A Slave to the Servants Ch. 26

Hello to all and thanks for the kind words on the last chapter!

Thanks to Steve150177 for his work and help. The story is much smoother thanks to his input.

Hope you all enjoy! Please vote and comment - good or bad! I just like the feedback! DW

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My family rested the remainder of the night until the sun rose. They tried to be quiet, but despite being less than a day old, Kennedy woke curious about what they were doing. She didn't want to stay in the quiet bedroom with me, she wanted to see what was going on.

The men were left to tend to me today. Food was delivered to us by Basin's family. While I nibbled, Christof held our daughter. She dozed in his arms as he talked to her. It was different than it had been with Hannah, so unbelievably different.

Where Hannah had been all fire and venom, Kennedy was my sweet girl and I started calling her that. She loved her family and wanted to be with us constantly. Her eyes constantly swayed between her father and his Brothers when they were around.

Kennedy would have preferred Christof stay with us all day every day and she made that very clear. The day he went back to work, she wailed all morning. He had to gently, but firmly, reprimanded her at lunch. She just couldn't have everything she wanted. It was not his choice to follow Nu-reeh's commands or not. While staying with his daughter would make him happy, Nu-reeh's wishes always came first.

It was the first time I saw the look of determination on Kennedy's young face. She didn't like that her father was owned and controlled. The resolve I'd gotten used to seeing in Hannah settled over Kennedy. I suddenly realized what I was doing.

I was breeding the resistance

Most of the time, Kennedy was calm and content. She rarely cried and screamed. My second girl liked to be held and rocked. She was passed between all of us, enjoying the attention of the whole family. She liked to be awake and interacting with us.

Unlike Hannah, I soon found I had to remind her to feed regularly. Nursing made her sleepy and she liked to be awake and part of the conversation. Evan remembered how often Hannah had fed and he made a schedule for me. We did our best to make sure she'd grow strong and powerful.

Rose and Fuji helped me some with her care. They would play with her in the morning while I cleaned our rooms. She and Rose shared a special bond once Rose understood her name. Evidently the Kennedy Rose had been named after she left Earth.

My instructions with Kennedy were much the same as they had been before. The only difference was that I was to read to her every morning. My afternoons were always spent walking in the mountain's tunnels and giving Kennedy fresh air.

Damien and his Brothers no longer feared my walks. They understood the control Nu-reeh had on the men. No one would touch me. Much like before I was ignored like a piece of rock. No one ever saw me as I moved around.

Hannah showed up when Kennedy was twenty two days old. Kennedy and I were walking and talking. I had taken us to a winding cave that eventually led to an opening out of the mountain.

The opening was small, barely enough for me to squeeze out of. I liked the wide ledge that was just outside, though. The sun beat down on it and kept it nice and warm. We had a lovely view of the surrounding mountains and the sky above. Kennedy and I had found it on her fifth day.

Kennedy rode with me the same way I'd carried Hannah. A long sash could be used to tie her to my back or to my front. Today the sash was tied like a sling and Kennedy lay in the hammock shaped cradle on my chest.

I liked this position. Kennedy could talk with me or look up at the sky. It also allowed me to bundle her and keep her close to me for warmth.

We found a spot and settled down. Kennedy liked to be out here under the open sky. She'd just drowse in the sun listening to me talk to her. Quite early on I'd found she had a fascination with the sun, she hated the dark.

Talons hitting the ground startled me badly and I jerked Kennedy to my chest. Without looking, I ran for the opening but Hannah's voice stopped me.

"Mama, it's just us," she said sounding exasperated.

I took a moment to glance at the new arrivals and realized it was just my older daughter and her Sister.

"You cut your hair," I said trying not to sound like they'd scared me half to death.

Hannah gave a snort and pirouetted. "It grows really fast, Mama," she said. "I got it cut right before my...initiation."

I cocked my head and looked at her quizzically. "Initiation into what?"

"Bunch of hippies that believe slavery is wrong and are willing to fight for their beliefs," she said in English. "You'll know them when you see them. They've started to wear beads in their hair. You have to earn your beads and we aren't old enough to go through the trials, yet."

