2019-04-26 - spike - The New Shop 111

Author: spike
Title: The New Shop 111
Date: 26 April 2019

Chapter 111
After another wash and flush the next morning, we were all ordered to the gym. This time we didn’t face the rest, we joined them.

M marched up and down in front of our ranks tapping on his armband as he went.

Blanks stepped forward in pairs and immediately ran to the equipment they were directed at. I looked around and the blob was already there, on the treadmill.

Then I stepped forward along with another.

“Blanks, you will spot for each other, push each other when the exercise doesn’t require”

I put my hand up.

“Yes?”

“Sir. Could you pair me with that one?” I pointed at the blob.

“Really?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Why would you want to pair with that?”

“We talked, sir. It told me it’s lost two hundred pounds since it got here. If anyone’s motivated to get fit, it’s that one and we agreed to push each other, sir.”

“Did you say two hundred?”

“Yes, sir. It wants to push itself. It wants to become one of us, sir. It even said it’s looking forward to becoming a dog, sir, but it wouldn’t be able to do that until it was the right size.”

“Very well. From now on, the blob’s your gym mate. Accompany us to the rec room when you’re done.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” I jogged over, took the treadmill next to it and gave it a thumbs up.

“Are you the one I spoke to?”

I nodded. “I’m paired with you for good.”

“Thanks Blank. It’ll be good to have a friend.”
* * *
The blob stood next to me as the TV came to life. Q smiled down from his throne.

“What is it, M?”

“It’s the blob, sir. I have a sneaky suspicion we won’t be able to call it that much longer.”

“Really? Blank, what’s your current weight?”

“Three ten, sir. I’d like to say something, sir.”

“Say what?”

It collapsed to its knees. “Sir. I don’t just submit, sir. I willingly give myself to you, sir. I owe you so much and there’s nothing else I can give. I’m yours, sir. Thank you, sir.”

“Thank me? I effectively forced you to endure torture for a week!”

“Yes, sir. But you also ordered me to push myself, sir. If you hadn’t captured me, I realise now, I was on a cycle of self-destruction, sir. I feel good, sir. I’ve never felt this good about myself before. I’m going to try to lose the sixty I need so I can take part in the races this time. Blank said they were going to start training for it in two weeks, sir.”

“I’d be delighted to accept your gift, Blank. This is astounding. The last time you spoke to me you were still pleading to be allowed to return to your old life and calling the dogs freaks!”

“I know, sir. But the last time we spoke, I hadn’t got over the torture, sir. Now I’ve seen the benefits, now I’m feeling good… I have been pushing myself, sir. I’ve never worked this hard at anything in my life, sir. I spend every minute I have in the gym, sir.”

“M, is this true?”

“Apart from the evaluations when it was ordered back to its cage, it has been in the gym every time I’ve been in there, sir. I suppose you’d need to review video footage to see how hard it was working, but if its weight is down to three hundred and ten pounds, sir…”

I nodded. “Sir, permission to speak.”

He looked at me. “Go on, Blank.”

“I can confirm three ten, sir. I was with it yesterday when it weighed itself. It seemed as surprised as you are, sir. We’ve agreed to become gym buddies so we can push each other, sir. It does want to lose those sixty pounds in two weeks so it can take part in the races.”

“Blank.” He looked at the blob. “Go to the scanner. Full body scan, let’s see what the doctors say. They may be able to offer you some advice. It may not be safe to lose that much weight so quickly but if it is…”

“Yes, sir. I’ve been in it a few times, now, but I still don’t know where, sir.”

“Yes, that’s because I didn’t want you to see where it was. Now that you’ve submitted, I think it will be safe to do so.” he rattled on the keyboard. “Go to the ground floor. Go to the next mirror along and press the panel, up the steps and press the panel on room two. You know what to do from there. M, has it had escape protocol demonstrated?”

“Yes, sir. A couple of weeks ago, sir.”

“Very well. The ground floor has an exit to your facility, Blank. You know what happens should you attempt to make use of it.”

It nodded. “I wouldn’t even try, sir. I don’t want to leave now. I want to be one of them, sir.” It nodded at me. “I do have one… I won’t say request sir, but…”

“What is it, Blank?”

“When I do get down to two fifty… When I am in shape for the races… Can I join them fully in everything, sir? Please? I’ll continue with my weight loss in the gym for twelve hours a day if you request it, sir, but… I don’t want Kyle to be free, sir. Not yet.”

