa Monica California."

"Words."

"Words?"

"My third Master said we lived in Texas. When he gave me to... Master Bill, we drove in his car for three days and I heard him say that we weren't in Texas any more. What is a Texas?"

"Wow! You understand the language but not the things it stands for. This is going to be very interesting. As we drive are you seeing things you don't have names for?"

"Yes, Pete."

"Ask, if you want to know."

"Do you want me to ask?"

"Yes." The reasoning process wasn't there for her to decide on her own what was important to her. She asked about lots of things and then she stopped. I drove a few more miles and asked, "Why did you stop asking?"

"Sluts get punished when they forget things. I have already forgotten some of the things you told me. When we get where we are going I know I will be punished, and I will be grateful. If I keep asking I will be punished worse for forgetting more."

"I'm not going to punish you. In my world that isn't something adults do to each other."

"Never?"

"You want to be punished?"

"Sometimes my ass needs to be whipped. Sometimes hurting me makes the pleasure stronger. Master Bill punished me for every mistake."

"Was he punishing you when he put you on the table?"

"Yes, Nick. I burned three good pieces of venison. It was the second time I embarrassed him in front of other Masters. My punishment was three painful days and then he took me to the forest. He told me he took me there to end my punishment." She started to cry.

"Three days of pain?"

"One day for each embarrassment."

"I didn't see any big bruises or cuts on you except on your head and breast."

"Chickens have breasts. Sluts have tits. The pain was a week ago." She paused and said, "I am sorry, Sir. I am not used to talking so much and I spoke wrongly."

"What? What did you say wrong?"

"Chickens have breasts. Sluts have tits. I corrected you. A slut never corrects a Master. I am sorry."

"Oh. You expect to be punished for that?"

"Yes. I spoke when Master Bill was in the room with me and I got ten lashes on my tits and face."