Captive Travelers (10 page)

“Wacasa,” Nashoba called down from his horse. Aubrey’s tired eyes looked up at him, and she saw that he was pointing out to the prairie. She turned her head in the direction and saw a huge herd of buffalo grazing in the bright green grass of a meadow that seemed to stretch to the mountains in the distance. “I have heard what has become of the buffalo in your world. Here, they thrive when only a few are taken for their meat.”

It was another dig at what the white man destroyed. The Indian had made several such comments, but Aubrey was too tired to let them affect her. She stared silently, and watched the brown furry babies playing in the grass.

The group stopped at sunset, and the Indians enjoyed more of their devious, arousing tortures. While the savages led Kayla to pinnacles of passion, Nashoba brought Aubrey to the crest only to desert her body with his hands when she began demanding release. Aubrey was confused and frightened, though the Indian seemed to merely enjoy teasing her.

The fire died to orange embers and Nashoba led Aubrey to a private space. Even with the edge of unfulfilled passion, she managed to drift to sleep much faster. The constant fear from the capture had dulled and she was exhausted from traveling.

The next day, just before noon, they walked over a hill. A green plain was spread before them, with the stream running along one side. If not for the surreal reality of the circumstances, the scenery was breathtaking. Snowcapped mountains rose into the clear blue sky in the background, with miles of undisturbed prairie speckled with colorful flowers that swept down to the water. Across the stream, there was a large settlement with teepees and frames of stretched hides. Children and women were down by the water, splashing and doing chores. One of the children noticed them first, and he shouted and pointed for the others.

Chapter IV

Kayla could have died. She let go of the noose and lifted her hands to cover her body, until Tocho threatened to tie her hands behind her again. The girls were led to the cold water and ordered to wash, just as Cici emerged over the hill. The woman and children erupted with excitement when they saw her.

Kayla and Aubrey had already figured out that Cici was being treated differently, though they had no idea why. Cici still had her ankles tied together, and she shuffled towards Aubrey and Kayla. She looked shocked, and her eyes were dazed. “They’ve drugged her,” Kayla whispered.

“At night.” Cici’s sluggish response surprised them. “They put it in my food. I don’t think they touch me, though. It doesn’t feel like they do.”

“Oh, god. How are we going to get out of here?” Aubrey cried softly. She had her arms wrapped around herself, and her bottom faced the gathering crowd across the water.

“Wacasa,” Nashoba boomed. She turned to look at him and he pointed further upstream, where his horse stood at the water’s edge.

Aubrey put one foot in the frozen stream. Before she could force another step, the big warrior was behind her. Aubrey cringed and gasped in terror. She was afraid he would hit her, and she had no idea what she was doing wrong. His arm wrapped under her breasts again and he pulled her out of the water.

He leaned down and his long hair fell over her shoulder, reaching almost to her waist. He whispered in her ear, “You will wash yourself away from the raven.”

Despite his words, when Aubrey felt his cock twitch against her bottom she felt an unintentional sexual response to having the strong man hold her so close. She froze for a second, and then she began to shake. “Oh, god. No, please.” At least if she stayed beside Kayla and Cici they could attempt to cover each other. Aubrey did not want to stand off to the side by herself, exposed and where she was sure to be noticed. “Please don’t make me do this.” Men from the tribe had joined the women and children on the other side of the stream.

Nashoba slipped his hands under her chest and he held her breasts. Aubrey gasped when he cupped her firm mounds and his thumbs brushed over her nipples. He turned her to face the tribe gathered across the stream. She tried to squirm away from him, and he pinched her nipples tightly until she stilled. Nashoba felt the eyes of the tribe on him, and he reveled in the powerful control he held over the golden beauty.

Watching her tremble in his arms, he continued to hold her breasts while she stood naked in front of his people. Aubrey tried to cover herself with her hands. Nashoba chuckled low in her ear, and as soon as he released her, she dashed to the water and knelt down so that the freezing current covered her.

Cici was wailing on the bank while the two Indians that had been escorting her coaxed her to the water. Cheers were still erupting on the other side of the stream at the sight of Waka, while the savages led her into the stream. Soquila stood straight and proud as he kept up the steady tapping on her rump with the quirt.

Kayla stood dumbfounded on the bank. She watched Cici and Aubrey, and then she heard the catcalls and noticed the expressions of the Indians across the stream. She searched for a friendly face. Once more, she was singled out with lecherous and hateful stares. Several of the Indians were cupping their groins and trilling frightening cries.

Tocho grabbed the back of her noose and dragged her to the stream. He continued pulling the leash while she sobbed and pleaded, until, laying a hand across her shoulder bladesm he shoved her into the water. Kayla tripped and submerged under the current. She came up choking and sputtering out the cold water while the tribe laughed at her. “They’re going to kill me,” Kayla cried. Her teeth chattered from terror and the cold.

