Apocalypse Slaves

"Like I ever have a fucking choice," Carla snapped back while remaining focused on her work. "Besides, people that surrender us to the damn Raiders should either be castrated or killed for making us sleep with them." She paused and gave a dramatic, thoughtful tilt to her head. "So tell me, does it make you feel more or less of a man to see your girlfriend stripped naked and hauled away to be fucked every week?"

Joshua let out a growl of anger and charged her. If there was one single benefit to having the Bandits blindfold her and force themselves upon her week after week is that she had developed an uncanny sense of hearing to the point that she could fight with her eyes closed. She anticipated his bear hug from behind by ducking much lower than he'd expected while stepping back and to the right. Joshua went right over her and crashed into the worktable where Carla's Pipe Gun was at.

Keeping the initiative on her side, since to do otherwise meant that she was going to be just as screwed as if the Bandits had come back, Carla stepped back forward and drove her foot into the back of his knee. The knee gave way and he howled in pain as he went to the floor. She then grabbed his head with both hands and bounced it off of the table, knocking him out. Another good kick to the head made sure that he'd be out for a while to give her the time that she needed to complete her work. For good measure she picked up his legs at the ankles and dragged him back outside the shack to dump him unceremoniously out into the dusty street beyond.

*

A couple of hours later with two new pipe pistols made, Carla met Dawn back at the redhead's shack. Joshua was still knocked out back at the armory and Carla was content to leave his sorry ass there. "You got everything?" Carla asked.

"I believe so," Dawn said, checking the packs again. "Enough rations that should last us until Lincoln. RadRoot... just in case, two canteens apiece that we can refill in ponds, lakes, and streams along the way. Compasses, knives, mess kits, cooking utensils, bedrolls, kindling kits, first aid kits, flashlights, goggles, water filters, and rain covers." She looked at Carla. "We should be able to barter and trade any salvage we find along the way for meals whenever we come across traders."

"Yeah, that'll be a priority for us until we can get some good hard tabs in our pockets." Carla remarked. Pull tabs off of cans became the currency of choice once the governments had shut down and it was everyone for themselves. It was plentiful and actually lasted unlike the old paper money that her parents and grandparents had used before the war and were forced to burn at one point in time to provide fuel for fires. She remembered the tales of them finally admitting that the old governments were gone and that they had to use the currency of the time to keep warm through a hard winter. Carla briefly wondered what it would've been like to grow up in a world where every day was not a life-or-death survival choice.

They procured some heavy coats and wide-brimmed hats, donned their packs, holstered their new pipe pistols, and headed for the front gates where they were stopped by Sherriff. "Where do you two think that you're going? Salvage parties already left for the day."

"We're leaving, Sherriff." Carla said resolutely. "Open the gates and let us out."

Sherriff laughed until he noticed their getup. "Seriously? You think the two of you will honestly survive out there away from the shelter of the settlement? Where the fuck do you ladies think that you're going? Really?"

"Away from here and you can't stop us." Carla growled.

"Really? What do you think your Pa will say, Carla? How about your folks, Dawn? You think they're going to let this be?"

"You think that you assholes can protect us any better than you've failed to do so far?" Carla shot back. "The only protection I get here is from the sun and I can hop from shelter to shelter if I have to. Besides, I haven't spoken to Pa since he first willingly gave me over to the Raiders as tribute so they wouldn't beat his ass down. Not to mention I haven't been able to stomach the sight of him ever since he allowed Ma to be taken away in chains. So he can go hang for all I care!" her voice was rising in volume and pitch causing others nearby to turn and watch.

Dawn scoffed. "You think my parents care either? They're always too busy hiding themselves so that Mom doesn't have to be ravished in front of the whole town to worry about me. So what makes you think they'll even notice if I'm gone?"

Carla continued on her tirade. "None of you haven't been able to protect us at all since these Raiders found us! Every time you buckle rather than try and defend us. What's the point of these walls and these few sun barriers if you're just opening the gates every time to let those Raiders take what and who they want? So why should out there be any different than in here? Let. Us. OUT!"

