Time on Our Hands

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Time on Our Hands
by Melanie Brown
Copyright  © 2017 Melanie Brown


Mason thought all he had to worry about was his history test.

 


 

I pounded the alarm clock a few times before my sleep clouded brain realized the annoying sound wasn’t coming from my alarm clock. Squinting, I looked bleary-eyed at the clock face. “Ah shit!” I groaned as I saw the time. It was fifteen precious minutes before the alarm itself would have rang.

The charging cord popped from the phone as I snatched it angrily from my dresser, deeply pissed that someone would wake me up just before my alarm clock did. I looked at the phone and stared in disbelief. Why would Spencer Atwater be calling me? Especially this early on a school day.

I was a bit gruff when I picked up the phone and said, “Yeah?”

A very excited Spencer was on the other end of the line. I almost couldn’t understand him he was talking so fast and breathless. “Mason! You have to come over here now! This is totally amazing!”

I rolled onto my back and closed my eyes and groaned into the phone, “Can’t this wait Spence? Like next month or something?” Back in middle school, Spencer had decided we were best buddies. We’re not. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not like I hate the guy or anything. It’s just that he’s terribly annoying and seems to always pick on me. He fancies himself an inventor and possibly a mad scientist. Usually all he invents is disaster. For six months he kept a low profile after the particle accelerator or whatever it was that he was trying to build in his parent’s basement blew every transformer in the tri-state area.

Still excited, Spencer panted, “No! This is incredible! This is totally awesome! This is the most spectacular and amazing thing I’ve ever done! You just have to see it!”

My eyes still closed, I mumbled into the phone, “Spence, it’s six fucking o’clock in the morning. We both have to get ready for school. We really don’t have time for farting around with your crazy ideas.”

“Time!” shouted Spencer. “That’s just it! Get your ass over here. Now!” Spence then hung up the phone.

I toyed with the idea of just going back to bed for the remaining ten or so minutes before my alarm went off. But, I knew if I didn’t get up and get dressed, Spence would just call again. And again.

I quickly got ready for school. I’d just head for school after seeing whatever it was that had Spencer so worked up. I have a history test this morning at Hillyer High and I really can’t afford to miss it.

A few minutes later, I drove up in front of Spencer’s house and parked by the street. You’d expect any house where a mad scientist lived, would look like a dark Gothic mansion with creepy dead trees in the yard with a perpetual lightening storm in the sky. But no. Spencer lived in a perfectly normal home in a perfectly normal neighborhood. Only the occasional explosion from his parents’ basement would there be any cause to expect something different about the dwellers within.

Actually, his parents, Fred and Martha, were perfectly normal people. They had a daughter, Sandra, who was also perfectly normal (and very cute too.) No. The only non-perfectly normal person was Spencer. And I’m his best friend. Lucky me.

From the glow from the basement windows, I knew where Spence was playing with his new whatever. The rest of the house was dark. I walked up to the front porch, hesitant to ring the doorbell if no one else was wake.

Just as I was about to press the doorbell’s button, the front door was jerked wide open. Standing framed in the doorway was a grinning Spencer. “Mason! Yay, you’re here! Come on down to the basement. You will be amazed.”

Without waiting to see if I was following him, Spence darted down the hallway to the basement door. I sighed and followed him down to the basement.

I have to admit. His basement is pretty cool. I’ve never seen so much electronics in one place. Oscilloscopes, guts to computers, TVs, servers – you name it. He even has an old mainframe computer he bought from the local university for a dollar.

And there in the middle of the basement floor was a giant gizmo infested box with Spencer standing proudly in front of it; his arms outstretched as if he was a model presenting a potential game show prize. His cat was perched on top of the box.

“Well?” Spencer grinned like an idiot. “This is it! What do you think of her?”

I frowned with a shrug, “It’s... um… big. Looks high tech and all. What the hell is it?”

Spence grinned and patted the box that was taller than him. “I know what you’re going to say. But get ready to be amazed instead. Standing here before you is… wait for it ... a time machine! Ta-daaa!”

I just gave Spencer a dull expression for a few moments. “I’m going back to bed, Spence. See you in class later, okay?” I started to turn to leave the basement.

Spencer grabbed my shirt and exclaimed, “Wait! Don’t go. You have to see it in action! It’ll be awesome!”

I jerked my arm from Spence’s grasp. Scowling, I said angrily, “I don’t want to be anywhere near here when you fire that thing up. It could vaporize the whole neighborhood!”

Spencer frowned at me as he re-grabbed my shirt. “Don’t be ridiculous! That only happened once. Years ago. And it wasn’t the whole neighborhood.”

“Still. You’re so-called inventions just aren’t safe.” I said, freeing my arm once again.

Waving his arms in a pleading motion, Spencer said, “Please. I promise it won’t blow up. It doesn’t even contain plutonium. Just watch. I need a witness.”

Against my better judgment, I relented. “Okay. But make it quick. I really can’t miss my test this morning.”

Spencer slapped me on the back and grinned, “Good choice. School doesn’t start for another hour. We’re good.” He then walked over to the box and started flipping switches. The machine began to hum with a whine slowly raising pitch.

“Almost ready,” said Spencer as he made further adjustments.

“Maybe you can use this to tell me how well I did on my history test.” I shrugged and grinned at Spencer.

Standing to his full height and he was taller than me, Spencer said, “You’re mocking me, aren’t you? I thought of all people, you would appreciate what I have accomplished.”

Raising my arms apologetically, I said, “I’m not mocking. Really. I’m just trying to think of some practical uses. Like finding out who wins the next Super Bowl and coming back to make some bets or something.”

Spencer just scowled at me. After a few awkward moments, he scratched his head. “We need a suitable test subject for the maiden run.”

I took a few steps back. “Oh no. I’m not getting into that thing.”

Spencer just stared at me as if I’d just spoken Swahili. “What? Not you, peasant. At least not for the first run.”

