24

One night, as the three youths desperately tried to get out of the city, they found that they were near the
border. They also found something else. Something frightening. Something that none of the three wanted to
see: a blockade. Orion turned nearly white. "Uh-oh..." he whispered in a shaky voice. There were lights, people patrolling back and forth, some of the city's authorities; but most were Blackmoor's men. Orion recognized them. "We gotta go back..."

"Wait...let's listen in first." And so Tamarin, Hyder, and Orion crept behind an old shed to listen to
what was going on. To their horror, Blackmoor himself was with them! Did they know they were there?

"How can you be so sure that they're here, Blackmoor?" came a voice. Orion shuddered as he listened
to it. Monkrion, the simian that had trained him.

"I've had a few reports of the shits roaming through here," he growled. "And when I catch them, they
will be sorry that they ever defied me." The jackal spoke quietly, but his tone was ice cold. Unforgiving.

"What if they try and double back?" Hyder scowled. He had been thinking of it.

"We've got a few men down there at the other border, and that's nothing but desert. Even if they tried
to leave from the east or west, or some place in between, they would be caught on our sensors. No, Monkrion.

We have them. It's just a matter of time.

Hyder made a frantic "this way" gesture, and jerked his thumb back towards the city.

Several blocks away, the three escapees talked in frantic, hushed voices. they were afraid to speak
loudly, even though Blackmoor was well out of earshot. "How?!" Hyder asked, pacing the room of a demolished building.

"I-I don't know..." Orion said worriedly. He was sitting on the floor, his arms wrapped around his
knees. He was near tears. "I-if they catch us they'll hurt us bad, and never let us be together again, and..." He
looked at Tamarin, but didn't want to say what would happen to him.

"All right, all right, let's just calm down here," the simian said. He was as scared as his younger friends,
but was trying not to show it. "We need to think about this, I say we hide in the city...maybe they'll give up
eventually."

"But the while city's probably on the lookout for us!" Hyder said. He growled and he punched a wall.

"Those stupid wanted posters are all over the place!"

"They can't catch us!' Orion wailed, finally bursting into tears. "They can't, they can't..."

"Al right!' Tamarin shouted finally, running a nervous hand through he fur on his head. "All right...we
all have to calm down. Come on, let's get a little farther away from the blockade..."

And so they did, being herded along by Tamarin. Silently, cautiously, they investigated the city and
found that indeed, they had sensors all over the place...they had even seen some within the city itself! after that,
they stayed away from them...the ones that they could see.

Ironically, it was not a sensor that finally tipped Blackmoor off as to where his young slaves were
hiding; it was a citizen of the planet. A citizen that incidentally had been a slave himself once. Many
Plundaarians of poor status in life end up or start out in slavery. They have to earn their freedom. but he had
seen the young escapees and needed the money., And so he had told Blackmoor exactly where they were sleeping for the night. He had followed them all day.

Blackmoor had already given a reward to the woman that had told him what city they were in. And he
gladly paid this one as well...he wanted the boys' hides, and he wanted them now.

Orion was the first to awaken, three days after they nearly ran into the blockade. he sat bolt upright,
panic running through his mind at hearing the voice he hated so badly. "Hyder!" he screamed. "Hyder, they
found us!"

The other two woke immediately and listened to the Mutants breaking in the door they'd barricaded
with old, heavy furniture. "The window!' Tamarin hissed, the fear apparent in his eyes. Orion saw his fear and
it scared him still more. He nodded and they tried.

But they found that they could not even budge the glass! When Tamarin took a chair and tried to break
it, all the wood did was splinter! "What the hell!'"

"Force fields... Hyder whispered. "Oh no, upstairs!'

The three friends bolted up the stairs just as Blackmoor and the other Mutants wielding the metal
battering ran broke in through the door. "Get back here!" Blackmoor snarled as he stalked up the stairs after
the escapees. he knew the place was surrounded by a confining force field, all but the front door. They were
trapped. "You're already in big trouble. you little shits! Get back here now!'

"Go away!' came Orion's terrified cry. They were trying to pry another window open.

