A Woman's Place

Glancing at the speed she was doing, Ellie eased off the gas. Being pulled over for speeding at this point wouldn't be a brilliant development. Ellie shivered as she thought about what the police might do to her before delivering her straight back into Ben's clutches. She had escaped from his prison and was making her way to the coast so that she could steal a boat and get out of the country before any other man could claim her as his own.

It was a good 30 minute drive giving Ellie lots of time to think about, well, everything! She'd left Bear behind along with her Grandmother's jewellery and her photos -- it was easier without them and once she was settled overseas, she'd work out a way to get them back. Ben might even be gracious enough to post them -- she wouldn't give him the address of where she was staying though. What about her other female friends, was she abandoning them? -- no, she was simply going to get help. There would be no point turning up at their homes at this time of night trying to make grand rescues. She didn't have any of her qualifications, references, identification or certificates -- she was sure she'd be able to get a job somewhere doing something, even if it was only cleaning work to begin with. Who needs references for that?! What would she do without clothes or anything to barter with once she was abroad? -- there were probably other women who'd escaped. Maybe there are shelters set up to receive refugees like herself.

The journey continued like this with Ellie thinking up problems and solving them with an overly optimistic 'glass is practically full' kind of attitude until she eventually saw the sign pointing her towards the quiet village she had in mind. Turning off the headlights, she crept down onto the coastal road as silently as possible. There was a small quay with a few boats tied up just a few meters away so Ellie switched off the engine, leaving the car in one of the parking places so that it wouldn't be obvious that it had been abandoned. She pulled the hood of her coat up to hide her long hair and scooted across the road towards the nearest boat. There were a couple of cabin cruisers, a sail boat and even a very expensive looking yacht but Ellie set her sights on the small motorboat with a single outboard engine. She had no idea how these things worked but she'd seen enough Bond films to know that you simply jump in, pull the cord and off you go -- right?

Her heart beating nineteen to the dozen, Ellie peered down into the small craft. Sitting on the edge of the quay, she prepared to lower herself when she heard a voice right behind her ear.

"Hello girly." Ellie slipped and crashed down into the boat winding herself in the process. Her hood slipped off and her hair tumbled down around her face as she looked up at the grinning man above her. "We've got one over here Mike." he called over his shoulder. Holding her aching ribs, Ellie scrambled to the back of the boat until she reached the motor. Despairing at the fact that there were so many levers, she found the cord and pulled but nothing happened. Panicking, she started to move the levers and twist the handle but she was knocked off balance by the man leaping down into the boat after her.

"Another girly who thinks she's clever..." he said advancing on her. "...thinks no-one will notice her in a small village in the middle of the night..." Ellie could see how huge he was and he used his height and weight to his full, intimidating advantage. "...thinks no-one will be smart enough to stake out a place like this..." He was getting closer and Ellie's eyes darted from side to side looking for an escape but seeing only cold, dark, murky water. "...thinks it'll be easy to steal a boat even though I bet she's never even set foot in one before now..." Ellie seemed to be glued to the spot. "Well? Am I right girly?" He was within striking distance so instead of waiting for a response, he shot his hand out and grabbed a fistful of Ellie's hair. "Let's see how clever you really are."

He pulled Ellie roughly forward so that she was leaning over a seat. It happened so suddenly that Ellie had no opportunity to do anything about it. He had such a strong grip on her hair and her scalp felt like it was on fire. With his other hand he pulled her coat off of her shoulders and then wrapped it around her arms until it was a tangle of fabric that she couldn't break free of. His hand snaked around to her front and fumbled with the button and zip on her jeans.

"NO -- GET OFF!" Ellie sobbed. She knew full well he wouldn't. He tugged her jeans down to her thighs with Ellie screaming and squirming the whole time.

"Do you have to play with all of them Sam?" said a bored voice above them. Ellie turned her head and pleaded with her eyes at the thinner, scruffy looking man leaning against a post on the quay. He glanced at her unsympathetically.

