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 3
Chapter 1: The First Circle, continued
They stayed a total of four days. They were directed to next village. 'There,' Gay decided, 'She would start forming her army. An army different than they're used to'
Striker reached Magri's main village twelve days after he left the seventh level. He had forced marched his troops the entire way. He found Magri in his office and asked, "Have you found them?"
"I have reports that left a village on the outskirts five days ago. They should have reached the gatherer station by now, but they haven't. I have all my troops out looking. We should find something soon."
"Why are you here and not looking?"
"I had too many other duties to be bothered."
Magri never saw the blow that took his head. Striker sheathed his sword. He picked up Magri's head and looked into his dead eyes and said, "Maybe, I didn't make myself clear. There was no more important duty. Boy, come here for a moment. Who was the assistant administrator?"
"Master Kronower."
"Get him, now."
"Yes, Master."
Striker started making plans to find those wagons. With them, he could raise an army and finally oust that Bitch. He knew he could run things better.
Three days following the death of Magri, The wagons reached the gatherer station. The doctor had six assistants. Wash led a group of eight scouts. Tucker had a company of 25, as did Walker. Except for the newbies, they were all women. Honey went up to the men at the gathering station and ask, "Which way do we go to find the Conqueror?"
He answered, "We are instructed to take charge of the wagons and escort you to see new administrator."
"I'll tell the Warlord," she responded with a smirk as she went back to her group.
Gay walked up the men and said, "You can give us directions or not. But no one is taking charge of anything or taking us anywhere."
The guard made a move toward her, only to be deposited on the ground abruptly. The second guard charged her with his sword held high. When he landed on the ground the small strawberry blonde was holding his blade.
From behind her she heard, "What's going on here? You can't attack the Conqueror's men."
"Why?"
"Because you will suffer her wrath."
"Well, if you direct us to her, we'll report it ourselves."
Her troops let out a united laugh. The upset bureaucrat suddenly noticed the small army at his station door and said, "Who are you?"
"I am the Warlord Gay. These are my troops and we are seeking the Conqueror."
He pointed to the right fork. Gay thanked him and the army moved on.
A few hours later they came upon another village. Gay entered the village and said, "Who is leader here?"
A woman in her mid twenties came forward and said, "I am leader here. You must be the Warlord that everyone is talking about."
"That's me. Here's the deal. We are going to heal everyone in exchange for five of your people. We will train one of them to be a healer. When she is trained, we will return her to you. All five will become part of my army that is trying deliver these wagons to the Conqueror."
"We heard it was three people."
"You have a larger village."
"Deal."
"Also, we have some stuff we would like to trade."
"Let's look. I have some extra draft animals you might be interested in."
The Conqueror listened to Striker on the radio. "Conqueror, Magri, botched the whole thing. I have taken charge."
"Is Magri giving you any trouble?"
"Not any longer, Your Majesty."
"Ah, I will sent a new appointee in the morning. Find them."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Two days later, Striker found them. He rode forth to meet the approaching army and said, "I am John Richie. I represent the Conqueror."
He saw a small blonde woman, who was quite striking walked forward. She said, "That's nice. Can you tell us how to get there?"
"I'll take charge."
"I don't think so."
"I'm her second in command."
"Yeah, you say."
"Yield or we will be forced to take the wagons."
"John-Boy, all you have to do is beat me and you can have them."
"My instructions are not to hurt you."
"No problemo. You won't."
Striker got down from his horse and unbuckles his sword belt. He called for a staff. With a bored expression he approached the young woman, who was quite lovely. He sighed and begged, "Please yield."
The blonde smirked and moved. Suddenly, he was disarmed. She allowed him to retrieve his staff. He attacked. She blocked everything easily, then he was disarmed again. She asked, "Do you yield?"
He replied no as he retrieved his staff a second time. This time she started spinning the staff in a propeller fashion and then stuck shattering his staff as he held it up to block a blow to his head. Her staff continued its journey, knocking him unconscious. He lied sprawled unconscious.
Suddenly bowmen surrounded the small army with Striker. Gay asked, "Do you yield?"
They threw down their weapons.
Gay found the radio and activated it, "Hello, breaker, breaker."
"Who's using this radio?"
"Me, get the Conqueror."
Another voice, which was vaguely familiar to Gay replied to her, "Who is this? Where is Striker."
"You mean John-Boy?"
"Yes."
"He has a headache and can't come to the phone right now."
"Is this Gay Wells?"
"Yeah, you know my name. How lovely. You really have a lovely voice."
