Atlantic Crossing Abbegail The Atlantic Ocean 1642 A.D. .......... With what remains of your inheritance, you set sail from London aboard one of the first ships to leave for the New World, in the year of Our Lord 1642. It is a good time to leave England, with another war brewing, and the Puritans becoming ever-more vigilant in London, making the situation for a headstrong, unmarried young woman with no parental guardians rather precarious. There are several colonies to consider in America....Plymouth, in Massachussets, and Jamestown and other Virginian towns are reportedly very dreary, threatened constantly by hostile natives, and ruled by Puritans as bad as those in London. Connecticut and Maryland are said to be a little laxer, but not much. In fact, everywhere in New England is going to be savage and dangerous, but at least there is the possibility of greater freedom, even if it means running away into the woods (one of your more outrageous notions, one you mostly abandoned upon becoming older.) New Amsterdam, a Dutch settlement, could be a place of mixed blessings. The Dutch are more liberal, but as an Englishwoman, you'd be highly suspect and without the status you'd normally enjoy among other British. The most logical place to land seems to be Baltimore. You can at least assay the prospects in that town, and it would not be wholly impossible to travel/flee north to New Amsterdam if you find Maryland too suffocating. Your desitination on the other side of the Atlantic threatens to be altered without your willing it, however, when a ship appears on the horizon, southwest of your merchant's course. The crew watches it suspiciously, and the worst fears of the crew and passengers are confirmed when the other ship draws closer, and raises a pirate's banner. <><><><><> Abbegail was not a seasoned seafarrer, but she knew what that flag ment. Running up to the nearest crewman she could find she begs: "Please, you must get the Captain to turn away as quickly as possible. Perhaps we can still out run them. Surely this vessel can't stand up in battle with them." <><><><><> [GM] "Get down below decks, lady!" the sailor snaps, brushing you aside. "The captain knows what he's doing, we don't need women running about in a panic!" <><><><><> "Panicing? Who's panicing? I'm simply stating an obvious fact. Men...you are all the same. Abbegail Cummings does not cower with the children below deck...however, I must go see to my belongings." She stomps off headed to her assinged area. "Idiots...all of them." <><><><><> [GM] Down in the hold, the other passengers are anxious and fretting. The women (most of whom have already declared you to be willful and too strong in temperament) are alternately praying to God or weeping in fear. You can feel the ship heaving about hard. Obviously the captain is doing as you suggested, though probably not as a result of your suggestion, and trying to steer an evasive course away from the pirate ship. For a long time, almost an hour, it's impossible to tell how successful the maneuvering is. Then you hear a muffled boom. The ship shakes as cannons go off on deck. A few minutes later, the hull shakes much more violently, and there is a crackling, explosive sound that shakes dust and splinters down on all of you. "The fools are fighting!" one of the men exclaims. "They should just surrender....pirates are more merciful to those who surrender without a fight!" This sends a stir through the crowd, and provokes more tears from the women. <><><><><> Having heard the rumors about pirates, Abby was as frightened as everyone else. But she wasn't about to let it show. Opening a small box of jewelry that she had brought along, she took out a small ruby necklace that had been her mothers and stashed it deeply into the pockets of her undercoats. It wasn't particularly large, it had more sentimental value than anything. The pirates could have the rest, but she'd never let them have the necklace. Then she went back to the other women to try to help calm them, knowing it was probably a futile endeavor. <><><><><> [GM] The women are useless. Some of the men aren't much better, though at least they don't break down into sobbing. Long minutes pass, and then the whole ship shudders, and begins listing to one side. A crewman opens the hatch and yells "UP ON DECKS! God help us, we're breached! We're sinking!" Heavy smoke rolls past him, down into the hold, and you hear guns and cannons going off as the merchant continues exchanging fire, futilely, with the pirate vessel. <><><><><> Abby lets as many others ahead of her as she can before hurrying up the stairs to the top deck. It didn't seem to matter much anyway, they were either going to die by drowning or be slaugtered by the pirates. She secretly wished that she was the witch that some people suspected her of being...she could cast a spell and save the day. But unfortunatly, that wasn't going to happen. <><><><><> [GM] As you come up onto the deck, the ship lists and then groans as it tilts violently to one side. People scream, and some go overboard. The pirate ship is so close now that you can see their faces....they look angry that their prize is sinking. You almost trip over the body of a crewman whose face was ripped off by a cannonball. You can smell blood and smoke everywhere. This ship is definitely doomed, though it may take another ten minutes to slide under the waves. <><><><><> Though she was a trained nurse the gore was almost too much for even Abby who had to cover her mouth to avoid loosing it totally. Finally reality begun to sink in. There was no chance of surviving this. She could die a little slower by going down with the ship...that is if the pirates didn't slaughter her first...or she could just jump and drown in a few short mintues. Taking one last looke around her, she climbs over the sides of the deck, jumps into the cold ocean and with probable futile effort tries to swim away from the wreakage. <><><><><> [GM] The water is very cold, and your heavy dress makes swimming a lot more difficult than you remember. You manage to paddle a short distance from the lurching ship, though you almost get sucked under with it. After getting dunked a few times by the waves, and coming up sputtering and spitting saltwater, drowning has less appeal. You can hear the screaming of the other doomed souls. There is a lot of debris floating around that's fallen out of the breached hull, and you could cling to it and hope to be rescued. <><><><><> Abby grabs a hold of a fairly large plank and hangs on with