Glancing around the room, he seemed to be searching for something. Finally he looked at the top of the time machine and his face brightened. “Deankooncies! Come here rascal.” He grabbed his cat and kissed its head. “How would you like to be the first time traveler?”

Smirking, I said, “I’m sure he’d claw your eyes out if he understood what you just said.”

Spencer frowned. “Nonsense! Deankooncies and I communicate at a cosmic level.” He rubbed the cat between its ears. He made a few more adjustments to the controls, lifted a cover and pushed a large red, candy-like button with his palm.

Crackling sounds began to emanate from the large box. The basement lights began to dim and the air filled with the distinct smell of ozone.

Spence grinned at me. “If I built it correctly, I’ve just set it for 1 minute into the future. Okay. Three. Two. One. Let’s jam!” He tossed Deankooncies into the large, man-sized chamber.

There was a loud crackle along with several electrical arcs inside the chamber as well as wrapping around the machine. The whine from inside the machine rose so high I thought the box was going to explode. And in a sudden, blinding flash of light, Deankooncies was gone.

The machine began to stop shaking and the whine started to lower in pitch. Spence just stood there with a stupid expression. “Well, damn! Okay, now we wait. In one minute or so, Deankooncies should re-appear inside the chamber. There’s no displacement in space. Just time.”

I was aghast. I exclaimed, “Holy shit! You just barbequed your cat!”

Spencer waved his hand dismissively. “Oh piffle. He’ll be back in about forty-five seconds.” He paused to look at his watch. “Thirty seconds.”

He started to look at bit worried. “Okay. He should have arrived back fifteen seconds ago.”

A minute later, Deankooncies shot out of the time machine’s chamber like a bat out of hell, howling and hissing. Claws out, he bounced off Spencer’s leg, climbed up the wall, scrambled across several table tops, sending papers, glassware and various equipment flying. His fur was disheveled and his body was emaciated as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks.

Spencer reached for his cat, but it just spit and hissed at him and tried to claw him.

Turning back to his machine and checking the monitors, Spencer said, “There seems to be a mismatch between how long you’re there verses how long you travel.”

“You think?” I asked. “Look at your cat! He’s starved and scared to death!”

Spence shrugged. “He’s just a cat. He has no way to reason about what he just experienced. Well, he didn’t come back inside out or fried. That’s all I need.” He adjusted some knobs. “My turn.”

Horrified, I reached for him. “Are you nuts? Look at Deankooncies! He ain’t normal no more. Don’t get in that thing.” I ran towards him.

Waving me off, Spencer said as he started to enter the machine, “No man! I gotta see what kind of rush this is.”

I ran after Spence and found myself sliding into the chamber. The smell of ozone was thick and heavy. There was a loud crackling sound and a hiss. I just stood there, stunned.

I was standing in a field of thick, green grass. Several trees ringed the area where Spence and I stood. I didn’t really look at Spencer. I was too busy looking all around at the grass covered low hills. It was a beautiful summer’s day. Inside Spencer’s basement.

I turned around and saw a rectangle, with a blue, electric edge shimmering. Inside the rectangle was Spencer’s basement. Even as I watched, the view to the basement started to fade away, electrical arcs dancing all around. The last thing I saw was Deankooncies jumping up on top of the machine. And then, with a sound of shattering glass, the rectangle disappeared.

“Holy shit! Spence! It’s gone!” I shouted, suddenly awash with adrenaline.

“What’s gone?” asked Spence from a few feet away.

Shaking with unbelievable dread, I shouted, “It’s gone. It’s just gone. The way back. It’s gone! What the fucking hell?”

“Oh my God!” exclaimed Spencer’s voice from behind me. He then tried to not sound panicked. “Look. No worries okay? It’ll re-appear when the minute I set it for has passed.”

It was then I noticed something odd about Spencer’s voice. I turned to look at him and my eyes went wide.

“Who the hell are you?” I asked the girl wearing Spencer’s clothes.

Wrinkling her brow, the girl said, “I might ask you the same thing! Where’s Mason? Why are you wearing his clothes? And where did you come from?”

“I’m Mason!” I said, my voice shaky. I looked down and a cascade of light brown hair fell in front of my face. “We’re girls. We’re fucking girls in some weird unknown future!” I grabbed Spencer around her throat and shouted, “Just what the fuck did you do to me?”

*          *          *

Spence pushed me back shouting, “What the fuck is wrong with you? This ain’t my fault!” I slipped on the damp grass and fell.

As I tried to regain my feet, I cursed at Spencer, “The fuck you’re not! Thirty seconds ago I was a boy! Thirty seconds ago I wasn’t stranded in BFE somewhere!”

Sounding defensive, Spence shouted, “We’re not in BFE. This is where my basement used to be. We’ve moved in time, not space.”

I shoved Spence to the ground, “Fuck you! Look around! Does this anything like your basement?”

Scowling, Spencer got up and brushed the dirt off her clothes. She brushed her long, light brown hair from her face. “Obviously we’re more than one minute into the future. I have no idea what went wrong.”

“Well that’s certainly comforting!” I pointed at my well endowed chest. “And why are we girls?”

Spencer felt herself up and looking down said, “Honest to God I have no idea. I certainly didn’t program the time machine to do this!”

I studied the new Spencer for a moment. She looked around seventeen or eighteen. Close to Spence’s actual age. She was very beautiful with a head of hair that bounced and cascaded about her shoulders. From the light brown hair that kept falling across my face, I suspected I looked much the same.

I sat down on the grass and folded my legs. I looked up at Spence, “What do we do, man? We’re two girls lost in some unknown future, displaced hundreds, maybe thousands of years from our own time and no way to get back. Our parents, our friends and everything we know have been dead and dust for years.”

Spence sat down across from me and waved a hand in the air, “I know it looks bad. But all is not lost. Not yet anyway.”

Looking over at Spence and squinting in the sunlight, I asked, “What the fuck, man? Not lost? Really?”

Spencer cupped her hands over her mouth and nose for a minute and took some deep breaths. Not looking at me, she said, “Yes. Really. Look. I wasn’t stupid when I designed the machine. Unless it loses power, until we reset the machine by returning through the portal, it will re-open that portal every ten minutes. We just wait.’