"The rest of the package ain't bad either."
That made Gay laugh out loud, "Touché. I have your supplies, where do you want them delivered?"
"Why didn't you just give them to Striker, I mean, John-Boy?"
"I didn't like the way he asked."
"Could you turn them over to him, please?"
"Okay. Now, what do I do with my army."
"Your army?"
"Yeah, let me explain."
The Conqueror could not believe the audacity of this little snip of a woman. It made her smile through the entire conversation. She, also, had to admit the young woman had a great idea and was doing a good job putting into action.
Striker awoke and said, "What happened?"
"I did," said the small blonde.
"You a great fighter and a very lovely woman," he said turning on all charm.
"Thank you."
"I see you are building an army. Are you looking to challenge the Conqueror?"
"What if I am," she says cautiously?
"I could help you. I know her weaknesses and I have a hidden army ready to move."
"Really," she said as she left the room?
"Breaker, Breaker," she said into the radio.
"Gay, do you have to do that."
"If you can call me Gay, can I call you Dana."
"On the radio, sure."
"Good Dana, thanks. By the by, did you know that John-Boy has a hidden army?"
"No, I didn't. Will wonders never cease? What's your evidence?"
"He told me. He offered its services to me to overthrow you."
"Really, could you send him to me so we can talk in person."
"Sure, he's on the way. I guess this means you don't want me to turn the supplies over to him. Right?"
"I guess not. Listen, keep what you need for you 'army' and send the rest to me as quickly as you can. You can leave John-Boy in the back."
"I'll send them with the troops John-Boy sent plus a few of my own. I'll put Honey in charge. I'll miss her, but I can trust her."
"Sounds like a plan. Keep me informed of your progress."
"Sure, Breaker, Clear," Gay said with a devious smirk.
The Conqueror was smiling ear to ear thinking, 'I have to meet this woman. She sounds so interesting.'
The Conqueror called out, "Scribbler, get Jackhammer for me please. Oh, and tell my guards to crucify all of Striker's personal guard and advisors, please."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Thank you," she said as she went back to her map and started sketching what she knew.
Gay went down to see how John-Boy was doing. He was having a rousing game of chess with Doc when she entered. He was shackled hands and feet and had to have Doc move his pieces for him.
Doc noticed Gay and said, "He plays an excellent game of chess. He is a fine strategist."
Striker said, "You are too kind. However, Doctor Franklin has won all three games."
Gay said, "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. I'm sending you and the carts on ahead."
A smile crossed his face as he said, "Then you have given my proposition some thought?"
"Yes, I have," she said as the doctor picked up his chess set and proceed to leave, "I even discussed with a friend. She seemed very excited to talk to you about it."
"Your second in command liked the idea?"
"I don't know. I haven't talked to anyone, but Dana about it."
The blood vanished from his face as he attempted to lunge for her. He said, "She'll kill me."
"Probably, but not before she tortures the local of your army from you. You should be comfortable shackled in the back of one of the carts. Sleep well," she said as she left him to his fate.
She felt a twinge of sorrow for the man as she left him alone. She racked her brain for a way to keep him alive. But knew there wasn't a way. He had made his bed. She could not see this land turned to civil war. It would upset here plans.
Gay sent Honey and 10 of her warriors and 5 of the captured Conqueror warriors to deliver the non-medical supplies. Gay kept one of the carts and two extra pack animals to carry the medical supplies and their trade goods. "Honey come back as soon as possible," Gay said, "Be careful. Don't trust anyone."
"Okay, boss. Any message for the Conqueror."
"I got her number if I need to talk."
"Breaker, Breaker, This is the Warlord. Do you copy?"
"Gay, I'm begging you stop doing that. It's so annoying."
"How would you know it was me?"
"Trust me, I'd know."
"I sent out the wagons. They should be there in about 3 weeks."
"Okay. Question?"
"Why?"
"This is the Warlord signing out, good buddy."
Each village at which they stopped, they healed the sick and injured in exchange for more followers. The most promising were assigned to Doc for training. Some were assigned to learn engineering and chemistry. All learned to defend themselves and others.
With Honey, Gay had to take over the humbling of Li. She had made a promise and she was going to keep it. Li would learn to be a good leader. First she had to learn to be a good follower.
Gay was not interested in Li sexually. So, she stuck to making the girl do the most menial and degrading tasks. She made the girl give her a bath. She made her clean her clothes. She made her eat on the mess hall floor. She would humiliate her in front of everyone the minute she saw a look of superiority.
