The Compound

The Compound   Part 1
Leviticus 


The clouds hung low and heavy, saturated with moisture that threatened to
come down at any time, their dark gray complexion all but shutting out the
light of the sun.  They obscured the peaks of the mountains they shared the
sky with, and their bulk towered high above the ground, mountains in
themselves.

 From the ground, the mass of cloud looked featureless and still, but the air
was anything but still.  Down drafts and rolls of air continually mixed the
lower levels of the massive clouds, churning them around and occasionally
letting loose a brief rain shower.

Under, and occasionally through this, flew a small plane.  A Cessna 182
Skylane, a light aircraft built back in the 70's.  It was a tough little
aircraft, but not built to be flown in such conditions, especially in such
terrain.  Most aircraft either flew above bad weather, where the sun always
shone and the air was much smoother, or they flew around such huge potential
storms.  However the clouds extended way above the Skylane's ceiling, and
for pressing reasons, the pilot didn't want to take the time to fly the long
way round.

They were supposed to have flown across the Colorado Rockies into Utah,
where after a brief fuel stop they could continue on to Arizona.  But the
weather was hampering their efforts, forcing them to fly through mountain
passes rather than over them, and visibility was getting worse.  Buckets of
rain were being dumped at random intervals on the small plane, and the pilot
also had to wrestle with turbulence that threatened at any time to slam the
plane down into the ground.  Many times, they had been forced a lot closer
to the mountainside than was safe, trees and rocks scant yards below the
extended wheels of the Cessna 182.

On board was the pilot, Dirk Tesco, a lightly built man whose muscles
strained against the effort to maintain control of his aircraft.  He never
would have admitted it to his passenger, but he was scared.  Every minute of
flight time seemed to get worse to him, and he searched in vain through the
rain-obscured windows for a place to set down.  He knew with a certainty
that once the clouds above did decide to open up that they would crash for
certain.  Flying around in the mountains without being able to see anything
meant certain death.  He kept his mouth shut though, so not to alarm his
girlfriend who sat next to him.

Shawna Michaels was already alarmed.  There was no disguising the
gut-wrenching drops the plane made whenever the wind slammed down on them
from above.  And she could have sworn that she heard branches and leaves
brushing the underside of the plane whenever they got too close to the
ground.  She had a tight grip on her lap belt, wishing there was a shoulder
belt to go with it, and watched in horror as Dirk banked the plane around
yet another outcropping that appeared out of nowhere.  She would have shut
her eyes but she was airsick as it was and she needed the visual reference.
A wall of rain appeared ahead of them and they plowed through it like a
boat.  The engine sputtered for a moment as water was ingested into it but
then it picked up again.

Shawna gave a small scream and bit her lip.  She glanced over at Dirk, who
had his eyes bouncing between the panel in front of him and the windows.
The wild look on his face didn't reassure her in the slightest.

"We have to go back!" she yelled!

"No way, Babe!  WAY too much law waiting for us there," Dirk answered.

"You asshole!  Is the money worth our lives?"

"It ain't the money, Babe, it's the jail time.  You ain't ever been in jail,
you wouldn't know.  I ain't going back!"

Shawna was scared shitless that they were going to crash, and she held on
even tighter to her only restraint.  "Well can't you land someplace?"

"You show me some nice little airport or road down there, Babe, and I'll set
us down.  But until then, SHUT THE FUCK UP!  I'm trying to fly here!"
Despite her fear of the weather and the horrible flight, her fear of Dirk
was greater.  When pissed off as he obviously was right now, he tended to
strike out at whatever or whomever was closest.  Shawna had been close to
him an awful lot of times.

She glanced back at the three sacks in the space behind their seats, their
contents once the property of the Cisco National Bank of Colorado.  Close to
three million in large bills.  She'd give the lot away to be able to get out
of the plane right now.

Another downdraft struck the plane and Shawna felt herself grow weightless
again, the lap belt the only thing keeping her in her seat.  Beside her,
Dirk dipped the stick in order to gain a little airspeed and therefore lift,
hoping that the ground was far below them.

The trick actually worked until another wall of water choked the engine,
cutting its power way back.  The plane slowed, lost its lift in the rapidly
falling air, and began to plummet once more.  Desperately, Dirk pushed the
yoke full forward, still floating in his seat, and managed to use gravity
instead of the faltering engine's power to pick up some much needed speed.

He didn't notice though, that one of the unsecured bags had floated up in
the air behind him.  It would have dropped harmlessly back in its spot had
not the plane slowed once more due to another blast of water.  The bag
instead followed the laws of inertia and continued going at the plane's
former speed, slamming into the back of Dirk's head.  Stunned, Dirk slumped
forward and pushed the yoke all the way to the stop.  This dropped the nose
of the plane completely, and Shawna screamed.  She felt like she was falling
out of her seat, and grabbed hold of the copilot's yoke in front of her.

Somehow, she maintained the presence of mind to pull back on the wheel, but
not only was she fighting the turbulent air around the aircraft, but also
the dead weight of Dirk.

Her screaming must have helped him come to his senses though, because he
woke up just as the ground appeared ahead of them.  Adding his scream to her
own, he hauled on the yoke and pushed the throttle to full power.  The
half-choked engine did its best to spin up, but there just wasn't time.

What saved the plane from becoming a hole in the ground was Dirk's last act.
Twisting the wheel, he managed to roll the plane around.  It was still
plummeting at a steep 60-degree angle but the mountainside below them was
also almost at 60 degrees.  Instead of plowing directly into the side of it,
the Skylane grazed the mountainside, its wheels slapping at the tops of the
trees.

It was almost a miraculous escape.  But one tree, slightly taller than the
rest, hit a wing tip rather than a wheel.

The Cessna Skylane yawed over to one side, and before Dirk could correct for
it, the plane hit another tree.

That was the end of its ability to fly.  The second tree took out part of
the tail section, and the small plane plummeted to the ground.  Two more
trees caught the wings and folded them back, spraying fuel everywhere.
Shawna couldn't stop screaming as her world whirled and rotated around her.
The noise of the crash was deafening, and she hardly felt her unsecured arms
and legs flapping about and banging into things.  Then there was a shudder,
and everything stopped.  Everything but Shawna's brain, that is.  She was
dizzy from the spins and wanted to throw up, but her nose caught the scent
of gasoline in the air.  "Dirk!" she cried out, but to her horror, she saw
that Dirk wasn't going to answer her.  A tree limb had come in through the
shattered windshield and had plowed through his midsection.  He lay half out
his side window, pinned to his seat like a butterfly on a piece of cork.
Stunned into silence, Shawna crawled quickly from the plane and sat on the
ground.  She sat a moment just staring at her dead boyfriend, before getting
up and reaching into the plane once more.

Shawna was operating on autopilot, and later never could figure out why she
did what she did.  But almost calmly, she pulled out of the plane all three
sacks of money and her own knapsack, and began hobbling away from the wreck.
Fifty feet away, she paused and turned to look once more.  That was when she
saw the fire.  The stalled, but still hot, engine had ignited the fumes of
all the spilt fuel.  Fire quickly enveloped the whole plane and sent up a
plume of smoke that quickly mixed with the low clouds above.  Shawna stood
fascinated by the flames until the screaming began.

Dirk wasn't dead.

Trembling in horror, Shawna listened, as the man who had been her lover for
the last three years, the man who had given her an escape from her brutal
but rich father, and turned out to be rather brutal himself, the man who had
forced her to use her skills in electronics to tease open a bank vault so he
could rob it, burned to death.

She remained standing, until the screams stopped and the flames began to
consume the whole aircraft, before moving on.  She did wonder about forest
fires, but the obliging clouds kept opening up with the occasional squall,
and while the Cessna burned, the rain-soaked vegetation around it did not.
Shawna walked a few more yards and sat down next to a tree.

---***---

How long Shawna stayed there she did not know.  Her watch had taken a hard
blow and didn't work any longer.  Under it, her wrist was developing a large
bruise.  She had other cuts and bruises, but the one that hurt the most was
on her left ankle.  During the crash, she had slammed it into the panel.  It
wasn't sprained, but it did hurt like hell.  But to Shawna, the pain in her
foot was a minor matter.  Echoing in her head were Dirk's screams, and her
shocked mind needed time to come to terms with it.  In the end, it just put
it away to deal with later, and Shawna felt an unnatural calmness come over
her.  She got to her feet, and with difficulty hid the three bags of money
in some brush before beginning her descent down the steep mountainside.

She had gone maybe a half-mile before she could walk no longer.  The
throbbing pain in her foot was too much for her; she had to stop.  She
collapsed against a tree with a fantastic view of the Rockies spread out
before her, and she quickly dug around in her knapsack until she found a
small plastic bottle.

Her actions rather desperate now, she carefully took the top of the bottle,
and having nothing else, tipped a little of the white powdered contents onto
a finger before inhaling it.

Shawna sat for a few seconds until the drug began to take effect, before
carefully replacing the top on the bottle.

Looking about her, she felt utterly alone, for there was nothing to see but
wilderness.  Tree covered mountains were visible everywhere she looked, most
of them reaching into the low cloud cover that had caused the crash.  She
was cold and wet from several downpours; her jeans and bright yellow cotton
blouse no protection from the elements.  And as the gathering gloom signaled
the end of another day, Shawna was lost, and also very, very afraid.

---***---

Light female laughter could be heard through the trees, although its source
was invisible to the man walking carefully through the brush.  When the
laughter started, he stopped moving and cocked his head, listening quietly
for the telltale sound of leaves being pushed aside or twigs breaking.  The
day had dawned bright and sunny after a day and night of near stormy
conditions.  The sky was still dotted with clouds, but the man, and the
woman he was chasing, had thought it safe to go on their picnic anyway.
Neither one of them had wanted to spend another day inside.  Together they
had climbed high up the mountain, partly for the view, but mostly for the
privacy.  Community spirit was one thing, but sometimes it was nice to get
away by themselves for a while.  Now they were playing a game, one they
liked to play often, and neither one minded winning or losing; the outcome
was usually the same.

The man heard a rustle of leaves, or so he thought, and he froze, trying to
figure out where it came from.  He was a handsome man, not big, but tall and
well built.  His body had, over the last two years, been sculpted by hard
work in the open air, and he was as fit as he had ever been in his life.
His fitness was very visible, for he wore nothing but a rope about his waist
and wide leather straps about his wrists. The rest of his belongings were in
a leather sack worn over one shoulder.  With the sack, he thought himself at
a disadvantage in the game he was playing, but he had evened up the odds a
little, and the thought made him smile.

'There,' he thought as he heard a rustle, 'up that slope.'  As if to confirm
his suspicions, he heard more laughter coming at him from above, and he
wondered why his companion was being so obvious about it, it wasn't like
her.  But then, knowing her as he did, she probably had a plan, and a
devious one at that.

Treading carefully, his bare feet well used to walking on all types of
ground, he made his way uphill, keeping an eye open for clues.  It was at
times like this that he didn't know if he was the hunter or the prey, and to
be honest, he didn't mind either way.  He'd happily let himself be caught if
it wasn't for the fact that she'd skin him alive for making it too easy.
Sometimes he wondered if her insistence that these games be as real as
possible was compensation for her leaving the outside world.  She was a
strong woman with an active mind, and he knew it must be hard for her at
times to slow down to the more relaxed pace of the Compound, but she never
complained and never gave him any sign that she wasn't at peace here.  There
had been a few awkward moments at the beginning, rough periods while she
adjusted to living here; but adjust she did in her own way, although at
times he saw in her eyes that something still haunted her.  He had lived
with her for over a year now, and he still felt that he didn't know all
there was to know about his wife.  The woman kept many secrets.

The man entered a glade.  Small, but with a wonderful view of a valley a
thousand feet below them, it was layered with natural grasses and seemed
fairly flat.

He dropped the sack against a tree and reached in to pull out a length of
leather cord.  Now he felt he had the upper hand, and with a grin, he exited
the glade and continued uphill.

A sound to his left made him pause, and he stood stock-still, examining the
landscape around him.

"I'm coming to get you!" he called out with a smile on his face, and he was
rewarded by the sound of swishing leaves and a flash of tanned skin.  She
had managed to lure him further uphill than she had gone herself, and now
she was going back down.  Her plan apparently was to circle around and take
him from behind.  Yes, she certainly was sneaky.  But her run had broken her
cover, and he knew he had her.  He tried not to laugh as he took off after
her, but failed miserably.

She was laughing too, and as he drew closer, he could see her running
awkwardly between the trees.

God, she looked beautiful.

Naked as he was, all she had on was a rope about her waist and leather bands
on her wrists, which for the moment were tied back to back with a leather
thong behind her back.

She turned to look behind her, and the couple made eye contact for the first
time since the game began.  The man almost stumbled as her beauty hit him,
the smile on her lips, the light in her eyes, the supple strength of her
body clearly exposed, and the way her long hair whipped to one side as she
turned.

Sometimes when he looked at her, he fell in love all over again.  But loving
her wasn't helping him catch her; there would be plenty of time for that
later.  He focused his mind and began to pursue her in earnest.  She led him
a good chase, but having her hands tied behind her slowed her down, and
eventually he caught her and wrestled her wonderfully soft and naked body to
the ground.

"Hey, no fair!" she cried out amidst the laughter.  "You dropped the bag!"

"I didn't drop everything!" he said, showing her the coil of cord in his
hand.

With a squeal she tried to wriggle free of his grasp, but the man was an old
hand at subduing naked women, especially this one.  His fingers found a
sensitive spot, and he tickled her until she was almost gasping for breath.
Then he used the cord to bind her ankles together, before standing up to
survey his prize.

"I win," he said with a grin.

"You...bastard," laughed the woman.

The man chuckled and reached down to pick her up.  With another squeal, the
woman was hoisted over his shoulder and carried back to the glade.  The
woman felt quite vulnerable being carried naked and bound like this, but
enjoyed the view, as her husband's tight ass was right in front of her face.

When they reached the glade, the man put her down and let her wriggle in the
grass while he pulled a bedroll from the sack.  It was the work of just a
moment to unroll it and transfer his wife to its softer surface.  He laid
her on her back and dropped down next to her.  The couple became quiet as
they gazed into each other's eyes, and no one watching could have missed the
affection that bound them together.  Slowly, the man leaned forward and
kissed his bound wife, the tender caress of his lips returned in force by
the woman.

When they parted, he found his heart beating loud and hard in his chest.

"I love you, Rhianna Anderson," he said quietly.

"I love YOU, Matthew, my husband," Rhianna replied.  He bent forward and
they kissed once more, this time for longer.  Matthew's hands found their
way to Rhianna's soft tanned skin and caressed her gently.  Rhianna moaned
as one hand slipped along her smooth mons and dipped into her womanhood.
She was already wet, for earlier Matthew had used up the last of the juice
in the little vial they had been given as a wedding present.  The juice was
an aphrodisiac; applied externally to erogenous zones, it dramatically
increased sexual arousal for a day or two.  The vial had been small, but
then a little went a long way.

Rhianna certainly felt the heat, and quite enjoyed the feelings, although
before she had sometimes resented being forced to feel this way.  But
Matthew had earned her trust, never abusing her vulnerability while in this
state.  It allowed her to eventually relax and just enjoy it.  Sex had never
been so good.

She had a feeling that her increased responsiveness wasn't all because of
the vial though; just the thought of it sometimes made her wet, and when
Matthew looked at her a certain way, she just melted.  Conditioned response?

She didn't care; it made her happy.

Matthew had continued his exploration of her body, using hands, mouth, and
his own manhood as he pinched and caressed her all over.  At one point, he
undid the cord that bound her feet together, and Rhianna was allowed to
spread her legs and invite him in.

It was an invitation Matthew never declined.  With a shift of his body, he
pushed and slipped into her moist warmth, and the twosome was now one.
Rhianna/Matthew moved together, familiar rhythms accelerating slowly.  They
never parted, and never said a word; they didn't need to.  Their joy was
beyond words, and could not be expressed in that way.  Rhianna/Matthew
quickly focused beyond the outside world and the discomforts it held, as
together they approached climax.  Rhianna forgot about how uncomfortable it
was lying on her back with her hands bound back to back, and Matthew no
longer felt the rock under his right knee or the mosquito biting his ass.
They only felt each other, and when the climax came, they came together in a
wave of love and wonder.

Both cried out in their passion, not caring if anyone could hear them,
although this high up the mountain no one should have been able to.  The
moment was theirs, and the entire world didn't matter anymore.  Then came
the afterglow, and Matthew rolled onto his back, pulling Rhianna over with
him so they could get off her bound arms.  They managed this trick without
him having to pull out of her, and he enjoyed how her sex kept massaging
him, the stimulation keeping him hard inside her despite one mother of an
orgasm.

Rhianna looked down at him, her face inches from his, her hair a shroud
around them, and she grinned.

"Not bad," she said.

"Not bad?" Matthew asked in surprise.

"Yep!  It was pretty good."

"Pretty good!"

Rhianna laughed.  "Why is the male ego so fragile when it comes to sex?"

Matthew didn't want to answer.  Instead, he pulled her close and kissed her
once more.

Rhianna relaxed in his arms for a little while before sitting up.  She
pulled her legs forward and knelt, straddling him.  He was still inside her,
and the burning passions within her demanded some more attention, so with a
devilish grin, she started to pump him, lifting herself up carefully with
her strong legs and then coming back down.

Matthew loved this; he loved to watch her when she was on top.  He put his
hands behind his head and gazed lustfully at Rhianna's sweaty nude body as
she did all the work.

One part of his mind was on the exquisite feelings coming from his groin,
while the other admired the way her breasts bounced with each thrust.
Rhianna knew he was staring at her boobs and arched her back a little more.
A small part of her was shocked at her brazen attitude, but that was the old
Rhianna; the new one was in love and had no such inhibitions toward her
husband.

Matthew knew it too, and before long both of them were laughing and coming
once more, as passion and the realization of how free Rhianna had become hit
them both at the same time.

Matthew was wiping tears of laughter from his eyes as he came down, so he
didn't notice at first when Rhianna stopped her sexual movements.  Only the
lack of stimulus prompted him to notice that something had caught her
attention.  She knelt upright, high on her knees, which had allowed him to
slip out of her.  A slight breeze moved her hair to one side, and the
sunshine made a dappled pattern across her bare skin as it shone through the
trees.

She was staring uphill, and even with a serious expression on her face, she
still looked stunning.

But something was wrong.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I thought...there, just above that ridge."

Puzzled, Matthew began to extract himself from his wife's embrace, and he
stood up next to her.  He scanned the mountain above them but saw nothing.
"What am I looking for?" he asked.

"A flash of yellow.  There it is!"  Rhianna answered.

"I didn't see it," he said.

Rhianna glanced up at him.  "You might be at the wrong angle, come down
here."

Matthew knelt beside her, and the couple waited patiently as the winds moved
the trees covering the slope above them.

Then he saw it.

"There!" Rhianna punctuated.  "Should there be anything like that up there?
That bright a yellow isn't exactly available in the Compound."

"You're right.  Someone's up there," Matthew answered.

As good as Rhianna had just been feeling, she suddenly felt vulnerable,
naked and bound as she was.  Despite the feeling, however, her spiced up sex
still demanded attention, and she had to force herself to concentrate on the
matter at hand.

Matthew looked very concerned at the thought of other people on the
mountain, and she understood his concern.  While it wasn't fenced, the
mountain was private property, and all interlopers were gently invited to
leave.

Normally that wasn't a problem, except at this time of the year when the
local town's school was out.  Teenagers would hike up here to spy or try to
get lucky with the mountain's mostly naked population.  For the most part,
the members of the Compound didn't mind the spying; if they were nervous
about being looked at, they wouldn't be outside nude anyway.  But the other
type of contact between the townsfolk and the young people of the compound
was frowned upon by parents from both groups, so extra steps were taken to
nip it in the bud when possible.

Everyone knew it was just kids being kids, but the people of the Compound
were as enamored of free sex as P.E.T.A. was of rabbits wearing eye shadow.

"I'll go check it out," Matthew said.

"Untie me and I'll come too," Rhianna announced.

Matthew looked at her, and Rhianna wondered if he was going to pick this
moment to have some fun maintaining his dominance over her.  She was NOT his
slave or submissive, but these games usually had her on the helpless end of
the rope, and oddly enough, she didn't mind that at all.  But there was a
time for play, and this wasn't one of them.  Matthew nodded and moved to
untie her, and once she was free, he went to the sack still lying against
the tree.

"I hope you brought us something to wear?" Rhianna asked him.  In another
life, she probably would have been rubbing her wrists after been bound by
such thin cord, but the leather wedding bands had protected her.  Not for
the first time, Rhianna wondered if that was what they were originally for.
Along with nudity, bondage was not thought of as a sexual perversion in the
Compound, but as a healthy expression of affection.  It was also used as a
means of punishment, but you always knew where you were with it.

"Just these," he said, tossing her a single piece of cloth.

Rhianna caught it and chuckled.  It was her loincloth; wide and long enough
to cover her pussy and ass, but not much more.  Matthew began tucking his
own loincloth under the rope around his waist.

"I wasn't expecting company," he said with a sheepish grin.

"Humph.  At least you get to cover up all your bits!" Rhianna said in mock
anger, putting on her own loincloth.

"You'll be fine.  It'll give those kids a treat to see you like that."

Rhianna stuck out her tongue.

Laughing, Matthew pulled a knife and scabbard out of the sack and strapped
it to one leg.  Rhianna looked at it wistfully and thought briefly about the
gun she used to carry as an FBI agent.  It was good being armed when going
into an unknown situation, but women here weren't allowed to be armed, not
even with a knife, although all were required to know how to use one.  It
was one of the community laws.

"Come on," Matthew said.

"Sure thing, Tarzan," Rhianna said with a smile.  Matthew grinned and began
the walk up to where they had seen the flash of yellow.

Rhianna followed him, and admired his almost naked form as he moved
stealthily up the ever-increasing slope.  Unconsciously, she began to pinch
a nipple with her right hand and she had to force her mind off his butt and
on the trail they were following.  The stuff Matthew had put on her would
screw her up for at least another day.  It was the only downside to it.

Even though the flash had looked close, it was at least an hour's climb to
where they thought they saw it, but when they got there, they found nothing.
Well, almost nothing.

"Someone's been here," Rhianna said, looking at the ground.  They were on an
outcropping with a great view of the surrounding mountains; the kind of spot
real estate agents and developers would sell their families for a chance to
own.

Matthew let Rhianna have her head; he acknowledged her superior tracking
abilities, and as she examined the ground, he kept an eye on the brush and
the slope above them.  He thought he smelled smoke, but couldn't be sure.

"Yeah," Rhianna continued, "the ground is pretty muddy up here, and there's
foot prints, shoes; it wasn't one of us."

No one at the compound wore shoes outside in the summertime.

"How many?"  Matthew asked.

"Just one.  Yes, just the one.  It could be a teenager, the shoes are small
enough."

"This is awfully high up the mountain for one of the town kids," Matthew
said, "it's not as though you can even see the Compound from here."  Matthew
kept scanning the area until his eyes caught movement deep in the brush.
Something yellow had just made an appearance.

Matthew waved at Rhianna and inclined his head in the proper direction.

Rhianna caught on right away.

"Hey there!"  Matthew yelled.  "We know you're there, so why don't you just
come out!"

There was no movement.

Rhianna thought she would give it a try.  "It's okay, we won't hurt you!"

After a few seconds, the yellow moved, and revealed itself to be a young
woman, dirty, with a bright yellow shirt on and jeans.  She looked scared
and confused.  Her eyes traveled from Rhianna to Matthew and back to Rhianna
again, and the former FBI agent could tell the woman was wondering why
Rhianna was running around in the woods practically naked.  She forced
herself not to cover up.

She had been told by much of the population that it was better for her to
show how relaxed she was being nude in front of outsiders, even when she
wasn't.  To give in would be to give in forever, and never become used to
being naked on the mountain.  Giving in would give outsiders the message
that what the community was doing was wrong even to them, and that was
patently untrue.

Besides, on THIS mountain, the community did as it pleased, and no one was
to give the outsiders the impression that they could be embarrassed about
anything.

"Hi," said Rhianna, "my name is Rhianna, and this is my husband, Matthew;
are you okay?"

The woman was still trying to look at both of them at the same time.  She
looked tired and wet through, but an unexpected spark of life suddenly came
to light.  She straightened up a bit more and gave them both a piercing
stare.

"Say, you're not cops are you?" she asked them.

Matthew was surprised, and glanced at his wife.  Rhianna's expression
narrowed a little.  "No, we aren't cops."

The woman seemed to relax a little.  "I'm Shawna, and I think I sprained my
ankle.  Can you help me?"

Matthew and Rhianna glanced at each other, and together moved forward to
help.



End of Part One.

Catch up on all my stories at http://www.writingsofleviticus.cjb.net
If you're having problems contacting me, try leviticusthebard@hotmail.com

The Compound Part 2


   Doctor Gabe Miller IV came out of his small examining room with his arms
full.  He dropped the knapsack and clothing belonging to his patient on a
side table before turning to his waiting visitors.

   "Matthew, Rhianna.  Thanks for bringing her in!"

   "No problem, Doc!" Matthew replied.  "How is she?"

   "Badly bruised; she's going to be hurting for a while, but nothing
broken."

   "Good," Matthew said.

   They were standing in the compound's small hospital, run by its only
doctor, Gabe Miller.  It was the only place in the Compound where one could
find Twentieth Century technology.

   The Compound had been founded by those willing to give up what
industrial man had brought to the world, but not everything had been
rejected.  Not stupid, the community knew the value of modern medicine, and
so despite their chosen way of life, they made an exception when it came to
their health.  One of the golden rules of the Compound was that a person's
health was more important than any ideology.

   "Did she tell you how she came to be all the way up there?" Gabe asked
his friend.  Gabe and Matthew were roughly the same age, and had known each
other since they were kids.

   "She didn't talk much," Matthew said, "we got her name, and she said
something about having walked all the way up there.  I asked her how she
was hurt, and she said that her boyfriend had beaten her up before she got
a chance to get away."

   Gabe nodded, but he was also frowning.  "That's pretty much the story
she gave me, but it doesn't ring true unless he was hitting her with a
baseball bat.  Even then she wouldn't have gotten very far."

   "You think she was lying?" Matthew asked him.

   "I do!" Rhianna said.  "Who walks uphill when they are lost?  She was
practically at the snowline!"

   The men turned to see that Rhianna had opened Shawna's knapsack and was
going through the contents.

   "Hey!" Gabe exclaimed, "Stop that!  You can't just go through her
stuff!"

   "I just want to see..." Rhianna found a small bottle and held it up to
the light coming in through the skylight in the ceiling.  During the day,
skylights provided most of the illumination for the buildings of the
Compound.

   "No!  Rhianna, put it back!"

   "But..."

   Matthew moved forward.  "Do as he says, Wife!" he told her.

   Rhianna stopped and stared at Matthew.  There was no doubting that the
compound was very patriarchal, and while for the most part women were
treated as equals, there was a definite shift in power toward the men. 
There was a maze of traditions and customs here that placed women in the
submissive position, but none of it was abusive or even overwhelming, so
Rhianna had not minded.  But there were times, like now when Matthew raised
his voice and used his position as her husband and "Head of House" against
her, that Rhianna wished women's lib' had found this place.

   Early on, when she first came to live for good in the Compound, she had
tried to see just what would happen if she bucked tradition and the
authority of the men.  It had caused tension between her and Matthew, and a
rather steep decline in her own popularity and influence among the other
women.  In the end, the community stepped in when it became apparent that
Rhianna was not going to abide by the rules that had functioned here for
the seventy-year history of the Compound.  Rhianna and Matthew were told
that if Rhianna didn't stop making waves and learned her position, then the
couple would have to leave.

   At the time, Rhianna hadn't understood WHY things were as they were
here, but for Matthew's sake she tried her best to fit in, and after a
while began to find her own peace with it all.  The rules that seemed
stifling and unfair at first now seemed comforting and secure.  There was a
definite appeal to not having to be the major decision maker anymore; to
placing your life in another's hands.  It had certainly brought her and
Matthew closer together, and now that she wasn't bucking the system and
actually working within it, she soon earned the respect and friendship of
the whole community again.  But there were times when it still bit at her
craw, and those times usually occurred when Matthew called her "Wife!"

   He didn't do it often, but she had learned to respect the times he did.

   "But I..." she tried to say.

   "Now," he said quietly, giving her his 'you'd better do it' look.  He
knew as well as she did that later in private the two of them would have a
'discussion' about this moment, but for now Rhianna would obey.  She put
the bottle back in the bag.

   "Doc, didn't you notice anything strange about her?" she asked.

   "About who?" said a voice from the doorway, "Our visitor?" It was Paul
Anderson, Matthew's older brother.  Paul was also the community's Guardian,
a post that made him a combination Mayor and Sheriff.  Generally speaking,
it put him in charge of the day-to-day aspects of the five hundred and some
odd souls that made up the community.  It was a position he took seriously
and it weighed on him.

   "Thanks for coming, Paul," said Gabe, putting things back in the
knapsack and handing it to him.

   "Who is she, and why is she here?" Paul asked.  Matthew told him about
how he and Rhianna found Shawna on the mountain and brought her back, and
Gabe finished the tale by telling Paul about her injuries.

   Paul was unimpressed.

   "When can she leave?" he asked.

   "Well, she's resting now, getting some much needed sleep, but tomorrow
she can be taken into town," said the doctor.

   Paul nodded.  "Okay.  She can have her things back when she goes then.
You're responsible for her."

   "Yes, Sir," Gabe said.

   Rhianna was beside herself.  "Paul, there's something else..."

   "No, there isn't Paul!" Gabe said, glaring at Rhianna.

   Paul Anderson grunted and left the room.

   "What's with you guys?" Rhianna asked.

   "Rhianna," said Gabe, taking her hand, "I know what you're thinking, but
you keep it to yourself.  Trust me."

   Oddly enough, Rhianna did trust him.  Gabe Miller was one of Matthew's
closest friends, and because of that, Rhianna had also come to know him
very well.  She had many friends here but Gabe was one of the closest.

   "Okay, but you owe me an explanation later," she said.

   Gabe nodded.  "Now go, the pair of you, before you wake her up!"

   Matthew took his wife's arm and led her to the door.  "Come on, Pet. 
See you later, Doc!"

   As the couple walked down the hallway away from the little clinic,
Matthew asked what Rhianna was so excited about.

   "Didn't you look at her eyes?" she asked him.  "God, Matthew, her pupils
were blown wide open.  I'm sure she's on drugs, something illegal, and I
bet whatever it is, it's in that bottle.  Why would Gabe want to cover that
up?"

   Matthew shrugged, but he trusted his friend.  "I don't know, but
whatever the reason, I'm sure it's a good one.  Now come on, let's go get
washed up, and I believe you have kitchen duty tonight."

   "No I don't."

   "Yes you do, Pet, for making me raise my voice."

   Rhianna stopped and looked at him.  She saw he was perfectly serious.

   "You're putting me on KP?"

   Matthew nodded.

   Rhianna grinned and stood on her toes to give him a kiss on the cheek.
"You're sweet, you know that?" And with a laugh, she ran off toward the
bathhouse.

   Thoroughly confused, Matthew followed more slowly.  "Women," he said to
himself, "there's no understanding them."

   ---***--

   Shawna Michaels woke up an hour later, a bad dream ruining her sleep. 
She was sore and stiff, but felt a little better for the brief sleep she
had gotten.  She lay still on the small bed she had been offered in this
strange place, and kept her eyes closed until her mind began to function.
She was scared, but also puzzled about the people she had met so far. 
Never in her wildest dreams had she expected to meet such a couple as the
ones that had rescued her from the forest.  Like Adam and Eve, they looked
very much at ease being outside almost naked.  The man, what was his name?
He was a dish, but the woman didn't like her, Shawna could tell.  Well, she
could go fuck herself.

   But this place, it was like nothing she'd seen before.  She had been
half carried by that gorgeous man to what looked like a fort with a huge
wooden wall made of logs twice as high as she was.  Then, when they passed
through a gate, she saw huge huts everywhere that seemed to be built half
underground.  She didn't get a good look though, partly because she was
taken inside right away, and partly because she was staring at the people.
Most of them were naked, and by naked, Shawna really meant naked.  The
couple that had rescued her both wore what looked like loincloths, but many
of the people she saw didn't even have that much on.  There were kids too:
little kids, big kids, all as naked as jaybirds.  Shawna was stunned.

   She was brought to see their doctor, a nice man dressed a little more
appropriately for his position, although he didn't have a white coat on. 
But Shawna felt at ease with him, and allowed him to examine her, because
she really was hurting by now.  He gave her something for the pain, and put
her in this room to sleep, but now she was awake.  Images of the crash and
Dirk's death had jolted her from her sleep.

   And she had a craving.

   Shawna opened her eyes and looked about the room.  It was very plainly
furnished and looked very rustic.  There was the bed she was laying on, a
chair, and a small table; that was it.  Light came in through a skylight
above her that seemed to pass over the wall into the next room as well. 
What she didn't see in the room was her knapsack, which was what she was
looking for.  As she shifted to look under the bed, she realized she was
still naked.  The doctor had her undress completely for the examination,
and apparently she had been put to bed that way.  Her clothes were also
missing.  Shawna clutched the blanket that covered her and wondered what to
do.  Apparently, nudity wasn't a big deal around here, but she would be
dammed if she were going to walk around without any clothes on.  Besides,
without the clothes, there was no going back to civilization.  Shawna
thought about that for a moment.

   The curtain in the doorway moved, and Gabe came in, smiling.

   "Hi, I thought I heard you moving," he said.  "How are you feeling?"

   "Better, thank you," Shawna replied.  "Where are my things?"

   "Safe.  They're being held until you leave.  We have strict rules about
outside items being brought into the Compound.

   "But my clothes?"

   "I've got something for you to wear while you're here.  Don't worry, we
won't make you go naked." Gabe laughed, focusing on Shawna and attempting
to ease her tensions.  She looked worried to him.

   "But I need something from my bag," she told him.

   "What?" Gabe asked, knowing exactly what she wanted.  Like Rhianna, he
had spotted the signs that she was a drug user.

   "Er...medicine," she said.

   "I thought you told me that you didn't have any medical problems."

   "I forgot." That sounded lame even to Shawna, and she winced.

   Gabe shook his head and sat down in the chair.  Shawna tucked the
blanket in tighter around her.  Even though Gabe had just examined her body
an hour before, she felt an instinctive need to cover up.  Shawna felt
vulnerable being naked with a man when she had no idea where her clothes
were.

   "Shawna," Gabe said, "for as long as you're here, I'm your doctor.  I'm
a real doctor, certified by the State and fully qualified to treat anything
I have the expertise and the equipment to handle.  Just because I live and
work in this very special community doesn't mean I am any less of a doctor
than one you would meet in...say Denver.  In fact, I may have an edge on a
lot of my colleagues, in that living here I also have knowledge of a lot of
local remedies that are just as potent as anything you'd find off the
mountain.

   "I'm telling you this because I want you to know something about me that
you can trust to be true.  As a doctor, as YOUR doctor, I am held to
standard of Doctor/Patient confidentiality.  I can't talk to anyone about
your medical problems if you don't want me to.  Whatever we discuss in this
room right now stays between you and me.  Do you understand?"

   "Yes," said Shawna, listening intently to the doctor's calm voice.

   "Now Shawna, I know you're a user, cocaine, I imagine.  How badly into
it are you?"

   Shawna shook her head.  "No, no.  I'm not."

   "Shawna." Gabe sat and stared at her, concern all over his face.  It
made Shawna feel guilty.

   "Yeah, okay.  Sure, I take a dip once in a while, but I'm not a user; I
don't need it!" she said with emphasis.

   Gabe looked at her for a moment.  "That's good to hear, Shawna.  Then I
guess you don't need the...medicine...you wanted, do you?"

   Shawna took a breath.  "No.  I guess not," she finally answered.  "But,
you're not going to get rid of it, are you?"

   "You should be the one to get rid of it, Shawna, if you really don't
need it.  I can help you with that if you like."

   "No, that's okay."

   Gabe shrugged.  He felt like pressing further, he hated recreational
drugs and was very happy to have a practice where such things were unknown.
But he sensed that pushing Shawna too hard would be wrong at this point.

   "Okay," he said, "let me have another look at your foot."

   Hesitantly, Shawna stuck her injured foot out from under the blanket and
Gabe checked the bandage and poultice he had placed on it.  The poultice
was a mountain recipe that his grandfather had come up with when he was the
community doctor.  It was surprisingly effective at treating muscle
injuries.

   He nodded and got up to leave.

   "Doctor?" Shawna asked, "Clothes?"

   Gabe smiled.  "I want you resting for a while yet.  I'll bring you
something to wear in a little while, at least this way I know you'll stay
in bed!"

   Shawna gave him an anxious smile, and he left chuckling.  Worried,
Shawna lay back down, and thought about her next step.  Dirk was dead;
there was no getting around that.

   But how did she really feel about that?

   Dirk had been there for her when she needed him, her home life under her
father had been hell, but Dirk had eventually turned into another hell. 
Shawna wondered if she would really mourn his passing.  Not ready to think
about that yet, she moved on to the money.  Three million at least was
waiting for her somewhere up the mountain.  All she had to do was pick it
up and make her way to the nearest town.  But, she had no idea where the
town might be or even where she was!  And even if she did know, she was in
no shape to go hiking around the Rockies.  Besides, what if the cops were
still looking for her and Dirk?  She felt reasonably secure that this
strange community didn't know anything about the money or the robbery, so
she was safe here for now.  But later?

   Too many questions.

   Relaxed as she was, she soon closed her eyes and eventually fell asleep.

   ---***--

   Shawna walked slowly alongside Gabe, who had come to take her to dinner.
A young woman, Gabe's nurse, had brought her some clothes and had helped
Shawna put them on.  Shawna had never worn a loincloth before, and the rope
about her waist felt strange, but it felt good to be covered up down there
again.  She also wore a simple cloth dress that didn't quite fit, but it
was modestly cut, for which she was grateful.

   Gabe showed up soon after with a crutch for her to use, and after some
practice steps, she felt good enough to leave the clinic and get something
to eat.

   She still felt her craving, but she figured that with some food and
maybe a drink, she might be okay.  She had told Gabe the truth in that she
wasn't a heavy user, but it had been a long time since she had gone more
than a couple of days without a hit.  Anytime she tried to go without for a
while, her boyfriend Dirk usually found out about it and put a stop to it.
It was him that got her started in the first place.

   But that was in the past now, she hoped, and she had a future to work
out, a three million dollar future.  All she needed to do was avoid the law
for a while.

   She thought about this as she followed Gabe down a hallway that seemed
to pass through at least a couple of the huge huts she had seen coming in.
A number of people passed them by, most heading in the same direction they
were, and Shawna kept getting distracted by all the bare skin.

   "Where are we going?" she eventually asked Gabe.

   "The community usually eats the evening meal together," he said.  "In
the winter time we eat in the Great Hall, which we're passing right now,
but in the good weather we eat outside.  You'll find that a lot of what we
do is done outside at this time of year."

   Gabe smiled at her and Shawna nodded back, still uncertain about where
she had ended up.  They went up some steps and passed through a large door
to the outside.

   Shawna gasped.

   Spread out between the residential wings of the Compound were several
dozen large tables with benches placed along them.  Sitting, standing, and
generally milling around them, were all the people.  They were laughing and
talking and generally having a good time, the adults mostly sitting while
the children ran around.  There was a strong sense of community spirit,
reinforced by the fact that the majority of the populace wore very little.
But for a change, no one except the younger children was completely naked.

   "It's considered bad manners to sit at table without at least a
loincloth on," Gabe said to her, guessing at her thoughts.  Shawna nodded,
but noticed also that of the people that were dressed, she seemed to be
wearing the most.

   Gabe began to guide her down one side of the assembled masses, and
Shawna hobbled along as best as she could.  She was aware of people looking
at her as she passed by, but for the most part the looks were pleasant and
non-threatening.

   Shawna found herself smiling back at them.

   She saw one of her rescuers sitting at a table across the way with some
other people.  It was the man, what WAS his name?  He was talking with a
couple of men and some children, and didn't see her.  As Shawna watched,
the woman who had been with him turned up carrying two plates.  She set the
plates down in front of the men and then headed back to where Shawna saw
food and drink was laid out.

   THOSE tables were surrounded just by women, and it took a second for
Shawna to realize that it was mostly men who sat, while it was only women
who fetched the food.

   "Here we are!" Gabe announced, and he helped Shawna sit down at a
half-filled table.

   Gabe introduced her to his family.  His father, Gabe Sr., sat at one end
in the place of honor, and his wife sat next to him.  Other family members
sat around the table, and they welcomed Shawna warmly as Gabe introduced
them all.  A plate of bread, vegetables, and cheeses was placed in front of
her, and she looked up to see a young woman smiling down at her.  It was
the nurse who had helped her dress.

   "I wasn't sure what you liked, so I got you a little of everything," she
said.

   "Thank you," Shawna replied.

   "What would you like to drink?  There's water, milk, several different
fruit juices, and a vegetable drink that is very healthy for you."

   "Er...I don't suppose you have anything stronger, do you?" Shawna asked
her.

   The conversation at the table paused.

   "Women don't drink alcohol here," Gabe said to her, smiling softly.

   "Oh," said Shawna, inwardly cursing.  "I'm sorry."

   "That's fine," said Gabe.  "Vicky, get her the vegetable juice. 
Doctor's orders."

   "Okay!" said Vicky, and she ran off.

   "That's Vicky, my kid sister, but I don't hold it against her, because
she's a damn fine nurse as well!" Gabe said, smiling as he dug into his own
food.  The company at the table laughed.

   "She's nice," Shawna said, picking at her own food.  After tasting a
mouthful of cress, she realized that she was indeed hungry, and began to
devour what was on her plate.

   Vicky came back with her drink and a plate of her own, and settled in
beside her.

   "I'm glad you're here," Vicky said.  "I like having new people here."

   "Do you get many new people?" Shawna asked, wondering about how much
contact these people had with the outside world.

   "Not often.  Not to stay anyway.  I think Rhianna was our last new
person who came to stay.  Oh, and she brought Patch and Ruthy too, so I
guess they count.  Are you going to stay?"