"This is how I check how smart they are Mike. Watch this..." Still holding Ellie tightly by the hair, Sam reached down between her legs and rubbed her pussy. Ellie jumped and tried to pull away. She sobbed loudly as Sam moved his fingers backwards and forwards over the thin material of her panties. He was feeling her every contour, making Ellie feel sick in the process. Sam increased the pressure slightly feeling for the dip that would indicate the entrance to her core. He found it and his fingers lingered there in a threatening manner. Ellie froze.

"Oh God, no, please..." she begged.

"See Mike -- this one's clever. She thinks if she stays still and pretends to be a good girl, I might go easy on her and drop my guard. Isn't that right girly?" he said giving Ellie's hair a tug. When Ellie didn't respond, he pushed a little more on the hollow.

"Yes... no... I'm sorry... I'll be good." Ellie hastily replied.

"Throw down some of those cable ties Mike -- I don't trust clever ones." Sam wrestled Ellie's coat off of her completely and pinned her hands behind her back with the cable ties. Using her hair as a handle, he pulled Ellie to her knees and made her crawl over the deck of the boat towards the quay. Once she was there, he made her stand and Mike slid his hands under her arm pits. With Sam pushing from below and Mike lifting, they had her lying face down on the quay within seconds. Mike planted his foot on the small of her back, preventing her from trying to get up, while Sam got out of the motorboat. Sam swiftly zipped some more cable ties around her ankles, knees and elbows before lifting her to her feet where she swayed dangerously.

"Want a hand with this one?" asked Mike.

"No, I've got it." Sam replied. He bent and hefted Ellie over his shoulder in one smooth action. Her jeans were still around her thighs so when Sam's hand crashed down onto her backside, she had very little protection and she squealed in pain. "That's just for starters girly." said Sam menacingly as he carried her across the road towards the black transit van that Ellie had failed to notice.

The door slid open and Sam roughly dumped her into it. Gasping with pain, Ellie scooted backwards away from the men but she quickly bumped into something soft and turning to see what was in her way, Ellie's heart dropped to see eight or nine other women crammed into the small space. They were all tied in some way or another -- their hands in front, some behind, some had been bound to bars set into the walls of the van and there was one other girl who was tied in the same way as Ellie. All of them were gagged. Ellie turned back to the men in time to see Mike push a red ball gag past her teeth. He pulled it tight and Ellie squeaked as it cut into her. The men sat her up against the wall of the van and then closed the door plunging it back into darkness.

"Not a bad haul! Let's drop this lot off and come back -- we might get some more later." said one of them. Ellie could hear them walking to the front of the van and felt it rock slightly as they both got in and slammed the doors. The engine started and began rumbling down the road. Ellie could hear a couple of the girls begin to cry and she tried very hard not to join in.

'Stupid, stupid girl!' Ellie reprimanded herself. How idiotic to think that she could just sail away to safety. How foolish she'd been to leave Ben's house and now here she was longing for him to come and save her, rescue her and keep her safe which was exactly what he'd been doing in the first place. What a stupid, idiot of a girl.

It didn't take long for the van to get to its destination. Throughout the journey, the women had been tossed around in the back of the van like they were rag dolls. Mike and Sam clearly had no consideration for their cargo and when they opened the door to find a tangle of female bodies, they laughed so hard they needed to support each other to stay upright. Ellie, who had split her lip and thought she might have a cut or two on her back, didn't find it in the least bit amusing. Nor did the girl opposite who had been tied to one of the bars in the wall -- her wrist was at an odd angle and she looked like she was in a lot of pain.

"What the hell is this?" said a short, middle-aged man who had come hurrying up to the van holding a clipboard.

"What does it look like Bernie -- 10 fresh women for auction!" said Sam sweeping his hand over the mess of women like they were the grand prize. This sent Mike off into further hysterics and he collapsed against the door of the van.

"Look at the state they're in! They won't fetch the prices covered in cuts and bruises. And it's Mr Pickering to you."

"Oh come on Bernie -- it's not like any of us are working on commission here is it? What do you care what they look like as long as we all get paid at the end of the day." replied Sam clapping him on the back.

"Didn't you hear the Prime Minister?" said Bernie pompously "'No permanent or long lasting damage' you moron. Look at that one." he said pointing to the girl opposite Ellie with the broken wrist. "I'm reporting you for this." Sam and Mike were no longer laughing. Instead they were scurrying after Bernie who was marching away towards the imposing building that loomed over them in the darkness.

