Enslaved (Jiskastya X Mysticalminx)

[Jiskastya]

Hate burning in his eyes, Landon stood, slowly, almost disrespectfully, but still he stood.

The collar couldn't stop him from thinking, so for the moment he contented himself with killing her in his mind, gouging out her eyes with hooked fingers, caving in her head with that rock next to his foot. Lunging forward with all of his strength and fighting through the pain that he new would accompany the motion. She would be stuck unable to move, the weight of his body crushing her to the ground. When the pain was gone he could pick up a rock. He only had to bash her head once, and then she would be unconscious. The pain would fade and he could do it again. And again, and again until the little bitch lay dead on the ground, blood seeping out of her head that would resemble nothing more than a caved in melon.

He'd seen it done before, knew it was completely possible. All it would take was a lunge, almost a trip, and he could get her. But as soon as his body began to actually respond to the signals in his brain, the pain was back again, dropping him to his knees. A small whimper escaped his lips, and he clenched his teeth together. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction. His pride was the only thing he had left, and he wouldn't give it to her.

He wouldn't beg, wouldn't scrape and kowtow to her every whim. He stood again, towering over her, lip curled in disgust.

He would have to be more careful with his next plan. Get to a point that once he made even the smallest motion towards harming her would set in motion a domino action, one that no amount of pain could stop. Or something so subtle that it didn't even seem like he was trying to harm her, just straighten out her blanket. Then set down a small pile of grass right next to the blanket. Then drop a stick into the fire while having it touch the grass. He could watch the bitch burn.

[Mysticalminx]

The look in his eyes was one of pure hatred, almost seeming to singe her flesh with that scathing glare. A lump settled itself rather squarely in her throat, fear knotting in her stomach. Even knowing he couldn't harm her, didn't take away that terror. Her eyes were large, focussed on him, body tensed, ready to sprint. Still, she didn't move, standing there, frozen in time.

She had to get herself together. She was in charge. He couldn't intimidate her. Not anymore. She was the one holding the controls. He had to obey. And he could not harm her. Not if he valued his own life.

“I w-wouldn't even think of it, if I w-were you!” She spoke, trying to force herself to sound confident, though her voice was failing her, stuttering over the words. “Kill me, and you'll kill yourself!”

She swallowed nervously at the thought. Her words were not an idle threat and without doubt, Landon would know what she meant. When she had activated the shock collar, she had synced the device to her own heartbeat, a function which had been designed to protect the owner of a personal slave. Though it generally wasn't a function activated for common, “lowly” working slaves like her, every slaveband had the capability to have it switched on.With a few pushes of a button, one could adapt the collar to release a lethal shock if it's owner's heartbeat stopped -for whatever reason- It was a function primarily used for slaves that were in the position they could cause harm to their masters. Personal slaves, bodyguards, any slave likely to turn against their master – they were often controlled in such a way, to ensure the slave would not turn against his master.

“If I die... you die. So, it's in your best interest to make sure I don't get harmed.” She then continued, lump still so prominently stuck in her throat. She was terrified, yet determined not to back down. This was her one chance, and she was taking it.

[Jiskastya]

She thought she had him pinned down, thought that she had every eventuality covered, but life was never that easy. Landon had seen people get tortured, had done it himself countless times. He had watched people cave, and knew exactly what buttons to press. Which button in particular.

When he had been little, he hadn't been able to understand what a slave was, other than his personal playtoy. He had seen just how far he could get, just how much a slave could get away with before the collar took over on its own.

There was a loophole in every rule, a hidden meaning mixed into the words. Many words were just a mistake waiting to happen. It didn't matter how long it took, she would pay for this injustice.

"You think this is the end of it," he crooned to her, voice taking on an almost hypnotic quality. "You think you have me completely under control? That you have come up with every eventuality I could use to destroy you? There are worse fates than death, and there are thousands of them out there, just waiting for you. And I will do my best to make sure every one finds you."