one arm while waving her other in to the air in hopes of being seen. <><><><><> [GM] While you bob helplessly on the waves, clinging to your plank, you see a long boat paddling amongst the debris, and someone shouts "Look, over there!" The boat comes closer. There are eight men aboard, using grappling hooks to try to retrieve any floating cargo of value. All of them are dressed irregularly, a couple have wild beards, and swords and pistols are slung haphazardly at their sides. Obviously pirates. They look surprised to find you floating in the ocean. "It's a lady!" one exclaims, while the boat comes closer, and the man at the bow leans forward to hold out his hand to you. <><><><><> Suddenly having more desire to live than drown, Abby grabbs the mans hand and allows him to help her out of the water. "Thank you good sir. I fear I was a bit of a fool for jumping into the sea...I saw no other choice. I wish I had what was left of my family's gold to repay you for the deed. But I fear it has gone down with my ship. I'm afraid a simple thank you will have to suffice." <><><><><> [GM] The pirate chuckles as he pulls you onto the boat. "Oh, I imagine you can find other ways to thank us." That sends a little chill through you, but the pirates don't molest you while you're in the boat. A couple keep their eyes on you at all times, but they're more concerned trying to fish any other survivors out of the water, and more importantly, valuable cargo. After an hour, they row the boat back to their ship, and you're urged up a ladder. You find yourself standing on the deck, wet and bedraggled, surrounded by men who are looking at you in a manner you don't like at all. There are three other survivors from your ship, two being crewmen, one a young man whom you remember seeing, but whose name you don't know. The pirates are a motley crew, decked out in earrings, swords and pistols, ragged clothes and of mixed heritage, and all of them leering at you, possibly the first woman they've seen in months. They part as a short man with a blue bandana tied over his head approaches you. He squints up at you and speaks with an atrocious French accent, and a bit of a lisp. "My name ees Marlin Denon. You may call me Capitan Denon." "Now, what ees your name, and who was waiting for you een ze coloneez? Do you 'ave a family back in England, who weel ransom you?" <><><><><> "My name is Abbigal Cummings. And I'm afraid you'll get no ransom from me. My parents are long dead...I have no one else neither at home nor in the colonies...and I'm afraid what was left of my family fortune went down with the ship you chose to fire upon." <><><><><> [GM] "Ah, zat ees a pity." The Captain's eyes are pitiless, though, as he appraises you. "Zen you have noseeng to offer us but yourself." He turns and gestures to two of his men, saying in French "Take her below decks, strip her and search her. Pleasure yourselves with her if you like, but not too much, she looks pretty enough to bring a good price if she's not roughed up too badly." The two grinning pirates- most likely given the "duty" of taking charge of you as a reward- seize your arms and begin drawing you towards a large hatch. <><><><><> Abby tries to pull free of the men's grasp. "Bastards!" She spits at the Captain. If she manages to pull herself free enough she'll attempt to kick one of the men in the groin. <><><><><> [GM] Both men are considerably bigger and stronger than you. They laugh at your struggles, though the captain doesn't smile when you spit at him. "Quite a lioness," says one of them. The other shakes you. "You'll find it easier to cooperate, cheri," he says. He shoves you roughly down the hatch. "You might as well enjoy it." <><><><><> Realizing that struggling was hopeless, Abby decides to take the opposite choice. <> <><><><><> [GM] The pirates take you below decks. While one holds your wrists behind your back, the other rips open your bodice, and unlaces your corset. In another minute, he strips you completely, running his hands all over your body as he does. "You aren't hiding anything from us, are you cheri?" he asks, with a leer. While the man holding your wrists pins your arms with one hand, and begins fondling you with the other, the first pirate shakes out your clothes, to make sure there are no coins or jewels hidden there, then turns back to you. He begins unbuckling his belt, and asks "Are you a virgin?" <><><><><> Abby simply glared at the men...saying nothing while silently imagining them lying dead on the floor. <><><><><> [RAPE SCENE CENSORED BY DEMAND OF STALKER/ASSOC. SYSOP] <><><><><> Abby just lays there in silence wishing she'd let herself drown and think of ways to end it all before any more of the pirates take her. <><><><><> [GM] A few hours later, a pirate- not one of the men who raped you earlier- comes down the ladder with a tray of bread and some water. He gives you a lecherous look, and says "Put some clothes on, woman, unless you mean to be had by everyone on board." Then he climbs back up the ladder, leaving the bread and water on the floor. <><><><><> She looks at the bundled up clothes in the corner, deciding whether or not it was worth it to bother putting them back on...they'd just rip them off again. But she was cold and hungry, so with a great deal of pain and effort she dressed an sat down in a dark corner to eat her scraps of food and drink the water. <><><><><> [GM] An hour after that, one of the pirates who raped you earlier returns. He looks at your bedraggled condition, and puts a hand under your chin. "Well, you don't look too much the worse for wear," he says lightly. He squats down next to you. "But, the captain pointed out that making you a doxy for every man on board would probably wear you out before we reach Tortuga. I've been given sole responsibility for you." He grins. "Here are your terms, Mademoiselle. So long as you please me, I'll see to it that you're decently fed, I'll let you have a daily walk on deck- don't think about doing anything stupid like throwing yourself overboard!