"Please Mr Pickering, it's just one broken bone... they'll get far worse once they're inside... who knows what their new owners would do to them anyway... they could consider this a warm up for what's to come... oh come on Mr Pickering, we'll be more careful with the next lot... we'll wrap each one in cotton wool I promise..." but Ellie didn't get to hear if Bernie relented. They had disappeared through the huge wooden doors and seconds later, two new burly men came out to drag them from the van.

They didn't speak to the women or make eye contact. Ellie guessed they had been manhandling females for hours and the novelty had worn off. She was at least relieved to see that they treated the girl opposite her with a little more care and she heard one of the men saying he was taking her to First Aid before carrying her through a different set of doors. Slung over yet another man's shoulders like a sack of potatoes, Ellie was carried inside and dumped in a cold, bare room with the rest of the van's consignment. Blood was dripping from her chin and trailing its way down her breast and stomach. Ellie wished her hands were free so that she could feel how badly her lip was damaged. The gag wasn't helping either. The wait was endless, made worse by the fact that none of them had any idea what they were waiting for. Ellie's arms and feet had gone completely numb and the gag was cutting into the corners of her mouth. She made eye contact with a few of the other girls but that was the extent of their interaction.

"...gonna have to start early tomorrow if they want to get through them all. Let's bring the first one in." a tall, suited man had sauntered through the door in the middle of a conversation with one of the handlers. He surveyed the room and sighed "Pickering wasn't exaggerating, was he." before pointing to Ellie. "She'll do for starters." The handler strode over to Ellie purposefully. It made her heart beat quicker and her breathing harder as he bore down on her. Grabbing her by the upper arms, he dragged her across the floor and into the unknown room with Ellie screaming and struggling behind him. Once inside, Ellie could see the suited man behind a desk facing her. "Get her into position." he said without looking up from his paperwork.

The handler produced a knife and held it in front of her face. He raised an eyebrow at her which clearly communicated that she needed to stay very still. Ellie complied and felt the blood rush back into her arms as the cable ties were cut at her elbows and wrists. The handler got her to her feet and connected her wrists to a pulley with manacles hanging from an old wooden beam that supported the ceiling. Next he cut the ties at her knees and ankles before restraining them again in manacles set wide apart into the floor. Ellie was having difficulty supporting herself, having been tied up for so long. The handler walked to the wall and pulled on the rope connected to the pulley above her head. Ellie felt herself being stretched upwards until her feet were barely touching the ground. She groaned through her gag and the handler released a little bit of the pressure.

"Take her gag off please and make a start with the clothes -- let's get through this lot as quickly as possible." said the suited man. The handler removed her gag and Ellie winced as it was pulled away. Taking in deep gulps of air and gagging as she swallowed the blood that had pooled in her mouth, she tried to focus on what was happening.

"Name?" asked the suited man with his pen poised.

"E...Ellie. Where am I?"

"Age?"

"28 but I want to go home."

"Are you a virgin?" said the suited man as he scribbled down notes.

"What? Look, I want to go back to Ben. He er, claimed me or whatever you want to call it and I want to go back. I know his phone number if you..."

"Then he should have taken better care of you. There is a 2 month curfew for women in place and you were out by yourself without an owner, now answer the question." He sounded bored. He must have repeated that statement hundreds of times to hundreds girls in the past few hours.

"No, I'm not." said Ellie as her flame of hope died down to a flicker. She would be auctioned off to God knows who and never see Ben again.

"What was your occupation? ... Can you cook? ... Do you speak any other languages?... When was your last STD test?..." the questions went on and on but Ellie was distracted by the handler who had produced a pair of scissors and was cutting away her clothes. Ellie had screamed and tried to get away but the manacles held her tight and in the end all she could do was stand there and cry. Whenever she was too slow with an answer, the handler would slap her backside hard and by the end of the interview, her arse was red and sore.

"Good. That wasn't so bad was it?" said the suited man getting up from his desk and walking around Ellie, inspecting her like a piece of meat. He held her chin and turned her head from side to side before stating "A few bumps and scrapes, nothing that won't clear up in a few days. You should fetch a good price -- I think I'll put you in group C. Take her down and bring in the next one." He said this last bit to the handler and then returned to his desk.