The jackal growled in fury and bolted up the steps. he burst into a bedroom of the abandoned home, and
all three slaves spun around, fearfully. "You just made the biggest mistake of your lives," he growled low, his
lips set in a hateful snarl. He looked hard at Hyder, and even harder at Orion. the cub was cowering behind his
friend. then he turned his angry gaze on Tamarin. "And it as be the last mistake you ever make!"

Tamarin howled, a simian battle cry, and suddenly launched himself at Blackmoor. With Mutants
blocking the door, Hyder and Orion could only watch in horror, as the surprised jackal started fighting with
Tamarin. The young man had nearly taken Blackmoor out with his impressive strength, but the two Mutants at
the door jumped in, taking shots at Tamarin with their stunners when they had a clear shot,. Weakened,

Tamarin finally could not fight anymore as Blackmoor pinned him to the ground. Both parties were panting
for breath, and Blackmoor's eyes nearly blazed with fury. "Chains!" he roared, and one of the Mutants came
over and used his restraints to tightly bind Tamarin's wrists behind him and his legs together. They called a couple of jackals to haul him out to the transport.

Shaking with exertion, Blackmoor slowly stood to regard the two younger slaves. "And you." his voice
was cold, pitiless...venomous. "You will get over here. Now." The words were quiet, but intense, and holding
more command in them that Orion had ever could. As tears streamed down his face and he shook his head back and forth quickly...as even Hyder swallowed hard and seemed on the verge of tears himself, neither of them moved.

Finally. Blackmoor lunged at the both, making the pair cry out in alarm. He grabbed Hyder by the ear
and threw him violently enough across the room to both tear part of his ear and for him to nearly bowl over
one of the Mutants that had been guarding the door. He immediately caught the young hyena and bound him as
Tamarin had been bound.

Now without any kind of protection, Orion nearly wet himself, too terrified to move. Blackmoor
grabbed his mane and threw the cub across the room as well, but he threw him at the wall. Orion hit it hard,
and sprawled on the floor, dazed. Blackmoor forced him to his feet by his mane, tearing some of the hair as for
a moment it bore Orion's entire weight. Orion was whimpering in fear, but Blackmoor ignored this. Growling low threats and insults, telling him how much he was going to suffer and regret his mistake, Blackmoor roughly bound him, and he too was taken out.

The three prisoners did not see each other on the trip home, a trip that was far too short in their minds.

The transport was much faster than a cart would have been. Orion cried quietly in the little holding cell he had
been thrown into, and curled up on the floor. If only they'd not tried...

When they got back to the compound, Blackmoor himself dealt with Orion. At first, nothing too violent
was done... Blackmoor shoved him into the box and closed the sides in tight enough to crack two of his ribs. he
cried out in pain s he tried to take a breath, and it was nearly impossible. To add to this horror, with Orion's
head forced down by the top of the box, Blackmoor filled it nearly all the way with water. Orion had to fight to
keep his nose and mouth above water. The poor cub was already screaming in terror.

Blackmoor had his older slave to deal with first. Tamarin would not survive the week, this was certain.
but the jackal was going to make him suffer first.

Hyder and Orion were both shoved into the box, and although it was bad for Hyder as well, at least he
did not have to contend with water. Orion was going to be the most harshly disciplined, just because Blackmoor did not like him.

They were both left in there for several hours, while Blackmoor took care of Tamarin. And then he let
them out. They would not be punished yet. not physically.

Hyder was dragged, not to the main disciplining chamber, but to a foot-high stage in the middle of the
compound, where the taskmasters had gathered many of the slaves. It was mostly the newer slaves, for a death made for a very convincing spectacle. A rack had been set up in the middle of it... Hyder was chained to a post, a taskmaster at his side to ensure that he watched.

Phiron was there as well. Blackmoor had ordered him to be present, as he now mildly suspected him of
helping the three young slaves, or at least of knowing their plans and not reporting him. He would not be punished, but he would be made to watch.

The jackal dragged Orion out of the box. The child's chest heaved with his desperate breaths, not
having enough oxygen even to cry by this point. He hauled the child up, still bound with his arms behind him
back and his feet together, to a standing position. he shook Orion, eliciting a strangled cry of pain. Without a
word, he literally dragged Orion to the viewing area. Hyder had been unbound, but Orion was not. He was
only forced to stand next to the pole he was chained to. If he were to sit, he'd strangle himself. And Monkrion
had been called to make sure that Orion watched the spectacle as well.