The Sherriff was about to say something until he noticed that others were looking his way and were looking angry. He could see it in their eyes; they were all just as pissed as the two girls were in front of him. He could stall by getting the mayor, but then the girls would be out the gates in no time. He could order them back but then he might have a riot on his hands. That left only one option that was left and that was to let them go peacefully. He let out a sigh and unlocked the gates that led out to the blasted wastelands beyond.

Carla blinked in amazement. She hadn't expected to be let go that easily. She figured on a knockdown, drag out fight or at the worst to have to sneak out under the cover of night. Rather than sit there and question her good fortune she instead grabbed Dawn's hand and hurried out before the Sherriff could change his mind.

Good Riddance... she thought bitterly as they put space between them and the settlement. I hope the Raiders come back and burn the place down. It'll serve you all right.

***

CHAPTER 2: On the Road

"Y'all didn't actually forget that we'd forgotten about you, did ya?" the Raider known as Loudmouth asked with glee as he paraded up and down the line of women at the settlement. "Those boys from up north interrupted us and it took us a few days to send them packing. Now you all have the honor of servicing us all day and night. No more interruptions!" While he gloated and chortled over the misfortune of the settlers, his brothers of the Corning Commandos were in the process of stripping, tying, and blindfolding the girls much to their and their men's misery.

Loudmouth paused when he got to the end of the line. It was much too short. "Hey!" he called out looking over at the group of men where they were held at bay at gunpoint by more of the Commandos. "Where the hell are the rest of them at?" he demanded. "You're missing a few, especially my favorite two; Peaches and Strawberry!"

"What?" the Raider known as Haggard to the settlers asked, stunned. "Peaches is gone?" he wheeled on the so-called Sherriff and the boy. "Where'd my girl go off to? Speak or I'll put one right through ya!"

Sherriff stiffened up. "They left right after you did three days ago. Didn't say where they were going. More of the girls and even some of the families left soon after they did." He shook his head. "It was like a goddamn exodus as everyone scattered every which way.

"GODDAMMIT!" Haggard yelled at the top of his lungs. "Where'd they go? Someone here has to know!"

"I know where they went," the boy said. "One of them knocked me out when I tried to shoo her out of the armory. I later overheard the girls talking that overheard them. They said something about finding work in Vegas out west."

"Three days?" The Raider known as Leader mused. "On foot? They can't have made more than thirty miles in that time. We can catch them easily enough. Alright, we'll go after our lost flock and bring them back into the safety of the settlement here. We can't have people wandering all over our territory. We'll head after them tomorrow at first light."

"Hey!" the boy shouted. "Take me with you! I want payback!"

The Raiders regarded him with a funny look. "Why should we?" Loudmouth snorted in derision. "You got your ass kicked by a girl!"

"Yeah, we need men," Haggard laughed, "Not Boys."

"Ah fuck it, bring him with us." Leader rolled his eyes. "We can use replacements after that scuffle with the Des Moines Demons. What's yer name kid?"

"Joshua," he said, grinning broadly.

"That name sucks," Leader chortled. "I like Kid better. You like your new name, Kid?"

"No."

"Well then, deal with it. Maybe if you deliver the girls you'll get a better name. Until then, that's it."

*

"I'm telling you, we need a map!" Dawn said. "We've been wandering aimlessly on this western path that you've been taking us on for three days as you insist on avoiding roads!"

"I would've had one if the elders of our settlement bothered to have any available." Carla said irritably. They weren't making as good of time as she would've liked and it was starting to take its toll on them. She would've said something else but Dawn's glowering look stopped her. She sighed. "Fine, we'll follow the next road westbound that we come across and follow it until we come across a trade caravan or something." She gave Dawn a cross look, "but if we come across a Raider Gang, I get to tell you 'I told you so", got it?"

"Deal," Dawn happily agreed.

They'd already come across a couple of deserted villages and one decent sized town since setting out so they had a little bit of decent salvage with them that they could barter. The problem was that tabs were coming up short. They only had a handful and getting their hands on something as valuable as a map would be costly.

But at this point to start planning out an easier route, Carla was willing to do anything.

