Servius

Sarah Beth and Jewel huddled together against the brisk wind as they hurried down the street.

"Are you sure this lady is legit?" Sarah Beth hissed, her voice low, as she glanced around.

Jewel nodded before she realized Sarah Beth could not see her beneath the thick layers of scarf wrapped around her head. "She helped me the first time, we can trust her. But we'll never make it there if you keep looking around like an escapee."

"Shut up," Sarah Beth said as she faced forward. She hated when Jewel corrected or advised her. She was two years older than Jewel and had been a member of Servius' Cancer before anyone else. But still, when it came to Servius, Jewel was more of the expert.

A block before the large church that was their destination, Jewel and Sarah Beth slowed their pace to match that of the traffic around them. Husbands and wives, the occasional servant attending the Sunday service. They filed into the building with everyone else and followed the servants to their seating area.

Jewel led Sarah Beth to the pew furthest from the front and took the rightmost seat.

The church taught from three altered versions of the Bible, the Lord David, Lord Micheal, and Lord Dawson versions for the founders of Servius. A version for wives, a version for servants, and a version for slaves. Jewel grabbed the servant's edition in front of her and flipped it open to Genesis 2. She'd never read the Lord Micheals's version of Eve's creation, but she wasn't here for bible study. A tiny piece of paper was wedged close to the spine, two sloppy words scribbled on it. Her heart dropped and she heard Sarah Beth suck in a sharp breath beside her as she read over Jewel's shoulder. This complicated things.

"Maybe she's wrong." Back at Gregory's house, he attempted to console Jewel and Sarah Beth as he held the tin paper between two fingers. "It makes sense," he continued, "she's practically the founding member of Servius' Cancer, of course, they put her with him."

Sarah Beth sighed, "We have to pull out."

Jewel had been dreading the words since she'd seen Jerimah Castor's name on that paper. She was more familiar with him than she wanted to be, and as the eldest Castor son, he was in charge of Servius' carceral system. Freeing one of his personal slaves would be next to impossible, still, "We can't just leave her."

"We won't be able to get her from the Castors-"

"She freed me!" Jewel interrupted, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

"By ourselves."Sarah Beth finished. "Eve didn't just walk into Servius and pluck you from Damison. She spent nearly a year gathering people and resources, on the outside!"

Jewel pouted like a petulant toddler. "But we don't have to start from scratch, Servius' Cancer already exists!"

"And it's bigger than me and you, Jewel." She grabbed Jewel's hand, "I'm not saying we should abandon your sister, I'm just saying we need to get back to the real world and plan." Sarah Beth moved away from Jewel and walked over to the archway between their room and the next. She bent down, wiggling loose one of the floorboards there, and retrieved a cell phone.

As she hit numbers on its shiny surface, a loud knock sounded at the door. "SPD, councilman Gregory, open up!"

Jewel and Sarah Beth locked eyes as Sarah Beth slowly slid the phone back into the floor.

"Relax," Gregory whispered heading for the door, "I'm sure it's nothing."

Jewel followed behind him, huddling as close to the entry as she could without being seen.

"Is there a problem?" Gregory asked as he opened the door.

There was a pause, "I, uh, have a warrant here for-"

"A warrant!" Gregory screamed, there was a sound of paper being snatched, "who is this from?"

"I, uh-"

"Oh no, you don't have to tell me, I know it's from the Carsons. You march back home to your daddy and tell him these pathetic attempts to smear my reputation in an attempt to grab my seat are getting old." Gregory slammed the door and stormed back into the room, coming up short as he almost collided with Jewel.

Despite his bravado a moment ago, He looked afraid. He pointed at Sarah Beth, "You need to leave. Today."

Before Sarah Beth could dig the phone back out, there was another knock on the door, "Gregory, it's James."

Jewel's stomach dropped, James Castor. If he saw her in this house, "he'll recognize me."

Gregory's face was ashen and for the first time since she'd met him, he seemed to be at a loss for words. "Hide," he mumbled as he went to answer the door.

Sarah Beth quickly grabbed Jewel's hand and pulled her to the hallway closet. In the back lower-left corner, there was a small trap door that Sarah Beth pushed to the side so they could climb into the wall. Jewel followed her numbly. If James was here, then they knew they were here. Castor's slavers would pick this place clean like it was sundown on Ramadan. There was no point in hiding.

