Willing Slave Unwilling Master

Hey all, sorry I've kept you all waiting but here is chapter nine. Once again my special thanks to

curiousvisitor for his assistance with proofreading.

Enjoy.

— — —

Dan

"Did you hear me?" my father shouts over the phone, "You need to get out of the house right now! And take the girl with you."

"B... But how?" I stutter, "Where would I go?!"

"You remember when you were younger we went on that trip, we got lost, and we ended up staying..."

I rack my brain, then a memory of my very disgruntled family pulling into a rundown roadside motel suddenly hits me. "I remember," I say, "We-"

"Don't say the name!" my father snaps, "We don't know, who's listening."

Sitting heavily on my bed I try desperately to wrap my head around what is happening. Until now, all the stuff with the enforcers seemed so unreal, like a kind of made-up fantasy in my own head, explained away as the product of paranoia mixed with an overactive imagination. But hearing my father telling me to make a run for it, to not even trust basic technology, suddenly makes everything terrifyingly real.

"Right, you know where you're going?" Dad asks.

"Yeah, but... But how am I going to get there?"

"You'll use my second my precious possession, do you understand?"

"Yes," I reply mutely.

"Good, I'll meet up with you in a few days. Don't try and get in contact with us, it will only make you easier to find."

"O... Okay," my voice shakes. "I'll see you soon, right?"

There is a pause before he answers. "Just... look after yourself, Dan. Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

"No, I won't," I promise. "See you soon."

He hangs up without answering.

"Shit, shit, shit!" I yell, throwing the phone onto the bed and hurrying to Rose's wardrobe.

"What the fuck is going on?" Jezebel demands.

"Dad thinks, the enforcers are coming for me." I say in a rush, grabbing a handful of neatly folded panties and throwing them onto the bed. "Pass me that bag, will you?" I snap, holding out my hand.

"You're running away?" my sister gasps, handing me my school bag, which I quickly upend letting books fall where they will.

"Unless you have a better suggestion..." I yell, throwing a bra, a pair of jeans and a vest onto the bed.

"But you can't run away from the enforcers, they will catch you! It will just make things worse!"

"Rose, get dressed, please," I say, trying to keep my voice level, before turning on my sister without a hint of vocal control, "You think I don't know that? But I'm not going to sit here and wait to be arrested. I need to fight. I need to do something."

"This is insane!" my sister shouts, but I notice she quickly hurries to Rose, helping her to get dressed. Meanwhile I throw clothes for the pair of us haphazardly into my backpack. This

is

insane; even if I do somehow manage to flee the city, the safe-land around the hub isn't that big an area, and the idea of negotiating a land crossing to another hub, in a vehicle that makes contact with the ground no less, is madness.

"Master?" Rose says softly as my sister helps her pull the vest over her head.

"It's okay, sweetie," I say softly. "But we are going to have to leave."

She nods quickly, wincing as she gets to her feet, the effects of her coughing fit still clearly evident. I feel like a complete bastard making her move around in this state, but I have no other choice. Grabbing my warmest looking hoodie, I hand it to her, "Better get you wrapped up warm, huh?"

"Yes, Master," she replies, pulling the oversized garment over her head.

"Right," I say, looking between my sister and my slave. "Let's go."

"How are you even getting anywhere?" Jezebel asks, following us out of the room.

"I'm going to borrow dad's car." I say matter-of-factly.

"You would be better handing yourself in to the enforcers; they might just be able to protect you when dad finds out."

"I have his permission."

"Stars, things really are bad, aren't they?"

"I'm not dead yet," I say, trying and failing to sound light-hearted. "Will you be okay here?" I ask.

When the enforcers show up only to discover I'm not at home, Jezebel will be on the receiving end of their interrogations. We both know it, though neither one of us will voice it aloud. I wish there was some way I could protect my sister as well as Rose, but someone needs to be here to protect the other slaves, and anyway, anything my sister will be put through is nothing compared to what would happen to her if she was discovered with us.

"I think, I can handle things." she shrugs. "I might need to make some calls."

I don't ask. My sister has a supernatural power to flirt her way out of most things; I can only hope her gift doesn't fail her tonight.