Aubrey stared at the water, trying to ignore the Indians lined up on the other bank. She used sand from the bottom of the stream to scrub off the trail dirt. Her shaking fingers untied her braid and she swished her hair in the stream to rinse it. She dunked one time, scrubbing her scalp and face, and then she knelt in the frigid water with her arms crossed over her chest. Her thoughts seemed to be frozen as well, and she could think of no way to escape.

“Wacasa.”

Aubrey automatically turned and looked up towards the commanding voice. For three days, this is what the had Indian called her, and Aubrey realized that her white man name was left at the farm, along with her tattered dress.

Nashoba had mounted his horse again. He held out his hand, and Aubrey knew that he was waiting for her to hand him the tether that was floating in the stream. His horse walked beside her and stopped. “Please, oh god, please don’t make me do this.” Her teeth were chattering as she pleaded from her kneeling position in the water. From the corner of her eye, she saw that Cici’s escort was all ready batting at her with the short whip and forcing her to cross the stream. His friend rode behind them, leading his horse.

Nashoba’s eyes were changing, and a seething anger was building beneath the fierce stare. Aubrey rose on shaking legs and she held the end of the leash out to him. There would be no escape, and after witnessing what had been done to Clara and Henry, Aubrey knew the Indian’s punishment could be swift and cruel.

She managed to stay close beside the horse and trudge through the water beside Nashoba, with an arm covering her breasts and a hand in front of her pussy. Aubrey was relieved that he did not order her to lower her hands, and they kept her slightly protected from the eyes of the tribe. Kayla was screaming again from behind her, but Aubrey was too petrified with her own humiliation and did not turn to look at her.

Ahiga warned the warriors who splashed into the water that they were not allowed to touch the raven until the shaman had cleansed her. Kayla was terrified when the Indians rushed towards her, and she remained crouched in the water, clutching the fringe of Ahiga’s breeches in her bound hands. His fist wound into her hair and he dragged her to a stand. He did not want the tribe to think that he had weakened to her seductions.

They trailed behind Nashoba and Wacasa, who were walking slowly behind Waka and her escorts. The chief sat beside the old shaman in front of the spirit teepee, and they discussed the approaching offerings in quiet tones.

Cici stood before the two older men, quivering so violently from the chilled water and terror that Soquila had to hold her up. The shaman stood with a small pot in his hand, filled with aromatic oil. Cici whimpered when his bony hand reached out and covered each massive breast and nipple with the salve. When he reached between her legs, she tried to step back. “Easy, Waka,” Soquila murmured, rapping lightly on her heavy thigh with the quirt. She looked up at him in tearful confusion. “Easy, Waka.”

The chief looked into the warrior’s eyes, and he nodded. He had been watching the procession, and he could see that Horse had managed to gain some ground calming the big woman. Soquila was an excellent trainer, even at his young age. He had no woman to distract him, so it would be a good match to have him tame the beast and keep her calm and productive for the tribe. “Take her to the pen, Soquila. Awi and Tala are preparing for her.”

“Thank you for this honor, Chief Paytah.” Soquila was pleased that it had not even taken words from Nashoba for his chief to recognize his commitment. When he turned, he saw his father standing tall, with pride shining in his eyes at his son’s accomplishment. He led Waka towards the pens with his persistently rapping leather switch.

Cici’s mind was still a confused haze of drugged euphoria. She was becoming familiar with the name they called her, though she had no idea what it meant. The children were chanting it in a happy singsong way while she passed by them, and everyone smiled at her.

What had become a constant guide for her was the Indian and his soft taps. The long walk had been at a slow pace that she could handle. He had not hurt her, nor had he allowed anyone else to touch her. He made sure she had food to eat, and they stopped frequently so that she could rest and drink water. Cici could only grasp the thought that he meant a measure of safety for her.

Nashoba dismounted, and he led Aubrey forward. “I have named her Wacasa,” he informed the leaders. He stood tall with the white woman in front of him, his hands resting on her shoulders. There was a passion in his eyes that his father had never seen before.

The shaman approached her, and Aubrey backed into Nashoba’s broad chest. The old man looked into her eyes and ran fingers through her drying hair. “She has hair of wheat and sun, and eyes of the prairie. It is a good name, Nashoba. Wacasa will bring much luck with the crops for us, and food for the animals we hunt.”

Nashoba waited for his father’s nod of approval, and then he led Wacasa towards his teepee where the women waited to prepare her. Aubrey balked when he reached around to lift the flap. “If you humiliate me, you will be punished,” he threatened in a low voice only she could hear. Aubrey sobbed once and walked into the tent.

Kayla was dragged forward by Ahiga, with Tocho standing behind them. “The raven,” Tocho spat.