   "Rhianna?" asked Shawna.

   Vicky pointed out the woman who had rescued Shawna, who was now sitting
down and eating with the rest of her group.

   "No, I'm not planning on it," Shawna replied.

   "Too bad, you might like it here!"

   Shawna turned to look at Vicky.  She looked about twenty, and perky in
that college-age way, with big bright eyes and a youthful glow.  It was
easy to see that she was very fit, for she wore the same loincloth the
others wore, plus a thin halter tied to one side.  She was just a few years
younger than Shawna herself, but Shawna felt a lot older; the last few
years had been hard ones.

   "Shawna is heading back to town tomorrow," Gabe said, and he found
himself suddenly regretting her departure.  She was an attractive young
woman and her story about her boyfriend had made him mad.  If it were true,
she needed protection and Gabe had a fancy about taking the job.

   "Oh, that's too bad," Vicky responded.

   Shawna looked at her plate.  She wasn't sure she wanted to go back so
soon; she at least had to stay here long enough for her ankle to heal.  She
had a mountain to climb and money to collect.

   "Doctor, I..." she began but Gabe hushed her.

   "Just a minute, Shawna," he said, and gestured to where a man had stood
up and was waving to get everyone's attention.

   It was Paul Anderson, and he stood on his chair so that everyone could
see him.  It was not an unusual thing to see, for Paul liked to use the
evening meal as his time to inform the community of things the whole group
needed to know.  It was the only time the majority of them were together.
The group quieted down.

   "Just one thing before I let you get back to your meals!" he shouted
loud enough for everyone to hear.

   "THANK GOD!" yelled a voice and everyone laughed.

   Paul smiled.  "Yes, thank you, Johan.  I know you can't go more than a
minute at meal times without something besides your foot in your mouth, so
I'll be brief!"

   The crowd laughed again, used to the by-play between the two friends.

   "We have a visitor with us tonight; her name is Shawna, and she was
injured on the mountain last night and left behind by a male companion. 
Matthew and Rhianna found her and brought her here to be treated by Gabe,
and she'll be taken down to town tomorrow.  But while she is here, be sure
to show her the hospitality I know you are all capable of.  All except you,
Johan, you always show our pretty female visitors a little TOO much
hospitality!"

   Even Shawna smiled at that one, while the crowd whooped it up.

   "Is she pretty?" Johan called out from the back of the crowd where he
always sat.

   Paul smiled.  "Shawna, why don't you stand up so that everyone knows who
you are!"

   Suddenly red with embarrassment, Shawna was helped up by Vicky.  She was
pleasantly shocked when those around her suddenly started saying hello and
smiling.

   One big man near the back also stood and brushed his beard.

   "She IS pretty!  My dear, I am Johan, and I am at your service!"

   "Shawna," Paul said with a grin, "you stay away from that one!"

   The crowd laughed again and blushing, Shawna sat back down.

   Paul's expression turned serious and he waited for the laughter to die.
"Normally I don't bring it up when we have someone new here; the grapevine
usually does that well enough on its own.  But I do so tonight because of
her companion.  It's possible that he is still on the mountain, although I
hope not.  Before he left, he beat our visitor and left her to fend for
herself.  If he IS still around, I don't want the same thing to happen to
any of you.  So until I'm convinced that he is gone, no one goes out of the
Compound alone, and no kids leave the immediate area with an adult. 
Understood?"

   The people nodded, although there were a few minor protests from some of
the children.

   Paul sat back down, and general conversation rose once more.  As Shawna
ate her food, she thought about the lie she had told to cover her injuries,
and how that lie had affected all these kind people.  It didn't settle with
her too well.


   End of Part 2.

The Compound   Part 3

That night, Shawna tossed and turned in her bed, rife with indecision.  She was
once again sleeping in the clinic, but she wasn't really alone.  Gabe's quarters
were right next-door, and he could walk through a door right from his home to
the clinic if he needed to.  Plus, it was his practice to have someone up and
working in the clinic whenever he had an overnight patient, so Shawna could hear
someone moving around outside her room.  She actually wished she were alone. 
The person on the other side of the curtained doorway was a constant reminder of
how helpful and friendly these people were.  That she was lying to them made
Shawna uncomfortable to the extreme.  Shawna knew she wasn't good at lying.  It
also didn't help that she was constantly aware of her craving for a hit of
something.  Shawna knew she was one of the lucky few for whom withdrawal
symptoms came on slowly, but that didn't make them any easier to bear.  The
medication the doctor gave her for her injuries helped to take off the edge of
her cravings, but soon it wouldn't be enough.  She had to find her stuff, just
for a few seconds.

One hit, just a little one, would see her through; she knew it!  It was another
reason Shawna wished she was alone; she wanted to search the clinic for her
knapsack.

As she lay there trying to sleep, Shawna thought about the strange community she
had wandered into.  That it existed at all simply amazed her.  Here was a group
of people with an entire mountain to themselves, and on it, they built a sort of
simple paradise.  No phones, computers, cars, or television!  They had turned
their backs on it all!

Shawna could admire their commitment to living without all that stuff, but
wasn't sure she would want to do it herself.  After all, she had pursued a
career in electronics before Dirk had put his claws in her life, and there was
no need for that skill here.

Dirk.

Why couldn't she mourn for him?

The man had been her lover, her rescuer, her rock to hold on to.  Shawna didn't
know why, but she had always needed a man like that to guide her through life. 
She thought it might be because of her father, an overbearing tyrant who ruled
his home with an iron fist.  Life under him had been hard, his quest for
perfection in his children backed up with a heavy hand.  Many times Shawna had
come under his wrath for not performing up to his rigid standards, and
punishment was either physical in nature or through humiliation.  Shawna vividly
remembered the time he made her scrub the concrete patio surrounding their pool. 
He had made her do it naked in front of the entire house staff, simply because
he caught the then sixteen-year-old teasing a young gardener by flaunting her
body in a very brief bikini.  She had already been forbidden twice to even
purchase the swimsuit in question, so her father figured that if his daughter
wanted to show off her body in such a shameful way, then she might as well go
all the way and show all of it to everyone.

After she was finally allowed to stop and get out of sight of the help, a crying
Shawna was beaten with a strap, producing marks all over her that prevented her
wearing a swimsuit of any kind for a week.  The gardener was fired.

It was a pattern that extended far back into her childhood and up to her college
years, and even her mother wasn't immune to her father's discipline.  Only in
college, living away from home for the first time, did Shawna finally realize
just how bad she had it.  Yet, she still couldn't escape her family, because her
father held all the purse strings, and to be honest, Shawna just hadn't been
strong enough to resist.  Then came Dirk, who picked her up just as she was
graduating.  He was a whirlwind of fresh air, independent, well traveled, with
money of his own at the time.  He swept Shawna off her feet and convinced her to
go away with him.

Life was good for the first several months, until his temper became apparent. 
Then he would start abusing her, punishing her for wrongs both real and
imagined.  Again, Shawna began to feel trapped, but she thought this time she
could walk away, until he got her hooked on coke.  Shawna knew that with Dirk,
she always had a fix handy; without him, there was nothing but the great
unknown.  So she stayed with him, through good and bad.  Dirk turned out to be a
low-grade hustler and petty thief, and he had been living off a very good score
when he met Shawna.  But eventually the money ran out, and Dirk did small jobs
to keep them both fed.  He was always looking for another big score, and moved
Shawna and himself around the country in his quest for the "big one."

Then came the bank in Cisco.

To Dirk, it was a dream come true.  No slouch himself when it came to mechanical
things, he spotted a flaw in the bank's security that a good electronics
engineer could exploit.  Shawna, much to her father's surprise and her own, had
become very good with electronics!

Almost the top of her class, she had expected to be hired by one of the
industrial giants right out of college.  But Dirk had gotten to her first.  And
now, after casing almost three-dozen banks all over small town America, Dirk had
found his big score.

It didn't take much to convince Shawna to help him; just a withholding of her
next fix coupled with a threat-ladened guilt trip that made her feel worthless
and afraid.

She did what he wanted in order to satisfy her cravings, and because at the time
she really felt that she loved him.

So they robbed the bank, but didn't get clean away.  Their escape was spotted
and they never got more than a minute ahead of their pursuers until they reached
the small airport outside of town.

The plane had been a part of their planned getaway, but the police chase had
not.  Fearful of being followed even in the air, Dirk had steered them directly
into the mountains and into the storm that eventually brought them down.

Shawna thought about all this as she lay trying to sleep, and wondered how her
life could have become so much crap.  Why were the only men in her life such
bastards?

When she did eventually fall asleep, it was with the calm knowledge that three
million dollars would make up for a hell of a lot of her abused past.

---***---

Waking the next morning, Shawna felt both better and worse.  Many of the aches
and pains from her bruises had faded away, and her foot felt a lot better after
a full night in the poultice.  But her craving had increased, and Shawna had to
consciously control how it showed.  She was also feeling the effects of alcohol
withdrawal, for cocaine was not her only vice.  Dirk had kept her liquored and
drugged up for years in a carefully managed way, and now that he was gone,
Shawna was feeling the consequences.  Her hands wouldn't stop shaking, and she
felt like she had a low-grade flu.  She knew it would only get worse before it
got better, and she was not looking forward to it.

She vowed to find something she could use that day.

She was up and dressed before Vicky came in to see her. 

"Hi Shawna, how are you doing today?" Vicky asked with a cheerful smile, a short
skirt added to her ensemble from the day before. 

"Better, thanks," lied Shawna.

"That's great.  My brother says that you'll be heading to town this morning, so
I expect you'll be glad to be getting out of here."

Shawna looked up in surprise, she had forgotten about the plan to send her back
to civilization.  At first she was elated, for it meant her getting her knapsack
back soon, but then she began to worry.  Here in the Compound she was safe from
the authorities, but she would be sure that all towns within range of the plane
they had escaped in would be warned about the bank robbery.  If she showed her
face in town, it would mean arrest for sure.  Besides, going to town meant being
taken away from all the money, and the crashed plane wouldn't remain hidden
forever, especially from these people.  Shawna realized she couldn't leave, not
this way.

"Vicky, is the doctor around?" Shawna asked.

"Sure, I'll go get him if you like!"  Vicky answered.

"Please," Shawna said.

Vicky nodded and left the room.

---***---

"So you don't want to leave?" Gabe asked his patient, noting in his head her
tremors and evasive eyes.

"No, not right now," Shawna said to him.  "I don't think it will be a good idea
just yet."

"Why not?" asked Gabe.

Shawna hesitated.  She had tried to think of a good reason for staying, but had
only come up with one that had a chance of being believable, at least by this
man.  Yet it was a painful choice to her. 

"Er...You guys are pretty isolated up here, aren't you?" Shawna eventually said.

Gabe nodded slowly.

"I mean, you don't really have a drug problem up here do you?"

"No," said Gabe, "There's no drug problem up here."

Shawna gave him a strained smile.  "That's good because I think that's what I
need right now.  No distractions, no temptations.  I wasn't quite honest with
you yesterday.  I do have a drug problem.  It's a small one, I'm not a heavy
doper or anything, but I still..."

Gabe waited a moment before speaking.  "There are places that can take care of
you, where you can get cleaned up.  There's a hospital in town where I can
arrange for you to stay for a while if you like.  You can be helped there," he
said gently.

"No, I don't want another hospital," said Shawna.  "I don't...trust them, like I
trust you.  There, I'm just another body; clean her up and ship her out!  But
here, with you, I know I'll be cared for." 

Shawna looked up at him for the first time, and Gabe saw in her eyes that she
really was in pain.  The caregiver in him wanted to help her, but the Compound
had rules.

He sighed.  "I do want to help you Shawna, you know that.  But extending your
stay isn't my decision once you're well enough to travel.  I'll have to talk to
Paul about it first."

"Paul?" Shawna asked.

"Paul Anderson, the man you saw talking last night at dinner.  He runs the
Compound, and it's his decision if you stay or not."

"But you will ask him, won't you?" asked Shawna, reaching out and taking his
hand.

"I'll ask," Gabe said simply, and he pulled his hand away from her and got up.

Shawna watched him leave the room and then lay back on her bed.  She
concentrated on pulling herself together, and silently wished Gabe luck.

---***---

Gabe found Paul Anderson out in front of the stables.  Paul was standing at the
corral fence with Johan Bergstrom, who was in charge of all the livestock the
Compound kept.  The two men were in quiet conversation as they watched a third
man work in the corral itself.

Patch was working a horse, a rather unruly stallion that had injured a foreleg
trying to jump the fence.  The animal was agitated and in obvious pain as it
limped about the corral.

It certainly wasn't animal you'd want to approach.  Yet Patch had made the
attempt.

Calmly, and with deliberate speed, Patch had managed to walk up to the stricken
animal and put a bridle on it.  Through all his approach, he whispered quietly
to the horse, his voice calm and almost silent.  The horse responded favorably,
and by the time Patch reached it, it stood meekly in the center of the yard.

Patch began to rub it down with his hands, rubbing the sweat off its flanks and
feeling the tenseness of all the muscles under the skin.  He looked over briefly
at where his wife, Ruthy, stood waiting at the barn door, and nodded his head.

Ruthy slowly approached the horse, and once she reached it, she took over the
rubbing motion Patch had established while Patch bent low to look at the injured
leg.

He saw nothing serious in the injury, and sent Ruthy back for liniment and some
wraps.

At the tail end of all this, Gabe arrived, and he stood and watched the couple
at work for a moment.

Gabe was quite concerned about Patch.  When the man had arrived in the Compound
a year ago with Ruthy and Rhianna, he had brought along a complete medical file,
which in itself was quite unusual.  Rather than having to develop for himself
the medical history of the few newcomers the Compound had, Gabe was able to read
through Patch's at once.  What he saw sickened him.  Patch, a former FBI Agent
named Cory Lincoln, had been tortured extensively.  His body was a network of
scars and cuts, and many of his bones had been broken at some point in his life. 
Major injuries to his neck, possibly a hanging attempt, had almost destroyed his
voice box, so he had no real voice to speak with.  He had lost an eye, hence his
new name, and he was the only person in the Compound that never went barefoot,
because someone had hacked off the front of his right foot. 

That was just the physical side of his problems.  Gabe found several pages of
summaries of psychiatric evaluations done on Patch since he was rescued by
Rhianna from wherever she found him.  Basically they all said that whatever had
happened to the man had so traumatized him that the person who had been Cory
Lincoln had retreated deep into his mind, leaving Patch behind.  Patch was a
simple man, but an intelligent one.  But according to Rhianna, there was little
of the original Cory Lincoln left.  Gabe was no psychiatrist, but he could
understand the conclusions drawn by the several doctors who had seen the man. 
Eventually, maybe, Cory might appear again.  But it was doubtful.

Gabe however, felt that with the right environment and the right people around
him, Cory might make it back from wherever he was hiding.  And if there were any
place in the world it could happen, it would be here in the Compound.

But Gabe, like the rest of the community, couldn't help but be impressed with
the skills Patch brought with him.  The man was a master when it came to
training horses.  Gabe didn't know whether to believe what Rhianna told him he
had trained before he came here, but he certainly had the touch!  Whether these
skills were a part of Patch, or a part of Cory, Gabe didn't know.  But he
intended to help Patch find out.  But now Gabe had a different problem.

"Paul," he said, walking up to the Compound's Guardian, "a word?"

Paul Anderson glanced at the doctor for a second and nodded, before quickly
finishing his conversation with Johan.

Johan smiled and gave both men a slap on the back before hurrying off toward the
pigpens.

"What can I do for you, Gabe?" Paul asked.

"It's about our visitor," Gabe answered.

"Is she ready to leave?"

"Er...No, not quite."

Paul raised an eyebrow, and turned to watch Patch and Ruthy treat the injured
horse. 

"What's going on?" he asked calmly. 

"Well, physically she can make the trip, that's not a problem, but there's more
to this woman than her injuries show."

"Such as?"

"I feel that it would be in her best interest for her to stay up here with us
for a while," said Gabe, not wanting to go into Shawna's drug problems if he
didn't have to.

"You afraid of her boyfriend finding her?"  Paul asked.

Gabe shook his head.  He had his own opinions of this supposed boyfriend. 
Shawna's injuries looked to him more like she received them in a car wreck
rather than being beaten as she said, and he knew car wrecks having interned at
a busy Boston hospital before coming here.  It was one of the mysteries about
her he wanted to solve.

Paul continued to talk.  "I was going to drop her off with the Sheriff, have her
tell him all about it.  She's an outsider with outsider problems.  I'm sure the
Sheriff can handle it."

"No, it's not that," Gabe said.  "I can't explain, but I do think she should
stay a while longer."

Paul turned to look at his friend.  "Is she going to give us any trouble?"

Gabe shook his head.

"Okay.  I guess I'll tell Grady we aren't going to town today."

"Thanks, Paul," said Gabe, relieved that his friend wasn't pressing him for
answers...yet.

"How long is, just a while?"

"A week, maybe more."

Paul nodded and watched Patch until the horse was led into the barn.  Silent,
Gabe waited a few minutes, and then moved away to tell Shawna she could stay. 
As he turned, he saw, near the side of the barn, a horse and wagon all ready to
leave.

Tending to the horse was Grady, a rather solemn looking man in his late
twenties.  He was another of Gabe's special concerns.  Grady had lost his wife
three months ago; she had drowned while swimming in the river.  Her death had
hit Grady hard, rendering him almost helpless in grief for a while.

Slowly he was returning to the community, but Gabe was worried about who was
coming back.  Before the accident, Grady had been a generous and friendly man,
but now he was angry and withdrawn, and rarely spoke to anybody.  Gabe's
attempts at counseling had fallen on deaf ears, and even the community elders
were concerned about him.

Formerly one of the Compound's Blacksmiths, Grady had given up that job to work
in the stables.  The Smithy was a community center, which was not where Grady
wanted to be. He, like Patch and Ruthy, was happiest when left alone with the
horses. 

Conscious of the weight of the community on HIS shoulders, Gabe went back inside
to tell Shawna the good news.



End of Part 3.

The Compound Part 4


   The day was a blur to Shawna.

   After hearing the good news that she would be allowed to stay, Gabe had
removed the poultice he had put on her foot and had her walk around for
him. Shawna was pleasantly surprised to find that she had little pain as
she walked, and her smile was thanks enough to Gabe.

   Then he and Vicky gave her a second examination, and Gabe let Vicky in
on their secret.  Vicky was understandably concerned, but what made Shawna
happy was how non-judgmental Vicky was about her condition.  The nurse only
wanted to help Shawna get better.

   After they were done, Vicky took Shawna on a slow tour of the Compound,
and once more Shawna marveled at the sights.  She was very impressed with
how self-sufficient the community was, although Vicky added that they still
brought in some supplies from the town at the bottom of the mountain.  At
the mention of the town, Shawna got a little nervous, but Vicky didn't seem
to notice.

   They ate lunch in the Great Hall, and Shawna ate very little, her
attention divided between her worries, her increasing need for a drink or a
snort of cocaine, and all the naked skin around them.

   Shawna was especially captivated by the skin; there were SO MANY
good-looking men around.  All of them looking fit and buff, and most wore
little more than their loincloths.

   Since this was just lunch, only a part of the community was eating in
the Great Hall, most people eating where ever they were at the time or away
from the Compound for some reason.  So Shawna was able to pick out
individuals rather than look at everyone en mass.

   One man in particular caught her eye because he was eating alone.  He
wore just a pair of leather pants and looked stronger than a lot of the men
here, the muscles of his arms and chest well defined.  Shawna was admiring
his tan when the man looked up and caught her staring at him.  He looked
surprised for a moment, then his face clouded and he looked away.  Shawna
continued to watch him for a few minutes more as he kept glancing her way.
She got the impression he was not a happy man, he looked like he was in
pain.

   Eventually she had to look away, she felt like she was intruding on
something private.  She was therefore startled when she saw a woman sitting
at a table with her hands bound behind her.  The woman sat calmly chatting
with several other men and women, and Shawna watched in fascination as one
of the men would occasionally feed the woman a tidbit of food from his own
plate.  There was no sign of distress or anxiety from the woman at all; if
her hands hadn't been bound, she would have appeared perfectly normal.

   "What's going on?" Shawna eventually asked Vicky.

   Vicky looked up from her sandwich and licked some juice from her lip.

   "What?" she said, trying to swallow.

   Shawna inclined her head toward the bound woman a few tables away.

   "Oh, them!  That's nothing.  I know it might look strange to you, but
it's okay.  They're just playing."

   "Playing?" Shawna asked.

   "Sure, you know, it's just a game."

   "You mean people tie each other up here for fun?"

   "Well, not everyone.  Usually it's more of a lover's game, but we played
tie-up as kids as well.  It's all in fun most of the time!" Vicky smiled,
remembering some of those fun games as a kid.

   "Most of the time?" asked an increasingly confused Shawna.

   Vicky suddenly looked concerned.  "Didn't Gabe tell you?"

   "Tell me what?"

   "About the rules!  Gee, I guess I'd better fill you in.  We have rules
here, laws.  All the usual ones you would find in any community, plus a few
more.  No women are allowed out after dark without an escort, women aren't
allowed meat or alcohol, the Head of House is responsible for all
discipline within his house, stuff like that.  Punishments for breaking the
rules can be anything really, as long as it reasonably fits the severity of
the crime, and bondage is sometimes used as a punishment."

   "You're kidding?" Shawna said.

   "Nope!  I tell you, it's kinda fun to be made helpless for a little
while in play, but when you have to spend a few days without the use of
your hands in a very uncomfortable position you tend to remember what you
did wrong.  Dad would use it sometimes on us kids and it was very
effective, but normally you don't get punished like that until you're an
adult."

   "Who decides your punishment?"

   "The Head of your house.  In my case, it's my Dad, until I get married.
Then it would be my husband."

   "Sounds a little barbaric to me," said Shawna.  "Does it apply to men
too?"

   "Er...kinda.  It depends on the man.  A father can discipline his son
until his son makes a home for himself and his own family.  After that, the
community elders determine punishment.  Also if something really serious
was done, the head of that person's house can choose to pass it on to the
elders, or to Paul." Vicky looked down at her food for a moment.  "Does all
this bother you?"

   Shawna shook her head slowly.  "I'm not sure.  To be honest I'm not
thinking straight enough to really be concerned about it right now.  But if
you say the system works, then I guess it isn't my place to fault it."

   Vicky looked Shawna in the eyes for a moment.  "I was supposed to take
you to the baths after lunch, but I think first I'll take you someplace
else.  There's something I think you need to see."

   "Okay," Shawna said, curious.

   The two women bussed their dishes to the busy kitchen area, and Vicky
led Shawna out of the hall the opposite way they came in.  Shawna limped
along beside Vicky, wondering where they were going and wondering how long
she could keep her craving under control.  As it was, she was sweating more
than she should have been by the time they reached their destination.  For
a moment though, she forgot her cravings as she beheld the sight before
her.

   They had come to a junction between two major corridors inside the huge
huts, and this enlarged area held six sets of stocks, two of which were
occupied.  One held a man, bent over almost at a ninety-degree angle, his
head and hands trapped tightly between two pieces of wood.  He was
completely naked except for the rope about his waist and the gag in his
mouth.  He looked tired and worn as he gazed up at the two women.  Across
from him was a woman, also naked except for her waist rope and a gag.  She
stood a little straighter in her stocks because she was a little shorter,
but it still looked to Shawna that she wasn't enjoying this at all.  Shawna
also noticed sitting in a corner, another woman who quietly watched the
newcomers.

   "Don't tell me these people are doing this for fun!" Shawna said to
Vicky.

   "No," Vicky said, shaking her head and looking serious.  "This is
punishment, never for fun."

   "What did they do?"

   "Adulterers.  They were caught together a week ago in his home by his
wife.  He automatically went before the elders for judgment, and her
husband decided to send her as well."

   "Adultery?"

   Vicky gave Shawna a sharp look.  "We treat marriage here very seriously,
much more so than in your world.  What they did was very wrong, very wrong
indeed!"

   Shawna felt taken aback.  "So the...elders...sentenced them to this?"

   "For a start, yes," replied the younger girl.  "They get two hours a day
to sleep but otherwise they both stay here.  In another day, I think
Clarise gets returned to her husband, and he will continue her punishment
privately.  John here will stay another couple of weeks I think."

   "She goes back to her husband?  Is that safe?"

   Vicky gave Shawna another look, like she was an idiot or something. 
"Sure it's safe, he's not going to beat her if that's what you think.  No
doubt her life will be made rather uncomfortable for a while, but the men
here don't beat their women."

   Vicky's face softened as she suddenly remembered the story Shawna had
told to cover her injuries.

   "Oh, I'm sorry, Shawna, I forgot!"

   Shawna almost didn't catch what Vicky was talking about.  "Oh...it's
okay."

   "Look, she'll be fine, I promise.  She and her husband will get some
counseling from Father Logan, and hopeful they'll be able to put their
lives back together again."

   "And if they don't?" Shawna asked.

   Vicky didn't answer, instead she left the area, and Shawna began to
follow.  As she walked she wondered what the community would do to her if
they found out she had just robbed a bank.  She did NOT want to end up in
those stocks.

   ---***--

   "I can't get undressed out here!" Shawna said nervously, looking around.

   "It's okay, really it is," said Vicky.  She had slipped out of her skirt
and top and was pulling off her loincloth.  "Besides, the hot bath would do
you some good!"

   Shawna was looking around at the two dozen or so men and women sharing
this bathing area with her.  Vicky had brought them outside behind one of
the Compound buildings to where several large sunken hot tubs sat churning.
Many of them were occupied, and the areas around them were filled with
others standing or sitting, completely oblivious to their nudity.  Shawna
felt that the moment she began to undress, everyone here would stop what he
or she was doing to turn and stare at her.

   It reminded her strongly of those times when her father would use her
shame against her.  Because of her father, Shawna had never been
comfortable naked again.

   "It's okay, really!" Vicky said gently.  She had stepped down into a tub
and was waist deep in water.  She held her hand out to Shawna and waited.

   "Isn't there some place more private?" Shawna asked.

   "There is the bath house inside, but there's probably just as many
people in there as out here.  Besides, I like to enjoy the outdoor tubs
while the weather is good enough to use them.  Now come on, nobody's going
to stare at you."

   Shawna teetered on her indecision for a moment, before reluctantly
slipping off her dress.  All she wore under it was her loincloth and waist
rope, and as she pulled out the cloth, she tried to keep her breasts
covered with one arm.

   She was very uncomfortable about all this, yet something inside her
wouldn't let her run away.  It was the same sort of courage she had when in
the grips of her father's latest humiliation, or Dirk's for that matter. 
It was better to give in and get through the moment rather than break down
crying.  She pulled the loincloth out from under the rope about her waist
and gingerly stepped into the tub.  The water was surprisingly warm, and it
seemed to swirl about her as she sat down.

   "Feel better?" asked Vicky, a concerned look on her face.  Vicky had
gotten a good look at Shawna's bruises in the sunlight, and she looked a
mess.  Shawna sunk her body until only her head was above water, and then
she nodded.  The warm water did help her various aches and pains, and she
had always found taking a bath to be helpful when it came to her cravings.
If she could stay here a little while, she might be able to make it a
little longer.

   Vicky gave Shawna a smile and reached over to the side of the tub for a
bar of soap.  "Good, then I'll wash you down while you relax.  You haven't
had a decent bath since you got here!"

   Shawna looked alarmed.  "Er...can't I wash myself?"

   Vicky laughed.  "Sure, but I AM a nurse, and it's my job today to take
care of you.  We may seem kinky to you outsiders, but we're not THAT
kinky!"

   Shawna couldn't help smiling, and she felt a little sheepish.  "Sorry,
it's just..."

   Vicky smiled and handed Shawna the soap.  "Don't worry about it.  Just
let me know if there are any places you need help with.  I doubt you are as
flexible as you need to be at the moment."

   "Thanks," said Shawna, relieved.

   "You know, if Gabe had brought you here, he wouldn't have given in so
easily," laughed the young women, getting another bar of soap for herself.
Shawna smiled and thought about the good doctor giving her a bath. 
'Somehow,' Shawna thought, 'I might not have protested as much either!'

   Shawna tried not to watch as Vicky soaped herself down, but the young
woman stood unashamed in the middle of the tub in water that only reached
up to her waist.  Shawna felt she could never be that brave, and crouched
low in the tub to wash her own body.

   A shadow flitted over her, and a man walked past the tub.

   Shawna instinctively covered up, but Vicky just smiled and said hello
and continued on with her washing.

   Embarrassed as hell, Shawna rose a little in the water and peered at the
man who had gone by.  She was startled to recognize him as the man she had
watched in the Great Hall.

   He pulled off his pants and loincloth and settled into a tub as far away
from the group as he could get.

   Vicky saw who Shawna was looking at and sighed.  "Poor guy," she said.

   "What?" Shawna asked her.

   "That's Grady.  His wife drowned a few months ago, and ever since then,
he's been a bit of a recluse.  He took her passing pretty hard."

   "I'm sorry," whispered Shawna, now realizing what the man's pain was all
about.

   "It's okay.  We're sure he'll be okay, you just have to let grief work
its way through to the end."

   Shawna nodded, thinking of Dirk and wondering why she hadn't yet felt
like grieving for him.  He hadn't been THAT bad...had he?

   "How are YOU doing?" Vicky asked her, after dunking under the water and
rinsing herself off.

   "Okay, but it's hard to do my back."

   "Turn around."

   Shawna did as she was told and felt Vicky move behind her.  She felt the
girl's hands on her bare back and then a sponge.  It felt good to be
washed, although it still unsettled Shawna a bit to be sitting naked in a
tub with another woman.  She knew that these people had successfully
separated nudity from sexual involvement, but it was going to be a lot
harder for Shawna to copy that.

   So she tried to distract herself by watching Grady take his own bath
until Vicky was done.

   "We'd better go in," Vicky said, looking up at the sky.  "It looks like
it might be storming later today."

   Shawna looked up and saw a deep bank of cloud moving slowly toward them,
and she shivered.

   ---***--

   It was no good.  She couldn't handle much more.  She HAD to have a fix
of some sort!

   Shawna laid on her bed in her little room at the clinic.  It was dark
with the heavy overcast, with just a little daylight coming in through the
skylight above her, and she was supposed to be napping.  Doctor's orders.
Vicky was out in the clinic somewhere, and Shawna thought about what else
might be there that she could use.

   She hoped that her knapsack was there somewhere; she just needed a few
minutes alone with it.  But Shawna was never left alone, either Vicky or
Gabe watched over her at all times.  There had to be a way to be alone. 
Shawna sat up and felt a wave of nausea pass over her.  She was also
trembling, and she knew that it wouldn't be too much longer before she
began to feel REALLY bad.  She HAD to do something now!

   She crawled out of bed and slipped her dress on before leaving the room.
She found Vicky curled up on a large floor pillow under a wall mounted oil
lamp, a book in one hand.  The girl had removed her clothes except for her
loincloth, and looked startled at Shawna's sudden appearance.

   "Hi, couldn't sleep?" Vicky asked her, concerned at the woman's apparent
condition.

   "Too warm, and my mouth feels like my tongue has doubled in size," said
Shawna truthfully.  "I don't suppose you have any ice, do you?"

   "Ice, how will that help?" Vicky asked.

   "When I've gotten like this before...I've found that a little ice to
suck on helps me.  But I doubt you'd have any here would you."

   Vicky smiled.  "We do.  There's an icehouse buried under the food
stores. We put ice from the river in there during the winter and use
sawdust for insulation.  That, and being so deep, means it stays very cool
down there and it usually lasts all the way through summer.  I can go get
you a little if you like!"

   "That would be great, Vicky, thanks!" said Shawna.

   "Will you be okay here?" Vicky asked.

   Shawna moved toward one of the waiting room chairs.  "I'll be fine, I
can just sit here until you come back."

   "Er...not there.  Use the pillows," Vicky said.

   "What?"

   "You have to use the pillows or the floor.  Only men get to use the
chairs."

   "You're kidding, right?" Shawna asked, amazed.

   "No, it's another of our rules.  But it's okay, the pillows are much
more comfortable anyway.  I'll go get your ice.  Was there anything else
you needed?"

   Shawna wanted to say a glass of vodka to put the ice in, but instead
shook her head.  She made a show of limping toward the pile of pillows and
Vicky left the room.

   As soon as she was alone, Shawna went back to the examining room and
began to search in all the cupboards for her knapsack.  She also kept an
eye out for any medical alcohol or other drugs she could use in a pinch,
but she came up empty.  Many of the cupboards were locked, also there was a
door next to a large wooden tub that was padlocked shut, and Shawna didn't
feel up to breaking anything open.  But she WAS feeling rather frantic by
now and couldn't keep still.  She searched the rest of the clinic, but
paused at one door.  She thought it led to Gabe's apartment.  Did she dare
go in there?  Shawna thought not, and then remembered that beer was served
to the men in the kitchen area.  Perhaps she could sneak over there and get
some!

   The trouble was, she had just sent Vicky in that direction and she might
bump into her if she went there herself.  Vicky would try to stop her.  To
Shawna's increasingly addiction driven brain, that meant sidetracking Vicky
somehow, but how?

   Shawna remembered seeing one drawer filled with thin leather cords and
what looked like gag sticks like the ones she saw the people in the stocks
wearing.  She quickly collected some of them together and found a heavy
ceramic bowl in a cupboard.  Then she waited for Vicky to come back.  It
wasn't long before Vicky returned with a cup of ice in her hands and the
young nurse didn't see Shawna hiding behind the door, neither did she
expect to be hit on the back of the head.

   Shawna wasn't sure how hard she had hit Vicky, but was glad she hadn't
killed the girl.  Instead, Vicky lay dazed on the floor, half senseless in
pain.

   A part of Shawna's mind realized that she had gone too far, that hitting
Vicky like this was not going to be easily explained or forgiven.  Shawna
wondered what the hell possessed her to do such a thing, but she couldn't
stop now.

   She got down next to the girl and began to tie her up using the leather
cords she had found.  She was inexperienced at binding someone up, much
more used to being on the receiving end when Dirk wanted rougher sex than
she was willing to give him.  But she did a credible job of tying Vicky's
arms behind her and pulling her into a hog-tie.  The cords dug deep into
her skin and she struggled slowly as her senses came back to her.  She also
growled into her gag but was unable to make any intelligible sounds.

   "I'm sorry, Vicky.  But I just have to!" Shawna said, and she left the
bound girl behind as she left the clinic.

   Shawna wasn't sure where to go, but she knew she had to leave the
Compound.  She had no clothes except for the simple dress she wore and no
drugs, but she couldn't stay here anymore.  Heading up the mountain to
collect her money seemed to be the best idea she could come up with, so she
made her way toward the nearest exit.

   As she reached the stairs that led up to one of the many doors out of
the huts, the rain that had been threatening to come down all afternoon
finally started.

   It made Shawna pause, but she figured that if she stayed, the water she
would be in would be very hot indeed.  Besides, the cold rain would help
her concentration, she thought.

   So, not knowing about the closet full of wet weather leathers next to
her, Shawna stepped out barefoot into the rain and hurried to the nearest
gate in the huge wall that surrounded the Compound.  No one saw her leave.

   ---***--

   "I thought you said she'd be no trouble," growled Paul Anderson.  Gabe
looked away, angry with himself for being so stupid.  His inexperience in
dealing with addicts had gotten his kid sister hurt.  It had become full
dark outside before Gabe Miller had returned to the clinic, several hours
after Shawna had ambushed Vicky and tied her up.  He spent a few minutes
untying her and tending to the nasty bump on her head before he yelled for
someone to go get Paul.

   Paul Anderson immediately sent out word that he needed men for a search
party, and everyone began to gather in the Great Hall.  While he waited,
Paul interrogated Gabe, getting out of the poor doctor the real reason he
wanted Shawna to stay.

   He was not happy with what he heard.

   "You and I will talk about this later, Doc!" he said as the hundred or
so men who showed up to help took their seats.

   In the back sat Grady, wondering what was going on.  He wondered if it
was a drill, as Paul did sometimes stage a search and rescue for the men to
keep them all in practice.  Living up here on the mountain could be
dangerous, and Paul liked to know that when they had to, the men who lived
with him could get organized.

   If it was a drill, it was lousy weather to have one in.  Grady could
hear the rain pounding the high roof over their heads, as could several
other men who occasionally looked up at the sound.

   But when Paul started to explain what happened in the clinic, Grady
realized this wasn't pretend at all.  He, like the others, didn't care at
all for what Shawna had done to one of their own, but unlike the others,
Grady felt a little apprehensive about going after her.

   It was because of what he saw in this very room at lunch.  Looking up
from his plate, he had nearly dropped his fork in surprise when he saw what
he thought was his wife sitting across the room.  He quickly realized
though, that it had only been the visitor; but for that brief moment,
Cheryl had been alive for him.

   He would have been the first to admit that he wasn't handling the loss
of his wife well, but he hadn't thought himself so far gone that he would
be imagining her appearing everywhere.  Yet, while Shawna and Cheryl only
superficially looked like each other, there was something about the way
Shawna held herself, the tilt of her head, the shape of her eyes, which
connected with Grady.

   He noticed it again when he saw her later at the baths, and vowed to
keep away from her.  He was not looking for that kind of complication in
his life at the moment.  He had only just begun confiding in Father Logan
about his inability to sleep, and was far from ready to seek any close
contact with others.

   Grady mused over these thoughts, only half listening to Paul describe
what kind of search he wanted, so he was startled at the sudden
interruption.  "What are YOU doing here?" Grady heard Matthew Anderson,
Paul's younger brother, say in a loud voice.

   "I'm here to help!" replied a distinctly female voice.  Grady looked up
to see that Rhianna, Matthew's new wife, had come into the room.  She had
pulled on some of the wet weather gear already, and to Grady looked strange
so covered up.  Matthew usually like to have Rhianna in the briefest
outfits he could get away with making her wear, so she was used to showing
a lot of skin.

   Rhianna stood with her fists on her hips, looking at all the men staring
back at her.

   Paul, who was standing on the stage in the corner, took a step down
toward her.

   "Go home Rhianna, we'll take care of this," he said.

   "For God's sake Paul, I can help.  I'm trained for this!" Rhianna said
to him.

   "We don't need you, you're not supposed to be here."

   "Yeah, I know; like a good little wife, I'm just supposed to wait at
home for my man!  Cut it out, Paul.  I'm just as good at this than any of
you guys, plus I'm a better tracker than most of you!"

   "Go home, before I have you taken home!" Paul was not in the mood for
one of Rhianna's attempts at female liberation, although like most of the
men in the Compound he sometimes found her efforts amusing.

   Rhianna turned to her husband who was red with embarrassment.  "Matthew,
will you tell your brother that I can help!"

   "Yeah, Matt, tell him," laughed one of the men behind him, and Matthew
knew then that another round of jokes at his expense was going to flow
through the Compound.  As much as he loved his wife, she did have a way of
showing him up from time to time.

   "Rhianna," he said quietly, "go home, now."

   "Like hell I will.  This is far too serious for your little domination
games..."

   "SHUT UP!" yelled Matthew, cutting her off.

   Rhianna closed her mouth, startled.

   "Wife, you aren't needed or wanted here.  In fact, you aren't even
supposed to be out of our apartment without an escort, and I didn't see you
come in with one, so I KNOW you deserve a punishment for that at least!"
Matthew said, his embarrassment fueling his temper.  "Go now, before you
get into MORE trouble."

   Rhianna couldn't believe her ears.  "What the hell was the point in my
learning all those survival skills if I'm never allowed to use them for
something like this?"

   Matthew got up from his seat and walked toward her, the rest of the men
in the room silently watching the drama.

   "You learned those skills," Matthew said, "so that if we ever had to
search the mountain for YOU, we'd know you'd still have a chance of being
alive!  WE will take care of this, and YOU will wait for me at home.  Now
turn around!"

   "But..."

   "TURN AROUND!"

   Rhianna knew she was beaten, she could see it in his eyes.  Maybe in
private she and Matthew could have had a proper conversation about this,
and she was sure that he would have been reasonable about it all.  But
here, in front of the other men, he had to uphold his image.

   Men ruled here, and while the women were made comfortable and treated
with dignity and respect, there was no doubt that the real power in the
Compound resided with the men and the men alone.  She wasn't just fighting
the stubbornness of a few men, but the weight of seventy years of rules,
laws, and traditions that made the Compound what it was today.  It was a
no-win situation.

   Silent at last, Rhianna turned her back on her husband and placed her
hands behind herself, in the customary back-to-back position.  Someone
tossed Matthew a leather thong, and he quickly bound her wrists, looping
the cord about her thumbs and little fingers so she would be unable to turn
her hands.

   "Take her home, and make sure she doesn't leave!" ordered Paul.  Matthew
nodded and, amid a few shouts of "Better make sure she don't tie YOU up!"
and "Figure out who wears the pants before you come back!" and some general
laughter from the group, he led her out of the Great Hall and back to their
apartment.

   The excitement quickly died down, and Paul resumed describing the search
he wanted them to make.  First the Compound, and then the surrounding area
heading down the mountain toward town.

   He hadn't noticed that while Rhianna had drawn the attention of the
room, Grady had gone out another way.

   Not wanting to be partnered with anyone for the search, he decided to
head out by himself.  He missed hearing how Paul wanted the Compound
searched first, and headed straight for the nearest Wet Weather closet.

   ---***--

   Shawna was soaking wet, cold, and very lost.  She had thought it would
simply be a matter of going uphill and had started to follow a trail that
seemed to lead in the right direction.  But the trail twisted around, then
disappeared altogether, before the darkness closed in and the rain made it
impossible to see very far.

   She eventually came across the river, flowing swiftly across her path,
and she thought in her drug-starved brain that she needed to get across. 
It wouldn't have been something she would have tried in the best of
conditions, but there was something else driving her now, something that
didn't care for her safety, just the next high.

   The water level was low, only about thigh deep.  Yet it was cold with
snow run-off and rain.  She stumbled forward against the steady current
until she was almost midstream.  Then disaster struck.

   Her injured foot gave way and she slipped on a hidden stone.  Her foot
plunged deep between two rocks and got wedged tight.  Suddenly Shawna was
trapped; unable to pull her foot free, she was stuck in the middle of the
river.