The handler had fitted a leather collar around Ellie's neck. He collected a meter long pole from the side of the room and attached it to her collar before releasing her hands and ankles. Ellie fell to her knees and tried to cover her body with her arms.

"Up." said the handler pulling on the pole and slapping her backside again. He pushed her forwards and steered her with the pole ensuring that he didn't have to get within arms reach of her. They exited through a different door, down a dark corridor and then down a steep old staircase into the cellar. Using the pole, the handler steered Ellie through a maze of corridors lined with narrowly spaced metal doors. These doors had two cat-flap type devices -- one on the floor and one at eye level. Ellie knew what they were immediately and steadied herself for what was to come. Rounding another corner, they came face to face with another suited man. If Ellie had to describe him in one word, she'd have chosen 'slimy' without hesitation. He must have been in his fifties and what little hair he had left had been greased over his large bald spot. He sneered rather than smiled and took his time running his eyes over Ellie's naked body which she was still trying to cover with her hands.

"Well, what have we here then? Has a fresh batch come in?" he asked the handler without lifting his gaze from Ellie's breasts.

"Yeah -- about 10 or so Mr Dredge but we've had a call from another roundup team that's on its way. They should be here in about 40 minutes. Have we got room for them all?"

"Oh yes -- I'm sure we'll squeeze them in somewhere." Mr Dredge had slimed his way closer to Ellie. "You're a pretty one, aren't you?" He reached out his hand and scraped a cold finger down Ellie's arm as he spoke. It made her skin crawl but she tried to stay still. "I'm almost tempted to make a bid for you myself. I see that spark in your eyes -- oh yes, I bet you're a spitfire in the bedroom." Ellie's blood boiled but she held it together. "What group are you in little slave?" Dredge moved his hand down to her breast and on the word 'slave', he tweaked her nipple. Ellie flipped.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME YOU SICK PERVERT!" she screamed, kicking out with her feet. The handler yanked the pole backwards and Ellie found herself on the ground, fighting with her collar for air.

"Now, now - such a temper. Whoever buys you will need to show a firm hand." Dredge tutted above her as she grappled with the pole. "Group?" he asked turning his attention to the handler.

"C" he responded.

"So, you're not a virgin and you're over 25 but you must have impressed him none-the-less to get into so high a group. That puts you out of my price range you'll be sorry to hear, so I'll just have to make the most of your company while I can. I have the perfect place for you until tomorrow. Follow me." Dredge oiled his way down the corridor.

"Up." said the handler pulling Ellie to her feet and then the pole forced her forwards. They went around two more corners into two more corridors that looked exactly the same before stopping outside one of the metal doors. Dredge swiped his card that was attached to his belt loop and the door sprang open.

"On the bed please little slave." Dredge asked politely as if Ellie had a choice. The handler had already manoeuvred her inside the door and forced her to kneel on the hard bench that Dredge had described as a bed. Feeding the end of the pole through the top cat-flap, the handler held her in place while the door was shut and locked. Ellie heard a snap and the pole released automatically from her collar. The handler pulled it through the cat-flap and disappeared without a backward glance. Dredge's mean eyes appeared at the hole.

"I see you've had a few little mishaps slave. Perhaps I should come and help clean you up? You want to look good for the buyers in the morning don't you?" Ellie didn't respond. She turned her back on him and cried for Ben instead.

Ellie didn't think she could possibly have any more tears left in her body. Pulling her knees up and wrapping her arms around her legs, she rocked herself slightly in an effort to keep warm. The room was bare except for the bench she sat on and a metal bucket with a lid. Her ribs ached, her cheek was still sore and her lip was throbbing painfully. It felt like quite a deep cut but the bleeding seemed to be slowing down as long as she kept her mouth still.

Ellie pictured the sort of person that might buy her tomorrow. They'd be men who hadn't managed to find their own woman and Ellie's mind flashed back to the overweight man who'd let the girl escape on The News. He looked like he'd spent half his life behind a computer screen and had never had a girlfriend. Ellie cringed at the thought of someone like him restraining her, taking her home and...