Planet of Pain (23 page)

‘Come on,' Ruth said, pulling her away. ‘There's nothing you can do here. May as well go back to bed.'

Jo went, though she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep. She lay on her bunk, her stomach churning with anxiety. If anything had happened to Bel she didn't know what she would do.

 

She'd misjudged the supervisor badly. He reappeared within the hour, coming into the dorm and sitting on the edge of her bunk.

‘They're okay,' he said, rubbing tired eyes. ‘Both of them.'

Relief flooded her, followed instantly by a niggling doubt. ‘You're sure?' she said. ‘Bel Franklin and Stella Fournier?'

‘Yes, I'm sure,' he said, with an exasperated sigh. ‘I talked to one of them.'

‘You did? Which one?'

‘The big one.' He cupped his hands in front of his chest. ‘Big here, I mean.'

Jo felt the last dregs of tension drain from her. There was only one person that could be. ‘Thank you,' she said to the supervisor.

‘You're welcome,' he said, starting to rise.

She caught hold of his arm. ‘No, really… thank you.'

He looked at her, and some of his weariness fell away as he smiled. She realised she didn't even know his name. They were strangers, yet he'd gone out of his way to help her when she knew he must have other, far greater problems on his plate than one woman's concern for her colleagues. On an impulse she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

‘Any more of that, Josephine O'Donnell,' he said quietly, ‘and I'm apt to forget I'm old enough to be your father. Go to sleep now, you hear? Your friends are fine but you won't be if you're so tired tomorrow you earn yourself another low-weight reprimand.'

He patted her hand, then rose and walked away. Jo couldn't care less about weight, be it low, high or any place in between. Bel was alive, and Stella too.

Karlyn, Squires, and every other bastard in this place, she thought – screw the lot of them.

 

The cave-in had dramatic repercussions for all of them. White shift had lost forty percent of their workers, and men and women were reassigned from blue and green to plug some of the gaps. Ruth was one of those scheduled to go, and she offered to take a message to Bel and Stella.

‘Tell them I'm fine,' she said. ‘Hot, thirsty, permanently shattered, but fine. Just don't mention low-weight reprimands or Harpies, okay? I don't want Bel worrying about me.'

‘Got it,' Ruth said. She started to leave, then stopped and looked back. ‘I've discovered another reason for not making friends,' she said, her voice a little unsteady. ‘You don't want to leave them. You know you'll miss them.'

She left, and it was only then Jo realised how much she was going to miss Ruth, too.

Nathaniel was another of the transferees. Jo saw him pleading with the shift supervisor and pointing to Eli. He didn't want to be separated from her, worried about how she would cope on her own, at the mercy of any guard who saw through her ‘disguise'. As the supervisor shrugged helplessly Nathaniel looked around in desperation, and caught Jo's eye.

She made up her mind about him in that instant, deciding he was a decent man who genuinely cared for Eli. Jo went to where she stood gazing forlornly at her protector, and put her arm protectively around her shoulder; and Nathaniel understood. He nodded, looking relieved, and Jo nodded back. It was as good as a contract.

Which was how Jo, for her sins, became Eli's new guardian. The very next night Eli slipped into Jo's bunk, naked and trembling. Jo hugged her, but sisterly reassurance wasn't what the young woman wanted.

‘Please do it,' she whispered, ‘like Natty does.'

‘I'm not sure we should,' Jo whispered back, trembling almost as much as her new charge. ‘It wouldn't be right, would it?'

‘Please,' Eli begged. ‘You have to. You promised Natty you would, I saw you.'

Jo wasn't sure quite what she'd promised in that brief meeting of eyes, but it was obvious Eli wouldn't take no for an answer. And so Jo gave her what she wanted, slipping her hand down between the girl's legs. She stroked, tentatively at first, but Eli was sweet, burying her face in the curve of Jo's neck and murmuring in contentment. When her head slipped lower and she took Jo's nipple between her lips and sucked, Jo shuddered with pleasure. It aroused maternal feelings in her too, even though she knew Eli was only a year or two younger than she was.

Growing more confident by the minute, she sought Eli's clitoris and rubbed it gently. Eli wriggled and began to moan, and Jo smiled to herself in the dark and began to frig Eli in earnest.

 

The next day's work shift was the strangest Jo had yet known. Everyone was fearful, looking up at the roof constantly, as though expecting it to fall in at any moment; but that was only natural. What wasn't was that the trustees weren't using their lashes, not even Squires. The disaster had made everyone feel vulnerable, trustees included.

Later, as they were waiting for the dorms to open, a five-man hunting pack tried to take Eli, but Jo was determined to fight for her.

‘What do you want with a skinny one like her?' she said to the leader, unzipping her coveralls and showing them her breasts. ‘Take me instead.' She knew the men; they were the ones who'd come around once before, on her first night in the place, hunting a virgin. She even remembered the leader's name: Pete.

There were growls of approval and eager nods from some of the subordinates, but Pete shook his head. ‘No, I'm in the mood for fresh meat.'

Jo stood up and took her coveralls off, followed by her pants. ‘And what am I, then?' she asked, cupping her breasts and kneading them provocatively. ‘Some raddled old hag?'

‘Hardly that,' he conceded, looking her up and down. ‘Just not quite what we're looking for.'

‘Shit, man,' one of the others cursed, ‘are you blind? I say take her!'

‘Yeah, me too,' someone else added.

‘Trust me, guys,' Pete said. ‘I've seen this so-called “skinny” one in the showers, and skinny she's not.'

That shut them up. They were looking at Eli with renewed interest, clearly intrigued by Pete's pitch. One reached down and took hold of the girl's arm, drawing her to her feet, and Eli shot Jo a look of panic.