Finally, one day the girl said, "Why do you hate me so much?"
"I do not hate you."
"You do. You treat me so bad."
"I treat you like you treat others. Do you hate them?"
The girl did not answer and went back to doing her chores. After several minutes, she spoke again, "Did I treat people like that?"
"Yes, sometimes worse."
"I am sorry. Please, don't hate me. I'll do better."
"I have never hated you. I did not like you, but now you show promise."
That seemed to make the girl content. So she went to her corner to sleep. When Gay said, "Why don't you go get a cot from stores and a blanket. You have finally earned them."
The conqueror was worried. All her reports showed that the group kept asking for directions. Yet, they were issued maps. 'She's up to something. I know it. I can fell it,' the Conqueror thought, 'Why don't I just send out a force and end this?'
But the Conqueror had to admit her idea about going from village to village to treat the plague and to train medics for each village was smart. The army was necessary to protect the medical supplies. 'It's a good plan. But, what is in it for her?'
She went to bed with a lot of questions.
Holly entered the Throne Room and saw the most magnificent creature she has ever seen. She every bit of six feet with long muscular legs. Her hair was long and raven black. But her most magnificent feature was her piercing blue eyes. Not knowing the local protocol, she bowed.
"That's not necessary, Ms. Martin. Do you mind if I call you Honey?"
"No, Your Highness."
"Your Majesty is the local phraseology. I am glad to see you made it without incident. Tell me was Striker any problem."
"Not really, Your Majesty. I had him gagged and tied the whole way."
"Where is he now?"
"Your Majesty, I left him with the gate guards. They said they had instructions. So."
"I gave instructions about the wagons to border guards, but you chose to ignore those."
"Your Majesty, I was told by Gay to turn him over to first person that asked nice."
An enchanting laugh erupted from the beauty that sent ripples of energy through Honey. "That would be the way she put it too. So, you obey Gay's instructions over mine."
"Your Majesty, I know her. Besides she promised to protect me without any strings. She taught me how to protect myself. And she trusts me. All I know about you is your rep and that you could kill me without a second thought. Tell me, which set of instructions would you chose."
The Conqueror steeled her eyes and examined this woman before her. She could see her gaze was scaring the woman. 'Good she's no fool, but she is not intimidated. She is just unsure,' she thought, 'I must meet Gay Wells. To have instilled such loyalty so quickly, I am amazed.'
" I had thought to send Miss Wells a message by shipping you back in pieces. But you have changed my mind. I want you to be my guest for a few days. So we can chat. I want to learn more about Miss Wells."
"Of course, Your Majesty."
Gay's radio started saying, "Breaker, Breaker, this is The Conqueror. Come back."
"This is the Warlord, Good Buddy. Come back."
"Hi, Gay. I have Honey here. Thanks for the gifts. I especially liked the talking Striker doll. It sang up a storm after I pulled a couple of its strings. Now, I have hanging on the wall of my basement."
"I glad you enjoyed. How's Honey?"
"She's fine. I let you girls chat in a bit. Listen, Gay, can you do me a big favor and come and see me. I really think we need a ftf."
"Well, I am kinda business right now. How's about meeting me half way? Say the Fourth Circle."
"I'm busy, too. I really don't get to go out much."
"Too bad. Is Honey available?"
"Sure, Honey, it's for you."
"Hi, Gay. You two are nuts. I'm fine. She just wants to chat. I'll be fine."
"Honey, you be careful."
"No sweat, Gay. Here she wants to talk."
"Gay, don't worry about Honey. I won't hurt her unless she asks really nice."
"Well, have fun girls and don't do anything I wouldn't do. This is the Warlord signing off. 10-4."
Gay was worried. She was keeping Honey for a hostage. For the first time, Gay wasn't sure things were going to work out like she thought.
Honey was idly caressing the Conqueror's perfect breast and nipple, when she asked, "What was that all about? You guys talk like this is just a game. You two control the fate of this world and it's in trouble. You guys really need to work together. Listen, I ran a multinational corporation and let me tell you. You are too dependent on the outside. As long as you're that dependent they have the control."
"I know that. You say you trust her. I don't. I don't trust. I needed her off balance. I wanted her to think you were in trouble. So, she will be totally off balance when Striker's secret army attacks her."
"You setting her up!"
"Don't worry, I'm not. Marco is no match for her. I'm testing her and eliminating a problem at one time. I have to see what she can do."
"You bitch, I have to warn her."