Sarah Beth put the door back in place locking them in darkness. They could faintly hear the conversation at the door.

"...here. They went to get some things from the market." Gregory answered whatever question had been asked of him.

There was a short laugh, "You're lying. We know they're in here, Gregory. How about you just make this easier on all yourself."

There was silence and then the sound of scuffling, grunts, and flesh hitting flesh. Jewel squeezed her hands over her ears trying to block the sound. Everyone in Servius' Cancer had told her this was a bad idea, told her there were easier, albeit slower ways of finding out where her sister was. After insisting, Sarah Beth, Eve's best friend was the only one who had agreed to Jewel's plan. But they had all been right. What had she accomplished, she'd found out her sister was with the Castors, something she probably could have guessed, and placed herself and her sister's best friend right in their hands. Stupid.

Jewel peeled her hands off of her ears, the house was quiet now. Jewel wondered where Gregory and James had gone when James's voice rang out, frighteningly close to the closet. "Let's make this quick. Smoke them out."

There was the sound of something metal hitting the wooden floor followed by a loud hissing sound. Jewel foolishly hoped whatever it was might kill them. It took only a few moments to slip past the creaks of the trap door. Jewel couldn't smell anything, but she could feel the smoke tickling her nose and the back of her throat. Jewel held her breath as the need to cough begin to build in her throat. She heard Sarah Beth grunt next to her as she struggled to hold back her coughs. It was futile. Once Sarah Beth coughed the first time, she was unable to hold them back.

The trap dor was pulled away and hands reached into their hiding place ripping them from the wall. Jewel was thrown on the floor and her arms handcuffed behind her back before a sack was placed over her head, throwing her back into the darkness.

Most people thought that Eve Salinger had created Servius' Cancer to rescue Jewel from Servius. But that's not entirely true. Jewel couldn't remember the exact inception of Servius' Cancer, couldn't recall when Eve and her roommate Sarah Beth had decided to pledge their life to uncover the injustices going on in Servius. But she could remember the day that Eve named it Servius' Cancer. That was a day Jewel would never forget. Jewel had been eighteen, about to graduate from high school, and Eve had been 22, in her senior year of college studying journalism. After organizing protests, sit-ins, and petitions, Eve had decided she wanted to enter Servius herself to investigate and report.

She'd written a letter to Servius, along with a petition with over 500 signatures and letters of recommendation from her professors. She waited impatiently for days, and when the letter had finally come in the mail, Eve gave herself a papercut trying to open it.

"Dear Ms. Salinger," Eve read the letter allowed to Jewel, "While we are thrilled by your interest and curiosity in the lifestyle we have cultivated in Servius, we regret to inform you that your request to visit under the reporters guild has been denied. Upon conducting research, the founding families have discovered harmful and terroristic propaganda both created and distributed by you, Ms. Salinger. Your beliefs and the insistence that everyone lives by them are cancer to Servius, and will not be permitted to take root and grow within our community."

Jewel cringed at the harsh words, expecting she might have to comfort Eve, but she wasn't entirely surprised by the amused laugh that escaped Eve's lips.

"You're not upset?" Jewel asked.

"Are you kidding? Here I was thinking I was just some small-time journalism student, but the most controversial and prolific Sovereign-state of the century not only knows who I am, but they called my ideas cancer!"

"Isn't that bad? I thought you wanted to get inside?"

"It's great, and please believe, if it's the last thing I ever do, I'm getting into Servius."

"To Servius' Cancer!" Eve's loud toast was met with cheers and applause from all around her. Eve had insisted they go out to celebrate, though Jewel didn't know what she was celebrating. But a few outfits and phone calls later, they sat in a section of Jewel's favorite 17-to-enter bar with dozens of Eves friends and classmates. "May we grow bigger and spread as long as Servius stands." she climbed down from the table and poured her cup into Jewel's empty one.

There was laughter and drinking, dancing and drinking, and singing and drinking, and the last thing Jewel could remember was stumbling off to the bathroom to pee.

When Jewel woke up, she had a pounding headache and no clue where she was, or how she'd got there. She was laying on the floor and wondered if she had passed out on the floor somewhere last night. She struggled to open her eyes and sat up. Panic was instant as she took in the stone walls that surrounded her. She was in a small room that looked like a dungeon, nothing in there except her, a twin-sized bed, and a bucket.