- and I'll even provide some water and rags for your toilet. We want to keep you in decent condition. If you don't please me, I'll feed you just enough to keep you alive, and you can pray you don't look so filthy and pitiful by the time we make Tortuga that only the worst brothel will purchase you." <><><><><> Abbigail replied: "It seems I have no choice but to agree, but I should tell you that any brothel...good or bad that you should sell me to will be less than satisfied. I won't work willingly...they'll have to kill me." <><><><><> [GM] He laughs. "Well, that's their problem, but I suspect you'll find they have ways of dealing with uncooperative wenches. Surely you don't think you'll be the first woman ever captured and sold to a brothel, do you?" He rises and says, "I'll bring some water for you to clean up. When I bring your food tomorrow morning, you'll service me before you're fed. Then if I'm satisfied, you get to eat, and a walk on deck. If you misbehave, I may let a few of my friends have a turn with you too. Also, you're not very good, which is to be expected from a woman who was a virgin, but you'd better put more effort into pleasing me. We have three more weeks together." He leers, before rising to depart. <><><><><> "Oh...I'll please you...so long as it pleases me to do so." Abby said nonchalantly. "By the way...Master...do you have a name?" <><><><><> [GM] He grabs you by the throat, pushing you back against the bulkhead. "I like a little spirit," he says, "but do not forget yourself. You don't make the decisions here. Don't get too sassy with me, or we'll see how spirited you are under a lash." He rises and says "My name is Jacques. But you may call me Master...if that pleases you." He chortles as he climbs back up the ladder. <><><><><> "I think I'll call you Jacques...and you can whip me if you'd like, but I doubt your customers would purchase damaged merchandise. I think you're a man of character Jacques...if you hold up to your promises, I'll cooperate with you." <><><><><> [GM] Jacques smirks, and you hear him laughing as he goes back up on deck. He does bring water for you to bathe with, and a little more food, including some dried meat. Then you are left alone in the hold, listening to the pirates walking around and shouting above. The hull creaks and groans, and it's dank down here. The hours stretch out, and eventually you fall asleep. You wake up when you hear the hatch slam open. A ray of sunlight shines down into the dark hold, almost blinding you. Jacques descends down the ladder, with something wrapped in cloth. "Good morning, mon cheri," he says. "Let's see how well you are going to keep your end of our little 'bargain'." He sets down the bundle- presumably your breakfast, and begins pawing you immediately. You're still in considerable pain from last night, and can barely stand the thought of being taken again. Jacques obviously doesn't care, and demands you strip off your clothes so he can look at his property. <><><><><> Abby forces herself to hide the pain and slowly starts undressing. First she removes her skirts...then her blouse, then her under garments. "If you like looking at me so much Jacques...why sell me. Keep me to yourself." <><><><><> [GM] "I'd like looking at any woman after four months at sea," he says, forcing you down to the floor. "But I can't keep a woman at sea." He spends a little while satisfying himself, while making demands on you, to do other things to please him, and then finally leaves you to eat your breakfast in peace, more bruised and degraded. After that, he lets you up on deck, staying an arm's length away while you breathe fresh air, trying to ignore all the other pirates who are staring at you. "Remember, if you try to do something foolish, like run for the side, I'll stop you, and then you'll be whipped." <><><><><> "Whip me or rape me...what's the difference." Abby sighed as she took a few more steps towards the aft of the ship. "They're both about equal forms of torture." <><><><><> [GM] This treatment continues for almost two weeks, as the pirate ship sails south, into the West Indies. Every morning Jacques comes down, bringing your breakfast, but requiring you to perform sexual favors before you can eat. You get to walk on deck once a day, and bathe once a day. He brings you a meal at suppertime, and usually takes you then also. Sometimes he comes down late at night, drunken after gambling with his shipmates, and those times are the worse, when he's a smelly, unsteady brute, and often violent too. On two occasions, he lets other men have a turn with you, you suspect as payment for gambling losses. As the climate turns hotter, the air in the hold becomes more stifling. And you get closer to Tortuga, where Jacques assures you you will be sold to a brothel, and where you will be whipped and beaten into submission. <><><><><> After Jacques had taken her one morning, Abby layed on the floor and watched Jacque start to dress. Finally she said: "Jacques...what would it take to convince you not to sell me? I mean...I'm getting better am I not? Would you not...miss me if you sold me?" <><><><><> [GM] Jacques snorts. "You are getting better, Cheri, but I could not keep you even if I wanted to. Women don't belong on ships. I'd never be allowed to keep you on board." He smiles at you, not exactly a nice smile. "Miss you? A little, perhaps. But there are other women." <><><><><> "Ahh...but I've heard rumors of a few female pirates on the seas. I think I could cut it. I lost so much when my ship went down. I really have nothing to more to lose." <><><><><> [GM] Jacques laughs. "Female pirates? Where did you hear such a ridiculous story?" He shakes his head. "Q'uell nonsense! No, cheri, you will serve as you're meant to." He grabs you and kisses you. "Such a fine woman, it would be a shame to waste your attributes elsewhere!" Laughing, he goes back up on decks, leaving you alone in the hot, stinking hold once more. <><><><><> Finding little else to do... Abby dresses, eats her breakfast, paces the hold for awhile and then lays down for a nap. <><><><><> [GM] And so the routine continues.....until one morning, Jacques brings you up on deck, and you see land ahead. "Hispaniola," Jacques says. "T'will be your new home, Cheri." He laughs again, in that manner you've come to hate. <><><><><> "Ah...and a pleasurable sight it is indeed." Abby responded. "I don't suppose you'd want one last go with me before we reach land. I shall miss you terribly." (There's sarcasm in her voice.) <><><><><> [GM] He cuffs you. "I'd curb that insolence if I were you. Don't worry cheri, you'll have enough men to satisfy your appetite and more." Jacques is busy most of the rest of the day. He sneaks down below decks to force you to give him one last quickie, and you hear the captain yelling at him to "get rid of that whore as soon as we touch land!" when he goes back up. He instructed you to make yourself presentable, and a few hours later, you hear the ship slide against a dock, and hear clanking as it drops anchor and