Q chuckled. “Yes, that’s more than acceptable. We will continue to monitor your weight. If it begins to increase again, your exercise regime will increase along with it. We’ll get the last of the weight off you more gradually. Even if it’s only two pounds a month.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Go to the scanner now, Blank. I think by this stage you may like what you see on the shop floor. When you have lost the sixty, if you do it in time for the races, I’ll have a dog manufactured to match the measurements we take in the scanner in a week. If you don’t, you will still be permitted to join them. That may include standing on display in view of the public.”

“Display, sir?”

“You’ll see. Dismissed.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” The blob rushed off to the elevator.

“And thank you, Blank. From what M’s told me, none of them were comfortable talking to it before you. It needs companionship as well as exercise.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Q. Out.”

M headed back to the elevator. “Come, Blank. Let’s get things organised. Work details for the week.”
* * *
When I returned to the gym, all the blanks were arranged on the basketball court in ranks again. I jogged over to join them as M began marching in front of us again.

“We’ve got a hell of a lot of slaves now. Far too many to fulfil the obligations required here. Those of you with accrued free time, step to one side. You can take a day.”

Ten blanks left the ranks and stood on the edge of the basketball court.

M nodded. “Good, now…” A little fiddling with his band and ten more stepped forward.

“These are all from the new batch. Dogs. Three days. Step to the other side.”

They did so.

“Blank, step forward.”

I did. I looked around. No-one else had.

“Yes, sir?”

“I know finding yourself here was a shock, so I’m going to be nice to you this time. How are you handling it? Being frozen during your wash?”

“I… I like it, sir.”

“And how did the idea of standing in view of the public feel to you?”

“I… I don’t know what it means, sir but it sounds as hot as fuck, sir. I’d love to.”

“Very well.” he tapped again and nine more stepped forward. “For you ten, night shift, you’ll be put on cleaning duty. During the day, you’ll all stand on display in the store above this facility. Yes, yes, that is where the top button of the lift goes. Ground floor level. A fetish store Q uses to recruit slaves such as yourselves. Similar to the stores you probably submitted your details in, stores you took your suits, but I believe this one’s better.”

One of them took a step back and looked around uncertainly. “Sir? When do we sleep if we’re working twenty four hours?”

“It’s a necessary skill, Blank, learning to sleep when frozen in an upright position. That’s what you’ll do. When you are awake, remember the rhyme they tell you. We’ll allow you all to choose anything in the store to wear. We always do for first timers. After that, you wear what we give you. Go to the elevator. Alpha, Beta and the sarge will be waiting for you.”

Another tap on his armband and my voice rang in my head. “Press the panel by the elevator.”

I jogged over and did just that. The rest did too.

The moment the elevator arrived… “Press the panel in the elevator.”

The elevator waited until each slave had pressed it. The doors closed.

One of the blanks pointed at its ears. “Fuck me, that’s getting irritating.”

I nodded. “Hope whoever programmed it thought of that.”

“Thought of what?”

“We don’t need to be told which panels to press anymore. Maybe it’ll change when we’ve experienced the place more. You know, like, go to the gym. Go to the rec room. Time for your wash, Block one wet room. Stuff like that. It is our first day of work.”

It sighed. “God, I hope you’re right.”

“If it gets too bad, suppose you could mention it. I might too, but I’ll wait a couple of days.”

“Why would they change things? Seems to work and we are only slaves.”

I nodded slowly. “Good point. Don’t rock the boat. Just keep your fingers crossed it adjusts.”

The doors opened. Beta stood there waiting for us.

“Welcome to the shop floor. All newbies?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Have a look around. You have an hour to select whatever you want to wear but don’t put it on straight away. Try it on, yes, but you need something else too. Report to the front desk with your selection.”

I wandered the aisles. What to wear… What to wear… I wanted something different, not the usual army kit or leather uniform. Then I saw it.

A rubber wrestler’s suit. Perfect.

I grabbed the hanger, tried it on… Perfect fit. It covered my chastity too. I admired myself in the mirror, took it off and rushed to the front desk.

Then, a chance to keep up the act. Eighteen stood by the counter.

At the sight of him, I skidded to a halt, shook my head and started backing away.

He spotted me and padded over.

“Wha ats the mat ter, bla ank?”