The door swung open and a handsome well-dressed man entered the room with a folding chair and a brown paper bag. "Hello, Jewel." he greeted as he unfolded the chair in the middle of the room and sat down. He dropped the bag on the floor next to him before he crossed his legs and folded his hands in his lap, waiting for her to respond. He was tall, even sitting down and his suit did little to hide his muscular build. His hair was cropped close to his head. His almond eyes studied her as she attempted to collect her thoughts.

"Who are you?" Jewel managed just above a whisper.

"My name is Damison Castor."

Jewel recognized the name Castor from Eve's articles. Tears pricked the back of her eyes.

"Why am I here?" She tried.

Damison exhaled deeply and moved his folded hands behind his head as he looked up at the ceiling in thought. "That's a complicated question. I suppose the simplest answer is that you're here to help us repair some of the damage your sister has done. We want to show your sister and the rest of America that life in Servius is not what they think it is."

"By kidnapping me?"

Damison laughed, looking at her again, "Jewel, you came here willingly to experience the life of a Servius woman. At least that's what you'll tell the press when you're ready."

Jewel considered this for a moment, they didn't intend to keep her locked away forever. "You want me to tell the press that Eve is lying? That there's nothing wrong with Servius?" Relief colored her voice as Damison nodded slowly. It wouldn't matter what she said, Eve would still bring this place down. Especially now. "I can do that."

"Great!" Damison enthused, He stood up, folding the chair he'd bought in and presenting Jewel with the paper bag. "The first step is looking the part. You can come out when you're ready."

Jewel peered into the bag as Damison left the room, shutting the door behind him. She swallowed past a lump in her throat as she saw a tangle of leather, buckles, and lace. She turned the bag upside down, pouring its contents onto the floor to rifle through the contents. She discovered four leather cuffs and a lace bra and panty set. She took a deep breath. You can do this she coached herself, just get dressed, say some lies go home. You got this. A quieter voice in the back of her head asked what if they wouldn't let her go. But it was quiet enough to ignore. Besides, she knew Eve would come to save her if all else failed.

She quickly snapped the cuffs into place on her arms and ankles, trying not to think too much about what she was doing. The lingerie was trickier, she knew what he probably expected, but she couldn't bring herself to wear only the lacy set which was already barely there. She undressed and put the lingerie on, but she redressed in her clothes. Unsure if she should wait or follow after Damison, she tried the door and was half surprised when it swung open at her touch.

The door led to a large bedroom, A king-sized canopy bed, a bookshelf that took up an entire wall, and a large mahogany desk filled the room. Damison sat at the desk, his feet up, he had the phone on speaker as he spoke to someone on the other line. "...get bored, I guess."

The voice on the other line laughed, "I'm sure you'll find a way to entertain yourself."

Damison looked up as Jewel walked into the room. He frowned. "Perhaps." He hit a button ending the call before he swung his feet down from the desk standing up."Come here," He commanded.

Jewel would have preferred to keep as much distance between them as possible, but almost of their own volition, her feet moved closer to Damison until he was able to reach out and pull back the shoulder of her shirt revealing the white lace. He raised a curious eyebrow,

"You can't expect me to talk to reporters less than half-dressed."

Damison laughed, "No, of course not." He returned to his desk and opened a drawer pulling out a length of rope. "Hold out your wrist."

Jewel wanted to run away but she wasn't sure where she would go, playing along was still her best shot of getting home. After a moment of hesitation, she held her wrist out in front of her.

Damison looped the rope through the cuffs around Jewel's wrists and pulled her to the middle of the room. He looked above her and Jewel followed his eyes and saw a large metal hoop a few feet above her.

Damison tossed the rope up through the hope, catching it as it came down the other side. "What are you-"

Damison placed his free hand over Jewel's mouth cutting off the rest of her question. "I haven't asked you any questions, so there's nothing of value you can add to this situation by speaking. Shut up."

Jewel's heart pounded in her chest. This wasn't right. Damison walked to the wall to Jewel's right and pulled the rope until Jewel stood on the balls of her feet. He tied the rope to a hook in his wall before disappearing behind Jewel. "Please," Jewel whimpered, "I'll tell them whatever you want."

