I was genuinely curious as to why everyone was being summoned to meet at the Arena, so I didn't put up any resistance when Dahlia said we also had to go there.
When I turned around, I saw the droves of people making their way down the hallway. We went to join them. An electrifyingly excited chatter filled the corridor.
I wonder what's going on.
Walking down the hallway, we turned right towards the Arena. There were various doors people were filing into. A very young-looking soldier had run up to Dahlia and told her that we were supposed to go in through another door. All three of us followed the person.
Once we entered through, we were directed to a room. Inside, Dahlia told me to sit in the corner. Both Dahlia and Mia sat in front of me, blocking any access to the door.
I had a bad feeling about this. I was nervously twiddling my thumbs.
"What's going on, ma'ams?" My voice sounded small.
"We're just here waiting on Mistress's commands." Mia spoke.
"Is there any reason why she wants everybody?" Anxiety was creeping up in my tone.
They gave each other a furtive look.
"We don't question her motives. When she gives a command, we just follow it. Now shut it." Dahlia snapped.
What are they not telling me?
A couple of minutes passed, and simultaneous beeps came from Dahlia and Mia. They took out the beeping device, read it, then stood up.
"Let's get going. Mistress is ready to see you." Dahlia pulled on the leash.
I was hesitant but followed them. We went into another room. This one was bare. Mia pressed a button on the wall and the floor began moving upwards.
I got startled for a second because I did not expect the room to move like an elevator.
As we were approaching the surface, the crowd's cacophony grew louder. The deafening cheer was apparent.
What was happening? Am I going to be a part of this?
When the platform reached the surface, my heart sank.
My eyes widened and darted across the Arena. My breath caught in my throat.
I was in the middle of it all. Spotlights were on us. There were people sitting all the way across the bleachers. They were shouting and pumping their fists. Dr. Garnett was waiting in front of two large posts. She motioned for us to walk her way.
Dahlia and Mia stepped forward, I didn't. Dahlia pulled on the leash, but I was firmly rooted in place. She forcefully pulled again, but I pulled back. My shackled hands went to the leash to stop it from constricting my airway further.
I don't know what was going to happen, but I had a portentous feeling. None of this sat well with me.
I took a step back. Dahlia kept a firm hold on the leash. Mia strode towards me. Adrenaline surged through my veins. I let the leash go slack then aggressively pushed back, it was enough to make it slip from Dahlia's hands. I took the chance to run away from them. The crowd roared in excitement.
I don't know where I was going to go, but something told me to just get away from these people.
My leg muscles tightened, and I frantically ran opposite to where Dahlia, Mia, and Dr. Garnett were. I saw a couple of doors interspersed among various seating areas, but they were all guarded.
I just ran to the nearest door. In addition to Dahlia and Mia, guards were also coming after me. I skidded to a halt as the guards got closer. I spun on my heel and put my hands on the floor to change directions.
I could feel everybody closing in on me.
A guard stepped in front of me in a tackling stance, but before I could dodge him, I was harshly yanked back. My trachea constricted forcefully. Someone got a hold of the leash. My back hit the ground with a sickening thud. I didn't spare any time as I swiveled my body to get up. With both hands on the ground, I managed to take three steps forward until I felt the weight of a person on me, followed by four more people.
Somebody grabbed my bound wrists, another pulled on the leash, and the rest secured my legs and body.
Not again.
I don't want to face whatever is going to happen next.
Naturally, I struggled against them, to no point really, I was outnumbered and outmatched.
They held me down until I saw Dr. Garnett's shiny black pointed toe stilettos in front of my face. Since I was on my stomach, I couldn't see her face when I looked up.
I don't know what she did, but the entire Arena fell silent.
"Oh Keira, I don't know why you even try." Her tone was almost mocking. "Tie her up to the posts." She ordered.
The people that were grabbing on to me stood me up and dragged me to the posts. Dahlia grabbed the large, heavy chain that was hanging from the right post and secured it to my wrist. She then did the same thing with the other one. After I was tied to the posts, she took off the original restraints, but grabbed the leash and tied it to a loop on the ground.
I tested the manacles, and these hurt a lot more than any other they had previously used. I could feel them wasting no time cutting into my flesh. Dahlia and Mia went to opposite posts and turned a crank that was on the other side of them.
As the wheels turned, the chains were pulling diagonally away from my body. Once the chains were taut, Dr. Garnett instructed Dahlia and Mia to keep spinning on the lever.
Wait, what? It's already at the limit.
They turned the wheels about three more times until my feet were no longer on the floor. My arms were painfully abducted apart with my muscles fiercely fighting against the pulling force. The leash was pulling my neck down.
What is Dr. Garnett's purpose for having me in this position? What did I do to her now?
Dr. Garnett sauntered in front of me. She addressed the public. "I'm glad for those that were able to make it to the Arena today. You see, this is a momentous occasion, this is my new pet. Some of you might have already seen her around. Her name is Keira, and no matter what she is told or what punishments she has endured so far, she still refuses to accept that she belongs to me, however, her stubborn spirit will be broken today." She paused as the crowd roared in excitement. "After today, there will be no doubt who she belongs to." Her eyes cut right through my soul. My bottom lip quivered.