I froze. “You… They cut your… I thought those dogs in the race videos… Jesus Christ, I don’t want to lose my arms and legs!”

“Sir.”

“Sir?”

His shoulders shook with laughter, his tail wagged. He turned his head to show off his name. “You don’t nee eed to lose yo oor li ims, bla ank. I too ook this be cause I had. Free of tha at fuck king we eel che air. A dog for ev er.”

“It’s like mine, sir? Permanent?”

“Wu urth it. Loss of one free dom, gain an oth er. Free dom to walk. To run ag gen. I run in races. Ev er y race now.”

“Why are you talking so funny, sir? Come to think of it, how are you talking without hands?”

“Ex per im ments sti ill in erh ly sta jez. Will get bet ter ov er time, I ho ope.”

I could see the problem straight away. Two. Adequate when programming to order but it didn’t seem to have the imagination to innovate, to fix the unforeseen, to anticipate future issues. The first thing I’d have to do when I was back to being me again, I suppose. The solution was obvious to me.

“Get to the coun ter bla ank. Time to get you froz zen.”

“Yes, sir.”

The moment I got there, Alpha handed me a mesh suit. “Put that on, then put your choices over the top. Oh… And…” He knelt and smeared my toe with factor fifty. “That’s so you can move your toe. You can answer yes/no questions, alert us to problem customers. One for yes, two for no, three for a friend, four for a foe, five for a shoplifter. Got that?”

“Yes, sir.” I put it and my wrestling suit on.

He looked at me and, I… Sadness maybe? “Damn, Eleven would’ve loved you for that choice.”

“Why, sir?”

“He loves wrestling.”

“Oh god, really? Bit on the moronic side, is he, sir?”

“Why would you even say that? Of course he isn’t!”

“But everyone knows that crap’s all fake, sir. You’ve got to be a real hick to get drawn into it. They can’t even act. Acting to them is roaring at the tops of their voices, sir!”

“Ah.” He brightened considerably. A smile. A laugh. “He feels the same way about the WWF. He likes Olympic style. The sport not the melodrama. Expect lessons after work from now on. Or rather, between dummy and cleaning duty.”

“Yes, sir.”

He walked over to a case, opened the door and pointed at the pressure pad. “The toe I smeared, put it on that.”

I hopped up, hands to my sides, careful to place my toe and he plugged my mesh suit in, closed the door and turned it on.

The day moved on, customers came and went and a few tried on the suits. One enquired about the races and one submitted his details but apart from that, little of note occurred.

Then, closing time, I was freed from my immobility and my voice spoke.

“Go to the gym.”

Good, the program was working as I’d hoped. No more touch this or that panel. Just go here or there. One more day. That’s all I’d needed to experience this change before I was podded and sent away. One more day of field testing. I sighed.

I removed the mesh suit, put the wrestling suit back on its peg and headed to the elevator and down to the gym.

I took the treadmill next to the blob.

“Good day?”

“Different. I felt something in that scanner today. It itched! All over!”

“Itched? Why?”

“They said as I lose weight they’d tighten my skin, that I wouldn’t need surgery to remove the folds as I lost it. Jesus Christ though, that store up there.”

“You’ve been here months! You’ve not seen it before?”

“Probably because I gave myself to him. I suppose they might trust me a little more now. Now I’m getting happier to be here. You?”

I chuckled. “I spent all day as one of the shop dummies.”

“Frozen? For that long?”

“I like it. You get to see the world go by. Customers and deliveries.”

“I might like that too, now.”

I nodded at the controls. “Let’s increase the speed. Both of us.”

It nodded. “Thanks. We did agree. Push each other.”

It was pretty much getting back into the routine after that. Wash, gym, display, gym, boxing and wrestling and cleaning duty. A different place each time, once even cleaning the store itself and always, one of the silvers supervised. I hadn’t seen anything of Fourteen since I got here. Must still be on cleaning duty in the flushing cylinders.

Each day I was given a different outfit to wear, rubber, leather, military, gladiator and then, a change. Instead of being ordered to clean something, we were ordered to our cages.

It was good to sleep in that again.

The next morning, M walked among us handing out clipboards. Store room and shop floor. Stocktaking. It was a Sunday.

I worked out with the blob a few times that day, each time, pushing it harder and harder, working it to exhaustion. As far as I could see it was the only way it could lose all that weight in such a short amount of time.