I shook my head and ran my fingers violently through my hair. “That’s just fucking brilliant, man. What if it blew your power out and that’s why the portal closed? And how long is ten minutes here verses ten minutes back there? We could be here for years.”

Shaking her head, Spence said, “I don’t believe that. Smell that small whiff of ozone? If you look real close, there’s a small distortion in the air where the portal was. That tells me that there’s a tendril of energy still connecting to the past… um our old present.”

I looked at her sideways. “How many times have you made a trip through time?”

Spencer shrugged. “This is the first.”

I grabbed a small rock as I stood back up. I threw it at her and shouted, “So that’s just so much bullshit!”

Suddenly bursting into tears and covering her face with her hands, Spencer shouted, “I have to believe! I have to believe it will work as designed. Otherwise we’re fucked, man. We’re here forever. But I know that portal will come back. It’s just a matter of time.”

I walked over to take a closer look at the point where we exited the portal. She was right. There was a floating point of distortion in the air at the place where the portal had been. I heaved a large sigh, “Well, we seem to have a lot of time on our hands.”

Spencer stopped crying and stood up. Sniffling, she said, “Gather some rocks so we can mark this spot. We need to explore around to see if there’s anything we can eat and look for water. Otherwise, waiting for the portal could be a moot point.”

I nodded. We looked around the area. There were plenty of rocks in the tall grass. In just a few minutes, we had ringed the area where the portal had been, with rocks.

Pointing, I said, “Let’s get to the top of this hill. We might be able to see the surrounding area better.”

Walking up the low hill, while not physically taxing, was proving to be some trouble as our clothes no longer fitted us. Both of us had to fight to keep out pants from falling off.

I walked behind Spence as we ascended the hill. Her movements were so graceful as if she’d been born female. How could she be so naturally female? I’m sure I was the same. We’re girls. How could it be possible? Would a girl going through Spence’s machine come out a guy? I looked at Spence’s ass and a random thought crossed my mind about how great she’d probably look in a bikini.

I touched one of my tits. It’s real. It’s me. I haven’t dared put my hand down there, but I know I have a pussy. I’m pretty sure I have all of it. I was a complete girl. Am I this way permanently? Even if we manage to get back to Spence’s basement? How am I going to handle that? I got dizzy just trying to think about it.

Spence’s new musical voice interrupted my thoughts. She whispered, “Hey. Get down and check this out.” I looked at her and she was lying down and starting to crawl on her stomach. Not sure what she’d seen, I did the same.

As I crested the hill on my stomach, I gasped. Below us was spread a village. Not dirt primitive, but definitely not a modern society either. There were small buildings made of both mud and wood and some a mix. Most appeared to be dwellings of some kind. There were several large building in the center. A low stone wall encircled the village. On the far side stretched cultivated fields for as far as we could see.

The most surprising feature of all were the crumbling ruins of steel and concrete buildings, overgrown with grass and trees. It was like a real-life episode of “Life Without People.” None of the older structures were very tall. The metal parts twisted and rusted and the concrete crumbling into powder.

And there were people. Lots of people. Men, women and children. All going about some daily business. In the distance there were people… mostly women and children, working the fields. Men were cutting wood, some were constructing a new building. Some were guiding ox carts to and from the fields. It was easy to identify the warriors and hunters. And there were other activities I couldn’t really identify.

In a low voice, I said, “It’s a village. It’s primitive, but at least they wear clothes of some sort.”

Whispering back, Spencer said, “Not that primitive. They must be trading with someone. They’re growing more food than they could possibly consume on their own. We can’t see the river from here, but dollars to donuts they have boats.” She took her phone out of her pocket and began snapping pictures.

“You think they’re friendly?” I asked pulling out my own phone and took a few pictures.

Spence shook her head. “I don’t want to find out to be honest. I mean, this is a great discovery. But the risk is just too high. I’m hoping the portal returns before we get too hungry or thirsty. If we’re still here when it gets dark, we might be able to sneak in and steal something.”

Pointing, I said, “See those guys with the spears. I bet they don’t sleep. Stealing food might be difficult.”

Frowning, Spencer said, “I hope the portal returns before we have to find out.” She grinned as she turned her phone’s camera towards me.

I put my hand up in front of my face. “Don’t take a picture! I’m a girl. And my hair is probably a mess.”

Spencer’s grin faded after she turned to face me. “Aw shit.”

I turned to look behind me and saw two, rather buff men standing right behind us. Neither were wearing shirts and both had longish black hair. They were well tanned and seemed to be only a few years older than myself and Spence. They were grinning at us.

One glanced to his companion and pointed at me. He spoke in an odd dialect of English, but I could understand him. “I want the one on the left. She’s pretty.”

His companion laughed. “They’re both pretty. Oddly dressed though.”

The first one who spoke asked, “Think they’re runaways?”

His companion shrugged. “We won’t know until we strip them. And does it matter? They belong to us now.”

I looked over at Spencer. “I think this would be a great time to run.”

Spence nodded. “I agree. Go!”

We both jumped up and started to sprint down the hill. Our stupid, over-sized pants hindered our speed. But we did manage to surprise the two brutes who just stood there for a few moments.

I shouted to Spence, “Where do we go?”

She shouted back, “Just run!”

The two men had bolted after us and a quick glance back showed me that we had a pretty good start. I kept having to pull my pants up though. It was starting to slow me down.

And then of course, my pants had to completely fall down, causing me to trip and fall. As fast as I could, I wriggled free of my pants. But just as I got to my feet, I felt a strong hand grab my arm. And then I felt the man grabbing my hair.

The man laughed. “Think you could get away from us, little one? You’re mine now!” Still holding my hair, he let go of my arm and with a swift deftness that my eye couldn’t follow, he cut my shirt off with his knife. I stood there naked in the sun, my underwear, also now too big, fell to my ankles.

“Let me go!” I cried as I kicked at the man. He only laughed.