"You're not going anywhere accept on your back. Don't ever call me a bitch again. I like you, but I won't take too much disrespect," she said as her hand invaded Honey's slit, " I rule here. You need to learn that fact and so does Gay."
On a cross outside the power station, Striker was hanging with two broken legs. He lasted 32 hours.
Honey lied spread-eagled on the bed tied hand and feet to its bedposts. Her body was flushed with desire. The Conqueror caressed a slender leather whip and said, "I promised Gay I wouldn't hurt you unless you asked really nice."
"Please, do it."
"That was nice, " she said as she untangled her whip.
Gay knew it would eventually happen, but it still didn't make her happy when it did. Before her stood an army of over two hundred. They were demanding her doctor and her supplies. She was regretting the death that was going to occur today. Her bowmen were already in position. Her scout had locate the flankers of their army and put them down.
Marco Oper, who was leading these guys, was not very imaginative. He figured with his numbers she would back down or he would just over power them. When Gay showed no signs of backing down, he attacked. He lost over a third of his men running the gauntlet of arrows.
There was no pulling her blows in this fight. For the first time in her life, Gay was forced to fight for real. It had always been a game for her. Now, it was deadly. She had disabled six warriors before she killed Marco with a temple blow. She knew the instant the blow connected that she had killed. With a battle raging she couldn't think about it. Before the other side surrendered, she had killed twice.
That night Li tried to comfort a distraught Gay. Gay's first stop was an empty bucket that was quickly filled with the contents of her stomach. Li emptied the bucket and cleaned her up. She washed the distraught woman's face and held her as she cried for nearly two hours. Li knew that her army could not see the woman in this state. So she said, "Gay, you have to snap out of this. You started this. You have to finish this. Please come out of this."
Li caressed and hugged the sobbing Warlord. Finally, Li kissed her. The young woman had wanted to do this since the first day. The kiss deepened. When they released the kiss. Gay started caressing Li's lovely body. Her lips and tongue started exploring the younger woman's ears and face. Gay's hand explored Li's body. They broke their embrace and started removing their clothes.
Wash went to check on Gay and saw what was going on. He left smiling. He had been worried about her. 'She hadn't taken killing very well. For a triple murderer, she sure took killing poorly,' he thought as he went to organize the camp for the night.
Three days later, Gay was examining the corrected map of the area. All the villages had been treated. It was time to move to the Second Circle. First she needed to check on Honey.
Gay picked up the radio and said, "This is Gay. Is the Conqueror available."
"Hello, Gay, I've been waiting for you to call. I want to thank you for eliminating that secret army for me. You did a good job. I hear your loses were minimal. I am impressed."
"Has Honey left yet?"
"No, she has been enjoying herself too much. I'm sure she wants to leave."
"Let me talk to her."
"She's really not available at the moment. She's hanging out somewhere else."
"I want to talk to her Dana or I'm coming after her."
"Don't threaten me. I'm ruler here. But you did me a favor. So, I will do you a favor. Hang on a second."
Gay's heart was racing while she waited. When Honey was talking over the radio, "Gay, I'm okay."
"Has she hurt you, Honey?"
"Nothing that I didn't ask for. You know I have certain tastes and she obliged them."
"Come back to me, Honey. I am so sorry I sent you on that mission. What about the others?"
"They're fine. I can leave any time I want. I'm not sure I want to yet."
"Please come back. I miss you."
"I'm on my way."
"Put the Conqueror back on."
"Hi, that was sweet."
"What do you want for her?"
"I want your obedience. I want your word on it that you will swear allegiance to me."
"I swear allegiance to you, Your Majesty."
"There that wasn't hard was it? Honey will meet you on the Second Circle. By the way, you did a great job with the First Circle. Production has risen almost everywhere. Keep up the good work, my vassal. That's a big 10-4," the Conqueror smiled at the bruised and bleeding blonde hanging from a set of shackles from the ceiling.
Her blue eyes looked at the older woman deeply. She is broken. Guilt is what did it. She feels like a traitor. Well, she is.
Her heart was heavy. She had sent Honey into danger lightly and gotten her hurt. Guilt was gripping her. She vowed to herself to do better and to be more careful. She made a decision and called for Li.
"Li, your grandfather needs you. Go home. Take five warriors and Tiffany with you."
"I don't want to leave you. I love you."
"You have no choice. You are needed home. Remember we all have responsibilities. Mine is this army and the medical project. Yours is to take your grandfather's place and lead your village."
"I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you,' she told her as the younger woman left.
Now she was safe. Gay led her army down the ramp to the Second Circle.