2019-03-21 - spike - The New Shop 105

Author: spike
Title: The New Shop 105
Date: 21 March 2019

Chapter 105
It was waiting for me when I got back.

The moment I was in front of it, it signed. “I gave you two hours, blank. You’re ten minutes late! Why?”

“It takes time to get through decon, sir.”

“You don’t need to go through decon! There’s a blank waiting for you.”

“There wasn’t, sir. I had to go in to find someone, that took extra minutes too, sir.”

“You… You took the bag in? Without decontaminating the contents? You could’ve killed”

“I said I’m not an idiot, sir! I’ve seen what this place can do to an unprotected human, sir! I put everything into the decontamination spots meant for footwear, sir. They still needed to know, sir.”

“Inside, now!”

I shambled in, I looked back as the door slammed shut and then I slammed into the floor, again in agony. I’m sure it’d upped the level too.

With sheer force of will I managed to crawl to the bed and up onto it. Oh fuck… All thoughts other than my ass fled. I curled into a ball.

No idea how long it lasted again. There’s another situation when time loses all meaning and that’s when taking it in the fuckin’ ass. Seconds seem like minutes. Minutes like hours. I… I’m sure I passed out.
* * *
A nudge woke me. I looked across at Chell, prodding me, shaking me. It sagged in relief when I moved.

“You’ve been dead to the world for ages. You OK?”

“It shocked me again. Moment the door slammed shut, bang.”

“What for this time?”

I shrugged. “I gave a valid excuse. It was a lie of course but it’s got no way of knowing that. I was ten minutes late back from the delivery. Message delivered too, I spoke to Six.”

“Oh god! Six is my favourite.”

I nodded. “He understands blanks more than anyone else. He’s been one often enough. He knows now how bad it is here.”

“What’s he going to do about it?”

“My suggestion? Next time I’m there, I don’t return. Q does. In my place. As a blank.”

“Master Q? Here?”

I nodded. “He has to see how bad it is for us and what better way? As a blank that maniac can’t lie. Q’ll experience it first-hand.”

“He’d really do that?”

“Wouldn’t be the first time. He likes blanking himself once in a while. Normally I imagine it’s a chance to get away from it all. Not this time. I will say this though...”

“What?”

“Treat him as one of you. Nothing different. Don’t drop to your knees or guard your fingers. Talk. It’s just a blank. It doesn’t want worship or special treatment by anyone when it’s blanked. Nothing that would make Eight suspect it might be Six under cover. OK?”

“Seriously?”

“Deadly serious. It’s nothing. Just another blank and one of you completely. Don’t worry about saying anything to it. Anything you’d say to me, say to it. Even give it a nickname like you gave me. Make it feel at home. If anyone can feel at home here.”

“But he gave Eight a number! He must’ve seen something in it!”

“I have a sneaking suspicion Eight’s never been a blank, Chell. According to M, all the earlier numbers just put on the suits and got taken. They were numbered from the start. That goes for One to Five, probably Seven and I think Eight might be the same. It wouldn’t be like this if it’d been promoted. It’d know what being a blank was like.”

Chell nodded. The others did too.

I lay back and sighed. “Fingers crossed, another few days and I’ll be out, back in a pod and back on my way to New York. Until I got here I didn’t want to leave. Now…”

“That, I can understand. Never want to see this place again, either.”

“What time is it anyway? You off for your second shift soon?”

“No, no more work today. We’ve done both. You wouldn’t wake up when we came back after our first one. That’s why we were getting so worried. Even Eight putting the boot in didn’t get a response.”

It was then I felt my side and winced. I’d not noticed it but it did hurt.

“No idea how long it left me in agony this time. I’ve not passed out from it for a while so it must’ve been bad. I’m going to try for some proper sleep. Night Chell. Everyone.”

I rolled over and relaxed.

It took a while for me to feel that drifting, day-dreamy, pre-sleep sensation but I snapped out of that when a voice reached my ears.

“Blank. I’ve spoken to Q. I didn’t tell him much, don’t worry. Just that some of the things going on at outpost five are in your words, fucked up and that you weren’t free to enter the compound to be podded because you feared what would happen to the other blanks. He’s angry, I’ll tell you that. At first he was angry at you until I explained. He’s going to do it. Tomorrow, your sample site will be half way between the outpost and compound. Don’t sample. Just return. I’ll escort Q back to the outpost as your replacement, explain to Eight you’ve been reassigned and hand over Q to it. You’ll be on your way to New York in no time. Don’t worry.”

I sighed with relief.

“He also said he’d take your other idea under consideration. About not punishing Eight if it was overstepping its bounds until you’re you again. The fob is capable of working both ways however.”

I smiled and curled up even more. Even if Q did punish it… God I was going to make it suffer too.
* * *
This time, I woke before I needed to be kicked awake by Eight. In fact, I must’ve woken at least an hour before. I lay on the bed staring at the door willing it to open.

Not that I wanted to see the bastard of course, but the sooner it came, the sooner I could be gone.

I glanced at the others. It was still dark but the windows were showing a lightening. Dawn was approaching.

It was Dragon who stirred first. It looked at me. I twiddled.

“Won’t get a chance to say anything when it arrives. It’s today so… goodbye.”

“Today? Oh fuck! Really? How do you know?”

