2018-01-19 - spike - The New Shop 61

Author: spike
Title: The New Shop 61
Date: 19 January 2018

Chapter 61
The outsiders spoken to, we moved back down to the gym and worked each other hard to get each other back up to speed.

A lot of the other slaves had the same idea, the place was the busiest I’d seen it when it wasn’t a compulsory workout.

When we were done, I went off to seek out a few of the new slaves who’d had most of an impact with me.

First two I found… The illiterate and his teacher.

“How are you doing?”

The illiterate one looked at its teacher and it nodded.

“I do berett won.”

“I’m… Sorry, but…”

Its head sagged and the teacher started.

“It can understand now, I don’t know why but it still has difficulty speaking, sir.”

“Hmmm. It’s odd it can’t speak…” I looked at it again and signed. “Try saying something a little more ambitious. Which dog were you in the race? How did you like it?”

“I aws the hlufondwo, ris. I dolev it.”

“Come on up to the rec room, both of you. I… might have an idea.”

Once there we walked directly to the library. I pointed at the nearest table and went in to search, returning with a book a couple of minutes later. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything to write on or with, so I handed the book to the teacher before tapping away on my wristband.

“Alpha, sir… Do we have any blank cards, maybe a pen or pencil, a marker would be best I think.”

“What are you up to, eleven?”

“Just an idea, sir. It needs to be tested and I think it’s a good way to. Index cards. Large blank price tags, something like that?”

“How many do you need?”

“Maybe a hundred, sir.”

“Come on up, the store’s empty right now.”

“You two, stay.”

I went up, collected them and a large black marker and returned. I sat opposite, took the book and started writing letters on each of the cards…

The teacher prodded me and twiddled. “What are you doing, sir?”

“Just testing a hypothesis, blank. Wait a minute, we’ll see then...”

I finished writing on the cards, careful to keep them in order. I even left one blank card between each word. Then I opened the book in front of it and pointed at the opening paragraph.

“Try to read it.”

It stared at the page for five minutes, then it sighed, its head sagged and it shook its head.

“Now… Try reading this.”

I placed each card face up on the desk, one on top of the other…

“I.n . t.h.e. . b.e.g.i.n.n.i.n.g”

I looked at it. It nodded and put its hands together and made a cross.

I pointed at the pile and continued.

“t.h.e. . u.n.i.v.e.r.s.e. . w.a.s . c.r.e.a.t.e.d. . T.h.i.s. . h.a.s. . m.a.d.e. . a. . l.o.t. . o.f. . p.e.o.p.l.e. v.e.r.y. . a.n.g.r.y. . a.n.d. . h.a.s. . b.e.e.n. . w.i.d.e.l.y. . r.e.g.a.r.d.e.d. . a.s. . a. . b.a.d. . m.o.v.e.”

Its shoulders shook. It mimed. Lightbulb, pointed at the book and made a question mark.

“One of the Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy books, blank. When you look at the page...” I mimed then. I made a whisking motion over the page.

It nodded.

“So, when someone speaks to you, you form meaning as they’re talking, but when you try to get the words out, you form them whole and then copy them with your fingers?”

It nodded. Then made the scrambling mime itself.

“I think I know why you’re having so many problems, blank.”

Its head sank, it nodded, pointed at itself and then at its throat.

“Oh, we’re all dumb, blank but you’re not stupid. You probably have a higher IQ than me, as I understand it.”

It recoiled in the chair, made the “how” gesture.

“Blank, you evaded detection for your whole school life. Anyone too stupid to read would’ve been caught out within the first year. Of course you’re intelligent. Your brain has a little… wiring issue. That’s all. A lot of people suffer from the same thing but yours wasn’t caught when you were a kid so you continued to suffer. I think you’re dyslexic.”

Its teacher was the one to sag a little this time. It pointed at itself and at its throat. “Sorry, sir. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone… It never even occurred to me.”

“Blank. Some of my best creatives when I was still free… Dyslexic. Did you ever miss a ball, in baseball? Batting or catching? I bet you didn’t.”

Its shoulders shook again. It drew a star and pointed at itself.

“Thought so. It’s not all bad. You lot have some advantages over us normal people. Spatial awareness is one of them. You also tend to be much more creative, very good imaginations, stuff like that and before you put yourself down, I wasn’t kidding. The best 3D modeller in my gaming company, dyslexic. He was truly amazing, the things he could do in half the time and at a better quality than the rest of the staff. I’ll just check the library.”

I rushed back in there and tapped dyslexia into the library’s computer.

Damn, no books found. That needs to be fixed for one thing. I picked another book and returned to them.

I put the book down in front of it. “I want you to read this book, blank.”

It leant back in the chair, shaking its head.

“Oh, you will, but not like you have been.” I folded one of the cards a couple of times, then… Damn… No thumbnail. Oh well, it’ll just have to be a little messy. I tore out the section between the folds making a notch about a letter’s width.

I placed the notch on the first letter, then moved it across.

It got the idea.

I moved the teacher to one side. “I think once it’s read that, once it realises it can actually read, things will move a lot quicker. Go and have some fun, you’ve been tied to its side for the past month when not a dog.”

