The Capture of Lynn

How much time did I have?

From sunset to sunrise was only a few hours in the dark of the woods. Could I make that? Could I stay hidden for that long with enough time to escape him?

I checked the sores on my feet from the thorns ripping through them. I could last longer. I still had the strength. It was only five miles from his gate to the freedom of the road. I had never been so far him, finally the years of submitting had made him slip up just once. And I only needed one time to run.

I checked the horizon setting behind the trees and kept running as fast as my sore feet would let me. I didn't feel the jaggers of the vines, the sharpness of the rocks, the rain as it started to come. But I could taste the freedom, I could feel the road getting closer. Just beyond the tree line I kept telling myself. If you get away you'll never have to go back to him.

Then I heard the beeping. The loud repeating sound ringing in my ears. I looked around waiting for him to grab me, waiting for his guards to pin me down and drag me back.

But they never came. They never got close enough to grab me.

The ringing was even louder now, pounding inside my head.

'Wake up, Lynn. You have to wake up,'

I opened my eyes and took note of the room, a small light still shining in the corner. I hit the alarm and rolled over. The red 2:30 stared back at me.

Every night it was the same dream. Running through the woods making my escape and waiting for him to get me. Biding my time until he would eventually come for me. Every night my alarm would wake me up in a cold sweat and I would pack my things and move to the next city.

It was the only way I knew how to escape him. I couldn't stay anywhere longer than a night in fear he would wake me before my alarm did.

I wiped the sweat from my eyes and sat up in bed. I had an hour walk before the next town over and had to get a move on.

It was coming up on a year since my escape. I still couldn't believe he hadn't found me yet. He was so resourceful, he knew everyone. I had no one on my side, I wasn't able to return to family and had no friends nearby. And everyone knew about the runaway slave he had put out a bounty for.

I started to pack what little I owned. It was easier to run with nothing to your name. You didn't worry about leaving anything behind or missing it because you didn't have it.

2:45. 2:46. 2:47.

I always gave myself a 15 minute window between stops and I was already running behind. The exhaustion from running was starting to catch up to me and I was starting to lag. I had already been gone a year but I didn't mind spending the rest of my life running if it meant never going back.

I grabbed the rest of what little I had and put my hair behind my ears and my shoes on. I tried to shake the draining thoughts from my mind. I never felt more than a few steps outside of his reach.If it only took one slip up from him it would only take one slip up from me.

2:55.

I took one last look around the motel and sighed. Would this really be my life forever? Never getting to settle down or even feel safe no matter where I was? I wouldn't let myself feel defeated or he would win either way. I opened the door and I was off. No idea when I would sleep again but I had to go.

I still remember the life I had before he found me. I had a life. I had friends, family, and then I had nothing but him. My whole life for five years revolved around serving him. But in those five years I still only thought about running. He thought he had tamed me but one mistake in all that time freed me.

I smirked wondering what the look on his face was when he realized I was gone. How long did it take him before he wandered to my room and saw I wasn't there? I almost wished I had stayed just to see his eyes. Those blue eyes could pierce into any soul, even mine at one point.

That's how I knew I would only be one step ahead of him. He had known me for five years, he knew me inside and out. He knew what move I would make if I made one.

When he had played me in chess and won every time. Guessing which pawn I would move, which knight he could take. Then watching his devlish grin appear as he would bend me over the table and take me right there.

I shuddered at the thought of his touch, engulfing me again like flames consuming my body.

"Where do you think you're going this late?"

The voice took me out of my thoughts and turned me cold. I wasn't paying attention. I didn't notice him following me.

'Keep it together Lynn. You have to keep it together. Keep the distance. Don't let him close.'

"I'm just heading home after my shift." I walked faster away from the voice trailing behind me.

"Where's your Master, girl?"

"At home, waiting for me. And he knows what time I should be home. He'll come looking for me." I picked up my pace and held on to the straps of my back pack. I felt my hair on the base of my neck. They wouldn't be able to see.

"No Master would let their girl out this late on this side of town." He was right. On this side of town no Master would let their property out at 3am. And most Masters didn't let their slaves work outside of the house. This man already knew I was lying.

"Please, I'm not looking for trouble. I'm just trying to get home."

"And there won't be any trouble if you don't scream." I could hear another set of footprints running beside me that I didn't notice before. There were two of them. I knew I had a chance of taking one, but certainly not two. A hand clasped around my mouth and pulled me back into the alleyway.

"Please.." The heavier man with a full beard threw off the backpack and pulled my arms behind my back holding me. The smaller man unbuttoned my jeans and pulled down my panties.

"No way." He stumbled back looking at me.

"What? What's wrong?" The scruffy looking man kept hold of my arms while I struggled against him. I could feel the length of him pressing into me.

"She has the Caplan mark. I've never seen it on a slave before, only heard about it." I could feel the hot tears swelling in my eyes. "Check behind her ear. Any owned slave will have it." I felt him swipe a finger along the branding behind my ear as I shook my head, more tears starting to form.

"It's there. She has the barcode along the back." He dragged his finger across the barcode again to be sure.

"Please! Just let me go. I won't tell anyone." Even I could hear the trembling in my voice trying to plead with them. How could I have been so stupid? A year of running and one mistake, just like he did.

"I'm sorry, but we're not letting you go. Caplan has a bounty on his slaves."

I felt the shaking of my body in the arms of this man. I was reduced to nothing. The barcode on my skin and branding. Even with running he still owned me. No tattoo parlor would go over the brands without permission of the Master. Is this what is going to happen? No way, I won't let them take me without a fight.

I shoved my elbow in the stomach of the grizzly man tightening around my body. He didn't even make a sound as if I had just punched into a pillow. I tried stepping on his feet, punching him in the cock that was pushing into me. But he stood firm, he wasn't going to let me go with money on the line.

All I could muster was a beg. I had made it a year. And now I was going to have to face him again. I felt the bile in my stomach start to come up my throat.

"Please. I'll do anything. Don't tell him."

"I'm sorry slave, I can't break the rules or I'll be in trouble." I knew what he was saying. The punishment for harboring a slave or helping them find freedom was worse than death. I'd only heard Caplan talk of it. They'd hang the traitor in the middle of the town naked for everyone to use. I couldn't hold back and emptied the contents of my stomach all over the alleyway.

Caplan. Caplan. Caplan. His face wouldn't leave my head. What punishment would I get for this? Would it be worse than the chamber? Nothing was worse than the chamber. But it could be. Who knows what sick and twisted things Caplan had come up with in the year I was gone.

Then it hit me. The slight pinch of skin in my arm and the tingling I felt when my eyes grew heavy. Sleep. Oh how wonderful sleep sounded. And when was the last time I had a restful night? Had it been a year?

Caplan. The last good sleep was with Caplan. And then I let the darkness take hold of me.