When she finished speaking a couple of guards rolled into the Arena what seemed to be a portable fire pit with two metal sticks poking out of the fire. Even from a distance I could feel the intense heat of the flames.
I swallowed forcefully. What is she going to do to me?
My breath quickened and became shallow. I could feel my hands getting clammy. A bead of sweat ran down my forehead. My eyes shifted from the fire to Dr. Garnett. There was a sinister growing sense of anticipation in her gaze.
Dr. Garnett turned to face me. With her index finger, she outlined my jaw. My muscles tensed. "What are you so nervous about, Keira?" Her evil smirk demonstrated pleasure. "I told you that you are mine, but you wanted to keep denying it." Her hand was now caressing my cheek. It made me tremble. "Things could have gone a lot nicer for you if you would just have accepted your role," she moved her hand to tuck away a stray strand of hair behind my ear, "but you decided to make things hard on yourself, so now I don't have a choice but to show you who's really in control here." By the time she finished talking her hand was stroking my hair.
"Wha-What do you mean by that?" I was pulling on the bonds. My breathing was ragged at this point.
"You'll see very soon." She grabbed a knife from one of the guards.
No, not this again!
"Wait, please! Don't do this! I'll do anything you say!" I cried out, jerking my arms.
"You're fresh out of chances, Keira. Don't struggle. Wouldn't want to make this any harder than it already is; for you, that is." Her haughty tone made me worry even more.
She unsheathed the knife and grasped my shirt. It took all my effort to hold back the prickling tears that were threatening to spill. The crowd fell silent in eerie anticipation. I looked deeply into her eyes and pleaded one last time for her to stop. Her smile was disquieting. With a swift motion of her arm, she cut my shirt away. The crowd was ecstatic.
I was left completely topless in front of everybody and there was nothing I could do to hide myself. I was still trying my hardest to maintain my faltering composure.
Her hand went up to my abdomen where she trailed the dark bruises that had formed. I flinched under her touch. Her hand roamed every inch of my torso, making their way up to my face to grab my chin between her index finger and her thumb.
"You will wish you had taken my offer and learned quickly that you don't ever cross me." She said in a menacing tone, just loud enough for me to hear. Chills ran down my spine. She turned around and put on thick gloves that one of the guards next to the fire pit gave her. She grabbed the thickest metal rod and took it out of the flames.
It was at this moment that my heart dropped to the ground, that's when I realized what the metal rod was, a branding iron.
Upon discerning that what Dr. Garnett was holding was a large, red-hot, triangular branding iron with a bird in the middle, I lost all self-control. It was massive! All the sides were easily at least a foot long.
The tears that I had fought so hard to keep were tumbling down my cheeks. I pulled aggressively at the metal shackles holding me up, and frantically kicked my legs every which way trying to keep her away from me.
I was trying to free myself in vain.
The penetrating cuffs cut into my skin, but I didn't care about the warm, red blood that was trailing down my tethered arms.
Dahlia and Mia strenuously grabbed my legs and tied them to the ground.
I thrashed as much as I could, cursing at Dr. Garnett, but she was indifferent to everything. I was sobbing, beseeching her to reconsider.
Nothing I did or say was enough to sway her. As she strutted closer, her grip on the iron rod became tighter. The foreboding heat seeped within my pores. By the time she got behind me I was holding my breath and tightening every single muscle in my body. My eyes were sealed shut and I was biting so hard into my bottom lip that I could taste iron.
The entire Arena was dead silent. All that could be heard was the furious beating of my heart as Dr. Garnett extended her arms at me.
I let out a harrowing bloodcurdling scream as the burning iron stamp seared into my flesh. The steam and flames emanating from the rod torturously scorched the surrounding epithelium. The gut-wrenching sound of crackling meat was evident. The raucous crowd was ecstatic.
The pungent smell of charred skin flooded my nose. I had unreasoningly thrown my head back at the contact of the blistering hot metal and was choking not only from my wails and sobs, but from the lack of air.
When Dr. Garnett finally withdrew the branding iron I was depleted of all energy. At some point during my agonizing screams, my voice had broken.
I could feel my body on the edge of finally shutting down, but its sweet relief tauntingly eluded my grasp.
Dr. Garnett went to place the branding iron back in the fire pit when I saw her pick up the slimmer rod.
No. No. No! God, please let this end!
She had taken out another similar branding iron, but this one was way smaller. She stood in front of me and callously intertwined her fingers in my hair with her free hand, making me look directly at her. My bloodshot eyes fleeted between the iron stamp and her malevolent blue orbs.
"I hope you've learned your lesson well, Keira. The large mark on your back is for everyone, including you, to know who you belong to. This one will be on a more visible place as a constant reminder to never question my authority ever again." As the last words tumbled out of her lips, she pressed the iron onto the inside of my left forearm.
I couldn't even scream out in pain this time. My voice had given out. I was blubbering. Tears and snot gushed down my face.
That's it.
She had truly won now.
She had effectively abased me to cattle.