She saw pellets, similar to the ones she had swallowed in Panama before boarding the fight for Frankfurt. The pellets where not clean at all: they were soaked in blood and feces. A knife was cutting away at skin and intestines to expose more pellets, and a gloved hand was picking them out of a horrific mess that had been a young woman just a few minutes before. The most awful detail was that the woman was still somewhat alive. Her handlers had not even bothered to kill her before cutting her open. They counted the pellets to make sure they had them all, before leaving their victim to die alone in a bathtub. Others would come along in an hour or so to dispose of the body.
The dying woman was having convulsions as her soul separated from her body. She turned her head towards Maria Elena. She was staring into her own face. She realized she was looking at herself, seeing a different alternate reality from the one she had seen the night before: the death that would have awaited her had she completed her trip to Germany. She wondered why they would have killed her instead of simply letting her expel her pellets, but the fact remained that she now knew with certainty that she would not have survived her trafficking effort. The only reward awaiting her in Germany had been her own death.
Maria Elena came back to reality of the black night and the line of torches, barely able to breathe from the fright of her vision.
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When Maria Elena's senses returned her to the Realm of the Living, already she could tell that morning was approaching. The sky was no longer pitch black. As the marchers continued their journey, more and more of Danube City was becoming visible in the increasing light. Church bells began ringing, breaking the dead silence that had shrouded the entire country over the past 36 hours. Minutes later the marchers were crossing the Plaza of the Ancients and retracing their steps through the Temple and the forest park that lead to the East Danube River. Following a 3,000-year old tradition, the marchers tossed their torches onto a huge bonfire before stepping into the river to wash off their body paint. The bath was cold and totally unpleasant, but the marchers were obligated to clean themselves as best they could, to wash off Death and return to the Realm of the Living. Before they could return to the Plaza, they had to have the paint completely removed from their bodies and faces.
When all of the marchers had disposed of their torches and cleaned-off their paint, they assembled in the Plaza for a final hymn before being released. The Grand Duchess stood in front of a microphone at the top of the steps to lead the singing and to close the ceremony. Her attractive figure contrasted with the black-clad Clergy members surrounding her. Unlike the naked crowd in front of her, the Grand Duchess was not shivering, because she had been treated to a hot bath in the Temple instead of a cold plunge in the river outside. It was a tiny privilege the Clergy had allowed her, but one that put her in a much better mood.
The Grand Prophet handed Anyia an announcement to read: that all criminals currently serving sentences had to report to the Central Police Station and talk to their Spokespersons to pick up their winter capes and boots. People serving Public Penance would have to remain at the Temple and write down their names and shoe sizes to be issued winter boots from the Temple. Once she finished the announcement, Anyia quietly stepped away from the microphone to join her husband and her parents, all of whom were wearing black prayer robes.
With that the naked crowd began to disperse as the collared criminals drifted towards the Central Police Station to pick up their winter clothing. Jason's friends from his Church group departed, along with Cynthia Lee and her husband. Jason rounded up the students and led them into the Temple, because that morning Penance would end for 12 of them, and also for Victor Dukov.
The students gathered in the area were most people began wearing their Temple collars. The fire-pit where people had to toss their clothing was lit and the students were grateful for the heat it put out on that chilly morning. Jason organized the others into two rows and moved to the front with Maria Elena and Victor. Once everyone was properly kneeling, Jason left to summon the Priestess under whom he was training, the one member of the Temple staff who spoke fluent English and who was the most comfortable working with foreigners.
The Clergywoman showed up with two Temple attendants carrying prayer robes and a set of keys to unlock the collars. Jason knelt as she took his hands and smiled warmly. A twinge of jealousy rose up in Cecilia, because she knew that the Priestess had been a very important part of her fiancé's life over the past four years. In a way she considered the Priestess a rival, because she had assumed a central role in her fiancé's life as his mentor, a role that years before Cecilia had expected to fill.
Jason explained that 12 of the students, along with Victor Dukov, were satisfied that they had pleased the Creator and felt ready to resume their normal lives. The Priestess asked Criminal # 101025 to stand in front of her friends and thank them for the personal sacrifice they had made on her behalf. She was genuinely grateful and made sure the others knew it.