gets tied down. <><><><><> At this point, Abby didn't much care what happened to her so long as she was off that ship. She made herself as presentable as possible and waited in the hull to be brought back up on deck. <><><><><> [GM] It takes a couple more hours, but Jacques finally comes for you. He loops rope around your wrists, and leads you off the docks on a leash, as if you were an animal. Tortuga is loud, chaotic, and filled with men of all countries and races. Most of them are pirates. The dress standard is, to say the least, unrestrictive. Many walk around bare-chested. You see weapons everywhere...every man has at least a knife, most have swords or pistols. The buildings are mostly ramshackle wooden structures, some of them look like they've only been built since the last storm, and will surely have to be rebuilt after the next one. There aren't many women; those you see appear to be harlots. Jacques doesn't take you far. Just a few docks over, and you see a toothless old man with a pistol tucked through a belt sash, reclining on a barrel in front of a windowless wooden cabin. He and three other men are playing cards around a table, beneath a thin awning that looks like it was once a ship's sail. When he sees you and Jacques approaching, he rises and stares at you, as do the other men. Jacques stops and grins at him. "'Allo Jacques," the old man says. "Sacre, but you 'ave a pretty one 'ere!" "Aye." Jacques grabs your chin in his hand and turns your head to face him. "She's been broken in too. She's worth a good price, non?" <><><><><> Abby does nothing and says nothing. She simply glares at the men with hatred in her eyes. <><><><><> [GM] "She don' look so broken in to me," the old man says. "See that look in her eye, like she'd rake our eyes out if she could!" [BREAST REFERENCE CENSORED BY DEMAND OF STALKER/ASSOC. SYSOP] The two of them begin negotiating over your sale price. Both of them unhand you, allowing you to pull up your blouse and tie it closed again. The other men are just staring at you, the same way the pirates on the ship did. Jacques and the old man are arguing back and forth between a pair of figures that both represent more money than you'd think this dirty old man in his rundown shack would have. ..... At last, your former master and your new one agree on a price. Jacques accepts a purse full of gold doubloons, and turns towards you for the last time. "Be good, cheri," he says, and kisses you roughly on the mouth before walking away, whistling cheerfully. The old man squints at you. "I paid a lot for you, girl. I'm going to make all of it back and more. Tomorrow is a slave auction. You'll smile and display your charms and be your winsome best-" he draws a knife and holds it under your chin, "or I'll cut you up so badly that a dog would be sick at the sight of ye. Understand?" <><><><><> Abby smiled. "But of course...you'll get a very good price from me I'm sure. Maybe even a better price if you mention I have nursing skills...not that that's what your customers are looking for, but it could help." To herself she thought: ((Anything to get away from this...man)) <><><><><> [GM] "Well... now that's a good attitude, yes indeed." The old man looks surprised, and lowers his knife. "A nurse, you say? Hmmm. Yes, you should fetch a good price." He gestures at the dark doorway of the wooden building behind him. "Now you get in there, and I'll bring you some food. Behave yourself now." He seems endeared by you, going from malevolent to patronizing. Inside, the shed is dark and musty, but not as bad as a ship's hold. Your new owner brings you some food, which is also not very good, but better than what you ate on board the ship. And he doesn't rape you, much as you thought he might, the way he was looking at you. You manage to sleep a little that night, and are brought out at dawn the next morning. The old man orders you to strip down to your shift, and it's in that state he takes you to the auction block. Your fancy gown (now considerably less fancy, after spending several weeks with you at the bottom of a pirate ship) will probably be resold. You shudder to imagine what you'll be given to wear by whoever buys you. <><><><><> Abby looks over the crowd feeling contaminated by the stares of the prospctive byers. The fact that she'd have to let any of them touch her made her ill. "I'm probably several times better educated than anyone here...but all they want is a good lay... idiots...all of them." (She's muttering to herself.) <><><><><> [GM] Eventually, it is your turn on the block. The hawker extolls your virtues, including the fact that you've been educated as a nurse. It's the virtues he exposes by pulling your shift down below your shoulders that interest the crowd more, though. The bidding starts, and it's obvious you'll be the most highly-priced slave of the day. After about ten minutes, it seems that you will become the property of a huge, rough-looking man with long dirty blond hair and missing front teeth, when that fancily-dressed man in front, who's been quiet thus far, speaks up and offers a higher bid. The blond pirate frowns, makes a face, and ups his bid. The dark-haired man in green winks at you, and raises it again. This continues a little while longer, until finally the big blond waves a hand in disgust, giving up. You are sold to the Hispanic man. The auction master leads you down the steps where he hands you off to your new master, with a loop of rope around your wrists. He hands over a purse and smiles at you. "Abbegail Cummings, yes?" He speaks very good English, with only a slight accent. "I am Francisco De Queiroz. It is a pleasure to meet you, Domina." He makes a little bow, but his demeanor is rather smug. <><><><><> Abbegail, being raised in an aristocratic setting knows very well how to turn on and off the high class English smugness herself. She replies just as smuggly: "I would like to say it is jolly good to meet you as well, however I find little...good...about being sold into slavery...or anyone that would purchase slaves." <><><><><> <> "Ah, the misfortunes of life. But you English are slavers too, just it's your misfortune to be taken as one." He draws a knife and deftly cuts the ropes around your wrists. "No need for these, I think. Trust me when I say that running from me will do you no good. Now, let us see about getting you properly attired. Such a beauty shouldn't be draped like a milkmaid." He smiles, quite charmingly. <><><><><> "My family never owned slaves...we paid our servants." She pause a