Violence Warning/Disclaimer: This story depicts scenes of violence and/or their aftermath. Readers who are disturbed by or sensitive to this type of depiction may wish to read something other than this story.
Sexual Violence Warning/Disclaimer: This story depicts scenes of sexual violence and/or their aftermath. Some readers may be disturbed by this type of depiction and anyone who is sensitive to this particular issue may wish to read something other than this story.
Love/Sex Warning/Disclaimer: There are blatant discussions, references and description of sexual relations between consenting adults. You must be over the age of 18 and it must not be a crime to read material of this nature at your present location. Some of the scenes depicted are explicit. If this bothers you, you should find other reading material.
Summary: It is the year 2036, the United States has built a maximum-security prison where you go in and can never get out. It is built in the middle of the desert where it is a four-day walk in any direction and is monitored by motion sensors and satellite imaginary.
It is called The William Jefferson Clinton Memorial Federal Prison (inside joke). The prisoners call it the Seven Circles of Hell. It is a lifer prison with no guards and no rules. The prisoners make their own rules. A tall, dark, blue-eyed female warrior who calls herself the Conqueror has ruled it for six years.
A young, green-eyed, golden-haired blond reporter is sent to Hell for a crime she didn't commit. A powerful and ruthless corporate raider must silence the young woman who learned too many secrets. Upon entering Hell, the young woman is given a vital mission that will lead her to the Conqueror.
Part 1
Chapter 1: Introduction
It was a nice and comfortable apartment in the old City. The apartment building was renovated just four years. It reflected its owner. It was soft, inviting and warm.
Nine twenty-seven in the morning and she was late as usual. As usual she turned off the alarm rolled over and went back to sleep. Now she had twenty-three minutes to get downtown and change for Aikido class. 'Master Chen would be upset again which means I would take another beating in the circle,' she thought with a mental sigh, 'I would never learn.'
In her new jet car she careened down her sky path to her destination. Upon landing and parking, she jumped out her vehicle and runs to her locker. Checking her watch she thought, 'Four minutes, I can do this.'
She fumbled tying her qui, losing valuable seconds. She ran into the dojo only to encounter a waiting class. Sensei smiled and invited her to the center of the circle with a wave of his hand. She rolled her sea green eyes, grabbed a staff, and took her accustomed position. All the other students were taller than the short golden-blonde cutey. She was twenty-three, but looked younger facially. But she possessed a body that couldn't be hidden by the baggy qui.
Each of the other eight students in the advanced class took a staff and circles the young woman as she took a classic and graceful defensive pose. Three of students struck at once; she easily blocked their blows. She had a lot of practice in the circle, almost daily. Again and again the students attacked and she beat back each of their blows. The sensei grunted in admiration of his most gifted, if not punctual, student.
Suddenly, one ambitious student did a double roll through her defenses and attempted to sweep her legs. She back-flipped past the sweep landing in the back of the overly ambitious student. With a twist of her small foot, this student was eliminated. He had to remain lying still as the dead foe he had just became.
Springing off his back she did a flying double kick into their newest member who was concentrating too much on her offense and not enough on her defense. With a tap of the staff to her forehead a second foe was down.
Spinning the staff like an airplane propeller she advanced on the student to her left. She saw fear in his eyes. So she pounced on it. He took a jarring blow to the head that if she had not pulled it would have killed him. As it is he would have a major headache.
Retreating back to the circle, she eyed the remaining five students. They were the best almost on level with her. She was looking for an opening. Then, she saw a mistake. Yolanda feet were too close together, she was off balance. With lightning speed the golden-haired blonde struck. Yolanda tripped herself and received a solid blow to her ribs with an audible crack.
She knew the blow was not pulled enough, but she hadn't expected Yolanda to fail. Without further thought, she flipped back into the circle on ready. The Sensei motioned for the medical staff to aid Yolanda. Thinking that her concentration had been broken by the accident, the others struck in unison. But she had been here too many times to be that distracted. Each blow was deftly counter. It was a picture of poetry as dances and blocked taking only glancing stinging blows, which she ignored.