He paused, his voice sweet and endearing. "Or, you could make sure that I'm never going to harm you. Hold down that button until I stop spasming, and walk away. You could do that too. But I wouldn't remain undetected. Someone would find me, someone would recognize me, and my father didn't die on that crash. He left before the pirates even showed up.

"You could run, as long and as fast as you want," Landon continued, his voice the brush of a master artist, "but you would never get away. And when they caught up to you, they would make everything else that has been done to you in your life seem like just a pleasant dream, to show what happens to slaves when they get above their station." He paused then, a joyful smile flickering over his lips.

"But you do have one more option. That band is off your brow now. You are free. Just walk away, leave me here, and, when you feel that you are far enough away, take off that wristband. And that would be the end of it. You would never see me again, and you could relax, knowing that death isn't dogging your heels."

[Mysticalminx]

His words were meant to intimidate her, she knew. Even if they came in a semi-charming tone of voice, trying to convince her to let him go. But, the words did not make her tremble, nor did they seem to frighten her. Instead, a strange, hollow chuckle escaped her lips.

“You think I wouldn't get away?” The words flowed from her lips with surprising ease. Where that certain confidence came from, she wasn't even sure, but perhaps it was defiance that brought a rebellious side to her she only just seemed to discover. “I could kill you. Here and now. And no-one would come looking.”

Her light eyes seemed to almost grow dark as she looked at him. “No-one would know who to look for. Who'd ever think to look for an old, discarded sparkie? Small, powerless little thing like me could never subdue the great Landon Rush, could it? A stupid slave wouldn't be able to modify a slave band, wouldn't they? They're too stupid.” She spoke, mockingly. Perhaps he thought her stupid. After all, she was a slave. She had had no education, wasn't taught anything but to follow command. She'd prove him wrong. She wasn't a thing to be dismissed.

“The pirates took down the ship. Nobody knows we're alive. And nobody cares if I'm alive. They won't come looking for me. Not now. Not ever. I'm not worth it.” The words came out with a bitter laugh. She knew exactly the value her life held to the slavers: virtually none. From the day she was born, she had been dismissed as worthless, without any value. Nothing had changed since then. Her value had perhaps even sunk since then, now that she was considered too large for the job. Who on earth wanted that?

Even if they ever found Landon's body, they would never know to look for her. Really, she had the perfect opportunity to slip away into obscurity, but, instead, she had chosen differently. She had chosen to pay back the pain and humiliation that had been inflicted upon her for years and years. Besides, there was something that she wanted, and there was only one way she could ever get it. No, just slipping away from it all wasn't enough. She wanted more.

“Besides. I could never let you go, not now. Say what you want, but we both know you wouldn't let me just slip away. You'd hunt me down until the end of days for bruising your precious ego.” She then spoke, rather matter-of-factly. She held no doubt to those words. The hatred she had seen in his eyes, the reputation the slavers held... They wouldn't let insubordination like this slide by. Oh no. Now that she had started this, she couldn't back away. She had to go through with it. Her life depended on it.

"So. You're going to do what I say, or you'll regret it." She finished, coolly. "Now, go to that pod, and grab all the supplies you can carry."

[Jiskastya]

He wanted to bite her, rip into her with tooth and nail and leave her as nothing more than a shivering pile of flesh. But the band that seemed as though it was pulling tighter and tighter around his head told him that would be an impossibility.

There was nothing that he could do but swallow the hate that was building in the back of his throat, and walk over to the pod. He pulled a pack from the depths of the wrecked craft, loading it with supplies. Most of the space was devoted to bottles of clean water, and food that would remain unspoiled for an indefinite amount of time. However, the top and pockets of the pack he filled with other necessities. Small and dense but warm sleeping bags. A firestarter, small knife, thin but strong rope, raingear and a change of clothes. Despite how his father had used one, these truly were escape pods, designed to give their user the best chance at survival, assuming, of course, that they weren't killed in the downwards fall. Loading up a last couple of necessities he shouldered the pack, strong arms and shoulders bulging under the weight of the hundred twenty pound pack. He cinched the strap around his waist, taking most of the weight off his shoulders and settling it onto his hips.