moment. "I don't really give a damn what you bought me for...a change of clothes would indeed be nice...and a bath would be nice as well...not only for me, but for everyone nearby." <><><><><> <> "Tsk, such strong language from a lady," Francisco says. "You intrigue me, Domina. But do mind your tongue." He takes you shopping-- the shopping is very poor, as understandably, there isn't a very large selection of ladies' dresses in Tortuga. You manage to get clothed in something more decent, though, and he then brings you to a fairly large tavern-- what probably passes for an inn around here. He hands some small coins to a pair of half-naked mulatto boys, and orders them to bring up a basin, and pitchers of hot water. He then leads you up to his room. Your master's quarters have a sort of elegance about them-- he has a proper bed, at least, though it looks like it was partially salvaged from driftwood, and other furnishings, including an old map of Spain and Portugal tacked to one wall. A wooden chest sits in one corner, with a heavy lock on it, and some books are stacked next to it. So he's literate, too, probably a very unusual quality here on Hispaniola. Unless he merely uses the books for kindling. He eyes you avariciously. "You may disrobe now," he says. "It will please me to watch you bathe." You hear the two boys coming the stairs, bringing the bathwater with them. <><><><><> Having very little vanity left, Abby begins to disrobe. Rolling her eyes a little she says: "I'm afraid if you purchased me to be your whore...you'll be quite disappointed with the quality of service you receive. I may be pleasant to look at, but I'm definatly not as experianced in the ways of pleasing men as you may have been told at the sale." <><><><><> <> Francisco chuckles. "Pretty to look at it is a fine start. The rest you can learn. But I don't intend to touch you....not yet." His gaze devours you while you bathe, but there's something more than lust in it. He makes you nervous in a way Jacques never did. Once you've toweled off, he approaches, and seizes your arms. To your surprise, he twists you around, forcing you to arch your back painfully, and places another hand over your throat. "I've never had one like you before," he breathes. "You have....no idea, what's in store for you!" He chuckles darkly. His grip on your throat is tightening....does he mean to strangle you? Then it loosens, just as your temples begin to throb and black edges form around your vision, and he moves his hand down to your breast, and pinches it painfully. To your alarm, it appears that your pain is arousing him. "Oh, can't leave marks though," he murmurs. "Not yet....mustn't scar such a beauty..." He throws you forward on the bed. Just then, his head snaps up, and his eyes narrow. He looks around almost frantically, and grabs his sword. You hear heavy footsteps pounding up the stairs. <><><><><> Abby pulls the bedsheets around her and backs up against a far wall. "It's probably the constable. No doubt you've assulted numerous helpless women, they're probably coming for you...bastard." <><><><><> <> Francisco laughs. "Constable? You're in Tortuga, not London, my dear. You have no idea..." A heavy fist thuds on the door. "Francisco!" bellows a deep, loud voice. Francisco sighs and rolls his eyes, and opens the door. You get a glimpse of a tall, bearded man in the doorway. They start speaking to one another in Spanish. <><><><><> With Fransisco's back turned to her...and hopefully the other man occupied talking to Fransisco, Abby looks around the room for a possible escape route. (Is there a window?) <><><><><> <> There are no windows in the room, unfortunately. You see the tall man trying to look over Francisco's shoulder, and Francisco seems to be resisting letting the other man inside, though it hasn't become a physical struggle yet. There's obviously a disagreement of some sort going on. <><><><><> Seeing no obvious route of escape, Abby notices the man looking over Fransisco's shoulder. Deciding that her situation couldn't get much worse she mouths the words: "Help me....please...Help me." to him. Then she proceeds to put on her clothes, not really caring anymore what the men see of her body. <><><><><> <> You can't tell whether the other man saw or understood, but the argument continues, and finally the other man shoves his way through the doorway. He's tall and thick and has a Nordic look, with an enormous, bushy beard, and fierce watery blue eyes. He stares at you for a moment, looking quite displeased. He turns his head and addresses Francisco in Spanish again, and Francisco replies with indignation. This man does not look much like a rescuer. If only you knew what they were saying! <><><><><> Abby finishes dressing....straining to pick out any words she might understand, but she knew few words of spanish. All she can do when she's done dressing is sit on the far edge of the bed and wait. <><><><><> <> The only word that you can really pick out in their conversation is one that's the same in French as in Spanish: "immortales". Immortals. They both use it several times. Finally, the big beard man turns and leaves, without saying a word to you. Francisco looks extremely irritated...almost sullen. He glares at you. "Go ahead and finish getting dressed," he says. "We're leaving these pleasant accomodations." Once you have finished, he seizes you by the wrist and drags you down the stairs, and out onto the street. He's dropped the veneer of charm, and seems to be in a hurry. He yanks you along painfully when your steps falter. "Slow me down, Doma," he says, "and believe me, you will suffer as you have never suffered in your life." <><><><><> Abby considered asking him why the word imortals came up in their conversation, but thought better of it....for now. "You don't have to drag me you know... I can move quite swiftly on my own. Try being nice to me and you might just get more cooperation." <><><><><> <> Francisco laughs darkly. "We shall see, Doma, we shall see." You soon walk beyond the outskirts of the town, and into the forest surrounding it. The woods here are not at all like those of England; they're hot and lush and much more colorful, and the sounds of wildlife are alien. You walk for over an hour, by which time you are tired and your feet are sore. Finally, you cross a small stream (you have to wade up to your hips, emerging with a cut on your foot from the stones, and missing a shoe), and emerge into a thick stand of trees. It takes a moment for your eyes to focus on it, but you realize