She realized they are trying to back her into the student on the floor to cut down her mobility. Not wanting to be in that position, she attacked with a series of kicks and staff lunges that caught Mathew off guard. Unable to dodge the final kick he went down with a solid blow to the sternum.
But the move had its price. As she rolled free, Taisei, the Sensei's son anticipated and struck at her at the completion of the maneuver. At the last minute, she twisted was struck only on the hip, but the blow wasn't pulled very well and her leg went numb for a moment. Taisei came in to finish her off, when she caught him in the stomach with the staff and then a tap to the back of the neck.
Thinking he would go down, as that was a killing blow, she turned to meet the final two students. Taisei though didn't go down and delivered a full blow to her back and then was about to crush her skull when the Sensei knocked him down. Everyone froze at this terrible breech of honor and training.
She was in terrible pain, but that was good. She knew with this amount of pain all the nerves were working. She felt an injection then nothing.
She woke up in a hospital. She had a nagging pain with an IV attached to her arm. 'Man I must be hurt worse than I thought. Wonder what's wrong. I can move my toes and legs though they are a little stiff. Wait why am I restrained?'
She yelled, "Nurse, was anyone there?"
A nurse entered the room. She asked, "Why am I being restrained? What's wrong with me?"
The nervous looking nurse said, "Quiet now. The doctor would be here shortly."
The young woman thought, "She seems anxious to leave. She's afraid of me, why? What the hell is going on?"
A man with a detective's badges hung from his pocket and a man dressed in a surgical suit entered the room. The confused woman thought, 'Why a cop? It is just a training accident.'
"Detective, I'm not pressing any charges against Taisei, it is just a training accident."
The detective ignored the statement and asked, "Are you Gay Brier Wells?"
"Yes," she replied with total confusion.
"Do you reside at 220 Decatur Street in New Orleans, Louisiana?"
"Yes."
"Did you work at the New Orleans Times Picayune as a investigative journalist?"
"Yes, what is going on?"
"Miss Wells, let me inform you of your rights..."
She interrupted before he could continue, "What do you mean my rights?"
"Miss Wells, you are being charged with three counts of murder, one of those being a police officer. You are being charged with possession to distribute three kilos of Charger. You are being charged with nine counts of resisting arrest. Now, allow me to continue..."
She was dumbstruck. She didn't hear her rights. 'What the hell is going on? They have me mixed up with someone else.'
"Miss Wells, do you understand these rights as I have given you?"
"I want my lawyer. His name is Thomas Gray. His number is 555-1648."
The detective took it as a yes and left to contact her attorney. He thought, 'It won't do the bitch any good. We got her dead to rights.'
"Miss Wells, I am Dr. Avery. You have two gunshot wounds to the side. They are grazing wounds, but lost a lot of blood. One is to the head and the other is along the fourth rib. Plus you have a minor injury to your back that seems several weeks old."
"Wait, did you say several weeks?"
"Yes."
"What's the date?"
"October 13th."
"Doctor, the last thing I remember is a training accident in August. What is going on, here," she started crying in frustration.
"Miss Wells that glancing shot to you head caused a mild concussion. You may be suffering from temporary memory loss. It should clear up.
Look we got all the drugs out of your system that may help as well. Charger usually doesn't have memory loss as a side effect, but it is a relatively new drug. So, we don't know a lot about it."
"Drug, I don't take drugs."
"Miss Wells, you came in here stoned out of your gourd. Listen, I'm going to have the nurse come in and take some vitals and administer a sedative. Get some rest."
He left her, shaking his head thinking, 'Such a pretty young thing. Drugs will do it every time. I feel sorry for her. I hear such awful stories about Hell.'
The Conqueror had the most marvelous dream about a strawberry blonde with green eyes. She awoke alone as usual. She never slept with anyone, except her blade. She got up and drank a glass of juice. Then, she did 200 one-handed pushups with each arm. Then she put her feet in the stirrups on the vertical bar. Next, she did 200 sit-ups. Then, she did her weight training.
After that she dressed in her armor and left to go practice with her soldiers. After two hours of practice, this time without killing anyone, she did 20 miles of running. Then it was a bath and rubdown, finally, lunch.