Kennedy poked up and looked at her Sister. "How old?" she asked struggling to sit up in the sling.

Hannah smiled wide seeing her little Sister for the first time and stepped closer. "Much older, kid, but we still have our uses."

"I named her Kennedy. Would you like to hold her?" I asked Hannah while propping Kennedy up.

"Not a chance," Ra warned in a low voice. "I know it's customary on Earth, but here no one touches a talonless female other than the female breeder. It would be an insult for us to touch her."

That was surprising and I felt silly for offering, but Hannah soothed me quickly. "You know I'd love to Mama. I'd hold her and kiss her silly, but I don't want any extra attention today. We need to not be noticed."

The girls looked at one another and then at me uneasily. Ra cleared her throat and then spoke quietly.

"We need a favor, Mama, a big favor," she said.

"We'll understand if you can't," Hannah said hesitantly.

When Ra spoke next it was in English, perfectly accented. Evidently Hannah had been teaching her.

"There are free men held in the mountain now. The women caught them. We know these men, they are stubborn," Ra said.

Hannah continued the story, "They are like Daddy, Warriors, Mama. They will not be broken. We have to save them or the women will kill them, because they will not tame them."

I gasped and shook my head. Free men being killed set my stomach on edge. That was horrible.

"They would see us enter, Mama, and not let us near the men," Hannah said, "but we know you could get to them. The men guarding them would never see you and you could avoid the cameras."

"We would give you something to release their restraints," Ra said, "and food to make them strong for the escape. Once you're done with that, you leave, they will take care of the rest themselves."

I looked down at Kennedy and knew I could not do this. It would put her life in jeopardy. She had other ideas.

"We will do it," Kennedy said decisively. "Mama is scared, but she can do it."

"Nu-reeh will not harm you or the babe," Hannah pleaded. "You are their only chance."

I looked between the three girls and shivered. I'd always just played along on this planet. Anything I'd had to do to survive, I'd done. Never once had I been strong and stood up to my captors. Today I had my chance.

Kennedy was staring up at me. I saw the determination in her features, as well as the uncertainty. She wasn't afraid and she wanted to proceed, but she knew I was fearful.

Either choice I made may fail my children. If I did not help, I was weak and ineffective. Should Nu-reeh catch me, she might kill me, but I decided for the first time to fight back. My children should see the same strength in me that they embodied.

"I don't know where they are," I whispered to Hannah.

Ra handed me a map. I should give it to the men once they were free. It would lead me to them and then them out. A strange device was given to me that would unlock any lock. Hannah showed me how to use it. Lastly they gave me fifteen wrapped pieces of food, each the size of a candy bar.

"It is called something that means 'power of a thousand suns'," Hannah told me. "It's a little like...probably cocaine in an energy bar, but it will give the men strength long enough to get out."

Everything I was to carry was placed in Kennedy's sling and she lay on top of it. That was the perfect hiding place. I was set.

Ra thanked me and told me to hurry, so did Hannah. After the bust out I should leave and get as far away as I could. The women would be livid the men had gotten away.

I walked the deserted halls with Kennedy. The map showed right where the men were. It was a place I'd walked infrequently before. It was boring and deep inside the mountain. Hannah and Ra were right. It would not be hard for me to avoid the cameras here. It would have been impossible for them to get this far without being spotted.

The escape route the men should take was clearly marked out. Surprisingly it took them deep into the center of the mountain. It appeared that the men were actually going to walk beneath the mountains in a hidden tunnel. Strange, but then these mines may be many generations old. Who knew what strange passages may exist.

I started to pass men as I walked, but they ignored me. They talked about the strange men they were guarding and what they must have done. The women weren't even feeding these prisoners. The women taunted them with a bucket of water they could not reach. The strange mouth-guards they wore prevented the prisoners from even speaking.

"They'll be dead by five turns of the sun, if not sooner," I heard one man laugh.

I stumbled hearing that and the men started to look alert. In terror I clung to my silent child and slunk into the shadows of the cave. I barely breathed until the men started to walk again.

