Kiss My Apocalips
The story of Jacob Jones and the end of the world
CHAPTER SIX -- Hazy Mountain Hannah
I had never been the subject of veneration before. What are you supposed to do when another human being drops to her knees in front of you in apparent supplication and adoration, and then asks how she can please you? I think if I had been a lesser man, I might have told her that I'd give just about anything for one little peek at those breasts; but I was not a lesser man, and nobody will ever know I had that particular thought.
Doriana was suddenly right behind me, and she leaned into me and whispered very softly into my left ear. "Easy, Jacob. There's a lot going on with this woman that we need to try and understand. Have you noticed her eyes?"
I frowned, started to say something, then thought better of it and just shook my head.
"She's on something. I don't think it's straight coke; and it certainly isn't an opioid; she's wound up tighter than a cheap watch. Maybe it's a psychotic?"
I thought that an odd choice of phrase. I'd never wound a watch. The woman started to look up, but didn't. Keeping her head lowered, she pleaded: "Please don't listen to whatever that bitch is telling you, Master! This place is yours! So am I! I can give you whatever you want! You don't need them!"
I started to turn toward Doriana, but she put her hand on my shoulder and stopped me. Shifting my eyes, I looked at her as best I could without changing my posture before the kneeling female. I stole a glance at Sadie, but she shook her head slightly and gave me a look that let me know she had no idea how to handle this situation. Doriana put her lips back to my ear. "Try being very strict with her. Harshly so. The sterner the better. If she objects again, tell her that you think less of her than us other girls."
Okay, that simply wasn't going to happen; not to my way of thinking. I didn't believe I was capable of pulling that off, even if I decided to try. I shook my head and looked down at the woman again. "I need to converse with the others in my party. Be at ease while I speak with them."
"Please, Master," she implored. "I can give you whatever you want! You don't need them! They don't even seem to respect you properly! They're unworthy! And one of them is black! How could you even let her come near you? They can't ...."
"ENOUGH!" I roared at the top of my lungs. The prostrated female threw herself forward, her forearms on the ground, her nose pressed into the surface. She was visibly shaking. "You will NOT question me!" I boomed. "I consider you beneath any other female present! Especially HER! I command you not to speak unless I ask you a question! Do you understand me, woman?" My shouts echoed off of something faraway.
"Yes, Master. I am sorry, Master," she spoke into the ground.
Shaking with rage, I turned on my heel and looked directly at Wanda. Each of the other girls were staring at her, as well. She simply shrugged; her expression relatively mild. "What? You don't think that still happens? Get real, people!"
In an effort to calm myself, I purposefully walked around this Hannah person and picked up her shotgun. It was heavier than any we had in that truck back at the farm; a huge double-barreled thing. I walked it over to Wanda and handed it to her. "I'm sorry it still happens," I told her levelly. "I've never heard a comment like that before, and it really pisses me off."
She stood on tiptoe and kissed me on the lips. "You're sweet, lover. Now, get over it and get on with it. What are we going to do about this woman?"
I thought about it as I retrieved my assault rifle and holstered my pistol. The girls took my lead and did the same. I sighed. "Any ideas, Doriana?"
The blonde frowned in thought. "First things first. Is she the only one here? How did she know about the people being gone?"
Hannah stayed in the same position and said nothing.
"SIT UP!" I screamed. "You heard what she just said! Answer the fucking questions!"
Wanda gave me a stern look, but I ignored her. The older woman sat back in her original kneeling position, but she looked only at me, not at any of the girls.
"I'm all alone here. The men were supposed to drive up Friday night. When they didn't show up, I tried to contact each of them on my phone, then on the sat-phone. No one answered. I drove down on Sunday morning, all the way to Florence, but all of the people were gone! I didn't know what to do! So, I drove back up here and I continued with my training, the way the Masters had told me to."
"Bingo!" Doriana said, nodding. "And your 'training' includes taking some sort of injection or pill, doesn't it?"
When she had been silent for five seconds, I shouted: "Answer her!" I would have thrown in the word "bitch," but I didn't want to incur Wanda's ire.
"Yes! I take a pill and watch the video they left for me. I had just finished with today's session when I heard you driving up to the courtyard!"
"Did you hear our drone yesterday?" I asked. "And why do you keep the gate open?"
"Yes, Master. I heard it, but I didn't know what to do about it. I could have tried to shoot it down; but I thought that if all the Masters were gone, then I wanted another Master to come and take over this compound. That's why I left the gate open. I needed you to come and claim it. To come and claim me!"
"Oh crap!" I muttered.
"What time did you start your lesson today?" Doriana asked.
Hannah glanced at me momentarily, then quickly answered. "Eight-thirty."
Doriana checked her watch. "So, your lessons last three hours?"
Now, the woman seemed unsure. Again, she looked at me before responding. "I ... I don't really know. Sometimes, I ... uh ... sort of ... uh ... fall asleep."
"Sometimes?" Doriana asked pointedly.
Hannah faltered again. "Um ... every time, I guess."
Doriana nodded. "Some kind of misogynistic mind control," she muttered. "Maybe drug-induced hypnosis?" She turned toward Wanda. "Hannah here might not be a bigot, after all. It might have been programmed into her."
I shifted nervously. "Uh ... you're talking about her as if she wasn't right here."
"Oh, it's just the thing she likes; to be talked about and belittled and embarrassed in front of others. Isn't that so, Hannah? That's undoubtedly been part of these 'lessons' she's been subjecting herself to. We can work on changing her later. For now, let's encourage it. It will get us the answers we need more quickly. Now, Hannah, tell your Master here how to accomplish that. How can he dominate you and humiliate you into doing what he wants?"
The woman looked up into Doriana's eyes with newfound respect; but she looked toward me before responding. "You could bind me, Master! I know where there's a set of handcuffs, just inside there. I could get them for you. And ... you could make me strip in front of all these women. I could be naked and cuffed. And you could make me suck your cock in front of them. Or, you could take me in the ass." She considered. "You're not very old. I bet you've never had a boob-job from someone like me. Or you could ...."
"That's enough!" I said raggedly, holding up a warning finger. She fell silent, but kept looking expectantly at me. "What's it going to be, Doriana? Um ... not counting those last few things."
"Bound and naked. Perfect," she responded.
"Go," I told the woman, and she sprang to her feet and ran toward the door of the structure. As soon as she opened it, the cow mooed again.
"Holy shit!" I said softly. "This is NOT the sort of thing that usually happens in post-apocalypse novels! Zombies or cannibals I think I could take! But what am I supposed to do with somebody like HER?"
"Well, you could try to stop staring at her tits," Wanda muttered.
"I don't think I can stop staring at her tits," Sofia said, shaking her head. "That's practically all there is to her!"