The Trails of Life 01

Forking through the food gave me something tangible to complain about, joining in the chorus of insults and speculation on its origins. It was a moment of camaraderie that raised my spirits a little.

It was a half hour before the bot came back and things started happening. First; the girls were called, then after another fifteen minutes, the five of us. Guided by the computer voice we were directed to another small room where I saw a live guard for the first time.

After checking the ID chips embedded in our wrists, we were handed blue collars to put on. The guard made some snide remark about me being the lucky one and laughed to himself as he returned to the front of the queue.

We were sent one by one across a little walkway. It wasn't till I took my turn that I saw the big screens at the back. One had my details displayed and the other was a video feed of me, currently showing a close up side view.

I made my way to the middle and stopped, surveying the sparse crowd clustered in the centre as I did my little twirl. Most of them were the oldsters I expected, but I spotted two younger faces in amongst the twenty or so gawking at me. I felt extremely conscious of my nudity but there was nothing I could do. It was like that old joke; I'd just have to grin and bare it.

After standing there for a few moments I walked off to the other end of the walkway and followed the wall up to the seats along the back wall. Rogger was first up for bidding and was knocked down for seventy five; Thony made all of forty; going to a large woman. Jimb made eighty with two of the oldsters counter bidding him up from fifty.

Then it was my turn. My knees were a bit shaky and my heart beating fast as I walked over to the block. With the bright lights now focused on me I could barely see the crowd; I wouldn't be able to see who was bidding and who won till they collected me.

The initial bidding for me was quite fast; five bids and I was over a hundred. By the time the price reached five hundred there were just two bidders left, their voices suggested that one was old and the other somewhat younger.

I wanted the younger one to win, though the confidence and authority in the voice of the older one didn't bode well for the outcome. I'd probably be cheering for the losing side. The older one came back with a bid of five fifty and the next thing I knew the gavel had come down.

I was taken to a small cubicle and left to sit on the bench. After a short while a guard led a prim old lady in; her voice sounded younger than she looked, but to my eyes she looked about sixty.

"Good," she said looking at me. "Stand up."

I obeyed and stood as she walked over.

She looked about forty five kilos and maybe a hundred and sixty five high. She had little round glasses and a long dark dress on. Stopping in front of me, her eyes travelled up and over my body as she gave me a visual inspection. I looked over her head feeling discomforted by her scrutiny

I was a little disappointed with her winning me, but looking at her I was sure that at her age once a day would be enough. I feared I might be doing extra chores around the house to fill in the time.

"Hold out your arms," she ordered next.

I lifted my arms up and she squeezed my wrists and felt the muscles in them. Then she pinched the skin on my ribs and waist, running one hand across my stomach.

"Arms down and turn around," she commanded, looking up at me.

I turned around in compliance. Her examination of me made me feel like she was making sure I was worth the money she was paying, ensuring I was fit for whatever it was she had planned.

I felt her hand squeeze my arse cheeks then rub up my side. Her hand dropped away and there was only the sound of the guard shuffling for a few moments till she spoke again.

"Turn back around."

I complied, and watched as her eyes dropped to my genitals.

"Open your legs."

As I did she crouched down and reached out to cup my balls, giving them a soft squeeze and hefting them.

"Okay, I'm satisfied. How much will you take for the three weeks?"

The guard looked down at his pad and tapped it a few times. "Eleven five fifty cash, or we have a credit agreement. Marm," he said sounding bored.

"Don't I get a reduction for time out of the system? You won't have to process him for another three weeks."

The guard maintained his staid look as he intoned, "Take it or leave it Marm. If you want you can risk him in tomorrow's auction, see if you can get a lower price there."

"Fine, I'll pay now," she said with a sigh, proffering her wrist to the reader.

He took a moment to authenticate the transfer before speaking to me. "Right, you're released into her custody. Follow the rules and you'll be fine." Turning to her he said, "You can pick up a leash on the way out. Good luck with him."

His tired voice sounded like he'd said it a thousand times before.

"Thank you," she said, and then turned to the door. "Follow me."