The man’s companion returned, carrying an unconscious Spencer over his shoulder. He was covered with bleeding scratches. When he stood next to me and the man holding my hair, he set the still form of Spence on the ground.

Looking worried, the man holding my hair said, “You didn’t kill her did you?”

The other man wiped some blood from his lip with the back of his hand. “Naw. I had to knock her out. She was putting up a fight.”

The man holding my hair laughed. “She has a lot of spunk.”

The other man frowned as he licked the blood from a cut on his arm. “I hate spunk.”

I turned to the man holding my hair. “Please let us go. We weren’t doing nothing. It’s not like we were planning to steal food or anything. We’re not even supposed to be here! I’m late for a history exam. Can I have my clothes back?”

The man who had carried Spencer shouted angrily at me, “Shut up, slut! No one likes a whiny slave.” He bent down and picked up Spencer and tossed her over his shoulder. “Come on, Bob. Let’s get these girls back to the village.”

“Bob?” I said as the man started to pull my hair. “You’re name is Bob? For reals?”

Bob frowned and jerked on the handful of my hair. “Yes it is. But you can call me Master.” He then laughed.

*          *          *

“Oh my head!” groaned Spencer. Her eyes were closed as she rubbed her head.

“It lives,” I said with a hint of sarcasm.

We both sported collars on our delicate necks with leashes tied to the railing of the pen we were sitting in. I would be gone but for the fact that the knot was intricately tied and I couldn’t figure out how to unravel it. Which I guessed was the point.

“God I had a terrible nightmare. I’m glad that’s over.” She rubbed her eyes.

“Well wake me up to. I’m having the same nightmare,” I growled, not hiding that I was pissed off.

“Why are you in my room…?” She opened one eye, “Shit. It’s real.”

“Yes. The shit’s real. And it’s your fault,” I growled.

“It’s not my fault!” protested Spence. “Did I say, ‘hey, let’s go to some weird future time and become girls?’ No. No I didn’t.”

I jerked on my leash. “Becoming a slave girl in said weird future wasn’t exactly on my bucket list.”

“Now you don’t have to add it… Gak!” Spence nearly choked herself as she tried to stand up and discovered her leash wasn’t long enough to allow her to stand. She felt her neck. “A collar? For reals? Are we in a John Norman novel now?”

“About the same,” I said. “Those guys that found us are now our owners. Your owner is called Frank. But don’t call him that. It’s funny. His wife Mary was none too happy he now has a slave girl.”

Spencer rubbed her head again with her eyes tightly closed. “Why do these people in a primitive society have such blindingly normal names? Shouldn’t they have names like Ungawa or He-who-talks-to-spirits-in-trees or some shit?”

I shrugged. “Well, this is our home town. Just hundreds of years into the future. I would say these are our descendants, except because of you we didn’t get to stay there and have families!”

Spence picked up a dirt clod from the ‘floor’ of the pen we were in and threw it at me. “Will you please knock it off? If I was going to pick a future, I guarantee this wouldn’t be it.”

Frank and Bob approached our pen. Frank scowled, “I swear. You two are the noisiest bitches I’ve ever seen.”

Bob nodded, “It’s like they have no idea how slave girls are supposed to act.”

I gave a thumbs up, “Bingo, Bob! I mean Master.”

Bob just shook his head. “You think you’re cute, don’t you?” He grabbed me and then he then got down on one knee. He placed me over his other knee and proceeded to spank me. He actually spanked me! And they weren’t like the swats my grandmother still insists on giving me on my birthday. These stung!

Bob asked, “What do you call me, little one?”

“Master!”

Bob slapped my naked ass again. “Who’s Master?”

I hesitated a moment and got another stinging slap. “Um… oh… my Master. My Master!”

He pushed me off his knee into the dirt. “That is how you will always address me!”

Spitting some sand out of my mouth, I said, “Yes, my Master.”

Frank jerked on Spencer’s leash. “What about you, girl? Do you know who I am?”

Sitting cross-legged in the dirt of the pen, Spence sat up straighter and gave Frank a sharp salute, “Aye aye my Master. You’re the one. You’re the man. You are most definitely my Master.”

Frank jerked on Spence’s leash. “Cut the shit girl! Unlike Bob, I use a whip. Nobody ever forgets a lesson learned from the whip.”

Waving her arms, Spencer said, “I’m good my Master. See? I learn real quick.”

As he untied Spencer’s leash from the railing, he turned to Bob. “So. What are you going to do with your new girl? This is your first, right?”

Bob started untying my leash as well. “For now I think she’s much too pretty to work in the fields and especially the mines. I think I’ll just keep her around the house so I can fuck her whenever I feel like it.”

Horrified, I looked up at Bob and pleaded. “Hey, I’m really good at being a farm girl. I’ve worked the fields all my life,” I lied.

Bob grabbed my hand and looked at the palm. “Hands this soft, have never seen a farm.” He grinned at me, “Girl, you’re a born pleasure slave. Just looking at those lips of yours makes me shiver in excitement.”

I wanted to throw up.

Frank said, “Even though she’s my first slave girl, Mary doesn’t want her in the house all day. So for now, I’m putting mine in the fields. The farmer pays rent for slave girls.”

Spencer wiped her brow and said, “Thank God.”

Bob nodded. “It’s just too bad girls don’t live long working the fields. Even less in the mines. If you want to keep her, you might try beating some sense into that wife of yours.”

Frank shook his head, “The last time I beat Mary, she broke my arm. Still that’s a point. I’ll put her in the fields for now until I can convince having this girl in the house means I won’t have to pester Mary for sex as often.”

Bob said, “If nothing else, you can always sell her. The pub is always looking for replacement pleasure girls.”

Looking a bit pale, Spencer asked, “Can we just go back home?”

Bob and Frank laughed.

*          *          *

Bob and Frank led us both by our leashes to a low roofed building, that was open on the front. Inside we could see all sorts of metal implements, metal objects like horse shoes, an anvil and big roaring fire. It looked for all the world like a blacksmith shop from the days of the old wild west.