   Here the depth was waist high, and unknown to her, the rain was going to
make the river level climb rapidly in a very short time.

   Crying in pain, and half numb from the cold water, Shawna struggled to
get free but couldn't do it.

   And the rain just kept coming down!


   End of Part 4

The Compound Part 5


   It was only when the lightning flashed that Grady could really see where
he was going.  The oil lantern he carried lit his way enough so that he
wouldn't trip over anything, but that was about all.  Strong winds, and an
almost horizontal rain brought visibility down to nothing.

   'This is stupid,' he thought, 'searching for someone in this is
madness.' Grady hoped that the woman he was looking for had the sense to
find some shelter from the storm.  But then if she had any sense at all,
she wouldn't have gone out in the first place.

   Grady shifted the pack he carried until it was more comfortable for his
shoulder, and then carried on.  He vowed to walk this trail to the end and
then turn back.  He doubted that a simple woman, an outsider at that, could
have gone much farther in this weather.

   Another flash of lightning, and he could see the river up ahead.  It
looked swollen.  'There was no way she would make it across that,' he
thought.  He figured that if she came this way, then she had to be
sheltering nearby.

   Shawna swallowed some more water and struggled back onto her feet.  Her
ankle just would not come free, and every move she made sent a wave of pain
through her.  She was happy for the pain, for it kept her awake, the water
was so cold that the rest of her body was almost numb.  Fighting the
current, she stood up straight and got her head above the surface.  She was
shocked at how rapidly the water level rose, and was scared it would get
even higher.

   Through the rain, she saw something moving on the riverbank.  A point of
light.  There was a flash of lightning and she saw the outline of a man. 
Franticly, she started to scream and wave her arms!

   Grady heard the scream and stopped walking.  With the sound of the storm
raging around him, it was hard to tell where it came from.  More screams
followed, and Grady peered into the darkness.

   It was blind luck that he happened to be looking in exactly the right
direction when the lightning flashed once more.  He saw, out in the river,
what looked like a head and two waving arms.  He was unsure, though; it was
only a brief glimpse, yet the screaming seemed to come from that direction.
Then the screaming stopped suddenly, and Grady realized he had to make a
decision.  It was no choice at all.  He dropped his pack and lantern on the
ground and quickly shed the waterproof cloak he wore, before wading into
the river.

   Another flash revealed nothing in the spot where he thought he'd seen
something in before.  Then another flash revealed an arm still waving
franticly.

   Grady struggled against the current, not a swimmer himself, in an effort
to quickly reach the spot.  His feet found only tenuous purchase on the
rocky river bed, but his immense strength kept him from losing his footing.

   It was pitch black, and he wasn't sure he was heading in the right
direction at all, until he heard a half strangled scream to his right.  He
changed direction and kept going, following with his ears the unmistakable
sounds of someone thrashing in the water.

   As he struggled through the chest-deep water, he suddenly began to
wonder if this was how his wife had sounded just before she drowned.  Did
she struggle like this, her desperate cries for help unheeded?

   Cheryl had died alone, with no one to save her until it had been too
late.

   Was it happening again?

   A wave of despair and anger flowed through Grady, almost crippling him
with inaction, until he heard the woman's cry for help.  It spurred him on,
images of his wife filling his head, and he pushed even harder through the
water until he reached her limp body.

   The woman's gyrations were feeble, she was about done; and Grady
wondered if he was too late.  He grabbed her and pulled, but she cried out
in pain, and seemed rooted to the spot.

   "Foot...caught," she gasped.

   Grady nodded and took a deep breath, plunging under the surface and
running his hands down her legs.

   The two slabs that held her foot were large, but Grady's time in the
Smithy had given him great strength.  It only took him a few seconds with
the right leverage to shift one of the stones, and Shawna almost floated
free before he could grab her again.

   "It's okay, Cheryl, I have you," he said.

   Grady gripped the woman around her waist and started back for the
shoreline.  The water was terribly cold, and he could feel his strength
ebbing, but he was driven by more than his physical well-being.  His grief
had overwhelmed his senses for the moment, and he truly believed he was
saving his own wife.

   Shawna inhaled water, and coughed, and struggled with the last of her
strength to keep her head above the surface.  A part of her mind wondered
why the man saving her had no idea how to handle a drowning victim, but it
was a very tiny part.

   The rest of her was fading in and out of consciousness as she struggled
to survive.

   It took a great effort for Grady to reach the riverbank, and an even
bigger one for him to haul himself and the woman out of the water.  He
dropped her and collapsed on the ground, shivering violently as the cold
got to him.  The rain was still coming down though, and while Grady would
admit he knew nothing much about saving people from drowning, he DID know
that cold itself could kill.

   It was too far to go to get back to the Compound; he knew he didn't have
the strength and Cheryl...no, Shawna...he realized that now...Shawna might
not have the time.  But there was shelter in the trees.

   Grady rose to his feet and staggered to where he had put down the
lantern and his pack.  Moving as quickly as he could, he found a tree with
low lying branches and spread his cloak out under it.  The ground here was
wet, but relatively sheltered from the rain, which was all he asked for.

   He undid his pack and rolled out a sleep sack, the Compound's equivalent
of a sleeping bag.  It was waterproof, and the insides were fur lined for
comfort.  It would be their only dry spot.

   After laying out a couple of other items, he made his way back through
the rain to where he had left Shawna, and saw that she had passed out.  He
could have used her help but it didn't really matter; he picked her up and
carried her to their new shelter.  Under the branches, he took his knife
and cut away her soaking wet dress, wondering as he did so why she wasn't
wearing anything more to protect her from the rain.  He pulled off her
loincloth, and used a dry rag from his pack to wipe her down as best he
could before stuffing her into the sleep sack.  Then he stripped and wiped
himself down in an effort to get as dry as possible before climbing in
himself.

   As he did so, he felt at war with himself.  Not since his wife died had
he had such intimate contact with a woman; he hadn't expected to be skin to
skin with another woman ever again!  Yet he knew this wasn't for romance,
but for survival.

   He knew that he was cold, but Shawna's body felt like ice.  Grady knew
about hypothermia and was very concerned about Shawna succumbing to it.  He
had to warm her up, and the only heat source he had was his own body, which
was why the two of them had to be naked in the same sleep sack.

   Grady slid into the sack behind her, spooning her.  Before closing the
sack up, he pulled the empty pack over their heads to protect them some
more from the rain.

   There was now nothing left to do.

   While Shawna was a small woman, Grady was a big man, and the sleep sack
only had so much room.  He was squeezed up against the woman from his knees
on up.  He tried to find a place to put his hands, and settled for wrapping
one around her stomach, which gave him a bit more room to breath.  He was
conscious of her breasts brushing his arm and tried to think of other
things.

   Cheryl and Grady used to have a very healthy sex life, and the loss of
all that had just been one of the many things that had been hard for him.
But now was not the time to think of such things.  Especially since he and
Shawna were not married.

   Grady was a big believer in the Compound's rules of marriage before sex.


   Grady could feel Shawna shivering though, and it seemed to him that she
was having a bad dream or was in pain.  He didn't know about her condition
or her withdrawals, and if he had, he would not have known what to do
anyway.  He thought it might be her foot bothering her, and made a mental
note to check it in the morning.

   Right now, he was exhausted, and as the storm continued above them, he
joined Shawna in a restless, haunted sleep.

   ---***--

   The storm continued to intensify, and all the men returned to the
Compound to wait it out.  Stumbling about in the wild without being able to
see anything was NOT a survival trait.  There would be plenty of time to
search once daylight broke.

   Among the returnees was Matthew, and as he entered his apartment, he
grinned.  Rhianna was nude and bound in a strict hog-tie on the bed, with
more cords keeping her centered where she wouldn't get into any trouble.

   Matthew knew she was extremely pissed at him, and that eventually they
would have a "discussion" about what happened, but for now, he was
definitely in control.

   As he slipped out of his wet clothes and padded naked to where his bound
wife struggled to get free, Matthew flexed his fingers in preparation. 
With luck, and more than a little experience, by the time he got around to
freeing Rhianna she wouldn't be mad at him any longer.

   ---***--

   Grady came back slowly to consciousness.  As he awoke, he became aware
of the warm soft body pressed against him and smiled.  It had been awhile
since he and Cheryl had woken up together like this; it felt good!

   Grady stretched a little and let the hand around her belly move up to
cup a breast.  He shifted his hips a little, and felt his erection begin to
climb the cleft between her wonderful buttocks.  Rolling a nipple gently
between two fingers, he sniffed the mass of hair in his face and rolled
slightly to bring himself in even more contact with her.

   Grady could feel the woman shivering beneath him, and he chuckled
silently at her excitement.  His waking mind wondered why it had been so
long since he and his wife had made love.  Had she been mad at him about
something?  Grady frowned as he tried to remember, and then he came fully
awake.  In horror, he let go of the woman he was pressed up against and
quickly undid the drawstring that held the sleep sack closed.  With an
effort, he pulled himself out of the sack and crouched naked under the tree
on the wet ground.  Grady could feel his heart beating and was
uncomfortably aware of his waving hard on, and he was terribly embarrassed.
He watched and waited for Shawna to say or do something, but she just lay
there shivering.

   Concerned, he felt her forehead, and it appeared to him that while she
was sweating up a storm, she didn't seem to have a fever.  Grady was
unfamiliar with withdrawal symptoms or he might have recognized what was
going on.  He thought that she was having a reaction to her close encounter
with hypothermia.

   Then Shawna opened her eyes and groaned.  She rolled over on to her side
and dry heaved.

   "You okay?" Grady asked, nervously.

   Shawna shook her head and tried to vomit again, but nothing came out. 
Grady got a flask of water out of the pack and helped her to drink.  Shawna
was able to suck some down but she immediately threw it up again.

   "You got anything stronger?" she gasped.

   "No," he said.  "I don't think it would be good for you, anyway."

   "You let me be the judge of that," Shawna replied, her throat sore.

   Grady held the flask to her lips again, and this time she drank without
spitting any back up.  As she finished, she noted Grady's nudity and then
realized that inside the sleep sack she was also nude.  She had a vague
recollection on him sleeping behind her, but the events after she became
trapped in the river were a little fuzzy.  One thing she was sure of was
that she felt like hell.

   She closed her eyes and lay back, making sure that she was covered up.

   Grady finished the water and then stood up to look around.  The storm
had passed, although the sky was still overcast, and he figured they were
only about a half hour's walk from the Compound.  The search for this woman
had probably been restarted.

   "Do you think you can walk?" he asked her, remembering that despite how
she felt, she had assaulted one of their own.

   Shawna shook her head.  She didn't feel up to walking, all she wanted
was a drink.  She didn't realize it at the time, but her craving for
cocaine had all but gone.

   "Well, I'm not going to carry you all the way back, so I think we had
better see if you can walk!"

   "No...I don't want to," Shawna replied.

   Grady couched next to her and Shawna opened her eyes, her vision filled
by the big man in his very nude state.

   "Listen, woman.  I really don't care what you want; you hurt a friend of
mine.  If you really can't walk because you're sick, then I'm just going to
tie you up and leave you here while I go get help.  Or you can come with
me, your choice."

   "What?  Tie me up?" Shawna asked.

   "You're dangerous, woman, a danger to yourself and to others.  You
almost got us both killed in that river last night, and it was only bad aim
on your part that meant Vicky wasn't hurt more badly!"

   "Vicky?  Is she okay?"

   "Yeah, she's fine.  The Doc says she'll be right as rain in a couple,
but that doesn't excuse what you did."

   Shawna shook her head.  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."

   "I don't want to hear it!" Grady interrupted.  "So which is it?  Do I
leave you here alone, or do you come with me?"

   Shawna was afraid of this big man, yet the thought of being left out
here in the woods helpless was even more frightening.  There was also
something about this guy, something that connected with her.  She had
gotten the same feeling with Dirk a lot of the time, and even her father
when he was at his most domineering.  Shawna had always reacted to strong
men, and the one in front of her now certainly seemed strong!

   "I...don't want to be left here," she said.

   "Then get out of the sleep sack; let's get you on your feet."

   Shawna was about to move as Grady stood back to give her room, but she
remembered again that she was naked.  She looked around for her dress, and
saw the soggy pile of material lying on the ground a few feet away.

   "My dress?" she asked, pointing.

   Grady chuckled and went to pick it up.  It was a mess of rags, no longer
recognizable as a garment.  Grady's knife had cut it to shreds when he got
it off her the night before.

   "You won't need this.  Now get up!"

   Shawna paled, and self-consciously she began to wriggle out of the sleep
sack.

   Grady watched her, attempting to keep his anger up.  He was still
embarrassed and upset at his reaction to her upon waking, and a part of him
was still reacting that way.  He didn't like it; it was not how he was
brought up.  But he couldn't deny that his wife and this woman shared many
mannerisms and physical similarities.  It was confusing and impacted upon
his grief in a way he didn't want it to.  He felt like he was betraying his
wife's memory by reacting to this woman the way he was.  So his defense was
to stay angry at her.

   With her back to Grady, Shawna emerged from the sleep sack and slowly
stood up.  She gingerly put weight on her hurt foot and was surprised that
it didn't collapse.  It also felt a lot better than she expected, and while
it did hurt, the pain was tolerable.

   Grady noted how she was standing, and remembered her injury.  He also
took note of the multitude of bruises that covered her arms and legs. 
Someone told him that she had been beaten, and he could well believe it.

   Shawna stood with her arms wrapped around her breasts, shivering as a
wave of nausea passed over her.  She felt in desperate need of a drink, but
felt able to keep it together for a while.  She also felt very embarrassed
standing there naked, and was keenly aware of Grady watching her.

   "Can I...get something to wear?" she asked quietly.

   "We don't have anything dry, but you don't need anything.  Can you walk
on that foot?"

   Shawna took a few steps, keeping her back to Grady.  It hurt, but there
was no weakness despite the wrenching the ankle got the night before.

   "Come here," Grady said, bending low and reaching into the pack.

   Shawna looked over her shoulder at him, not wanting to be there.  All
she could think of, apart from wanting a drink, was that they were both
naked and that she was feeling extremely vulnerable.

   "I said, come here!" growled Grady.

   Shawna shuffled over until she stood in front of Grady, still facing
away from him.

   "Hands behind you," he ordered.

   "What?" Shawna asked, turning her head to face him.

   "Put...your hands...behind you!" Grady replied, glaring at her.

   "Why?"

   "Because you have to be restrained for the trip back to the Compound. 
You broke the rules, I have to restrain you!"

   "Fat chance!" yelled Shawna, suddenly even more afraid, and she began to
move away as fast as she could.  Naked or not, she had to get away from
this guy!  She had images of the people in the stocks back at the Compound
dancing in her head, and a strong image of her joining them.

   Grady shrugged and moved after her.  It took only a second for him to
reach her and grab her about the waist.  He tried to ignore how she felt as
he struggled with her, pulling her hands behind her and tying them in place
with the leather cord he had pulled from the pack.  He bound them in the
traditional manner, hands back to back with loops over the thumbs and
little fingers to prevent twisting.

   While he tied her, Shawna began to swear.  She called him every name she
could think of, and then began to repeat them.  She struggled to break free
and when that didn't work, she turned to kick him.

   She forgot her nudity as she flailed away at him, and managed to connect
with his shins a few times although she kept missing the target she was
aiming for, the one visibly dangling between his legs.

   Grady, getting angrier by the minute, pushed her off balance, and she
dropped to the ground.  He quickly got down and tied her feet, binding them
together tightly so she would feel the thin cord.

   Shawna yelped in pain and tried to break free, but quickly stopped.  Her
head was pounding and she was not only fighting her bonds but an alcohol
withdrawal.  She tired quickly and lay flat on her stomach, eyeing Grady as
he calmly re-packed the pack.

   "What's going to happen to me?" she asked after a bit.

   Grady didn't look at her.  He had an idea what would be done with her,
but he didn't like it.  She was an outsider; she would probably be given
her things and escorted to town.

   She would get away with her assault on Vicky.

   Then Grady realized that personally, he would prefer she did leave.  It
would help him in any case!

   "That's not for me to decide," he said eventually.

   "Will I be put in the stocks?" Shawna asked him.

   Grady was surprised she knew about the stocks; few of the outsiders that
visited regularly were aware of them.

   He finished packing, then hung up the tattered remains of Shawna's dress
and their other soaked clothes to dry on some branches, and then draped the
waterproof cloak he had brought over his shoulders.

   "It's time to go," he said, picking up another length of cord.

   ---***--

   Shawna was walking--well, limping--with her head down as they entered
the camp.  She wondered what could be worse than what was happening to her
now.  Suddenly this little corner of paradise had turned into hell.

   Her father had used humiliation to great effect when she was younger,
and in all that time, she had never grown used to it, even though she
lacked the will to stand up to it.  And what was happening now was very
humiliating.

   Her feet were hobbled, tied with only a foot of slack between them so
she couldn't run, and around her neck was another thin leather cord, the
other end held by Grady, who walked in front of her.  She was still
completely naked except for her waist rope, and with her hands bound behind
her, she could do nothing to cover herself against the stares of the
community as they came through the gate.

   Mostly women and children--many of the men were still out searching for
her--the crowd watched as she was brought in.  Silent, they all stood
glaring at the woman whom they had welcomed into their community, only to
see her strike one of their people.

   Community solidarity was strong here; too many outsiders were critical
of their lifestyle.  They survived together because they STUCK together. 
Partly in shame and partly because she was still sick, Shawna hung her head
and tried to ignore the eyes.  She was already sorry for what she did,
knowing that when her cravings got that strong, she could get crazy ideas.
Shawna only hoped that when they heard WHY she did what she did, their
attitudes would soften up.

   What she was really afraid of, though, was that they would call the real
police, or send her down the mountain.  She could stand the humiliation, if
it wasn't followed by a prison term.

   Gabe Miller suddenly appeared in the crowd, and he started yelling at
people to leave.  He approached Grady with a flustered look, and took the
man's cloak, placing it instead over Shawna's naked form.

   "You idiot, Grady.  She's not one of us, you can't just walk her in here
naked like this!" he said.

   "That's the rule, Doc," Grady said slowly.

   "Go find Paul, he's looking for you!" snapped Gabe, who took the cord
Grady had been using as a leash and pulled it from the big man's hand.

   Grady scowled and turned away, his pack over his shoulder.  He wanted to
clean up before he saw Paul Anderson, and to be honest, he was glad someone
had come to take the woman off his hands.  Forcing himself not to look
back, he went inside.

   Gabe didn't stop to untie Shawna, instead he helped her inside, asking
how she was.  Shawna said little, and Gabe could see that the woman's
strength was almost gone.  He half carried her to the clinic, and there
untied her bonds.

   As he was settling her in and giving her something to help her sleep,
Paul Anderson came in, followed by a couple of his deputies.

   "How is she?" he asked.

   "Not good," Gabe replied.  "I just gave her something to put her out;
she needs sleep and fluids, and constant watching until all the poisons are
out of her system."

   "Okay, I'll leave Ed and Stan here to watch her."

   Gabe looked at the deputies.  "I hardly think she needs guarding."

   "I disagree, and as soon as she is fit to move, I want her out of here!"

   "She's a sick woman, and probably didn't know what the hell she was
doing when she hit Vicky.  Even Vicky understands that!"

   Paul grunted, and left.

   Gabe shook his head.  "Shit!"


   End of Part 5

The Compound Part 6


   Three days passed before Gabe Miller would let anyone but his own staff
see Shawna.  Three days, during which he held Paul Anderson at bay with his
medical authority.  It was during this time that Gabe thanked the founders
of the Compound for their foresight in granting the community doctors this
authority.  If it hadn't been agreed upon that in all things medical the
doctor had the final say, then Shawna may well have spent the worst of her
withdrawal time in full view of the community.

   But Gabe was able to keep her out of the spotlight, and with the help of
medicine, both modern and mountain, he saw her through the worst of it.

   It would have been harder had his sister not helped, but she DID
understand how addictions can drive people to do things they would not
otherwise have done, so she did not blame Shawna in the least for hitting
her.  In fact, when she wasn't on duty in the clinic, she was campaigning
strongly for leniency for Shawna.  She also let slip the reasons for
Shawna's behavior, and after three days, community sentiment went from
hostility to sympathy.  On the morning of the fourth day, Gabe allowed Paul
in to see Shawna.  Gabe gave Paul a run down of the woman's condition.

   "She's still weak, but a lot more lucid than she was yesterday," he
said. "I'd prefer another day but I know you're anxious to do your duty,
Paul."

   Paul shook his head.  "No, not anxious.  But it is a duty I have to
follow."

   "I know," Gabe replied.  Gabe knew how the responsibilities of keeping
the Compound running weighed heavily on Paul's shoulders, but there was no
one more dedicated to doing it right than Paul Anderson.  Not only was Paul
a man you could count on to do the right thing, but he was also a man you
could count on to know what the right thing WAS!

   Still, there were times when his commitment to duty could have had
better timing.

   "So, can I see her now?" Paul asked the doctor.

   Gabe nodded and directed Paul to one of the patient rooms.

   In her bed, well covered up, was Shawna.  She didn't look well to Paul;
her eyes had bags under them and her face was very pale.  She looked like
she had been through some grueling physical labor.  But she was sitting up
in her bed, and looked to be alert, although she looked very worried.

   "Ma'am," said Paul, gently.

   "Hi," Shawna said, her voice quite soft.

   Paul stepped further into the room and sat down in a nearby chair.  "How
are you feeling?" he asked.

   Shawna took a deep breath and let it out.  "It's hard to say.  I could
still use a drink, that will never change, but the cravings I had are not
nearly as strong.  I don't know what stuff the doctor was giving me at one
point, but I don't even feel the need for...the other stuff, either." She
smiled at him, but it was a weary smile.

   "That's good.  I hope you stay strong enough to kick those awful
habits," Paul said.

   "I intend to try.  I don't want to let Dr.  Miller's efforts go to
waste!"

   The couple shared a brief smile, and then Paul spoke again.  "Doc tells
me that you're fit enough to leave now."

   Shawna's eyes widened a moment, then she relaxed.  "I...don't want to
go!"

   "Well, you don't belong here, you're not one of us.  You need to get
back to your own life off the mountain.  We've done all we can for you
here."

   "I'm told that the women here aren't allowed to drink alcohol," Shawna
said after a moment.

   "That's right, they can't.  And not too many of the men do either, to be
honest."

   "It sounds like a good environment to be in at the moment."

   "Look...Shawna...You can't stay here, not after what you've done.  While
some excuse can be made for your drug and alcohol problems, you still
assaulted one of our people and risked the lives of many others who went
out looking for you.  Normally we'd deal with that here, but because you're
an outsider, all we can do is get you out of here as quickly as we can.  We
waited until the Doc said you could travel, but travel you will!"

   Shawna began shaking her head while Paul spoke.  "No, please.  I can't
leave, not yet.  Isn't there any way I can stay?"

   "Why can't you leave?" Paul asked her.  Over the past three days, he had
thought a lot about Shawna's story about being beaten by a boyfriend, and
liked it less and less.  There was something more going on with this woman
than she was telling.

   "I...he might still be out there," lied Shawna.

   "Who, your boyfriend?  I can take you straight to Sheriff Kinkade in
town and he could see you safely to where ever you need to go!"

   "No!  I mean...Look.  I can't leave.  If I do, I know I'm going to just
slip back into my bad habits; I'm not ready to handle them on my own yet.
And yes, I am frightened that Dirk may still be waiting for me, and despite
your reassurances, I'd rather not get the police involved.  Please, I'd
like to stay."

   Paul sat back and looked at Shawna for a moment.  He could see the woman
was frightened about something, but it wasn't a phantom boyfriend or her
inability to curb her drug habit.

   She had a stronger reason for avoiding civilization, but he had no idea
what.  He decided to push her a little harder, just to see what she would
give up to stay here.

   "You have to go, I'm sorry," he said.

   "Please," said Shawna, a desperate whine slipping into her voice now. 
"You can't send me back, not yet.  Look, I'll take whatever punishments
you'd normally give out to one of your people.  I'll take my licks without
any protests if that will satisfy you.  But I NEED to stay here!"

   Shawna at this time could only think that the moment she stepped into
town she'd be arrested and sent to jail.  She was also thinking about the
money still hidden up the mountain.  To leave now meant leaving it all
behind, and all she had been through would have been for nothing.

   Her concerns about her own health were low on her list of priorities,
but she was willing to say what she had to in order to stay.  She didn't
like lying to these people, but what she thought she might face when she
left here looked even worse.

   "Please," she said.  Shawna considered the possibility of attempting to
seduce Paul in order to stay.  She was naked under the bedclothes, there
being no reason to dress while she was so sick, and it did cross her mind
that she could simply drop the blanket she was holding over her chest.  But
she noticed that Paul, like many of the men and women here, wore leather
bands on his wrists, something Vicky had told her meant that they were
married.  It made her pause.  Then she realized that Paul saw topless women
every day and wouldn't be impressed by a show of her own, not that Shawna
felt like she could put on a very good show anyway.

   Paul considered her plea, and saw in her body language her intentions,
both considered and rejected.  He saw a woman desperate for some reason not
to go down the mountain, and he had to know why.  But it was evident she
would not tell him now, and he could very easily have her escorted out
without ever knowing why she was so afraid.  He wondered if sending her
away might be a mistake after all; what if her fears were real?

   "IF you stay," he said slowly, his deep voice quiet and reserved, "You
will do as you're told.  You get no better or worse treatment than any
other citizen of the Compound, and you will follow all the rules as we do.
You will also have to work; no one is idle here.  We'll find you a job and
you will work hard.  I hope you aren't planning to stay here forever
though, because that will not happen.  I don't have a high opinion of you
now, and your stay here is very dependent on making me happy.  You toe the
line and I won't push for you to leave...soon.  But when I say you go, then
you go, no more arguments, no more stalling.  Understood?"

   "Oh thank you..." Shawna began, but Paul held his hand up.

   "One more thing.  You will pay for what you did to Vicky, and for the
risks you put my men to.  I don't know how yet, but you will.  Now, I need
to see a few people before I can say you can stay.  You've convinced me to
put it to our council of elders, but that's all.  They will decide what to
do with you.  In the meantime, you've bought another day to recuperate.  I
suggest you use it wisely."

   "Yes, Sir," replied Shawna, cowed by Paul's speech.

   Paul stood up.  "Personally, I'd send you back to town," he said, before
leaving the room.

   As he passed Gabe and Vicky in the waiting room, he told them to get her
cleaned up to meet the council that evening.

   Gabe smiled at Vicky in triumph.

   ---***--

   When they came for her that evening, Shawna felt like it was execution
time.  All during that day, she had wondered if she had made the right
decision begging Paul Anderson to let her stay.  What she held on to was
the belief that her punishment for hitting Vicky over the back of the head
could not be nearly as bad as going to jail for Bank Robbery.  She kept
thinking about the stocks in the other building, picturing herself there.

   What helped though was when Vicky visited.  Over and over, Shawna
apologized for what she had done, and over and over, Vicky forgave her. 
Vicky also told Shawna how she had spread as much good word about the woman
as she could, but still Shawna worried.

   Physically she felt better though, although there was an empty feeling
inside her she didn't understand.  There was a clearness about the world
that she hadn't seen for a long time, and it felt good.

   Gabe told her that he had used a variety of herbal wraps on her in
combination with some modern sedatives.  At one point, she had been
completely mummified below the neck in blankets, her skin coated in a
special cream, the process leaving her skin tinted slightly green.  Shawna
thought it looked weird, but Vicky said that a good bath would clear it up.

   A good bath was what she got that afternoon, as Vicky led her to the
Bath House rather than the outdoor tubs.  While she was grateful for the
chance to bathe, what marred the trip for her was Gabe tying her hands
behind her.  He explained to Shawna that she was technically still under
arrest until her punishment was decided, and Compound rules did not allow
for people in her position to move around freely.  In the confines of the
clinic, Gabe could leave Shawna untied, but elsewhere she had to be bound.
This meant that in the tub, Shawna couldn't wash herself, and she had to
allow Vicky to scrub her down, which the girl did with clinical efficiency.
Shawna still had a hard time not thinking of the sexual aspects of her
bath, two nude women in a hot tub, one being washed by another, but
evidently Vicky had given her sponge baths while she was going through the
worst of her withdrawals, and had also taken care of Shawna's more intimate
needs.  To Vicky, this bath was just an extension of her duty as a nurse.

   While they were in the tub, they were left pretty much alone, except for
a few people who came to offer their sympathy for Shawna's condition and
their support.  Shawna was surprised.  She expected that the entire
community would rise up against her, and this show of support threw her for
a loop.  It made her feel even more guilty about lying to them, and for a
brief moment, Shawna almost gave in to the urge to come clean and confess
all to Vicky.

   Yet a part of her, the part thinking of all that money waiting for her,
wouldn't let her do it.  Instead, Shawna thought about how she would bide
her time, get fit, and put together enough supplies to make a proper trip
up the mountain.  No more impulsive actions, to get away clean she needed
to have a plan.

   It was after she had eaten in the privacy of the clinic that two men
showed up to escort her to the elders.  They were polite, and allowed her
to dress for the meeting, but they insisted on binding her wrists behind
her, which Shawna submitted to quietly.  Along with Gabe and Vicky, Shawna
was led to her fate.

   Shawna, now dressed in a leather skirt and blouse, was taken to the
school, to one of the classrooms where the young of the Compound were
educated.  Not needing the space the Great Hall provided, and thinking that
a room dedicated to judicial matters was wasteful in this community, the
elders preferred to do business in the smaller classrooms.

   When Shawna entered, she expected to see a long table with a row of
older folk sitting along one side, and a single chair out in the open for
her.  Instead, she was surprised to see people, fully dressed for a change,
sitting around several smaller round tables, one of which was occupied by
who could only be the elders she had been told about.  Three men and two
women, all looking to be in their sixties, yet all looking fitter than the
average sixty-year-old Shawna had ever known.  There was an empty space at
that table, and as Shawna was led over to it, she looked at the people
sitting at the other tables.  At one table was Paul, with her two initial
rescuers, Matthew and Rhianna, Rhianna kneeling on a pillow at Matthew's
side.  Gabe and Vicky joined them, with Vicky grabbing another floor pillow
so she could sit with Rhianna.  The two women whispered a greeting to each
other.  On the other side of the room at a table by himself sat Grady. 
Other people she didn't know sat or knelt elsewhere, and a large dog
trotted from group to group, looking for food or a scratch behind his ears.
There was a floor pillow waiting for Shawna at the table where the elders
sat, and as she dropped to her knees and settled, she glanced over at
Grady, who avoided looking at her.

   "Welcome, Shawna," said one of the men, smiling.  "I'm sorry we didn't
get to meet earlier, but your doctor was quite insistent that you be
undisturbed during your recovery.  We hope you're feeling much better?"

   "Yes, I am.  Thank you," Shawna replied, a little confused by the man's
friendly tone.

   "Good.  Well, I'll do the introductions," he said.  "My name is Robert
Klink, to my left is Gabe Miller, then Ann Redfest, Leann Miller, and Bill
Anderson."

   Shawna nodded to each person in turn, but showed confusion as she was
introduced to yet another Gabe Miller.

   "I'm the young lad's grandfather," joked the old man, pointing at the
doctor, who grinned.  "And Leann here is my wife, and his grandmother. 
That should explain the Miller contribution to the community!"

   "A contribution that keeps getting bigger!" Bill Anderson chuckled and
the rest of the elders laughed.

   The older Gabe frowned.  "Not so you'd notice lately, considering the
boy still hasn't found a wife!"

   Young Gabe blushed and looked away.  His "Duty" to continue the line was
the subject of gentle joking among his family, with a hard core of
seriousness that few outside the family was aware of.  He was the fourth
Gabe Miller, his great grandfather being one of the original founders of
the Compound seventy years ago.  All had been doctors, and it was expected
that he would marry, have a son, and continue the family business.

   It was not that he was without prospects, but he felt that many of the
women around here were missing a certain something he couldn't put his
finger on.  But then you never knew when someone could come into your life
and change all that.  Gabe looked over at Shawna kneeling on her pillow,
and ignored the jesting at his expense.

   All of this was over Shawna's head, but she was happy to hear all the
jokes and good humor.  She doubted that such a happy group of people was
capable of doing anything really nasty to her.  It gave her hope. 
Eventually the group settled down, and Robert Klink, who was the
spokesperson for the elders at these meetings, got down to business.

   "Shawna," he said, "I know how courts work in your world; judges,
lawyers, the jury system.  It's a good system and works well when it's
allowed to work at all, but we prefer to operate with a little less
formality here.  But before we go on, I must impress upon you the fact that
despite outward appearances, we are ALL very serious about our laws.  They
may seem strange to you, and we understand that.  Our laws are based on the
community we wanted to create here, a community different from what was
happening in this country at the time it was founded.  The Compound was
founded in the middle of the depression, when Industrial Man had gone too
far too soon.  Politicians were corrupt, the nation's wealth lost, and
people were without hope.  Our founders believed that a return to a simpler
life, a life without a reliance on industry, or on a far off government,
would be a much better way to live.  They set up this place, where people
could live with respect for each other, where you could thrive doing simple
things.

   "Outsiders remark mostly on how the balance of power is carried by the
men, and how women seem to be second class citizens here.  We believe
however, that this is a much more balanced system, with men and women in
the roles that nature intended.  Women aren't considered second class here,
it's important you understand that.  Women are, in fact, put on a pedestal;
protected and admired.  They are our most precious resource and are treated
as such within the roles we follow.  Some..." he smiled at Rhianna, "some
find it more difficult than others to accept the roles we place on
ourselves, but all understand WHY it is so.

   "Now, why am I telling you this?  I want you to understand that while we
may be different, we are just as serious about our lifestyle as anyone you
would meet in your world, and that what may seem cruel or ludicrous to you,
is treated with deadly seriousness here.

   "Do you understand?"

   Shawna swallowed, feeling nervous again.  "Yes, Sir."

   Robert smiled.  "Now, normally when a visitor breaks our laws, they are
asked to leave immediately, but your...recovery...from your addictions has
delayed that action.  Then there is your request to stay, to not be taken
down the mountain and back to your world.  Such a request is usually not
honored, but there is a movement of sorts toward making an exception in
this case."

   Again Robert looked about the room, this time focusing momentarily on
Gabe Jr.  and his sister Vicky.

   "Your reason for wanting to stay, if I understand it correctly, is so
you can spend time recovering completely from your addictions in a place
where you will find no temptation.  Well, we agree that our community would
be the best place for you to recover.  You are no doubt aware that here,
you will not be allowed to drink, and that you will most certainly not be
able to find any drugs of any kind.

   "Am I right in thinking that this is why you wish to stay?"

   "Yes, that's right.  I think I can get dry here a lot better than
anywhere else," Shawna replied.

   "And how long were you planning on staying?" Robert asked her.

   Shawna looked lost for a moment, but Gabe came to her rescue.  "It's too
early to tell yet; we still have to get a full handle on how deep her
addictions went, and technically she is still in withdrawal, so we can't
deal with prevention until she has recovered completely from the physical
affects," he said quickly.

   "Thank you, Doctor," Robert said, then he turned to Gabe Senior.  "Do
you concur?"

   "To a point, yes," said the elder Miller.  "We're not set up to handle
addiction cases, however.  I would have recommended that Shawna be taken
down to Tubel's clinic in town, but young Gabe has done an excellent job so
far.  He neglected to mention that in addition to medical help, Shawna
would also need a good deal of counseling, for her addictions are not only
physical but mental.  Again, I would have recommended she be sent to town,
but our own Father Logan feels he is qualified.  Isn't that right, Pat?"

   One of the men Shawna didn't recognize stood up for a moment.  He didn't
look like a priest to her, in all his leathers, but evidently he was the
community spiritual leader, as well as a trained psychologist.

   "I would be happy to help Shawna, Gabe, you all know that!" he said,
smiling at Shawna.

   "Thank you, Father," Robert said to him, and Father Pat Logan sat down.

   "Shawna," continued Robert, "earlier today we heard from young Dr. 
Miller, and from Vicky Miller, their views on your request to stay.  We
also heard from Paul, who normally has authority to make this decision
himself, but is deferring to us in this instance.  After some discussion,
we decided to wait until you yourself had a chance to speak, before making
that decision.  Do you have anything more to say?"

   Shawna felt put on the spot.  Here she was, being asked to lie to these
people again, people who so obviously wanted to help her, despite how badly
she treated them earlier.

   Shawna wished she had come across this community under different
circumstances, and again thought briefly about confessing all.

   "I...just feel...that my only chance of getting my life back is to shake
the drugs and drinking.  I think I can only do that here...if you'll let
me," she said slowly.

   Robert and the other elders looked at each other and nodded.

   Robert leaned forward.  "Shawna, you do understand that, should we
decide you stay, you will have to accept punishment for your actions of a
few days ago.  We will make allowances for your condition and state of mind
at the time, but for the good of all, there must be retribution for what
happened."

   "Yes, Sir.  I understand," said Shawna.

   "Very well then.  In that case, we grant your request to stay, so that
we can help you recover and be well once more.

   "It is also hoped that, after your recovery, despite what one or two
individuals might think," this time he glanced at Paul and Grady, "that you
might wish to join us permanently.  We would welcome you if you choose to
do so!"

   Shawna was stunned, she opened her mouth, but no words could come out.

   "With that settled then, let's move on to your punishment," Robert said,
the smile leaving his face.  "Paul?"

   Paul Anderson stood up and walked over until he stood behind Robert.

   "Shawna Michaels, you are charged with Assault, ergo your attack on
Vicky Miller.  Unlawful Restraint, ergo the non-consensual bondage you
placed on her after attacking her.  And finally, Community Endangerment,
ergo knowingly leaving the safety of the Compound during violent weather,
with knowledge that others would have to place their lives at risk to look
for you.  The charge of Breaking Curfew, ergo being out without an escort
after dark, has been dropped because the Community Endangerment charge
supersedes it.

   "Do you have anything to say to these charges that has not already been
covered by your defense of addiction-induced motivation?"

   Shawna was a little taken back by the sudden formality of the situation,
but she had nothing to add to what had been said already.  "No, Sir."

   Paul nodded and went back to his chair.

   "Due to mitigating circumstances," Robert said, "your punishment will be
light, but visible.  You will spend eight hours in the stocks on public
display.  Because your doctor feels that you as yet do not have the
strength to endure such a sentence all at once, you will be placed there
for no more than two hours per day for the next four days."

   "Thank you, Sir!" said Shawna, breathing a sigh or relief.  She figured
she could do the time okay; it would be embarrassing, but she could do it.

   "We're not done yet, Shawna," Robert said.  "Leann?"

   Leann Miller, who had remained silent up to now, turned to face Shawna.

   Unlike the younger women in the room, she and Ann Redfest sat in chairs.
Shawna was to find out later that with age, allowances were made and some
rules relaxed.

   "Child," said Leann.  "We spent a lot of time talking about what
punishment you should receive, but a great deal more time deciding what
else to do with you.  The stocks are a good short-term punishment, an
immediate solution that you will not quickly forget, but rarely is it the
final solution.

   "Most situations, when rules are broken, never reach us.  They are
usually handled by the Head of your House, especially when it concerns
women.  But you have no house, no one to take charge of you while you stay
here, no one to be responsible for your conduct or to educate you in our
ways.

   "We had to decide where to place you so you could learn those things;
and where we put you not only had to be for your benefit, but for the
benefit of the house you are placed in."

   She looked in turn at each of the faces of her fellow elders before
looking once more at Shawna.

   "Child, it was a difficult decision, and some will argue a controversial
one.  But we have decided to place you in the custody of Grady O'Malley. 
He will be your Head of House, and you will serve and obey him in all
things except one..."

   "WHAT!" yelled Grady, standing up.  He had a shocked look on his face
and he wasn't the only one.  "She can't stay with me!" he said loudly. 
Across the room, Gabe also looked quite stunned.

   "Sit down, Grady!" Robert told him, standing up.

   "She can't stay with me!" Grady repeated.

   "She IS going to stay with you, Grady!" Robert said, his voice firm.

   Grady paused.  "But...I don't...  Look, it isn't even proper, we're not
married!"

   "We're well aware of that Grady, painfully aware.  But we feel that it's
in the best interest of both of you for her to move in with you."

   "And why is that?" Grady asked sarcastically.

   "You know as well as I do, Grady, that since your wife died, you haven't
been the same man.  You've become antisocial, angry, and a danger to
yourself.  While we are all grateful that you found and rescued Shawna from
the river the night of the storm, you know full well that you should never
have gone out of the Compound alone like that.  You've broken that rule
several times in the past few months, and Paul has let it slide because we
knew you needed room to grieve.  But it has been evident that you aren't
healing.  You have always been a caring person, Grady, but since
you...since WE lost Cheryl, you haven't cared about anyone, including
yourself.  Well, now you can.  You're responsible for Shawna during her
stay.  You see to it that she learns what she needs to know to live here,
that she does what she needs to do to recover from her addiction.  She, in
turn, might just get you thinking about someone other than yourself for a
change.  We believe it will do you some good."

   "But," said Grady, "it isn't proper, us living together."

   Robert's face softened and he walked slowly toward the younger man. 
"Grady, we know that.  It's one of our biggest moral tenets that a couple
be joined under God before any physical intimacy takes place.  But we are
not asking you to go that far.  In fact, such intimate contact is forbidden
for the both of you.  But we know we can trust you Grady, you're a
committed man, and your love for Cheryl would not allow you that kind of
intimacy with anyone else.  If we had any doubt about that, we would not
have considered this arrangement.  But this will be good for you.  Trust
us, as we trust you."

   Grady still looked shocked, and for a moment, he just stared at Robert
before glancing briefly at Shawna.  Then, very reluctantly, he nodded.

   Robert and the other elders sighed.  They were taking a risk proposing
something this radical, and they knew tongues would wag throughout the
community despite all their reasons and intentions.  But they were very
concerned about Grady.

   Robert went back to his seat yet remained standing.

   "Grady, as Shawna's Head of House, any additional discipline to the
punishment we set her is up to you, but it will be expected by the
community."