I trailed behind her as she walked out and turned down the corridor, leading me to a small room with a guard sat idly at a desk. After he scanned our wrists, he handed my new mistress a leash and hit the button to open the door.

She walked through and stopped, unravelling the leash as she turned to me.

"Here," she said calmly.

I stepped forward and she reached up and clipped it to the ring on my collar.

"There, now you can't get lost," she said, a little half smile on her face.

We were in an imposing entrance hall of what I presumed was the justice building. I looked around while she retrieved her pad from her bag; I saw a few other naked blue collared slaves like me; there were also plenty of clothed reds and a mixture of nude and semi-nude greens.

I padded along behind her as she made her way to the main entrance, staying close enough to keep the leash slack. I was expecting stares and sniggers but very few even glanced at us, much to my relief.

She stopped again before we left, holding a conversation on her pad. The only words I heard were when she raised her voice to complain about how much I cost. I followed on as she resumed walking towards the taxi stand. The first taxi declined us as it didn't have the range and we swapped to the one behind.

That set me wondering how far up the curve we were going; there were a few dormitory towns around the city but they were all grey areas; she couldn't take a nude slave there. Out beyond that was mostly farmland with a few packaging plants scattered about.

She slipped into the nearside front seat, leaving me the choice of either of the seats in the back. I watched the cityscape change as we neared the outskirts while she worked on her pad.

In twenty minutes we were in the countryside. The bare fields looked strange, stretching away into the distance. There was empty space where I expected crops. I didn't know the growing cycles but the ploughed fields reminded me of spring. I knew they controlled the seasons; the roof of the ring could be programed to suit the crops while the cities enjoyed twenty four hour sunshine.

We travelled on the axial road for another half hour then took a side road; a few minutes later we entered a tree lined section. As we did, she stopped work and dialled someone.

"Hello, Berisford Finishing School," a female voice answered.

"Janet," she replied, "I'm coming up to the gates now."

"Okay, I'll get them opened for you. How did your trip go?"

"Fine in the end, there was nothing I liked in our price range in the main auction but I managed to get an Offworlder in the secondary one in the afternoon."

"Thank God for that. Monica will be pleased she doesn't have to juggle the timetable any further."

"At a price," she complained loudly. "It's wiped out the budget for the year."

"Oh I'm sure we can cover that, Gladys," Janet replied.

"Ah, we're passing the gate now. Can I leave him in your hands while I freshen up?"

"Yes, I'll meet you at the door."

"Thanks," Gladys replied, breaking the connection as the building came into view.

She packed her pad away and shifted forward to the edge of the seat. I was still taking the building in; it looked like an old mansion towering up some twenty metres. The grand double doors looked to reach half way to the roof with tall arched windows to match.

As the taxi stopped I saw one half of the door swing open and a woman step out onto the porch.

"Come on, slave," Gladys said as the canopy slipped open.

She picked up the lead and stepped out. I stayed a pace behind her, keeping the leash loose, my eyes flicking around, trying desperately to take it all in.

I nearly tripped on the first step, stubbing my toe hard enough to let out a little yelp just before the leash tightened to catch me off balance.

"Oh," cried Janet as I tumbled, pulling the leash from Gladys' hand.

"Not another one," Gladys said as she turned.

I picked myself up feeling a little sheepish. "Sorry."

The look on Gladys' face turned from relief to annoyance. "Watch where you're going in the future."

She took a step down and grabbed my leash, letting me climb the first step before she turned to carry on. When we got to the top I was still stepping gingerly with the pain in my big toe; I could wiggle it so I knew it wasn't broken, but the throbbing couldn't have been worse if it was.

Janet was dressed in a similar fashion to Gladys, alike enough to make me wonder if it might be a uniform. She looked considerably younger, in her late thirties at a guess, and was holding her looks well enough to still be considered attractive. Her body I could only guess at, hidden by the dress.

"Make sure he gets fed," Gladys instructed as she handed over the leash.

"I'll make sure," Janet replied reassuringly.

I turned to Janet as Gladys walked off, wondering what was going to happen next. Things were getting more confusing. The conversation as we arrived had left me mystified. It seemed like I'd been brought in as a replacement of some sort.