Bob said with a tug on my leash, “One last step to confirm I now own you.”

I looked at my Master questioningly, “Last step? I didn’t see any other steps.”

Frank cuffed me on the side of my head, “You don’t need to know those other steps, slut. While you two were lounging in the pen, we had to clear you with the village elders.”

Spencer laughed, “You mean you still have red tape in a future primitive society?”

My Master reached over and spanked Spencer’s naked butt, “I don’t know what red tape is and why do you keep saying ‘future’?”

Spence rubbed her butt, “It’s nothing Master. I keep trying to make jokes.”

Frank slapped Spence’s butt, “Well stop it.”

A grizzled looking old fart who sported a beard, hair that hadn’t been washed possibly this century and wearing pants and leather apron and had a forest of chest hair, walked up to us. He grinned broadly when he looked at me.

To my Master, the old guy said, “I got yours on the fire right now. It’s probably ready.” He looked over at me again and grinned. “This one’s a real cutie.” He reached over and grabbed my tit.

Swatting his hand away, I growled, “Hey! Keep your filthy hands off the merchandise!”

My Master grabbed my arm in his very strong hand, “I could have you whipped for striking a Master. This is your last warning.”

The old man laughed. “I could use some extra help around here since I accidently knocked my last slave into the fire. Wanna sell her?”

“No.” said my Master flatly. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Pulling out a pad that looked like an order form, the old man said, “Yes sir.” He poised a pencil like object over the pad. “Name of the slave?”

My Master said, “I’m calling her ‘Blossom’.”

I wrinkled my nose, “My name is Mason.”

My Master snapped the leash. “Not anymore, girl.”

The old man suddenly stuck a thick bar of leather in my mouth and tied it around my head. “Better hold her.”

I tried to say “What the hell?” but it just came out as muffled sounds.

My Master grabbed my hands and tied them with a leather strap. He then took a firm grip on my ankle. He had me uncomfortably bent over exposing my thigh. I looked in horror as I saw the old man turn around holding a glowing red brand. I tried to free myself.

The old man shook his head as he held the brand near my bare skin. “Better hold her. She has to be still.”

My Master held me even tighter and the old man pressed the glowing iron brand against my thigh. I screamed in anguish and it was all I could do to keep from passing out.

The old man handed my Master a jar of something. “Put this on the brand for a couple of days so it doesn’t get infected.”

Spencer yelled, “Okay, I’m out of here!” She squirmed against her owner’s grip but it was no use.

We were both branded property of our owners.

*          *          *

“Are you just going to sit there and cry all night?” asked my Master. He was sitting at the table inside his hut, making arrowheads. The room’s main light source was the fire burning in the fireplace, but he also had an oil lamp sitting on the table.

Sitting on a matt on the floor in a darkened corner, I cried softly with the still searing pain in my thigh. My leash was tied to ring mounted on the wall so I couldn’t even move around the small room. I touched the brand on my thigh and winced at the pain.

I didn’t look up. “Yes. This fucking hurts. You’re an asshole.”

My Master frowned. “You shouldn’t talk to me that way, girl.”

“You branded me!” I shouted. “You don’t brand human beings!”

Not looking up from his work, my Master said, “You’re a slave girl. It’s for your own protection.”

I stood up and took a few steps to the end of my leash. “I’m a fucking human being you bastard!”

Bob angrily pushed his chair back and stood up. He took a few steps towards me with his hand raised. “You insolent little shit!”

I just stood there and glared at him. “Go ahead. Show me how big your balls are by hitting a girl tied to the fucking wall!”

He just stood there, frozen for a few moments. I glared at him for a few seconds before collapsing to my knees and began crying again. “What a goddamned nightmare! What a fucking goddamned nightmare!” I collapsed all the way to the floor, balling my eyes out.

My Master knelt beside me. He grabbed a fist full of my hair and jerked my head up. He scowled at me for a few seconds and then his face softened and his grip on my hair relaxed.

In a more gentle tone, my Master said, “It may be hard for you to understand, but this is for your protection. I have to have some way to prove you belong to me. Otherwise anyone could claim you. You wouldn’t want to be taken by someone like old man Billy would you? His girls have missing teeth and fingers. And when he gets tired of them or thinks they aren’t working hard enough, he sells them for hog feed.”

I sat up to face my Master, my eyes wide in horror, tears streaming down my cheeks. I shouted, “You pricks are sick! You’re terrible! I can’t believe this is what we degenerated to.” I turned my back to him and curled myself up into a ball in the corner of the room and heaved huge sobs. I didn’t think I could cry any more.

My Master just knelt quietly in that one spot for what seemed like several minutes. Finally he stood and walked over to me and just looked at me. He slid down the wall to sit beside me. I couldn’t see his face, but he just sat quietly. After a moment, he began to stroke my hair.

In a low voice, continuing to stroke my hair, my Master said, “That really is the reason girl… Blossom…that really is the reason for… um… branding. It’s so someone doesn’t try to claim you. While it won’t completely stop them, it makes you worth less to brigands who would steal you and sell you at a slave auction.”

Still facing the corner, in a small voice I said, “And that’s supposed to make me feel better? That you live in and support a horrible, despicable society where girls… human beings… are sold and traded like some commodity? Oh yes, I’m so relieved!”

My Master stopped stroking my hair. “Is that sarcasm?”

I turned around slowly and just stared at my Master. “Are you serious?”

My Master looked over at me. “Because if you’re being sarcastic, I’ll have to punish you.”

I just looked him in the eyes, “I’m scared. I’m in pain and I hate you.”

My Master’s face darkened. His voice becoming more stern he said, “I don’t know where you and your friend came from, but this is a very dangerous place. There are vicious animals that could have killed you, there are the brigands I told you about and because of your great beauty, others would have sold you without hesitation to a house of pleasure. Those girls never see the sun again. You may think I’m terrible because I branded what was mine, but I can guarantee you that had anyone else found two beautiful girls, unprotected out in the hinterlands would not have treated you any better and most would have treated you far worse.”