A family stood guard at a leather drape. This was where the captured men were held. I wondered how I was supposed to get in. Standing and staring at the drape for several moments I realized no one went out or came in. The family standing guard just sat outside.

The men didn't see me walking around, but would they see the leather drape move?

There was really only one way to find out.

Keeping my head down I walked slowly to the leather curtain. I stood less than an arm length away from the man on that side of the drape. My feet were soundless as I slipped past the cover and into the room. They had not seen me.

Inside the room was a horror show. The women had been torturing these men. I saw clumps on the floor and shuddered at what they were. The whole area was sandy, to catch and congeal the blood.

Fifteen abused bodies were hung on the walls. Slashes cut across their chests where whips had bitten them. Short chains prevented them from even being able to sit down. I imagined they had been awake for days. The women were trying to break their spirit.

I moved to the man closest to me and his wary eyes watched me. I took the device from under Kennedy and undid his wrists with shaking hands. Reaching up to undo his neck and the mouth guard I dropped the device, but the man caught it.

Taking a deep breath I worked on his mouth guard and the chain at his neck. Once he was free I handed him the food package Hannah had given me. He ate it quickly and put the wrapper in his pocket before going to drink from the pail in the middle of the room.

I moved quickly from one to another. Now they weren't wary of me at all. The third man even reached under Kennedy to get his own snack. I was horrified as he touched her and jerked back, holding her to my chest.

Trembling slightly, I realized how foolish I must look. Obviously he only wanted his food. I looked up embarrassed and then was surprised.

The man met my eyes and bowed his head. His left arm was crossed in front of his chest. It was a sincere apology and nothing I ever expected from someone here.

I smiled and handed him his power bar. He took it gingerly from my fingers and returned the smile. No one reached to touch Kennedy after that and I felt grateful they honored my unspoken request.

The fifth man was so tall I could not reach his neck. Strong hands took the device from me and the first man undid the tall man. Once he was released the tall man put his palm out, waiting patiently for the food, which I quickly gave him.

The sixth man slumped to the ground once the first man released him. He refused to rise. It was instinctive to crouch next to him and coax him to eat.

The man looked haunted. His breathtaking blue eyes pierced mine and I felt like I could have been looking at Evan. The only difference was his badly cut hair.

Oh God, his hair...

I looked at the short hair they had left on his head. Evan's hair was so sensitive, I couldn't imagine what cutting it would be like. Pity overwhelmed me as I pressed the 'power of a thousand suns' to this poor, abused man's lips. He ate it slowly, watching me as he took each bite.

The entire second family was in trouble. I had to feed three of them, but the food did what it was supposed to. The energy started to radiate from them as they stood up and touched one another.

Once they were released and fed, I remembered the map and gave it to them. The man I had released first patted my shoulder and smiled. One of the men that must be his Brother pointed to my feet.

I was leaving tracks, small footsteps in the sand all over the room. I gasped and the men all started to shuffle silently. The tall man knelt before me and motioned for my foot. I hesitantly gave him the right one. He wiped until there was not a trace of sand or blood on either.

The other men in the room had completely covered my tracks with their own. They silently motioned to the exit. They shuffled behind me and I turned to see I had left no footprints at all.

I glanced back and saw the men staring at me. A short wave and I slipped out the drape.

Once I was away from the men and room I gripped my daughter to my chest and ran. I went as far away from that place as I could get before I finally dared to pass in front of a camera. By that time I'd calmed some and tried to look as normal as I could.

The alarm started to blare late in the afternoon and I barely remembered how to get home. Stopping in a deserted section of cave my heart thundered in my ears. My panic started to overwhelm me and I had to get hold of myself.

What if the men were caught? What if they told on me? What if the women found out?

"S'okay, Mama," the little bundle in my arms whispered. "Just go back to our room."

She was right. I looked down into her calm face and gained strength. Christof wouldn't lose his cool now, I should not either. It was my turn to be like the family and be strong.