Rose is very quiet as we make our way through the house. The other slaves seem to know something is up and avoid us as we ransack the kitchen for bottled water and chocolate bars. Hardly war rations but it will have to do.

Despite the rather pressing circumstances I notice Rose pausing to look around the garage as we enter. Walking up to my father's car I take a moment to truly appreciate it. Despite the vintage design it looks poised and aggressive, glowing a warm silver in the sunlight that pours in from the overhead skylight.

The car unlocks with a clunk as I hit the correct button on the key and open the door for Rose, getting her settled before turning to my sister, who to my surprise throws her arms around me.

"Whatever happens, I love you little brother, you know that, right?"

"Err... yeah," I say a little awkwardly, "I love you too, don't worry. I'll find a way out of this, I promise."

We break apart without making eye contact. Jezebel knows I can't promise anything; for her this is goodbye. Some part of me knows it is for me as well, but I can't allow myself to think like that if I want to come home.

Climbing into the car I place my backpack on the back seats before smiling at Rose as I press the start button. She jumps as the car gently vibrates then roars into life. Thank god the operating procedure for personal vehicles hasn't changed much; a pedal to go, another to stop and a wheel to get the whole affair pointing in roughly the right direction.

I learned to drive along with the rest of my classmates when I turned eighteen, passing the test with an outstanding score. But I haven't really been in a car since then, at least not as a driver. I give a thumbs-up to Jezebel, who hits the control panel for the garage door.

It's a strange feeling being able to feel the gravel underneath the tyres as I roll out into the early evening sun. If I survive this, I am going to send a letter of thanks to the local neighbourhood council who decided last year to repave all the roads, especially for residents with a love of retro like my father.

With a final look back at the only home I have ever known I turn right, trying not dwell on the fact that this might be the last time I see where I grew up. Pushing a little harder on the gas, I fix my eyes on the road, hoping it will be a good enough distraction.

— — —

I'm glad it's summer, I think, deftly avoiding another large pothole; I wouldn't want to try and use this road at night. I suppose I should count myself lucky; strictly speaking, with the prevalence of anti-grav technology roads aren't really necessary, particularly roads like this one, that lead away from the central hub city towards agricultural lands and the rare beauty spot.

I look out at the uninterrupted view to the horizon, yellow grass swaying rhythmically. Here and there a small tree reaches for the sky, but it is a token effort at best. Rose has been silent thus far, her arms wrapped tightly around her chest and her face pressed to the window.

"How are you doing?" I ask softly, causing her to jump.

"I'm okay, Master, it's just..." she trails off, looking guilty.

"It's just what, sweetie?"

"I never got to say goodbye to Emily or the others," she replies quietly, absentmindedly fiddling with her collar.

"You'll see her again," I say, "Perhaps not straight away, we might have to hide for a while. But I promise you, we will go home eventually."

"Yes, Master," she says, trying her best to sound like she believes my words. I let her nuzzle my hand before turning my attention back to the road. It's going to be a long evening.

— — —

Rose

I had no idea, no concept that the world was this big. We've been driving for hours and yet the view has hardly changed, just miles and miles of golden grass bordering a straight line of black tarmac that seems to stretch on forever. It's terrifying; if Master were to leave me here, I would never be able to find another human to take care of me.

Every so often I spot a building or structure half sunk in the grass, but not a single one has looked remotely habitable so far. I sit back in my seat, closing my eyes, wishing my stomach would stop churning and my head would stop aching.

— — —

"Master," I say softly as the car climbs up a winding mountain path. "I don't feel well."

"Okay, sweetie," he says, gently stroking my leg. "I need to find somewhere to pull over."

I nod slowly, concentrating on not being sick. It's strange; I travelled for much longer in the back of a grav-car when I was first sold and I didn't feel like this. I think it's because of how smooth that vehicle was compared to this car. Even with my master taking extra care to avoid damaged sections of road, it's still very bumpy.

We drive on a little further before master steers off the road onto a run-down, paved area. We must have climbed quite a way, because just past the edge of the cracked pavement and a few thorny bushes lies a city, stretching out before us; vast. Yet it's nothing like any city I have ever seen; some of the taller buildings seem to have crumbled away revealing a gristly skeleton of twisted metal. And despite it being nearly sunset, there isn't a single light to be seen.