there is a small, very small, cabin here. Francisco takes you inside, where there is barely enough room to stand. It's dark, but you can just make out a central pole, and the remains of a firepit. There is an odd smell here too, which you don't like at all. Francisco shoves you against the pole, and then immediately pulls your arms back and begins tying your wrists. <><><><><> Knowing that Francisco out powers her, Abby doesn't struggle. "You really think you're a big man don't you...tieing up helpless women. What are you going to do now...beat me...rape me...murder me? I'm certain your friends will love your stories of your conquest." <><><><><> <> >>>What are you going to do now...beat me...rape me...murder me? <<< Francisco circles back around, slowly, after tying you securely to the pole. He smiles at you. "All of those, my dear," he says. "All of those things." He cups your chin, and kisses you, and his lips feel like ice against yours. He means it. He's not just saying it to scare you. You see dark lust in his eyes, fueled by your fear and discomfort, and you know he will enjoy hurting you. Then he pulls away. "But not yet." He pulls a handkerchief out of his jacket, and proceeds to stuff it in your mouth. He ties a gag securely around your head. "If you should manage to work this off, feel free to scream. The jungle cats and man-eating bears will find you a tasty morsel, if the head-hunting Indians don't find you first." And then he turns and walks off through the trees, disappearing on the other side of the stream and leaving you alone. <><><><><> Abby agreed that from what she'd seen of the outside, screaming might not be a good idea. But she had a chance...if she could escape quietly. She goes to work trying to remove her bindings. <><><><><> <> Francisco tied the ropes tightly...tightly enough to hinder the circulation in your wrists. Struggling only succeeds in hurting your wrists more. The sun is slowly going down. You can hear animal sounds from the forest, and shiver at the thought of being tied up here in the pitch dark, with God knows what beasts wandering around out there. <><><><><> Though she first considered screaming a very bad idea, staying here now seemed and even worse one. So she begins to scream. "HELP! PLEASE HELP ME!" <><><><><> <> You can't scream, since you're gagged. The situation does seem rather hopeless. .......... Francisco returns later that night, after you have had hours to shiver in the darkness and listen to animal sounds. He lights a fire in the small hut, and unwraps some food from a cloth. "Are you hungry?" he asks. He holds the food out to you, intending to make you eat from his hand. "My dear girl, tonight I am going to show you.....what you really are." He smiles, which gives you shivers. <><><><><> Abbegail turns her head away. "I would rather starve to death....And go ahead and rape me if you wish. You would have more fun with a sack of sand." <><><><><> <> "Oh no, I will have much more pleasure than that." He draws a knife out of its sheath, and begins slitting open your blouse. The point presses lightly against your skin, not quite drawing blood as he drags it across your flesh, but as he deftly wields the blade, you feel yourself trying to recoil involuntarily. He soon has you bared to the waist, and continues running the point lightly over your skin. "You have considerable fortitude of spirit, which will serve you well. Now the question is, how much do you *really* think you can bear?" "I will wager that no man has ever disciplined you, that your beauty was never despoiled until the pirates took you. You believe you have endured the worst, but you're wrong." He moves the point of the knife up to your chin, pressing it against the underside of your jaw so your head is forced up. "Beg for mercy, Senora......the sound of pleading is music to my ears. If you please me exceptionally well, I may not hurt you as badly...." His breathing is becoming more rapid, and the look in his eyes is both lustful and at the same time, positively demented. <><><><><> Abby spits in his face. "Never....I would sooner die than beg from you." <><><><><> <> He smacks you hard across the face, loosening your teeth. "You will, Senora," he says. "You will do both." He does terrible things that night....at some point you do remember begging, but there is too much pain and terror to remember distinctly. Then he fulfills his promise, by wrapping a cord around your neck, and tightening it....slowly. He looms over you, staring into your eyes as if eager to watch the light go out of them, while blood pounds in your ears and you feel your throat closing shut, and your chest heaves trying to draw air in...and then he puts a hand over your mouth, just as you're about to black out from the strangulation, and begins suffocating you instead. He is making your death as slow as possible -- as welcome as death seems after all the other things he's done to you, you can hardly bear the fact that this demon will be the last thing you see. <><><><><> This was the end...she knew it and welcomed it. But the last thoughts that came to her mind were those of hate and intense rage. If there was a way to insure that Francisco would rot in hell....she was definatly going to find it. Her mind pondered it for a few moments longer before slipping off into nothingness. <><><><><> <> As terrible as dying was....waking up is worse. At first you think you're in hell, and that sends despair through your soul, for surely you'd done nothing to deserve being damned, and besides, hadn't you suffered enough on earth? But you awoke back in that same accursed hovel, with the demonic sadist leering at your bruised and bleeding, naked body. Perhaps it is Hell, and your eternal damnation is to be spent in the same place you died. That is certainly a fate as bad as anything the priests promised. In addition, there is a terrible buzzing in your head, as if someone were shaking your skull rapidly, and it goes all the way down your spine. "Welcome back, Domina," Francisco says. You note with horror that the cord is still wrapped around your neck. <><><><><> Abby groans in pain. "Where am I? I..." She coughs. "I could not have possibly done anything bad enough to end up in damnation with you...." She looks around as much as she can being tied up. "I'm still in the hovel... I'm not dead...but that is not possible no one could survive..." She looks down at the cord around her neck. "I've never believed in witches and warlocks....but you sir must truely have a pact with the devil