After dressing in her regal robes, she entered the thrown room and holds court. Her second-in-command, John Richie, better known as Striker steps forward with a stack of papers and said, "Your majesty, here are the reports on the collections and the food distribution. Here are the reports from the Leaders of the Circles. These are the projections of production and distribution. And this is the request for essentials, as per your instructions; they are padded by 75%. So, we should get what we need with a little extra."
The Conqueror rolled her eyes, knowing she would have to go over these reports tonight with a fine toothed comb. 'So, no fun tonight,' she thinks.
"Oh and here is a list of new residents. The shuttle would arrive in six days."
She looked at the list:
1. Tucker Newell
2. Walker Franklin
3. Raasham Jabbar
4. Honey Martin
5. Washington Fredrick
6. Gay Brier Wells.
"Do we have files on these people?"
He handed them to her.
"This last name is hand written. Why?"
"I don't know, Your Majesty, a late edition. I suppose."
"I'm going to my rooms to read all this shit. Judgment Day tomorrow."
"Yes, Your Majesty," he bowed to her as she leaves. He hated her, but without her organizational skills and her leadership we would all be dead.
She handed the paperwork to her clerk and walks back to her rooms. The papers were placed on her desk. Then, she waved off her clerk and sat down to read the reports. 'They really need to produce more on the third level. It might be time for a leader there,' she thought, mentally reviewed all the likely candidates to replace him.
Finally, she came to the personal files of the new arrivals or newbies as they were called. She opened the first one and there she was the young woman in her dream last night. Suddenly, a flash of recognition exploded in her mind and her body physically reacted to the photograph. 'Where did that come from? I must meet this girl,' she thinks, 'But first she must make a couple of levels.'
She put that file to the side to study in depth and continued with her work.
Gay sat in a room with a single light and a table separated by bulletproof glass with a chair on each side of the glass. She still couldn't remember the time between August 16th and October 13th. She talked to Master Chen. He told her; she was removed by ambulance to the hospital. She was treated and then released. She was also told she had some back problems and started taking drugs for the pain.
He told her she stopped coming to class and was getting stronger and stronger medication. When he tried to talk to her, she refused to see him. The day before the murders, she was fired from the paper for her drug habit. They implied the reason she killed the two drug dealers and the undercover cop was for their drugs.
She was shown all the evidence and it was damning. She just couldn't believe it. It just wasn't her. It was like some out of body experience. She lost everything. What she had left, she sold for her defense. She could be executed. Killing a cop was a capital offense.
Her lawyer entered the room and took a sit and said, "Gay, they are offering a deal. Because of the drugs they are willing to wave the death penalty, if you agree to go to the Federal Facility in Nevada."
"Hell," she said with resignation.
"Yes, Gay, I got to warn you. If you don't take this, we will lose and you could get the injection. I wish I could be more optimistic, but you have given me nothing to work with. This memory thing is not going to sell with the jury," he said as he holds up his hand to silence her so he could continue, "I know it's not a trick, but the jury will not buy it. It's too convenient."
"I know, Tom. God, this is so bizarre. Take the deal. When do I leave?"
"Three days."
"Justice is swift, these days."
"Yeah, I know."
Chapter 2: Processing
Processing took three days. The six new residents of Hell were taken off the Shuttle in shackles and took to the processing center. They entered a huge room with a vault like door. Their chains were removed and they were told to sit in the chairs provided.
A disembodied voice came over the loudspeaker, "Welcome to Hell. You will be brief on what we know about the working inside the facility, which ain't much. You will be given vaccinations and a physical. It will probably be your last. Follow the rules and processing will be your best chance to survive the next few days. Don't follow the rules and we throw you in naked. Now follow the yellow line to medical."
The six newbies rose and follow the yellow line in single file order. Raasham Jabbar took the lead. He figured he was the baddest, so he should lead the way. Gay took the rear; she wanted none of them at her back.
They were vaccinated and given a physical. Walker Franklin was found to have a weak heart. He was given the option of death, but he refused. The doctor shrugged his shoulders, knowing that Mr. Franklin wasn't long to this world anyway.