Blackmoor stepped onto the stage and watched with his eyes narrowed as Tamarin was dragged onto to
stage by two taskmasters, fighting the whole way. Hyder and Orion could clearly see that the simian had been
badly beaten, and it looked as if Blackmoor had taken a knife to his body...even his face! There were deep cuts
all over his body, and his face was slashed twice...in an X. But still he fought.

The two Mutants forced Tamarin onto the rack, and secured his hands in the ropes. But he didn't start
tightening the rack yet, at least not all the way. He stretched Tamarin enough so that he could not move more
than a few inches, and picked a thick bamboo rod off of the ground,. He laid into the young man, who had
been stripped of his clothing and collar. He didn't need a collar now; he would not be sent back to work in the
morning.

Tamarin tried valiantly to still his cries, but he could not. He had already taken too much abuse,
constantly, in the hours they had been back at the complex. Blackmoor struck hard, cracking ribs, striking
with a good deal of his strength. When he finally tired of this, Tamarin's body was covered with dark, angry
looking bruises, forming already form the viscous assault. The simian was panting hard, staring into the sky.

Orion and Hyder both had instinctively tried to turn away from this, but the taskmasters with them had
both harshly encouraged them to look. Hyder's guard forcefully turned his head and held his eyes open.

Monkrion simply struck Orion with his whip until he was watching. He begged not to be made to look, but his
pleas fell on uncaring ears.

Finally, Blackmoor began tightening the rack. He took the metal rod used to turn the wheel, and fit it
into the slot...and turned. Turn after relentless turn. Orion watched the strain on Tamarin's muscles and joints,
saw the pain on his face as the pressure became unbearable. he heard a crack as something either broke or
dislocated, and Tamarin screamed. Again Orion tried to look away, tears streaming down his face, and was made
to watch.

Finally, Tamarin's resolve broke. The terror was unrestrained as he screamed, "I don't want to die!!"

Blackmoor only laughed and listened to him scream again as he tightened the rack once more.
The slaver was tortuously slow about it. he made sure that the simian suffered, even in his death.

Tamarin's mind was beyond coherent thought at this point, and he was going into shock. but he still felt every
shock of agony that ripped through his body as his joints dislocated. his spine was under strain form the pull,
even as the weaker ankles and wrists began to tear from the body, His wrists were already broken, one of his
ankles nearing that point. Blood streamed form his mouth form the damage being done to his spine. Even
his eyes bled. he had long since stopped begging Blackmoor to stop...he was beyond that now.

The effect Blackmoor wanted would not be accomplished with the rack. He knew this. He wanted the
slave dismembered, in pieces. It always made for an extremely effective demonstration. A second escape
attempt did not often happen in Blackmoor's complex, the first was usually enough to convince a slave to behave. but when it happened, he wanted it to make an impression.

Once Tamarin was stretched to an impossible length, his body looking almost like a bloody optical
illusion,. Blackmoor took a second item off the ground. It was a simple battle ax. As the slaves watched,
horrified, he brought it down on Tamarin's arm, at the shoulder. The arm was severed with one swipe of the
mighty weapon. Blackmoor did the same with the other arm, and the legs at the groin. horrifyingly enough,
Tamarin was still conscious and sentient at this point...although as Blackmoor severed his left leg, he finally,
mercifully blacked out. With a sneer, Blackmoor finished the job and decapitated him.

Once this was finished, Blackmoor looked at the shocked faces of the crowd. The only children there
were Hyder and Orion, and Hyder had his eyes tightly shut, and nothing was convincing him to open the,. Even
the guard could not pry them open. Orion was screaming softly. It was not exactly a scream, but an intense
sob. His eyes were also shut, although Monkrion had struck him several times. never, ever, would the horrible
scene remove itself from Orion's mind. He was shaking badly. A friend he had trusted, and even loved as a
brother had just been horribly slain in front of him. he too had begged Blackmoor not to kill him, but the jackal
had not even looked at him.

"Take him," Blackmoor growled, gesturing to Hyder. "Take him to the training building. Have Monkrion take care of him." he looked at Monkrion. "You know what to do. Go 'greet' him."