In between gym sessions I spent a few hours in the dungeon hanging upside down while a blank whipped me, another couple of hours in the rec room playing games with a few blanks… One of which was the model maker.

Didn’t take long for that subject to come up.

“So, you make… Sculptures? Of… downstairs?”

“When I have time. I don’t right now. More important things to do.”

“What like?”

“Model making was just a hobby but Q loves what I’ve been coming up with. I thought I’d be spending all my time on that but something came up. Seems I’ve been given a new job now. Some Russians landed on the island a few weeks ago. They’re Q’s now, not that they know it yet. They do know they’re there for the long haul as they recover from their exposure though. I’m teaching them English. It’s slow going.”

“But they said it’s a toxic wasteland!”

“That’s what they’re recovering from. One of them shot a comrade. Probably hallucinating. I haven’t been able to get much out of it yet. I’m not sure it even remembers.”

“Anything on why they were there?”

“Just following orders. It’s all we get from any of them.” It shrugged. “Oh well, I suppose it means they’ll be easier to manipulate if they’re used to following orders anyway.”

“I suppose so…” I tossed a couple of cards into the pile and drew two to replace them. “So what are they like?”

It shrugged. “Difficult to get to know them so far. They’re being very tight…” It chuckled. “Stiff fingered. Tight lipped really doesn’t work for us anymore.”

“Maybe they’ll loosen up in a few years when they realise they’re slaves. I take it you’ve been ordered not to tell them that?”

It nodded. “Once they’re well enough they’ll be put to work, but the word slave… I’ve been ordered not to even tell them what it means. Might be years before they question it. A few other words too. Belong, property and as for payment…”

“That’s fuckin’ clever. If they don’t know the meanings of the words… There’s no way for them to find out, is there?”

It sagged. “I suppose if they hear those words often enough, they might figure it out. Part of their coursework includes access to a Russian/English dictionary. Slave does have multiple meanings though. Property could be referring to the buildings or island rather than them.”

I nodded in approval. “Good way to do it anyway. I… suppose I’m in a similar situation. Didn’t exactly volunteer for the suit after all.”

“Oh… you’re that one. Hiding in the elevator… Scared to death?”

“Not anymore.” I explained again.

“Oh shit. I’d hate to come from there right now. M showed us all a broadcast about the bombings a while back. He said it was because they wanted to calibrate our tails while we were dogs.”

“He lied.”

“What?”

“He lied. They screwed up. Something caused a massive case of mistaken identity. They slapped a huge sign on the back of the one they thought was the terrorist. Name, I am the bomber. It wasn’t the terrorist. The bomber’s still here.”

“Why show us it then?”

“I’ve seen a dog now. That tail.”

“They… What?”

“Probably thought they could identify it by the tail’s reaction.” I shrugged. “Maybe it worked. Q did say it’s still here and not enjoying its stay.”

“But what about the one they sent?”

“Eleven. Nearly died.”

“But Eleven’s on the island! Oh fuck, is that why he’s there? They were fixing him up? Fuck!”

“I imagine he’s had quite a bit of interaction with your soldiers.”

Blank tossed a card onto the pile, took a replacement and looked at its hand. “He has. He was the one who led them to the compound. He had me translating to them. Took over an hour to convince them to drop their weapons.”

“Really?”

“Thank god he’s OK. I like him. He was amazing in the first event they had there.” It chuckled. “Would’ve loved to’ve been a fly on the wall there when they announced who he was. Tyson.”

“I’d love to see that. Damn why did it have to disappear?” I sighed. “Oh well, maybe when we get there, we can see it.”

“Won’t be long before we get to experience it ourselves. I’m still a bit scared of the idea.”

“Me too. I… fifty miles? Like that?”

“The last two races they all made it. It’s still a hell of a long way though.” It tossed a couple of tokens onto the table.

I did too. “See you and raise you four.”

It nodded and tossed six down. “Call.”

I placed my hand down. Two aces, three nines.

“Royal flush. I win. So what are you doing now?”

“Another session in the gym with the big one. I’m avoiding calling it the blob. We’re becoming friends.”

“Friends? With that one? Why?”

“It certainly wants to get fit.”

“That thing? But it’s huge!”

“Look at it sometime. It’s nowhere near as big as it was. It’s amazing how much weight it’s lost. It spends every waking hour in the gym. Who better to partner with?”