   "I understand," Grady said.

   "Then, I guess we're done.  Shawna, you go with Grady now.  He's in
charge of you, mind what he says."

   "Yes, Sir," said Shawna uncertainly.

   People started to get up and leave, and Grady moved to his new roommate.
He thought he was done with the woman, but it looked like fate had other
plans.  He helped her to her feet and told her to follow him.

   With her hands still bound uncomfortably behind her, Shawna did as she
was told, and wondered what all this did to her plans.


   End of Part 6.

The Compound Part 7


   Matthew and Rhianna entered their apartment together, and while Matthew
closed the door, Rhianna sprawled out on the floor pillows.  She rolled
onto her back, annoyed at what had gone on at Shawna's trial.  Actually,
she was more annoyed that she didn't get to ask Shawna a few questions of
her own!  Matthew had given her strict orders that she was not to say a
word during the proceedings unless asked a direct question, and he had
backed up that order with what Rhianna called his "Dom mode".

   There were many times she could tell when Matthew was just playing, but
she had learned to respect those rare moments when he was deadly serious.
Already in hot water for her shameful display in front of all the men on
the night of the search, Rhianna figured she had better listen to her
husband this time.

   But it didn't mean she had to like it.

   "Can I talk NOW, Oh Great One?" she asked Matthew, who was taking his
leather vest off.

   "What do you have to say, Wench?  I can tell that you're just bursting
to say something!"

   "Matt, you're not stupid, can't you see that there is something very
wrong with that woman?" Rhianna said.

   "Well, thanks for your confidence in my intelligence, but perhaps you
had better spell out what you mean!" Matthew replied.  He padded over in
just a pair of leather trousers and lay on the pillows beside his wife. 
His eyes were all over her, the way her tanned legs were folded, her
breasts pushing against the confines of the halter she wore.  He never got
tired of looking at her.

   "Remember what she first asked us when we found her?  She asked if we
were cops, and was relieved when we said we weren't.  Does that sound like
someone who is lost and afraid?  A normal person would have been happy to
see anyone!"

   "True," Matthew agreed, toying with the knot between Rhianna's breasts,
holding her halter together.

   Rhianna pretended to ignore his fingers.  "Besides, it wasn't as if we
LOOKED like cops, so her asking was even MORE strange."

   "Well, she had been up there a while, exposure can do strange things to
people's minds," Matthew responded, taking the contrary view just to see
where Rhianna was going with this.

   Rhianna made a face.  "Not likely, not to that extent.  Then there is
her attack on poor Vicky, and her run to the woods.  I can understand her
attack, addiction CAN drive you to extreme acts at times, but look where
she was found?  Grady found her upstream, not downstream where you would
have expected her to go.  Who escapes UP a mountain?"

   "Again, true.  But Grady just followed the first trail he came to after
leaving through the same gate she would have.  Maybe all she did was follow
a trail without thinking of going anywhere!" Matthew said.  He managed to
undo the knot with one hand, and deftly threw the material open, revealing
her tanned mounds.

   Rhianna glanced at her husband and shifted slightly, just enough so that
he could pull the halter out from under her without giving him the
impression that she was cooperating too actively.

   "You might be right, but even in the dark in a blinding rain storm, even
I could tell which way is downhill.  But why did she leave at all?  That's
what I want to know!"

   "Shawna had just hit Vicky, she was trying to get away!" he replied. 
Now Matthew was working the knot at her hip.  He had given Rhianna a long
cloth skirt to wear to the trial, something that laced up one side,
revealing a lot of hip.  The knot was at the top, and the laces were pulled
tight enough to mold the skirt to her body in a most delightful way.  An
added bonus for Matthew was that the skirt also restricted Rhianna's
stride, effectively hobbling her.  Walking to and from the school, Rhianna
had to take quick steps in her bare feet in order to keep up with her
husband.  She had looked delightful.

   "But uphill?" Rhianna said, shifting slightly to allow Matthew better
access to the knot.  She knew what was going to happen; it was a game they
played many times, and it thrilled her.  Matthew's act of slowly undressing
her was a definite turn on for her, and she could already feel her body
responding to his actions.  To relieve a little of the tension building up
inside her, she stretched, and Matthew paused to watch her body in motion.

   "I want to know the real reason why she wants to stay here," she said,
trying not to respond to the tugging at her hip.

   "Why do you think she has another reason?" Matthew asked her, the knot
finally undone.  He began to loosen the lacing, slowly.

   "Haven't you been listening?  She doesn't like cops, she runs UP hill
instead of down, she's a confessed drug user, AND her story about being
beaten up and left here is full of holes...Oooo!" Rhianna said sharply. 
Matthew had just loosened up the laces enough to pull the skirt off her,
and he pinched her hip to get her to shift.

   As Rhianna lifted her butt, Matthew tugged on the skirt, slipping it
past that shapely obstacle.

   "Full of holes?" Matthew asked, smiling as he began to slide the skirt
down her legs.

   "You saw her bruises; did you see the one across her hips?  It looked
like the type of bruise you get in a car accident from the lap belt."

   "Pet, I hate to say this but there are no cars on the mountain," Matthew
replied, tossing the skirt to one side.  All Rhianna wore now was her
loincloth and waist rope, and she looked lovely lying on her back against
the fur covered floor pillows.

   "I know, but she had to come from somewhere, and I think it's important
for us to find out where!" Rhianna, hiding a smile, pushed her husband to
one side and stood up.

   "What!  Now?" said Matthew in horror, surprised at Rhianna's move.

   Rhianna laughed, "Not now, lover.  Now I need to use the bathroom.  But
tomorrow, maybe."

   Matthew chuckled.  "It's curfew for you, Pet.  Don't get caught!"

   "It's just a few doors down, I'll be right back, and..." she reached out
with one bare foot to rub the tent in his pants, "...keep that warm for
me!"

   "Ever done it in a public bathroom before?" Matthew said with a grin.

   Rhianna gave him an evil look and slipped out of the apartment.  As she
made a quick dash to the facilities, she reminded herself that, all jokes
aside, she DID need to look into Shawna's past.

   ---***--

   Bathrooms were a communal affair in the Compound, but were also the only
official segregated areas the community allowed.  While the residents were
liberal in their nudity and bathing practices, not even this group wanted
to see the other gender use the toilet.  So men's and women's bathrooms
were scattered around the complex, usually paired up back-to-back, one for
approximately every ten households.  Private bathrooms were non-existent,
simply because of the plumbing problems.  Without the use of pumps or
electricity, water had to be gravity driven in order to flow.  Couple this
with the primitive hand-made clay pipes that passed for plumbing, and there
was no way everyone could have their own handy commode.

   Still, what they went with was brilliant in its own way.  Based on Roman
plumbing two thousand years old, a system of drains and pipes kept water
running continuously through every fixture in the Compound.  Diverted from
the river upstream and carried through buried pipes to prevent freezing,
the water cleaned and carried away all the wastes the community generated.
The fixtures themselves were based on communal use.  Rather than single
toilets with their modern internal workings, each bathroom had a long
trough with a cover over it.  The cover had holes cut out along its length,
the perfect size to do your business through.  Water ran through the
trough, keeping it clean, and an ingenious bit of plumbing did away with
toilet paper by converting each seat into a bidet at the pull of a handle.

   Another trough on the other side of the room acted as a sink; cold water
only, though.

   It was very basic, but served the needs of the people well.  When Shawna
saw it her first day there, she was rather apprehensive about it all.  But
she quickly got used to it, and now thought little of trying to pee with
other women walking around.

   She was a bit more nervous this time, though.  Grady had brought her
straight here, and ordered her to relieve herself while he waited outside.
Her hands were still bound behind her, and it was awkward and very
embarrassing.  One or two women who were in there with her gave her
sympathetic looks, and a young woman who introduced herself as Estelle said
she knew what it was like to have to use the bathroom like that, but that
it would be okay in the end.

   "I was new here myself once, so I know how weird you must think this
place is," said Estelle.

   "New here?  You mean you weren't born here?" Shawna asked.

   Estelle smiled.  "I'm from New York originally, but now I'm here living
with my husband and teaching at the school.  Look, I have to run; it's
curfew and he's waiting for me.  But if you need help adjusting, just ask
around; someone will know where to find me, and I'll be glad to help!"

   "Thanks," Shawna said, feeling a little better.  Estelle left, and
Shawna looked up at the bar that would start the cleaning jet of water. 
She couldn't reach it, but another woman who had just gotten done pulled it
herself.  Jets of water appeared in each seat, and Shawna shifted her butt
until she felt somewhat washed.

   She was unable to dry herself or put her loincloth back on, and she
wasn't about to ask for that kind of help, so she just got up and let her
dress fall to cover herself.

   Outside, Grady was still waiting, and without a word, he began walking.
Shawna hurried to keep up, and after just a short distance, they reached
his home.

   It was an identical design to the one Rhianna and Matthew lived in.  A
single large room with an alcove on the far side where the bed was.  To the
right as you entered was a small kitchen area, and the rest of the space
was closets and living room.  A large fireplace dominated the left wall,
and the apartment was furnished with a single comfortable chair and lots of
floor pillows.

   Shawna had expected something smaller, more primitive; but the place was
large and airy, even though it was only lit up with a few wall mounted oil
lamps.  Shawna glanced up, saw the night sky through the large skylight in
the ceiling, and thought this place would be well lit by the sun during the
day.  It looked like a comfortable place for a married couple to spend
their time, and Shawna felt sympathy for Grady having to live here alone.
But then, that had changed now, hadn't it.

   Grady closed the door behind them and went to the kitchen area.  Shawna
wasn't sure if she was allowed to speak; she wasn't sure of anything
really, except that her arms were really beginning to hurt from the awkward
position they were tied in.

   "Er..." she said, and Grady looked over at her.  He was in the process
of pouring some water from a jug into a glass.

   "Grady, I don't suppose you can untie me could you?  This is getting
very uncomfortable...please?"

   Grady closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  "Sure," he said, and he
put down the jug and came over to her.  It only took him a few moments to
free her, and when done, he went back to what he was doing.  "You thirsty?"
he asked.

   Shawna nodded, looking about the apartment again.  She stood awkwardly
in the middle of the room rubbing her sore wrists, not knowing what to do.
"I prefer a verbal response," Grady said.

   "Sorry; sure, I'm thirsty," Shawna replied.

   Grady stared at her for a moment then found another dusty glass on a
shelf.  He wiped it clean with a rag and then poured water into it.

   Shawna tried not to wince as she took it from him, wondering how clean
it was.  From the look of the kitchen, not much in it had been cleaned for
a while.

   "Yeah, I know," Grady said, following her gaze.  "It'll be one of your
first jobs, putting this place back together.  You have a lot to learn."

   "I'll be happy to help," Shawna said.

   "Yeah, sure," Grady replied.

   "No, really.  I feel like I'm at a loose end, all jumpy and stuff. 
Cleaning...doing ANYTHING, really would be good for me.  I need to be
occupied."

   Grady looked like he wasn't sure he believed her, but he said nothing.
He moved to the bed and put his glass down on a side table before removing
his shirt.

   Shawna once again got a good look at his very well built torso and tried
to remember what he looked like nude.

   There was a knock at the door.

   Grady looked at Shawna and she understood that it was her duty to answer
it.

   It turned out to be Gabe.

   "Hi," he said, looking a little nervous.  Like a lot of the people that
knew about this, Gabe wasn't exactly thrilled by the elder's decision to
have Shawna live with Grady, and he himself found it even harder to deal
with.  He now knew he was attracted to her and it pained him to see her
living with another man.

   Shawna smiled and let him in.

   "Gabe," Grady said, acknowledging the man's arrival.

   "I need a word with you, about Shawna.  Now that you're responsible for
her, I need to tell you about her requirements," said Gabe.

   "Requirements?" answered Grady.

   "Yes, concerning her treatment."

   "Oh." Grady looked about the apartment, as if seeing it for the first
time, then he looked at Shawna.

   "Do what you can to tidy up this place, will you?  Figure out the
laundry, and what needs to be taken to the big kitchen for cleaning," he
said to her.

   "Er, sure!" Shawna replied.

   "She's not up to heavy tasks yet, Grady," Gabe said, "so go easy on
her."

   "Just a little cleaning, Doc.  While she does that, let's go get a beer
and talk about her...requirements."

   Gabe was surprised.  Since his wife passed, Grady had rebuffed any
attempts at socialization, yet now he was willing to do just that.  Gabe
wondered if Shawna's sudden arrival in his life was the cause of it, and if
it was a good thing or bad?

   "Sure, let's go."

   Grady nodded and the men headed to the door.  But before they reached
it, Grady turned to speak to Shawna once more.

   "You do NOT leave this room, understand?  I don't know if anyone ever
told you, but right now it's curfew, curfew for women that is.  You aren't
allowed out without an escort, and in your case, your only escort is ME! 
The next time you go running anywhere, I'll put you in the stocks myself
when I catch you, and you will be there for days.  You got that?"

   Shawna felt a chill go through her.  She thought the man was just
grumpy, but she could see that for some reason he really hated her.  Unable
to understand his feelings, yet afraid of doing any more wrong, all she
could say was yes.

   Seconds later, she was alone.

   ---***--

   Shawna lay still and quiet on the floor pillows by the cold fireplace.
She had been alone for several hours, and while she didn't have a watch,
she figured it was very late.

   She had turned down all but one of the oil lamps, and had settled onto
the floor pillows to get some sleep.  Shawna wasn't sure what the sleeping
arrangements were supposed to be, but she remembered Robert Klink's warning
about no sex, so she figured they wouldn't be sharing the bed.  She thought
it better to leave it for Grady than to assume that she got to use it.  She
tried to sleep, but her mind was going too fast.  She figured out that what
she had volunteered for was a little consensual slavery.  Do what the man
says, and don't talk back!

   It wouldn't be so bad except that now she thought she had been bonded to
someone who hated her.  Would he go easy on her, or grind her to dust? 
Shawna had no idea.

   She wondered if his attitude toward her had something to do with the
death of his wife.  Certainly, he hadn't welcomed her into his home. 
Shawna was a little confused about why it was SUCH a big deal, her living
alone with him, but she figured that too was going to be a problem.

   Then there was her original plan, get fit, get supplies, then go get the
money and find a place to spend it all.  In order to make THAT work, she
needed to be free to get around this place, and there was not much chance
of that anytime soon.

   One more thing to worry about was the stocks.  She was glad that Gabe
spoke up when he did, saying that she couldn't do more than a couple of
hours at a time in them, but she was still worried about it.  What was it
going to be like, exhibited naked like that?

   She didn't want to think of it, but the thoughts just kept drifting
back.

   The door opening jolted her from her semi-slumber.  Three men entered,
and Shawna sat up in fright.  She had noticed that none of the doors she
had seen had any locks, and the sight of these men brought her fears to the
surface.

   But, in the light of the hallway, she saw that one of the men was Grady,
and that the other two men were half carrying him.

   "Ma'am, can you help us get him on the bed?" one of them asked.

   "What happened to him?" Shawna asked, then as she got closer, she knew.
Grady was drunk, dead drunk.  He stunk of beer, and the smell both repulsed
Shawna and drove hard into her own thirst.

   She forced herself to help the men put Grady on the bed, all the while
wondering where they got the beer.

   "Thank you, Ma'am," the men said when they were done.  Then in the dim
light Shawna saw one of them frown.  "I'm sorry Ma'am, but we heard about
what happened to you, and your sentence and everything.  You got eight
hours in the stocks and house discipline, right?"

   "That's right," Shawna replied.

   The men looked at each other.  "Do we get in the middle of this?" one of
them asked the other.

   "It's his house, his rules," said the other.

   "Yeah, but look at him.  His first night with her, and he's in no shape
to enforce anything.  Besides," the man glanced at Shawna for a second, "I
think my wife would sleep better tonight knowing that things here are on
the up and up."

   The other man nodded.  "Ma'am," he said, "we're going to have to do
something about your freedom.  It just isn't right, you being here able to
walk around when the two of you aren't...well, it ain't right.  Not with
Grady like this."

   "What are you talking about?" Shawna said, nervous again.

   "Look, people are going to talk unless we do something; we've got to
protect Grady's reputation, and yours.  Thing's just aren't done this way.
I know everyone will feel better if we could tell them that the right
thing's being done here."

   "I don't understand you!" said Shawna desperately.

   "We have to bind you for the night, it's the only way."

   "What?  No!"

   "It'll be okay, Grady should be back in the land of the living to free
you in the morning."

   "No!" yelled Shawna, but the two men took hold of her and led her back
to the pillows.

   Against her will, they laid her on her stomach and bound her hands
behind her, followed by her ankles, which they brought up and attached to
her wrists.  Because Shawna started swearing at them, they also added a bit
gag, and then left the apartment.

   Shawna twisted and struggled a little, but the thin cords dug deep, and
she was soon convinced to stop.  She was mad, a little sick, and very
uncomfortable.  How the hell was she to sleep like this?

   Grumbling to herself, Shawna tried to make the best of it, and
eventually found a position that didn't put too much strain on her arms and
back.  All this to protect Grady's reputation!  What did they think she was
going to do, rape him in his sleep?  What about HER reputation?  What was
to prevent Grady from taking HER in the middle of the night?

   It seemed very unfair.

   ---***--

   Shawna woke to the sound of crying.  She listened for a moment, and
figured that it came from Grady on the bed.  Every so often, she could make
out a name, Cheryl, as he mumbled in his sleep.  But most of all, it was
the crying.  Shawna knew the man was in pain; he must have loved her a
great deal to still be crying after so long.

   She wanted to go over there and comfort him, but her bonds hadn't
shifted all night.  She was stuck until he released her.

   It was a long time before she dozed off again, and all she heard was his
crying.


End of Part 7

The Compound Part 8


   Lilly Anderson had drawn an unpleasant assignment that week, but she was
glad it was only part time work.  Paul Anderson's youngest child was
seventeen and in her last year of general schooling.  She and the other
seniors were going through a transitional period, where their future
positions in the community were being shaped and decided.

   Each week the seven students that made up her graduating class would be
assigned a place to work in the community, a place they may or may not have
chosen themselves if given the chance.  Slowly throughout the year, they
would work through practically every type of job the Compound had to offer.
From clothes making to hunting, from glass blowing to mucking out the pigs.
The purpose being to see where the student's interests and talents led
them, so they could better fit in as adults.

   There was a little job discrimination though, following the nature of
the Compound's attitude toward women's and men's roles.  For instance,
Lilly would not get a chance to work in any of the fabrication shops,
building being part of the men's world.  Her male classmates didn't take
part in kitchen duty or laundry, although learning how to cook the things
you caught on the mountain was a necessary part of everyone's education.

   But most jobs were handled by both genders, and the successful
completion of all the different options available was a required part of
graduation and "Adult" status in the community.

   Lilly wasn't worried about that part.  Since she was thirteen, she had
helped her mother in the Great Hall's kitchen, and fully expected to keep
on working there, although lately she had been thinking about following
Rhianna's example by teaching.  Rhianna had made a big impression on young
Lilly, and time hadn't dimmed it any.  To Lilly, Rhianna was the big sister
she had never had.

   What Lilly WAS worried about was her survival test next summer.  It was
the final requirement and to fail meant being considered a "Child" for
another year for you only got to try it once a year.  The survival test was
simple, spend a week alone on the mountain taking nothing with you at all,
not even clothing.

   Everything a person needed to survive and indeed prosper was available
on the mountain to those trained how to find it.  All children had to take
and pass the test before being allowed to move on with their lives; it was
everything.

   Even those that planned on leaving were required to pass the test first,
and Lilly knew of one her classmates that did want to go, although the girl
had not told her parents yet.

   No one was prevented from leaving the Compound once they passed the
test; and while it was sad to see people go, they were always welcome to
return.  Some did, visiting from time to time.  Others went then came back
to stay, bringing new wives or husbands like Matthew did with Rhianna. 
Others were never heard from again.

   Lilly had never considered leaving the Compound, but her brother had. 
He left last winter, after they had caught the man who had murdered his
fianc e.  Sol had been depressed for a long time, and a falling out with
his father had only deepened the wedge Sol was placing between himself and
the rest of the world.

   So, one afternoon when the sky was clear and the snow hard packed, he
collected his things and with barely a goodbye, he left.

   No one had heard from him since.

   Lilly often thought of him, especially when she was bored.

   Her current assignment was boring, but it was also rather unpleasant. 
She had drawn the evening shift of watching the stocks.  That meant for a
few hours each evening, she would have to look after whoever was taking
punishment in the stocks, making sure they came to no harm.

   This was a transitory job assignment for the students, only given out if
the stocks were occupied, which was rare.  Since they might only be used
three or four times a year, when the opportunity arose a couple of students
were always assigned; one for the evening shift and one for the late night
shift.  The rest of the duty time was taken by Paul's deputies or other
volunteers.

   This night, as Lilly sat on her little stool in the corner, the new
woman, Shawna, was brought in by Grady and Paul.  Lilly had been told that
Shawna was due, and it would be her job to watch her, as well as John the
adulterer, as he stood in a set of stocks at the other end of the line.

   At least Lilly didn't have to lock Shawna in herself; that was always
done by Paul or one of his deputies.

   Shawna looked pale and tired to Lilly's eyes, and Lilly wondered if the
woman was up to it.  Lilly had listened as her father and mother argued
about Shawna's case.  Elizabeth, her mother, felt that the elders had no
right giving Shawna punishment time in the stocks, as sick as she was,
while her father argued that great allowances had already been made for
Shawna's addictions.

   So Shawna only got two hours a day, which wasn't that bad at all.  Lilly
had spent an hour in the stocks herself when she first got the job a couple
of days ago; it was her lesson in just what kinds of discomfort can occur
to someone trapped in them.

   Paul and Grady talked quietly while Grady untied Shawna's hands.  Shawna
was under discipline, so it wasn't unusual for her to be tied.  Then Lilly
watched as Shawna was asked to strip, before being led over to one of the
shorter stocks and locked in.

   Shawna looked very uncomfortable being naked, which reminded Lilly of
when Rhianna and Estelle were new here.  Shawna started to blush furiously
once she was bent over and locked in place.

   "Lilly, come here, please," said Paul.

   "Yes, Dad," Lilly replied, and she got up from her stool and hurried
over.

   "Shawna," Paul said to the now trapped woman, "this is my daughter
Lilly; she will be watching over you this evening, and someone is always
here when the stocks are occupied.  She will take care of any needs you
have: cramps, itches, water, whatever.  What she cannot do is let you out
of the stocks, so don't even ask.  But she can help you get through this
more comfortably.  Okay?"

   "Yes, Sir," said Shawna, nodding slightly.  She looked over at Lilly and
gave out a tired smile.

   "We're going to leave you ungagged," Paul continued, "so you can ask for
water if you need to, but you aren't allowed to talk to Lilly, or anyone
else beyond that."

   "I understand," Shawna said.

   "Good.  Grady, you have anything you want to say?" Paul asked.

   Grady shook his head, then paused.  "It'll be tough for you, but I know
you can do it.  I'll see you at home when you're done."

   Shawna was surprised.  It was the first time that day that he had
offered her any encouragement.  "Okay," was all she could manage to say
back to him.

   Paul took Lilly to one side.

   "I'll be back for her in a couple of hours; she shouldn't be a problem.
How are YOU holding up?"

   "Fine, Dad.  But this is a depressing job," the teenager answered
honestly.

   "I know, Hon, but a necessary one.  I just hope you never end up here
standing in one of these things."

   "Don't worry about me, Dad." Lilly smiled at her father, aware that the
man lavished more attention on her now that Sol was gone.  It was as if he
was trying not to lose a second child.  Lilly knew that, despite the
falling out that precipitated Sol's leaving, her father missed him
terribly.

   Paul gave his daughter a warm smile and then nodded in the direction of
John the adulterer in the far corner.  "Is he giving you any trouble?"

   "He had some cramps a little while ago, and he's dead tired.  Dad, he
needs more sleep than we're giving him.  I don't think he can handle the
pace you're setting."

   Paul raised an eyebrow.  "Is that your professional opinion?"

   "No, but my Daddy didn't raise a fool, did he?" Lilly said with a grin.

   Paul chuckled.  "I'll have the Doc look at him, but others have done
time like this without injury.  You just keep a careful eye on both of
them. Who's relieving you later?"

   "Carlo."

   "Good.  He's a good lad.  How come you haven't brought him around to
supper lately?  When you two were little, you were inseparable!"

   "DAD!" whined Lilly, looking around in that typical embarrassed teenage
way.

   Paul chuckled again.  "I'll be back in a couple of hours, and Vicky
Miller will be here as well.  Good luck."

   Grady had already left, so when Paul walked away, Lilly was again alone.
She went over to Shawna, who was trying to find a comfortable way to stand.
She was bent almost at ninety degrees, her breasts hanging free, swinging
beneath her.  Shawna did not like this at all; she felt more exposed now
than at any time since she came to the Compound.  She eyed Lilly's approach
carefully.

   "If you need anything, just call out.  I'll come running!" Lilly said
with a smile, and she went back to her stool.  From where Lilly sat, she
could not see the faces of the prisoners, and they could not see her.  It
was by design; she was not to be their focal point.

   Shawna was not trying to focus on Lilly, she was trying to find a
comfortable way to spend her time.  Already her back was beginning to ache
and she was constantly aware of how her naked breasts swayed in the breeze.
Also the thick wood planks around her neck seemed tight, while the holes
her wrists were in seemed almost too loose.  Shawna felt that if she had
to, she could pull a hand free, but didn't think it would be well received.
Somewhere behind her was the girl, watching her, and being Paul Anderson's
daughter was sure to be the type who would tell all!

   So Shawna suffered in silence, the perfect end to the perfect day.

   Her day started with Grady, hung over and smelling like a brewery,
untying her from her very uncomfortable bondage.

   Finally able to speak, Shawna began to give him a piece of her mind for
what had happened to her, but Grady didn't appear to listen to her. 
Instead, he left the apartment, leaving Shawna somewhat confused about what
she was to do next.

   She soon found out.

   After breakfast eaten in the Great Hall with her hands bound behind her,
she was released in just her loincloth to go deal with all of Grady's
laundry.

   With no instructions beyond "Go do it, I'll be at the stables!" Shawna
tried to cover her bare upper half with the laundry sack she had filled the
night before while wandering around looking for the Laundromat.

   A kind soul directed her outside and out of the Compound to where the
river passed somewhat close by.  There a large washing area had been set up
by the women, and Shawna was cautiously invited to join them.  All were
either nude or in loincloths, and while for a time Shawna tried to maintain
a bit more modesty; in the end she gave up and began not to worry about it.
After all, no men approached the group at all!

   Shawna's efforts at scrubbing clothes on old-fashioned washboards were a
shambles.  She just didn't have the stamina for it, and the more she
worked, the more she felt her need for a drink or a hit of something.  She
was transferred to hanging out clothes to dry, an easier activity, and was
able to last the rest of the morning.

   She lost track of the clothes she had brought, it all having gone into a
community pile, but she was shown that people put their names in their
clothing, and that a crew delivered the clean and dry clothes later in the
day.

   Grady came for her at lunchtime, bound her hands, and took her to eat
again in the Great Hall.

   Shawna was not amused, but Grady barely said anything to her and
wouldn't listen to her requests to put something on first.  She felt very
exposed, but after a short while sitting with lots of other men and women
with not much more on than she had, she calmed down.

   After they ate, Grady left her with Gabe at the clinic, who gave her
another examination.

   "How are you doing?" he asked her as he checked her blood pressure.

   "Tired, Doc," she said, meaning it, "and I've been feeling the need
really bad.  Are you sure I can't just have a little something to take the
edge off?"

   Gabe shook his head.  "It's going to take a little while yet for the
toxins to completely leave your body.  I don't want to add any more to
them."

   "What about that green gunk you smeared all over me before, can't we do
that again?"

   "We could, but I don't want to do that again just yet.  This is just
something you have to get through.  I'll help you anyway I can, you know
that," said Gabe with a smile.

   Shawna nodded and sighed.  "I know, it's just been a tough day."

   "Grady been working you hard?" Gabe asked, concerned.

   "Had me doing laundry all morning," grumbled Shawna.

   "Well, that's not so bad," said the doctor, who once had to watch the
women clean clothes but that was as close as he got.

   Shawna shrugged.  "He also ties me up for every meal, and look at how he
dressed me today, or undressed me, that is!"

   "Shawna, most of us go around like that every day, you'll get used to
it. I know it's tough for you being new, it's not what you're used to, but
it's really nothing to be concerned about."

   "Yeah, right.  Well, should I be concerned about Grady's drinking?"

   "I know he stayed at the bar when I left, and that he stopped by for an
aspirin this morning, but was he bad last night?"

   "You have a bar here?" Shawna asked, perking up.

   "For men only, you wouldn't make it in the door.  Now what about Grady?"

   "Oh, him.  A couple of guys brought him home last night, then they tied
me up before they left; some bullshit about protecting our reputations."

   Grady shook his head.  "Damn, I hoped he wouldn't react that way."

   Shawna noted that Gabe didn't seem at all disturbed by her story of
being tied up all night.  She decided to skip the subject and talk about
Grady.  "What's up with him, Doc?" Shawna asked.

   Gabe finished putting away his instruments before answering.

   "Vicky told me she told you about him being a recent widower?"

   "Yes, she did."

   "His wife...was a popular girl, well liked by all, and Grady was very
proud to have been the one to finally win her heart.  Those two were very
much in love and were inseparable.  No one quite knows what she was doing
alone along that stretch of river when she drowned, but it hit Grady so
hard that for a while we had him on an unofficial suicide watch.  He didn't
know, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell him, but we kept an eye on
him for several weeks almost constantly.

   "He changed a lot after she died.  He used to be our chief blacksmith,
but stopped working.  Said he couldn't bear to be around all the people. 
So he went to work in the stables.

   "He became a lonely, bitter man, but Father Logan began to work on him,
and it looked like maybe Grady would be back eventually." Gabe looked at
Shawna for a moment.  "You know, I'm not in favor of him looking after you,
and I wish I knew why the elders set it up that way; they have to be able
to see what some of us see."

   "What's that?" Shawna asked, nervous under Gabe's stare.

   "You.  You look a little like Cheryl, his wife.  Grady sees it, I can
tell by the way he looks a you.  Staring at you must be hell for him.  Then
he goes and saves you from the river, something he couldn't do for his
wife. And now he's being forced to live with you!

   "I was brought up to respect the wisdom of our elders, but I really have
to question it this time."

   Shawna was shocked.  "I had no idea!"

   "It makes me wonder who is really being punished," said Gabe.

   Shawna shook her head and slid off the examining table.  Her legs
faltered for a second and she began to fall, but Gabe was right there and
held her up.

   For a moment longer than he had to, he held her; and the couple glanced
into each other's eyes, then he let her go.

   "You sure you're okay?" Gabe asked.

   "Nothing a good stiff drink won't fix!" Shawna replied, not sure about
the look in Gabe's eyes.

   Gabe frowned.  "You know, comments like that won't help you recover.  I
suggest you keep liquor out of your vocabulary as well as your body."

   "Sorry, Doc," said Shawna, a little taken aback.

   Gabe crossed the examining room and yelled for Vicky before turning back
to Shawna.

   "Where are you due now?" he asked her.

   "Grady said go to the stables."

   "Okay."

   Vicky turned up with a smile on her face and a warm greeting for Shawna.
Gabe gave her some orders while he bound Shawna's wrists once more.

   "Take her to the stables and tell Grady you will collect her right after
she gets done with her time on the stocks tonight.  I want her bathed and
given a massage before being taken to Grady's; Doctor's orders!"

   "Yes, Gabe," said Vicky.

   "You also tell him that if I hear of him drinking again like he did last
night, it's his ass!"

   Vicky giggled and said she would pass on the message.

   Shawna's time in the stables was not very taxing.  When she arrived and
Vicky left after giving Grady Gabe's messages, Grady laid Shawna down on a
bale of hay and tied her feet.

   Bound hand and foot, she watched as Grady spent the afternoon with
Patch, shifting a wagonload of feed into a storeroom and then taking care
of the horses that had pulled the load up from town.

   At first, Shawna tried a little conversation, but Grady ignored her,
Patch couldn't talk much anyway although he smiled at her a lot, and Ruthy,
who was never far from Patch, never said a word.

   From time to time, Ruthy would bring water to everyone, including
Shawna; and a couple of times the young woman would massage Shawna's
shoulders.  Shawna was surprised by this the first time, but Ruthy's
talented hands magically seemed to take a lot of the pain out of her bound
arms, and Shawna was all in favor of that.

   As she lay there, she thought about what Gabe had told her about Grady,
and saw why he wanted to work here.  It was peaceful, with no demands for
unwanted conversation.  Grady could be alone here in his own way, confident
that Patch and Ruthy wouldn't intrude on his grief.

   It seemed to be the perfect set up for him.

   For supper, Grady let Shawna dress.  She was grateful for that, but not
too excited about wearing the same dress yet again.  She had seen that
Grady had kept all his wife's clothing, and wished she could ask Grady for
one of those outfits instead, but thought better of it.  Warned by what
Gabe had told her, Shawna didn't stir those waters.

   Dinner was outside again with the entire community, and again Paul made
a speech, this time praising the artwork by the Kindergarten class.

   Grady and Shawna sat with Patch and Ruthy.  They were quickly joined by
several other, noisier couples.  Grady was pleasant to them all; and they
were in turn polite to Shawna who again had to eat with her hands bound. 
This was the most public display she had yet to bear, being fed by Grady's
hand; but looking around she saw she wasn't the only one.  Several women
were bound as she was; and most of them were having fun with it, chasing
the food offered to them; and in some cases sensuously taking it from their
man's fingers.

   Again, not being alone helped, and she was actually able to enjoy the
meal.

   It was as the meal ended though, that the butterflies returned.  Now it
was time for her first visit to the stocks.  Paul joined them, and she was
led to her punishment.

   Now she stood trying to be comfortable as people walked past.  Some
slowed and stared, others hurried by without looking; but as each person
passed by, Shawna wondered how she would look at those people in the
morning.  She felt shame, and wished she could have a drink to dull the
feeling and the pain.

   Lilly gave her some water at one point, but otherwise said nothing, and
the two hours crawled by.

   When Vicky came by, Shawna was happy until she remembered that only Paul
could release her.  She thought Vicky might come talk to her, but instead
Vicky went and whispered with Lilly.

   Finally, after what seemed more like two days than two hours, Paul
showed up and Shawna could be officially released.  As she stood up, she
shuddered at the idea of three more days of this.  Then she looked over at
the adulterer and thought herself lucky.

   "You have to be bound until you get home," Paul said sadly as he watched
Shawna dress.

   Shawna almost cried; she was very sore.  "Oh please, Paul.  What can I
do?  I ache all over!"

   "Sorry," Paul said, and he quickly bound her wrists in the standard
position, hands back to back.

   Her shoulders groaning in protest, Shawna sighed.

   "Come on, Shawna," said Vicky, "a soak in a hot tub will work out the
kinks and a massage will ease the pain even more!"

   It was hard not to smile at Vicky's enthusiasm, and Shawna again
wondered what had possessed her to hit this girl over the head.

   "Sure, let's go," Shawna replied with a soft smile.

   It was a short walk to the bathhouse, and in the changing room outside
Vicky untied Shawna so she could undress, then rebound her.

   Now, without even a loincloth to protect her, Shawna felt very nervous
entering the bathhouse.  The two girls had to walk through a lot of people
to find a tub and Shawna shuddered each time she bumped into someone.

   Walking naked with her hands bound behind her was something her father
had forced her to do one time as a girl.  The family was visiting relatives
at the time, and a thirteen-year-old Shawna couldn't help lording it over
her poorer cousins.  When her superior attitude got too much for the other
kids, a fight started.  Of course, when the adults broke up the fight,
young Shawna started mouthing off about how common her cousins were,
picking fights.  She had expected her father to back her up, for in private
he had talked about much the same thing concerning the adult relatives. 
But instead he told Shawna that she shouldn't look down on her cousins that
way and that she needed a little humbling.

   She was humbled all right, stripped naked, her hands bound behind her.
She spent an hour like that in front of all her cousins, who were allowed
to laugh and taunt her but not touch.

   The other parents were horrified, but did nothing to stop what was
happening for they all depended on the family money, which Shawna's father
controlled.

   Shawna was never able to hold her head up around her cousins again.

   Now walking through the crowd like this brought those memories back and
she hated it.

   "There's no empty tubs, we'll share this one," Vicky said, stepping into
a tub with a family already in it.

   Shawna wondered if she would ever stop being shocked by how casual
people were about their nudity here.  The tub Vicky chose had a couple of
parents in it with their three children, all under eight.  The parents were
busy scrubbing the two youngest, while the oldest, a boy washed himself.

   The couple smiled and welcomed Vicky and Shawna, and Vicky returned
their greeting while Shawna managed a smile.  Not feeling at all
neighborly, Shawna stood and let Vicky wash her down before washing
herself. While the water may have been hot and relaxing, Shawna was far
from relaxed.  She wanted to be someplace else, someplace private where she
could have a drink and calm down.

   "Come on," Vicky said after a while, "you're very tense.  Gabe said to
give you a massage, and I think that's a good idea."

   "Can't you just take me home?" Shawna asked her, wondering when she
started thinking of Grady's place as home.

   "Doctor's Orders!" Vicky said with a smile, and helped her charge out of
the tub.

   Shawna was led over to one end of the bathhouse where a number of
benches were laid out.  At some of them, people sat, but most were occupied
by men and women lying down.

   There was an empty one close to one side and Vicky had Shawna lie down
on it.  The wood bench felt very smooth to Shawna's naked skin, and
surprisingly comfortable.  She was even more surprised when Vicky untied
her.  She was getting very sick of the thin cords they used here.

   She stretched and flexed her tired arms, glad to be able to move them,
but their freedom was short lived.  Vicky allowed her a few minutes to work
some of the kinks out, then took hold of Shawna's wrists, pulling them down
on either side of the bench to the legs under Shawna's head.

   "What are you doing?" Shawna asked.

   "I can't let you lie here free," was Vicky's answer, and in moments
Shawna was once more tied down, but this time face down on a bench.

   Shawna thought about protesting, but decided to give it up for now.  She
was too tired, too sick, and too sore to argue.  And to be honest, this was
the most comfortable she had been all day.

   Vicky skipped away for a few minutes in search of massage oil, and
Shawna lay there watching the couples around her.  Many of the massages
being given, she saw, were simply therapeutic, given in a business-like
manner to relieve the aches and pains of mountain life.  But there were
others that Shawna could see were given for more personal reasons.  There
were a number of women, and a couple of men, whose massages were being
given very slowly indeed.  All, Shawna saw, were wearing the leather wrist
bands that showed they were married, and no one around them appeared to be
concerned about such public displays of affection.

   Shawna wondered just how much public affection could be shown here when
one of the couples got up to leave, obviously for some place more private
if HIS reaction was anything to go by.

   What caught Shawna's eye though, apart from their apparent arousal, was
that before they left, the husband had untied his wife from the bench.  She
had been bound just as Shawna was.

   Shawna checked around, and saw that maybe half the women, most of those
getting sensual massages, and none of the men, were also bound to the
benches.

   Clearly one of those times when bondage was used for fun rather than for
punishment.

   Shawna had never experienced bondage for fun; not fun for her, anyway.
She wondered what it was like.

   "You're in luck, I found Johan!" said Vicky, who suddenly appeared
beside her.

   Shawna twisted her head to see Vicky standing with the big man from her
first dinner here at the Compound.  The one Paul warned to stay away from
her.  He had on a huge smile and nothing else, and despite her nervousness,
Shawna couldn't help smiling back.

   "Ah," he said in a booming voice, "at last we meet!  I am happy to see
you again!"

   "Hi, nice to meet you too," replied Shawna.  "I'd get up, but..." she
pulled at her bound wrists and Johan laughed.

   "Discipline is terrible, I know.  But soon you will be done with it and
you will be bound no longer," he said with a smile.

   "Shawna," said Vicky, "Johan is going to give you your massage if you
don't mind.  You need a better rub down than I can give you."

   Shawna looked with concern at the large naked man, then shrugged.  It
was not as if she could do anything about it anyway.

   "Okay."

   Johan nodded and took a bottle from Vicky, pouring oil onto Shawna's
naked back.

   The oil felt warm to Shawna, and when Johan's large hands began rubbing
it into her skin it felt marvelous.

   Vicky knelt on the floor nearby and watched as Johan expertly kneaded
every muscle group Shawna had.  Well, almost every group.  He was very much
the gentleman and didn't touch Shawna in any way that she could have called
inappropriate, even though he had pretty much complete control of her body.
He even untied her, flipped her over at one point, and massaged her front,
but Shawna was so relaxed at that point, she didn't mind at all.  She found
herself trusting the big man, and it was a good feeling to have.

   When all was done, she was allowed to stand.  She felt like a lump of
well-pummeled clay, but it was a good feeling.

   "Thank you," she said, giving Johan a smile.

   "My pleasure.  Any time you need me, for anything at all, you come find
me.  Okay?"

   "I will!" Shawna replied.

   Vicky waited until both were dressed again, before binding Shawna once
more for the trip back to Grady's.

   "Thank YOU!" Shawna told Vicky as they walked.

   "Are you okay?" Vicky asked softly.

   Shawna wasn't sure how to answer that.  "Maybe.  I'm not looking forward
to another night with Grady, that's for sure."

   "You'll be fine," Vicky said.  "He's a good guy really.  He'll warm up
to you, I know it."

   "Maybe," said Shawna, hoping it was true.

   They arrived at Grady's door and Vicky knocked.

   Grady, dressed in just a pair of leather pants, seemed surprised to see
them.

   "Here she is, Grady," Vicky said.  "Take care of her now, she had a busy
day and not much sleep the night before."

   Grady flushed a little.  "Yeah, I know.  Don't worry, Shawna.  You'll
get to sleep tonight."

   Shawna said nothing, so Grady took her arm and led her inside.  As the
door closed, Vicky saw Shawna give her a look of appeal.


   End of Part 8

The Compound Part 9


   "I haven't yet said 'thank you!'"

   Grady looked over at where Shawna lay curled up on the floor pillows,
and asked what she was talking about.