It was looking more like I was going to be put to work, not that that bothered me; it seemed preferable to servicing Gladys. I looked around the hallway as Janet led me through the door, marvelling at the imposing grand staircase opposite.

It could have been the backdrop of a period film set in the eighteen hundreds; the floor was pure white stone, shining with a high polish. On the walls hung a mix of paintings and portraits - no doubt of long dead people - mixed with landscapes and the odd seascape.

She walked me slowly across the hall to a door in the back wall, leading me through to a door at the bottom.

"One more for tea," she announced as we entered.

The kitchen was large; I suppose it had to be if it catered for a school. A solitary cook sat sharpening knives. "The replacement for poor Timmy I presume," she answered, looking up.

She had a round faced and a ruddy complexion. As we crossed to her I could see her eyes flitting over my body; this was something I was going to have to get used to. Thankfully my cock was the main focus and not my slightly flabby body.

"Yes, an Offworlder, so Gladys says."

"What did he do?" The cook asked as she looked to the side and reached for a plate.

"I don't know yet. I haven't seen his details. It can't be anything serious or Gladys wouldn't have bought him."

The fact that they ignored slaves, talking as if I wasn't here, wasn't a big surprise to me; but I was surprised by the casual way they talked, as if having a naked man standing in front of you was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Ah ha," she acknowledged as she turned back to the cooker.

"I think Monica will be pleased at him; he looks fit enough and his dick's a decent size." Janet went on.

The cook was busy making an omelette and I was feeling the urge to use the toilet.

"Excuse me," I said interrupting. "I need to visit the small room,"

The cook laughed. "This one's completely untrained. Monica's going to love that."

"It won't matter much for what he has to do," Janet carried on ignoring me.

"Please," I said, trying to sound humble.

Janet turned to me. "If you need to speak, you must first ask permission. If it is one of the members of staff, you address them as Mistress and the pupils are My Lady. Understand?"

"Yes Mistress."

"Good, now ask me nicely."

"Mistress, I need to go to the toilet." I repeated.

"No, you have to ask permission to speak first. If you don't follow the rules you'll get punished."

"Mistress may I speak?" I asked, keeping my voice calm despite my growing frustration at the way she was treating me; I didn't like being talked down to.

"Yes, you may."

"Mistress, I need to go to the toilet," I repeated.

"Okay, but you'll have to be quick or your tea will get cold."

She led me through a different door and up a short passageway.

"In there," she said stopping at two adjacent doors.

She dropped my leash as I stepped forwards and chose the first door. Inside was a toilet and a hand basin, and it was only after I'd finished I found there was no towel and I could only shake my hands dry before I left.

"All finished?" Janet enquired as I opened the door.

"Yes Mistress," I replied, making sure to emphasis the Mistress part.

"Good. Come along then," she said as she took up my leash again.

While I was eating, another Mistress came in. "Ah, here he is. Can you bring him to my study when he's finished," she said before disappearing back out.

From the quick look I got she seemed attractive; the fact that she was wearing a variation of the dress Janet wore, albeit a somewhat brighter pattern, seemed to confirm my idea that it was the standard way of dressing here.

It took me another few minutes to finish and wash my meal down with a mug of tea, but I was given no time to let my stomach settle before Janet led me back along the corridor and out into the hallway again. I was reminded of my sore toe as she led me up the stairs.

Turning right at the top she led me down a richly carpeted passageway; the doors had little plaques on them, the first reading 'Principal'. We walked on down till we came to one labelled 'Miss M Thurgood'.

Janet knocked and waited, hand on the door handle, for a reply.

"Come."

She opened the door and stood aside, leaving me to enter first.

"Bara," she said, looking at me as I walked over to the desk where she was seated.

She glanced behind me. "Thank you Janet. Could you arrange for some coffee."

"Yes, I'll get some sent up," Janet replied as she backed out and closed the door.

"Come," she ordered turning to me and rising. "Let's get a good look at you."

Her eyes focused on my face as I walked to the side of the desk to stand in front of her. Her eyes fell to my cock as I stopped.

"Well it looks like Rachel is lucky," she said, a smile on her face as she reached out to take it.