He did his best not to look at thee little bitch who called herself his master. Did his best to pretend that he was doing this all under his own volition, that this is exactly what he would be doing had he crashed entirely alone. And it was, but the thought didn't help. All he could feel was a deep hate, put onto simmer for the moment, but ready to boil over at the slightest provocation. Only the memory of the sharp agony the slave band produced kept him from trying to bowl her over now, and use the additional pounds the pack gave him to trap her under his mass.

No, for now he would act submissive. He would act like he was willing to give in, like he had given up hope. But he would not give up. He would wait, and one day she would come to see her mistake. And, one way or another, it would be the end of her.

[Mysticalminx]

He obeyed her command. He looked like he wanted to strangle her for it, but he obeyed her nonetheless. A strange sensation surged through her, one she had never felt before. She felt in control. Powerful. Though, at the same time, her fear never left her. Sure, the man was obeying her, but that still didn't meant she had all that much control over the situation. She had control over the man, but she had no control over all that was around them. Their surroundings. Nature.

She had never been outside before. Not like this. Not without supervision, not without strict rules. Never so far away from what she had come to know as “home”. She didn't know anything about where she was, where to go, or how to get there. She didn't know what roamed these lands, what dangers laid ahead, what to be cautious of and what to avoid. She didn't even know what was safe to eat. Her survival skills were virtually non-existent. Though she wouldn't admit as much, she knew that without Landon, her chances of survival were very, very slim.

Her eyes scanned over him as he hunched over the pod, gathering the items withing. The escape pod had been small, meant for one or perhaps two people at the most, meaning the supplies were limited. Though she couldn't quite see exactly how much was there, she knew it would last them a week, at most. If that. Granted, she had the advantage that she was used to going without food for long stretches of time. If she rationed their food, they would be able to travel longer.

But, that brought her to her goal. Her desire. How ever was she going to achieve that? It wasn't like she had it all planned out, her ideas rather quickly thrown together within the last hour. She wasn't sure how she was going to achieve it, wasn't sure if it was even possible. She had the idea... but could she ever make it to the end? She knew there were holes in her plans -big ones-, but, she had to try.

“We're going to find the crash-site.” She spoke, indicating the column of smoke that rose steadily in the horizon, a fair distance away. How long would it take for them to travel that far? Hours? Days? She had little concept of distance, of how long it would take to travel.

“You lead the way.” She then added.

[Jiskastya]

"The crash site?" Landon spluttered. "Did you forget, there are pirates there." Even for a slave she seemed lax-brained. What on earth did she want to go there for? By the time they got there, if the whole place wasn't still swarming with pirates, they would have taken anything and everything that could be of any use, including almost every scrap of metal, let alone any food, weapons or medicine.

What was she thinking would happen? That she could walk up and boldly demand the supplies she needed? If so, her freedom obviously wasn't very important to her. Or her life, for that matter.

[Mysticalminx]

"There won't be, by the time we get there." 3337 spoke as Landon spoke up, the man seeming to be rather perplexed at the notion that she wanted to go there. She had to admit, it was a risky move to make. But, where else were they to start?

"They virtually destroyed the ship, they've got no use for it. They'll loot it and leave it." She stated. She sincerely hoped those words were true. She could only guess that was what would happen. She had seen the damage done to the hull of the ship during the attack. There was no way it would ever take to the sky again. It's cargo had been mostly slaves, or at least, that was what she assumed. Either way, it wouldn't be long before the pirates would have taken all they could. Or at least, all they cared for.

Granted, she had no clue what pirates truly cared for. She had only heard rumours at best. Some of the slaves she had come into contact with had some vague dealing with pirates before, or had heard yet more hearsay from masters. Either way, her perception of the pirates was that they were rough and brutish -but not particularly clever. Though, how true the latter was, she really wasn't quite sure. After all, they did thrive. Something was keeping them alive. Perhaps they had a certain cunning.

"So, go." She spoke, somewhat sharply. She didn't need to give him her reasoning. She was in charge. Not him.