   "For rescuing me...from the river.  Thank you," said Shawna softly.

   Grady grunted and returned to what he was doing, but Shawna could see
that he wasn't ignoring her.

   After being returned to his home by Vicky, Shawna and Grady had spent
the last hour in comfortable silence.  Comfortable because Grady had untied
the leather cord that bound her, leaving her free to wander about the small
apartment.

   To her delight, she had found a shelf with a few books, Dickens classics
that had seen better days but were still readable.  Shawna liked to read,
but had rarely had the chance while with Dirk.  She asked Grady if he
minded her looking through one, and he told her to go ahead.  So in the
lamplight, she immersed herself in the story of Oliver Twist.

   Grady it turned out, was a whittler.  Sitting in the room's only chair,
he used a small knife on a rather large square piece of wood.  It must have
been a new project, Shawna thought, because he was starting fresh with it.

   While she read, she watched Grady.  She admired the way his muscles
moved, the intense look in his eyes as he worked, and the way his longish
hair kept falling in his face.

   He was a handsome man, but so consumed.

   Shawna thought about his wife, about how she must have been a powerful
woman to hold this man's heart.

   He must have loved her very much to be still torturing himself.

   Every so often she would pick up a glass of water she had set aside,
taking a sip to quench the thirst water could not quench.  She tried
imagining it was whisky, or vodka, or one of a hundred different drinks. 
But it was always water, nothing more.

   She began to struggle with Dickens' prose.

   Looking again at Grady, she thought it was time to break the silence.

   "I guess I must seem pretty stupid to you," she said after her thanks
fell flat.

   "Yes," Grady answered, not looking at her.

   "Getting involved in drugs and everything," Shawna continued.

   Grady said nothing.

   "Do you want to know how I got started; why I took drugs and drank so
much?"

   "No, not really," Grady said.

   Shawna felt a surge of anger.  Here she was trying to reach out to this
man, and he was just shutting her out.

   "Well, why don't we talk about you then," she said, her voice trying not
to show her sudden anger.  "I was told about your wife.  I'm sorry for what
happened."

   Grady glanced at her.  "Someone has a big mouth.  Vicky Miller I'd bet."

   "Yes, she told me a little.  I can't imagine what it would be like to
lose someone you cared for suddenly like that."

   "No," Grady said, head down close to the wood he was working, "you
can't."

   "How long were you married?" Shawna asked hesitantly.

   Grady dropped his piece of wood on the floor.  "Look, just shut up will
you!" he said loudly.  "I don't want to talk!"

   "I think that talking about it would be good for you!" Shawna answered
just as loudly.

   Grady got out of his chair and headed for the water jug.  "I don't. 
It's a closed subject.  Now shut up before I gag you!"

   "What?" said Shawna, sitting up.

   "Gag you.  You know, stick something in your mouth so you can't talk?"

   "You wouldn't dare!"

   "Wouldn't I?  It's within my rights!  You agreed to stay here under our
rules, and as Head of my house, if I choose to gag you, I can do it if I
want."

   "Oh, another of your stupid rules!" Shawna said in disgust.

   Grady had been pouring himself a glass of water, but he slammed the
earthenware jug down, almost breaking it.  "If you don't like it, you can
always leave, you know.  Go back to town where you belong!"

   "Maybe I should!  At least there, I'll be treated like a human being,
not some...slave you can keep on tying up whenever you choose!" Shawna
yelled, getting to her feet.

   "Well I'm not stopping you, woman!  I didn't want you here in the first
place!" Grady yelled back.

   "Fuck you!" Shawna yelled.

   Grady's own anger flared.  He picked up the jug and tossed its contents
toward Shawna.  The water hit her in the face and chest, and made her step
back.

   "You fucking asshole!" she screamed.  "I don't have to take this shit
any longer!  I don't give a damn about getting dry anymore!  I'm leaving!"

   Grady pointed.  "The door's right there!"

   Shawna moved to the door, wiping water off the front of her leather
dress, and left the apartment.  She padded barefoot a few doors along the
hallway before stopping.

   She was pissed but her anger was quickly being overcome with worry.  In
her haste, she had forgotten that her reception in town would not probably
be a good one; jail was still the last thing she wanted.  Also, all she had
was the dress she wore; no shoes or anything to protect her from the woods
if she WAS to leave the Compound.

   The last time she had tried it, she was in a withdrawal-induced madness.
Now she felt more in control, and didn't relish going back outside in the
dark.

   Shawna, her anger now gone, collapsed and sat down on the floor.  She
began to cry as her tenuous emotional balance tried to compensate for the
rush of anger she had felt.

   She felt like she had no choices; that to escape prison, she had found
another prison to be in.  Yes, she had agreed to their rules, but she had
never expected what she had been through already.

   It was too much for the young woman.

   "Hey, are you okay?" said a feminine voice.

   Shawna looked up.  It was Rhianna and Matthew.

   "I...um..." Shawna tried to say.

   Rhianna was concerned, and she sighed.  "What happened?"

   Shawna looked from her to Matthew and back again.  "We just..." she
shrugged her shoulders.

   "He didn't try to touch you did he?" Matthew asked, a scowl on his face.

   "No...it was nothing like that.  We just...had an argument.  A silly
argument.  It was nothing really."

   "It looks like more than nothing," Rhianna said, holding out a hand for
Shawna to take.

   Shawna took the hand and stood up.  She noticed that Rhianna looked
rather fetching in her thin cloth halter and leather mini skirt, while
Matthew looked very handsome in his dark brown leather pants and matching
vest.  The couple looked like they were out doing the town!

   Then Shawna noticed Rhianna's ankles.  They were connected with a length
of cord that must have limited her stride a little.  It was unusual enough
to distract Shawna from her problems.

   Rhianna saw what Shawna was looking at, and blushed slightly.

   It was one of Matthew's games, a little bondage to please him although
Rhianna didn't mind so much.  It was usually very worth it later in bed.

   Rhianna DID wonder why the front of Shawna's dress was so wet, and
thought it must have been some argument.  She still had her suspicions
about the woman, though.

   "Let's get you home," Rhianna said with a smile.

   Shawna looked up, worried once more.  How could she go back after what
had happened?

   But Rhianna took her arm, and with Matthew walking behind her, she led
the frightened girl back to Grady's.  Rhianna knocked on the door, and
after a moment, Grady answered.  He had by this time stripped down to his
loincloth, and both women couldn't help glancing down at his physique.  He
was quite a picture!

   Grady was surprised to see them, especially Shawna, it seemed to
Rhianna.

   "We found her down the hall," Rhianna said with a smile.

   Grady said nothing; he just stood there.

   "It's after curfew," Matthew said, "she can't be out here by herself."

   Grady nodded and stood back.

   With her head low, Shawna scooted into the apartment.

   As Grady began closing the door, Rhianna held out a hand.  "Are you
okay, Grady?" she asked him.

   "Yeah.  Thanks," he said.

   "Well, I was wondering-I could use some help tomorrow with my class.  If
Shawna was available, that would be great!"

   Grady glanced inside for a second before looking back at her.  "She'll
be here all day except for when the Doc sees her and when she's in the
stocks.  Come get her when you need her."

   "Thank you." Rhianna gave him a smile but Grady didn't smile back.

   Matthew said to Grady, "Let's go for a beer sometime!"

   Grady gave a small nod and shut his door.

   Matthew and Rhianna resumed their walk, Rhianna taking slightly shorter
strides than she was used to because of her hobble.

   "Do you think it's wise, those two being alone together?" Rhianna asked
her husband.

   "It's what the elders want.  They have to have a good reason," Matthew
replied.

   "I hope so.  It didn't look to me like they were getting along.  Poor
Shawna looked terrified!"

   "Oh, so it's 'Poor Shawna' now, is it?  Yesterday you were telling me
that she was the devil incarnate."

   Rhianna punched her husband in the arm.  "Smart ass.  I do think she's
up to something; but this place must be confusing to her, and Grady isn't
exactly the friend she needs to help her adjust.  This place is weird
enough when you HAVE a guide!"

   "I don't know...everything seems perfectly normal and right to me!"
Matthew said with a grin.

   Rhianna laughed, knowing well the signs for one of their frequent
conversations on women's rights here at the Compound.  "Yes, Master. 
Things are as they should be," she joked.

   "Damn straight!" Matthew said seriously.

   The couple arrived at their destination and Matthew knocked.

   The door was opened by a swarthy looking gentleman who gave them a big
grin.

   "You made it!" he said, then he looked back into his apartment. 
"Estelle!  Get out the box of ropes.  Matthew and Rhianna are here!"

   Rhianna sighed and followed her husband inside, ready for her role as a
living model for her husband's popular night course of "Advanced Rope
Bondage."

   ---***--

   Grady stood and stared at Shawna.  "You want to try again?  I can escort
you to the gates if you want!"

   "No, I'll stay.  I can't...I'd rather stay if you don't mind." Shawna
felt miserable.

   "Then enough bullshit.  I'm responsible for you, which makes you
responsible TO ME!  I'm in charge, that's the way we live her, and it's a
pretty damn good system if you let it do its thing." He sighed, his
expression softening.  "Look.  I know you've had it rough since you got
here, and the Doc told me that physically you're going to be weak for a
while until you recover.  But what you're experiencing isn't how life
really is for the women here.  We don't keep them in bondage all the time,
tied up at our whim.  For the most part, the marriages here are just like
marriages in your world, full of give and take, with each partner
contributing to the whole.  I know we're not married but it's the same
thing in many ways.

   "Once you're done with your discipline, then you'll be free to go about
the place as you choose, within the rules, that is.  You might even come to
like it here."

   Shawna was a little surprised at the speech.  It was more than he had
ever said to her before.  "Would you like it if I liked it here?" she asked
before she could stop herself.

   Grady blinked, then turned away.  "You'd better get undressed, get that
wet dress off.  I was about to turn out the lights for bed."

   Shawna felt about to bristle at the order to undress again, but then
realized that what he said made sense.  She couldn't sleep in this dress;
being wet, it was uncomfortable.  So she pulled at some lacing and slipped
it off, now clad only in her loincloth.  Nervous, she held an arm across
her breasts and watched as Grady began turning off the oil lamps.

   "Do you want me to take my loincloth off too?" she asked.

   "Whatever is more comfortable for you to sleep in," Grady answered.  He
worked his way around the apartment until the light in the bed nook was the
only one burning.  He pulled his loincloth off and slipped under the covers
of his big bed.

   Shawna stood, confused.  Was she supposed to join him?  They had both
been told 'no sex', but what about sleeping?

   Grady noticed her dilemma.  "You sleep over there, on the pillows like
last night."

   Shawna frowned.  The pillows were okay, but she would have preferred the
bed.

   "Is there another blanket?" she asked.

   Grady pointed at a shelf, and Shawna retrieved the coveted blanket,
holding it in front of her.

   "Turn out the last light," ordered Grady.

   She did so, plunging the room into darkness until her eyes adjusted to
the moonlight coming in through the sky light.

   She padded over to the pillows and lay down.

   "Thank you." she said quietly.

   "For what?" Grady said from the bed.

   "For not tying me up this time."

   "Well, I figure you need the sleep more than you need the discipline."

   Shawna smiled, aware that in his own way, Grady had admitted that he
cared for her well being.  Life with him might not be that bad after all!

   ---***--

   Shawna's light sleep was disturbed by a sound.  It was crying. 
Listening, Shawna realized that once again Grady was crying, mourning the
loss of his wife once more.  She listened as long as she could bear it,
tears forming in her own eyes in sympathy, before throwing back her blanket
and getting up.

   She padded silently to the bed, and saw Grady laying on his side, half
covered by the blanket, apparently asleep as he cried.

   Shawna carefully climbed onto the bed and lay next to him.  Just as he
had done for her by the riverside, she now maneuvered herself spoon fashion
behind him.  She lay an arm across his chest, pushing herself against his
bare back.  Her naked chest could feel the hairs against her smooth skin,
and he felt quite warm.

   She was quite comfortable and had to warn herself not to fall asleep. 
Instead, she began to whisper quietly, saying comforting things, while
letting her physical presence slowly work its way into his sleeping mind.

   Presently his crying ceased, and Grady seemed to relax some more, his
breathing slowing and deepening.  Shawna stayed with him a little while
longer, and then carefully extricated herself.

   As she settled back onto her pillows, she got a shock.

   "Thank you," she heard him say.

   "You're welcome," Shawna replied after a moment.

   Nothing more was said until morning.

   ---***--

   Visible through the skylight, the night sky was just beginning to
lighten when Matthew Anderson woke up.  Without opening his eyes, he
reached over to his wife's side of the bed for a little early morning
cuddling and found it empty.  Blinking the sleep away, he sat up, and saw
Rhianna out in the middle of the apartment doing her stretches.

   Matthew LOVED to watch her stretch; a more perfect start to the day he
could not imagine.  Rhianna had been adamant about staying in shape when
she came back with him to live.  Back in New York, she jogged almost every
day, and took a number of keep fit classes covering everything from
aerobics to weight training to Judo Kick Boxing.

   Now that she lived here, she tried not to let any of those skills
deteriorate, especially since they were the foundation of her main
usefulness to the Compound.

   When she first arrived, there was some debate as to what she could do,
as everybody contributed in some way.  But it was Estelle, funnily enough,
who found a place for Rhianna to work.  Estelle taught history at the
Compound school, and she pointed out that while all the academic portions
of school life were covered, there was very little physical training for
the students.  Of course, you couldn't help BUT get fit, living on the side
of a mountain; but there was no real structured training for the children
or for anyone really.  The benefits of instilling physical discipline among
the young had an appeal to the parents of the community.

   So Rhianna became in essence the school's Gym teacher; and she did her
best to tone up the bodies of her charges using games and exercises.

   It turned out to be a success.  Not only was stamina and strength
increased amongst the children, but also a sense of team play and
cooperation, due to the team games Rhianna taught.  Soon adults were
watching her lessons, and Rhianna began teaching adult classes.  There was
even talk of a small softball league starting next year if enough flat land
could be found to build a diamond.

   So Rhianna worked to stay fit, and part of that self imposed fitness
program was her morning stretches, which she did every morning she wasn't
otherwise tied up with something.

   Sometimes, Matthew would untie her just to see her do them.

   This particular morning, Matthew sighed because he had missed most of
them, but he still caught what he liked to call the finale.

   Rhianna, nude as she usually was at home, was just starting to do the
splits.  Facing to her right, she lowered herself down; her right leg out
straight in front of her, her left leg out straight behind her.  It was a
slow, sensuous movement, and as she bottomed out, Matthew could have sworn
her pussy touched the wood floor.

   Rhianna, her arms raised over her head, swiveled her body slowly around
until it faced the other way, and she bent forward to touch her left foot.

   Matthew could see her muscles quivering, well defined under her golden
skin.  He could tell it was a strain, keeping her legs so wide apart, but
he grinned thinking about how useful that skill had been to HIM from time
to time.

   As Rhianna turned once again to touch her right foot, Matthew thought
how proud he was of her.  There were times he had worried about her fitting
in, that she might stagnate without the challenges the FBI could give her
in the outside world.  But even though she fought the bit from time to
time, Rhianna had become a part of the community with no regrets.

   He was happy, and he knew for a fact that she was as well.

   He continued to watch as Rhianna touched each foot ten times, before
turning to a position mid way between her feet and bending forward till her
nipples touched the floor.  She held this position for a few moments, her
back to Matthew so he could see her charms quite clearly, and then dropped
her hands to the floor.

   She swept her legs together and rolled over onto her back, a smile on
her face.

   "Like the show?" she asked with a grin.

   "Always!" Matthew chuckled.

   "I'll bet," Rhianna replied.  She stood up slowly and patted her
stomach. "I think I'm putting on weight.  I need to run more."

   "You look perfect to me!" Matthew said honestly.

   "Buster, I'd look good to you with thirty extra pounds, as long as I was
naked and had a six pack of beer with me!"

   "Well..." replied Matthew, nodding slowly in agreement.

   "Asshole!" laughed Rhianna, throwing a handy floor pillow at him.

   Matt caught the pillow and tossed it back at her, calling her over to
him.  "I want to feel this flab of yours!" he said to her.

   She came over and crawled back onto the bed, full of feline grace now
that she had stretched out.  Matthew reached for her stomach and felt her
firm abdominal muscles.

   "Feels good here!" he said, and he began moving his hands about, testing
every square inch of her body.

   Rhianna began to wriggle, his touch tickling her, and soon they were
both laughing on the bed as they tried to out-tickle each other.  Of
course, tickling led to other fun bedtime activities, and the sky above
them was considerably brighter by the time they slowed down enough for
Matthew to talk once more.

   "How come you're up so early?" he asked.  They hadn't exactly had an
early night, what with the rope bondage lesson Matthew had given Estelle
and her husband the night before.

   "Oh shit!" Rhianna exclaimed, freeing herself of both lover and
bedclothes.  "I'm supposed to help out with breakfast this morning.  Now
I'm late!  Elizabeth will kill me!"

   "Tell her it's my fault," Matthew said, watching in amusement as his
wife quickly searched for a loincloth to put on.  Rhianna rarely went
completely nude if she could help it, outside their apartment.  Her last
case for the FBI had put her in a position where the hair of her pubis had
been permanently removed, leaving her sex completely bare.

   No one else at the Compound did this, so Rhianna was always
self-conscious about it.

   Not long after she arrived though, some of the teenage girls, led by
Lilly, who adored Rhianna, copied her style by shaving themselves bare as
well.  This did not go down well with parents or community, and the girls
were instructed to stay covered up until their hair grew back.  The
community understood that there was nothing Rhianna could do about her
condition, and respected her discretion about it, but these were not a
smooth skin kind of people.

   Matthew liked it, but then he had lived most of his adult life away from
the Compound, giving him what he thought of as a continental taste.

   So Rhianna found a loincloth and tied it up with the waist rope she
removed at night.  "Too damn right I'm going to blame you!" she said,
heading for the door.

   "One sniff, one look, and they'll believe you," Matthew answered, making
a show of smelling his own hand, which was well covered in her juices.

   Rhianna stopped, realizing that she must look exactly like she felt,
freshly fucked, and she knew she would have to make a quick stop at the
bathhouse before going to the kitchen, making her even later.

   She stuck her tongue out at her husband and bolted out the door while
Matthew settled back for another snooze.

   ---***--

   Things weren't quite as upbeat at Grady's slightly later that morning.
Shawna was woken by heavy footsteps, and she opened her eyes to see Grady,
still nude, heading out the door.

   A few minutes later he came back, and Shawna figured he must have gone
down the hall to the bathroom, something she felt she had better do soon as
well.  As Grady sat back down on the bed, Shawna got up from the pillows.
She was still in her loincloth, not willing to take it off.

   "Morning," she said with a smile.  She was hoping that the connection
she and Grady had made last night was still there.

   Grady nodded and wiped his face.  It looked like he had taken the time
to dunk his head in some water, for his hair was all wet.  He didn't look
right to Shawna, though.

   "You okay?" she asked him, coming closer.

   "Yeah, I'm okay, just a case of the trots.  Must have been something I
ate."

   "Okay," Shawna replied.  "Can I go use the bathroom?  Or do you have to
tie me up first?"

   Grady looked up at her and then waved at the door.  "Go, but hurry
back!"

   Shawna was thrilled.  "Thanks!"

   She made quick use of the bathroom facilities, wishing all the time that
she could take a shower, and made it back to the apartment without too many
people seeing her.  It felt even funnier, going out in just the loincloth
with her hands free.  Before, she couldn't cover up if she wanted to, and
now that she could, she thought people would look at her funny if she did!

   When she got back, she saw that Grady was gone again, and she figured he
must have had another attack of stomach trouble.

   Shawna wondered how they kept their food fresh here, and if this was
something common to all the community.

   When Grady came back, he saw Shawna standing in the middle of the room,
holding her dress to herself.  She looked rather depressed, and even he
could see that the dress needed cleaning.  She looked up at him, and he
tried to pull himself together.  He wasn't feeling as good as he said he
was, but didn't want to show that weakness to her.

   "Do I have to wear this again?" Shawna asked him, "I could use a change
of clothes."

   Grady knew she was hinting at using Cheryl's clothes; he hadn't gotten
rid of any of them.  But he wasn't ready to let someone else wear them yet.

   "You won't need them today," he said.  "You'll be spending most of your
time here while I'm at the stables.  I want this apartment scrubbed from
ceiling to floor.  That should take you most of the day."

   "Oh," Shawna replied, not looking forward to it.

   Grady pulled on a loincloth and a pair of pants, and then picked up a
length of leather cord.  "Come on, let's go get some breakfast."

   Shawna eyed the cord sadly and turned around, holding her hands behind
her.

   Resigned once more to eating a meal topless and bound.


   End of Part 9

The Compound Part 10

   Shawna had been cleaning for only about an hour when there was a knock
at the door.  She was washing down the wood paneled walls with a brush
Grady had given her.  It was tiring work, but she could set her own pace.
She was glad to do it, though, for her thoughts were increasingly upon her
cravings; and with nothing else to do, she knew she would be tempted to do
something stupid.

   But it was a good time for a break when she heard the knock, and still
dressed in just the loincloth, Shawna answered the door.

   It was Rhianna, in loincloth and leather halter.  She smiled.  "Hi, can
you swim?" Rhianna asked.

   "What?" Shawna replied.

   "Swim, can you swim?"

   "Yeah, sure I can," Shawna replied, thinking of the pool behind the
family home and all those hours laying next to it.

   "Good.  Grady said you could help me out with a class of mine, and I
think it will do you some good to get out in the sun." Actually, Rhianna
thought that if she spent some time with this woman, she might figure out
what she was really doing on the mountain.  Rhianna didn't trust Shawna;
there was just something wrong about her.

   Shawna wasn't so sure that Grady said she should leave.  "Er...he left
me with an awful lot of work to do," she said.

   "He said it was okay.  Come on!"

   "I don't have anything to wear!" Shawna protested.

   "What you've got on is fine.  It's nothing formal, just some swimming
lessons for the children."

   For a second Shawna was appalled at the idea of being seen topless in
front of children, then she remembered that for the most part the kids here
were naked a lot more than the adults were.  They all grew up in a society
where nudity wasn't a taboo, she would be showing them nothing new, and she
doubted they would care anyway.

   "Okay," Shawna said finally.

   "Great."

   Shawna put down her cleaning stuff and stepped out into the corridor. 
She was dismayed to see that Rhianna was holding a leather cord.

   "Don't worry," whispered Rhianna.  "It's just until we're away from the
Compound, then I'll let you loose.  I don't see the need for you to be tied
up, but most of the people here expect it."

   Shawna swallowed and nodded, and once bound in that uncomfortable wrist
back-to-back position again, followed her new friend through the Compound.

   Their first stop was the school, where they met up with a group of maybe
two dozen boys and girls, all between six and ten, and naked as jaybirds
except for the towels they carried.  With them were two older girls of
about seventeen, dressed in loincloths and halters like Rhianna.  Shawna
recognized one of them as Lilly from her evening in the stocks, and the
other was introduced as Catherine.

   She was embarrassed to be among all these young children, tied up as she
was, but none of them really paid her condition any attention, which she
thought strange.

   "Okay," said Rhianna, "let's go!"

   The group flowed toward the nearest exit and on toward one of the gates
in the big wall that surrounded the Compound.  Through it all, Shawna was
jostled by the small running bodies, and she felt rather uncomfortable.  To
take her mind off her feelings and the constant need for a drink, she asked
Rhianna about the wall.

   "It's there to keep out the wildlife," Rhianna answered, "bear and
wolves mostly."

   "Wolves?" Shawna said, looking nervously around at the trees as they
followed a path away from the Compound.  Her ideas of climbing the mountain
to retrieve her three million dollars now seemed in jeopardy.

   "Yeah, but don't worry.  They usually stay away from humans if they can
help it.  You'll be fine.  The fence is there mostly because they like to
get in our garbage and our food stocks.  Bears can be a lot more trouble
usually, but even then, they aren't usually dangerous when given enough
space."

   "Has the wall always been there?" Shawna asked.

   "No.  In fact, it's connected to the rule about curfew.  Before the wall
was put up, back when the camp was new, several accidents with the wildlife
convinced the men that it was too dangerous for the women to be out after
dark alone.  So they set the rule that we still follow today; no women out
alone after dark.  As the years went by, the wall was built and rebuilt as
the Compound grew.  But the men decided to keep the rule as an added safety
measure, and now it's just there as a sign of respect and obedience...or so
I'm told." Rhianna grinned and yelled at a couple of kids who were pushing
each other.

   "You don't seem like someone who has accepted life here as completely as
the others," Shawna said to her.

   "Sometimes it's hard," Rhianna replied after a moment.

   Rhianna looked back and saw that the Compound was now hidden by the
trees, so she stopped Shawna and untied her hands.

   Shawna was pretty happy about that, and while rubbing her wrists tried
to stop herself from holding an arm across her breasts.

   Lilly and Catherine had already removed their halters and were enjoying
the warmth of the sun on their skin, so Shawna didn't feel quite as alone
being topless.

   The group continued on, and Shawna started to look up the mountain.  She
wondered if the crash site was visible.

   Rhianna watched her out of the corner of her eye while she herded the
kids.

   "How did you get all the way up there?" she asked.

   "I don't know," Shawna lied, "I guess I was just lost.  I'm glad you
found me; really I am."

   "It's just odd to find people so high up, that's all," Rhianna replied.

   Shawna didn't want to go there.

   "Where are we going, anyway?" Shawna asked.

   "There's a small lake in a side valley just up ahead.  The river is too
fast to teach swimming in, but the lake is ideal."

   "It seems odd, you giving swimming lessons, like this is a school trip
or something."

   "It IS a school trip.  But it's odder that these people have never
bothered to teach that skill to themselves," Rhianna replied.

   "What do you mean?  Couldn't anyone swim?"

   "Not very well.  Not beyond just staying afloat.  Say, LILLY!" Rhianna
called out.  "Tell Shawna when you learned to swim!"

   "Just this summer, Shawna!" Lilly said, her hands held by several
six-year-olds.

   "Just this summer?  You're kidding!" Shawna said to Rhianna.

   "No kidding.  These people didn't take it seriously until Cheryl
O'Malley drowned.  I had been pushing for swimming lessons since I got
here, but it took that tragedy for people to act.  Now I teach kids'
classes AND adult."

   "Is that what you do here?" Shawna asked.

   Rhianna explained about her new jobs, but didn't tell the woman what she
used to do.  She felt that Shawna would clam up, knowing she used to work
for the FBI.

   "So why do you need me?" Shawna said.

   "Well, Catherine and Lilly are both still novice swimmers, really. 
They're a great help watching and teaching the kids in the shallows, but
for the older kids it's good to have someone else around who can handle
deep water.  I normally get Estelle to help me...Have you met Estelle? 
She's from New York, a city bride like me.  Anyway, when she doesn't have a
class she helps me out with the swimming lessons, but I figured that today
you could use the time outside."

   "Oh, okay.  Thanks!"

   They reached the lake, and Rhianna took charge of her group, the
children piling up their towels as ordered and sorting themselves out into
groups divided by age.

   The younger kids went with Catherine and Lilly and began playing and
floating in the shallow water.  The nine and ten year olds stayed with
Rhianna, who began setting tasks for them to complete.

   Rhianna loved the work.  Afraid of handling children at first, she found
she had a talent for it.  The children respected her when she was stern,
because they knew she could also make things fun for them.  Lessons were
rarely boring when Rhianna was around, and they all liked that.

   When Rhianna had a young group of children around her, she felt
wonderful and doted on them as a mother would.  She knew all their names,
and their likes and dislikes, and was on good terms with all their parents
as well.  For many of the children, Rhianna was someone they could turn to
for help almost as much as their parents.  It warmed Rhianna's heart when
she was asked for help beyond her boundaries as a teacher.

   Sometimes, she would be reminded of the children she knew in the outside
world.  Of Samantha, the nine...no, she had to be closer to twelve now, the
girl whose talents concerning lock picking were far beyond her age. 
Rhianna owed the girl her life, and she was often in Rhianna's thoughts. 
Then there was Heather, Maria's daughter, just a toddler when last seen. 
Rhianna wondered how she was, and how her mother was as well.

   Thoughts like these usually led to thoughts of the friends and family
she left behind, and it was sometimes hard to keep a smiling face in front
of the children.

   Sometimes, and this was something she hadn't admitted to even her own
husband, sometimes she regretted her own inability to have children. 
Surgically sterilized a few years ago, Rhianna sometimes wondered if she
should have the procedure reversed.  More and more as she dealt with the
Compound's children, she wondered what it would be like to have a child of
her own.

   She got back to business.

   Out in the middle of the lake was a floating platform the men had built
for her lessons.  Rhianna, after slipping out of her own halter and
loincloth, had Shawna and all the boys and girls in her group swim out with
her.  The water there was at its deepest of about fifteen feet, so diving
was possible off the platform.

   Today was treading water and breaststroke practice; Shawna and Rhianna
helped the youngsters build up their individual stamina and skills with
both.  Standing on the platform, both women could enter the water at a
moment's notice if they needed to help someone, and frequently did.

   It was a good morning for lessons, and things were going well, when
Shawna noticed a glint of light from the opposite side of the lake. 
Puzzled, she looked again, and her brain suddenly resolved a series of
unrelated shapes into the silhouettes of a few men standing in the brush.

   "Rhianna!" said Shawna, covering up instantly.  Like Rhianna, Shawna had
left her loincloth on the shoreline with the towels, not willing to get it
wet.  Now she was completely naked in front of strangers that didn't look
like they were from the Compound.

   "What?" Rhianna asked, intent on her coaching.

   "Look, at the shoreline behind you!  Men!"

   Rhianna stood up and looked where directed.  In moments, she saw what
Shawna was looking at, but they weren't men, but boys from the town at the
base of the mountain.  Teenagers with nothing better to do than to come up
here and spy on the naked women.

   She was about to ignore them when she saw the glint that had attracted
Shawna's attention.  One of them had a video camera.  Rhianna was not about
to be some teenager's video masturbation prop.  Ignoring them was one
thing, but having your picture taken was quite another.  Besides, with her
luck she would end up on the Internet!

   "Shawna," she said quietly, "I'm going to swim over to them."

   "You're what?  You can't do that, you're naked!  What if they...?"

   "They won't do anything.  They're just here to watch.  But one of them
has a camera and I want it.  Gather the children quietly and have them swim
back to shore.  When I get the camera, swim back yourself and have everyone
head back to the Compound as quickly as possible."

   "You're crazy.  Why don't we get one of the men to come sort them out?"

   "I'm not going to argue with you.  Just do it!"

   Shawna shut up.

   Rhianna stood up straighter and faced the boys directly.  She posed,
hands on her hips, feet apart, knowing that their little pricks would be
hard and captivated by her apparent naked display.  Rhianna was counting on
that.  For too long she had been told to allow this illegal voyeurism. 
Well, now she felt she had an excuse to act.

   She stepped forward, dove cleanly into the water, and swam with powerful
strokes until she reached the shoreline near the boys.  Walking out of the
water, she could see that there were five of them, and that they had been
startled by her approach.  But she tilted her head back and slowly brushed
the water from her long hair, thrusting her breasts forward in a way she
knew men liked.  All those times she played the sex slave; well, the
training was paying off now.

   Stepping onto dry land, she shook her body a little, shaking off the
water, and not unintentionally making her boobs sway.  She saw that the guy
with the camera had it aimed down low, and Rhianna knew that her hairless
pussy was getting a close up.

   The other boys stood with their mouths open, and Rhianna figured that
while they may have fantasized about what they might do if they met a
Compound woman, they never really felt they would get the chance.  Rhianna
smiled as she noticed the number of tented pants.

   "Hi," she said, making her voice a little deeper and huskier, "What's
that?" She pointed at the video camera as if she had never seen one before.
She knew that the general consensus of the townsfolk was that the people in
the Compound were ignorant sex perverts.

   "Hi," one of the boys answered.  He was big; he must have been a
football player.  "What's your name?" The other guys smiled and a couple
sniggered.

   "Rhianna, what's yours?" Rhianna said, giving him a big smile.  She felt
she was laying on the sex pot stuff a little thick as she struck another
pose; but then, these kids were too young to know the difference, and too
stupid to believe otherwise.

   "Kale," said the big kid.  "You're awful pretty, Rhianna!"

   "I am?  Thank you!"

   The other boys began to move, circling around Rhianna to appreciate her
from all angles.  Rhianna wasn't too concerned.  There had been no violent
altercations between the townsfolk and the Compound before; these kids most
probably would go home happy at their close encounter!

   The kid with the camcorder kept filming, and Rhianna was waiting for him
to come within touching distance.

   The boys looked to her to be about fifteen or sixteen, a lot closer to
Lilly and Catherine's age than her own, but then Rhianna doubted that these
boys had ever been this close to a naked woman before, so she felt she
could hold their attention.

   "Is that a camera?" Rhianna asked them.

   "Sure, you don't mind if we take your picture, do you?" said Kale.

   "I guess not.  Never had my picture taken before," Rhianna replied.

   One of the other boys said, "You probably have!" before he was elbowed
in the ribs.

   So, Rhianna thought, this isn't the first time they've done this. 
Rhianna vowed to have it looked into.

   "What about your friends, can they come over?" Kale asked, gesturing at
Shawna, who sat with her knees up on the platform; and Lilly and Catherine,
who were naked in the shallows with the children across the lake.

   "Maybe, I'll have to ask them." Rhianna faked a yawn and stretched, her
raised arms lifting her breasts.  Every male eye was on her chest and the
camera guy stepped closer.

   It was just close enough.

   Rhianna brought her foot up and kicked him in the crotch.  He
immediately went down, but not before she grabbed the camera from his
unresisting hand.  The other boys were too stunned to move until Rhianna
make a break for the water.  Then they moved in to retrieve their property.

   Now, normally, four well-built young men would have the advantage over
one naked young woman, but this wasn't a mountain girl they were dealing
with.  Along with all the exercise classes she used to take, Rhianna had
also taken self-defense classes for the FBI.  The boys were in for a nasty
shock.  By the time she reached the water, two more kids lay clutching
their balls, and none of them got so much as a decent grope.

   Rhianna dove into the water as soon as it was deep enough, and knew that
the camcorder was now toast, as the water would have shorted it out.  The
tape inside would still be good, though, so she wasn't about to give it
back to them.  She stroked out to the center of the lake and stopped to
look behind her.

   Kale had gone down with a case of impacted woody, but one of the other
guys was yelling and calling her names.  Rhianna laughed and resumed her
swim, joining the rest of the group on the far side of the lake.

   Gathering together her people and still holding onto the camera, Rhianna
led them all safely back to camp.

   ---***--

   Giggling to herself at Rhianna's story of how she got the camera, Shawna
let herself into Grady's apartment to do a little more cleaning before
lunch.  The swimming had done her some good, and she felt full of energy
for the first time in a long time.  But when she entered the apartment, she
found she wasn't alone.

   Grady was in bed, covered in blankets.

   Surprised, Shawna padded over and saw he was sleeping, or at least
trying to sleep.  He looked covered in sweat and when she touched him, he
felt hot.  She pulled the blankets back and saw he had climbed in fully
dressed, or more likely collapsed.  He was obviously sick, and it was more
than a stomach bug.

   "It's okay," she told him softly.  "I'll go get Gabe."

   Grady groaned and nodded, and reached for the blankets, so Shawna
covered him up again.

   She had traveled there enough times by now to be able to find the clinic
by herself, but she was stopped by two men.

   "Shawna, wait!" one of them said.

   "Yes?" Shawna answered.  "I can't talk right now, Grady is sick and I
need to get the Doctor."

   "Grady's sick?" one of them asked.

   "Yes, so do you mind?" she said, pushing her way past them.

   One of them grabbed her arm.  "Hey, Ma'am.  You can't go around like
that, you're under discipline!"

   Shawna wondered what he was talking about; she had put back on her
loincloth, then it dawned on her that he meant she was supposed to be tied
up.

   "You're kidding, right?  He couldn't really tie me up before I left to
get the doctor, could he?  Think about it!"

   "He can't, but we can.  Sean, you go fetch Doc Gabe; I'll take her back
to Grady's," said the man holding her arm.  From somewhere he produced a
cord.

   "Oh COME ON!" yelled Shawna.  But the man was adamant and he bound her
hands behind her before escorting her back to where Grady lay.

   They waited together inside, Shawna helpless to do anything but pace,
until Gabe arrived with Vicky and Sean.

   One look at Shawna and Gabe ordered her released, then he went to see
Grady.  The examination was brief but thorough, and after a whispered
conversation with the sick man, Gabe stood up.

   "I'm pretty sure it's the flu.  I think Shawna must have brought it in
with her.  I confess I've been feeling it a bit myself."

   "Oh no!" said Vicky.

   "What's the big deal?" Shawna asked.

   Gabe looked grim.  "You could shake of the flu pretty easily, but since
we're more isolated a lot of people here don't have the immunity factors
you do.  I can knock it down with fluids and some home grown medications
but I only have a small supply.  Too many more people come down with it and
I'll have to send out for vaccination kits.  It's not a crisis, but I have
a feeling a lot of people are going to get sick soon."

   "I'm sorry!" Shawna said, horrified at what she had done.

   "It's not your fault.  Come on Vicky." Gabe left, and after a few
minutes, the two men did also.

   Shawna went over to where Grady lay.  "I'm sorry," she said to him.

   "You heard the man," Grady said quietly, "it's not your fault."

   Shawna gave him a hug anyway.

   ---***--

   The afternoon was full of visitors.

   Vicky came back and helped Grady drink something she had brought in a
mug; then with Shawna's help, she stripped Grady to his skin so he could
sleep more comfortably.  She left after giving Shawna instructions for his
care, and told her that Gabe had immediately gone to Paul to have her
discipline restrictions lifted.  Shawna was happy to hear that; she didn't
think she would be much use to Grady if she couldn't leave the apartment
without being tied up.

   A little later Paul himself showed up with his wife Elizabeth.  They
visited quietly for just a few minutes, and Paul told Shawna that she was
free to go around the Compound if she needed to, but that she still had to
do her time in the stocks.  Shawna wasn't happy about that, but figured
that she was lucky to have gotten this much.  They could easily have had
someone else take over caring for Grady.

   Paul left, but Elizabeth stayed on for a little while, and was a big
help in getting Shawna organized.  Now Shawna knew where to get water and
where to find food in the Great Hall's kitchen.  She also answered a few
more of Shawna's questions about the Compound, and when Elizabeth left,
Shawna felt a little more at ease.

   Others dropped by from time to time, but her surprise visitors were
Patch and Ruthy.  Patch explained in that soft whisper of his that Ruthy
would watch Grady while Patch took Shawna to dinner.  Apparently Shawna had
missed lunch, something she barely noticed.  Ruthy would also stay while
Shawna did her time in the stocks.

   They ate together outside with the rest of the community, and Paul made
the announcement about Grady being sick, and also conveyed a warning from
Gabe that it might spread around if they were not careful.  He gave the
group a few tips on how to limit exposure, and then moved on to the subject
of Rhianna's encounter with the teenagers.

   Holding up the camera as evidence, Rhianna told the story of how she got
it amid some laughter from the group, but like her, they were a little
shocked that the kids were being so bold as to photograph them.

   Paul told everyone he would take it up with Sheriff Kinkade later.

   After dinner, Paul took charge of Shawna while Patch took food back to
Ruthy and Grady.  It was time for Shawna's second two-hour stretch in the
stocks.  Again, Lilly was in charge of watching her, and while she had been
quite friendly at the lake earlier, now she worked with quiet efficiency.

   Shawna still felt exposed and humiliated, bent over so that her breasts
hung free and completely naked.  To be seen like this was the worst thing
she had had to endure since arriving, apart from the almost constant need
she had for a drink or a hit of cocaine.  It was also very uncomfortable,
and her back was screaming by the time Paul arrived to free her.  Vicky had
also come by, and like last time, took Shawna to the Bath House for a wash
and a rub down.  Shawna wanted to head right back to Grady, but Vicky told
her that the Doctor ordered the bath as a part of her treatment.

   At least this time Shawna could wash herself, and the massage given by
Vicky herself afterward, while not as deep as the one Johan had given her,
was also welcome.

   Returning to Grady's afterward, she thanked Ruthy and Patch, who had
stayed with Grady all that time, and prepared for another night.

   ---***--

   After Paul had locked Shawna in her stocks, one of his deputies told him
that he had a visitor at the south gate.  Sheriff Kinkade had beaten Paul
to it, coming up to see him before Paul could go down.

   Paul Anderson nodded and went to collect the camcorder from Rhianna
before heading out to meet his County counterpart.

   "Make sure he knows these kids have done this before!" Rhianna told him.

   Paul was not about to forget that.

   Kinkade was sitting astride his Honda ATV, the small vehicle he used to
make the trip up to the Compound.  While a normal four-wheel drive vehicle
could make it this far up the mountain, he felt that the ATV was less
intrusive.  Kinkade was an unusual man; he respected what the people of the
Compound were doing, and was ready to allow them the freedoms they needed
to do what they wanted up here.  Despite over seventy years of
cohabitation, the townsfolk in general still didn't like what the Compound
was doing and what they stood for.  But Kinkade figured that as long as
they kept it on the mountain and out of his hair, these people could do
what they liked.  They were law-abiding people, and what little problems
they had, they dealt with on their own.

   In a way, he saw them as being very much like the Amish, wanting to live
on their own terms with as little involvement from the outside world that
was possible.  Although the Amish would never be seen running around naked,
something Kinkade was never comfortable with.

   Kinkade was willing to give them that room, but sometimes the outside
world had a way of getting on his case about them.

   Right now, he had several angry parents who wanted him to do something
about "The naked savage who attacked my little boy!"

   Kinkade knew there had to be more to the story than he had been told,
but he hated these times when the people of the Compound clashed with the
townsfolk.

   When Paul Anderson finally appeared at the gate, the kids who had been
admiring the ATV scattered, leaving the men alone.  They exchanged
greetings and asked about each other's families, and then Sheriff Kinkade
got to business, telling Paul about the complaints.

   Paul held up the camera and gave it to Kinkade, minus the videotape,
which had been burned.  "You should ask them about this!" Paul said.