I jump as Master opens my door; I was so caught up in the view, I didn't notice him getting out of the car.

"Some fresh air will be good for you," he says soothingly, rooting around in the back of the car.

"Yes, Master," I reply, enjoying the gentle breeze on my face.

He hands me a bottle of water before wrapping a blanket around my crossed legs. I drink gratefully, feeling better for it almost at once. I turn my gaze back to the strange city as Master takes a seat on the doorsill, stroking my knee softly as he, too, looks out over the ruined metropolis.

"What is it?" I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me, "I mean, who lives there?"

"There?" Master shrugs, "No one, at least not officially. It's called New Haven, or at least it was before the war."

"War, Master?"

He gives me a crooked look. "How can you not know about the war?"

"We were taught about the concept of wars, Master, but we never learned about any particular one," I say apologetically.

"But... I mean... Do you know what you are?" he says flabbergasted.

"I'm a Lower Vil, Master?" I reply tentatively, suspecting it's not the answer he's looking for.

"Yes, but do you know where you come from?"

I frown. "I was bred in the compound, Master; I must have a mother and father, but I have never met them."

"No, I mean..." He looks at me seriously. "Rose, your... species? People? I don't really know the right word to use. But you originally came from another planet; please tell me you know about the Vil?" he asks.

"We were shown photos, but the wardens said, that should we meet one, we were not to talk or make eye contact; that our owners would give us further instruction."

"And you never, I dunno... you never wondered what they were? Or why you were different from the wardens? Or anything like that?" he asks in amazement.

"Asking questions is disobedient, Master," I say, "I think..." I gulp before continuing. "I think, Master, because you are so kind, you don't understand what that means." Now that I'm committed, I barrel on, hoping I can at least finish before I end up over Master's knee or worse. "If I asked, if I made any of the wardens aware that I wanted to know more than they allowed me to know, they would have punished me; I would have been flogged or caned or even whipped."

Master says nothing, but I can hear the sound of crunching plastic as he grips the water bottle tight in his fist, his knuckles turning white. I flinch instinctively, drawing his attention. "I'm sorry," he says quickly; sincerely. "I'm sorry, Rose, it isn't you. It's just... I hate them."

"Who?" I ask quietly.

"The people who would hurt you like that, who

did

hurt you like that. The slavers and just the whole fucking system; I used to fantasise about burning the whole stinking thing to the ground. But now I know, I can't even do that anymore, not without hurting the Lower Vil. I feel completely helpless," he sighs, "Listen to me, complaining to a slave that I feel helpless, I'm sorry."

"Master," I say softly, watching a lone bird soar high above the abandoned city. "May I ask a question?"

He looks up, a smile tugging at his frown. "Sure sweetie, ask away."

"What does hate feel like?" I say, feeling a little foolish. Still, for some reason my owner likes it when I ask questions. And I enjoy letting my curiosity run wild, even if it is disobedient.

"What?" he asks, blinking.

"I'm sorry, Master, it's just they taught us hate was to very strongly dislike something," I say quickly, my confidence waning as I blabber, probably not making any sense. "But you..." I take a deep breath, "A moment ago I thought you might be about to hurt me; I've never seen you like that."

I feel my heart pounding in my chest as I wait for my owner to respond. Stars! What has he done to me that I would say something like that? It isn't my place to question his feelings! And even if he did want to hurt me, which given the fact I'm responsible for him fleeing his home would be understandable, that's his right.

"I would never, ever hurt you," he says gruffly, looking me straight in the eye. "I know you're expecting me to, but seriously Rose, I wouldn't."

"Yes, Master," I reply nervously, thrown by the intensity of his gaze.

"Right, you don't ask easy questions, do you?" he says, taking a sip from his water bottle with a thoughtful look on his face.

"I'm sorry, Master, I-," he raises his hand, cutting me off the bottle still pressed to his lips.

"I suppose the main difference between disliking something and hating it is rationality. It's rational, for example, to dislike getting out of bed on a cold morning. But it's completely irrational to hate someone based on the colour of their skin, or their species."