Her soft, warm hand brought my cock to life, as it grew she began to wank me, making it grow even faster. She stopped when I was fully erect, standing back to look at it.

"Yes, you can serve as the model tomorrow," she said, stepping back and sitting again.

I stood there, my cock standing proud, more mystified than ever. I'd had my hopes raised, then dashed. Even though she had used my name, she was treating me as an object. Was this what it was like to be a slave?

My cock softened and sagged as I waited while she tapped something out on her pad. "Right," she said looking up at me. "Let's get you sorted with a bed for the night."

She stood and stepped over to me, reaching up to unclip the leash from my collar.

"We won't need this anymore," she said dropping it on her desk.

I followed as she walked past me and over to the door. She led me down to the end of the passage and through another door, to a passage that had a plastic floor and bare walls; through the door at the other end were stairs going down.

The final doors led outside. In front of us, set at the edge of a small wood, were several bungalows. To the right I could see an incongruous panelled building. She took me toward that; the moment I got through the door I could tell it was a clinic.

"Sally," Monica said, addressing the nurse. "You have a guest for the night -- Timmy's replacement."

"Okay," Sally replied, sounding a little surprised.

"I want him showered and ready for half past seven and I'll have someone come over to take him for breakfast," She ordered before turning to leave, no doubt hurrying back for the coffee I had been looking forward to.

Sally got up as Monica walked back to the door. She looked in her forties, light brown hair to her shoulders and a meaty frame, her hips filling the slacks she wore while her breasts strained her crisp white uniform top.

"Follow me," she said wearily, leading me down yet another corridor.

On the way down she pointed out the shower and the toilets before showing me into a small room. There was only a narrow single bed, and as the door closed behind me I flopped down gratefully on it.

I felt the collar press into my neck and brought my fingers up to see if I could ease it. My mind was running over what I knew; the only clear facts seemed to be that I was in a girl's school, and I was replacing Timmy, whoever he was.

The size of my cock seemed to please them and I was apparently going to be used to demonstrate something tomorrow - these added to the sum total of my knowledge, but got me no further. I had a few speculative ideas but I'd have to wait until tomorrow to find out if any were right.

I had a comfortable night and in the morning was woken by a girl in a green collar. She was standing over me, shaking my shoulder, and I opened my eyes to see a vision of loveliness, her blonde hair falling and framing her face while her blue eyes gazed at mine.

"Come on, breakfast is in twenty minutes," she said as she straightened.

I went to swing my legs out of the bed and remembered where I was and what had happened. It took me a second to start to move again and I looked up to see her standing dressed in a cream coloured shift that came to about mid thigh.

She glanced down at my flaccid cock as I pulled the sheet back, a little smile curling the corners of her lips.

"Come on, shower first," she said, sounding amused.

"Toilet first," I replied, heeding the feel of my bladder.

She followed me into the hallway and, thankfully, waited outside the toilet door. I wasn't so lucky with the shower. She followed me in and leant against the door while she watched me wash myself.

She had to go back to the room to collect the shift she'd brought for me to wear; it fell higher on my thighs than hers but it gave me a degree of modesty which I was grateful for.

She walked beside me as we walked back to the main building, taking me in by a different door. We ended up in a small dining room with about ten tables; there looked to be about twenty people there, five young men and the rest women of all ages.

I followed her to the server and had my tray loaded with a bowl of porridge, a glass of orange juice and an apple. My erstwhile guide had joined her friends, looking anxiously for a seat. I could see that there was no room at the boys table with five already crowded around it.

I went and sat at an empty one and, ignoring the curious stares, started to eat. Things settled back down but there was too much chatter for me to make any sense of it. I saved the apple until last and had nearly finished it when I saw Monica walk in.

"Bara, Dave, Charlie and the rest of you. I want you in room five by eight thirty," she announced, and then she was gone.

I hadn't a clue where that was. I assumed that mention of the 'rest' meant the other five men; I had to take a chance and follow them as the girl that brought me had left already.

I had no idea of the time; I presumed it was now something after eight, given that I'd been awoken at half seven. When they got up with their trays I picked mine up and followed.