‘Why not take us both?' Jo said quickly. It seemed the next best thing. If they were determined to take Eli, at least Jo would be there to help her, and maybe divert their attention a little. Some of the men seemed interested, but Pete was looking doubtful.

‘Come on, guys,' she goaded. ‘It'll be twice the fun with two, right? And we'll put on a show for you.' With no time to think she had blurted out the first thing that came into her head, but it seemed to do the trick, for Pete nodded.

‘Okay,' he said, ‘you can come too.'

 

Back in the hub the first thing the men did was strip Eli. She huddled in the middle of the cabin, hugging herself, her eyes constantly seeking Jo's for reassurance.

‘Stand up straight,' Pete ordered her. ‘That slouch is fooling nobody.'

Eli obeyed instantly, straightening her spine and pulling her shoulders back. Pete parted her tangled hair and pushed it away from her face, and the transformation was complete. He was quite right; naked and standing properly, Eli was a sight to behold. She was slender, but in no way skinny. Her limbs were shapely, her waist and hips sensually curved, and her breasts firm, pointed, and perfect. She certainly impressed the men, drawing appreciative whistles from a couple of them, while Pete and the remaining two hurriedly removed their own clothes.

To Jo's surprise, now that Eli's initial fright had subsided, she seemed reasonably confident amongst the men. She didn't seem to mind them touching her, she held their cocks when instructed to do so, and even managed a shy smile as she masturbated them. Jo was a little piqued, in view of all the worry and heartache she'd been through, but consoled herself with the thought that maybe it was her presence that was making all the difference.

Pete lifted Eli and fucked her like that, standing, with her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. He bounced her up and down, driving into her, and Eli wailed and quickly had an orgasm. Then with Pete monopolising Eli the other four turned to Jo, who soon found herself on her hands and knees being penetrated in mouth and sex simultaneously. As each man finished another took over, and for a while they kept her too busy to think of anything much at all.

Later, after they'd rested, Pete took Jo up on her offer of a show. A blanket was put on the floor, Jo lay down and spread her legs, then Eli, on hands and knees, was made to lick her. Though a little uncertain at first she quickly gained confidence, and was soon tonguing Jo diligently, even enthusiastically. In fact it was Jo who remained most unhappy, guilty over debauching Eli when she was supposed to be protecting her.

Eli seemed to be enjoying herself, though all that changed when Pete knelt down behind her and, with a few grunts of effort, sank his cock into her anus. Her head jerked up and she squealed, eyes wide with pain and shock.

‘It hurts, Jo,' she mumbled. ‘Make him stop. Please, make him stop.'

‘What's she like?' someone asked.

‘Absolutely fucking beautiful,' Pete said, as he settled into his rhythm. ‘Tightest little ass I've had in a long time.'

Eli continued to sob as Jo tried to hush her, to no avail.

‘Will someone shut her up?' Pete said wearily. Two of the others moved and Jo panicked, thinking they would hit her, or worse.

‘Stay back,' she snapped. ‘Don't touch her.' Amazingly they obeyed, and Jo turned to Eli, cupping the girl's tear-streaked face in her hands. ‘Listen to me,' she said earnestly. ‘Are you listening?'

Eli nodded miserably. ‘It's hurting, Jo,' she whimpered.

‘I know it is. I'm sorry, Eli; it's because you're not used to it. You've got to try to relax and the pain will go away, I promise. Good girl. Keep relaxing.'

‘It… it's not quite as bad, now,' Eli gasped.

‘That's good. You're doing really well, Eli.'

‘You promised us a show, remember?' Pete interrupted them dryly. ‘Get to it.'

‘Are you ready?' she gently asked. ‘I really like it when you lick me. Just keep relaxing and everything will be fine, okay?'

‘Okay,' Eli said. ‘I'll try.'

Jo lay back and Eli began to lick her once more. The men, having found a weakness, were keen to exploit it, and when Pete finished one of the others immediately took his place. Eli was still suffering, but she remained dutifully in place, head down and tongue busy, and there were no more complaints, for which Jo was grateful.

 

 

 

 

The following day, as they were drying in front of the fans after their shower, Jo heard heavy footsteps approaching. Eli glanced over Jo's shoulder, and Jo saw fear in the young woman's eyes.

She turned slowly. Two guards were standing there, along with a third man who was heavily built, dark-haired and dark-eyed. He was wearing standard ship gear, the first such outfit Jo had seen since arriving here.

‘You Jo O'Donnell?' he asked, and she nodded reluctantly. Whatever they wanted her for she doubted it would be good.

‘Minassian's the name,' he said. ‘Come with me.'

Eli gasped, the newcomer glanced at her, and Jo saw his expression change. He looked Eli up and down in a calculating fashion.

‘Bring her too,' he said.

The five of them made their way back to the hub, with Eli clinging to Jo's arm all the way. Minassian went to have a quiet word with Boss, who stared at the two women when Minassian nodded in their direction. Though none of the dialogue was audible, Jo felt sure a deal was being struck. Boss nodded finally and Minassian returned to them. He unzipped his jacket and showed them a gun in a shoulder holster.

‘Don't think I won't use this,' he warned. ‘Any tricks and you'll be missing a head, hear me?'

‘Loud and clear,' Jo said.

He led them away. The guards remained behind, and it was just the three of them who made their way out along limb one towards the warehouse and the port. She looked again at his spacer gear, and suddenly realised they were leaving the planet.

‘Where are you taking us?' she asked in despair.

‘Somewhere better than this lousy hole,' he said curtly.

She thought of Bel, still back there, but couldn't think what to say to him, or what to do. Her choices had been slim enough before, but the gun reduced them to zero.

And then up ahead she saw a sight she never thought to see in a million years. Standing by the docking hatch were Bel and Stella. She blinked but the vision stayed firmly in place, and then she reached them and they were all grinning.