They were escorted to another room. This room had a table with food and drink, plus six cots. They sat to eat. Honey sat next to Gay. Gay saw the fear in her eyes and whispered to her, "Show no fear or they will be on you. I will protect you as best I can, but you must learn to protect yourself, because I cannot always be with you."
Jabbar shouted, "What are you bitches whispering about? Honey, get your white ass over here right now and give me some head."
Gay quietly said, "Shut up or I will have to hurt you."
Jabbar shouted, "What did you say to me, bitch? I am going to beat the shit out of you and then I'm going to fuck the both of you."
He started to get up but suddenly a fork was sticking out of his right hand. The pain was instantaneous. He screamed in agony. Gay calmly said, "I wouldn't pull it out before the doctor sees it. You could bleed to death."
Everyone looked at her in awe. No one had seen the move. It was so quick and deadly. Everyone knew that she could have killed him just as easily. It was just an object lesson. The door of the room opened and two guards entered and took Jabbar away.
A message came over the loud speaker, "Miss Wells, I applaud your skill and your judgement. You are hereby appointed leader of this group. Finish your food, your first briefing is in ten minutes."
After they finished their meal they were led into a small classroom with twelve school desks which were arranged in three rows of four desks. They each took a desk. Gay took one right up front and in the middle. The others gathered around her. Honey sat right behind her and placed a hand on her back.
A man entered the room, smiling. He said, "Good afternoon. I will brief you on what we know about Hell. Please save any questions until later. Mr. Jabbar will not be joining us. He is as we speak entering Hell. Let that be a lesson to all troublemakers. Let me introduce each of you and then we will get down to business.
Miss Gay Brier Wells, your leader, was convicted of three counts of murder and nine counts of resisting arrest. She is a skilled martial artist with Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a Master's degree in journalism from the University of New Orleans. She can speak five languages and can kill with a fork.
Tucker Newell, industrial spy, he was convicted on espionage. He stole some defense department files on a new steel process. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering and Master's degree in Process Engineering from Cal Poly.
Dr. Walker Franklin, he was convicted on seven counts of murder. Seems Dr. Franklin was into mercy killings. He has a Doctor of Medicine from Tulane University. He is certified in Emergency Medicine and Surgical Medicine.
Raasham Jabbar, we can skip him.
Honey Martin was convicted of two counts of accessory to murder and of smuggling two hundred kilos of poppy seeds for processing in the United States. Miss Martin and her girlfriend tried to smuggle in the dope and were caught by the Coast Guard. Her friend tried to shoot it out and was killed. Two Coast Guard sailors were killed. She had no skills and didn't graduate high school.
Washington Fredrick was convicted of seventy-four counts of murder. He knowingly sold some tainted drugs to a Foreign Government. They were used and killed 74 children. He has a Bachelor and Masters of Science in Chemistry from MIT.
Now, let me tell you about the facility. It consists of seven levels. The first level is agricultural. The roof is made of clear aluminum for the input of sunlight for farming. Unfortunately, there is not enough land for the facility to be self-sufficient so supplies are issued as required.
The second and third levels are ranch areas. Cattle and sheep are raised at these levels. The grass is the kind used in domed stadiums and grows readily under artificial ultraviolet light.
The fourth and fifth levels are light industrial areas. There is no heavy industry in the facility, but many useful products are produced in these areas. Many trade goods are produced here for export many in handcrafted leathers and in handcrafted glass and ceramics.
The sixth level is storage.
The seventh level houses the power plant and maintenance grid for the facility. It is totally maintained by the prisoners. It is also where the seat of government for the facility is located.
At present, the facility was run by a monarchy. She calls herself the Conqueror, but her real name is Dana White. You may remember her from eight years back when she killed sixty-eight government agents. She is a trained assassin and highly intelligent. She is the most deadly person on the planet.
A separate leader, who is responsible to the Conqueror, controls each level. Government control, however, is quite loose. This is a facility of lifers. It is very dangerous. You will be expected to take care of yourself. Most of you have skills that the Conqueror will want, so you will probably be taken right to her. However, Miss Wells and Miss Martin do not possess any skills needed by her. You will probably have to find yourself a place in the community.