The simian smirked, nodded, and left Blackmoor and Orion alone. The rest of the slaves were being
shoed off to do their work. Soon it was only Blackmoor and Orion...who had not yet even noticed that
Blackmoor was there. The heavy backhand to the face let him know this fact. He looked up at the jackal with
dazed eyes.

"It's far from over, cub," he snarled, and hit him again. The jackal went over to the rack and shoved
Tamarin's body onto the ground, still pouring blood from the severed limbs. It soaked into the dirt, turning it a
morbid reddish brown. Then he went back to Orion and released him from the pole. He unchained his had s and
feet for the time being. "Look at me!" he commanded, grabbing him by the mane again and hauling him to his
feet.

Orion cried out, his scalp already sore. He stared at Blackmoor with wide eyes.

"You are going to clean this up, brat," Blackmoor hissed. "And every drop of blood had better be
cleaned from this stage, or you're find yourself in even more misery."

Clean...clean it up!? No...he couldn't do that...! Orion started to stammer a refusal, when Blackmoor's
fist slammed into the side of his face. Orion sprawled on the bloody ground, dazed. He screamed when
Blackmoor kicked him in the side. "You will do as I order, wretch," he growled, taking his whip out. He laid
into the cub, ordering him with each strike to get up. Finally, Orion forced himself to crawl to the pole he'd been chained to and force himself to his feet, sobbing, praying that Blackmoor would stop his beating.

Once the boy was on his feet, Blackmoor threw down the whip and grabbed Orion's collar. He forced
him down to his hands and knees next to Tamarin's limbless body. he shoved Orion's face right down into one
of the bleeding, gaping wounds. "You DARE disobey my order!

Orion had shrieked and tried to pull away, and held his breath as the overpowering stench of blood filled
his nostrils. Blackmoor pushed his face down once, then let go. Orion recoiled, gagging, wiping desperately at
his face. He turned once, and threw up.

"You want to go through all that again?" Blackmoor asked, his tone quiet and cold, like drops of ice.

Orion shook his head immediately. "Then get TO it! You know where the incinerator is. Do it, now!"
All it took was for Blackmoor to approach Orion with his whip for the terrorized child stammered a
frantic acknowledgement of the order, and looked to the body and the limbs. And the head...it was somehow
the worst. He could still see the fear in the eyes...as if they were alive....

Shuddering violently, shaking almost too hard to complete the task, Orion dragged the torso across the
compound. For a horrible moment, he realized that he could not lift the body up, and knew that Blackmoor was
watching him from several feet away. But one of the older slaves had been watching sympathetically for a few
moments, and looked at Blackmoor. The jackal nodded, and the slave helped Orion lift the body. The boy thanked her gratefully.

He had to force himself to go back to the horrible, grisly sight. The head. Orion's clothing had been
stripped form him, so he could not even cover it. It took several minutes for him to get the courage up to grasp
the head. it felt horrible... warm, almost still alive. The little slave nearly did not make it to the incinerator,
and threw up again in the dirt when he returned. He begged Blackmoor not to make him go any further, but only received the crack of the whip across his back thrice, for his plea.

Orion's mind was on automatic as he released the limbs form their restraints and carried them one by
one, shaking as he moved the bloodied items. When he finally came back again, he saw that Blackmoor had
gotten a hose attached to a nearby building, and without warning turned it on, aimed at the little cat. Surprised,
Orion had been knocked down by the water jet, but he didn't complain. Although it was cold out and the water
hurt, he wanted the horrible blood off of him...

Not all of it came off though. As Blackmoor turned it on the stage and the rack, and then turned it off,
Orion's fur was still streaked red...some of it his, some of it Tamarin's. Blackmoor made him go inside and carry a bucket of soapy water outside. The jackal knocked it over on the stage and told him to get to work.

Orion spent four hours scrubbing the stage and the rack clean. Three buckets of water later, both were
as clean as they would get, and Orion was exhausted...and in shock. After the jackal made him clean the
opening into the incinerator, then turn it on, he led the boy back to the cells he first stayed in, when he was a
newcomer to the complex. When he had recovered enough...the real ordeal would begin.

Chapter 25

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