“Oh god, please. I didn’t mean to disrespect Bobby. Hehewuti said she understood why we had to break up.” Kayla searched the shaman and chief’s faces, and was met by cold glares.

The shaman looked into her eyes, and her voice stuck in her throat. “The spirit guides would not have led you here, if you were not meant to join us. For them to take two of your friends to appease their needs is testament to my words.”

Kayla sobbed and her knees gave way. Ahiga stood behind her, gripping her arms to hold her up.

“She has tried to use her seductive words and tears with us,” Tocho confirmed.

The shaman’s eyes narrowed, and he scanned the tribe. They believed the true evil she possessed. “Bring her to the poles,” he ordered. He bent to pick up a pouch, and then he followed the procession. There were many onlookers jeering while Ahiga stood behind Kayla and pushed her to the two aspen branches that had been sunk deep into the ground. Twelve feet of speckled white bark-covered wood was decorated with raven feathers and stretching to the sky.

The shaman already had small pots of sage, scrub brush, and cow chips, waiting to be lit by the base of the poles. Ahiga and Tocho stretched Kayla’s arms over her head and secured her wrist cuffs to the branches. Her ankles were pulled apart and secured, leaving her dangling with only the tips of her toes touching the ground. Smoke from the pots wafted up towards the sky to carry her impurities to the spirits.

Oh no. Please…
Kayla sobbed unintelligible pleading words to the crowd of Indians while her arms were jerked over her head and tied. For a moment, her weight was on her wrists, digging the rawhide into the skin while she kicked out, until her legs were spread and her ankle cuffs secured to the rough tree limbs. She felt Ahiga’s fingers brush along her shin, and she stared at him through pleading, tearing blue eyes. He kept the same cruel look on his face, but he loosened the cuff when Tocho stood up.

The two Indians stood on either side of her while the shaman approached, and Kayla looked through the crowd, frantically searching for rescue. There were no sympathetic eyes looking back at her. On the contrary, several of the men and women had a look of aroused anticipation on their faces. Her arms were already aching and she pulled at the cuffs digging into her wrists. She was terrified that they meant to kill her, and her mind kept seeing text in her books of nature religions that practiced sacrifice.

The shaman handed Ahiga a piece of leather that had been braided into a circle. It had been wrapped with more strips to make a sturdy ring. Tocho gripped the raven’s jaw, pinching her cheeks until her mouth was forced open.

Kayla tried to shake her head to get the pressure off her jaw. She saw Ahiga approach her mouth with the ring, and she screamed and tried to thrash away. Tocho gripped her tighter, and he reached a hand down to grab her pussy to hold her still. She felt his fingers rip at her dark curls… and a finger slip between her lips and stroke her slit.

The ring slid up behind her top teeth and Ahiga stuck two fingers into her mouth, pulling down on her bottom jaw until she thought it would break. He wedged the bottom of the ring behind her bottom teeth. It was secure, and the outside leather would swell a slight bit, making the fit tighter. The ring had been soaked in a cleansing concoction the shaman had prepared and chanted over earlier. It was bitter and burned when she swallowed the juices.

The shaman lifted a stiff piece of leather. It was flat on top and curved on the edges, forming an upside down spoon shape with a small notch cut through the end. The other end was a straight stick, and he pushed it through the ring in her mouth. When the stick hit the back of her throat, Kayla shrieked and began to gag. It forced her tongue forward, where it slid under the cup of the spoon. Ahiga inserted a finger into her mouth and pressed down on the device, locking her tongue in place and keeping her retching.

Between sobs, gags, and screams, Kayla watched the old Shaman pick up a splinter of buffalo bone, with a thin strip of leather stuck through the end. She tried to pull her tongue back.
Oh god. Oh god, he’s going to stick that through my tongue.

The Shaman spoke words while he pushed the bone needle through her captured tongue. The raven would no longer speak her lies and insults. He picked up the threaded thin gut string and slid a raven feather onto the end before he tied it.

At last, the device and the ring were removed from her mouth, and Kayla wailed, stretching to her toes in pain. The raven feather was coated in blood and dripping down her chin.

The shaman picked up his bone needle again, and Kayla shook her head and tried to plead for mercy. There was none in his eyes, or in those watching her cleansing. His bony fingers plucked at her nipple while she screamed and moaned in terror. There was a look of disgust in his eyes when her nipple peaked.

Ahiga gripped her breast while Tocho held the nipple still to be pierced. Once more, a stiff, thin thread of buffalo gut was fed through the hole with the raven feather attached to it. Kayla was pleading for unconsciousness when the other tip was done. Even that relief was denied her. The potion the Shaman had soaked the mouth ring in was also on the strips, and it irritated and burned the new wounds.