A few hours later they came across one of the old highways with the number "34" emblazoned on a white shield. Carla checked her compass, pointed to her right in the direction of due west along the road and they started walking more. It was getting dark out and as they came up to a crossroad that had an old ranch and an equally old church at it. They decided to settle down for the night. "I'm exhausted." Carla complained as they trudged up to the crossroads that was littered with broken down old vehicles and strewn with debris from over the years. Some of it was even being reclaimed by nature in places.

"Hey, look!" Dawn pointed off to the left. "It looks like a trader is over at that old burned out church.

Carla fished out her binoculars to take a look. "Yeah," she confirmed. "It looks like a small trader with the one truck and one outrider motorcycle. They shouldn't be too hard to deal with." She put the binoculars away and made sure her pipe pistol was ready to go. "Come on."

They got closer and they saw that the truck was parked in a classic defensive position with the driver's door facing the front double doors of the church. Just inside the girls could see a fire circle had been built up by bricks taken from the other nearby buildings and there were two men sitting next to it cooking something over the roaring fire they had going.

"Hi!" Carla called out, announcing their presence so that the men wouldn't be spooked. They took off their hats and cloaks to make identification easier. Since the sun was down below the horizon, it was safe to do so now. In this day and age people tended to shoot first and ask questions only after any potential opposition was dead so anything that made such encounters easier was the best thing to do. "Two of us out here. Y'all traders?"

"Yeah," The man on the left said cautiously, looking out into the dimming light. "You armed?"

"Of course I'm armed. What idiot would be out here unarmed?" Carla said with a hint of sarcasm. "We're looking to buy a map of the area. You got one?"

"And some food!" Dawn added. She then gave Carla a shrug and an innocent look when Carla glared at her to shut up.

"We might be able to accommodate you so long as you got the tabs to pay for it. Come on in. Just keep yer hands where we can see them and don't make any fast moves or else Mason here will blow a hole through ya. He gets mighty twitchy at night. The name's Ash. Who are you?"

"Carla. This is Dawn," Carla said walking up slowly and easing her pack off of her shoulders with a sigh of relief. She dropped down onto the ground next to the fire sitting cross-legged and Dawn followed suit. "So, about that map?"

"Maps ain't cheap," Ash said, turning to his own old army duffel bag to rummage through it. "But I keep a few on hand for travelers such as yourselves." He found what he was looking for and held it up for the girls to see. "It'll run you a thousand tabs."

"A thousand!" Dawn gasped.

"That's highway robbery!"

"Well," Ash chuckled "we ARE on a highway... old as it may be. Now do you have the tabs or not?"

"We have some, but not that much." Carla glowered at him. She reached down and unholstered her pipe pistol, pausing and giving Mason an ugly look when he suddenly sprung to his feet with his own rifle at the ready. "Easy there, fellah..." she said. "I have this to trade as well." She held up the pistol by her thumb and finger to show that she wasn't brandishing it in a threatening manner.

Ash snorted. "If I want a pipe gun, I'll make it out of the junk on the back of my truck. What else do you have?"

"Nothing that we're willing to part with," Clara grumbled, putting her pistol back into place. That, at least, got Ash's goon to relax again.

"Hm," Ash said thoughtfully as he looked them up and down. "How about your bodies?"

"What?" Clara blanched, not sure if he heard him correctly.

"You could trade yourselves for the map?" Ash suggested.

"I'm not going to be your slave just to get a map. Then what would be the point?"

"I'm not talking about being my slave, girlie." Ash waved a dismissive hand. "Owning a slave requires care and upkeep that I'm not willing to pay for. No, I'm talking about some good old fashioned fucking tonight. We haven't had a woman since the Rockies and we're feeling a bit lonely. The two of you sleep with us as much as we want to and in the way that we want to and in turn we'll give you this map and food for the evening."

Carla studied him dubiously. "One fuck a piece for your best map and dinner," she countered.

"Hell, for my best map I better be getting a lap dance and a floor show out of this deal."

"If you want that then it's just one fuck period and no switching between the two of us."

"Carla," Dawn whispered urgently at her. "I don't want to sleep with them!"

"It's our best chance of getting a good map and we can save our tabs for something else." Carla whispered back at her. "At least it's not like the Raiders in which we're forced to give it up for them."

"Fine," Dawn mumbled, hugging herself against the sudden chill down her spine.