"One more word, Jewel, one more word and you'll be done talking for the rest of the day. I promise."

The rest of the day? Then how would she be able to talk to the press? Her mind raced, unable to make sense of her situation. When Damison reappeared in front of Jewel, held a pair of scissors in his hands.

"You can't!" Jewel screamed, struggling in her binds as he approached her. "I won't talk to the press if you touch me. I swear." Jewel sighed in relief as he stopped short and walked out of her sight again. She momentarily thought Eve would be pleased to learn these people could be reasoned with. But the thought quickly left her mind as he returned with a large red ball with thin black straps hanging from both sides. Jewel began to struggle again. "You can't do this. Please, don't, please-"

Her voice was cut off as he roughly shoved the gag between her teeth, securing it behind her head. He removed the scissors from his back pocket and without pausing, grabbed the bottom of her shirt, cutting up the front, shredding the thin fabric. He cut the sleeves and tossed the shirt to the floor before he grabbed her waistband and began cutting down her jeans. Jewel sobbed.

"Did you really think we would let an American and sister to our biggest detractor publicly represent us?" Damison asked as he continued removing her clothes. "Did you think we would let you speak for us without formal training? No. We can't tell you what to say. When you speak to the press, you have to speak truthfully from your experience." When he finished cutting away her clothes, disappeared, this time returning with more rope. He placed it around her ankles, securing the ends to the respective walls.

When Damison finished, Jewel hung by her arms, her legs spread and her toes barely reaching the floor. The crude gag forcing her jaw open a contrast to the delicate lace that did little to cover her body. Damison stepped back admiring his work. He studied her for a moment before a devilish grin spread across his face. He disappeared behind her. "I do wonder if you enjoy pain. Many of my slaves do." behind Jewel, there was the sound of drawers opening and closing and metal clanging against metal. Jewel started crying, and once she started, she found it difficult to stop. This monster was going to punish her for Eve's sins.

When Damison walked back into view, he was pushing a small black cart. Atop the cart sat a pair of gloves, a box of antiseptic wipes, a plastic box filled with hoops and jewels, a small plastic gun that looked like a hot glue gun to Jewel, and an assortment of small metal tools that made her nauseous.

He pulled a metal stool from the bottom of the cart and set it in front of Jewel, sitting close enough that his breath tickled her stomach. "What do you think? Is pain something you might take pleasure in?"

Jewel tried to shout no and shook her head back and forth, but from behind the gag, her pleas were indecipherable.

"Maybe?" Damison shrugged, "Alright, then, let's give it a try." He traced under her breast, sending chills up her spine. "Should we just start with two?" His hands danced zigzags down her stomach, stopping to tug at her panties.

"Three?" He asked dipping his hand into the panties and pinching her clit, making Jewel whimper into the gag.

"Five?" His fingers gently trailed down her labia until he got to her pussy and inserted two fingers. "A little wet." He commented, "Let's see if the pain helps."

Jewel squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head as she sobbed. He was lying. She wasn't wet. She didn't want this. She didn't want to be in pain. Didn't want to be here. Jewel could only barely hear him fiddling with the things on the table over the pounding of her own heartbeat. She heard the sound of plastic stretching and popping and felt cold wetness brush her right nipple.

"Open your eyes, Jewel." Jewel wanted to disobey but was afraid of what he would do to her if she did. She opened her eyes. Before Jewel could even comprehend the sight of her nipple in the small opening of the gun, Damison squeezed, sending pain shooting through the small bud, all through her body, right down to the tips of her toes. She screamed into the gag as Damison began fiddling with the gun again. After a moment, he tore open a wipe and brushed her left nipple with the cloth before he placed the gun over Jewel's left nipple and waited. "Deep breaths, breathe."

Jewel tried to follow his instructions, but the second she felt she might succeed, he squeezed, piercing her other nipple. Damison wasted no time refilling the piercing gun and cleaning Jewel's clitoral hood, "Another deep breath, Jewel." Jewel shook her head, pleading behind the gag and thrashing in her binds. There had to be a limit. Damison sighed. "I'm going to do this Jewel, nothing you can do will stop me. At most, you'll make me mess up, and I don't think you want me messing up down here around such precious machinery."