himself." <><><><><> <> "No more than you, my dear," he says, smiling. "You....are an immortal. That makes you a devil just like me." He leans forward and pricks you with his dagger, and then slashes across your body, causing blood to well up in a thick red line. Pain flares where he cut you. "I've always thought this was a beautiful sight," he says conversationally. You feel the cut tingle, and then it closes. The bleeding stops. <><><><><> Abby watches in disbelief as the wound closes. "This is not possible. You must take me for an idiot. I am a nurse...I am better educated than most men. There is no way possible a wound could heal that quickly... nor any way possible that I or anyone could have survived having their air passages blocked by strangulation for such a long time....it is simply not possible. There is no such thing as witchcraft so it must be some sort of drug...perhaps something to induce halucinations." <><><><><> <> "No drug." Francisco laughs with delight at your reaction. "Accustom yourself to it, lady." He draws another red line across your chest, then cuts your cheek. "Do you need more convincing? Don't worry, we have plenty of time. An eternity of time." He takes up the cord around your neck again, and begins tightening it. You feel the pain as your eyes bulge and your throat constricts again. "You can die....many times...." he whispers. "But you will always come back. You are mine....forever." You slip painfully away into the darkness again. And again wake up, with the demon hovering over you. "I've never had an immortal woman before," he says, now sounding almost childlike in his glee, and looking more aroused and diabolical than ever before. "Can you imagine....all the things I can do to you? And never leave a scar on that beautiful body...." He plunges his knife into your breast, piercing your heart. This time the pain is just as great, but different. You feel the cold steel tear through your heart, and cough up blood. He twists the knife, making you scream in agony before you pass out, or die, whichever.... And you wake up again. If this is not hell, hell cannot be any worse. <><><><><> After after the third resurection Abby is finally convinced that Francisco speaks the truth. "Please....I believe you. I don't understand how it is possible...but it is. What is it you want from me. I am quite tired of this game. Do you want me to beg you to stop? What purpose would that have? You probably won't. You obviously don't want me simply to ravage me...you would have done that already. So what is it that you want? Or do you simply plan on killing me over and over again for all eternity....surely even you must be tiring of it." <><><><><> <> "Oh no, not yet," Francisco says. "What I did to you before, that was just a prelude. You haven't even begun to imagine what I can do to you now that you will heal any wound." He flicks blood off his knife. "It is a bad habit, I know," he sighs. "But I simply enjoy torturing beautiful women. Your screams and your writhing are more sensual than any moans of pleasure." "But....I believe it is time to quit for tonight. Subjecting you to too much at once will simply turn you into a broken, mad shell of a woman. I want to preserve you as long as possible." "And these accomodations--" he looks around with disdain at the hovel, "don't offer nearly as much comfort as I am accustomed to. I like to have a luxurious and private place to work on one of my beauties. But now that you have awakened to your immortality, I cannot bring you back to town. So I believe it is time for us both to leave this little island." He rises. "You refused to eat before....I imagine you will be much hungrier when I return." He leaves. <><><><><> Left alone...still tied up, she ponders what she's apparently become. She must have done something terrible that caused the heavenly father to allow all that has happened to her. She was hungry. Very hungry. But she had no plans on giving him the pleasure of her eating out of his hands. She spends the rest of her time there sleeping and trying to think of a way to escape. <><><><><> <> Your body had healed all the injury Francisco did to you before he even left, but the scars in your soul may last much longer. You can scarcely stand to think about the last couple of nights without shuddering. The blood soaking into the ground, and the cooling embers of the fire where he heated knives and metal pokers and.... You shudder again involuntarily. You did not know such pain was possible, but the more you think about what can be done to your body if you can never succumb to death, and the more you think about the mad Portuguese immortal's leer as he tortured you, licking his lips...you know that if you don't escape, you will indeed be driven mad. Your wrists hurt, and your shoulders ache, from your arms being tied overhead. Unfortunately, the ropes remain much too tight to pull free. You'd have to practically rip your hands off. Now, come to think of it, if you really are immortal, and really can heal any wound....what would happen if you DID literally pull at your bonds until you worked your way out of them, regardless of how much flesh you left behind? But could you stand to do that? And what if you mangle your hands only to find out that Francisco was wrong, or lying, that if you inflict too much injury to yourself, it *won't* heal? <><><><><> Abby decides that if she can be stabbed in the heart and comeback with her wounds healed there probably wasn't much she couldn't heal. Still she couldn't bring herself to severe a limb. But perhaps a broken bone or two... She uses one tied hand to shove the other back...back...to the point that the pain was almost intolerable and she heard the bones in her wrist and hand crack and break. Then she starts to twist her broken wrist, contorting it in any way she can find to get free from her restraints. <><><><><> <> After the pain Francisco inflicted on you, breaking your hand should be relatively minor, but it still takes more willpower than you thought to deliberately do it. Each snap as you crush the bones in your hand becomes increasingly unbearable. Several times you pause, to give yourself respite....and discover that your hand is healing quickly enough that any pause means almost starting over again! Thus, it takes you over an hour to finish the deed...and even then you have to pull, and pull, and cry out loud with pain as your flesh is shredded against the cruel bindings, before you finally rip your hand free. It is an ugly, misshapen thing, skinned down