   "Shit!" said Kinkade with feeling.  "You know, if you at least required
your people to wear something when out on the mountain, this kind of thing
wouldn't happen!"

   Paul chuckled, it was an old argument, along with why didn't the
Compound fence off the entire mountain, as it was private property anyway!

   "Rhianna feels that these kids have been doing this a while; one of them
made a comment that raised her suspicions," Paul told his friend.

   "Rhianna Anderson?  What does she have to do with it?" Kinkade knew
Rhianna from when she first came here undercover, back when she was still
in the FBI.  Since then, Rhianna had kept her face, and sometimes her body,
known to Kinkade and his men with her curiosity about what was going on in
Law Enforcement these days.

   Paul told the Sheriff that it was Rhianna that retrieved the camcorder,
and despite himself, Kinkade had to grin at the story.  He would have
handled it differently of course had he been there, intimidation rather
than physical force, but he could well imagine the scene and wished he had
been there.  It was no question that the boys were in the wrong, but that
didn't do much to appease the parents of the boys who now had to walk
around bow legged for a while.

   "I'll look into it, taking pictures is something I wouldn't put past
this particular group, and I'm sure if I dig deep enough I'll find their
cache of tapes."

   "Thanks," Paul answered, confident it would be dealt with.  If it had
been Kinkade's predecessor, Paul doubted anything would have been done. 
"Just destroy what you find, and that will be the end of it."

   "Sure thing.  Oh, by the way, while I'm up here," Kinkade reached into
his shirt and pulled out a sheet of paper which he handed to Paul.  "I
don't suppose anyone here heard a light plane fly over sometime a few days
ago.  It would have been a couple of nights before the big downpour."

   "I can ask around, why?" said Paul.

   "We're looking for a couple of people, robbed a bank out east on the
plains somewhere and escaped by aircraft.  No one knows where they landed,
though.  That's a composite from witnesses of the two we're after; a man
and a woman.  If you hear anything, let me know okay?"

   "Sure," said Paul.  He had opened the paper up to look at it, and he was
frowning.

   "Something wrong?" Kinkade asked him.

   Paul wasn't sure.

   End of Part 10.

The Compound Part 11


   Shawna was suffering from a case of the shakes.  It was late at night,
the moon visible through the skylight.  Shawna lay on the pillows trying to
sleep, but she was having a hard time.

   It was almost like she had the flu herself; the tremors came and went
and she was sweating up a storm, but she knew different.  She tossed back
the blanket she was lying under, and with a little difficulty, pulled off
her loincloth because it was binding.  She looked at it in the dim
moonlight, and thought about finding another one to wear.  What she could
see and smell told her that this one had gone the distance.

   'Dammit,' she thought, 'I don't even have a change of underwear.' Shawna
wondered where her knapsack and regular clothes were, and thought for a
little bit about the bottle of cocaine powder, until the shakes possessed
her once more.

   Tired and feeling rather vulnerable, she got up and wandered over to
Grady's bed.  The big man was fast asleep, in part due to a noxious brew
Gabe had forced on him earlier.  Shawna was told he would get an
uninterrupted night's sleep even if the room collapsed around him.

   Shawna crawled onto the big bed and touched Grady's forehead.  It was
burning hot, and Grady was sweating like crazy as well, so Shawna pulled
back the covers to let him cool off a bit.

   The light from the moon happened to fall directly on the bed at that
moment, and Shawna couldn't help appreciating the body laid out before her.
Grady was lying partially on his back, one leg straight with the other bent
slightly.  His big muscled arms were folded up fetus-like and were shiny in
the dim light.

   Shawna reached out and gently ran her fingers along his biceps.  She
watched for Grady to react but he slept soundly on, oblivious.

   With a smile, Shawna let her fingers travel.  Dirk had been a strong
man, but it was a wiry strength, not bulk strength like Grady.  Grady
looked like he had something to hold onto, and Shawna's addiction-starved
mind wondered briefly what it would be like to make love to him.

   She brought her hand down across his hip and looked at his penis.  It
was not as big as Shawna thought it should be, but then it was fully
relaxed.  Shawna was tempted to play with it, to see what it could do, but
resisted.  She was there to take care of a sick man, not take advantage of
him, but it was a nice fantasy.

   Grady wasn't all bad, she knew he was just having a hard time adjusting
to his wife's death.  She was sure that she would be the same way if
someone close to her died like that.  This made Shawna think about Dirk,
and she wondered, again, why she didn't mourn his passing.  Did he mean so
little to her?  Perhaps if Dirk had spent more time wooing her with
kindness rather than with drugs, she might have felt more for him.

   As she let her fingers trace the muscles of Grady's belly, she wondered
if there was anyone close to her at all!  Certainly not her father; that
sadistic bastard could go to hell for all she cared.  Her mother perhaps,
but that ghost of a woman had never been much of a person to Shawna, even
in her tender moments.  Her father's personality completely overwhelmed
that of her mother, so she always seemed to be in the background of things,
even when alone.

   As Shawna thought about the people she knew, she realized that only for
a few would it disturb her to know that they were dead.  Certainly none
would affect her like Grady was affected.

   Shawna felt another bout of the shakes coming on and rolled over
slightly, hugging Grady to her.  She held him through the tremors and took
strength from his body.  He felt good, warm and solid; it felt good to her
to hold a man again, and when the shakes subsided she continued to hold
him, throwing one leg across his thighs.

   Grady stirred under her, and for a second she thought she had woken him,
but he was just shifting his position slightly, and Shawna heard him
whimper.  She could tell looking at his eyelids that he was dreaming, and
from the expression on his face, it wasn't a good one.

   She continued to hold him, wanting to calm the demons that plagued his
dreams.  A part of her wondered why she was trying to comfort a man that
had forced her into bondage, that had paraded her around naked for all to
see.  She should have been mad at him, at ALL the people of the Compound.
But another part of her thought that was stupid.  These people didn't do
what they did out of malice, in fact they had gone out of their way to help
her.  Shawna knew it would be hard to betray that trust when she finally
left.

   As for Grady?

   Shawna sighed, there were so many conflicting feelings inside her.  She
snuggled even closer to him, aware of her naked body in full contact with
his.  Her hand found his ass and she stroked it slowly.  He felt so GOOD!

   With her leg swung over his thigh, she could feel the hairs of his leg
tickling her pussy.  It felt nice, and she couldn't help pushing down a
little harder.

   She began to rub herself slowly against him, relishing the delicious
friction.  It had been a long time since sex was pleasurable, when the
feelings from her body weren't masked by a cocaine high or an alcohol
induced stupor.  Sex with Dirk used to be pretty good, but for a long time
it had just become a way for her to pay for her drugs.  Passion was a thing
long forgotten, but as she slowly ground herself against Grady's leg, it
began to come back to her.

   She began shifting her body more, rubbing her hard nipples against his
hairy chest.  It felt so wonderful to her, someone to help take her pain
away, to make her feel good again.  Her hands moved quickly all over him,
pulling her to him and caressing every muscle.

   She felt his body begin to react to her touch; in his sleep he began to
become aroused.  His manhood began to grow, and Shawna relished the feel of
it between their bodies.

   She wanted it inside her, but kept on thinking about the warning they
got about not having sex.

   Shawna wondered what right the elders had in ordering such a thing;
surely two consenting adults could do as they pleased with each other?

   But Grady wasn't consenting, was he?  He was out cold while Shawna
humped his leg like a dog.  Was that what she had become?  An animal
looking for sexual gratification on the first handy object?

   Shawna began to feel confused, her emotions and feelings still not well
balanced because of her drug problem.  Yet she did not stop what she was
doing, she was so close!

   Grady began to turn again, his body reacting to the stimuli of a naked
young woman rubbing against it.  He rolled toward her, one arm shifting to
hold her to him.

   It was harder to move now, but the weight of his thigh was now pushing
down on her sex, increasing the friction.  Shawna kept moving, building to
a climax.

   Her mouth found his, tender kisses evolving into something more
passionate as her arousal grew.  She wanted this man, no matter what he had
done to her.  She thought that maybe what she was doing would be good for
him too; it couldn't be healthy, the torch he was carrying for his dead
wife.  A NEW woman in his life might just be what he needed.  Shawna was
convinced that this was why the elders placed her with him, just so she
could do this for him.

   She kissed him again, and this time his eyes opened as he woke.  For a
moment, he returned the kiss, pulling her closer and shifting his pelvis as
a prelude to entering her.  Then the shock of recognition appeared in his
eyes, and he pushed her backward so hard she rolled right off the bed.

   "What..." he said groggily.

   Passion blown, Shawna now realized she had made a mistake.  "I'm
sorry..." she began to say but Grady cut her off.

   "Get out!"

   "What...?"

   "GET OUT!  DAMMIT!" he yelled.  He rolled across the bed to her side and
stood up, grabbing her and lifting her with ease by the arms.  "I BRING YOU
INTO MY HOME AND YOU TRY THIS SHIT!" he shouted, "DAMMIT!  You outsiders
are all alike!  You accuse US of being sex perverts when it's YOU that
can't be trusted!"

   He carried her struggling body to the door and dropped her.  "Just get
out and don't come back!" Grady opened the door and shoved her out into the
hallway, slamming the door shut behind her.

   Crying and confused, Shawna scrambled back to the door and tried to open
it, but Grady was blocking it with something.

   The naked woman pounded at the door, screaming to be let in, that she
was sorry, but Grady didn't give in.

   In minutes, her crying had attracted the attention of Grady's neighbors,
and one couple took charge of the sobbing girl.  They walked her to Gabe's,
not knowing where else to take her.

   Sitting with his back to the door, Grady wept.  His dreams of Cheryl had
been invaded by Shawna's attempt at seduction, changing the dreamscape so
that it was Shawna to whom he was making love.  He wept because until he
discovered it was real, he actually WELCOMED the sexual feelings he had
been a victim of.  He felt that he had betrayed Cheryl, cheated on her and
he begged her forgiveness in the dark.

   Shawna didn't mean anything to him, did she?  She was just some
drugged-up outsider sent to make his life hell.

   Yet, he could not deny the fact that, for a brief moment, he had
welcomed the feel of her in his arms, and the momentary guilt free feelings
that came with it.

   Crying steadily, he wondered how he could be so weak.

   ---***--

   Gabe Miller wasn't having it any easier.  Shawna had been brought into
his clinic naked and crying.  His door always open, he had been woken and
brought out to see her.  Now left alone with her, Gabe wondered what had
happened.

   He sat with her on the pillows in his waiting room, holding her until
she regained some measure of control.  Normally he didn't notice the state
of dress or undress of his patients, considering that they could be brought
to him in any condition from naked to wrapped in winter outdoor furs, but
he noticed Shawna.

   Not wearing much himself, since he had been sleeping, he was acutely
aware of her nude body pressed against his.  He found it disconcerting,
since almost from the start he had become attracted to her.

   Gabe didn't like this; he had never felt comfortable with the fact that
he would have a patient for a partner at some point in his life.  All
through medical school and during his internship he had been told that it
was unethical for a doctor to see a patient in a romantic way, and Gabe was
a very ethical person.  He realized that his position was quite different
from that of a big city doctor, EVERYONE in the Compound was his patient,
so finding a mate that wasn't a patient was somewhat impossible.  So, with
this hang up, he hadn't even tried.

   Yet, Shawna had stirred in him the first curiosity in the opposite sex
beyond the clinical that he had had for a long time.  He couldn't say why,
and wouldn't even admit it to anyone else, but he did find her attractive.

   The depth of that feeling hadn't been known to even him though, until
the elders put Shawna in Grady's care.  He had fully expected that Shawna
would come back with him after her trial, and he was shocked at their
decision.  But he had put on a brave face and carried on as if it was
nothing.

   But, as he suspected, the elders' plans, whatever they were, had failed.
Now Shawna was in HIS arms!

   Shawna's tears began to fade, and he felt her relax against him.  He
knew that she couldn't help the extreme reaction she was showing, for a
while yet her emotional control would not be much better than a small
child's.  She would seesaw from one feeling to another, until she was fully
purged of her toxins.

   "Hey now," he said, "feeling better?"

   Shawna nodded.  In her hands was a handkerchief; Gabe had grabbed it for
her as soon as he saw her crying.  She wiped her nose with it and held on
to him.

   "So, can you tell me what happened?" Gabe wondered why she had been
thrown naked out of Grady's apartment in the middle of the night.  Such an
action was extreme, even for the Compound.

   "I fucked up!" Shawna said.

   "What happened?"

   "I...I just fucked up.  I don't want to talk about it."

   "It might be easier if you did!" Gabe urged.

   "No." Shawna shook her head, but still held on to Gabe.  The shock of
what she had done was still reverberating within her.  How could she have
thought that doing what she did was a good thing?  Yet why wasn't it a good
thing?

   She couldn't figure it out.

   It wasn't just the sexual frustration, but the rejection that got to
her. She had been so sure!

   Gabe held her for a little while longer, and thought to himself that
Shawna wasn't going to talk, at least not now.  He suggested that she get
to bed, and offered the use of one of his clinic rooms.

   "No!" Shawna said suddenly.  "Please, I don't want to be alone." The
rejection was bothering her more and more.  Being sent away again was more
than she could bear.

   "I'll just be through that door," Gabe said softly.  Damn, she felt good
in his arms!

   "No, please.  Can't I share your room?  I could sleep on the floor,
please?"

   Shawna looked up into his eyes, and Gabe saw that there was fear there,
fear of being alone.  He thought about waking Vicky, to have her come and
keep her company, but it would take too long and he thought he could do it
himself.

   "Okay, come on.  Do you want something to wear?"

   As they stood up, Shawna looked at herself, for the first time noticing
that she was still naked.  She didn't care anymore, though; there were more
important things.

   "No," she said.

   Gabe led her through to his apartment.  Unlike Grady's single room, this
was a family apartment with three bedrooms.  It was large because the
Doctor was supposed to be a family man, with a future Gabe Miller in the
making, ready to take over some day.

   Gabe lived in it alone for the most part, with his sister using one of
the other bedrooms from time to time if she needed to stay close to the
clinic.  Right now, she was at their parents' home, so he and Shawna were
alone.

   "I have spare bedrooms," he told her, "you can sleep in one of them."

   "No," said Shawna, sounding a bit like a three-year-old, "your room,
please!"

   Gabe nodded reluctantly and grabbed a few floor pillows as they passed
through his living room.  He tossed them on the floor in his bedroom, and
went to get Shawna a blanket while she arranged them to her liking.

   Soon she was comfortable on the floor, and Gabe crawled back into bed
after removing his pants.  Unlike almost everybody else at the compound, he
found it a little difficult appearing naked in front of people, so he
always dressed for company and for business.  Six years away from home
becoming a doctor had changed him slightly.

   Thinking of the woman who lay only a few feet from him, he went to
sleep. Shawna lay thinking too; she thought about how stupid she had been,
trying to get off on Grady's body.  Then she thought about Grady's
response, and she began to think how out of proportion it had been.  He
didn't need to throw her out; he could have just pushed her away and said
no!

   In fact, what right had he to throw her out anyway?  You don't throw a
woman out stark naked just for coming on to you!  Shawna became madder and
madder at Grady for what he had done with her, so mad that she hardly
noticed the case of the shakes that held her in its grip for a few minutes.

   What she did notice was that she was still horny.  It had been so long
since she had known that kind of passion, that her body ached for more.  It
had risen to a height without release, and Shawna wanted that release.

   She began fingering her pussy, rubbing those tender spots she knew so
well as a teenager.  Her desire to do this had been gone for a long time,
but it too had returned.  Yet it wasn't enough; all she could think about
now was Grady's body in her arms, the feel of his penis rising against her
stomach.  He had felt so wonderful!

   "Fuck him," she said quietly, then she thought about that for a second.

   "Yeah, FUCK him!" She grinned; she'd show him.  If he didn't want to
fuck her, then she'd get someone else to.  And there was a perfect
candidate right on the bed.

   Shawna got up and slipped under the covers with Gabe.  It was nice and
warm under the blankets, and from what she had seen, Gabe had a pretty
decent body himself!  She wriggled close until she was pressed against him,
and began to caress him with her hands.

   Unlike Grady, Gabe woke immediately, and pulled back from Shawna.

   "Hey, you can't do this!" he said, trying to get away.

   "Shut up, Doc!" Shawna replied, not wanting to be rejected a second
time.

   "Shawna..." Gabe said, becoming excited in spite of himself, the feel of
her body intensely arousing.  What Shawna didn't know was that he was a
virgin; everyone at the Compound was until marriage, or at least was
supposed to be.  Even during all those years away, he had remained
faithful.

   Never having been with a woman before, Gabe had a teenager's reaction to
sexual stimuli; he was ready immediately.  "No..." he said, resistance
falling away quickly.

   "Yes!" Shawna replied, not to be rejected again, and she moved to
satisfy her passion.

   ---***--

   The sun was just starting to send rays of light through the skylights in
the roof of the Great Hall when Paul found Rhianna.  She was working the
early breakfast shift again, doing her part for the community she had
become a part of.

   While there were a few permanent kitchen staff, most of the labor force
was made up of volunteers, women who had other tasks in the community but
devoted some of their free time here.

   Rhianna worked all the shifts from time to time, but her favorite was
the breakfast shift, and her favorite task was making bread.

   That's where she was now, at a prep table with several other women, all
pounding the dough that would become that day's bread for the community of
just over five hundred.  She enjoyed the physical work, manhandling the
large lumps of dough; and she enjoyed the company, getting in on the gossip
of the day.  It had amazed her at first, how up to date these women were at
this time of the morning about what had happened to people just a short
while ago; but after a while, Rhianna came to really enjoy her morning
gossip, and was able to contribute to it herself from time to time.  It was
like having a morning paper to read, as the news of the Compound flowed
across the prep table.

   Right now the news was of the sudden appearance of Shawna outside
Grady's apartment, and his refusal to let her back in.  Speculation ran
wild as to the cause of their disagreement, although the general consensus
was that it had been a bad idea to put them together in the first place. 
It just wasn't done, making an unmarried man and woman live together.  If
they had been married, she never would have been thrown out; instead he
could have tied her up for punishment, it was only right!

   Rhianna listened, half amused at the various theories.

   Paul stood and watched all this from a distance for a few minutes.  He
enjoyed watching the women make dough, it was one of the few times the
serious man let his libido out in public.  The women wore only their
loincloths whilst kneading dough, and it took no time at all for their
fronts to be covered in flour dust.

   Paul thought this a rather erotic sight, and always thought about how
this was where he first fell in love with his wife, Elizabeth.  She and
Paul had been shyly courting for months, but it wasn't until he saw her
youthful body working the dough that Cupid struck with a vengeance.  He
asked her to marry him before she got clean, and every day since had been a
happy one for him because she was there.

   Occasionally, when the kids were away, Elizabeth would bring some flour
home, and they would have a little fun together.

   Paul smiled at the memory and brought his attention back to the present.
Watching Rhianna made the memories seem that much more real, and not for
the first time he silently congratulated his brother for finding such a
beautiful wife.

   But he wasn't there to ogle the wenches; there was business to conduct.

   "Rhianna," he said, walking closer.

   The women all stopped talking and watched him approach.  Not very often
did a man invade the areas behind the huge stone hearths that divided the
rest of the Great Hall from the kitchen area.

   "Hi, Paul," Rhianna said.

   "Rhianna, can I have a word with you?" he asked.

   "Sure!"

   Rhianna brushed the flour from her hands and followed Paul out of
earshot of the other women.  When Paul turned to talk, he tried not to
stare at Rhianna's flour-covered chest.  Although he, like every man in the
community, was very used to seeing the breasts of the women who lived here,
it was a different matter, to him at least, when they were covered in
flour. He kept his eyes on other things and handed her the paper Sheriff
Kinkade had given him.

   "Look at this," he said.

   Rhianna read the APB, for that was what it was.  It described the bank
robbery and the fugitives that were being sought, and included the artist
composites of the man and woman suspects.

   "I knew it!" said the ex-FBI Agent.  "Damn, I knew she was up to no
good. Who else would ask if we were cops first?"

   "It's not proven.  It could just be a coincidence," said Paul, cautious
as ever.

   "Not too likely.  Are you going to arrest her now, or are you going to
bring the Sheriff up to do it?"

   "Neither.  I want more proof before I tell anyone."

   Rhianna waved the paper in his face.  "This is pretty good proof if you
ask me!"

   "No.  She was supposed to have been in a plane; where is it?  She was
supposed to have had a partner; where is he?  Was what she said true, about
him beating her up and leaving her alone on the mountain?"

   "If it is," said Rhianna, "you have to admit that it's a pretty good
reason for her to have been so high up.  You think that they crashed?"

   Paul nodded.  "I want to go up there, to see if I can find it.  I want
you to come along so you can show me where you found her."

   "When are we going?" said Rhianna, the thrill of the chase suddenly
coursing through her.

   "Now," said Paul.

   "I'm ready," Rhianna replied.

   Paul looked down at her flour-encrusted body.  "I think you had better
clean up first, and put some clothes on!"

   Rhianna, who knew from talking to Elizabeth all about Paul's little
fetish, grinned.


   End of Part 11

The Compound Part 12


   "Here, drink this," Gabe said.

   Shawna was hunched over the only private toilet in the Compound, put
there by the builders fifty years ago to accommodate patients too sick to
make it all the way to the nearest public bathroom.  It had come in handy a
lot of times since then, now as much as ever.

   Shawna was feeling worse than ever before.  She thought she had gotten
past the worst of her withdrawal symptoms, but it was as if they were back
at full force.

   "What's happening to me?" she asked, face over the bowl and not liking
it one little bit.

   "The treatments I've been giving you are wearing off; you're feeling the
full affects of your withdrawal symptoms.  I had to wait for this stage
before I could treat you again; the stuff I use is pretty powerful and I
have to be careful."

   "What stuff?" Shawna asked.

   "Trust me, you don't want to know," Gabe said with a grin.  "Now, come
on, drink this." He helped her to sit back on her heels and handed her a
cup.

   Shawna had been dry heaving into the toilet for the last twenty minutes,
and she felt done in, but she obediently took a sip of the drink Gabe gave
her and made a face.  "What IS this shit?"

   "Don't talk, drink!" ordered the doctor; she choked it down.

   To her surprise, her stomach instantly felt better; she no longer had
the urge to throw up.  She actually smiled.

   Gabe smiled back.  Half an hour ago, he had woken up alone in bed,
memories of the night before flowing through his head.  At first, he had
been shocked at his behavior, and Shawna's.  He believed in the moral
position the community held that sex was inappropriate out of wedlock, and
yet he knew he hadn't put up too much resistance to Shawna's advances.

   Still, he couldn't deny that the pleasures of the flesh were very
pleasurable indeed.  If only they didn't make him feel so guilty.

   It was while he was wallowing in his guilt that he realized that Shawna
was not sleeping beside him, nor was she asleep on the floor pillows.  He
got up and found her in one of his spare bedrooms, shivering under a
blanket in a bed of her own.  The floor looked like she had vomited where
she lay.  He knew what it was, and helped her out of bed to the toilet,
where she continued to heave.  He refrained from mentioning their night
together; it didn't matter at that moment.

   He helped her over to his examination table again; the solution he had
given her settling her stomach but not doing much more.

   "Stay there," he said, "I'm going to get Vicky, and we'll go to work."

   "Gabe?" Shawna said, stopping him at the door.  "About last night?"

   "Not now.  It's something we have to talk about, certainly, but not now.
Let's get you well first."

   Shawna looked at him for a second, then nodded.

   ---***--

   Paul and Rhianna had made the long hike up the mountain to where Shawna
had been discovered almost a week before.  They made the walk in silence,
partly because they were too busy with their thoughts to talk, and partly
because it didn't seem right to invade the quiet beauty of the woods with
mindless chatter.

   Both of them wore pants and shirts, for the morning was a cool one; and
Paul carried a pack, a requirement for long walks, which contained a sleep
sack and other survival gear.

   Every adult in the Compound could survive out here naked if they needed
to, but that didn't mean they had to.  Taking the pack was extra insurance;
one like it had already saved Shawna from death by hypothermia.

   "This is it!" Rhianna said when they reached the spot.

   "You sure?" Paul asked her, and Rhianna gave him a dirty look.

   The couple wandered around, examining the area for anything that
shouldn't be there, but found nothing out of the ordinary.

   "Why did you bring me?" Rhianna asked him at one point.  "Matthew could
have shown you this place, and I know you men generally like to go on these
trips yourselves!"

   Paul grunted; he wasn't in the mood to argue women's rights with her
this morning.  "I need YOUR professional expertise, not his."

   "Oh," she said, feeling a little dense.

   "Tell me, Rhianna, if you had a sprained ankle, how far do you think you
could walk out here?" he asked her.

   "Shawna's ankle wasn't sprained, but even so, I doubt she made it too
far.  But then we don't know if she hurt her foot in the crash or later
on!"

   "Still, how far do you think?"

   Rhianna thought about it for a moment.  "Let's go uphill, she might have
been able to come down from as far as the snow line."

   Paul agreed and the couple continued their journey.

   ---***--

   Grady woke up feeling sore and stiff, and he sat up to see where Shawna
was so she could get him something to drink.

   He was surprised when he didn't see her, and then he remembered what
happened.

   "Oh shit!" he said, collapsing back on his bed.

   ---***--

   Vicky was helping Gabe out with Shawna.  They were going to give her
another body wrap, and she was mixing the poultice that would help draw the
toxins from Shawna's body.

   She hadn't asked about Shawna being at the clinic--everyone pretty much
already knew that she had been brought here after leaving Grady's--but
Vicky was curious as to why her brother was walking around naked.  It was
as if he hadn't had time to dress, which was unlikely, or that for some
reason he felt comfortable being around Shawna nude, which seemed even more
unlikely.

   Vicky stopped her task for a moment to go peek in each of the patient
rooms.  None of the beds looked used, and Vicky began to wonder where
Shawna had slept last night.

   ---***--

   "What's that up there?" Paul said, pointing uphill.

   "Looks like burnt vegetation," Rhianna answered.

   Paul grunted and kept on climbing.

   ---***--

   Grady managed to get some pants on, and he staggered out of his
apartment.  He was feeling better than he had the day before, although a
little weak, but his head felt like the worst hangover he had ever had.  He
decided to head over to the clinic for a pill or something.

   Besides, no doubt, that was where Shawna was, and he felt they needed to
talk.

   ---***--

   Vicky finished applying the last of the mixture to Shawna's body, making
sure she was covered completely from the neck down in the sticky goo.

   Shawna looked down in disgust at what they had smeared all over her.  It
was dark green and it stunk of something very rotten.  "You sure this will
work, Doc?" she asked.

   "It worked before!" Gabe replied, bringing the hot blankets over.

   Shawna was glad she had been delirious the first time they put this on
her.

   She stood patiently as Vicky and Gabe began wrapping her in the
blankets. They went from neck to toe, trapping her arms by her sides and
mummifying her quite well.  They wrapped her standing up to start, and then
laid her down to finish her legs.  When done, she was in a tight cocoon and
could barely move; yet she could feel the goo on her skin squelching around
as she shifted.

   Vicky and Gabe lifted her up and carried her over to a large wooden tub
in one corner of the room.  They laid her inside and Vicky went to fetch
the jug of water heating over a small grill.  Gabe tested the temperature
of the water before pouring it over Shawna, soaking her blankets and making
her feel even more trapped.

   "You make this up yourself, Doc?" Shawna said.

   "Nope, this was one of Granddad's little concoctions.  He was a great
one for herbal remedies and mountain cures.  Most of the non-traditional
remedies in the book were written by him.  I think he was the smartest of
the Gabe Miller's we've had so far."

   "Oh, I don't know, Doc, you seem pretty good to me!"

   Vicky was interested to see her brother blush slightly.

   ---***--

   Grady made it to the clinic without any problem, although a number of
people stopped him to ask how he was.  They all looked at him funny, and
Grady wondered what their problem was.  He began to wonder if Shawna had
told what happened already, and what kind of slant she had put on it.

   Could she have tried to blame him in her anger?  Make it seem that he
had come on to her?

   Somehow, he didn't see her doing that, but he wasn't sure.  Just when he
thought he was beginning to know her, something changed.  He still didn't
know what brought on her sudden amorous attack, but it disturbed him
greatly in more ways than he cared to think about.

   He needed to talk to her, and as he pushed the door open, he hoped she
wanted to talk to him!

   ---***--

   Paul and Rhianna sat and looked at the remains of the light aircraft
that had crashed on their mountain a week ago.  Neither of them were
feeling much like talking; the grisly discovery of a half burned, half
eaten body in the pilot's seat had unnerved them both.

   Neither were strangers to death.  Rhianna had seen her share of bodies
both in the Coast Guard and in the FBI, and Paul's position as the
Compound's Guardian meant he was in attendance for every death in his
community.  But this was more gruesome than either had ever seen before.

   "Do you know, exactly, what killed it...him?" Paul asked her eventually.

   Rhianna shook her head.  "No, it could have been anything from that
branch through his chest, to the fire, or even simple exposure.  We need to
bring a forensics team up here, and an autopsy is the only way to determine
cause of death."

   Paul grunted.

   Rhianna looked up and sighed.  "There's no way we can keep this a
secret, you know.  I know you like to keep outsiders off the mountain, but
this is too important.  People are looking for this plane, and for Shawna,
not to mention the money!  They won't stop until it's found."

   "Do you think...do you think it's possible that...Shawna might have
killed him?" Paul asked.  He needed to know; he felt helpless to figure out
a course of action because there were too many questions.

   Rhianna looked over at the plane again.  She remembered long ago classes
on crime scene reconstruction and thought about what she had seen inside
the plane.  She had needed to step carefully when she looked inside;
barefoot as usual, she didn't want to step on any broken glass.

   "No, I don't think so.  That branch was driven in with a lot of force;
it went right through his body and the seat behind him.  She could never
have put it there herself; it had to have happened in the crash.  It's
doubtful he survived the initial thrust; but if he did, he would only have
lasted a few minutes more before he bled to death."

   Paul sighed in relief.  "Good," he said.

   "Why is that good?" Rhianna asked him.  "You can't be thinking of
letting her stay with us, she's a wanted felon!"

   Paul had stood up, and was making his way back down the mountain.

   "Paul, listen to me," Rhianna said, hurrying to catch up.  "We have to
turn her in, it's our duty."

   "Yes, I know, but..." Paul stopped, staring at some bushes.

   Rhianna looked over at them for a moment, and saw what he had spotted.
Three cloth sacks, not very well hidden under the bush.  She walked over to
them, opening one.  Then she started to whistle.

   "So that's why she went up the hill the night she attacked Vicky," she
said quietly.

   Paul heard her muttering under her breath.  Intrigued he looked up.  "I
don't understand."

   Rhianna's hand went inside the bag and pulled out a thick wad of bills.
"She was going back for the money!"

   ---***--

   Grady stepped inside the clinic and crossed through the waiting room. 
He looked in Gabe's examination room, and saw that Gabe, now dressed in
pants and a shirt, was sitting on a stool next to his desk writing out his
report.  Gabe kept records of everything he did medically, as did the
Doctor Miller's before him.  Under his apartment was a stone lined room
where the records were stored for safekeeping.  Even if the place burned
down, the records would be safe.

   Grady saw him and nodded a greeting, then he saw Vicky and Shawna across
the room, Shawna still tightly wrapped and laying in the wooden tub.

   "What's going on?" he asked.

   "I could ask you the same question," Gabe said, closing his notebook.

   Shawna looked up at the sound of Grady's voice, and struggled in her
mummy wrap.  She was feeling somewhat better now despite the smell; the
natural medications being absorbed into her skin.

   "Grady!" she said.

   Grady looked at her for a moment, indecision on his face, then he turned
to Gabe.  "You have an aspirin, Doc?  My head is killing me!"

   Gabe nodded and took Grady's arm, leading him back out to the waiting
room.  "Stay there!" he ordered.

   "Doc, is Shawna okay?"

   "We'll talk, but stay put!"

   Grady nodded and waited while Gabe went back into the examining room. 
He reappeared a moment later with a few items and proceeded to give Grady
an examination.

   "Your fever is down, but it's not gone completely.  I want you to spend
another day in bed."

   "Sure thing, Doc; but what about Shawna, what are you doing to her?"

   "Nothing that concerns you," Gabe snapped.  "I'm taking her off your
hands, it's evident that neither of you are happy with the arrangement the
elders set up."

   "She said that?" Grady asked him.

   "No, but the fact that she was brought here crying usually means that
things aren't going well."

   "What did she tell you about last night?"

   "Nothing, but do you deny that things aren't going well?"

   "No, but...No.  You're right, Doc.  But I want to talk to her, to
apologize."

   "I don't think that's a good idea," said Gabe, not wanting Grady and
Shawna together.

   "Please, Doc.  I...I didn't get a chance to...please."

   Gabe looked carefully at Grady for a moment.  The man was genuinely
distressed, and for some reason Gabe was encouraged.  Since his wife's
death, Grady had shown little need for any social contact, yet here he was
pleading for that contact now.  Gabe wasn't sure what his own feelings were
toward Shawna; and the thought of her and Grady spending time together at
this critical juncture made him uncomfortable.  But this was the first real
sign that he had seen of Grady reaching out to people, and as a doctor, he
couldn't ignore this step toward Grady's recovery.

   "I'll go ask if she wants to talk to you," Gabe said eventually.

   "Thanks, Doc!"

   Gabe went inside, and a few minutes later he came back with a mug in his
hand.  "Drink this, then you can go in.  But only for five minutes, then
it's back to bed with you."

   "Yes, Mom!" Grady said with a grin, and he drank the contents of the
mug.

   His head still throbbing, Grady went in to talk to Shawna.

   Shawna felt at a definite disadvantage when Grady came over; try as she
might, she could not wriggle out of her cocoon.  She glanced at Vicky, who
smiled encouragingly before leaving Shawna alone with Grady.

   Grady sat down on the stool Vicky vacated.

   "Hi," he said, looking rather nervous.

   "Gabe said you had something to tell me?" Shawna asked him, looking up
at his towering bulk from inside the wooden tub.

   "Yeah...I...er.  Look, about last night.  I..."

   Suddenly there was a commotion out in the waiting room, and everyone's
attention was caught by the people rushing into the examining room.

   "Doc!" one of them cried, "You gotta help him!"

   Shawna saw it was a group of men, all rather filthy, carrying another
man between them.  They laid the man on the examining table and Shawna saw
that he was covered in blood.  The source of the blood was easy to see, a
thin metal bar was lodged in his chest and projected out nearly a foot. 
One of the men was holding a rag on the wound, pushing down to stop the
bleeding.

   Vicky took over from the man, and Gabe shoved the others aside and
started to examine the injured man.  "You idiots!" he yelled.  "Why did you
move him?  You could have killed him!"

   All the men were bigger than the Doctor, but they reacted like
reprimanded children at Gabe's rebuke.

   "Sorry, Doc," said one of them, "but he was bleeding pretty badly."

   Gabe ignored him and continued his examination.  "Someone go get my
Dad," he yelled, "and someone else go get Tracy and Harriet.  I'm going to
need all my people for this!"

   Two men left in a hurry.

   From her recumbent position across the room, even Shawna could see that
the injured man was very pale; he had obviously lost a lot of blood.  That
fact wasn't lost on Gabe either.

   "You," he said, pointing at the guy who had been holding down the
compress, "take over from Vicky."

   "Yes, Doc," said the young man.

   "Vicky, go to cold stores and pull all the bags of 'O neg' blood, I want
them all.  Then go find the list of 'O neg' donors and send runners to look
for them.  Hurry!"

   "Yes, Doctor," said Vicky, white faced herself.  Vicky had never seen
such a gruesome injury, but knew that in the future she would have to get
used to it if she wanted to be a nurse.  In another month, she planned on
leaving the Compound to go to nursing school, returning when she was
properly trained.

   A moment later, Gabe's father, Gabe Miller III, showed up.  The older
man had been the Compound's doctor for many years before he let his son
take over.  While he enjoyed the life of relative retirement, he still
helped out when his son asked him to, especially at moments like these.

   "What have you got?" said Gabe Senior.

   "It's not as bad as it looks, Sir, but he's lost a lot of blood," said
Gabe.  What he called his father in for was a second opinion on whether or
not they should attempt to remove the metal bar, but after examining the
unconscious man himself, Gabe Senior said no.

   "We're going to have to call an air ambulance," he said, "we need a
proper operating room."

   "Could you make the call, Dad?" Gabe asked, his hands covered in blood
already.  "I want to get the IV's started.  We need to replace the blood
loss as fast as we can."

   "You have it coming?"

   "Yeah, sent Vicky."

   Gabe Senior nodded and moved away, confident his son could handle the
patient.  As he walked to the door close to where Shawna lay, he glanced
down at her.

   Shawna blushed, thinking she looked very strange, but Gabe Senior made
no comment.  Instead, he unlocked the combination lock on the door and
opened it wide.

   Shawna and Grady, who were both feeling forgotten and out of place in
the rush, had a good view of what was beyond the door.  It was a large
storeroom that evidently served as the clinic's drug and equipment locker.
They saw Gabe Senior cross to another door on the other side, unbolt it,
and open it to reveal the outside of the building.  Just beyond the door
was a canvas-covered shape, which once uncovered was revealed as a
generator.  It looked rather old, but it only took Gabe Senior a couple of
pulls to start it.  Its loud motor making quite a din.

   Gabe Senior came back inside and disappeared into another part of the
room.

   Meanwhile Gabe Junior had his hands full.  Harriet, another of his
volunteer nurses, had just arrived and had taken over compress duty.  Vicky
came in with an armload of plastic bags filled with blood, and she and Gabe
began hooking them up to IV lines.

   Shawna was amazed at how prepared Gabe was.  Despite the fact that these
people tried to avoid modern man's creations whenever they could, they did
not seem to apply that philosophy to medicine.  Shawna, squelching in her
mummy wrap, watched in amazement as Gabe did a very professional job of
stabilizing his patient.

   Out of curiosity, Shawna glanced back into the room where Gabe Senior
had gone, and saw him messing with something sitting on a counter.  It
looked to her like an older model cell phone, one with a base that had to
be plugged into a power source to work.  That was what the generator was
for; a bright orange cord now ran from it to the plug on the end of the
phone's power cord.

   But Gabe Senior was having problems.  He was pulling, tugging, and
shifting the cord around, as if it wasn't working.

   "You make that call yet, Dad?" Gabe called out.

   "Damn phone is out again, I can't get it to come on!" Gabe Senior yelled
back.

   "Have you tried lifting the cord?"

   "I know what I'm doing!"

   Shawna looked over at Grady, who was watching things intensely.  He knew
these people; he worked with them.  He had already figured out what must
have happened.  These guys were from the metal shop next to his Smithy. 
They had a huge pile of scrap in one corner that he knew they were in the
process of sorting out.  He would bet that the pile collapsed, driving that
rod into Raul, the guy on the table.

   "Grady," Shawna said, grabbing his attention.

   "Not now, Shawna.  We can talk later," he replied.

   "No.  Get me out, unwrap me!"

   Grady shook his head.  "No, I expect the Doc will when he's done."

   "Grady, you have to unwrap me now.  I can help!"

   This made Grady look at her.  "You?  What are you, a doctor too?"

   "No, but I can fix their phone.  It's what I do, electronics."

   Grady wasn't sure, he just stared at her.

   Shawna couldn't wait.  "GABE!" she yelled.

   "I'm kind of busy now, Shawna!" Gabe called back.

   "Gabe, tell Grady to let me out.  I can fix your phone!"

   "You what?"

   "You need the phone to call for a helicopter, right?  I can fix it; it's
what I do on the outside!"

   Gabe stared at Shawna for a moment, then made a decision.  "Grady, get
her out of the tub and unwrap her!"

   Grady shrugged and did as he was told, and as he lifted her, Gabe Senior
came over to her.  "You said you could fix this?" he asked.

   "I can try, Sir.  It depends on what's wrong with it, but I'm an
electrical engineer.  Electronic gadgets like that are what I work with all
the time.

   "I hope you can, girl, because if you can't, we may have to operate
here, and to be honest I'd rather not!"

   Shawna nodded and began to struggle out of the blankets that bound her,
while Grady unwrapped.

   She emerged covered in green slime, and almost gagged from the smell. 
But she grabbed a towel and wiped her hands before following Gabe Senior
into the storeroom.

   On the bench was indeed an old style cell phone, and Shawna gingerly
picked it up and looked it over.  It had evidently seen better days; its
case dented and pockmarked, its cords frayed and worn.

   "Ever think of getting a new one?" Shawna asked, dripping slime on the
floor.

   "Not many models allow you to plug in an external antenna," Gabe Senior
said, pointing to one cord that led up to the ceiling.  "We need the extra
antenna to reach the nearest cell tower."

   Shawna grunted.  Modern cell phones were a lot better now then they used
to be, but she wasn't going to get into that now.  "I need a screwdriver."

   Gabe Senior produced a rather pitiful looking tool kit from another
shelf, but there was a screwdriver small enough for Shawna to use to take
the phone's case apart.

   Standing in a corner out of the way, Grady watched her work.  He was
quite amazed at what he saw; this was a different Shawna, a woman in full
control.  She held herself proudly as she worked, her concentration on her
job.  And while she looked somewhat bizarre covered in the green goo the
Doc had her in, Grady found himself admiring her as a woman.

   Again he felt guilty, and tore his eyes off her body, but what he saw of
her now impressed him.  He took a deep breath and continued to watch her
work.

   The case off, Shawna immediately saw the problem.  The contact on the
circuit board where the power cord attached had come loose.  It would be a
simple fix if they had the tools.

   "I don't suppose you guys have a soldering iron do you?" she asked.

   The men shook their heads.  "Why, what's wrong with it?" Gabe Senior
asked.

   "All I need to do is reattach this contact.  Then you should be good to
go.  All I need is something hot!"

   "How hot?" Grady asked.

   "Hot enough to melt the solder," Shawna answered him.

   "There might be something we could find at the Smithy," he offered.

   Gabe Senior grasped it immediately.  "Go, now!" he ordered.

   Shawna thought the idea a good one as well, and she picked up the phone
and the tools she needed to put it back together.