Carla left her to sulk while she continued haggling the details. "So what do you say to my proposal?"

"We get to sleep with each of you." Ash said.

"Then you better be prepared to fork some tabs our way for that since we really don't want to sleep with either of you in the first place. One screw and one 'floor show' as you put it, for your best map and dinner for the both of us. Take it or leave it."

She could read Ash's face and saw that he didn't want to press the issue. Carla was fully prepared to walk away if need be and people walking away from a deal was usually bad for traders as word got around. "Fine," he said at last, leaning back a bit and crossing his arms. "Get on with the show then."

"How about you feed us dinner first so that after you're done fucking us we can all go to sleep?" Carla snapped.

"Fine, you girls help yourselves to what we have in our pot here but I want you two starting your little show for us the moment yer done, got it?"

"Fine, fine," Carla said, now eyeing the pot. It was some kind of stew with big chunks of meat in it. From past experience she'd learned not to ask too many questions about where meat came from so long as it looked like it was not human and somewhat edible. This particular meat looked like it was some kind of bird and the guys had been eating it so it passed both of her tests.

The girls grabbed their mess kits and ladled out some of the stew onto their plates before tearing into it with gusto. Only on day three of their journey and already the trail rations were leaving them wanting for real food, which this qualified for. They ate in silence and both had two helpings of stew before washing it down with water from their canteens.

They could tell that the guys were getting fidgety for their part. Carla made sure to fill their canteens to the brim and pop a purification tablet into each before she did anything else. Then after their mess kits and canteens were stowed was Carla ready to get on with things. "The map?" she asked as she started unbuckling leather straps to take her belt and holster off to place with her pack.

"How do I know that you're not going to run after you get it?"

"How do I know that you're going to give it to me after I've fucked you?" Carla asked with crossed arms, cocked hip, and an arched eyebrow. She held out her hand expectantly and made a grabbing motion. "Come on, I already took my gun off. You think I'm going to bolt with it off of my hip?"

"Good point." Ash conceded as he handed over the map. Carla looked it over and it was indeed a very detailed map with locations marked out of settlements, known Raider checkpoints, and other hazardous areas. She nodded with satisfaction and placed it in her pack. Then she took Dawn by the hand to stand the redhead up.

"I still don't wanna do this," Dawn pouted, unbuckling her own belt and holster to drop it on her own pack.

"I'll make it up to you, sweetie," Carla said, kissing her on the nose. Then she stepped closer and kissed Dawn on her cheek and then moved over to kiss her on her full red lips. Dawn closed her eyes and her shoulders slumped in resignation like they always did when she was forced to perform with Carla for the Raiders.

Carla brought her hands up to brush Dawn's overcoat off of her shoulders, revealing the simple shirt and trousers she wore underneath. Both of the men leaned forward in hungry anticipation when they realized that the girls were indeed going to go through with it. Next, Carla took off her own overcoat to let it fall, showing off that tattered blouse of hers that she still had tied up across her breasts which left her midriff exposed. In order to throw the boys something to keep them at bay for now, Carla undid the knot to let her modest chest fall free for them to see.

"Damn," Mason breathed, speaking for the first time since the girls got there.

Dawn started to look at him but Carla cupped her jaw and turned her head back. "Don't look at him. Focus on me, darling," she said, kissing Dawn again. Carla then reached down to take up Dawn's shirt, pulling it up and off of the redhead. Then Carla hugged Dawn close, pressing their naked breasts together, and actively made out with her.

"Seeing two girls go at it has to be the hottest thing ever," Ash said. Carla glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and already he was massaging the growing bulge at his crotch.

Carla twirled Dawn in place to face the boys and instructed her to close her eyes. She reached up to gently cup Dawn's throat in a possessive manner. Dawn sucked in a breath and froze, going into full submission mode. It was a show that they've had to do before for the Raiders so slipping back into the role was no problem at all. It was almost instinctual at this point. Carla then slid her hands down Dawn's front, pausing to play with her breasts for a moment, before coming down to her jeans. There, she grasped the waistband and pulled them down, panties and all, to Dawn's ankles. While she was hunched down at Dawn's feet, Carla took the girl's boots and socks off before instructing her to step out of her pants.