to the bone, with your fingers twisted and snapped, dripping blood all over your half-naked body. But while you sit there, sobbing, breathing heavily and staring at what you somehow managed to do to your own hand, the pain starts to dull, and your fingers straighten, and the bleeding stops. <><><><><> Abby works her way out of the other restraints (if there are any) Then she heads to the door. She'll try opening it. If it's locked she'll look around the room for a window. <><><><><> <> The hovel barely has a door. Staggering out is easy. You had to practically tear the flesh off your other hand to get free. Now you are alone in the middle of the jungle at night. <><><><><> Standing outside of the hovel for a moment Abby weighs her options. She could wait here and let Fransisco torture her for what could be an eternity, or she could risk it and head out into the jungle and try to find her way back to town. The danger seemed just about equal in either case. Finally she runs out into the jungle, hopefully in the general direction they originally came from. <><><><><> <> You haven't a clue which direction you came from, actually. The jungle is dark and scary. You keep tripping over roots and vines, skinning your knees, striking your head on trees or the hard ground several times, and getting scratched and gouged by the sharp tropical foilage. Half-naked already, what remains of your clothing is soon shredded still more, and stained and mud-soaked (adding to the blood already staining it). You stumble into a stream and collapse in the cold water, drag yourself out, and realize you're almost too weak to continue...while every cut and scrape and bruise has disappeared moments after it was inflicted, your immortality doesn't seem to be staving off hunger and thirst and fatigue. <><><><><> Abby decides to rest for a moment...just a moment. Then she forces herself to continue on. She knows she's lost now, but she also knows that this jungle can't continue on forever....most villages are built on a water source, maybe if she follows the stream. Maybe this stream is conected to the ocean...but would it be flowing out to the ocean, or in from it... She takes her chances that its comming in from it and heads up stream. <><><><><> <> It's just after dawn when you reach the edge of a marsh, and actually stumble into a pool of salty mud. By now you are utterly exhausted, and barely crawl to firmer ground, from which you can see the ocean through the rushes. You are lying on a slight rise, and can see water draining into the silt all around you before it makes its way to the ocean. The stream flowed out to the sea. You're now in the middle of a coastal marsh and possibly many miles from any human habitation. And ravenously hungry, and almost too tired to move. <><><><><> To tired and hungry to move, and seeing no place else to go, Abby just lays there and sobs uncontrollably. <><><><><> <> You lie there for a long time. You must have slept. When you raise your head again, the sun is high overhead....it's just about noon. Your exhaustion is gone, and all the cuts and bruises on your body have disappeared. You're still terribly hungry, but you don't feel like you are starving to death....yet. Your throat is extremely dry, though, and if you don't get some fresh water soon, your misery is only going to increase. <><><><><> She rinses her face in the ocean water...but doesn't drink it, knowing that the salt in it won't help her thirst. Then she staggers on down the beach looking for a village....or any place with a fresh water source. <><><><><> <> The beach looks uninhabited -- you don't know what villages and towns may exist on Hispaniola, of course, but as far as you know, Tortuga may be the only habitation. Unless there are outcasts or savages living in settlements outside the port, and those men probably wouldn't be much better than Francisco, though at least you might be able to escape from them, since they wouldn't know what you are. When you round an inlet, though, you look across the ocean at the sun, and realize that if you haven't become completely disoriented, you know approximately what direction Tortuga lies. You can probably find your way back there just by continuing to walk along the coast. Whether that's desirable or not is hard to say....it's likely your only chance to get off this island, but you could just run into Francisco or men like him again. <><><><><> Abby stands there for several moments weighing her options, even such absurd ones as wondering how many times she'd die from drowning if she tried to swim to America. But she quickly decided that wasn't an option. Finally she decides that her best bet is just to head to Tortuga and take her chances there. <><><><><> <> It takes you twice as long as usual to hike the distance you travel before you see the port of Tortuga. You are still suffering from hunger and thirst, and it becomes an increasingly terrible effort to drag yourself through the mangrove swamps. Eventually you reach a hill, make your way to the top where the ground becomes drier and the mangroves less dense, and can see the port of Tortuga. The port, overlooked by a great stone fort, is now at a slight incline below you, and still a few miles away, with half the cove between you. Across the water, the main island of Hispaniola is visible, and you can even see some ships sailing in the stretch of water between them. As you descend, the port becomes invisible again, hidden by the dense vegetation. Not long after the ground flattens out again, and you splash your way through swampy water once more, something hits you with the force of a lightning bolt. It is that awful electrical feeling in your spine, that you sensed when Francisco was nearby.....after he killed you. <><><><><> Abbagail backed up a few steps instinctively and looked around. Is Francisco here? The feeling she had definatly been associated with him. He said he was immortal like her....in that case maybe there was some connection....maybe he could sense she was nearby too. She decided to head into town, away from the docks. Anything was preferable to being found by him again. <><><><><> <> You try circling around towards the town. If only you didn't make so much noise splashing! Is that terrible feeling coming from ahead of you or behind you? You can't tell. You hear wading ahead, and through a pair of trees, a huge figure emerges, a giant of a man dressed in black and holding a pistol. You recall seeing him at your auction, standing in the crowd. [Go to "HDR: Pirate Haven"]