   She and Grady ran through the examining room, making Gabe Junior look up
in surprise, and out of the clinic.

   "This way!" Grady said, and Shawna was hard on his heels.

   It was only as they were running that Shawna remembered that apart from
the thin coating of green slime that still coated her body, she was
completely naked.  She could see the people they passed stare at her in
amazement, and was glad to know that SOME forms of nudity were still
shocking to these people.  She might even have been shocked herself if she
weren't in such a hurry.  As it was, her blush was hidden under all the
green.

   If a nude green woman was a surprising sight in the hallways of the
Compound, a nude woman of any color was even more rare in the Smithy.  Deep
in "Men's country," women rarely ventured this far.

   The Smithy was where the men who worked the various craft shops took
their breaks, and of course, there was a good crowd of them in there
discussing the accident.  All looked up as Grady and Shawna entered, and
all quit talking at the sight of the green woman.

   "What do you need?" Grady asked her.

   "Er..." Shawna was very aware of the dozen or so pairs of male eyes
looking at her, and the layer of green slime on her skin suddenly felt
very, very thin.

   "Shawna!" Grady yelled, getting her attention.

   "Er, I need a rod, very thin, like a pencil with a point.  Heat it up to
just below red hot!" she said.

   Grady started giving orders to the men, and there was a mad scramble as
a suitable rod was looked for.

   Shawna laid out the pieces of the phone on a workbench and got it ready
for fixing.  She felt cloth at her shoulders, and turned to see that one of
the men had taken off his leather apron and shirt and was handing her the
shirt.

   Shawna smiled a thank you, and pulled the shirt on, wearing it like a
dress.

   She waited patiently for a few minutes, looking around as the
blacksmiths heated up a thin iron rod.  The Smithy was large, with a big
open door at one end that let in the outside world.  Shawna saw a paddock
beyond the door with a couple of horses in it; customers for shoeing,
Shawna thought.

   The other end of the Smithy was dominated by a furnace run by a couple
of the men.  One of them pumped a huge bellows, bringing the heat up inside
the furnace for the job at hand.

   Shawna expected the place to be dirty, but it was very clean, except for
some mud in the doorway.

   She looked over at Grady, handling the rod carefully as he heated its
tip.  Unlike the other men, who all wore thick leather aprons to guard
against the heat, Grady was still bare-chested, and the fire in the furnace
reflected off his sweaty muscles.  It was a sight she appreciated; and he
looked so at home here, Master of the fire!

   She wondered why he had given this up to work in the stables, what the
real reason was.  He belonged here; even she could see that.

   Grady pulled the rod from the furnace, handling it carefully with thick
leather gloves, and brought it over to her with a rag wrapped around one
end.  The point on the end was glowing slightly, and Shawna knew it was too
hot.  It would melt the solder fine, but it would be so hot that the solder
would all run away.  Shawna knew she had to be careful; one wrong move
would destroy the phone.

   She waited until the glow disappeared and then carefully picked up the
rod by its cloth handle.  Manipulating both it and the cord, she placed the
iron against the cord's very end, using the cord itself to melt the lump of
solder that had originally bound the cord to the circuit board.

   It was delicate work, but Shawna was a deft hand; and after a moment,
she was able to report success.

   "Good girl!" Grady said, a big smile on his face for the first time in
months.

   Shawna smiled back, liking what she saw on his face, and the rest of the
men cheered.

   Shawna quickly put the phone back together, and the couple made their
way back to the clinic.

   Both Doctor's Miller were happy to see them, and Gabe Senior lost no
time in plugging the phone in to make his call.

   It worked fine, and he ordered a medical pick up from the Ranger Station
on the next mountain.

   There were smiles almost everywhere, and Vicky offered Shawna a quiet
thanks.

   "Shawna!" It was Gabe Junior.

   "Yeah?"

   "Thanks," he said, looking up from his patient for a moment.

   Their eyes met, and Shawna wished they could take the time to talk about
what had happened between them.

   Gabe smiled and told her to go take a bath.  "Wash all that green gunk
off you before you turn green permanently!"

   Shawna was suddenly worried that she would really stay green.  "You're
not serious!"

   "Go!  We have work to do here."

   "I'll take her, Doc," Grady said.

   Gabe looked up at him for a moment, his smile fading.  But he nodded. 
"Okay.  But I want to see her again tonight...No, tomorrow.  I'll have to
fly in to town with Raul today."

   "Sure thing, Doc," said Grady, and he led her out of the clinic.

   ---***--

   Paul and Rhianna were just coming within sight of the Compound when they
saw the helicopter lift off and fly away from its landing site beside the
river.

   They both knew that the helicopter only came in emergencies, and they
stepped up the pace to get home as fast as possible.

   It was as they met the first few citizens that they heard the story
already flowing around the community.

   The new girl, Shawna, had fixed something for the Doctor, something no
one else could have done.  She saved Raul's life!

   There was talk of how lucky they were to have her around right now, and
how valuable she was to the community.

   After hearing this, Paul and Rhianna looked at each other, their
thoughts the same.  How would the news they brought affect the community
now!


   End of Part 12.

The Compound Part 13

   Robert Klink looked at the stacks of money spread out on the table in
front of him.  "How much?" he asked Paul, glancing at Bill Anderson the
only other elder in the room.

   Rhianna and Paul had brought the money down with them, not willing to
leave it where anyone could find it.  Immediately on their return, they had
sought Robert out for his advice.  Paul had a lot of authority here in the
Compound, but something this big, he wanted help on.

   "Three million, give or take a few thousand," Paul replied.

   They were in Robert's apartment, where he and Bill were playing cards to
pass the time.  Sydney, Bill's dog, was sleeping next to the fireplace.

   Bill raised his eyebrows and whistled, while Robert frowned.

   "Tell me again, I want to hear the entire story."

   Paul glanced over at where Rhianna knelt on the floor pillows in front
of the fireplace.  She was under orders not to talk unless asked first. 
Robert was of the old school and more rigid about the place of women in the
Compound.  So Paul told the story of the robbery, the plane crash, the
strong suspicions that Shawna was one of the bank robbers, and the
discovery of the crash site and the money.

   All through this, Robert shook his head.  He was not a happy man.

   "What are your intentions, Paul?" Robert asked.

   "I think it's pretty obvious, Robert.  We collect the girl and take her
back to town with the money she stole," Paul said.

   Robert looked over at Rhianna, who nodded in agreement.

   "Well," he said, "if you've made up your mind, what are you doing here?"


   Paul opened his mouth, but didn't say anything for a moment.  "I
thought...I thought you might have some input on this."

   "Well," said Robert, "like you said, it's rather obvious what we should
do.  Returning the money is the proper thing to do; anything else wouldn't
be right.  But...you are aware of what happened while you and young Rhianna
here were off doing your police thing?"

   "We're aware," said Paul.

   "The young lady you intend to send back to the waiting arms of the law
did us an important service, possibly saving the life of Raul Alvaro.  You
know that we have needed someone capable of fixing Doctor Miller's gadgets
for a while now.  It costs this community dearly whenever we send something
to town to be fixed."

   "I know, but..." said Paul.

   "This young woman could be just who we need!"

   Rhianna couldn't hold her tongue.  "But she's wanted, Sir," she said. 
"She robbed a bank, stole all that money, and tried to get away with it."

   "Tried to get away with it?" Robert asked her, only slightly annoyed at
her interruption.

   "She had ample opportunity to tell us about the crash and the robbery.
She could have confessed all, and shown some remorse at the death of her
partner, but I haven't seen any such behavior on her part."

   "And if she had?"

   "Well...it would have gone better for her at her trial."

   Robert glanced at Bill, who shrugged.  Robert sighed.  "We need to talk.
Not a word, either of you, to anyone about this!  Now go!"

   "You're going to discuss this with the other elders?" Paul asked.

   "Yes."

   "Alright.  But what about Shawna?  I think it might be wise if we
isolated her right away."

   "Why?  I doubt she's going anywhere.  Besides, we prefer her right where
she is for the moment."

   Paul's face darkened.  He was always willing to take the advice of the
elders, treating their words with the respect due them as the most
experienced members of the community.  Robert Klink was a person Paul
especially admired and listened to, for Robert used to have Paul's job many
years ago.  But advice was all it was; Paul didn't have to do what they
said if he didn't want to.  He WAS the Guardian, the man in charge of the
whole community.  But respect for the elders' decisions was something
everyone here was taught from birth, which was why the more far-reaching
decisions about the Compound were left up to them.

   Paul thought about this for a moment, confused as to what the elders
really wanted from Shawna.  But he decided to follow their advice once
more. "Okay," he said, and he turned to leave.

   Rhianna got up, frustrated once more at the crazy way things were done
around here, and said her own good-byes before leaving.

   "Do you think that nephew of yours will do something rash, Bill?" Robert
asked once the two old men were alone once more.

   "Paul, no.  Had it been his brother, I might have worried.  But you had
better not push the man too far, he is liable to decide his own moral views
are more important than the Compound's.  He has a lot of his father in
him."

   "I always thought that Matthew was more like the father than Paul."

   Bill chuckled and picked up his cards.  "Matthew is wild like his mother
was.  And he picked a wild one for a wife.  I think we ought to be worrying
more about her than anyone else!"

   Robert sighed.  "You may be right, but if she keeps her silence and does
what she's told, then things will work out for all of us.  Now, help me bag
this money so we can go find the others.  I think we need to have a
conference."

   Bill put down his cards and picked up a bundle of bills.  "It isn't even
decent fire starter!"

   ---***--

   "Is that it?" Rhianna asked Paul as they left Robert's quarters behind.

   "For now, yes."

   "You're just going to let her run around here, free?"

   "As Robert said, why not?  Don't you have a class to get to?"

   Rhianna frowned, not happy.  "But I..."

   "Rhianna!" said Paul forcibly.  "It's done.  We're going to wait to see
what the elders come up with.  If it makes sense, then we do what they
suggest.  It's the way things are done here, like it or not!"

   "So you're going to let her go unpunished for what she did?"

   Paul smiled.  "I doubt that she would go unpunished, but what Robert
said was true, we need someone with her skills here.  If there is a way to
do both, would that satisfy you?"

   "Perhaps," replied Rhianna.

   "Good, I'm glad we can make you happy.  I'm sure it's on their minds as
well.  Now go, I've taken you away from the school for long enough today."

   "Fine," said Rhianna, "but don't let them make a mistake."

   Paul shrugged and walked away.

   ---***--

   Shawna, now clean, was tidying up Grady's apartment.  Grady was in bed
again, sleeping off another one of Gabe's mountain remedies.

   The couple had made it to the Bathhouse without incident, and Shawna had
been grateful for the opportunity to wash off the green slime that had
coated her body.  Her skin still held a slightly green tinge, but she knew
from last time that it would go away in another day.

   Grady and Shawna had also talked.  Not a lot, as circumstances worked
out, but enough to mend a few fences.

   Shawna apologized for her actions of the night before, pleading
temporary insanity due to her condition.  While Grady apologized for
throwing her out, pleading insanity due to HIS condition.

   The couple was actually able to smile at all the insanity, and Grady
asked if she was willing to come back.

   Shawna said yes, she was actually looking forward to spending time with
the man.  She wanted to know more about him, she wanted to help him get
over his grief.  She could even admit to herself that she was attracted to
the man beyond the surface attraction she had for his body.  The man inside
was one she wanted to get to know.

   Shawna was feeling something she hadn't felt in a long time.  She felt
that there were now possibilities in her life where none had existed
before. Always she had been at the mercy of the man she was with, either
her father or Dirk.  But now she had the power to choose her own path, and
the choice was difficult.

   On one hand, she had all that money waiting for her.  With it, she could
go anywhere or do anything.  But she would always be looking over her
shoulder, wondering if the law was on her tail.

   On the other hand, she could stay here; they obviously needed someone of
her talents.  Shawna had seen lots of other things she might be needed to
fix hidden away in Gabe's storeroom, and the generator itself was old and
in need of service.

   Another reason to stay was the men.  Grady...he needed her, she thought.
And she felt she needed someone just like him to help her become a true
person instead of the shell she thought she was.  But there was also Gabe.
Poor Gabe.

   Shawna felt bad about what had happened the night before.  She had
practically raped the man, and she could tell that he now bore a crush on
her.

   She liked him but would have to let him down easy somehow.  Shawna
paused in her work and went over to where Grady slept.  She pulled up the
blanket that covered him and tucked him in a little.

   Sitting in the tub with her while she washed, Grady had suddenly passed
out.  Apparently the hot water and his fever had gotten the best of him. 
That and the medicine Gabe had given him earlier.

   Some friends of his helped her get him back to the apartment and into
bed.  She stroked one of his cheeks and decided to leave him alone for a
bit.  She was hungry and had missed both breakfast and lunch.  She looked
forlornly at the shirt she had been given at the Smithy, and then at the
closet holding Cheryl's things.

   Shawna was nude right now, and despite earlier exposure, wasn't up to
going out in this condition again.  So she opened the closet and found
something to wear.

   She put a loincloth on, and found a thigh length leather skirt with a
matching top that laced up the sides.

   It fit snugly, but Shawna was glad for the support it gave her breasts.
She hadn't gone around without a bra this much since she first started
wearing them.

   With a final look at Grady, she left in search of food.

   ---***--

   Paul had Patch saddle a couple of horses for him, and he now rode down
the mountain to town.  He expected to meet Gabe at the hospital there, for
that was where the Compound's injured were usually taken.  But Paul had
another stop to make first.  He was hoping to pump Sheriff Kinkade for more
information about the robbery.  He needed to make sure that whatever
decision was made about Shawna, was the right one.

   ---***--

   It was a happy crowd at dinner that night.  Shawna was thanked over and
over for her actions that morning, and the Alvaro family insisted she come
eat with them.  She was even served by one of the younger Alvaro sisters,
and treated like royalty by Raul's grateful mother.

   Shawna lapped up the praise, having received so little in her life.  She
hadn't realized just how good it felt to do something for someone else,
without that person bribing or scaring her into doing it.

   It made her feel warm inside, and she couldn't stop smiling.

   Three tables away, Rhianna watched Shawna.  Rhianna was having trouble
reconciling the image of the evil bank robber with the Shawna she knew and
heard about that day.  Yes, the woman was guilty, Rhianna had no doubts
about that, but such things were rarely that cut and dried.  WHY did Shawna
rob the bank?  WHO was her partner?  WHO'S idea was it?  WAS Shawna a
willing accomplice?  WHAT were her intentions now?

   There were hundreds more questions flying through her head, but Rhianna
couldn't ask any of them.  The time she spent with Shawna the day before at
the lake was supposed to have confirmed her suspicions that Shawna was
nothing but trouble.  But in that short time, Rhianna had found a different
person than she had expected, an image confirmed by today's actions. 
Rhianna was confused, and didn't like it.

   She sighed and focused her attention on her own family.

   Matthew sat in Paul's place at the head of the table because Paul was
still in town.  He looked good playing his temporary role as Head of the
House, and lorded over his family in a good-natured way.  He had Lilly
giggling by doing a dead-on impersonation of his brother's weighty persona,
right down to the disapproving frown he sometimes wore when hearing about
Matthew's latest idea for Compound "Improvements", such as the time he
tried to convince the kitchen to make hamburgers.  Rhianna began to smile
along with the rest of the family, and soon she was laughing at her
husband's antics.  Matthew caught her eye, and the two of them shared a
moment together staring into each other's eyes.

   Elizabeth, Paul's wife, saw the look and smiled inwardly.  She was so
glad that Matthew had found someone, and Rhianna was the best choice he
could ever have made.

   As Rhianna helped Lilly clear the table, Matthew looked up at her and
reminded her that they had an appointment that evening.

   "What appointment?" Rhianna asked him, her mind still half on the events
of the day.

   "We have that group class tonight," Matthew said.

   "Oh no.  Is that tonight?" Rhianna said with a sigh.  "Look, Matt, I
don't think tonight is a good night for it."

   "Nonsense, Pet.  I know you have a lot on your mind (Rhianna had filled
Matthew in on everything the moment she saw him), but you can't do anything
but wait.  This will help fill the time, and maybe it will distract you a
little."

   "Gee.  I'm not sure I want to get tied up again for one of your
classes."

   "Pet!  I need you.  Besides, you look wonderfully sexy all bound in
rope, and you know how these classes affect me afterward."

   Rhianna smiled.  Yes, she knew very well how randy her husband got,
especially after the big group class.  He could barely contain himself
enough to untie her first before making love to her.  Many a time he didn't
even bother!

   "Oh, all right," she said, giving in.

   "Good."

   Rhianna collected his plate and left the table.

   "I hear those classes of yours are becoming quite popular," Elizabeth
said to him.

   "That they are.  You and Paul should come by sometime."

   Elizabeth smiled and shook her head.  "We're fine."

   "What about you, Lilly?" Matthew asked his niece, who had just come back
from the kitchen area.

   "Me what?" she said, picking up the last of the cups.

   "What about you, and that guy you like, dropping by my class tonight on
rope bondage."

   "What guy?" asked the teenager, blushing a little.

   "That dark haired kid; what's his name, Carlos?" Matthew teased.

   "I don't like him...I mean I do, but he's just a friend." Lilly was
blushing even more at the thought of being tied up by the rather handsome
looking Carlos.  "I can't tonight anyway, I'm still watching the stocks."

   "Oh, oh well, another time," Matthew said with a grin, and Lilly left
red faced.

   "You tease her too much," Elizabeth said, slapping his had lightly.

   "Yeah, but it's fun, isn't it?"

   Elizabeth smiled.

   ---***--

   If Lilly HAD accepted Matthew's offer to join the class, he would have
had to say she couldn't, for Matthew's advanced bondage group class was
definitely for adults only.

   Only married couples were allowed, because many of the ties he taught
were of a sensuous nature.  People took sex out of marriage seriously here;
it was never to be done.

   Not that couples had sex in Matt's class; oh no.  While the Compound was
liberal, it wasn't THAT liberal.  But the sexual possibilities, while
unsaid, were still very clear.  Not only that, but there wasn't a man in
the group that didn't miss the opportunity to have a quick grope while
their wife was helplessly trussed up.

   One thing that made Matthew always laugh though, was that no one ever
missed doing their homework.

   Group was fun for Matthew, but not so much for Rhianna.  For one thing,
she was still embarrassed being bound in front of so many people; and the
positions Matthew chose for this group were usually much more revealing
than she cared for.

   Her normal attire for these sessions was just her loincloth, and she was
glad Matthew let her wear that much.  Most of the other women also just
wore theirs, but some were stripped completely by their men.

   Topless, Rhianna felt vulnerable once bound, although she knew she had
no rational reason for that feeling.  She was in the company of people that
would never take advantage of her or harm her, and she trusted her husband
completely.  But there was still a part of her that remembered all those
times when she was at someone's mercy while working undercover for the FBI,
and while the scars on her body were all but invisible under her tan, the
scars in her mind ran deep.

   So she struggled a little in the ropes that held her, uncomfortable but
willing to continue.

   Matthew had chosen for the first tie of the night, a partial suspension.
Rhianna was standing on one leg, the other folded up and tied out of the
way, her bent knee raised to the ceiling and lifted to one side.  This
opened up her crotch completely, and Rhianna was again grateful for the
loincloth.  Since she had no hair down there, she would have been
completely exposed to the rest of the room.

   Her arms were bound behind her in a Japanese style, folded wrists to
elbows, with rope wrapped around her body holding them tight to her.  The
ropes also wrapped her breasts, pushing them out a little and framing them.
Matthew emphasized beauty as well as function in his ties, and Rhianna was
always the model for his illustrations.

   A rope ran from the back of her rope harness to the ceiling, helping her
maintain her balance, and a gag completed the ensemble, a leather ball that
filled her mouth, held in with a wide leather strap.  It was very
effective, and Rhianna could say nothing at all.

   This was how Rhianna had spent what seemed like the last couple of
hours. Matthew's style of teaching was to first show the couple or the
group the tie they would be doing, by binding Rhianna up first while they
watched.  Then he would have them do it while Rhianna remained tied, a
model for them to follow.

   Sometimes one of the men would come up to her and check to see how a
knot was done or how a rope was threaded, leaving her with a grin on his
face.  Rhianna figured Matthew taught this way simply so she would spend
the maximum amount of time in bondage possible in the class.

   So she stood and watched, while the eight couples in tonight's class all
tried to copy Matthew's creation.  Eight more women were bound standing as
Rhianna was, and she could see that a couple of them were regretting their
decision to come without loincloths.

   Matthew went from couple to couple, offering advice and occasionally
redoing a knot or something.  But he would frequently come over to Rhianna
to see if she was okay, and to give her a light caress and a kiss.

   When he was close, Rhianna could feel her heart speed up a little, and
his touch excited her despite the bondage; or was it because of it?

   She still wasn't sure if she truly liked it or not, but there was no
denying that she found herself more quickly aroused when bound.  Again
Rhianna wondered about conditioning, until the next time Matthew came by to
touch her.

   It was another reason Rhianna was glad for the loincloth; her arousal in
her hairless state would be very obvious.  It was bad enough her nipples
had to get so hard.

   Once all the ties were complete and all the men had sufficiently teased
their wives, privately of course, Matthew would release Rhianna and then
proceed to another tie.  This time the bound students would be forced to
wait in their bondage until Matthew was done tying Rhianna anew, before
being released themselves.

   The second bondage of the night was usually more relaxing, but no less
exposing.  This time Rhianna was placed on her knees, her face to the
floor. Her wrists were tied to the outsides of her ankles, her elbows to
her knees.

   Of course, this thrust her ass high in the air, and the possibilities of
this position was not lost on anyone

   The women were untied, and most were eagerly bound in a similar fashion.
It wasn't that some of the women were there against their will, but a few
of them still regretted not wearing their loincloths, and found nudity at
THIS level to be just a bit more than they were used to.

   All the men loved it, and not a few hands stayed in contact with
upraised cheeks while Matthew did his final tie of the night.

   The last tie was usually a tight one, and Matthew didn't disappoint his
class tonight.  He put Rhianna in a partial ball tie, her knees bound to
her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs and heavily bound with rope. 
The one difference was her ankles.  Instead of being folded down and tied
together close to her butt, Matthew instead brought them up together behind
her head, pushing her head forward so he could tie them together there. 
Rhianna was extremely glad for the stretching exercises she did, and she
could see that a lot of the women stared in wide-eyed horror at what was to
come.  It was why Rhianna always started the class off with a series of
exercises designed to help their flexibility.  Rhianna hoped they had been
practicing THOSE at home too.

   Rhianna thought Matthew was done when he finished her feet, but he had
one more thing to do.  He took some rope and tied one end to her ankles,
the other end going through a ring Matthew had mounted in the ceiling of
the classroom.  Pulling on the rope, he was able to bring Rhianna's feet up
so that she was balanced on her buttocks.

   Again Rhianna felt very exposed, but Matthew took a moment to make sure
none of her ropes were too tight, caressing her all over in the process. 
Then came the last surprise.  Matthew pulled on the rope some more, and
lifted her off the ground.  He left her suspended a few feet off the floor,
and went on to lecture about pressure points and spreading the load
properly.

   She hung around while the men bound their own women.  Those not flexible
enough to do what Rhianna did were simply bound in a conventional ball tie.
The others were hoisted up like Rhianna was, until the room looked like a
butcher's freezer, with big slabs of meet hanging from the ceiling.

   No slabs of meat were so attentively cared for, though, and Rhianna
could tell that the smell of sex in the air was not coming just from her.
Helpless in her bondage, she could only watch and listen as the men shyly
teased their very aroused wives.

   Matthew got their attention with one final lecture about safety that
Rhianna thought was far too long, then he dismissed the class and helped
untie some of his students.

   Many of the men opted to keep their women bound, and some were strong
enough to carry their prizes out the door 'as-is'!

   Matthew of course didn't make a move to untie Rhianna until the last
couple left, then with a grin he approached his wife with a look she knew
so well.  Rhianna had to wonder at his self-control.  While he also wore
nothing but a loincloth while he was teaching, Rhianna had never seen him
aroused, something easy to spot in that brief outfit.  Yet the moment they
were alone, he pulled off his covering to reveal an already erect penis
that could NOT have been hard just a few seconds before.

   With a grin, Matthew reached out and ripped Rhianna's loincloth off her,
exposing her sweet spot to the room.  The still gagged woman worried about
someone stepping into the room at that moment, but knew that she could do
nothing to stop what was going to happen.  Not that she wanted to anyway,
to be honest.

   Rhianna was at just the right height for Matthew to slip comfortably
into her, a fact not lost to most of the men earlier.  He stared into her
eyes as he began to pump into her helpless body, whispering of his love and
her beauty and caressing her with his fingers.

   Rhianna held his gaze, but the rest of her was lost to the sensual feel
of him inside her.  Gone was the discomfort of her position, gone was the
fear of being discovered in such intimate conditions, and gone was her
worry about Shawna and the robbery.

   Matthew had been right, she really needed this, it was the perfect
distraction; and as they came together, Rhianna was once more as Matthew
wanted her to be, a complete woman.


   End of Part 13

The Compound Part 14


   Shawna sat in front of the fire, huddled under a blanket.  The evening
had grown chilly so Shawna stoked and lit the wood in the stone fireplace,
bringing warmth and light to the room.

   Behind her, Grady still lay asleep, although Ruthy and Patch had told
her that he had been active for a while during the evening.  She missed
seeing him then because she had been otherwise engaged.

   Right after dinner, one of Paul's deputies had come up to her to let her
know she had still to go to the stocks.  Shawna had forgotten all about her
punishment schedule, and was surprised that she still had to do it at all.
Hadn't she just helped one of their own?

   The guy was apologetic, but he insisted that she still had to do what
she had promised to do.  So, her good mood blown, Shawna did her two hours
naked in the stocks, humiliated and angry.

   Her mood was somewhat restored afterward though, as Vicky came by to
take her to the baths.  After a good soak and an even better rub down from
Johan, she felt in much better spirits, but still didn't have that euphoric
feeling she had before.

   Returning home, she found Patch and Ruthy; and after thanking them for
baby-sitting Grady, she finally found herself alone with her thoughts.

   For a while, she watched the big man sleeping; but as the night grew
colder, she made up the fire, and that's where she was now.

   Shawna stared at the flames and tried not to think, but it was hard. 
Physically she felt better than she had for a long time; there was none of
that deep down ache she usually had when needing a fix of something.  Yet
her thoughts were still on booze and drugs; and for the thousandth time
that day, she wondered where her knapsack was.

   This was only a part of what was troubling her, though.  Staring into
the flames reminded her of the crash, of that terrifying ride down the
mountain, and the fire afterwards.  She could hear Dirk's screams in her
head, and for a moment, she buried her head between her knees in an attempt
to shut them out.

   She began to think more about Dirk, but this time, instead of thinking
about how things had gone bad with him, she thought about the time when
everything was new.

   Yes, there HAD been good times, times when he made her laugh, times when
he showed her what love could be like.  Shawna knew that she had never been
in love with Dirk, but there were moments when she could have tried.

   Lifting her head, she was aware of tears on her face, signs that she was
at last mourning the passing of a friend.  He may have turned into a shit,
but at first...

   She rubbed her eyes, then jumped as she heard a noise behind her.

   It was Grady, standing nude in the firelight a few feet away.

   "Hi," he said.

   "Hey," Shawna replied, her voice unexpectedly rough with emotion.  She
tried to gain control of herself.  "How are you?"

   "Tired, but I think I'm slept out for a while." Grady stepped forward
and sat down next to her on the pillows.

   Shawna was quite conscious of his closeness, of his nudity.  It was
something else she didn't want to think about.

   "Getting colder," Grady said, "a fire was a good idea.  The heat isn't
on yet in the Compound, although I expect now that we're getting into fall,
that will change soon."

   "Heat?  You get heat?" Shawna asked.

   Grady smiled.  "I'll explain it to you sometime."

   Shawna looked away from him, staring once more at the fire.

   Grady rubbed his arms for a moment.  "It is kinda nippy still, do you
mind if we share?" He tugged at the blanket Shawna had wrapped around
herself, and she stared as he pulled a part of it away from her.

   Underneath, all she wore was her loincloth; she'd put back the outfit
she took from the closet earlier.  She was surprised when Grady slid up
right next to her and wrapped them both up in her blanket.  His skin was
cold against hers, but warmed quickly, and she became even more aware of
how much of his skin was touching hers.

   They sat like that for a little while, before Grady spoke once more.

   "Cheryl and I were married for three years," he began, and he went on to
tell Shawna about how they met, fell in love, got married, and formed their
partnership.  He told about how they tried to have kids, but had no luck;
he told of the fights they sometimes had and how they made up afterward;
and he told of the happy moments and heartbreaks that defined the rhythms
of their life together.

   He spoke without interruption, Shawna listening quietly, and when he was
done, they sat in silence once more.  Then it was Shawna's turn, and she
began to speak of things she never talked about.

   Somehow, sitting skin to skin under a blanket in front of a roaring fire
with this man, it seemed right to talk.  Right in a way she couldn't
understand.  Out came her feelings about her father, and the tales of the
horrible things he had done in the name of discipline.  Out came her
thoughts on her mother and the rest of her family, the non-people in her
life.  A little hesitantly, but with growing confidence, out came the story
of Dirk and how he rescued her from her family, only to put her in a
different bondage, one forged with links of addiction.

   She told him a lot of things, but did not tell him of the robbery and
the crash, or of Dirk's death.  But what she said was more than she had
ever told anyone before, and soon her entire life was spread out before
them.

   When she was done, again there was silence, before Grady spoke once
more.

   "Thank you," he said.

   Shawna nodded slowly.

   Under the blanket, Grady put an arm around her, and Shawna melted into
his embrace.  She hadn't realized just how tense she had gotten, and it
felt really good to lean on him.  With his arm around her, she felt
protected, secure.  She looked up at his face and saw him watching her.  It
seemed natural for them to kiss.

   Grady got a worried look on his face.  "We shouldn't!"

   "Last night," said Shawna, "a part of me was convinced that what I was
doing was for your benefit, when I know now that it was all for me.  I
didn't have your best interest at heart when I tried to make love to
you..."

   "We've already gone over that!" Grady interrupted.

   "Hush...I didn't have your best interest in mind, not deep down.  But
tonight...I do.  I'm here for you, Grady, right here, right now.  I want to
be here for you, to comfort you and take away that pain so deep inside you.
I'm not saying that sex will make everything better, it won't.  But unlike
last night, I think what we have here is more than just sex."

   "Sex isn't allowed," Grady said, still looking worried.

   "I know, I understand; and we don't have to do it.  But we're two lonely
people, very lonely.  You just lost someone very close to your heart, and
in my whole life, I have never had someone close to me, until now.  I know
that I need your warmth, your embrace, if only to get me through another
lonely night.  Can you truly say you don't need the same thing?"

   "No," Grady whispered after a moment.

   "If all we do is cuddle, that's fine by me.  But please, don't say we
have to part, don't push me away again."

   Grady took a deep breath.  There were so many conflicts inside him.  He
and his wife had spent many an evening cuddling in front of the fire just
like this, sharing a blanket while his wife read to him.  He could still
hear the sound of her voice echoing around the room as she worked her way
through the Dickens' novels he had found for her.

   Shawna was like her in enough ways to make her seem real again.  Looking
at Shawna was like looking at his own wife, yet there were times he wasn't
sure who he was looking at.  Dare he give in to the lust he felt, to the
need to make love once more to his wife, although in reality he would be
making love to Shawna?

   He opened his mouth to speak, but it took a few seconds for him to
actually utter the words.

   "I...never got a chance to say goodbye to her," he said very slowly.  "I
was there at the end, but I didn't know...didn't know..." he broke down a
moment, tears filling his eyes until he got back a small measure of
control. "I...never thought that the last time I saw her smile, would be
the last time ever, the last touch, the last...kiss.  There were so many
things left undone, things that we..." he stopped, unable to continue.

   Shawna held on to him, providing HIS support for a while, rocking him
slowly as he cried, and giving him comfort.

   She said nothing while he cried, and eventually he stopped.  But he held
on to her tightly for a while longer, until Shawna began to pull away.

   She let the blanket that covered them fall away, and she gently took him
by the hand and led him to the bed.  She watched as he climbed back under
the blankets.  She picked up a large black cloak hanging on a nearby hook;
she wanted to spread it on the bed for extra warmth.

   "No!" Grady said.  "Not that!"

   Startled, Shawna hung the cloak back up and quickly went and got the
blanket they had been using.  She spread it out, and after taking off her
loincloth, she slid under the covers with him.

   The bed was cold, but snuggling once more next to Grady warmed her up
again.  He wrapped his large arms around her and they lay there together.

   It was the best night's sleep Shawna had ever had!

   ---***--

   The next day had to be Sunday.  Although she had no calendar, Shawna was
certain of this.

   Upon awakening, Grady ordered her to go do her morning toilet as quickly
as possible, and then when she came back, he had her dress in a very
conservative full-bodied dress.

   He himself had on more clothes than Shawna had ever seen on him.  Dark
leather pants with a white long sleeved shirt and a leather vest.  He
looked very good to her dressed like that, especially the way his
well-muscled body filled out the shirt.  He had also shaved at some point,
and Shawna realized that he must have made a real effort to become
presentable.

   Could their shared confessions of the night before have affected him
this much?

   "What's going on?" she kept asking him.

   "It's time you saw we aren't barbarians," would be his only reply.

   Once they were dressed, and Shawna was satisfied with her hair (she HAD
to find out what they used for conditioner here), Grady began leading her
to the Great Hall.  But he stopped just inside the door and turned to face
her, a thoughtful look on his face.

   "I...er...just want to thank you, for last night," he said.  "I want to
thank you for not coming on so strongly at the end."

   "That's okay," Shawna replied, a little surprised, but glad that he HAD
been affected.

   Grady nodded for a moment, then continued to talk.  "I...while
we...while you were sleeping...I had some time to think.  You being here
has really...well I think I needed a kick in the pants.  I wasn't a...well,
before you came I was just going through the motions, you know?"

   Shawna nodded slowly.

   "But I think I know why the elders had you move in with me.  It wasn't
so that we might get together; it was just to make me feel something,
anything, again!  For a while, I was angry; angry with them for pushing you
on me, and angry with you for being who you were and who...you looked like.
I had always been angry, but this was...different.  I was angry, but
focusing that anger outward.  But now I'm not angry any more; there are a
lot of different feelings inside me right now." Grady stopped and tried not
to look at her, but he couldn't help glancing up at her.

   Shawna felt her heart take a leap; she too was filled with conflicting
thoughts and feelings.  She stepped forward to take him in her arms, but he
caught her wrists and held her away.  Puzzled, she stepped back, a hurt
look on her face.

   "Wait," Grady said, "I didn't mean..." he sighed.  "Look, I have to tell
you that if things were different, I wouldn't hesitate to...well, if things
were different.  But you have to understand that right now, despite the
feelings I have for you, I just can't...!" Grady shook his head, confusion
written on he features.

   "You have feelings for me?" Shawna whispered.

   Grady wouldn't look at her.

   "Grady...Grady, it's okay.  I understand." She pulled a hand free and
touched his cheek.  "I understand," she said slowly.

   Grady looked at her.  "I just wanted to make it clear, before things got
too far along between us."

   Shawna smiled.  "It's okay, and I'm glad you said something before
either one of us did something foolish," she said, thinking of her earlier
attempt to seduce him.  "I can't say I'm not disappointed that we didn't
make love last night, and the thought of there being a chance at all for us
to make something more of our lives together makes me happy.  I'll back off
and give you some room.  But I won't go entirely; I'll be here to help you.
I meant what I said last night.  And maybe, just maybe, when you are ready
to move on, you'll allow me to be a part of that new life of yours."

   Grady was a little too choked up to talk, so he just nodded.

   They stood together for a few minutes, just looking into each other's
eyes, and then Shawna stood up on her toes and brushed her lips against
his.

   Grady smiled softly, and Shawna chuckled.

   "You know," she said, "I'm a little jealous of Cheryl."

   "You are?" Grady croaked.

   "Yes.  To be loved this much...she was one lucky lady.  I can only hope
to be loved one tenth as much."

   "I'm sure it will be more," Grady whispered.

   "There's just one thing I have to know."

   "What?"

   "Where are we going this morning?"

   Grady laughed, and it felt really good to laugh.  He hadn't been able to
laugh like that for a long time and he needed it.

   Shawna stepped back to give him room and her startled look was slowly
replaced with a grin that turned into a light laugh of her own.

   As the humor died down, Grady shook his head and waved a finger at her.
"Come on, let's go satisfy that curiosity of yours!" and he opened the door
and led them out.

   Shawna felt it was good that they talked and got some feelings out in
the open.  She felt better about her place here and about the opportunities
that faced her.  Somehow, she was feeling less and less sure that she
wanted to leave this place, certainly nowhere else she had been had made
her feel so welcome, so needed.  Those thoughts kept her mind busy for most
of the walk to the Great Hall, but in the end, she put them away, anxious
about what was to come.  Shawna was happy she didn't have to go bound, and
wondered why they had gotten so dressed up for breakfast, but not long
after they arrived, she caught on.

   Even though the sun had not been up for long, the Great Hall was half
full of people, all dressed up in what looked like their finest.  All were
standing and chatting with each other, and there was a really good mood
being generated as more and more people came in.

   Many of them seemed surprised to see Grady, but that didn't stop their
enthusiastic welcome.  There were lots of "It's good to see you here
again..." and "Welcome back, Grady..." type comments, and Shawna figured
that whatever was going on was something Grady had been avoiding for a
while.

   For Shawna, most people had happy greetings, and there was more talk of
what she did in the clinic the day before, which made her happy.  Yet she
couldn't help noticing that people seemed uncomfortable with her and Grady
being together.  There seemed to be an air of disapproval that Shawna
couldn't understand.  She knew that the living arrangements between her and
Grady were unusual, but it wasn't THAT bad, was it?

   It was when she saw the priest that Shawna knew what was going on here
in the Great Hall.  This was Church, which was why Shawna guessed it must
have been Sunday.

   Father Logan, a man she had yet to meet properly, walked up to her and
Grady with a big smile on his face.  He was dressed in his vestments, or
what passed for them here in the Compound, and he took Grady's hand and
shook it warmly.

   "It's good to see you back, Grady," he said.

   "It's good to be back, Father," Grady said after taking a big breath.

   "I'm glad.  I was getting worried again when you stopped coming to see
me.  But your being here is a good sign for your recovery." Father Patrick
Logan gave Grady's hand another shake and turned to Shawna "And you, dear
Shawna.  I must apologize for not coming to see you sooner.  I promised to
talk with you, but my work load suddenly wouldn't permit it."

   "That's okay, Father, I've been kept busy too," Shawna replied with a
smile.

   "Well, that's very important, but like Grady here, I would still like to
make time to talk to you.  But I'm happy you came, and happier yet that you
got this man to come with you!"

   "Er, he brought me!"

   Father Logan laughed.  "Oh, I think you had more to do with his return
to the flock than you think.  But tell me, are you a religious person at
heart?"

   Shawna blinked.  She could feel that she was actually looking forward to
the service.  Her family HAD been religious, Catholic their upbringing. 
Shawna found the rituals and litany of the church to be rather comforting.

   Her time with Dirk, however, had robbed her of that comfort.  He was not
a religious man, and had ridiculed in a rather subtle way Shawna's efforts
to stay with the church.  In the end, she stopped bothering.

   "It's been a long time, Father," she said honestly.

   "That's fine," Father Logan replied.  "We do things a little differently
here, but there are many ways to pray to God."

   He smiled once more and excused himself, and Shawna watched him move on
to another group.

   "You could have told me," Shawna said to Grady.

   "Surprised?" he asked.

   Shawna flashed him a smile as another couple came to greet them.

   Presently people started moving toward one corner of the Great Hall,
where benches had been arranged to face the small stage.  Shawna noticed as
Grady led her over, that the rule of women not using chairs was not
suspended during Church, for in front of the benches were pillows where the
women were now beginning to kneel.  Grady found them a spot and had Shawna
kneel on the pillow in front of him.

   Shawna thought this was very weird; women were allowed to sit on the
benches to eat, but that was it.  She felt a little disturbed by it, but
tried to look happy.

   Grady was in conversation with the man next to him, a guy she recognized
from the Smithy the day before, so she looked about for anyone else she
knew.

   Further down the same row, she saw Matthew and Rhianna, and she smiled
and waved.

   It looked like Matthew was organizing his family, since Paul was notably
missing.  Rhianna was kneeling as Shawna was, and seemed lost in thought.

   Shawna waved again, and this time caught Rhianna's eye.  Rhianna looked
up, but instead of smiling and waving back, she just stared.  Her face held
a rather worried expression, and Shawna wondered what was wrong.  Then
Rhianna looked away, and pointedly ignored Shawna's further waves.

   Puzzled, Shawna shrugged and turned her attentions elsewhere.  She tried
to see if Gabe was there, but her position close to the floor prevented her
from seeing anyone that wasn't in her own row, although she could see the
stage quite well.

   The service was not long, and in some ways followed the Catholic
approach to worship, although there was no communion given out.  There were
blessings and readings from the Bible, and Father Logan gave a sermon about
tolerance of thy neighbor.  Father Logan was enthusiastic about getting a
response from the community, and they didn't disappoint him.  The service
was almost a group affair, and Shawna enjoyed it immensely.  Evidently,
from the size of the crowd, religion played an important part here; and she
found that Grady had been right, it did make these people seem less like
barbarians.

   From time to time, she would look back and smile at Grady, who softly
smiled back, but the best moment was when Father Logan ended the service,
for everyone started hugging each other.  It felt good to hug him again.

   ---***--

   Rhianna was not so enthusiastic about Church.  She came because her
husband came, and he came because it was expected of him.  There were
members of the community that didn't bother with church or religion, and
that was their right, for no one was forced, but Paul Anderson had strongly
suggested that his younger brother show his face at these gatherings.  The
Andersons were a respected and influential part of the community, and it
just wouldn't do for any of them to ignore this side of life at the
Compound.  So Matthew came to Church, and of course brought his bride.  It
wasn't that he didn't care for religion; he actually respected quite
strongly its position in the community.  He was just able to look at it
with more jaded eyes after spending most his adult life off the mountain.
He had seen things that made him truly doubt the existence of a benevolent
God; the scars on Rhianna's body, for one thing.