I walked toward home and realized I should not know why I was going there. If anyone asked me what was going on, I'd say I assumed it was an alarm like at the compound. It would not be unreasonable to think we were being attacked by other women. That was a plausible story.

The place I'd found myself when the alarm sounded was a long walk from home. Even moving quickly, I was soon the only thing moving in the deserted corridors. The idea of being found by the angry women out here made me so nervous I got dizzy. I wanted to be home, with Damien and his Brothers between me and the women.

Every time I had to pass an opening in the mountain, I cringed. The women were thick in the air outside and I was grateful every time they didn't notice me. I just did my best to walk calmly and quickly past.

When I heard Nu-reeh scream at me after I passed a large opening, my heart stopped. I turned slowly as she swooped beside me and stared down with malevolence. I clutched Kennedy to my chest and prayed for strength.

"Why are you here!?" she roared. "Where have you been?"

I stared into her face and saw the first bit of venom cling like a yellow diamond to her fang. It dropped off slowly and fell between us. I took an instinctive step back from her.

She knew, I thought miserably, and would kill me for what I'd done.

Shockingly, my voice stayed steady as I talked to her. I explained that I'd been walking and heard the alarm. As quickly as I could I was heading home.

Nu-reeh stood staring into my face for several moments and I watched the rage behind her eyes. It terrified me and I clung tightly to Kennedy. If my daughter could fly, she could escape, but her wings were far from mature. In the face of Nu-reeh's wrath we stood defenseless.

"Nu-reeh!" a voice suddenly called out and the big woman whipped around toward the sound.

Tosu landed lightly beside us and spoke firmly to Nu-reeh, she questioned why Nu-reeh wasn't checking the far mountain face. The men may be scaling down it. It really should be monitored.

"I'll take the slave to her quarters," Tosu said calmly. "You seem to be too angry to deal with this now."

Nu-reeh spent several minutes discussing search plans with Tosu. The women were all over the outside of the mountain looking for the men. They were certain they would find them stuck on a rock face; it would just take time.

Kennedy was looking up at me with concern on her features. I realized she had not seen the map and didn't know the men were going underground. As subtly as I could I winked at her. She understood and smiled a confused smile in response.

"Go," Tosu finally told Nu-reeh, "if anyone can find them out there it is you," she said shooing her Sister.

I wasn't given even a second glance as Nu-reeh disappeared out the opening.

"Come on, then," Tosu said to me in a no nonsense tone.

Without hesitation, she scooped me up, so I was sitting in the crook of her elbow. Tosu's strides were larger than I could have made. We headed for home rapidly.

Tosu walked us down a deserted corridor toward the area we stayed in. This wasn't a route I personally liked to walk. It was dark and dreary, completely cut off from the outside and usually poorly lit. In the middle of it Tosu slowed and looked around pointedly.

After several moments she looked down at me and smiled.

"You did well, as did Hannah. I will protect you, but you must continue to keep your head," she said very softly. "The boys will escape through the tunnels under us. They will be safe now."

For a moment, I didn't breath.

"You like to speak with your friends," she said watching me closely. "Do not speak of this outside of your family. I have learned you need specific direction to help you."

I nodded dumbly and she looked concerned. "Is there meaning when you do that or are you confused?" she asked gently.

"I will not speak to anyone, Mistress," I said quietly.

Tosu laughed lightly and patted my face.

"I am not Mistress when it is just you and I, little human. We fight this battle as friends. You did today what I have failed to do since those poor boys arrived. Your help was invaluable, but I will never put you in danger unless I must," she said looking lovingly down at Kennedy. "I will watch over your girls. Humans worry over their offspring as we do. Know that I will stand between Nu-reeh and your children," she promised.

"Thank you," I whispered hoarsely as she started to walk.

This might be a trap. Tosu may just be playing with me. I felt right to be suspicious and made a point to say nothing that could incriminate me.

"I would stop it if I could," she said distantly. "You should not be forced to breed, no one should. It would be unwise for me to risk alerting Nu-reeh to my true allegiances right now, though. We are at the start of something great."

We'd made it back to our quarters in record time. I stared up at her and she smiled at me as she set me down.