I nod; it's a good explanation. But surely no one would hate another person just for how they look; that's beyond foolish.

"Love works the same way; sometimes you feel strongly about someone and you can't rationally explain why. The problem is both love and hate drive people to do wonderful and terrible things." He points at the city before us, "Case in point."

"People don't live there anymore because they hated the city?" I ask confused.

He laughs softly, "Not quite." Picking up a twig from the ground he rolls it between his fingers. "I guess I should start from the beginning. I would rather arrive at the motel after dark anyway and if you threw up in my dad's car, I'm not sure any force on this Earth could save us."

I nod quickly, sitting up a little straighter in my seat, eager to learn.

"So about two hundred and fifty years ago, give or take, humans discovered two things in very quick succession. Faster than light drives and a wormhole, which is a kind of tunnel through space." He laughs, "Stars, I sound like a history teacher! Anyway, where was I?"

"A wormhole, Master?" I say helpfully.

With a smirk he continues. "So yeah, we found a wormhole and as you would expect, we soon ventured through it. And things went well, we ended up in another galaxy and more importantly humanity encountered its first ever advanced sentient life form, two of them technically, though at the time I don't think anyone realised the Lower Vil were a separate species."

"At first, our meetings were friendly; at least they are reported to have been friendly, but who knows for sure? However, at some point relations fell apart and the Vil removed us not only from their planet but their home galaxy. Obviously, more than one attempt was made to restore diplomatic relations but nothing seemed to work. In fact, any probes that managed to make it back through the wormhole showed us that the Vil were massing their forces at the event horizon on the other side."

"You understand about war ships and weapons and all that kind of thing right?" Master asks.

"Yes Master." I reply, quickly, trying to memorise all this new information.

"Good. Well, our response was to start assembling our own forces on our side of the wormhole. The Vil were the first to attack, but were driven back quickly, which is what happened to our own attacking forces, too. I think at the time the intention was never to invade each other's planets, rather to secure both ends of the wormhole, because whoever could do that would be at a massive tactical advantage. The back and forth went on for years, with hundreds of ships being lost on both sides, mostly to enemy fire, but it was also quickly becoming apparent that the wormhole itself was inherently unstable."

I nod, imagining a giant plug hole in space sucking ships in and spitting them out.

"Some ships were lost on their way through the wormhole, never to be seen again. No one really knew what became of them; some people think they were torn apart, others think they were thrown randomly into space somewhere, light years from anywhere. The point is, the wormhole was falling apart and had we or the Vil had any sense, they would have let it die. But neither side was willing to sacrifice what they saw as their property and so work began on both sides of the anomaly to stabilise it. It's funny in a way, even when the opposing side had control of an entrance, they would rarely interfere with the infrastructure being assembled there."

"I'm glad they didn't break it, Master." I say, "I would never have met you if they did."

"No, in a roundabout way I suppose that's true," he grins, "We wouldn't have ended up being hunted by the government either, though," he finishes with a shrug.

"I'm sorry-" Once again he holds up a hand to silence me.

"Wouldn't have it any other way. Now where was I? Oh yes, so in a staggering display of contempt for each other's existence, both ourselves and the Vil managed to stabilize the wormhole, basically guaranteeing a prolonged struggle for control. And so it turned out; for about fifty years there was this kind of tug of war, where one side would hold both entrances for a few weeks before inevitably being driven back and overcome on their side of the breach. Neither side actually got anywhere in all this time, but still, we kept building ships and sending young men and women off to their deaths in defence of something, that even if we won it, we would have no real use for."

"Obviously something had to change, and the Vil did. They sent through an invasion fleet as normal, but instead of attacking our forces they split; half of them jumped very quickly to FTL drive scattering and the rest retreated. Of course, the Vil had no real idea of where Earth was, and were quickly hunted down and destroyed, but it was the start of a new phase of the war. Death was no longer restricted to the entrances as it had been for years; suddenly nowhere in the Milky Way felt safe."

"Of course, we used the same tactic almost at once and what had started as a tug of war quickly turned into interstellar guerrilla warfare. And so it went. More ships were needed, and more bodies to man them. Mandatory conscription was introduced; a rule that all men and women over the age of twenty must sign up for military service."