Page 10 of Dark Possession

“But?” Toran said with a skeptical eyebrow arched.

“I don’t want to be your wife. I don’t want to be anyone’s wife, or anyone’s whore. I want to stand on my own.”

“I should have thought today would have proven to you how impossible that is.”

“Not impossible...just, difficult.”

Toran was silent for a long time. His dark eyes moved over Jesse’s face and then he nodded, “Very well then.”

Jesse was shocked by his easy acceptance of the rejection. “That’s...it?”

Toran wiped at his mouth with his sleeve. They were not provided napkins. The grease smeared the coal-dust on his face and made it look like black paint running down the corner of his lips.

“Contrary to my appearance, I am not a savage animal. I strive to be as civilized as I know how to be considering the limits of my circumstances. I am not a caveman to toss the object of my desires over my shoulder. I will not drag you about by the hair, nor force you to kneel at my feet. Make no mistake, I would have you would be mine utterly and in every conceivable way, but I won’t have an unwilling wife.”

They both returned their attentions to their plates and ate in silence. Jesse grew slowly aware that once the meal was over they would then go their separate ways. And once Toran left him, what was to become of him? Where would he spend the night? He saw himself hiding underneath a shanty in the cold, hard dirt all night long again. His stomach knotted and forced him to eat slowly. Perhaps he was also dragging it out, unwilling to leave the warmth of the mess hall and the relative safety of the crowd...and Toran.

When Jesse had cleaned his plate so well it practically shined, Toran finally stood.

“Shall we?”

“Shall we what?”

“I am not without compassion. I would see you safe to the shower house.”

A glimmer of a smile touched the naive boy’s lips, “Thank you, that’s very generous.”

Toran did not smile back. “Come then.”

They exited out through the opposite side of the doors they came in through. To the right were a number of long warehouse-looking buildings. Toran walked him close enough to look in. Inside was row after endless of row of bunk beds.

“You pick one and it's yours for the night. That’s where most of the men sleep.”

There was absolutely no privacy, and the noise of all those men...and to be so vulnerable as to sleep amongst the other prisoners after what had happened his first night there...he’d be attacked as soon as he closed his eyes. Jesse knew he wouldn’t get a wink of sleep. He wanted a dark, private space. He wanted, needed to feel safe in order to sleep. He’d rather hide somewhere again.

He nodded absently, “What about the cabins?”

‘Cabin’ was a rather generous term for the poorly-constructed little shanty huts he had seen, but they seemed like a far better option than the bunk buildings.

“If you are strong enough to force another man out, and you can save up enough credits to buy a lock to keep it, then you can certainly claim a cabin for your own.”

“How much is a lock?” Jesse asked with his eyes downcast. He wanted to know and yet he didn’t. It would just be one more thing way out of his reach.

“Fifty credits.”

“Oh.”

So he had to not only earn enough to feed himself every day, but then enough to save up five extra meals worth of credits. Of course, it went without saying that Toran had a cabin of his own.

“You’ll want to wash before you choose a bunk. The coal dust will make your skin fall off if you don’t get yourself clean every day.”

“Oh,” Jesse repeated stupidly. He had already noticed feeling a bit itchy, but he hadn’t wanted to scratch at it and get the coal from his skin under his nails.

“The bathhouse is there,” Toran said, pointing, then walked briskly towards a large square building. It was grey like all the others. Was there no color anywhere? He stopped at the door, “You check your boots and clothes into the magnetic cleaner beneath each shower head. That turns on the faucet. You have four minutes of tepid water before it goes cold. There is soap provided, but take care not to use too much or you will end up with still soap on you when the water goes cold. When the faucet is turned off, a blower turns on for one minute to dry you. When the blower is done, the cleaner opens back up and you take your clean clothes and go dress at the end of the hall.”

Jesse looked wide-eyed at the enormous shower. There were no doors and no stalls. No privacy whatsoever. There were naked men everywhere. Large naked men. It looked like one giant rapey gauntlet for him to run through. Lustful eyes were already flicking towards him.

Toran read the panic on his face easily. He turned to him, shielding him from those watching and lifted Jesse’s chin with a finger. “I protect what’s mine. All you have to do is call my name.”