I prodded my ear. “Six told me.”

“I’ll miss you, Herc. What’s he like? Q? I’ve seen him of course but I’ve never spoken to him.”

“Oh god I love ‘im. He’s been described a few times to me as the best master a slave could wish for and good god is that true.”

“And as a blank?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. He takes on the role of a slave fully. He’ll be treating Eight as his superior just as much as we started out doing… Didn’t last long in our case and it won’t with him once he sees what’s going on here. I have asked him not to do anything until I’m not a blank anymore though. Just to make sure Eight doesn’t take it out on you. Besides… I want to be the one to punish it first.”

Dragon’s shoulders sagged and it nodded. “Thanks. That does make me feel better.”

It must’ve been another half an hour before the door opened.

I sprang up immediately as did the other four.

“At last, no need to kick you awake. Make sure this is the case from now on. Fucking bone idle twats the lot of you.” It pointed at me. “You, box, now.”

I hopped up and closed the box myself. The usual decon process, feeding, wash and dry. I was used to it so didn’t stagger when I was released this time.

It twiddled at me. “Which one are you?”

“Scuba, sir.”

“Good. They reported a green mist over the ocean at sunset last night. Ten miles south, one mile out. They’ve dropped a buoy and I’ve marked the chart. Number five for both cases. Go. And deliver the samples there straight after. You’ve got until noon or you’ll get ten minutes for every minute you’re fucking late!”

I bolted out.

I was free! Fuck me, I was glad of it. I wouldn’t see that fucker for weeks and the next time I did, I’d have a fob of my own.

Down the steps, onto the jetski and back to the compound.

I went at full throttle but this time docked the jetski in the boathouse. Then up to the entrance and through decon.

I stepped out to find Six and a blank waiting for me.

“Sir… Is that…”

The blank chuckled. “Yes, Blank. It’s me. Now what the fuck is going on? Six wasn’t exactly forthcoming.”

“Sir… I asked him not to tell you too much. It’s Eight, sir. It’s got some fucked up ideas about what a blank should be. It punishes for nothing. It keeps us living in abject squalor. Just… See for yourself. You’ll get the idea soon enough.”

“We trained Eight for months to be a good slave. What the fuck is it thinking?”

I shrugged. “I know it seems to see that outpost as its home with it as king of the castle. That much is obvious. It admitted it liked being out there. God knows why. Not like there’s anything to do.”

“What? What do you mean, nothing to do?”

“OK, there’s the work. If Eight hadn’t been there I might’ve loved that. Before the outpost I didn’t want to leave the island. Now, quite frankly, I’ll be glad to see the back of it.”

“But every outpost is fully equipped.”

“What do you mean fully equipped? It’s just a room with five beds. Fuck knows where Eight sleeps but it’s not with us and it locks the door the moment we’re in there!”

“It offers you no recreation time?”

“Nothing.”

“You’re right. I do have to see it for myself. Now why didn’t you report here when summoned a week ago?”

“I told Six, sir. It wouldn’t let me. It took a day to get it to ask me a question I could answer, sir, but even then it refused to let me go. It wasn’t me it threatened. It was all five of us if any of us failed to return.”

“Right then…”

“Sir, have you arranged for your own recall in a couple of days?”

“No. Why?”

“You might be stuck there a month, sir. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone!”

“A month!?”

“The blanks who returned when we were led out to Eight were still all in metal, sir. So is Eight. It looked at our new chastity as if it’d never seen it before. It said it only returns to the compound for a more thorough clean once a month and knowing that thing, I think it probably intended us to stay that long too.”

Blank sighed. “Six. See to it that there’s another mist detected in the same area. Two days. You’re sure two will be enough, Blank?”

I nodded. “More than enough.”

“Oh, and if I’m not back after that mist report. Come and get me. It can’t countermand your orders.”

Six nodded. “OK, Blank. I won’t leave you there.”

“Now, I think it’s time you reported to your pod. N’s been blanked and waiting in its pod for almost a week as it is!”

“It… It’s been in there frozen for that long?”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m sure it’s loving every second. You have been in two”

“I’ve got no idea what happens in a pod, sir. You know I wasn’t conscious for either of mine!”

“Ah, shit. Sorry. I… Trust me. You’ll love it too. Now get going.”

“Shouldn’t I get a wash and flush first, sir? I know it said we didn’t need a flush but… I imagine my hairs are starting to grow by now, it’s been over a week. Does the pod do the deeper clean?”

“It does. Six, sir… Could you ask Ten to reprogram Blank’s pod to do its first deep clean tomorrow? And what did I say about calling me, sir?”

I chuckled. “Sorry, force of habit. You’re certainly more worthy of my respect even as a blank than Eight is.”

“Oh, and are you absolutely certain you want to use that backstory? React in that way?”

“Yep. It’s a doozy. I love it. It’ll really throw M.”

“It’ll likely result in a hell of a lot more shocks, you realise that?”

“I can handle it. After what I’ve been through a few shocks by M will be child's play.”

It nodded. “Very well then. I’ll speak to you when you’re back in New York. Go.”

I shook its hand and… “Where do I go?”

“The pod’s waiting for you on B2. Gym.”

“See you, then. I’d say enjoy, but I don’t think anyone could enjoy Eight’s company.” I bolted to the compound.