I narrowed my eyes at him and said, “Didn’t you say you took me to be your pleasure slave? Seems to me it’s all just more of the same.” The idea sickened me.

My Master pushed his face up close to mine. I could feel his breath. “The difference girl, is that you will only pleasure me. Without my permission, no other man may touch you. That brand protects you.”

For the first time since being captured, I laughed. “Yeah right. You mean a strip of burned flesh will keep one of you sick, knuckle dragging Neanderthals from harming me?”

He nodded and then leaned in and kissed me. And kissed me long and hard. I wanted to push him back. But I feared punishment. And quite frankly, I was just too tired to fight any longer.

After several minutes, my Master pulled away and smiled. He ruffled my hair and got up and went back to his arrow heads. I fell asleep.

*          *          *

I sat on the cold floor of the pub, chained to one of the many rings set into the wall. Several other girls were also chained to the wall. They all looked sullen and none were talking to the other girls.

My Master and Frank had been out hunting this morning and were going to the pub for some ale and something to eat. My Master went ahead and got a table while waiting for Frank to arrive. I was hoping Frank would bring Spencer with him. I hadn’t seen her since our branding.

A few minutes later, Frank arrived, all but dragging Spence with him. She looked tired and pained. Thankfully she was chained right next to me.

I looked at her, happy to see a friendly face. “Hey Spence. Are you okay? You were walking funny.”

Spencer looked up at me with tired eyes. “My Master raped me last night. His wife was away most of the evening so he decided to teach me a lesson.”

“Oh my God!” I exclaimed. “I’m so sorry.”

Spence gave me a dismissive wave, “Don’t be. Your turn is coming. I talked to a couple other girls. Apparently being raped by your Master becomes the highlight of your day.”

I shook my head. “Sheesh. We’ve got to get out of this place, if it’s the last thing we ever do.”

Spencer said, “I know the portal will re-appear. I’m confident of that.”

“But will we know it’s there? And will we be able to get to it?” I jerked on my chain attached to the wall.

Spencer nodded, “Next time we’re together, we need to work out a plan. But we need to get a lay of the land. Right now, I couldn’t tell you what direction we arrived at.”

“I know. We need to get our Masters to take us outside more,” I said feeling despair settling in again.

One of the pub’s girls walked up to me holding a bowl. “Are you Blossom?” I nodded and she set the bowl down by me. As she turned away, she said dully, “Enjoy your meal.”

I picked up the bowl and it contained some pulpy, gooey slop. There was no spoon, so I assumed I’d have to use my fingers. It looked terrible, but I was hungry.

Spencer looked over at me, “So he actually named you Blossom?”

I nodded. “What did your Master name you?”

She shook her head, “I’m not telling.”

The same pub girl who had given me a bowl approached Spencer. “Are you Spunky?”

Spencer glared at the girl as she nodded.

I choked on some of the goop I was eating as I laughed. “Spunky?”

Spunky picked up her bowl and said, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

*          *          *

That evening when we returned to my Master’s hut, he tied me as usual to the ring on the wall, near his bed. But instead of reading (which surprised me that he read), or working on some project, he rolled out a thicker matt on the floor where I slept.

Pointing at the matt, my Master said, “Lay down.”

I looked at him and then at the matt. I couldn’t help but think that oh God, now it’s my turn to be raped. I knew I couldn’t escape it. I just wanted to run out into the night and get as far away as I could.

My Master saw me hesitate. In a sterner voice he repeated his command to lie down.

Tears began to well up in my eyes and I started to shake as I lay stiffly on my back on the matt. I closed my eyes and hoped against hope that it was over quickly.

My Master laid down next to me on the matt. He ran a finger down the bridge of my nose and across my lips. “Relax, little one,” he said in a soft voice. He then slowly traced a finger around one of my nipples. “You are so beautiful.”

He then started to massage one of my breasts as he kissed me. I kept my eyes closed and tried to think of baseball players and wrestlers. But my body responded to his touch anyway. I felt my nipples become erect and I started to moisten.

In my mind I screamed, ‘Why am I getting turned on? I’m being touched by a man!”

His hand slid down to my clitoris and he started to massage it. I couldn’t help but gasp and opened my eyes. My Master smiled at me as he massaged my clit and ran a finger inside of me. Oh my God! I wasn’t expecting this level of feeling. With no frame of reference, how could I have possibly imaged how excruciatingly pleasurable this stimulation would be? My breathing became harder and my breasts began to ache. My pussy had become extremely wet from him sliding two fingers inside me.

I lost all mental control when his tongue slid inside me. Oh God the intense pleasure was insane! The idea of being with a man no longer revolted me. The more he pleasured me, the more I wanted him. I sucked on his tongue. I dug my nails into his back. Oh God, I desperately wanted to feel his cock push into my pussy.

I moaned loudly with intense pleasure as I felt his massive manhood push into me. I almost couldn’t breathe as his cock started sliding in and out of me. Gasping and moaning I started squeezing my pussy against his cock. His moans of pleasure assured me I was doing something right. I wanted nothing more than to please my Master.

When he made one final, hard thrust into me, I squealed, “Oh Master!” and that’s when we both knew that I was his -- mind, body, and soul. He collapsed on top me completely exhausted. He kissed me long and deep. Finally he got up and climbed into his bed. I just laid there, in warm glow of pure pleasure until I fell asleep.

*          *          *

“Thank you my Master for letting me come with you,” I said as we walked through the village towards the river. He had some business to attend to with some of the shops along the river banks.

It had been about two weeks since Spunky and I had arrived in the future. We had settled into a routine of sorts with me receiving some defined chores, like keeping the hut clean, washing dishes and giving my Master baths. I’m not ashamed to admit that the last chore was one I found very pleasurable.

Spunky on the other hand, while she no longer complained about sex with her Master, she continued to feel it was rape. And maybe with Frank it was. I did feel sorry for her. She was also given a lot of work to do by Frank’s wife and so she was always tired.