   Still, he felt that God wasn't all bad; he had brought him his beautiful
wife, and allowed him to help her heal from her abuses.  Matthew had great
respect for any being who could create love!

   Rhianna hugged her niece, Lilly, and tried to avoid looking over to
where Shawna was in the arms of the Blacksmith.  Rhianna's thoughts were in
turmoil, as she tried to figure out what she thought was best for this
community she had grown to love.

   If she had never found out about the crash, if Shawna hadn't been
involved in any robbery, then Rhianna would have been as happy as anyone to
have Shawna join the community if she wanted to.  But Rhianna had been
trained...no she had been taught since she was a young girl, by a mother
who had given up her life's calling in Law Enforcement, that those who
break the law to the degree that Shawna did, were not to be trusted.  She
knew that banks were robbed for only two reasons, either out of
desperation, or for greed, and Shawna had not looked to be the desperate
type.

   Rhianna wanted to know more; she needed the whole story.

   As the crowd moved outside to where the tables were, Rhianna and a lot
of the other women gravitated to the kitchen to begin serving breakfast. 
Just like for every meal, it was their duty to collect the food and serve
it to the rest of their families.

   Rhianna hung back, watching as someone showed Shawna the ropes.  It was
her first time serving, her first time bringing food to her man.

   Rhianna wondered at the relationship between her and Grady now, they
certainly seemed a little friendlier.  How would he be affected when he
found out that Shawna was a bank robber as well as a junkie?

   Dare they tell him?

   As Rhianna collected food for herself and her own husband, she wondered
where Paul was.  Apparently he had spent the night in town, and she
wondered how long after he got back it would be before the shit hit the
fan!


   End of Part 14

The Compound Part 15


   Paul Anderson and Gabe Miller arrived back at the Compound shortly after
midday.  Gabe had wanted to spend the night at the hospital so he could be
there when Raul Alvaro came out of recovery.  Raul's surgery had gone well
and Gabe was in good spirits.  The bar that pierced his chest, while
damaging, had been a clean injury.  Tubel, the surgeon, said that Raul
could be taken back to the Compound in a few days.  Gabe came back to the
Compound to arrange for a couple of the Alvaro clan to go to town while
Raul was hospitalized.  He also was looking forward to spending a little
time with Shawna; the woman had been on his mind a lot while he was gone.

   Paul hadn't told him about his discovery.  In fact he had been rather
closed mouthed the entire trip, although Paul wasn't much of a talker
anyway.  He had been glad that Gabe needed the extra time; pumping his
friend Sheriff Kinkade for information without him knowing about it was a
delicate process.  As it was, there was little more to be known about the
robbery.  Kinkade wasn't exactly in the information loop.  All he had was
what was in the All Points Bulletin and what he had heard from other
departments he had talked to.  All in all, it wasn't much help to Paul.

   But Paul DID get a chance to be in on something else, a visit to the
home of one of the kids that Rhianna had fought with at the lake.

   Armed with a search and seizure warrant, Kinkade and a couple of his men
went to see what they could find, and Paul was invited along.

   It happened to be Kale's home, the big kid that had started talking with
Rhianna.  One of the other guys had spilled his guts and told Kinkade about
Kale's stash.  Kale's parents objected strongly to the search, but Kinkade
just kept waving the warrant in their faces and smiled.

   Kale had been dumb.  A smart kid would have at least tried to destroy
the evidence of his misdeeds, but Kale wasn't that bright.  They came for
and found his computer and a brief perusal of its contents showed close to
two hundred megs of still pictures captured off video, most featuring women
and children of the Compound.  There were also digital videos, and the
deputy who was handling the computer was proud to announce the discovery of
a website.  Apparently, Kale and his friends had put the Compound on the
web, disguising its location (which Paul was very happy to hear about), but
otherwise showing all that could be seen from the land around it.

   Funnily enough, the website featured just the adult and teenage women,
and was split into bound and unbound, as the community didn't keep it's
playful or punishment bondage just indoors.  Yet almost half of Kale's
collection featured the younger children playing outside the Compound, and
both Paul and Kinkade had a sinking feeling in the pit of their stomachs.

   Kale was still young, and at the moment content to just be a voyeur; but
the men wondered if they had a potential pedophile on their hands.  Kinkade
didn't want to think about the implications.

   The Sheriff confiscated the computer, and everything computer related he
could find.  The warrant also allowed him to take any pictures or tapes he
found, too, but there were none to be seen.

   His next stop would be to find Kale himself; the boy had left the house
early that morning.  Kinkade was not looking forward to this.  So after
talking with his deputy about getting the website taken down, the men left.

   "I'm sorry, Paul," Kinkade said as they were leaving.

   Paul Anderson didn't understand much about computers and wasn't sure
what the web was, but he knew enough to be angry.  "I want him punished,"
he said.

   "He will be, I'll guarantee it!"

   Paul grunted.  He made a note to talk to Rhianna about all this; she
would be able to put it in better perspective for him.

   That had been how he spent his morning, and now he and Gabe were riding
into camp.

   Gabe looked around and saw his friends and family, all in a good mood
and anxious to hear how Raul was doing.  It gave Gabe a lot of pleasure to
spread the good news, and he walked away with a crowd of children around
him.

   Paul tied his horse and looked at the same people with different eyes.
He saw a people violated, their dignity stripped from them by a few boys.
While he wasn't sure of the extent of the damage that had been done to
them, he knew that if word spread about the pictures, relationships with
the townsfolk would be even more strained.

   One of his goals when he first became Guardian was to improve
communication with the town and foster new friendships.  But prejudice on
both sides made that a lot more difficult than he had imagined, and the
only friendship formed was between him and the latest Sheriff.

   Paul sighed.  The pictures were out of his hands right now, the damage
done, what he had to focus on now was another problem entirely.

   Shawna Michaels.

   ---***--

   They came for her late in the afternoon.

   Shawna was with Grady in the stables, watching him work.  She had to
watch, for he had tied her up again, laying her on some bales of hay out of
the way.  His excuse was that she needed the rest, but Shawna felt he did
it just because he wanted to.

   To her surprise, she didn't protest much about it, thinking that if she
had to be tied up, it was better to be bound for fun than out of malice. 
So she lay on her front, her arms bound behind her in the usual way, and
her feet tied together, and watched as Grady helped Patch sweep and clean
the horse stalls.

   There were twenty stalls in this barn, and most of them were occupied,
although the current residents were all out in a paddock nearby or being
used.

   After doing just a few, Grady began to tire, not yet fully recovered
from his illness, and at Patch's urging, he took frequent breaks to rest
and drink.  He would come sit by Shawna, and spend a few wordless minutes
with her.  It felt good to both of them.

   They were resting when Paul Anderson showed up with one of his deputies.

   "Shawna," he said to her, noting her bondage, "You need to come with
us."

   "What's up?" Grady asked before Shawna could speak.

   Paul didn't want to look at Grady; for some reason he was feeling bad
about what was going on.  "The elders want to see her," he said.

   "Why?" Shawna asked.

   Paul looked her in the eye.  "I think you know."

   Paul saw Shawna look at him with a puzzled expression for a moment, then
he saw realization dawn, for her face paled and a look of fear appeared.

   "Oh," was all she said.

   Paul gestured for his deputy to untie her feet.

   "Wait a minute," Grady said.  "I don't understand; what's going on?"

   "She's seeing the elders," Paul replied, "the rest...I'll tell you
later."

   "Don't give me that, Paul!  Shawna, what is it?"

   Shawna was scared, very scared.  One look from Paul and she knew her
secret had been discovered.

   They found the plane; they found Dirk.  Maybe they even found the money!
Could they know about the robbery?  Was that why Paul was so long in town?
Were there police waiting for her right now, to take her away?

   Shawna shivered in her bondage and pulled at the bindings.  She felt
alone, vulnerable, and had a very strong urge to run.  But she knew it
would be hopeless.

   "Shawna," whispered Grady, seeing the fear in her eyes, "what is it?"

   Shawna evaded his eyes, shaking her head.  She didn't want to tell him,
it would shatter the fragile friendship that was just beginning to form.

   Her legs untied, Paul helped her off the hay bales, and Grady came down
with them.

   "Stay here, Grady," he said.

   "No.  Look, I'm going with you.  Shawna's my responsibility, and if
she's in trouble then I have a right to know about it!"

   "Not right now."

   "Yes, right now!  I'm her Head of House.  That's what the elders made
me, and until they take that away from me, it means I can't be kept in the
dark!"

   Now Paul looked at him.  "I thought you had given up that right," he
said accusingly.

   "That was...just a misunderstanding."

   Both Paul and Grady were big men, but Grady had Paul in both youth and
bulk strength.  Yet Shawna suddenly felt that she was looking at two big
predators, eyeing each other for rights to the pack.  Grady had the energy,
but Paul the experience and the know-how.  It was there for just a fleeting
minute, but Shawna wondered if they were going to come to blows over her.

   "Please," she said, "Grady.  Please stay.  It's better that you don't
come."

   "It's my right!  I have to be there, if only to protect you.  They can't
punish you for something without going through me!"

   Shawna would have held him if she could, but Paul hadn't untied her. 
"Please, for me," she whispered.

   Grady looked angrily at Paul for a moment.  "Bring her home when you're
done.  Then I want to see the elders after."

   "We'll see," said Paul, and he took Shawna's arm and led her away.

   Patch came up to his friend and watched as they left.  "You okay?" he
whispered.

   "No, I'm not!" Grady said loudly, thinking it was a stupid thing to ask.

   "Good," said Patch with a smile, and he went back to the stall they were
cleaning.

   Surprised and offended, Grady stared at Patch, and at Ruthy, who had
watched all this from the loft where she had been working.  He had thought
that Patch was his friend, someone who understood pain.  Yet the man just
said he was glad that Grady wasn't okay!  Then it dawned on him; the true
meaning of Patch's words.  Grady realized that for the last five minutes he
hadn't been thinking of Cheryl his dead wife, but of Shawna.  His anger was
for her, and it had pushed Cheryl from the forefront of his mind where she
lived for him now.  For the first time in a long time, he truly let go of
his grief to feel for someone else.  Patch hadn't been happy about Grady
feeling bad, but he was happy that Grady was feeling anything at all!

   "Thanks friend," he said.

   Patch smiled, and pointed at a rake.

   ---***--

   It was a smaller group than last time, Shawna noted.  Only the five
elders around their table, plus Paul and Rhianna at theirs, and a dog lying
by its Master's feet.  That was it.  There was no police, and no Sheriff to
take her away.

   No one looked happy, but no one looked angry either, which confused her.

   Shawna's fear that they had discovered the plane was confirmed when she
saw the three bags of money sitting on the table in front of Paul.  Shawna
wondered if they had connected her to the plane, or if they were just
bringing her in on suspicion alone.  For a moment, she considered a few
bold-faced lies; an attempt to deny that she knew anything about the plane.
But Paul picked up a sheet of paper and brought it over to her, showing her
the artist's rendition of her face as described by witnesses.

   Shawna's heart sank, and she followed it to her knees.

   "I take it it's true then," said Paul.  His voice was low, and full of
strain, but it was enough to carry throughout the room.

   Shawna nodded, not looking at anyone, tears welling up in her eyes.

   Paul glanced around the room.  Robert Klink had told him that he would
do all the talking, unless he got into trouble.  Robert would only
interrupt if he felt the need was there.  This was Paul's show, one of the
more unpleasant aspects of a Guardian's duties.

   He, Rhianna, and the elders had spent most of the afternoon talking
about what they were going to do with Shawna.  All knew that it wasn't a
simple situation anymore.  The rules said that a felony crime, which bank
robbery certainly was, meant expulsion from the Compound.  Outsider or
citizen, it didn't matter.  But all felt that there was more to the story
than they had been told, and after endless debating, they agreed to hold
off their decision until they found out more.

   So Paul was elected point man, with Rhianna to advise him on technical
matters, while Robert and the rest were the jury.

   This meeting was also unique in the fact that it was a closed door one.
Not much was held from the community as far as Compound business went.  It
was just too small a place for things to hide from gossip.  Also, keeping
secrets was against the feeling of community spirit that held the place
together.  But in this case, only the people in this room were going to
know anything.

   Paul sighed and looked down at the woman on her knees before him.  Grady
had let her dress in one of the simpler dresses Cheryl had owned, so at
least she didn't have to contend with being naked as well as helpless to
determine her own fate.  But Paul still thought she looked very vulnerable,
shaking with fear.  He realized that she wasn't much older than his own
daughter, maybe just a couple of years older than his son was.  Just a
child really.

   "Who was he?" he said softly, pointing at the picture of the man on the
APB, even though with her head bowed, Shawna couldn't have seen him do it.

   "Dirk, Dirk Tesco," said Shawna, her voice trembling.

   "Can you tell me about him?"

   "He was...he looked after me.  He rescued me from my father and...we
became...lovers."

   "Rescued you?" Paul asked gently.

   Shawna nodded again, and spent a few minutes telling everyone about her
family, and how abusive her childhood was.

   Everyone could feel her pain, but they steeled themselves against it. 
Rhianna felt it more than the rest, although her own childhood in Maine was
nothing like Shawna's.  She instead felt Shawna's humiliations through her
OWN experiences.  No one truly knew the extent to which those episodes had
affected her.  Counseling with Father Logan, who was a world-class
therapist even though he didn't have the credentials, had allowed Rhianna
to adjust to her past.  But the demons would never go away.  Rhianna knew
that about herself, and knew that would be true for Shawna as well.

   When Shawna stopped talking, Paul remained quiet while everybody
absorbed what he or she had heard.  He considered calling in the priest to
continue questioning Shawna, but shook that idea out of his head. 
Interrogations, no matter how gentle, were not something he was used to
doing.  Rhianna probably had a lot more experience, but he couldn't trust
her not to be heavy handed about it.

   He did look over at the ex-FBI agent, wondering what his next question
should be.  He was surprised to see her with tears in her eyes.

   "So," Paul said to Shawna, "Dirk got you away from a horrible situation.
You must have loved him very much."

   Surprisingly, Paul got no response from Shawna.  Not the one that he
expected anyway.

   "What are you going to do to me?" she asked, looking not at Paul, but at
the elders.

   "We're probably going to send you back," said Paul before he could
think.

   "No," Shawna said, "please.  I can't...I can't go back."

   "You DID rob the bank, didn't you?" Paul said.

   Startled, Shawna nodded.

   "You hid the money, and didn't tell anyone, any of us here, about your
dead boyfriend.  What were you planning; to run away with the money after
we got you well?"

   "I..." said Shawna, looking at him wide eyed.  She couldn't deny what he
said; yet, in all honesty, she didn't know what she had planned.

   "Why didn't you tell us?" Paul asked slowly.  For a moment his temper
had flared, but he gathered himself back together.

   "You would...send me away."

   Paul opened his mouth to speak, but Rhianna interrupted him.

   "Shawna, how did you get hooked on drugs?" she asked.

   Paul turned to glare at Rhianna, but she was focused on Shawna and
ignored him.

   Shawna looked away.  "If you're sending me away, I don't see why I have
to tell you anything more."

   "YOU STUPID GIRL!" Rhianna shouted, getting up from her pillow.  "CAN'T
YOU SEE THAT WE'RE GIVING YOU A CHANCE TO DEFEND YOURSELF?"

   "RHIANNA!" Paul yelled.  "Enough!"

   Shawna once more looked stunned, and she stared at the woman until both
of them were on their knees again.

   Paul stood glaring at Rhianna for a moment, then with a glance at the
elders who sat nervously at their table, he approached Shawna.

   "I think since..." he began, but this time it was Shawna who
interrupted.

   "It was Dirk who got me high," she said.  "Dirk who gave me my first
joint, who got me drunk first, who made me shove stuff up my nose to get
high until I couldn't stop shoving it myself.  For him I shot up, toked up,
and drank up, eager for his approval and support, because I needed him.

   "Yes, he rescued me from my father, but with Dirk that rescue had a
price.  My dignity and my freedom!"

   The room went quiet at her outburst, except for the big dog, which sat
up panting.  "Hush now, Sidney," said Bill Anderson as he stroked behind
the animal's ears.

   Shawna focused on the happy face of the dog.

   Paul thought carefully for a moment, there was something he needed to
know.  "Why did you rob the bank?"

   Shawna saw a way out, and what boosted her spirits was that all she had
to do was tell the truth.  All the lying she had done to these people had
never settled right with her, and now she had a chance to fix it.  If only
they believed her.

   "I had to," she said.  "I had to help him.  If I didn't do what he
wanted, he would hold back my...he wouldn't give me my next...fix." Shawna
went on to tell how living with Dirk became another sort of hell, for which
the drugs and booze had become a welcome escape.

   Rhianna listened to all this, and thought extenuating circumstances. 
She had been right and wrong.  Right in thinking that Shawna was going to
be a problem, yet wrong in assigning blame.  But she knew the hard decision
that had been made would no doubt be debated again after hearing all of
this.

   Some of the elders had heard enough, and they waved Paul over for a
whispered consultation.

   Paul got up and went to the door, bringing back in his deputy.

   "Where are you taking me?" Shawna asked, as Paul helped her to her feet.

   "We need to talk," he replied.  "In the morning we'll let you know what
we decide.  In the meantime, Gerry here will take you someplace where he'll
look after you."

   "What?  I want to go home!"

   "That's what we have to decide," said Paul.

   "No, home, Grady's home!"

   Paul looked back at Robert and the elders, a questioning look in his
eyes.

   Robert slowly shook his head.

   "Please?" begged Shawna.

   "I'm sorry," Paul said, meaning it.

   Shawna kept her mouth shut until she got to the door.  "Don't I even get
to say goodbye to him?" she said.

   No one said anything until the door closed behind her, then the debate
raged on.

   ---***--

   Shawna was taken to an empty apartment where the deputy's wife waited
for them.  The deputy led Shawna over to the bed and bound her feet.

   "You'll have to stay here until they make their decision," he told her,
regret in his own voice.  "My wife will stay with you tonight and will see
that you don't want for anything.  Just ask her if you need anything."

   Shawna didn't say a word, her depression full on her now.

   The deputy watched her for a moment, then with a tired nod to his wife,
left the women alone.

   ---***--

   Matthew and Rhianna lay naked together in bed.  It was early in the
morning, and neither had slept much since Rhianna had come home the evening
before.

   The elders managed to surprise her when they asked her to stay for the
debate that followed Shawna's departure.  Rhianna had been determined to
stay anyway, but actually being invited caught her off guard.

   Paul had been surprised too, but when it became apparent that Rhianna's
contribution to the debate was only to be about the law and what the
outsiders might do, then he relaxed.

   Rhianna was anything but relaxed, and tried to discuss everything.  She
managed to last an hour before they finally invited her to leave, so she
came home.

   Matthew, who had just gotten back himself from the carpentry shop where
he spent his days, took one look at her and took her to the baths.  He
washed her and gave her a long sensuous rub down, before asking her
anything about what had gotten her so tense.  She would only talk in
private though, so after grabbing a quick supper from the Great Hall, they
went back to their apartment, and Rhianna told all.

   Matthew listened to her frustrations and her silences, and helped her
mostly by being quiet and letting her vent.  At one point, they made slow,
quiet love in their bed, before dozing lightly in each other's arms.

   While she slept, Matthew thought about Shawna, and the road ahead of
her.

   Now they both lay awake, and watched the sky lighten through the
skylight in their ceiling.

   "Matt," Rhianna said quietly.

   "Yes, Pet?"

   "Why did you do it?"

   "Do what, Pet?"

   Rhianna turned slightly in his arms and rested her head on his chest. 
Matthew could smell her hair and feel her heartbeat against his side.  It
was a warm, comfortable feeling, one he treasured a lot.

   "Turn to crime.  Why did you do it?  You know you've never really said
anything about it."

   "Why did you become a cop?" Matthew asked back.

   "You know why.  I told you about my mother!"

   "Yes, you're living out the career she couldn't have, the one she gave
up to have you and your bothers and sisters.  At least, you used to live it
out."

   "Be nice," she said, a little hurt.

   "I'm always nice.  But was that the real reason?  I doubt it."

   Rhianna said nothing.

   "You want to know how it started for me," he said after a while.  "Well,
it all started because I had never seen the ocean."

   "You became a smuggler because you'd never seen the ocean?" Rhianna
said, disbelief dripping from her voice.

   Under the covers, Matthew spanked her butt.  "Hush, Wife, I'm talking
here!"

   "Sorry."

   Matthew looked down at her.  He was trying to keep it light in an effort
to break Rhianna's tension and help her relax.  She had come down a certain
amount, but Matthew was striking out at getting her to come down all the
way.  He knew the only thing that would end it was when she heard what the
elders decided to do.

   What Matthew wondered about most was what result Rhianna wanted to hear.
Up until yesterday, he knew Rhianna wanted Shawna gone; but something had
changed, and he now had no idea what she wanted.

   He decided to continue his story.

   "Yes, I had never seen the ocean.  So, there I was, eighteen, with
barely anything to my name, working my way toward what I thought of as my
Holy Grail.  The coast.

   "I ended up in South Florida, and lied my way into getting a job on one
of those barefoot cruises.  They wanted a young, experienced sailor, but
all they got out of me was the young part.  But I was willing to learn, and
convinced the captain that if I wasn't up to his standards after a week, he
could make me walk the plank."

   "How does this fit in with smuggling...Ow!"

   "I said hush.  With all due modesty, I learned the trade well, and began
to make money at it.  I saved every penny, and soon bought my own little
sail boat, which I used to sail the Keys.  A wonderful place to sail."

   "I know, I was stationed there when I was in the Coast Guard.  But I
didn't know you knew how to sail!"

   "You never asked.  But one day, I met some fellas out there who liked my
little boat and came aboard to have a few beers.  In the middle of our
conversation, one of them asked if I was going up to Miami, which I was,
and asked if I minded taking something up for him.  It was a box of cigars,
Cuban cigars.

   "I said sure, and found a neat place to hide them because he told me
they were a little illegal.  I wasn't going to do it after he told me that,
but they convinced me that it was just a hassle getting them through
customs, and that there really wasn't anything wrong with it.  After all,
what was so bad about a box of cigars?  He also handed me a twenty, so off
I went.  Not long after, I just happened to be stopped by a Coast Guard
boat for a safety inspection.  It was pure coincidence, but I was sure they
knew about that box, and I waited and waited for them to find it.  But they
didn't, and when they left, I came down from the biggest rush I'd ever had!

   "I delivered that box, and many more after that, and soon made enough
money to quit my cruise line job.  Boxes of cigars changed to bigger and
more expensive items, and as they grew so did my operation and of course my
rush when ever we were close to being caught.

   "In the end I was hooked."

   Matthew swallowed, his mind replaying those times in his head.

   Rhianna shifted so she could look up at him.  "So you did it because
you're an excitement junkie?"

   "At first, yes," he replied, his eyes looking into the distant past. 
"After that, it was just pride, that and the money.  I had built up a good
reputation..."

   Matthew was suddenly interrupted by the door to their apartment slamming
open.  Rhianna let out a short scream and instinctively grabbed for the
blankets, pulling them up to cover her chest.

   Matthew sat up, startled by the sight of Grady standing in their
doorway.

   "WHERE IS SHE?" he yelled.  "RHIANNA, WHERE THE HELL DID THEY TAKE HER!"


   End of Part 15.

The Compound part 16


   "WHERE IS SHE?" Grady yelled.

   In a flash, Matthew was out of the bed and moving toward Grady.  "Hey!"
he said, "Calm down!"

   "Fuck you, Matthew!" Grady slurred, and it was obvious he had been
drinking.

   Matthew took the man carefully by the arm and pulled him into the
apartment, carefully closing the door as he did so.

   "What's wrong?" Matthew asked him.

   "Shawna.  She never came home last night."

   "Did you ask Paul where she is?" asked Matthew.

   "Yeah," Grady shook his head, unsteady on his feet.  "He told me to go
home.  What the fuck is happening, Matthew?"

   Matthew looked over at his wife, who had gotten over her sudden shock.
She climbed off the bed, but unlike her husband, who stood in the middle of
the room naked, Rhianna clutched a blanket to herself and wrapped it around
her body.  She was calm, but not yet comfortable enough to be relaxed
around this man in his present state.

   "It's okay, Grady," she said as she got off the bed.  "Shawna's being
looked after."

   "It's not right; I'm her Head of House, I should be involved," Grady
muttered.  Matthew rolled his eyes and helped the big man over to the
chair. Grady dropped like a sack of cement, but stayed awake.

   "You okay, big guy?" Matthew said.

   Grady looked up at him with red eyes.  "What's going on?" he said,
"Where is she?"

   "I can't tell you where she is, I don't know," Rhianna told him, "but I
think you should know what's going on, for your own good at least."

   Grady focused on her, and looked more alert than they first thought. 
"Please do."

   Rhianna told Grady about Shawna's criminal past, the robbery, the plane
crash, and the dead body still on the Mountain.  She also started to tell
him about Dirk when he waved her down.

   "I know about him already.  So the bastard got her in trouble.  Is that
him up the mountain?"

   "Yes, we think so, and she says it's him," Rhianna replied.

   "Shit," Grady said, his head low.

   Rhianna and Matthew looked at each other.  Neither had thought Grady
cared enough about Shawna to be like this.

   "I guess that's why she saw the elders," he continued, "they had to
decide what to do with her." He looked up.  "Do you know what they
decided?"

   "I'm sorry, Grady, I don't.  When I left, they were still talking about
it."

   Grady sighed.  "You were there?  Did it look good?"

   Matthew was interested in how Rhianna was going to answer that one.

   Rhianna padded over and got down on one knee in front of Grady.  She put
a hand on his leg and shook her head.  "I don't think it looks good for
her," she said.  "You know the law.  She's supposed to be taken back to
face the authorities, but she wants to stay.  Since she was forced into
committing the crime, you might say she has extenuating circumstances, but
it's a hard call.  The elders were supposed to have an announcement this
morning."

   "Isn't there anything we can do?" Grady asked.

   Rhianna shook her head, but this time it was Matthew who surprised her.

   "Get dressed, Rhianna," he said.  "I think I know what to do."

   ---***--

   "So you think she should stay now?" Matthew whispered to her as they
walked along the hallways inside the huge huts.

   "Shawna is a victim, not a crook.  She was forced; her boyfriend using
her addictions as leverage against her.  She needs help, not a jail term,"
Rhianna replied.

   "Won't she get help on the outside?" Matthew asked.

   Rhianna gave him a look.  "She'll be better off here.  Look, Matt,
you're not kidding around, are you?  You do have a serious plan to help
her, right?"

   Matthew's face hardened.  "I've never been more serious."

   They reached Paul Anderson's home, and Matthew knocked on the door.  It
was opened presently by Lilly, who looked nervously at the three adults in
the hallway.

   "Dad's pretty mad right now," she said, "it might be better if you came
back later."

   "This is important, Lilly, let us in and go get your father," said
Matthew.

   Lilly gave Grady another look, then stepped back and opened the door.

   The threesome had stopped off on the way to let Grady splash some water
over his head.  He looked a little better now, more in control of himself,
and Matthew had told him to shut up and let him do the talking.

   The woman and two men entered the family-sized apartment, and Matthew
pointed to the floor pillows in the living area.

   Rhianna took her cue, and for once didn't argue with her husband.  She
went and knelt on the pillows.

   Lilly had disappeared into the back somewhere, and Paul stepped through
an arch a moment later.  He looked curiously at his younger brother for a
second, then he noticed Grady standing by the door and frowned.

   "I'm not telling any of you where she is," Paul said, "so Grady, if you
think getting my brother involved is going to help your case, think again.
My advice to you is to go home and forget about her."

   "She's leaving then?" Grady said, forgetting his instructions.

   "Grady," said Paul, his face softening slightly, "it's for her own
good."

   Matthew glared at Grady for a moment before turning to his brother. 
"Paul, we all think that it's better that Shawna stays."

   "That's...not an uncommon feeling," Paul admitted.  "But when it came
right down to it, rules are rules.  We've never kept anyone back before
when they should have been exiled."

   Matthew reached out and put a hand on his brother's shoulder.  "Yes...we
have!"

   Paul stared at Matthew for a second, then realization struck.  "No,
Matthew.  You can't do it."

   "Can't do what?" said a nervous Rhianna.

   Matthew turned to his wife.  "I want to go tell them about me, about my
real past," he said.  "Paul says they're stuck on law; Shawna can't stay
because no one else has.  Well, they need to know that it's already
happened."

   "Gabe told you not to tell anyone!" said Paul, talking about the
original Gabe Miller, who was the only person other than Paul and Rhianna
who knew about Matthew's criminal past.  Gabe Miller the first had passed
away a year and a half ago, and with him went one of the strongest minds
the Compound had ever had.  He was the voice of the elders, and the guiding
force of the community almost from the time it was founded.

   "They have to know," Matthew said slowly.

   "What if they decide to exile you as well?"

   Matthew shrugged.  "It's a chance I'm willing to take."

   Grady stepped forward, puzzled.  "Wait a minute.  Are you saying that
you're wanted too?"

   Matthew shook his head.  "No.  I've done my time, but that might not
matter here.  Look, Paul, are you going to set up the meeting or not?"

   Paul looked at his feet for a moment, deep in thought, then he nodded.
"Wait here, I'll send for you when they're ready." he said.

   Matthew stepped to one side and Paul left the apartment.

   "I hope this works," Matthew whispered.

   ---***--

   "Two years ago, I came back to the Compound after being gone for many
years," Matthew began.  He was standing in front of the assembled elders, a
larger group than had heard Shawna's case the night before.  Everyone of
any seniority had been pulled in to discuss Shawna, and Matthew knew that
confessing to this group would be the same as confessing to the entire
community.  Whatever happened after this, no one would look at him the same
way again.

   "As far as anyone knew here, my life on the outside was successful. 
People knew I ran an import/export business, doing my bit to help the
United States free market.  I stayed in touch with my brother, and through
him I passed on the news of my accomplishments." Matthew gave Paul a small
smile.  Paul was sitting close to the elders and didn't return it, he was
too nervous.

   "I know it surprised a lot of you when I did return, and the surprise
was bigger when I brought a wife with me!" He gestured to Rhianna, who
knelt with some of the younger women on one side of the classroom.

   "But, what you know about my life, wasn't exactly how it happened.  I
was a crook.  My import/export business just a cover for my smuggling
operations.  I smuggled, across various borders, illegal artwork and
historical items, business secrets and prototypes, even people who didn't
want to be recorded entering or leaving the country.  I had a hand in
almost everything that could be moved, but I never, NEVER, dealt in drugs
or arms.  It was a profitable business, and it made me rich." He glanced at
Rhianna, who smiled in encouragement.

   "Things were fine until I ran into some people I couldn't say no to. 
They forced me into a deal that I didn't want to do, and it almost turned
out to be worse than even I could imagine.  But I was rescued...I was
caught, by a very beautiful and sexy FBI agent." He smiled at Rhianna and
her eyes began to tear up.  She knew he was risking everything by telling
all this, not only for himself, but for his entire family.

   "You all know Rhianna used to be in the FBI; we never made a secret of
that," Matthew continued, and Shawna looked up.  She was kneeling near the
center of the room, her hands still bound behind her from the night before.
She had given up hope, and had resigned herself to being taken to jail. 
Now hearing that Rhianna had been a cop after all, made her think her fate
was sealed.  She wasn't sure what Matthew was going on about; but it didn't
matter to her.

   "What none of you knew...well, most of you...was that Rhianna was the
agent that caught me and put me away.  I spent two years in prison for my
crimes, and then something happened to change things.

   "Remember when I came here, there was a mad man killing our women."

   The assembled group, shocked by what they had heard so far, suddenly
stirred to life as they remembered the horrible year that they all had been
stalked by a killer from the town below them.  Matthew waited until the
outraged whispers died down before continuing.

   "Most of you know that Rhianna was instrumental in catching that
monster; what you don't know was that he was the reason we came.  I was
still in prison at the time, and it was felt that someone from the outside
had to come in and find out who the killer was.  So Paul talked to me, and
I told him about Rhianna.  She came in as my wife, and saved us all."

   "Wait a minute!" Robert Klink said.  "You mean she wasn't your wife, but
here undercover?" There was another murmur of discontent.

   "Yes," said Matthew.

   "But, your wedding...your marriage to her now...it's a lie?"

   Matthew looked over at Rhianna for a moment before answering.  "No," he
said.  "I fell in love with her long before I came back here.  As far as
I'm concerned, our marriage here has never been a lie.  For Rhianna, it
took a little longer, but I doubt she would have gone through with the
wedding if, deep down, she didn't feel the same way about me."

   "Is this true, Rhianna?" Robert asked.

   Rhianna, nodded, finding it hard to stifle her emotions.  She looked
directly at her husband, proud of his confession, and mentally sending him
her strength.

   Few doubted that their love was for real; Matthew and Rhianna's marriage
was privately considered to be one of the strongest in the Compound.  No
one who saw them together could fail to see the bond between them.

   "Go on, Matthew," Robert said.

   "I ah...well.  After that case was over, I was supposed to go back to
jail.  But a good friend of ours intervened and arranged for me to serve
the rest of my sentence here.  As long as I never left the mountain, the
last six months of my jail term would be spent at home.  And when they were
up, I left to bring Rhianna home.  The rest, as they say, is history."

   There was silence in the room for a moment.

   "So, you've lived a lie all these years," Robert finally said.  "Not
only that, but you're a convicted felon.  I'm not sure what you thought you
might accomplish telling us all this, but as we find ourselves forced to
have Shawna removed from the Compound, the same reason forces us to ask you
to leave too."

   There was another murmur of voices from the group.

   Matthew stood still, his eyes on Rhianna, who locked hers on him in
return.

   "Wait," said a new voice.  It was Leann Miller.  "Matthew, why did you
tell us all this?"

   "My wife thought that Shawna would be better off staying here," he
replied.

   "Well, I don't see how your confession was supposed to help her!"

   "I wanted to show you all," Matthew said, turning to face everyone,
"that sometimes a rule can be broken for the right reasons.  I'm told that
it's only a point of law, our law, which is forcing Shawna to leave.  I
think a lot of you want her to stay, and you only need an excuse to make
that so.  In fact, let's take a vote right now, shall we?  Who thinks
Shawna should stay?"

   Hesitantly, most of those assembled raised a hand, including Paul and
most of the elders.  Surprisingly, even Robert had his hand up.

   "Matthew," Robert said.  "You made a valid point, but it doesn't work,
I'm afraid.  You're trying to tell us that precedence has already been set
with your staying here, but none of us knew about your history, so how
could you have been pardoned?  The rule is in place so that we don't fill
our community with those who are dangerous and untrustworthy.  You
understand that we have to be very careful with it."

   "I understand.  But you're wrong; in a way, I was ruled upon," Matthew
replied.  "Remember how I said most of you didn't know about my real past?
The three people who did know were Paul, Rhianna, and Gabe Miller." He
looked at Gabe the second sitting at the elders' table.  "Your father."

   There was a rustle of voices.

   "Gabe knew?" Robert said.

   Matthew nodded.  "He told me not to tell; that I had paid my debt and
deserved another chance.  I took that hand he held out for me, and I don't
think anyone here has regretted my coming back!"

   Robert and the elders huddled for a moment.  "Considering," he said to
the room at large, "the ruling that Gabe made on Matthew, it's understood
that there is precedence for Shawna not being forced out, and I think
another vote is called for to decide that officially.  But I must point out
again, that if we vote to let her stay, we will be breaking an outside law.
We'll be harboring a fugitive.  It's something to keep in mind.

   "But first, Matthew.  You showed great courage telling us all this.  I'm
glad old Gabe let you stay."

   "I'm glad he did too!" Matthew said, relaxing for the first time since
he entered the room.

   Robert stood up.  "Let's vote.  Does Shawna stay?"

   ---***--

   The wind had picked up on the mountain, and another bank of low clouds
hid the top from view.  Paul looked up, and wondered if this was how it was
up here when the small plane had crashed here into the trees.

   He stood silent, watching as Sheriff Kinkade, a couple of deputies, and
two FBI agents from Denver went over the wreckage.  The Sheriff excused
himself and wandered over to where Paul waited.

   "Hell of a mess," said the Sheriff.

   "Yep," Paul answered.

   "And you found it just yesterday?"

   "Some kids did; they came and told me."

   Kinkade nodded.  He looked down at the three sacks of money sitting
nearby.  "Supposed to be three million in those bags."

   "I expect there still is."

   "Funny, how they survived the crash unburnt."

   "Lucky, I would say.  You people put so much value on that paper."

   "It would have been a tragedy if it HAD gone up, true enough." Kinkade
watched his men work for a few minutes.  "You know, there's just the one
body in there, no sign of anyone else in the wreckage."

   "Is that so?  I didn't get too close myself, so I didn't check," Paul
replied.

   "Any idea where they might have got to?"

   Paul turned to look in his friend's eyes.  "Wherever they are, I'm sure
their misdeeds are catching up with them.  Even if the law doesn't get
them, they get punished in the end."

   "I hope so," replied Sheriff Kinkade, with a knowing look in his eyes.
"I really hope so."

   ---***--

   Gabe Miller IV sat his tankard down on the table and sat next to Grady.
The two men were in the small bar that served the social needs of the men
of the Compound.  Dark and quiet, it smelled of countless years of spilled
beer and manly sweat, but the men loved it.  It had never seen the face of
a woman.

   Grady ignored Gabe for a moment; he was used to drinking alone.

   "I just heard the whole story," Gabe said.  He had been attending to a
birth, or he would have made the meeting too.

   Grady grunted.

   "I hear Matthew Anderson gave a hell of a speech," Gabe continued. 
Grady nodded.

   "I'm happy she's staying, Grady, but it doesn't look like YOU are. 
What's up?"

   "I am happy, but I'm not sure it's for the right reasons," Grady finally
said.  "I didn't want her to go, yet it's hard having her around."

   Gabe understood.  He had thought a lot about Shawna over the past few
days, and he realized that she might not know what her feelings were for
him.  Gabe had watched her looking at Grady; even he could see she was
smitten.  But he wasn't going to give up on her just like that.  Shawna had
stirred something within him that he couldn't ignore, and while he was
willing to let Grady have a first shot at her for his own healing, Gabe
wasn't going to wait around for ever.  If Grady didn't make a move soon,
then Gabe would.

   "You know, Cheryl would want you to be happy..." Gabe began to say.

   "Oh, don't YOU start!" said Grady, pushing his chair back.

   "Hey, wait.  You know it's true.  I'm not telling you to go chase after
her, but I do think you need to stop beating yourself up about how you feel
about her!"

   Grady said nothing, but Gabe could tell he was listening.

   "Grady, give yourself a chance; she might be just what you need!"

   Grady sat up and took a swig of his beer.  He looked up at the old
carriage clock in the corner, one of the few timepieces in the Compound. 
"She should be coming out of the stocks pretty soon, right?"

   "Yep, three hours a night for the next month," said Gabe.

   "Maybe I'll go say hi, be there when she comes out.  I can walk her over
to Leann and Gabe's."

   "Don't expect Granddad to invite you in, though.  Since he took over
being responsible for Shawna, he's kept her pretty close."

   "Do you know why they took her away from me?"

   Gabe smiled.  It was a smile of regret as to how things could have been
and a smile of happiness over how things could be.  He reached out and
patted his friend on the shoulder.

   "I'm sure you'll figure that out soon!"

   ---***--

   It was getting dark, the sun already gone behind the great mountains
that surrounded the Compound.  Yet the sky still glowed with the last of
the day's light.

   Matthew and Rhianna sat on a rock overlooking the river valley the
Compound was nestled in.  A blanket was wrapped around the two of them for
the evenings were growing colder, and they snuggled together tightly.

   They had been sitting in silence for a while now, watching the sun go
down, and it was Matthew who first spoke.

   "You happy?" he asked.

   "About what?" his wife answered.

   "In general.  You happy here?"

   "Wonderfully," she said, giving him a hug.

   "No, no bullshit.  I want a serious answer."

   Rhianna looked at her husband's face in the fading light, and saw that
he was indeed serious.  "Okay," she said.  "Why do you want to know?"

   Matthew sighed.  "This whole business with Shawna.  I watched you.  From
the moment she arrived you switched to Cop mode and you loved it.  You were
ready to throw that woman in jail yourself at one point.  I saw a Rhianna I
had never seen before, and to be honest I was a little concerned.  I know
you don't get many chances to use those skills up here.  Coming to live on
this mountain was a huge change for you.  So tell me, are you happy here?"

   Rhianna sat and stared at him for a moment.  "Matthew, I can't say that
living here hasn't been frustrating at times.  Primitive living, and at
times primitive thinking has made my transition tough as you know.  But
hear and believe me when I say this.  I have never been happier in my life.
I can't say that enough, I can't make it any plainer.  You make me happy."

   Matthew nodded.  "Okay then."

   Rhianna giggled.  "You can be a bear sometimes you know."

   "Grrr," Matthew replied.

   Rhianna laughed.

   "Do you think Shawna will adjust?" he asked her.

   Rhianna thought about that for a moment.  She was glad that Paul had set
her some punishment for her crime, but happier yet that the girl would get
the help she needed to rid herself completely of her addictions and clean
up her life.  "I think so, unless her suitors start to fight over her."

   "Suitors?"

   "Oh yeah.  Don't tell me you didn't notice how Gabe looked at her!"

   Matthew chuckled.  "Gabe?  Well, it's about time.  He can be lot of fun
at times, but if there was ever a guy that needed to get laid, it's him."

   "Don't be so crude," Rhianna said with a smile.

   "Grrr," Matthew replied.

   "There you go being a bear again!"

   Matthew turned to his wife and growled, making a fierce face as he did
so.  He began pinching his wife under the blanket and with a squeal she
jumped up to reveal that she wasn't wearing much at all.

   Matthew got up, arms up high and with a roar made a jump for her, but
she was too quick.  Laughing and screaming Rhianna ran down the trail back
to the Compound with her bear of a husband roaring and running after her,
while above them the stars began to shine brightly on the Compound.


   The End of this Story.

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