You will be given weapons and three day's supplies. You will be given a survival kit and a map of the facility as built. The prisoners have probably made many changes. In addition, Dr. Franklin will be given a medical kit and some medical supplies. You also have an additional duty. You will be bringing in requested supplies in three oxen driven wagons. You can deliver them to the Conqueror's representative or you can try to keep them that are up to you. Now, are there any questions?"
Gay asks, "What kind of weapons?"
"Good question. You will be given the choice. All the weapons are archaic. There are no projectile or energy weapons that we know about. The manufacturing facilities and the natural resources are really not there for such weapons. Mostly, it's knives, swords, bows, spears and slings. Any other questions?"
Gay again asks, "What is the system of exchange?"
"You are the perfect choice for leader. Barter is the system of exchange. And you will be expected to protect your own property. Any further questions?"
Upon hearing or seeing none, he said, "Well now you will shown to the training room. Take advantage of it. You will have the rest of today and two more days to train. Good Luck. Can I see you a moment Miss Wells?"
The others were escorted out as Gay approached the instructor who said, "Miss Wells, here are the keys to the locked boxes on the wagons. They are your responsibility. Normally, I would just hide them on the wagons and let Dana find them, but I know you can protect them. Those are the medical supplies. They must get to the Conqueror. Don't tell the others, but there is a plague running through the facility. I'm entrusting you with a lot of lives."
She took the keys without comment and proceeded out. The instructor chuckled while thinking, 'Dana, I'm sending you a live one. I wish I were going to be there to watch those two meet.'
The group was led to another room. It was large room completely padded. Against the far wall were several different types of weapons. Gay walked over and picked up a staff. She started going through some exercises and some rituals to loosen up. The others just stared in disbelief.
Gay stopped her warm-ups and went over to the others. She said, "Do any of you know how to use any weapons at all?"
Washington Fredrick said, "I know how to use a bow. I bow hunt all the time."
Gay went to the wall and got a composite bow and a quiver of arrows saying, "Let's see your stuff."
Washington put three arrows in the black in a tight group. He looked at Gay for approval as she said, "Good enough."
"Okay the rest of you get crossbows they are the easiest to use. Just point and shoot. Let's see what you can do."
After two hours of practice with the crossbows, they became somewhat proficient. Gay said, "Enough for today. Tomorrow will be the hard day. You learn hand to hand."
Jabbar was thrown naked through the security door. He entered a long vast tunnel. He could see sunlight at the end of the tunnel. He moved out into the darkness. He traveled only twenty feet, when three men approached him. Jabbar said, "Hey, what's up?"
The three men smiled and said, "You are a bad boy, huh. Street tough, huh."
"You bet. I killed six pigs before they caught me."
"Really?" Two of the men grabbed the young man and forced him to his knees. The third man unzipped his pants and said, "Boy, you're our bitch now. You be a good bitch and we will get you some rags and feed you some scrapes. You be a bad bitch and will torture you until you learn to be a good bitch. Now, show me you're a good bitch and suck me off."
The other two released Jabbar's hands, but held him down. The terrified street punk reached into the man's pants and pulled out his penis.
As they walked back to the barracks, Honey asked, "Why are you helping us? What's in it for you?"
"Nothing really. But I can't let you guys just walk in there cold. You'd die the first day. I couldn't let that happen. I would feel guilty. Besides I have an idea that could get us a healthy start in our new home. We'll talk about it later."
"I find it hard to believe that you killed three people."
"I don't remember doing it. I lost two months. They tell me I was on drugs and I had a head injury. I just don't know."
"Well, if its any comfort I didn't know about the drugs. My girlfriend had hidden them in my yacht. I was just trying to have a romantic cruise from Mexico to Miami. You know going through the islands and all."
"You owned your own yacht?"
"Yeah, I was rich. It worked against me at the trial. Since, I was so wealthy without any education, the jury assumed I was a drug dealer."
"Funny thing about juries, they do a lot of assuming they're not supposed to be doing. Mine assumed my memory problems were faked."
"Yeah," Honey said as they enter the barracks.