After a hymn and a brief prayer, the Priestess asked the students to step forward one by one. She unlocked each collar and handed it to one of the attendants. Once the students were de-collared, the other attendant laid 12 prayer robes at their feet. The students dressed together, with Cecilia and Carmen casting sad, envious glances at those who were resuming their normal lives. Within a couple of hours the others would go home, get properly cleaned up, and go back out dressed in their regular clothing.
The Priestess de-collared Merchant Victor Dukov separately. She grabbed his hands and commented:
"You see that the Creator answered your prayers and safely returned this young woman to your household. I expect you to spend the rest of your time in the Realm of the Living appreciating what the Creator did for you. I also expect you always to treat Criminal # 101025 with respect and love. Your task is now to teach her what you have learned about life and to assist in her redemption. Take this robe and return to your house."
With that Victor put the robe over his head and knelt. The Priestess ended the brief service and abruptly left to attend to other worshipers in the Temple.
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As soon as the ceremony had ended, the norteamericanos asked their Colombian classmate to accompany them in the Plaza to have some tea, and from there the group would walk to the Central Police Station to watch Maria Elena pick up her Ministry of Justice boots and cape. The students wanted to go with her partly out of curiosity, because the capes were considered an abomination of fashion and were the source of numerous jokes. The students were curious to see an infamous winter cape up close.
Criminal # 101025 took her place in line, waiting for Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna to hand her a garment bag. Her reaction was the same as nearly everyone else who had ever picked up winter clothing from the Ministry of Justice. The first thing she pulled out of the bag was a pair of boots, which were the same shade of orange used for road construction warnings. Bright orange boots. That definitely was not a good sign. Sure enough, when Maria Elena opened her garment bag she pulled out the most hideous piece of clothing she had ever laid eyes on. It was a bright orange top that looked something half-way between an army poncho and a cape. It had a hood and a sewn-in wool shirt underneath. There was a yellow stripe running up the middle of the cape and blue reflective strips sewn around the edges. There were several drawstrings to tighten the hood and waist. On the back was a large patch of Velcro.
Kim handed Maria Elena a white Velcro patch with # 101025 embroidered in thick black thread. She commented:
"You'll need to wear your criminal number attached at all times...that is, IF you want to wear the top. The Ministry will let you wear the boots without the cape during the winter...which is what I always did when I was serving my sentence. If you keep your feet warm and stay moving when you're outdoors it's not so bad. Not bad enough to wear this."
The norteamericanos passed the cape around, impressed by what a ghastly-looking item it truly was. Maria Elena, like every other criminal, would avoid wearing it as much as possible, but at least she did have something to put on during cold snaps.
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That night, Cecilia invited Maria Elena, Victor, and Carmen to accompany her and Jason to the Socrates Club. The night promised to be special, because Kim and her group would present several new songs. As always, the club would be the first to hear the newest music from Socrates' Mistresses; the raw and unrefined versions of songs that later would be recorded and sold throughout Europe.
Jason cuddled Cecilia as they were sitting at the table. Cecilia had a nervous look on her face, because her fiancé was gently stroking her breasts and thighs. Every so often he traced one of her nipples with a fingertip or reached between her legs. Everyone at the table pretended not to notice. It was very strange to see Jason and Cecilia switch roles. For the past four years she had teased him, whispering to him what a naughty boy he was and how much he deserved to be spanked. Now it was his turn to do the exact same thing. He continued to tease her, warning her not to become aroused until he gave her permission. If she dared to disobey him, she would pay for her disobedience with a very long spanking. She resisted as best she could, but both of them knew that Cecilia had very little control over her own body and her impending punishment was inevitable.
Sure enough, she became aroused. He put his finger between her legs and showed her the wetness. He placed the wet finger against her lips, forcing her to lick her own juices. With that he took her upstairs. He carried her to one of the intimacy rooms and laid her on the bed. As always, before spanking her, Jason would make love to her, because there was no point in wasting a good orgasm.
