The stars shone bright a clear above their heads as they came into the cold night air. The sudden sight of space, the towering sky, made a lump rise in Addison’s throat. She’d half expected to perish in that van, waiting to see what he fate would be. A simple glimpse of the sky seemed like the greatest luxury in the world right now. The friends, too exhausted to resist, went limp in the arms of their captors. Even Grayson, the brute, was too drained and shocked to put up a fight.
Addison glanced in the direction they were heading and gasped. Towering before them was the most beautiful mansion she had ever set eyes upon. No, it was more than a mansion. It was some kind of estate out in the middle of nowhere. All around them were cresting hills, as if miles and miles of space separated them from any other human being. She wouldn’t have been surprised if that were the case. The structure itself was massive and sprawling, with columns and turrets and towering archways. It was something out of Versailles, she thought. She wondered if the same fate that befell the occupants of that fated palace would be waiting for her.
The dozens captors marched the friend toward the front entryway of the mansion. As they climbed the steep staircase, the heavy front doors swung open. To the friends horror, fifty more figures were waiting just inside. Addison realized for the first time that the people were cloaked, their faces and bodies covered by black robes. A shiver san down her spine. The occult eeriness of the hooded people made her blood turn to ice in her veins.
As they reached the top of the step, the march halted abruptly. The dozen bounty men lowered their charges, straightening them into standing positions. Anna cried out sharply as she was forced to put her weight onto the injured leg. Her sudden, primal sound shattered the stifling since that had enshrouded them so for long. A long hooded figure walked briskly forward, forward the girl. Addison realized that when this person walked, the others recoiled. He must be the leader, she thought to herself. But the real question is, what is he the leader of?
“What’s wrong with her?” the man barked. “Why is she crying out?”
“I don’t know, sir,” an unsteady voice said.
“You don’t know?” said the leader, in deadly soft tones. “How can it be that you don’t know?”
“I don’t…know,” said the man in absolute horror, “Perhaps she was hurt along the way, sir?”
“Hurt?” snapped the leader, “How could she had gotten hurt? Are you that careless, man? We can’t afford to have any damaged cargo!”
“Cargo?” croaked Charlie. The entire collective reared back as he spoke. The friends stood alone in the center of the circle, Anna being held up by Grayson.
“He speaks,” said the leader, clearly impressed. “So the rest of you are good and functional?”
“Who are you?” said Grayson, finding is voice.
“My, my! They’re all waking up, aren’t they?” crowed the man, “What a happy day this is! Why don’t we get out guests inside, then. I’m sure that everyone is looking forward to the evening’s festivities.”
“We’re not going anywhere!” Charlie cried, but it was useless. The friends were jostled into the mansion, Grayson taking Anna into his arms. Through cavernous, candlelit halls they were herded, down into the depths of the estate. Down stairs, through countless stories they traveled, until finally a heavy door way thrown open at the bottom of the world.
Before them all stood what seemed to be a theater. A stage was set for them, with four platforms. Stadium seats rose up all around, and the space itself was ornate, beautiful, and flawlessly lit. A few enterprising captors rushed the friends onto the stage as the others settled into seats around the theater. Each of the four was manhandled onto a platform, though Anna had to opportunity to sit. And as they were corralled, into place, heavy chains fell upon their wrists and ankles.
The captors joined the others in the audience as the friends traded terrified glances. They were there on display in front of the terrifying council, like goods arranged in a market. As they struggled to make sense of what was happening, the leader of the party leapt on to the stage and spread his arms benevolently.
“Friends,” he cried to the assembled crowd, “Welcome, once again, to our greatest of affairs. Our most important and glorious tradition. Welcome to the annual auction!”
The crowd erupted into cheers, and the friends’ jaws fell open in utter disbelief. Auction? What could that possibly mean?
“Let’s get started, shall we?” said the leader, retreating from the stage to take a good look at the friends, “What have we here? A good batch, to be sure. Before we clean them up, let’s have a little preview of what’s to come?” The assembled crowd hollered their excitement, and the leader smiled broadly up at the captives. “Who should we test out first?” he asked the crowed. Voices erupted around the arena, until a unanimous voice came to a conclusion.
“The one who spoke first! And the girl that’s not broken!”
“That sounds like an excellent idea!” said the leader, “We’ll start with these two, to see what they’re made of!”
Charlie and Addison exchanged fearful glances. What did he mean, see what they were made of? Two hooded figures came up from the audience and approached the pair, undoing their chains and dragging them to the center of the stage. Charlie and Addison cowered before the audience, and the leader nodded enthusiastically.
“Wonderful,” he said, “You two will do nicely, I’m sure. Move into position, men.”
The people who’d led them front and center took a few steps back and produced two slick, heavy handguns. Addison let out a yelp, and Charlie waved a bit on his feet. The leader laughed.
“Don’t worry,” he said, “They won’t shoot unless you don’t obey. Now, before we keep going, please take off all your clothing.”
“What?” Charlie said. One of the men on stage undid the safety of his gun.
“Take off your clothes,” the leader repeated. His chilly voice was warning enough. Mortified, Charlie and Addison began to strip off the layers of their clothing. They could hardly stand to look at each other. The crowd jeered and whistled as Addison struggled to cover her breasts and pussy, Charlie hid his dick behind his quivering hands. The leader seemed to be pleased by what he saw.
“Excellent specimens, no?” he asked the crowd. They roared their approval. “Now, why don’t you two get to it?”
“What do you mean?” Addison whispered. The other man cocked his gun in their direction.
“I mean,” said the leader, “We need to see what you two are made of. We need to see how you are, sexually, before we bid on you. This is the annual auction, after all. We spent a good deal of time finding you among the prize items around the region. You seem to be pretty excellent specimens, maybe the best in years. But we have to be sure that you’ll be worth the money. You wouldn’t want to disappoint us, would you? So, if you would be fine enough to fuck for us, we’d be much obliged.”
Charlie and Addison stared helplessly at each other. How could this possibly be happening? How could they be asked to do this mortifying thing in front of so many people?
“I…I can’t,” Charlie said, his voice shaking.
“If you can’t,” said the leader, “We’ll be forced to kill you.”
“No!” Addison cried, throwing her arms around Charlie, “We’ll do it!”
“Good girl!” said the leader, and the audience agreed. Charlie looked at Addison, beyond his senses with fear. They stood completely naked before the assembled crowd, having fallen down the god-awful rabbit hole into surreal terror. In a moment of connection, amid the Twilight Zone that they’d stumbled into, Addison lay her hands on Charlie’s shoulder, turned him to face her.
“It’s OK,” she said softly, tears prickling in her eyes, “It’s going to be OK, Charlie. I promise. Just stay with me, just look at me.”