“Thank you, sir. Do you think it can manage it?”

“I think once it realises what the book’s about it won’t be able to put it down.”

“Which book was it, sir?”

“The natural, and as it loves baseball…”

The teacher nodded. “Thank you, sir.” and ran off to the elevator.
* * *
I decided it was time for me to enjoy myself for a change. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d had some fun in the dungeon, so, I searched and found the first blank I’d spoken to out of this batch.

“Fourteen, how would you like to top me for a while?”

“Really, sir?”

“Of course, I’m just as much a slave as you are. I loved being down there as just another one of you.”

“In that case, I’d love to, sir. Safeword?”

“Fuck that, just shove my hands into fist mitts so I can’t say anything. I’m yours until we get the next call or until bedtime whichever comes first.”

“You might regret that, sir. Dungeon, now, slave.”

I walked over to the elevator and slapped the panel. “So, lost the last of that homesickness?”

“Sir! You’re mine remember.”

“Sorry, sir. And?”

“It was just the shock. Freaked me out being frozen for so long. I didn’t believe it was possible at first, a lifetime of slavery. Dream come true now.”

The elevator arrived and we stepped inside, fourteen pressing B3 and the panel.

“And now, named too. First in the race and a lot more races to come as one of us hunters, sir.”

It chuckled. “Oh god, how do you do it?”

“What do you mean, sir? You got away from me.”

“Day two? That was you?”

“Yes, sir. You bolted the moment you sensed me, thought you must be Rascal, him being the most experienced dog until the results came in but you managed to keep your tail away from my jaws just long enough to throw me off. I skidded and landed in a bush. Then I selected a different target and ran into those asshats.”

“But how do you find us so easily? I must’ve got away from five hunters.”

“Five? That could mean you’re in for more rewards, sir. Best evasions… If you didn’t get captured at all that’s another reward as well, sir. As for finding you, our senses as hunters are inverted, we sense you up to a hundred feet away, then it stops. You only sensed us when we got that close, sir.”

“Oh my god it looks like fun.”

“Best time in my life, sir, the first race. First day and a half of the second were good too of course, but that got ruined, sir. Just… scout out the area fully, you get dropped off the day before the other dogs so you can get to know the place. Dead ends, cliffs, that bog I chased Max into. Hiding places, like the lake from the first race. That one had the added benefit of masking my tag’s location. The thing on your collar. Underwater, it gets bent, refracted a little, making you appear to be in a different direction than you are. Lots more hints and tips we’ll all give you before the next one, sir.”

The elevator door opened onto the dungeon and it lead me to the clothing racks.

“Oh god, I can’t wait.” It pulled down a heavy leather suit with no arms. Instead, internal sleeves, a little like a straitjacket. Heavy boots and a full hood with only nostril holes were a part of it too.

“No need for fist mitts in that, you couldn’t gesture a word anyway. In.”

It was a struggle, but everything was in place in no time. Now I couldn’t see what more there was to come, but I felt something being inserted into my nose tubes and then something else being pulled over my head. Then it lead me onto something soft.

Something tapped the inside of my knees. I could guess what that meant.

“Kneel.”

I did so and felt… Well, something solid snapped around my ankles, I could only assume leg irons or shackles and then… OW. Oh god this was going to be good. Spike lined parachute on my balls, he tugged and the tension didn’t release. He’d attached it to my shackle chains.

Something slid up my sides. As it got tighter all became clear. Mail sack. It had to be.

My final suspicion was confirmed a few minutes later when I felt a tug and the sack suddenly got much more constricting. My whole body weight pulling it in a tight embrace as it was hauled into the air.

I dangled there for what seemed like an age, at first relishing my confinement, then struggling a little, then… Well, the fun only really begins when you want out and know no release is coming.

Confined, sweating, my muscles beginning to cramp, I just dangled there. In the end I moved about just to tug on my balls for a little diversion.

I’ve got no idea how many hours I’d been up there when I heard Q’s voice.

“All golds to the rec room. Usual TV.”

I waited, but I didn’t feel any change. I moved about much more violently in the hope of attracting fourteen’s attention but still, there was no change. I was trapped.

“Eleven, to the rec room. Now!”

Still dangling, swinging about quite a lot now, utterly helpless, I had no option but to wait but then Q’s voice sounded a third time.

“Final warning, eleven.” followed by a jolt. He’d shocked me. It wasn’t as severe as some of the punishment shocks I’d received, maybe something more to get my attention than anything else.

Another age before M’s voice. “Attention all slaves. Locate number eleven and tell him to come to the rec room.”

At that point, I felt myself being lowered. The sack touched the floor and became looser, the top was unlocked and pulled down and the parachute and shackles were removed.

Finally, I felt the zip being pulled down my back, the whatever it was removed from my head followed by the hood and my arms eased out of the sleeves.

The moment they were free, I typed onto my armband.

“Sorry, sir. I was a little tied up, on my way now. Thanks for that, fourteen. I’ll do the same to you tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir. I’d like that.”

“I thought you might.”

The moment my feet were free of the suit and shackles, I bolted to the elevator and slapped the panel.