The guard said, "Women sleep in here. Men sleep in the next room. Food is in each room."
Honey and Gay entered the room and noticed a table with six chairs and six cots arranged around the room. Gay looked at the food on the table with a smiled, "Boy, am I hungry."
Honey had to laugh at the sight of the slight woman tearing into the food. She asked, "Can I have some?"
"Sure," Gay replied with embarrassment.
Sperm ran from his mouth down Jabbar's cheeks. He had just finished the third man when the first one said, "Now, bend over and spread 'em." The punk's screams could be heard through the security doors. They lasted for more than two hours.
After dining, Honey started stripping her clothes to go to bed. Gay covertly watched Honey undress. Honey stripped down to her bra and panties. Honey noticed Gay's sly attention. Honey found Gay very attractive, so she decided to give the young woman a good show.
Slowly, Honey stretched to accent her best features. She slyly smiled at Gay in all so seductive manner. She said, "Gay, do you like women?"
"I don't know. I've never been very sexually active. My experience is limited to some boys groping me in High School and a dual masturbation session with my college roommate."
"How old are you?"
"23"
"Gay, do you want to sleep with me?"
Gay went into Honey's arm and held her. Honey bent over and kissed the shorter woman. Gay accepted Honey's tongue and began to suck on it. Gently, Honey kissed and licked Gay's delicate ear. Slowly and cautiously, Honey began to remove the younger woman's clothes. She didn't want to scare the inexperienced woman away. Suddenly, Gay pulled away and said, "Honey, I can't. I'm confused and frightened. I... ahm"
"Gay, I understand. You're frightened. I'm terrified. Once we enter Hell, you can protect yourself. I can't. I'm going to end being a whore or slut in order to get someone's protection," Honey broke down and cried.
Gay then realized that Honey was giving herself to Gay for protection. Gay knew that such a beautiful and experienced woman couldn't be attracted to her. Gay held her close and sat down on the bed with her, "Honey that will not happen to you. I promise. I'll take care of you and you won't have to be my slut to get my protection."
They practiced for several hours on basic defense using swords and knives. Gay knew that they didn't have enough time for them get proficient in the staff. The sword was an easier weapon to learn.
At lunch, Gay went over her strategy. "They have a basic barter society. We are going in there with a fortune in their society. We need to keep it and deliver it ourselves. Along the way, we can barter and trade enough to set ourselves up nicely in their system."
Washington asked, "But how do we protect it. We can barely protect ourselves. You're the only one with real skills."
"That's not true, Wash. You've hunted game with a bow all your life. You're good with that bow and know how to hunt. The crossbows don't need much skill at all. I bet most of these experience fighters think a crossbow is a wussy weapon.
This will be our basic strategy. I will take the point. You guys will lead the wagons. If we are attacked, I will engage them you guys with the crossbows will climb onto the wagons and pick out targets. Wash, you will be the free agent. I want to work around and protect the flanks.
What do you think?"
They all shook their heads. Wash said, "I think it might work. Hell, it can't hurt."
After one more day of practice, they were as ready as they could be for the unknown. Gay had instilled hope into them where there had been none. They were led into the armory. The loudspeaker sang out, "You may take any and as many weapons as you like. Since you have the wagons weight is not a problem. Protect those wagons, I am sure the Conqueror will reward you. You are a lucky group, because you have a warrior among you. Most groups have killers, but no warriors. Remember out there, there are no rules. Good luck."
"Okay, guys get as many crossbows as they have and all the bolts. Each of you takes one sword and scabbard and one knife and scabbard don't forget belts. Wash, get two bows and as many arrows as you can find and get an extra quiver," Gay ordered as she pick her out three good staves, two hunting knives with scabbards and a belt.
The Warden watched them prepare to leave. This group was important. If the community was to survive this group had to make it. He had done all he could to make it successful. The rest was up to Gay.
He chuckled for the hundredth time at the picture of the tall Conqueror meeting her match in that slip of a girl. He had no doubt the Conqueror was going to quite surprised.
They loaded up their weapons and mounted the wagons. Gay lead the way as the security doors was opened and they headed into Hell.