As the path we were walking that led towards the river crested a hill, I excitedly exclaimed, “It looks just like I remembered. Well, except there’s not a river walk and hotels and building on both banks.” My Master and I had spent several evenings with him listening to my stories about what was now hundreds of years in the past. He didn’t believe me, but he enjoyed the stories.

My Master laughed, “Maybe on the way back, you can show me some of your landmarks.”

“You’re teasing,” I said. I still wore a collar, but I held his hand instead of him holding my leash.

He smiled at me, “No, I’m serious. Some of your wild tales seem to be checking out. There are mounds of rusted metal and piles of some crumbling rock where you said once stood tall buildings. It’s also got me curious that a couple of the village elders are upset that you’re saying these things. They want you to stop.”

“Why?” I asked my Master.

He just shrugged. “I have no idea. They won’t say. But they got agitated when I mentioned it. They dismiss your stories as crazy talk. Such talk could upset the delicate balance of our society.”

I laughed, “Now that’s crazy talk.”

Just before we stepped into a shop, my Master said, “But the funniest thing is what I saw four nights ago. After you had gone to sleep, I stepped out for some fresh air. Out beyond that hill where we found you and Spunky was a faint glow. I ran up the hill and saw a bright rectangle at the bottom of the hill hanging in the air surround by small lightning bolts. Just in front of the rectangle was a female cat being fucked by a tomcat. When the cats heard me, the female ran inside the rectangle and then it just disappeared. Scared me to death. Then last night you told me how you two had arrived. It started to make sense.”

“Oh my God! That was Deankooncies! No wonder he was upset. You said that was four days ago?” My excitement left me breathless.

He nodded. “What did I see?”

I grinned broadly, “That was the time portal! Four nights ago would be about ten days after we arrived. In six days we should see it again. I have to tell Spunky about this!”

My Master frowned, “Why tell her?”

Looking incredulous at my Master I exclaimed, “So we can go back home! In six days we can go back home!”

My Master shook his head, “I knew I shouldn’t have told you. You’re going nowhere. I own you. And I know Frank would never let Spunky go. He loves fucking her too much. And his wife no longer has to do anything.”

It felt as if ice water had been dumped over me. “My Master! Please! That portal means home! I love you my Master, but I love my parents too. I miss my friends. I miss movies. I miss playing computer games!”

Scowling, my Master almost shouted, “I forbid you to mention this to Spunky. In fact, I don’t want you talking to her ever again! You understand me, girl?”

Feeling miserable, I glanced down at my feet and said, “Yes my Master.” I had to figure out a way to talk to her before six days were up.

That night, my Master raped me.

*          *          *

It was late at night. It was the night the portal should return. My Master was asleep. After having rather rough sex with me, he had bound my hands behind me and bound my legs. I hadn’t had any chance to talk to Spunky. I knew the portal would return again in ten more days (at least I prayed it would still be working) but it would be here, tonight! We could go home tonight! I struggled uselessly against my bonds.

I couldn’t sleep. I just sat there sick to my stomach knowing I could be going home instead of being tied up here. I was shocked when I saw the door to the hut slowly open and three men entered. One pointed at me and they hurriedly approached me. I had no idea what they wanted and I didn’t like it.

I started to scream, but a cloth was shoved into my mouth. I bit down hard on the finger that was pushing the cloth in. There was a howl of pain and spit the cloth out. I shouted, “Master! Master! Help me!” Two men jerked me up from the floor.

Instantly awake, my Master jumped from his bed, knife drawn. “What is going on here! Put the girl down!”

One of the men, took his finger from his mouth. He’d been sucking on since I bit it. He sneered, “She’s dangerous! We’re taking her to the hog feeder. And her friend too.”

Pointing with his knife, my Master shouted, “Put down the girl! She’s my property!”

The man that I bit shouted to the other men, “Get her out of here! The hog farmer is waiting.”

My Master ran up to the man who spoke and decked him hard. The man collapsed to the ground unconscious. He then ran up to the two men holding me.

One of them said, “Hey Bob. We don’t want any trouble. We just want the girl.”

My Master shouted, “Put the girl down, Tim!”

Tim looked at my Master as if he had arrived from Mars. “Are you really going to risk arrest over a stupid slave girl? This is direct orders from the council!”

My Master punched Tim hard between the eyes and he fell like a sack of potatoes. With a grunt, I fell to the floor too.

The remaining man let go of me. Angrily he spat, “I’ll be back Bob with more help. You can’t stop us!” He then ran from the hut.

My Master ran after him, but stopped in the doorway. He looked for several moments, then back at me. He frowned and then ran up to me. With his knife he quickly cut the straps that bound me.

“Run!” he shouted. “Run to the glow as fast as you can.”

I said with a cry, “I can’t leave without Spunky!”

My Master nodded, “Follow me!”

We ran between several huts before stopping before one of them. Without hesitation, my Master kicked the door in and ran inside.

My Master cut the leash on Spunky and jerked her to her feet.

“What the fuck?” said Spunky as she rubbed her eyes.

Frank’s wife screamed. Frank said, “Bob? Just what are you doing?”

My Master grimaced, “Helping your girl escape. Stand fast, Frank. I don’t want to hurt you.” He turned to me and shouted, “Run! Run Blossom run!”

I grabbed Spunky by the hand and pulled. I shouted, “We’re blowing this taco stand!”

As we ran out into the night, I could see the faint glow from over the hill. Under my breath I said, “Please God! Let it stay open!”

As we started up the hill, behind us came shouts, “There! Over there! They’re getting away!”

Spunky turned to me as we ran up the hill, “What the…?”

Breathing hard, I said, “Don’t ask. Just run!”

As we reached the top of the hill I could see the portal shining brightly. In front of the portal was Deankooncies getting fucked by that tomcat. You’d think she’d learn. But maybe she likes it. I don’t know. But a sudden fear hit me. What if we scare her and she runs back inside that’s what closes it. I hoped she doesn’t see us.

At the top of the hill, I slipped on the damp grass and fell flat on my face. Spunky was already starting down the hill. She turned and started to come back to me. I started to get to my feet and waved her to go back to the portal.

The men chasing us were rapidly closing in. To myself I said, “Why does the stupid girl being chased always have to fall down?”

About halfway down, I could hear the footfalls and heavy breathing of my pursuers. I just kept running, not wasting time to look behind me. I saw Spunky pick up Deankooncies and hold her tight. The cat did not look happy.

Spunky shouted, “They’re right behind you! Run bitch!”

I grabbed Spunky’s arm and she jumped into the portal. The man behind me was just about to touch me. As we slid inside Spencer’s basement, he quickly spun around and punched the emergency shutdown button on the side of the time machine.

The man inside the portal shrieked with a female voice and disappeared.

Spence and I both collapsed to the floor, trying to suck in air as hard as we could. I looked over and saw the disturbing view of Spence’s junk hanging out as we were both totally naked except for the collars around our necks. And the brands on our thighs.

We both started laughing uncontrollably which was hard because we were still fighting for breath.

“Spunky, if you ever ask me to try out one of your hare-brained inventions…”

Interrupting me, Spence said, “If you ever call me ‘Spunky’ again, I’ll clobber you!”

“Deal,” I said as I sat up. I was suddenly deeply disturbed by the knowledge that a man had pumped his sperm inside of me. I suddenly wanted to throw up again.

I looked at the clock on the wall of the basement in amazement. “If you let me borrow some of your clothes, I might make it to my history exam!”

Spencer pointed to his closet, “Sure. Help yourself. I might just call in sick.”

*          *          *

“And so Mrs. Johnson, that’s why I’m late for school…”

*          *          *

The End

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Comments

lmfao

My5InchFMHeels's picture

Oh my goodness, maybe he'll get some extra credit for excuse creativity

Well... I don't quite think things are done for them

Either no-one believes them and they have nightmares about it for years

or Mrs. Johnson thinks Mason is trying to admit to being abused and gets child services sent round... where that brand will just make things even worse

...

I do feel a little sorry for Bob though, for the world he was living in he wasn't too bad, and helping Mason and Spencer escape probably won't put him in high esteem with the Elders

on the plus side one of the

on the plus side one of the pursuers got turned into a girl so now they will know what it feels like to be treated like a slave.

Well (s)he enjoyed female sex anyway

"I hate spunk" He seems to have a lot in common with Lou Grant, doesn't he ?
Great imagination on this story Melanie. You just keep on writing them.

Hugs, Karen

Great Scott!

I mean, Great Melanie! Always a pleasure to read you!

Hugs! - **Sigh**

Words may be false and full of art;
Sighs are the natural language of the heart.
-Thomas Shadwell

Imagination becomes reality...

Does he have any residual from his experience as a girl. Spence is probably trying to figure out of the transformation happened... As bad as the experience was, did it whet the appetite to experience something else. What if one of them had become pregnant?

Hugs, Jessie C

Jessica E. Connors

Jessica Connors

Pregnant

Melanie Brown's picture

I had briefly considered having Blossom become pregnant and either not changing back when she arrived in the basement or not being allowed transfer back from the future or being pregnant in boy form. Any of those would have created a completely different story, so I didn't have her get pregnant.

Melanie

What Happened?

joannebarbarella's picture

To our civilization? This is post-apocalyptic, but what kind of apocalypse?

The time-machine clearly needs fine-tuning and appears to work on sexual reassignment in only one direction. When you pass through the second time you revert to your original form. Maybe that's why Deankooncies (wonderful name) was so upset. He was suffering from Kittius Interruptus.

Did Mason pass his history exam?

Non consensual sex is rape

To start off, this is a beautifully written story, with a great premise and very engaging characters.

My criticism is one of nuance rather than the story as a whole.

I have a problem with the way 'rape' is only defined as some painful, rough experience rather than all instances where consent has not been given.

Arousal and orgasm can occur in rape, see below, but I think it's important not to blur the lines between a consensual and a non-consensual experience.

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-05/science-arousa...

Rape

Melanie Brown's picture

The way I viewed it as I was writing it, was Blossom was seduced and surrendered to the affection of her Master within the Master/slave dynamic. Whereas Spunky was forced against her will.

Melanie

Rape

Blossom was raped, though that wasn't her opinion at the time.

Remember, she is the narrator -- a first person narrator, not an omniscent narrator. Her opinion, at the time, was that it was very pleasurable sex.

not a time machine...exactly

Sadarsa's picture

given the way they turned into girls going in, and back to boys coming out. I'd say this is both a time machine and a portal to an alternate reality. Sure time itself was acting strangely.. but the changing suggests more is going on than "simple" time travel.

~Your only Limitation is your Imagination~

According to all the theories...

Any form of workable time travel would of necessity also involve alternative realities. So-called "pure" or "simple" time travel is, by definition, an impossibility. If Spence was nearly as smart as he was clever, he'd have realized this and not been so eager to try it.

Or... actually maybe he'd've been even MORE eager... but the dialogue would have still been very different had he realized while constructing the thing that, by definition, if he succeeded, he'd also be breaching into a different reality.

Abigail Drew.

Actually, there are theories

Brooke Erickson's picture

Actually, there are theories were time travel *is* possible.

There are some rather interesting conditions and limitations though.

The Late Dr. Robert Forward wrote a story which abided by those rules called "Timemaster". It has references to the relevant papers in the back of the book.

Brooke brooke at shadowgard dot com
http://brooke.shadowgard.com/
Girls will be boys, and boys will be girls
It's a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world
"Lola", the Kinks

Scenes

The efficiency with which you draw us into scenes is to be envied.

Fun story.

Jill

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

I wonder?

Hi Melanie,

Another timeless story. Was wondering if a females goes through the portal, would they become men? Gear up and kick some booty. Guess the military part of me comes out now and again. Could fit in like Amazons or Wonder Woman. I liked you pregnant idea too. You keep us amazed and on our toes for sure.

Big hugs,

Santacruzman